…I did it again

I’ve been really busy working on a few things, so of course, this got pushed to the side again.

Not a lot has changed in the last few weeks, but

1. It’s definitely nice and crisp outside now.

2. I re-started Insanity, and I only just finished with day 2. Miserable.

3. I found out some friends will be surely visiting us right before Christmas.

4. I’m participating in fantasy football, and I am determined to win. And I’ll probably make a crown if I win, so that it can be passed around to the winner each year. (Side story: I made O a crown once after he won a tournament at UF because I thought it would be funny/cool, and he took it home to Miami and left it behind. But his family enjoyed wearing it.)

5. I have a good feeling about the end of this year.

 

 

Astaire and Rogers

There was some sort of ode to Ginger Rogers on TCM recently, so I ended up recording two of her movies. I wasn’t sure if I had watched all of “Shall We Dance,” which also starred Fred Astaire, but it turns out I did. And I just really loved it. Ballet and tap dancing. Yes please.

I remembered there was a scene on skates where they sang a song I knew (“Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off”), but I had forgotten about this one scene where this guy is in jail and is trying to get someone to bail him out. And he ends up spelling a bunch of unrelated words and then gives up. It’s a lot funnier than what I’m capable of describing. 

Anyway, the last scene is amazing, and I’m a little sad that I will never look like that while dancing.

Success

The cheese worked!

In Comes Whole Foods

I’ve had a few disappointments because of Whole Foods. One time I bought chicken, and I was just not into it. Of course, that definitely had to do more with my cooking because I am not a cook.

The second time was when I went to a new-to-me location, and I saw brisket in the take-out area, but I didn’t buy any because I had just eaten. I think I went a week later, and I couldn’t find it. I’ve never been able to find it. I blame Whole Foods for that one.

Otherwise, Whole Foods has been great. I found curry that no other grocery store seems to carry. And it has an excellent selection.

One of my problems with stores is that there isn’t a good or diverse Hispanic food section. I miss carne asada and gallo pinto. We learned how to make Cuban pastelitos, and we have found unripened sweet plantains. (Miami stores have them in all stages.) But it’s definitely my rule that the sweetness of the plantains needs the saltiness of fried cheese, and that’s where the problem comes in.

It’s not available here, and if I try to ask people for help, I am only met with weird looks. Since I follow a lot of food blogs, I came across one post with something that looked like fried cheese. I had been tricked before by a fried-cheese impersonator. It was really fried tofu, and that was a lot less exciting. This post, though, was introducing readers to halloumi, a Greek cheese.

Looks like cheese. Is not cheese.

Fried Halloumi

I couldn’t find it anywhere else, but I read that Whole Foods carried it. We went today and stood in front of the massive cheese aisle, where I was sure I wouldn’t find it because there were just too many. It might have been alphabetized because I easily found it. It was something like $13 for a small package, but next to it was a bigger, less expensive piece that said it was specifically for grilling and frying. Sold! It’s also a Greek cheese, but I have no idea if it’s the same kind. The package just called it grilling cheese.

Anyway, I am slowly adding more of the familiar flavors I grew up with.

*Note: The pictures aren’t mine, and clicking on them will take you to the original source. 

Olympics And Life

Obviously I’m not alone in my obsession with the Olympics, but I seriously am reading or talking about it all the time. I’m pretty much neutral about sports. I always support my hometown teams (except for baseball because I just plain hate baseball) and that’s probably more because it makes O happy, but there’s just something so incredible about the Olympics.

I’m still not over McKayla Maroney’s vault. I’ve watched it a few times already. And I, on the other hand, am so lazy when it comes to exercise lately.

I’d been putting off running, but I decided August would be different. I should have gone in the morning, but I let myself sleep in a little, which meant I needed to go at night. The sky was super gray and it was thundering a bit, but it hadn’t rained all day. I thought I could get a quick run in and just get it over with. About halfway through, I felt a drop, and then once I turned the corner, it was pouring.

I couldn’t see anything, and I was very worried about my phone getting wet. It all turned out OK, but I’m sure I was being punished for being so lazy.

Quick Thoughts

1. I changed a sidebar image again. I was happy with the one I had, but when I was working on my project, I came up with a cartoon me that I liked better. I’m wearing my glasses, which I always do, and I’m wearing one of my dream brands, Carven.

2. I still haven’t finished my site. It’s been so warm out that I try to avoid being out in the sun if I don’t need to be, so I haven’t gotten around to taking a picture. The page can stand on its own, though. It doesn’t need anything else. I’d just like to add more to it.

3. I’m craving Rita’s all the time now. It’s so refreshing. I don’t know how I ever did without it.

4. I spent my morning daydreaming of living in Europe. Visiting is probably still some years away, but I’m excited about it.

5. OLYMPICS! Can’t wait for the opening ceremony. I was watching an old episode of “30 Rock,” and the British character, Wesley Snipes, cracked me up. I had to watch it again this morning.

6. My latest post can be found here: http://bit.ly/MPHHs5. And because I like to add a picture when I can, below is my favorite image from the post.

Website Break

I got this sort of kooky idea, so I’ve taken a break from my About Me page. I guess it’s OK because I want to put a picture of myself on it, and I don’t have a decent one currently. Anyway, all this rearranging on my webpage got me thinking about packaging my writing clips in a way that’s much more me. It’s really making me stretch my design muscles. O always looks pretty shocked with what I come up with, so I feel I’m doing something right. And my cousin, who is very critical and is an artist, has enjoyed the pictures, too.

OK, I definitely talked it up too much. I am just so surprised at the outcome. I have been working on it for the past few days, and I can’t wait to be finished.

 I put together a few of my favorites into one picture. These pictures are not at all related, and I changed them slightly so they could fit together. I’m not sure when I’ll be done, but I know the end is near, which means that I’m going to try not to stay up another night working on it.