Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Rainy Days


It's been real rainy the last few days.. which makes me sad :(. Only because it's been too rainy to walk the dog.


I went into the kitchen and noticed something was different. For a good few minutes I stared blankly at the room trying to figure it out. And then it hit me. The christmas tree is gone! yay! lol.


So I've been doing my yoga. A new name was the 'monkey pose'. They are starting to get similar in the type of movement that you have to do. Regardless, I still love yoga :).


Remember that drawing I started doing when I walked to the park one day? Well, I finished drawing and am on coloring now. It's not done yet. But getting there. I think it looks.. interesting :P. I'm trying to figure out what sort of art I personally create and see where it takes me! Right now, my art is looking pretty busy.. and colorful :P.

I also had my job interview on Monday. It went well :). He made a copy of my ID, I need to go get a TB clearance and right now, we're waiting for my background check to come back. He'll then call me and I'll be working as a youth leader at the Y for kids 6th-8th grade. We shall see how I fare :).

Sunday, January 27, 2008

A day at the Pali


I went up the pali today for some geocaching fun :). To learn more about geocaching, click here: About Geocaching
The first stop was up by punchbowl memorial. It's the same place that I went to watch fireworks at new years :).


Next, we went up the pali more to a place by a pond.


We ate lunch there. Here's Saeko eating.


..And here's Jonathan :D.


We ended the day at the Pali Lookout.


It was windy :P.


Really, really windy!


Check out how far Saeko can lean!


I was amazed at how far you can see.


Nice mountain..


.. So we're climbing it? :O


The crazy things people do for geocaches :O.


Still, the view was breathtaking :).


Dropped Saeko off.


Then went back home. :)


and here's a pic of me! :D

Recipe: Salmon Croquette & Recipe: Onigiri


I'm going hiking tomorrow and cooked a lunch for it. (From left; Salmon Croquette, under it is Tonkatsu Sauce. On Right; Onigiri. Center of onigiri; steamed cabbage, seaweed and fishcake.) This recipe is a little more prep but it's still cheap and oh so tasty!

Recipe: Salmon Croquette
Croquette Ingredients:
1 can salmon
3 potatoes, diced (i leave the skin on but you can peel it)
2 T. onion mix or real onions
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
(This amount makes about 15 patties. Double the recipe for a bigger group to feed!)

Batter Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup panko
1/2 cup flour

Boil potatoes until cooked. Put in a large bowl and mash really good. (I use the underside of a cup) Add The rest of croquette ingredients into mixture and mix well.
Shape mixture into small patty shapes, about the size of a squished golf ball.


Should look something like this.

Next, Prepare your batter!
In 3 containers, put flour in 1 container, 1 beaten egg in 2nd container, and panko in the 3rd. (My containers are re-used tofu containers :P)


Looks sort of like this. (I didn't beat my egg yet :P)

Now we're ready to cook!
In a pan, add some oil and turn the heat to a little above medium. Put your patty in the flour and lightly coat. Next, put it in the egg to coat, and lastly put it in the panko. Shake the container to evenly coat the patty with panko. Cook patty on both sides until golden brown. (Add more oil as needed. Sometimes you run low on batter, so restock as you need.) Place cooked patties on a napkin covered plate to soak up excess oil. And you're done! It's delicious with tonkatsu sauce.


Here they are cooked next to my onigiri that goes with it. mmm.. P: Here's that recipe.

Recipe: Onigiri
2 cups Cooked rice
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. sugar
1 T. salt
2 T. furikake (I use my favorite, nori!)

Mix ingredients in a big bowl. Shape rice. (In this one, I've shaped them into cylinders using a sushi rice mold.) Stick a roasted nori on the outside. Yummy! P: See , that wasn't so hard to make ;).


My boyfriend kept me company nearby playing wow.


I also cleaned the kitchen after all that too. Gee, I was full of energy!


Ah yes, I also walked the dog earlier.


Here was the sunset. So tranquil.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Recipe: Delicious Pasta

It's one of those days where I'm running out of food and have to make a meal out of nothing. Yea, I know the name is gay but I couldn't think of anything else to describe it. If you think of a better name, let me know :P. Sorry, no picture for this post (gah! what in the world?!!) Yea.. I didn't take a picture of it, but I just had to share this recipe with you :). It's cheap, fast and very, you guessed it..delicious!

Recipe: Delicious Pasta
Ingredients:
1 box of pasta noodles (I used vermicelli, it's a thinner noodle than spaghetti)
1 block o' butter/margarine (I know it's a lot, but I used a whole box of pasta!)
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
5 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 T. Basil
Shredded Cheese (I used an Italian blend, about 3 handfuls of it)
Your choice of meat product. The best thing for this meal would be shrimp, but I used 1 can of tuna. It's cheap :P. But you could use chicken, I suppose.
Salt and pepper to taste
*note: I guesstimated the T. as close as I could.

Directions:
Cook your pasta noodles. (directions on box.)
In a big pot, melt the butter and add the oil on med. heat. Add minced garlic and let it sweat (it means don't burn the garlic please). At this point, add you meat product and let it cook until done, should be a few minutes. (If you're cooking chicken, cook it on a foreman grill or something separately to speed up the process and then add it to this mix to soak up the flavors P:) Bring down the heat to low. Add salt and pepper to taste and the basil. Now, put in the noodles! Mix it all together real good! I used tongs to get a better mix on it. I found it necessary to add more oil so that it would mix better. Then, sprinkle your cheese on top, mixing it gently as you go. After 3 handfuls, you're done! voile! Delicious pasta. mmmm... P:

Next time I make this, I'm going to try it with a little lemon in it. :D

Cute Bunny & Puppy Purses


I'm almost done sewing 2 more purses that I'll later sell at my shop. It's a loveable puppy purse and a sad blue bunny. I had fun sewing them :D. All that's left is their straps so that they can be worn! I'm hoping I'll go to the craft store tomorrow since I don't have anything that will be a good strap for them :\.


Also, the pup always goes crazy when she knows it's "walk time". Look at her scratching like crazy!


Here was today's sunset.


The clouds looked really cool and interesting today <3. I loved it. :)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

My Desk and a Job?


Here's my desk! :P.. It's getting messy. :S ... and.. I'm getting a job again. I'm going in on Monday to fill out the paperwork :D. So, what will I be doing? I'll be a youth leader at the YMCA watching intermediate kids :). So, here goes! :D


Oh yes, and I walked the dog. Here was today's sky. I got hit on by a bunch of retarded guys drinking paper-bagged 40's at the park at 5:30?! Gee, I guess the creepies are coming out earlier lately. :\

Yoga hurts so good


I'm doing yoga daily now. It's on FitTv called "Namaste Yoga" (if you ever choose to do it too :P) I record it so I don't miss it. :) Today's interesting new pose was the Swan pose. I love the yoga pose names. Cat lift, downward dog, proud warrior. Besides I love how relaxing it can be. It's all about centering yourself and breathing oxygen into your muscles. I <3 it! :D


I also walked the pup. Here was the sunset :).


Here's a pic. of all my roomies! Jonathan's in the kitchen washing dishes, Jason's drinking some beer, Charles is knocked out on the couch.


Lol! Jason poses with Charles' feet O_O hahaha! ..And yes, none of them has taken the xmas tree out yet.

Walmart Run


Went to walmart for some tuna, rice, bread and milk. I call em' the "essentials" :P



Also stopped off at the gas station. Lol :P


Across of it was Longs. It's where people went before walmart rolled in. :(


Ahh, Back home. Looks kind of creepy in the dark O_O.


Lol, Jonathan humping wow and being silly at the same time. Multitasking! XD

Finding the new in the old


So practically everyday (except for a few days), I have been walking this pup to the same place. So sadly, I've been taking pictures of the same place haha! But I'm trying to see the new in the old. Looking for things I've never noticed before.


Hehe.. I didn't know people still used those. :P


Check out the bird poo on this car!! When was the last time this guy drove? Or did something happen to him that he's unable to drive! Oh, the mystery..


All but one cloud..


That tree looks rather big. O_O


This pup looks like it's going so fast!! :O


Cool looking bark. I like the colors and the textures. Sort of reminds me of an aged person, so much character.


This tree... has an all seeing eye?! :O
Yea, okay.. this post was a little nutty, but that's what makes it fun! :D