And absolutely no time to even catch my breath...pant-pant... Last week was a blur of little happenings that while not adding up to anything significant, fill the achievements void.
I registered on Facebook.com and will upload more pictures as time goes by. For now, I'm acquiring a network of friends, relatives, and such, virtually bridging a "social contact" gap. Work is overwhelming with several tantalising promises - large important projects, new software, new work flow, etc. One is tied to another, so if and when things start happening, it's going to be a snowball of improvements and professional development which in turn will lead to a raise and possibly even a much-needed bonus for me.
I'm also kicking around some business ideas and continuing education possibilities that don't include hand-crafting gift-baskets or receiving an MBA degree. For now I'm going to try not to spill the beans thus jinxing the entire enterprise.
Among my more tangible accomplishments is almost reaching a much-coveted status of a domestic diva. A couple of weeks ago I set to achieve it with my Big Spring Cleaning event. It got downsized (the reality of having a very small and very demanding baby) to just 2 rooms and a kitchen. This week, I approached diva-hood from a different angle by trying to cook a gourmet meal.
Last week I accidentally bought Barbara Kingslover's new book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". I bought it because a) I wanted a non-fiction easy-reading that would not be about children or saving money and b) had a Barnes&Noble coupon for this book (a total 40% in savings!). I am very happy that I did buy it. The book is a fun read and is hard to put down. Yes, it is a bit heavy on preaching about locally and sustainably grown foods. But such are the times we live in - we're urged to pick a side by the most unexpected advocates.
This book is very inspirational and both Chris and I are looking forward to next year when we start our little vegetable garden (we are not up to raising chickens yet though). It's only early May now. So to satisfy my urge for action, I decided to cook some dishes from recipes in Barbara's book. On Saturday, I started off by cautiously making an "Eggs in the Nest" dish (poached eggs over sauteed onion, carrots, canned tomatoes and chard over rice). Yummy! Then on Sunday, I kicked it up a notch and made an asparagus and mushroom pudding (I used white 'shrooms instead of recommended morels on the account of the latter price - $49.99/lb; Barbara gets free morels in her backyard) and a strawberry-apple crisp (couldn't find ruhbarb). To finish it of, I even made my first ever muffins the recipe for which I took straight from the back of the cornmeal package. Voila! Last night I modestly assumed a crown of The Kitchen Goddess. Even my Mom was suprised at such display of my cooking skills. Dad remained unmoved however since none of the dishes had any meat in them.
By the way, all the recipes can be found on the book's official website. But don't be cheap, buy a book as well - it's a good read.
I registered on Facebook.com and will upload more pictures as time goes by. For now, I'm acquiring a network of friends, relatives, and such, virtually bridging a "social contact" gap. Work is overwhelming with several tantalising promises - large important projects, new software, new work flow, etc. One is tied to another, so if and when things start happening, it's going to be a snowball of improvements and professional development which in turn will lead to a raise and possibly even a much-needed bonus for me.
I'm also kicking around some business ideas and continuing education possibilities that don't include hand-crafting gift-baskets or receiving an MBA degree. For now I'm going to try not to spill the beans thus jinxing the entire enterprise.
Among my more tangible accomplishments is almost reaching a much-coveted status of a domestic diva. A couple of weeks ago I set to achieve it with my Big Spring Cleaning event. It got downsized (the reality of having a very small and very demanding baby) to just 2 rooms and a kitchen. This week, I approached diva-hood from a different angle by trying to cook a gourmet meal.
Last week I accidentally bought Barbara Kingslover's new book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". I bought it because a) I wanted a non-fiction easy-reading that would not be about children or saving money and b) had a Barnes&Noble coupon for this book (a total 40% in savings!). I am very happy that I did buy it. The book is a fun read and is hard to put down. Yes, it is a bit heavy on preaching about locally and sustainably grown foods. But such are the times we live in - we're urged to pick a side by the most unexpected advocates.
This book is very inspirational and both Chris and I are looking forward to next year when we start our little vegetable garden (we are not up to raising chickens yet though). It's only early May now. So to satisfy my urge for action, I decided to cook some dishes from recipes in Barbara's book. On Saturday, I started off by cautiously making an "Eggs in the Nest" dish (poached eggs over sauteed onion, carrots, canned tomatoes and chard over rice). Yummy! Then on Sunday, I kicked it up a notch and made an asparagus and mushroom pudding (I used white 'shrooms instead of recommended morels on the account of the latter price - $49.99/lb; Barbara gets free morels in her backyard) and a strawberry-apple crisp (couldn't find ruhbarb). To finish it of, I even made my first ever muffins the recipe for which I took straight from the back of the cornmeal package. Voila! Last night I modestly assumed a crown of The Kitchen Goddess. Even my Mom was suprised at such display of my cooking skills. Dad remained unmoved however since none of the dishes had any meat in them.
By the way, all the recipes can be found on the book's official website. But don't be cheap, buy a book as well - it's a good read.
Posts
