a.k.a. Husband #2

This may be the most important guide I will ever read.
Oh, my how he makes me swoon.

Johnny's Essentials

Lists, lists and more lists. Keep them coming you say? Your wish is my command.

Here is a list from Mr. Johnny Depp of his "essentials". I read it in Entertainment Weekly awhile back and I thought it was interesting enough to share. I mean, yes, I'll acknowledge he is a babe and a half but that is not at all why I am posting it. Not at all, I promise. I am a married woman after all. I just liked the list.

pink moon

Tonight is the Pink Moon, folks. And although it might be trite, I couldn't resist posting such a great song.

From the Farmer's Almanac:

This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month’s celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.

10 to 12 Perfect Moments

I loved this editorial on life's 10 to 12 moments of bliss and I also enjoyed reading Abbey's own reaction and her list. It certainly got me thinking about my own moments but to be honest, as much as I love making a list I feel kind of overwhelmed by this one. So I am gonna have to think about it for awhile before I can tackle it. In the meantime I wanted to share the lists so that you can start collecting your own personal moments of bliss...

Sister Corita Kent

A subversive and rebellious...nun? Who knew such things existed? Sister Corita Kent was all sorts of radness and I wish there were more like her.

Via V Magazine

song

Song by Ezra Pound

Love thou thy dream
All base love scorning,
Love thou the wind
And here take warning
That dreams alone can truly be,
For 'tis in dream I come to thee.

a girl

A Girl by Ezra Pound

The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown in my breast-
Downward,
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

Tree you are,
Moss you are,
You are violets with wind above them.
A child - so high - you are,
And all this is folly to the world.

the seafarer

The Seafarer by Ezra Pound
May I for my own self song's truth reckon,
Journey's jargon, how I in harsh days
Hardship endured oft.
Bitter breast-cares have I abided,
Known on my keel many a care's hold,
And dire sea-surge, and there I oft spent
Narrow nightwatch nigh the ship's head
While she tossed close to cliffs. Coldly afflicted,
My feet were by frost benumbed.
Chill its chains are; chafing sighs
Hew my heart round and hunger begot
Mere-weary mood. Lest man know not
That he on dry land loveliest liveth,
List how I, care-wretched, on ice-cold sea,
Weathered the winter, wretched outcast
Deprived of my kinsmen;
Hung with hard ice-flakes, where hail-scur flew,
There I heard naught save the harsh sea
And ice-cold wave, at whiles the swan cries,
Did for my games the gannet's clamour,
Sea-fowls, loudness was for me laughter,
The mews' singing all my mead-drink.
Storms, on the stone-cliffs beaten, fell on the stern
In icy feathers; full oft the eagle screamed
With spray on his pinion.
Not any protector
May make merry man faring needy.
This he little believes, who aye in winsome life
Abides 'mid burghers some heavy business,
Wealthy and wine-flushed, how I weary oft
Must bide above brine.
Neareth nightshade, snoweth from north,
Frost froze the land, hail fell on earth then
Corn of the coldest. Nathless there knocketh now
The heart's thought that I on high streams
The salt-wavy tumult traverse alone.
Moaneth alway my mind's lust
That I fare forth, that I afar hence
Seek out a foreign fastness.
For this there's no mood-lofty man over earth's midst,
Not though he be given his good, but will have in his youth greed;
Nor his deed to the daring, nor his king to the faithful
But shall have his sorrow for sea-fare
Whatever his lord will.
He hath not heart for harping, nor in ring-having
Nor winsomeness to wife, nor world's delight
Nor any whit else save the wave's slash,
Yet longing comes upon him to fare forth on the water.
Bosque taketh blossom, cometh beauty of berries,
Fields to fairness, land fares brisker,
All this admonisheth man eager of mood,
The heart turns to travel so that he then thinks
On flood-ways to be far departing.
Cuckoo calleth with gloomy crying,
He singeth summerward, bodeth sorrow,
The bitter heart's blood. Burgher knows not --
He the prosperous man -- what some perform
Where wandering them widest draweth.
So that but now my heart burst from my breast-lock,
My mood 'mid the mere-flood,
Over the whale's acre, would wander wide.
On earth's shelter cometh oft to me,
Eager and ready, the crying lone-flyer,
Whets for the whale-path the heart irresistibly,
O'er tracks of ocean; seeing that anyhow
My lord deems to me this dead life
On loan and on land, I believe not
That any earth-weal eternal standeth
Save there be somewhat calamitous
That, ere a man's tide go, turn it to twain.
Disease or oldness or sword-hate
Beats out the breath from doom-gripped body.
And for this, every earl whatever, for those speaking after --
Laud of the living, boasteth some last word,
That he will work ere he pass onward,
Frame on the fair earth 'gainst foes his malice,
Daring ado, ...
So that all men shall honour him after
And his laud beyond them remain 'mid the English,
Aye, for ever, a lasting life's-blast,
Delight mid the doughty.
Days little durable,
And all arrogance of earthen riches,
There come now no kings nor Cæsars
Nor gold-giving lords like those gone.
Howe'er in mirth most magnified,
Whoe'er lived in life most lordliest,
Drear all this excellence, delights undurable!
Waneth the watch, but the world holdeth.
Tomb hideth trouble. The blade is layed low.
Earthly glory ageth and seareth.
No man at all going the earth's gait,
But age fares against him, his face paleth,
Grey-haired he groaneth, knows gone companions,
Lordly men are to earth o'ergiven,
Nor may he then the flesh-cover, whose life ceaseth,
Nor eat the sweet nor feel the sorry,
Nor stir hand nor think in mid heart,
And though he strew the grave with gold,
His born brothers, their buried bodies
Be an unlikely treasure hoard.

report: citizens take action in battle for san juan capistrano

Lot's of fast food stories popping up. This one regarding a town very close to where I grew up. It seems San Juan Capistrano has decided to not allow popular In-N-Out Burger to add another location to an already fast food-laden Del Obispo. SJC citizens complained that yet another fast food restaurant would turn the street into "Cholesterol Row." I am happy to see citizens take action on an issue that really does support their best interest.

But seriously, good job San Juan Capistrano.

Somewhat jokingly, stay classy San Juan Capistrano. Just like all those people that attend the annual Mooning of Amtrak or like the classy ladies that attend the Swallows Day Parade dressed as slutty cowgirls (no link or picture due to the fact that this IS a classy blog despite what you may have heard).

Cookies and Cupcakes, Oh My!

My head just about exploded when I saw this website via Cup of Jo this morning. I have been on a serious cookie baking streak lately with no plans on slowing down (I plan to make a bunch tomorrow since we have friends coming over for dinner!) but I think I need to get going on some cupcakes too. I just might have to make it my mission to try every single one of these recipes.

Note: Still working on this problem with loading images. Sorry for the boringest looking posts in the history of blogs.

Note to CLK: You take care of the baking, I'll take care of the images. I expect pastries on Sunday.

Happy Things

A few things that made me happy today...

When I went to get Anita up from her nap and she was wearing her shirt on her head (frequent move of hers) and she was singing ABC's (her own broken version of it) to her doll. When I walked in she said to her doll "Okay, doll, play with Mommy? YAY!" and she jumped into my arms.

That I spied not one, not two, but THREE strawberries on my plant this morning!

And I just started the last chapter of the book I am reading (Under the Banner of Heaven) which is so awesome and good that I hate to finish it. But now I can start thinking about what book to read next which is one of my favorite things to do.

What is the unhealthiest fast food sandwich?

I'm not going to bother with a picture because it would gross people out and then you'd never come back here to read our increasingly sporadic posts.

Popular baseball and political statistician, Nate Silver, has taken on the hilarious task of assessing whether or not KFC's new Double Down Chicken sandwich is the unhealthiest sandwich ever. (Click here) While I was initially shocked to see a Chipotle chicken burrito on his list of unhealthiest (I'm rooting for them to succeed as a future organic business) it was even more shocking to see how unhealthy some of these sandwiches are. I had never even heard of a few of them. Monster Thick Burger? Triple Baconator? Has Chevy Chase/Pierce Hawthorne been naming fast food menu items around the country?

For the record, I was dismayed to discover that the reputable Nate Silver did not list the unhealthiness of the most disgusting fast food item I have ever heard of or had a nightmare about.

Click at your own risk!

Technical Difficulties and GO DODGERS!

I am still experiencing some technical difficulties with my ability to post images. So please excuse the inconsistent posting and/or text only posts. I know, bummer.

In the meantime, it's officially baseball season! Go Dodger Blue!

What? You didn't know I was a sports fan? I'm not. Not really. Despite my love of the Dodgers, I don't really follow the sport (or any sport). But I do enjoy attending sporting events. Why?Well, for a lot of reasons - it's far more exciting than watching on television, I like the atmosphere, the childhood memories, blah blah blah. The biggest reason I enjoy sporting events is the food. Really, that's the best part - admit it. So I was excited to read this article which got me pumped for this season. I know other people get pumped for the season by reading up on the players stats and such. Boring. Tell me where the best food is and I am a happy sports fan.

Word to the wise: No matter how hungry you are, and how late you are running, skip the Carl's Jr. food. I know stadium food is not going to be healthy and you aren't gonna feel like a million bucks after eating any of it but well, just learn from my experience. It's not worth it.

One more note, skip the part in the article that starts going into calorie content. Yeah, it's a lot. Did you seriously not know that already? Unless, you have season tickets and are eating this stuff on a very regular basis then just enjoy the food and oh yeah, the game.

Article via L.A. Times

Note: Problem still not fixed, but budger's brain might have been.

Snack Attack

Remember my Unhappy Meal post a few weeks ago? Well, this is very similar but I couldn't resist posting it because I think these photos are much better at illustrating the grossness that is fast food. Blech.

CURRENTS...

A list of a few things I am currently loving...

Yo Gabba Gabba. This show is a trip and it is so much fun. I try to limit the amount of T.V the bird watches but this is a show I can get behind. We sing and learn awesome dance moves and "cool, cool, cool tricks". The songs are catchy and stay with you for days and I love DJ Lance Rock and his groovy dance moves.

The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO). I promise you I do not sit around watching T.V. all day. But at the end of the day I do like curling up on the couch with the hubby and watching something from Tivo before bed. This show makes us giggle like a couple of 7 year olds. Plus, if Anita is still up, she tolerates this 25 minute diversion of our attention because it is animated and therefore more interesting then say if we were trying to catch up on our Tivo'd Frontline.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter. Pretty much anything that contains the combination of these two foods is heaven on earth. I can't think of anything better. I mean either one on there own is pretty fantastic. I have a huge problem with peanut and almond butter and if I allowed myself could easily eat a whole jar for lunch. And I have come close. But adding chocolate to the mix takes it to whole new and very dangerous level.

Food. Yeah, I sorta have a obsessive relationship with it. I LOVE it. I love to read about it, I love to shop for it, I love to make it and I love to EAT it. I think about food way too much, probably. Sometimes I wish I was one of those people who didn't enjoy it so much but that would be kinda boring, don't you think? I think people who know how to enjoy good food are just more fun. At least that is what I tell myself. Wink.

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Kraukauer. This the book I am currently reading and boy howdy is it good. It is the story of Mormon Fundamentalism (and the Mormon faith in general) and it is incredibly fascinating. I am having a tough time putting it down. I highly recommend it even though I haven't yet finished it. I must preface all this by saying that it is very creepy. I'm not usually one of those people who gets so creeped out during a movie that I can't sleep or be home alone. Don't get my wrong, I get way scared (remind me to tell you about the time I saw The Ring and I have vowed to never watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre again) but I usually can just brush it off once its over. However, a few times since reading this book I found myself somewhat skittish in ways that I was not before because of some of the crazy and creepy things I have read about. But its creepy in a good way and in a completely appropriate way and really, just read this book.

Stripes. I love stripes. Always have and always will. I can remember being quite young, maybe 6 or 7, and my favorite striped dress. I loved wearing it and I love just seeing it in my closet. I still do this. I have more stripes in my closet and drawers than non-stripes. Stripes are just perfect to me. I love them and I always gravitate to them in a store. My best girl has many a time tried to talk me out of yet another striped purchase, but with little success. Really, I think a person can never, ever, have too many stripes.

Ghostbusters. Yeah, this isn't my first mention of the movie and it won't be my last I can promise you that. Why mention it today? Well, why not? It's perfect. For so many reasons not the least of which is Bill. Ghostbusters was where I first laid on eyes on the glorious Mr. Murray and I haven't been able to look away since. Swoon. But really, I mention here today because we Kartchner Three are having a slumber party tonite, and Ghostbusters is on the shortlist of movies to watch. I am not going to list the other choices today because I will surely post about them in the future.

Dinner

We had this for dinner last nite and it was delicious. Pretty darn easy and slightly different from the usual fried rice. I really, really, liked it and the whole family seemed to concur by licking their plates clean and unfortunately leaving no leftovers. I had to modify the recipe a bit because I did not have all the ingredients but I plan to make it again and follow the recipe to the "T" very soon.

My modifications included using grapeseed oil instead of peanut oil which I did not have. Grapeseed oil is pretty neutral so I knew it wouldn't add any weird flavor but I am sure peanut oil makes a much better choice. I considered using coconut oil but I knew that would change the flavor and I wanted to try and get as close to the intent of the recipe as possible. I think I might try it sometime though. I also did not have day old rice so I cooked some rice up in the morning and then left it in the fridge in an open container with the hopes of drying it out a bit. I do usually try and use "aged" rice but I think it turned out just fine this way. I also added a tiny, tiny, little splash of fish sauce because I think that adds a great flavor to fried rice. And finally, since my hubby isn't a big fan of fried eggs I scrambled his and added it to the rice the way fried rice is normally served in a restaurant. But, I think the fried egg on top of the rice was genius and made the dish by adding another layer or flavor. Hubby was intrigued and said next time he would like to try the fried egg. Okay, and I also added some veggies because I love them. I added onions, carrots, green beans, bean sprouts and peas. Not a lot, just enough to give it some color and, I don't know, add something more than just rice. So basically I strayed a lot from the recipe but the bottom line was it was delicious and this will definitely be on heavy rotation in our abode.

Recipe via NY Times, Mark Bittman's Bitten Blog.

The Craft Contest . . . winner?

Well, Eric (predictably) wins will receive The Craft: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from The Craft contest. His feeble defense may not hold up to the most stringent tests of logic, but he does receive bonus points for being so fervent. Also, he would actually listen to this album.

Eric said...
This may be the one post you expected to get, and not surprisingly, it comes from the same person that enabled you to view this fine film. I would first like to start of by saying I am slightly offended by the premise that this movie should be “thrown away.” However, I am willing to play along solely for the fact that I have been searching for The Craft soundtrack for years and have not had the good fortune of finding it. Frankly, I am annoyed it was so easy for you to obtain.
I did not purchase this movie but received it as a birthday gift from my brother. There are three reasons I have not chosen to throw it away: (1) Throwing away a gift is not cool and would hurt my brother’s feelings… what are we animals?; (2) Throwing away a brand new DVD is wasteful and giving it to a charitable organization would be morally wrong [I won’t bog the reader down with specifics about this argument]; (3) The Craft came as a double Neve Campbell feature with Wild Things ¬– and as any other avid DVD collector and film enthusiast ¬would understand – breaking apart a highly collectable [sic] set like The Craft/Wild Things double pack would be blasphemy.

Just to point out Eric, Blasphemy: Irreverence towards something sacred. As in, describing the The Craft as a "fine film" is blasphemous, as it is neither fine nor a film unless you are using the most literal sense of the word "film." However, I applaud you for defending your tastes and sticking to your guns. Some may call you a philistine. I call you a hero.

I'll send your CD out today. I've already had somebody ask why I had this CD sitting on my book shelf.

april come she will

Welcome back april.
Song by Simon and Garfunkel.

April Come She Wil...