tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43695665944018070042024-03-13T01:29:38.174-07:00Newlywed-to-BeGetting in shape, running a household, learning about a relationship.CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-72830954370480015832010-12-07T14:01:00.001-08:002010-12-07T15:02:29.810-08:00Almost Too Tired to Post<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TP68DZyZcCI/AAAAAAAAAC4/ctLXNadltMA/s1600/frank.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 151px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TP68DZyZcCI/AAAAAAAAAC4/ctLXNadltMA/s320/frank.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548078557614927906" border="0" /></a><br />So I've recently (yesterday) begun training with Frank the Personal Trainer at a small gym in Santa Barbara. Initially, my motivation for going was the upcoming wedding in June, but since I've been looking at gyms and trainers, I have narrowed my focus to smaller goals like my pants fitting better, my flexibility increasing and a better range of motion. I don't have a set weight-goal for June, but I want to be confident and comfortable. (Frank ---->)<br /><br />Yesterday Frank the Personal Trainer and I completed an assessment which consisted of questions ("What brings you here? What are your goals? Any health issues? What do you eat?") and some exercises to evaluate where I am in my fitness level. Oh yeah, and the ever-awesome weigh-in and body measurements. It turns out my flexibility, posture, and balance are better than perhaps they normally would be for someone in the shape ('shape' being 'round') I'm in. My coordination of course could use some improvement (no surprise there)! So one hour, 12 push-ups, and 20 sit-ups later, I was dismissed with an appointment for 11am the next day (today). Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night - sore stomach muscles had yelped when I rolled over in my sleep and it woke me up! From only those 20 crunches and 12 push-ups. It really hit home (at 3:00am) that my time with Frank was long overdue and remarkably important.<br /><br />I was pretty excited when I was on my way to the gym this morning because we were beginning the real 'fun'. Frank is a great trainer and has <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> realistic expectations for me. My hour of power went like this:<br />We began by introducing me to the treadmill. I had explained to him that I had never been on one mostly because of all those videos where the person stops or trips and flies off and hits the wall behind them....and the walls of the gym are brick!! I thought for sure with my famous lack of coordination I would on the next episode of America's Funniest Gym Security Videos. He started me off slow, increasing the pace as I became stable. It wasn't so bad! For some reason, it was easier for me at higher inclines. After 20 minutes on the treadmill, we did 20 squats, 20 lunges, 20 squats, and 20 more lunges followed by something I never would have thought of myself and might be hard to explain. He had me climb onto the bottom weight on a rack of weights, standing on the balls of my feet. Holding onto the top of the rack for balance, I stretched my calves by sinking my heels down, the going up on my toes 20 times.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TP67xoeq-cI/AAAAAAAAACg/fxpn2VVxgCo/s1600/K2F1%2Bcopy.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 225px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TP67xoeq-cI/AAAAAAAAACg/fxpn2VVxgCo/s320/K2F1%2Bcopy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548078252321077698" border="0" /></a><br />(<---- Illustration!!)<br /><br />After that, we went to the machine (that I'm sure has a name) where you sit with your shins behind a padded bar and straighten your legs. 20 reps at 30# (well, 10 at 30# and 10 at 15#). At this point, my legs were beaten to the point of surrender and as I got off the machine they almost gave out. Whee!! Then we did the reverse of that machine where you lie on your stomach and the bar is behind your calves and you bring it up and kick yourself in the butt. 20 at 30# and 20 at 15#. That brought us to the end of legs for the day and we moved on to....back I guess.<br />I was introduced to the TRX something something something which as far as I can tell is just a ginormous rack with straps and handles. So you go up to it, plant your feet together and hang on to the handles (attached to the straps attached to the rack) and lean back as far as you can with your arms straight out in front. I was at about a 45 degree angle - Frank showed me how far you can go and he was at like, 20 degrees. Then you pull yourself upright, opening your arms in a rowing motion. I think I did 20 of these at perhaps 50 degrees and 20 at 45.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TP674UI-X9I/AAAAAAAAACo/3vBubW7rBRI/s1600/K2F2%2Bcopy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 199px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TP674UI-X9I/AAAAAAAAACo/3vBubW7rBRI/s320/K2F2%2Bcopy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548078367120449490" border="0" /></a>(<---More illustration. This is my actual gym btw)<br />Frank is so cheerful. Not obnoxious, Richard Simmons-status but encouraging and motivating and very un-Jillian Michaels. That being said, he was VERY excited for me to do some pull-ups which, like the treadmill, was a never-before situation. He showed me how one starts out - a <span style="font-weight: bold;">GIIIIAANT </span>rubber band (4 or 5 inches wide) was doohickied around the machine and I stood on that while doing my pull-ups. It takes the edge off your weight - sort of like carrying someone in a pool.....but a little less so. So I did....20 of those, with Frank helping on the last two so I could get my chin to the bar (which is like 7' in the air, btw).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TP67-Y_1UgI/AAAAAAAAACw/03V2bPhaw9U/s1600/Chin%2Bup%2Bprogressions%2Bwith%2Bband.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 185px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TP67-Y_1UgI/AAAAAAAAACw/03V2bPhaw9U/s320/Chin%2Bup%2Bprogressions%2Bwith%2Bband.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548078471503499778" border="0" /></a>(<----- <span style="font-weight: bold;">NOT</span> my actual gym :-p)<br />Lastly, we did core work which is what I still feel the most two-and-a-half hours later. Laying on my back, I had my legs and arms in the air and touched my hands and feet together (think hog-tied) 20 times. OW! Then I did the same thing but right elbow to left knee, left elbow to right knee 20 more times. Walking out of the gym felt like being drunk, having the flu, and being underwater all at once. Which leads me to say that if you have the flu, stay away from bourbon and swimming pools.CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-73133651405675948132010-08-14T20:24:00.001-07:002010-08-14T20:47:25.595-07:00My True First Look at; Vincent Price<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TGdjAP3YPPI/AAAAAAAAACM/g504F8og5qM/s1600/Annex+-+Price,+Vincent+%28Dragonwyck%29_02S.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/TGdjAP3YPPI/AAAAAAAAACM/g504F8og5qM/s320/Annex+-+Price,+Vincent+%28Dragonwyck%29_02S.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505477925393677554" border="0" /></a><br />Although I have known Vincent Price to be a king of cinema, I just watched <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragonwyck </span>from 1946 where he stars opposite Gene Tierny as a cold-hearted, eccentric Dutch lord in the late 19th century who kills off his petulant, gluttonous wife in order to marry the governess of his daughter, against whom he holds great resentment. Although gaining a son to carry on the Van Ryn name is ostensibly his goal, the plot (and his character) spiral into a dark, confused maelstrom of rage, drug abuse, and a Henry VIII-like propensity to dispense with wives in the hopes of gaining a son. The undercurrent of family-bred psychosis adds another manic thread in an already Cosby-like sweater of a movie.<br /><br />What strikes me most about seeing Vincent Price in this earlier movie is one: his HEIGHT! The man was 6' 4" in the 1940's!! His contempt for everything from such a great height, his flashing eyes and drug-addict stubble dressed in such narrow, sweeping dressing gowns is awe inducing. Secondly is the subtlety with which he plays out emotions - pretty unusual for actors of his time who invested heavily in exaggerated gestures and body postures. And although he is a murderer, and although he is a sociopath, and although he is terrifyingly tall, we (I'm pretty sure it's not just me) actually come to feel badly for him towards the end when we see a man struggling with a drug addict's mind to re-claim everything he has known and everything he had been told from boyhood he would have. He has lost control of his tenants, spurned his daughter, lost his infant son, and lost the control and respect due to him as patroon of his land and died indignant, confused, and alone. Just flipping brilliant.CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-86260098183540358392010-06-14T18:27:00.000-07:002010-06-14T18:49:18.500-07:00SoCal Bread Experiments - Part OneSo since moving here to Santa Barbara, I have had painful pangs of withdrawal from my baking life. So I began a starter from organic raisins which has proved to be just the catharsis I needed. I have since made two different batches of bread from my lovely starter we have named Kavanaugh.<br />The first batch was dense and...acidic. The intense, almost acidic flavor was obviously due to my very potent starter paired with the standard amount of commercial yeast we used at The Bakery. I talked to Cameron and we agreed that to get a wider, more open crumb (more holes in the bread) I needed to use a wetter dough, and proof (rise) more. This second batch had a perfect crumb, but what unfortunately was under-baked and since I forgot to slash it prior to baking (which leads me to my next point - don't drink and bake) it split down the side and that also probably contributed to how moist and borderline gummy the crumb was, since there wasn't much release for the steam. I also eye-balled the amounts of everything since I was using only my starter this time and not any commercial ADY. As a result, I under-measured the salt because I was afraid of the detrimental effects on my starter-only bread, since salt can kill yeast easily. So my resulting bread loaf was gummy and underflavored - a result of undercooking, not slashing, two little salt, and not letting it proof enough before baking to develop flavor.<br />I believe that using one tsp of commercial ADY will help my bread develop the CORRECT amount of flavor (neither too strong, nor too plain) as well as walking away from the proofing process and getting out of the house so I'm not so tempted to shape then bake too early and loose crumb and flavor.<br />SO excited! Am making the Hubby two loaves of Challah tonight - all ADY though; I don't have a Challah w/starter recipe, though I think it would be fun to work on one, since Kavanaugh is so prolific that's he's starting to take over the kitchen.<br />Can't wait to try again and post Part Two!!CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-80283153606097711812010-02-11T14:56:00.000-08:002010-02-11T15:07:32.141-08:00Probably Watching Too Much TVWhew! A lot has happened! I hope to be using the blog a lot more - this and my other one.<br /><br />SO! Chris and I have moved to Santa Barbara - 390 miles from my sleepy hippy farming town. I miss my friends and my family and my perfect pastry job but I'm adapting fairly well. I JUST got a job after about a month and a half but I haven't started working yet. I'm hoping that when I do, I'll be less apathetic about everything and that I'll watch a LOT less TV (Cats 101 just having finished at Big Cat Diary just beginning).<br />We cleaned the apartment very nicely today as my Dad and my little brother John are coming for a visit tomorrow on their way to see Dad's parents who are vacationing in Palm Desert. I'm really excited to see them but I wish I could see my mom too. Hopefully I'm going home the weekend of the 28th and I'll see Mom and Grandma and Cameron and Yaya then. I have multiple Dr's appointments to do then and I wish I had started working sooner so I could ask for a three-day weekend. I have to get some blood work done but maybe I can ask my dr to delay it for two weeks. It would be hard to put off going home, but I might rather go home when I have time to see everyone I want to see.<br />Hopefully I start working soon and we don't have have to choose between food and laundry!! :-pCoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-6437555148113217942009-07-02T17:58:00.000-07:002009-07-02T17:59:53.032-07:00ARGHHHHH!!!!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >BLURG!<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />(Where the frak did I get that phrase!?)<br /></div>CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-66901431770514961812009-06-16T19:35:00.000-07:002009-06-16T19:49:13.647-07:00Job 1 & Job 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/SjhYvfh9xtI/AAAAAAAAABM/osxzcdLcv7c/s1600-h/armstronghouse+076.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gywzs5jInfc/SjhYvfh9xtI/AAAAAAAAABM/osxzcdLcv7c/s320/armstronghouse+076.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348122130443519698" border="0" /></a><br />I don't know what I was thinking, really. A full-time job + a part-time job + part-time school + attempts at a relationship... = insanity.<br /><br />Oh yeah - Chris and I are dating again...wish me luck. :-)<br />Yesterday I went on a big, four-mile hike on my property...some really beautiful pictures came of it. And one very tired 'me'. I was glad to have done it though - exercise is good...I think I'm going to need it to clear my head and keep me healthy with this second job. My first night was five hours. three of which were on my own :-p<br />I'm working reception at a swanky hotel here in town - beautiful rooms with fireplaces and hand-sewn quilts. I love that hotel, but it can be deadly boring. At least at the bakery I can have the radio on to a volume where it distracts me...at the hotel, that's exactly what's NOT desired. But in addition to checking in the three rooms 'on the books' for tonight, I rented two other rooms to passers-by. One at the full, weekend rate (shhh... poor customers only know what I tell them. In this case - the room was $130. :-p) and the other at the sad, week-day rate PLUS his AA discount, which came to $90. The first guy was AAA too, so he was $117. All total I made the hotel $207, and she pays me $85 so it's alright. Plus the other $310 from the already-made bookings brings it to $422 in profits. Tomorrow I'm at the bakery all day - Wednesdays have been going more quickly with Cameron and Paige there. I'll miss Lindsay, though. She left this past Sunday to begin her new life as a freshman at Uof O. Tear! :'-( She was a great employee...and we'll lose our other great, young employee to Northridge College later in July... I guess they DO have to grow up, but I DON'T have to like it. *pout!<br /> Posted is the view of my small town from the highest point on my property..and I'm pretty sure the highest point in town.<br />-ACoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-3948240708131232512009-05-26T17:21:00.000-07:002009-05-26T17:38:27.185-07:00Darling You Send MeSo I was on Prednisone for awhile for my asthma, excema, and allergies and while I was on it, everything was great - I had a little bit of allergy issues but the rest was GONE! And now I've been off for about a week and my life is shot to shit again. The inside of my elbow is currently broken out into big, angry hives as my face was earlier. My most persistent patch of excema is back on my hand and my allergies have me tired and worn out. I really hated Prednisone and I SO don't want to go back onto that stuff. I was hoping my Dr had some new ideas. I guess the only way to find out is to email him, but I'd hate to get a response that that's my only hope.<br /><br />My friend Wesley's wedding was Sunday she (yes, she) looked so beautiful and everything went off without a hitch! I can't WAIT to see the photos! I wish I could remember the photographer's last name!!! I just did a few searches online and can't seem to find it.<br /><br />My ex is in Norway and largely, I'm happy about that; I want him to be able to see his family etc but I definitely wish I could be there!! Plus he's being ambiguous enough to suit him while being direct enough to placate me as to what choice he's making regarding the purchase of a certain cow vs. getting the milk for free. So we have a date set up for when he gets back. I think a lot of things hinge on the next three weeks...<br /><br />A guy I thought was into me was apparently being polite... the second I mention to somebody that a guy I like is emailing me and planning to come see me, I see neither hide nor email from him. I always seem to jinx myself like that. Oh well. I should really get thin again before I try any rondezvouz with anyone new.<br /><br />God even my scalp has hives. I should probably get that taken care of before I meet someone new, too. Foreplay: "Rub this cortisone all over my body" Erm...no thanks.<br /><br />Besides (Mella might kill me here) I don't actually WANT anybody new......CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-32136342203244497512009-05-04T20:32:00.000-07:002009-05-04T20:43:48.646-07:00Probably not the Best Way<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.vimeo.com/11/44/49/114449755/114449755_300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://images.vimeo.com/11/44/49/114449755/114449755_300.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I've become uber addicted (again) to 'Heroes'. Now, specifically, it's Justin Baldoni (um, yum?) ----><br />who plays Claire's love interest Alex in season III. And there's Adrian, and Sendhil, and Milo with his crooked mouth. But alllll these boys have one thing in common - that which they are not: Zachary Quinto (Um, super yum!?). Of course its all well and good and exciting that he was cast as Spock in the remake of....something Star Trek related. But SciFi bimbo that I am, I can't get behind the blue people and the pointy-eared people and the Beaming. I CAN however get behind another excuse to watch Z.q. as my finite number of episodes of season 3 is waning. Isn't there a blue guy in star trek? He looks vaguely Japanese, and 100% sad. Who am I thinking of? *Shrug. Dunno<br /><br />Back to reality -<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.topnews.in/light/files/Quinto-Spock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 439px;" src="http://www.topnews.in/light/files/Quinto-Spock.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I'm on prednisone for allergies and asthma (told you - I'm a dork) and this shit makes me dizzy, tired, confused....so many things all at once. I wish I could sleep through the 15 day cycle - work is unbearable like this. Time seems to crawl and then all at once its over and I can't remember the entire day - including anything I may have talked about. The up-side is that my imagination, my Day-Dream-Drive, is in over-time and I dream of scenarios in which I charm the pants off Z.q. - Literally. Which in itself is not a problem. And I happen to think that Justin Baldoni will join the ranks tonight. Also not a problem :-p<br />It COULD be problematic that I plan on watching WallE as I fall asleep and if a cockroach named Hal interferes with my becomming Mrs q in my dreams.... so help me Andrew Stanton I will kick some ass on Emeryville.<br /><br />(<------Quinto)CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-23380871844560535022009-04-21T12:27:00.000-07:002009-04-21T22:01:08.666-07:00Neil and the PantheonWas so mad at Chris for a lot of today and yesterday. I'm generally a nicer, less quick to anger sort of person now but there's just something about his forced non-committal nonchalance that drives me mad!! In his defense, there is probably a big issue of sub-conscious guilt about the fact that we still sleep together. Not guilt because its necessarily wrong, but guilt because I know I really should be extricating him from my life, and having him physically entwined with me is a bad start. I guess that's where a big part of the urge to go away and finish college is coming from, but I've got to make sure I have my head in order before I start that project, because I'm pretty sure I'm running on my third strike right now. The powers that be probably won't risk the money again again. Again. Know what I mean?<br />Today was my little brother's 8th birthday (big age gap, I know) and I'm afraid it was rather over-shadowed by the fact that my mom's purse was stolen out of my car...which was NOT unlocked. They broke into the passenger window to get my mom's purse while my car was parked in front of the church where she works. I don't know what about my mom's purse or my car looked so inviting - there were apparently two other women who had their cars UNLOCKED and their purses inside who got nothing stolen. Maybe he's a particularly idiotic thief. Hardly anyone has cash anymore, right? And who wouldn't cancel their credit cards right away? I just don't think petty theft could cut it, anymore. I mean, The likelihood that you'll get caught is decent, and the odds of you making any money off of it are ballocks. PLUS, my mom SAW him! So she was able to give the Sheriff a description, I think. But the whole thing was that my mom had my car because hers wouldn't start and at the end of the day when the mechanic came out, her car started right up for him, just like the last time. Its so unfair for my mom - she's got to feel so responsible and its SUCH a hassle to get everything back: credit cards, AAA card, medical cards for her and my brother, driver's license, keys...SO many things.<br /><br />My brother though thought it was a great lark and the tension suited him well. He was enthralled with his birthday dinner and very intent on his cake. Mine was the only physical gift given and it was a K'Nex "Dueling Racers" car set where you build two cars with engines. Well I got to build the cars but I was actually very happy to do it because (not surprisingly, I suppose) I never had 'boy toys' as a kid and always had wanted them. I coveted my brother's MicroMachines and Legos... not to mention the NES. :-D So I built both cars and we raced them down the hallway (Mine won, in case you're interested). I think all in all he had a good birthday. He's a kid that doesn't expect overmuch.<br /><br />Now, unfortunately, I've got to do two projects that are due tomorrow and in the grand tradition of me, I haven't even begun them.CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-73259016530894602642009-04-20T15:19:00.000-07:002009-04-20T15:38:07.107-07:00She Found Him!I am SO nervous! I was searching around online, trying to find a last-minute prom dress for an employee of mine who can't afford anything for her senior prom. I really don't want her to miss it or feel embarrassed when the money issue isn't her fault. I'm having no luck, by the way. :-/<br />All of a sudden on facebook, I get a message from an Italian friend of mine whom I had implored to help me find someone - a boy I knew in Italy. I had emailed Valeria some weeks back and had not gotten a response (I figured she thought it was a bizarre request and had ignored it) but I just got a message from her via chat: "Amanda, ho trovato Bendetto!!" (Amanda, I found Benedetto!!). I am going nuts! I can hardly stand it. I'm so worried that my Italian is failing me and that's not what that means, or that she means non ho trovato Benedetto - that she didn't find him. Either way, she isn't answering on chat now and I'm going crazy. I feel like I'm going to be sick! It would be so amazing to find him now after... *calculates*.... 7 years.<br /><br />She says that her friend had classes with Benedetto's brother and then she said something that as far as I can tell is "What're the chances?!" or more accurately: "What do you think about that?"<br /><br />I think I've bungged it with my failing Italian! It seems like she does not know if he has email, but she will find out and tell me. I'm not sure :-/ I really hope I didn't frustrate her to the point where she isn't willing to help anymore. *SighCoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-29394610444900649732009-04-14T19:01:00.000-07:002009-04-14T19:27:46.691-07:00When it Rains, it....Well, You Know.So the house I moved to back here in good 'ol T-Town is my Grandma's house. The house, in the grand tradition of ranch houses, is three pieces (all different ages) sort of patched together. The oldest part (about 150 years old) is my bedroom, the living room, and the dining room. The rest of it (at a sprightly 100 and some odd years old) is the second bedroom, second bath, pantry, and kitchen. The third part is a positively infantile 27 years old and consists of the Blue Bathroom, the sitting room, and the mudroom. So besides half the house being insulated only in retrospect and therefor not very thoroughly, every single door has a 1/4-1/2 inch clearance on three sides. The wind in spring in TTown is horrendous and I am freezing. But this actually isn't an entire blog on the shoddy patchworkness of my house and how I am freezing as a result. Its about dinner with my Grandma and Great Aunt Helen.<br /><br />Grandma is not dead (hence how I was able to have dinner with her tonight without going all X-Files). She was diagnosed with Parkinson's (I think she's just old. She's 89, for God's sake!) and she as a result moved into the granny-unit at my parents' house and I (and my then-finace' Chris) moved out here. I've done a bit of this and that to make the house my own, but I still feel like I'm in Grandma's house. You know, because I am. Anyway, she's come up once since I moved in in August and although she had nothing but nice things to say, I wasn't eager for the next visit. But since my parent's are currently on vacation, and they flew Grandma's sister Helen down from Oregon to sister-sit (Helen is a puny 85 years old), I offered to cook them dinner. Which they took to mean at my house....<br />Now I'm not a great house keeper at the best of times, so cleaning this afternoon was harried and stressful, but rewarding. Its awfully nice to be able to sit at the computer and know that you have absolutely nothing else that needs to be done. Anyway, I was pretty nervous to have them here without the buffer of my mom's presence. I cooked fettuccine con funghe e pollo with peas. Which, I have to confess is just my limited knowledge of Italian coming into play when what I really made was Trader Joe's mushroom fettuccine, adding some chopped chicken breast and a side of peas. But it sounds so much better to say "Fettuccine con Funghe e Pollo", doesn't it? English or Italian, it tasted pretty good and The Ladies were impressed. Then I took them on a tentative and nerve-wracking (for me anyway) tour of the updated bits of the house. Helen, who is a spinster and contrary and singularly-willed because of it, was actually impressed and pleased, saying that I must have painted my room with sunshine, it was so bright and airy! I have to say that I don't think Aunt Helen is contrary BECAUSE she never married, I say she's contrary and singularly minded because she's lived so long without a roommate, partner, spouse, or friend to temper her will and whims. She must have everything just-so and if she doesn't she huffs and puffs and rolls her eyes and grunts. This used to be quite funny - especially when she did it at the pastor in church (because he wasn't preaching right) but as I've gotten older (and, I suppose, more contrary :-) and she's gotten older and even more singular, its become a nuisance and the family can only find that good ol Aunt Helen Humor in retrospect - when she's back on a plane to HER coffee pot, and HER bed, and HER food etc. All the things in life - but done RIGHT. Lol. Anyway, I was convinced that this evening would turn out horribly and was delighted to find instead that the three of us quite enjoyed ourselves.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />...but I'm still freezing....<br /><br />Wow, this has gotten rambling. Good thing I don't have any 'followers'! :-DCoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-45265699536152031572009-04-14T18:40:00.001-07:002009-04-14T18:49:20.768-07:00Why Not?Its been such a long time since my first and only post. I turned out to not have Celiac's. In fact, they don't know what's wrong. *Shrug. Oh well - I'm doing just fine.<br />I've moved back to my home town, population 240! Since then I've adopted three cats and a bird. I now have two cats, and two burial mounds in the yard. :-/<br />My fiance' also opted out of getting married which is to say that he's left. He lives relatively close and we've been able to salvage a patchwork friendship out of what was a really horrible, hurtful situation. I'm running my bakery and while it's labor-intensive and stressful, it is gratifying work -especially when people come back or even call JUST to say they loved thus and such pastry so much. I'll be sad to leave it, but I've decided to go back to a four-year university to get a degree - most likely in Art History, which has been my major for the last five years ;-)<br /><br />New things I adore:<br /><br />My newly painted and carpeted oasis bedroom - a complete literary haven with bookshelves and nooks and clean, "Better Homes & Gardens" elegance.<br /><br />Twitter. Seemingly pointless at first, but one quickly overlooks that as addiction sets in which leads me to....<br /><br />Neil Gaiman <3 Although I loved him for "The Graveyard Book," since finding him on Twitter I have become gradually hooked on everything he does. And I'm sorry - I don't find him a bit funny looking. I think he's quite attractive. *shrug<br /><br />Makeup - I used to be obsessed - I had two entire bathroom drawers of makeup and a third for nail polish. Although I've continued on with my relatively recent habit of rarely wearing makeup, I find the urge to collect and play and buy has increased again. Maybe its something about being single. A mating ritual of the American female.CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4369566594401807004.post-50205003166920297942008-02-17T21:23:00.000-08:002008-02-17T21:29:50.636-08:00Celiac?!I'm currently awaiting the results of some invasive tests searching for the cause of my stomach problems. Since the tests, I've cut out gluten and I feel 100% better. The bitter irony of the self-diagnosed issue is that I work in the pastry business - two years at a boutique bakery, and now am at a high-end restaurant as an assistant pastry chef. Imagine making food for hundreds of people a day, and not being able to taste it! Luckily I have many willing quality-control tasters to help with consistent good taste!<br />I recently bought from Barry Farms online (http://www.barryfarm.com) 5# of gluten-free "all-purpose" flour and some thickeners (Guar + Xanthum gums) to begin to restore my well-loved recipes to my book. Hopefully I'll be able to refine the tragedies of gluten-free baking to a taste and more over, TEXTURE that is not merely palatable, but DELICIOUS!!CoutureBillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626730500105104957noreply@blogger.com1