No Way. No How. No McCain.

I'm watching Hillary speak at the Democratic National Convention, and I must admit, I'm a bit choked up!

Despite the fact that I didn't think she was the right fit for the White House, and despite the fact that she had lipstick on her teeth during her speech, I was so proud. I was proud of Hillary Clinton and proud of where we've come as a country. I'm watching a woman who has worked her ass off and run for President.

Despite what you believe, or what party you support, you have to admit that it's a very exciting time when a woman is taken seriously as a Presidential nominee.

IT Dependency

Nick left on a 3 week vacation to Togo yesterday morning. He has a good friend from highschool who is stationed there for the Peace Corps. She has some vacation time to take, and Nick is starting Law School next month, so it's the perfect opportunity! He's going to be staying in her guest room - in her house which has no electricity and no running water. I'm sure he's going to have tons of great stories when he returns (and hopefully pretty presents for his pretty girlfriend!)

Last night, when Nick had been gone for approximately 14 hours, I learned just how much I depend on him. It took me 20 minutes to figure out how to switch our television settings so that I could watch a DVD. Seriously. I actually called one of our friends to find out if he knew how our TV works.

Now, I'm not a complete idiot. I say this from experience - not just because my mom has convinced me. Normally I can figure these things out pretty easily, but this new setup has me a little stumped. Nick and I purchased a fancy new television a few weeks ago. It is widescreen, has HD capabilities, and even PC hookups, so we can watch stuff from the laptop (I even played online Tetris on the TV!) This is particularly cool for Netflix streaming movies. We just choose something from the "watch now" list, hook the laptop up to the television, and it's just like watching any other DVD. The HD part is pretty cool too. We don't actually have HD service, but because the television is set up for it, we have access to the HD broadcasted channels. So, several of our standard stations have multiple channels, so you can watch the same programming in HD.

So, all in all, it's pretty cool. The only unfortunate thing sofar is that I have to find the proper menu on the television, and not just click that handy little button on the remote that says "tv/video".

Now...to figure out how to set the alarm clock!

My First Email of The Day. Courtesy of the actions of a mystery dipshit that I work with

From: Kim
To: Personnel
Subject: Kitchen Issues

A few items:

• Please put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher! At least once a day I have to take care of items that have been left in the sink or on the counter.
• Please be conscientious of messes left behind when you are making food or coffee. I don’t mind wiping the counters and appliances down, but I prefer not to scrape your crusty food out of the microwave or clean up your coffee spills that are left on the floor.
• Please email me if there are problems in the kitchen area rather than leaving “Clean Me” signs for me to find.
  
  
  Thank you.

Because I Don't Have Nearly Enough On My Plate Right Now...

I'm hosting a baby shower for a good friend next month, and I'm having a really good time planning things out. I've never hosted any type of shower before, so I'm becoming really good at stealing other people's ideas!

My friend Rachel is hosting a baby shower this weekend, and she has a pretty good idea for a game. She asked the two grandmas-to-be about any quirky habits or situations from their respective children. At the party, she is going to present these items as possible things that the baby will do, and all of the guests have to guess which parent the trait will come from. I'm not really into cheesy games, and I don't think I can pretend otherwise, so this is a pretty perfect game for me to incorporate.

I'm also stealing an idea from a wedding that I went to earlier this summer. Instead of a guest book, everyone signed a square of fabric, which the bride is having made into a quilt. I figure with a group of 20 or so at the baby shower, it will be the perfect amount for a small quilt. Now, I don't have a sewing machine, so I'm going to stitch it by hand. Keeping in mind, I've never actually made a quilt before, but from what I've found online, it seems pretty straight-forward. I can hem my own pants, so how hard could it be? Famous last words? Possibly.

I'm getting pretty excited about all of the cool fabric I could get for it, and really personalize it. I'm thinking I might need to incorporate some big white and blue buttons as well...

So, any thoughts or ideas? I could use a little direction on the quilting thing...as well as any good shower ideas!

The Ol' One-Two Punch

Me: This cake looks like crap
Nick: No, it looks good!
Me: No, seriously. See the white fondant trim, it has smudges all over it from the black frosting.
Nick: Well, I think it's fine.
Me: I know, but I just wanted it to be really clean.
Nick: Honey, you are an amazing baker, but if there's one thing you're NOT, it's clean.

This morning I woke up and there were black frosting spots all over the sheets which came from somewhere on my body.

The Kids

I just finished watering our little deck garden, and thought it might be time to give you all a progress report.

Bell Pepper! There's one smaller guy coming in, and multiple blossoms, so possibly more to come:


Next up is the basil. Now, there were some basil issues in the beginning. I bought a basil plant and moved it to the planter box, and it died. The end. Kidding! I went back and bought two more, and left them in the pots. The potted basil is doing really well. I have the pots sitting on top of the dirt in the planter box, and it seems that the watering of the potted basil is doing wonders for the dead basil:


Finally: Tomatoes!: Alright. Not actually a baby. Right. This is two plants. I've heard about and seen some pretty bad tomato plant stories this year. If you're having issues, I highly recommend getting an earth box next year. I want to get several next year so I can plant everything in them. These things are literally the shit and my friend Don is the shit for giving me one as an early birthday gift! As a result, I have 14 (!!!) babies that I can see. I'm anxious to see how many there actually are, once they are red and I can see them in the midst of all the leaves!

Weekend Recap: To Be Continued

Last Thursday Nick went in for a follow up appointment with a colon specialist who performed a really gnarly procedure called "coring". They cut out the entire area in order to avoid further infection, leaving Nick with a 2 inch gaping hole right below his tailbone! I'll spare you all the gory details, but know this: Stuffing gauze into your loved one's ass twice a day is VERY UNPLEASANT. VERY.

Doing much better, and things are healing quickly, though Nick is still quite uncomfortable. I'm doing my best to alleviate some of the discomfort, but there's only so much you can do in this situation!

On a positive note, I'm getting really good with the latex gloves, gauze and saline solution!

Weekend Recap, On Time Edition

We've had quite the weekend! Most of you may remember that really lame hospital visit I had last year due to a VERY LARGE abscess on my backside? Apparently Nick felt like celebrating the anniversary of that event by going through the exact same thing!

Nick has been unable to sit comfortably since last Wednesday. He went in to see his doctor on Thursday, and was given a prescription for antibiotics. By Saturday night, the swelling had kicked in, and he was pretty much stuck with laying on his stomach. Add in a 102* fever, and you end up with serious discomfort. So, yesterday we went to the emergency room where we sat for 3 1/2 hours before finally being shown a room. They shot him full of antibiotics and pain killers, then drained the infection and sent him home with more pain killers and a bunch of gauze.

We're now home and doing much better. Nick is still pretty uncomfortable, but he's able to sit up for short periods, and his whimpering has subsided a bit. I took the day off work so I could take care of him -- he's a pretty good patient as long as you keep the toast with jam and fruit cups coming.

Missing You...

Weekend Reviews seemed like such a great idea. Then summer showed up.

I realized this week that I have 3 weekends worth of catching up to do! This is certainly not due to lack of interesting adventures, I assure you! I'm going to do my best to recap everything while giving my weekends the post that they deserve....

June 21st and 22nd:

This was actually a four day weekend with the girls! One of my girlfriends is having a four day bachelorette weekend in SONOMA. 8 girls drove down Thursday night, arriving at the MANSION that we rented for the weekend on Friday afternoon. Saturday we rented a limo bus for a wine tour in Napa. Sunday a smaller group of us drove into Sonoma to do more wine tastings, while the rest of the group lounged pool-side. Monday we drove back, arriving in Seattle around 3am Tuesday morning.

Okay, now that the recap is finished, let's get down to the details!

Mansion. Right. 7 bathrooms. 10 bedrooms. Pool. 3 kitchens. Columns. Fountains. Statues. Think southern plantation house, complete with wicker furniture on the front porch.

Saturday's wine tour included The Hess Collection, Franciscan, St Clements. Lots of lovely wines. I brought home 9 bottles total, 2 of which were amazing ports. Sunday in Sonoma we hit tasting rooms, which featured wines from all over the world. In that environment we were able to have the undivided attention of the somolier, and we were able to pick and choose what wines we wanted to try, rather than sticking to a tasting menu. One of the tasting rooms had a cheese shop across the courtyard, so we were able to incorporate a cheese tasting with our wines. We simply let them pick a selection of cheeses for us, and they brought them over to the tasting room. I brought home an amazing truffle cheese, which is actually infused with truffle oil and about the consistency of brie. Earthy and delicious - just like my preference for Scotch.

The drive home was frustrating and amusing and exhausting. Imagine getting a group of girls together for four days, when no one has met before. Estrogen at it's finest by day four. Luckily, by the time the wedding came around everyone was well rested and back to being friends. ;>

June 28 and 29:

Kim Time. Nick was gone for the weekend, so I had the house to myself. I had a very restful weekend for the most part. I had received an order for a bridal shower this weekend, which included 3 dozen chocolate truffles. This also happened to be the weekend that summer finally kicked in, and it was 85 degrees in my kitchen, which is NOT temperature controlled. There was lots of back and forth between the table and the refrigerator. I nearly cried on several occasions, but everything turned out beautifully, and my customer had rave reviews after her party.


July 4-6:

Another long weekend! Nick and I had several invites for the 4th, and were having a bit of a time deciding who to grace our presence with. On the 3rd, we both had decided that we wanted something more low-key, and we had just received yet another invite to spend the 4th with our friend at his parents' house. It was exactly what we wanted. Lots of good food and conversation. I even scored several great recipes from our friend's mom, as well as a tentative date to show her how to make tamales from scratch.

On the 5th, Nick and I had a wedding to go to. This was actually one of my really good friends from highschool marrying the girl who's bachelorette weekend I had just attended. They went all out, holding the wedding at the Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls. In the invitation, they asked all guests to wear black and white, and the decor at the wedding consisted of white fabric lining the ceiling, canopy style, with red chinese lanterns hanging. It was beautiful. At dinner, Nick and I were seated at "the highschool table", so I had a little reunion with all my old friends. Rather amusing to see some of my old friends get plastered on red wine after all these years! Also rather strange to look around the table and see old friends who are now parents, some of which currently expecting a new little one!

Nick and I opted to stay at the lodge for the night. Because, well, who wants to drive home when there's no end in sight to the wine and dancing??? The next morning I woke up and realized Nick wasn't next to me. I sat up, wondering where he was, and realized he was just on the other side of the bed! Made me wish my bedroom were large enough to upgrade my bed!

Mama Always Said

Yesterday my boss typed up a draft of an email to send out to everyone. Before sending it, he asked me to "make it flowery", and proceeded to tell me that he thinks writing is one of my biggest strengths, and he intends to take advantage.

That same day I sent him an email of frustration about our current insurance benefits. He liked it so well that he forwarded it to the president of the company that administers our plan.

I love putting together a letter, then creating several drafts until the words are just right. I always thought I was a pretty good writer --- Even better that my boss feels the same way!

This Interruption in Service Brought to You By My Television

Yeah, I know.....It's Thursday night and I still haven't posted my weekend update! My life has just been a tad too crazy to post this week. I know, I know, I'm posting NOW, what the hell...but my weekend was pretty amazing, so I want to dedicate some time to my post. I'm tired and haven't been able to concentrate this week. My office is moving locations, and I'm the admin, so I'm doing most of the work....it's been stressful, to say the least. My boss made me cry within 10 minutes of my arrival this morning, for crying out loud!

Over It.

So, in the mean time, I'm drinking wine and watching tv. My evenings are my sacred time this week. Right now I'm watching Last Comic Standing, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the laughs.

Highlights:

Really cute cute cutie toot from Seattle...he got lots of laughs, and I don't think it had too much to do with his cuteness.

Another guys says "Why is it that when someone hands us a slice of homemade cake we always feel the need to comment how moist it is???"

Such a true comment...I wrote it on the back of my phone bill so I could blog about it.

Final highlight, which has nothing to do with television, or work or crying....Nick and I have a Baby!!! :

Lost in Translation: Foul Language Edition

This afternoon's IM conversation:

Nick: K, I'm out like a trouble
Me: like a trouble?
Nick: Bubble, Bubble!
Nick: Damnit,
Nick: Like a trout
Me: what?
Nick: Bubble, like a trout
Nick: shit....
Me: what the fuck are you talking about?
Nick: I;m high
Nick: never mind,
Nick: Bye!

Weekend Recap!

Migraine.

3 Days.

Seriously. I had a migraine that started Friday afternoon, and didn't really end until Sunday evening. I thought it was gone Saturday evening. I had finally taken the right combination of drugs, water and sleeping, and when I awoke from my nap, I felt great!

I made a strata for Father's Day brunch, which was to be held the next morning at Nick's Dad's house. Recipe:

18 slices firm white bread (such as English muffin bread), crusts removed
6 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
4 ounces provolone, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
6 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

6 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

Line bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish completely with 1 layer of bread, cutting some slices to fit. Arrange half of prosciutto evenly over bread. Sprinkle half of goat cheese and half of provolone over. Sprinkle with half of green onions and half of basil. Top with second layer of bread. Layer remaining prosciutto, goat cheese, provolone, green onions, and basil atop bread. Cut remaining bread into 1/4-inch cubes. Sprinkle over top.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in bowl. Season with pepper. Pour egg mixture over strata; press down on bread with spatula. Drizzle melted butter over strata. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover strata and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake until center is set, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Place strata under broiler until top is golden, about 30 seconds. Cut into large squares and serve.

Delicious! I've made it before, and it truly is a favorite. Unfortunately I woke up on Sunday and my migraine was back in a very angry way. Not only did I have the raging headache, but I was sick to my stomach - couldn't even keep water down.

Ah well, I guess the rest was good for me. And I received rave reviews on the strata!

Suck It, Utah!

I'm becoming more and more interested (read: concerned) in seeing what our summer is going to turn out like. We're currently experiencing the coldest June on record. Today was the first day that I have been comfortable without a jacket on, and the locals are starting to refer to this month as "Junuary". On Tuesday night there was a blizzard on Mt Rainier, which left 3 day-hikers stranded, and a fresh 7 inches of snow fell on Snoqualmie Pass.

In one week I'm leaving on a four day bachelorette weekend down in Sonoma. The plan is to drink lots of wine and lounge pool-side. And chocolate. There will be chocolate.

Inherent Goodness

So, I've been having a really hard time with a wedding gift. I know what I want to get, and it's just perfect, but I'm having challenges in actually obtaining the gift. It's a specific bottle of wine that is made in New York. The problem is that the winery only ships to addresses in the state of New York! What a pain.

So, I've been tirelessly searching for someone who knows someone who lives in New York. My thought was that I could order the wine online, have it shipped to said person's address, and they could in turn, ship the wine to me.

How is it that no one knows anyone in New York! Just when I was starting to give up, I remembered that I used to work for company that has offices all over North America. So I touched base with an old colleague that still works at said company, and she asked two of her New York contacts, and one of them came through for me! And MAN did she come through for me! Not only is she willing to go out of her way to deal with the post office in order to get the wine to me, but she is going to go out and actually buy the wine for me so that I only have to pay for one leg of shipping! At one point in our email conversation, she asks "Only one bottle? Do you need anything else while I'm at it?"

I'm thinking some cookies might be in order here....

Weekend Recap!

Here's what my weekend looked like:

Saturday

• Coffee until the early hours of the afternoon. Nick went to a friend's house to do some computer work and watch a few episodes of Battlestar Gallactica. while he was gone, I cleaned the apartment. Nick says he didn't recognize the place when he came home. Score one for Team Kim.
  
• Dinner was Orange Chicken made by Nick. Recipe:
  

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Marinade:
• 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Sauce:
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon chile paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 slice ginger, minced
• Oil for stir-frying, as needed

PREPARATION:

Place the cubed chicken in a bowl, and add the marinade ingredients. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce ingredients and the garlic and ginger.

Heat the wok and add oil.

When oil is ready, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until aromatic.

Add the chicken and stir-fry until it changes color. Push up to the sides of the wok, making a well in the middle. Add the sauce.

Combine the sauce and the chicken. Stir-fry for another minute and serve hot.

*Nick doubled the sauce and added sliced onion, broccoli and sugar snap peas.

Sunday

• Woke up at 10:30am - thought "1030's not too bad..."
• Breakfast of "Montana Mess" - hashed browns, bacon, green onions, cheese. Topped with salsa and sour cream. Yum.
• Errands. Found a cat bed for Cricket and some shirts for Nick. Tried to find lingerie for my friend's bachelorette party, but the boutique I visited was lame. Macy's, perhaps? Also went grocery shopping for dinner.
• Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs made from scratch. This is a favorite recipe from a cookbook I received for Christmas this last year. I've made it a few times, and it seems to get better every time I make it! Recipe:
  

MEATBALLS:

2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed and torn into small pieces.
1/2 C buttermilk
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 T minced fresh parsley
1 large egg yolk
1 small garlic clove, minced
3/4 t salt
freshly ground black pepper
1-1 1/2 C vegetable oil for pan frying

SAUCE:

2 T olive oil
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 T minced fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti
freshly grated parmesan for serving

1. For the meatballs: Combine the bread and buttermilk in a small bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes, mashing occasionally with a fork, until a smooth paste forms.
2. Place the ground meat, cheese, parsley, egg yolk, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the bread mixture and combine until evenly mixed. Shape 3 T of the mixture into a 1 1/2 inch ball. (when forming meatballs, use a light touch. If you compact the meatballs too much, they can become too dense.) You should be able to form about 14 meatballs*
3. Pour the vegetable oil into a 10 or 11 inch saute pan to a depth of 1/4 inch. Turn the heat to medium high. After several minutes test the oil with the edge of a meatball. If the oil sizzles, add the meatballs in a single layer. Fry, turning several times, until nicely browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.** Transfer the browned meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels.
4. Bring four quarts water to a rolling boil in a large pot.
5. For the sauce: Discard the oil in the pan, but leave behind any browned bits. (my "bits" are usually pretty black at this point, but still delicious for the sauce...) Add the olive oil and garlic; saute, scraping up the browned bits, just until the garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and salt and pepper to taste. Add the meatballs and simmer, turning them occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Keep warm over low heat until the pasta is cooked.
6. Drain the pasta and toss with olive oil to keep from clumping. Serve sauce and meatballs over pasta with freshly grated cheese for garnish.

*I make larger meatballs, so only get about 8, per this recipe.
**I leave the meatballs sitting for about 10 minutes before I turn them. I make sure the meat has a nice crust on the bottom before turning, as this keeps them from falling apart. Usually one turn is enough to cook through if you follow this.

Post Post Post Post Post

Alright....I know I've been so so so so horrible about updating my website. Well, not recently...it seems that I have a tendency to post for a few days in a row, and then nothing for like, a MONTH. Ridiculous, right? SO....I think I'm going to follow in my mother's footsteps, and post regularly! I figure the best way to accomplish this is to give myself a reason to post, and that would be...dun dun dun...The Weekend Recap! See, this would not only give me a reason to post regularly, but would also keep you, my Faithful Reader, in the loop! It seems that I actually do quite a bit every weekend, but unless you are someone I email with regularly, you don't get to hear the stories or see the pictures. A prime example would be the awesome backpacking trip that Nick and I took last weekend!

Here's an excerpt of an email I sent to Mom:
Had a great weekend! Nick and I went backpacking with a group of friends. We went to this place called Ross Lake, which is commonly referred to as The Alps of The U.S., so as I'm sure you can imagine, it was pretty amazing! We hiked 7 miles in, then camped over night, then 7 miles back out. The area that we camped can only be accessed by foot or boat, so it was pretty remote, and there weren't very many people around. I'm pretty sore today, but it's SO worth it to be able to tell people that I hiked 14 miles with 30 pounds of gear on my back! I was the only girl in the group who carried my own stuff! Hard Core!!! ;>

TAG. I'm it.

Sean tagged me. Here we go.

What were you doing five years ago?
I was working at Starbucks Corporate office - working in a call center; I didn't have this website. I was probably still in the "I'm never making cakes if I open a baking company, because they always turn out like shit" phase.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (in no particular order)?
1. Clean my apartment. All of it.
2. Lingerie shopping for my friend's bachelorette party.
3. Come up with something interesting for dinner. Make it.
4. Find a baby gift for a friend who is expecting (no, not the one having the bachelorette party!) I'm thinking Burt's Bees Baby Bee.
5. Beep! Beep! Go get a fresh cup of coffee.

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Whole Cashews
2. Baby Bell Lite
3. Wheat Thins with a really yummy spreadable cheese
4. Homemade chocolate chip cookies
5. Wine (I could only come up with four)

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Buy a storefront for my baking business
2. Pay for Nick's Law School
3. Quit my day job
4. Buy a vacation home (or 2...)
5. Take a long vacation

What are five of your bad habits?
1. Procrastination
2. Nail Biting
3. Pizza
4. Online Shopping
5. Not calling people back

What are five places where you have lived?
1. Seattle, WA
2. Camas, Washington
3. Topeka, Kansas
4. The Dalles, Oregon
5. Oregon City, Oregon

What are five jobs you've had?
1. Customer Service Rep in a Call Center
2. Executive Assistant
3. Bagging Groceries
4. Event Coordinator for high school grad parties
5. Crazy Cat Lady (unpaid - I do this every day for free)

There. Now maybe you know something about me that you didn't before. Please don't use it against me.


UPDATE: Nick just asked "When did you become such a Tetris Master???" Maybe I should add 'computer games' to my list of bad habits....

Helpful Hints

Alright, my birthday's coming up again. Here are some ideas:

• Mastering The Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child; Hardcover
• Delon Asian Lily Body Butter
  
• Philosophy Coconut Frosting body wash
• Philosophy Amazing Grace shampoo and conditioner
• Food & Wine Magazine
• Esquin gift card
• REI or Joe's gift card
• Victoria's Secret gift card
• Half Price Books gift card

Any gifts will be reciprocated with a very cute thank you card!

UPDATE: I would love copies of this and this. The authors' respective websites are here and here. By going to these websites, you might be able to get in touch with said authors, and receive info on how to get the books signed (hint hint.)

Consolidating

I've created a new set on my Flickr account! Please check out Flour Power Baking Company photos!