Assorted Proses and Musings
Yikes. I can't believe that Working Week is almost half over! Time seems to be flying by rapidly....
--I learned this morning that my cats are smarter than I give them credit for. I found out that camouflaging leftover bread slices by wrapping them with a cloth napkin inside a bowl is no match for Scarfie and Melanie's uncanny ability to find the morsels. What can I do? I had to laugh when I walked into the kitchen this morning to discover unwrapped bread in the bowl. Next time I shall try harder to hide the bread.
--I am very thankful that G left a voicemail last night alerting me to the New York Times' article on the new Nine Inch Nails album (Year Zero), which was released yesterday. I am definitely interested in picking up the album--I will probably wait until this weekend to do so.
--Cafe-Tasse chocolates are very divine and seductive. I tried them for the very first time on Monday, as part of the dessert offering at the Southeast Stark Street Supper. The Noir Orange chocolate went very well with mango sorbet and fresh blackberries. I did take pictures of the Monday dinner (I shall post them later), and the dessert looked very good.
--Speaking of food gatherings, I am starting to finally get over the fear of inviting people to my formerly-skanky apartment, and am contemplating having people over more frequently. Having successful brunch gatherings with thedr9wningman and modern_shadows last month, brunch with katiekatiepants earlier in the month, and dinner with _bitterglitter_ and dunepilot2 on Monday really did wonders for my confidence. I am starting to enjoy the whole process of planning meals for company--perusing cookbooks and the web for recipe inspirations, shopping for fresh ingredients at classy grocery and retail stores (and finding unexpected pleasant surprises in the process), planning the preparation and cooking timeline, doing the cooking, and entertaining. I do realize that I have long ways to go before I can attain the Entertainment Goddess status of friends like goddessmikhail, misprid, lunesse, redjenn, Scully, and aleeka (to name a few), but this is an exciting journey! I must remember to pick their brains and gather entertaining tips from the experienced folks. I definitely do have friends in mind whom I would love to invite over for food gatherings in the future!
--And on another food tangent, I wrote down the list of 24 food items that are considered to be "Superfoods," just so I can remind myself what they are. The list will come in handy when I am preparing food, and when I am making grocery shopping lists. Of 24 items, the only thing that I will not buy is lean turkey meat (since I am a flexitarian-pescetarian). And for friends with restrictive diets, it turns out that vegetarians can enjoy 22 of those food items (every Superfood items except turkey and wild salmon), and vegans can still enjoy 20 of those things (every Superfood items except turkey, wild salmon, yogurt, and honey). Considering that I have already been incorporating most of those Superfoods into my diet, I feel extremely confident about the direction of my current nutritional choices (I prefer not to use the word "diet"). I do sense that improving my nutrition is one of the reasons why I was able to shed almost ten pounds since beginning of the year (I weigh a shade under 147 as of last night...only ten more pounds to drop! Yay!).
--Thankfully my workout sessions have been productive. I started pushing my lower-body muscles last night. I want to focus on my legs for the Pinot Pedal ride event this Sunday. I should have at least one more workout session before this weekend's ride. Hopefully I can squeeze in two workouts before Sunday. It feels good to have an immediate goal for workout sessions, such as "preparing my legs for the 18-mile ride."
--The workout stereo headphones are on its last legs. One of the cables which connect to an earbud has become unsheathed, and is just held together by exposed two wires (I don't know if that's what 16 Volt had in mind when they wrote "Two Wires Thin"....). I shall score a replacement headphone later today.
--The weekend and beyond plans are getting filled up rather quickly. It looks like I will be completely busy during the Planet Earth Day weekend. Bop bop bop bop, bop bop bop bop....
--I learned this morning that my cats are smarter than I give them credit for. I found out that camouflaging leftover bread slices by wrapping them with a cloth napkin inside a bowl is no match for Scarfie and Melanie's uncanny ability to find the morsels. What can I do? I had to laugh when I walked into the kitchen this morning to discover unwrapped bread in the bowl. Next time I shall try harder to hide the bread.
--I am very thankful that G left a voicemail last night alerting me to the New York Times' article on the new Nine Inch Nails album (Year Zero), which was released yesterday. I am definitely interested in picking up the album--I will probably wait until this weekend to do so.
--Cafe-Tasse chocolates are very divine and seductive. I tried them for the very first time on Monday, as part of the dessert offering at the Southeast Stark Street Supper. The Noir Orange chocolate went very well with mango sorbet and fresh blackberries. I did take pictures of the Monday dinner (I shall post them later), and the dessert looked very good.
--Speaking of food gatherings, I am starting to finally get over the fear of inviting people to my formerly-skanky apartment, and am contemplating having people over more frequently. Having successful brunch gatherings with thedr9wningman and modern_shadows last month, brunch with katiekatiepants earlier in the month, and dinner with _bitterglitter_ and dunepilot2 on Monday really did wonders for my confidence. I am starting to enjoy the whole process of planning meals for company--perusing cookbooks and the web for recipe inspirations, shopping for fresh ingredients at classy grocery and retail stores (and finding unexpected pleasant surprises in the process), planning the preparation and cooking timeline, doing the cooking, and entertaining. I do realize that I have long ways to go before I can attain the Entertainment Goddess status of friends like goddessmikhail, misprid, lunesse, redjenn, Scully, and aleeka (to name a few), but this is an exciting journey! I must remember to pick their brains and gather entertaining tips from the experienced folks. I definitely do have friends in mind whom I would love to invite over for food gatherings in the future!
--And on another food tangent, I wrote down the list of 24 food items that are considered to be "Superfoods," just so I can remind myself what they are. The list will come in handy when I am preparing food, and when I am making grocery shopping lists. Of 24 items, the only thing that I will not buy is lean turkey meat (since I am a flexitarian-pescetarian). And for friends with restrictive diets, it turns out that vegetarians can enjoy 22 of those food items (every Superfood items except turkey and wild salmon), and vegans can still enjoy 20 of those things (every Superfood items except turkey, wild salmon, yogurt, and honey). Considering that I have already been incorporating most of those Superfoods into my diet, I feel extremely confident about the direction of my current nutritional choices (I prefer not to use the word "diet"). I do sense that improving my nutrition is one of the reasons why I was able to shed almost ten pounds since beginning of the year (I weigh a shade under 147 as of last night...only ten more pounds to drop! Yay!).
--Thankfully my workout sessions have been productive. I started pushing my lower-body muscles last night. I want to focus on my legs for the Pinot Pedal ride event this Sunday. I should have at least one more workout session before this weekend's ride. Hopefully I can squeeze in two workouts before Sunday. It feels good to have an immediate goal for workout sessions, such as "preparing my legs for the 18-mile ride."
--The workout stereo headphones are on its last legs. One of the cables which connect to an earbud has become unsheathed, and is just held together by exposed two wires (I don't know if that's what 16 Volt had in mind when they wrote "Two Wires Thin"....). I shall score a replacement headphone later today.
--The weekend and beyond plans are getting filled up rather quickly. It looks like I will be completely busy during the Planet Earth Day weekend. Bop bop bop bop, bop bop bop bop....