ce petit coeur

Indian month so far...

2011-03-03T18:28:00.006-07:00

I can't believe Indian month is already almost half over! Twelve days in (officially started 20 Feb via Facebook announcement) and I feel like I could easily go for another month...or ten ("Of course you could Betty! They do it all year round in India," you might say, and you would be right. Maybe I should move to India).

Ever since Indian Thanksgiving 2009 I've been wanting to try out more recipes from Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni. I've finally had the chance and definitely have not been disappointed. Part of what inspired Indian month was the fact that the first recipe I made was so delicious I had to try more! I came across Pure & Simple Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine by Vidhu Mittal looking at top rated Indian cookbooks on Amazon. It has not disappointed either. The next book I'm going to be trying is Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi which also has many positives reviews.

I haven't taken any pictures of anything we've made for a couple of reasons but mostly that I'm lazy. Hopefully sometime before the end of the month I will. Here's what we've eaten so far in more or less chronological order. I can tell you EVERYTHING has been outrageously delicious and that the smell of asafoetida (or hing) (which I found repulsive a week ago) is really growing on me. Also, unless otherwise specified nothing came from a package.

We are twelve days in, but there aren't twelve meals listed here, that's because we did have some repeats and leftovers. I also didn't put rice in there, because it seemed silly but assume that we ate rice more often than not]

We kicked off with Mr. and Mrs. Hapley:
Safaid Channe/Chickpeas in Ginger Sauce (Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni)
Palak Raita/Spinach and Yogurt Salad (Classic Indian Cooking)

Gujrati Dal Mixed Lentils and Vegetable Stew (Classic Indian Cooking)

We ate this meal last Thursday night with the "Big House" crew, Courtney and Quinn, Logan, Kate and Soren. I was so proud of the "moveable feast" I carefully packed and loaded into my granny grocery cart that Max and I lugged across town via 69 bus. It was awesome.
Vegetable Vindaloo South Indian Hot and Pungent curry (I modified a recipe from Classic Indian cooking and merged it with one I found on the internet, everything else in this menu was from Sahni's book)
Chukandar ki Sabzi Glazed Beets with Black Mustard Seeds
Beans Kari Green Beans with Coconut and Black Mustard Seeds
Koosmali Shredded carrot and mustard seed relish
Badaam Kheer Saffron Almond Pudding (I added cashew cream to my soymilk to raise the fat content - an excellent decision if I must say. I probably could have added more because it just didn't thicken enough on it's own, I had to add a little arrowroot starch)

Matar Paneer Peas with cheese in tomato sauce - my version subs pressed tofu for paneer, I fried some of it this time with excellent results (A friend's recipe I've been using for a few years)

Trader Joe's Masala burgers with curry mayo (Thanks Wangsgards! We loved these, and had them two days, once for dinner and once for lunch)

Masala Dal Spice and herb-laced split peas (Classic Indian Cooking)
Bhindi Sabzi Stir fried okra (Classic Indian Cooking)

Paratha Whole Wheat Flaky Bread (Pure & Simple Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine)
Aloo Gobi (twice) (Pure & Simple Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine)

Aloo Samosas savory pastries with spicy potato filling and Indian Candy one of which Dan Hadley said tasted like orange chicken without the chicken the other of which Max has taken to calling "birdseed balls" - the latter is much better. We were eating soul food on Thursday night so we had to eat SOMETHING Indian. Max stopped at a new Indian shop next to Market Basket and picked up samosas for lunch.

Lobhia Taridar Black-eyed Peas in Gravy (Pure & Simple Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine)
Paratha with spices and vegetables (bought them at Shalimar)

If this looks delicious to you maybe we can make a date to have you over for dinner sometime in the next eighteen days.

winter term

2010-12-11T08:45:00.002-07:00

I'm going to take a class winter term but I can't decide what to take.
Here are the only ones I'm seriously considering:

Intro to World Music
Intro to Acting
Twentieth Century Women Writers: A Feminist Perspective

Any suggestions? Keep in mind the term is only three weeks...

and the winner is...

2010-11-20T22:35:00.001-07:00

According to Random.org the winner of either a package of Liz Lovelies or a dozen cookies of your choice made by me is...

J.B. Sorensen! Congratulations. Email me (or just tell me tomorrow/today) what your choice is. To the rest of you losers: Sorry! If you ask nicely you may get some cookies anyway, or Barry might share.

In other news. Here's some food (these pictures are really crappy. forgive):

Latin Vegan by Terry Romero has turned out to be one of my best cookbook purchases of the last year. Someday if I ever have the time I would like to cook through it, in the meantime I will do what I can.

On Tuesday I thought I would make lots of food for the rest of the week so that I could focus on doing homework. That went over really well...I made lots of food, and still haven't gotten much done.

I was going to make a posole with pintos but I majorly overcooked them so instead I made refried beans.

Here they are cooking on their way to becoming the light brown mush we all know and love

Naturally I had to make tortillas to go along with my beans

I also made a big pot of feijoada (I'll take pictures tomorrow when I eat some) with portobello and shiitake mushrooms instead of sausage and ham. The shiitake was an excellent idea I came up with on my own (the portobello was in the original recipe).

I decided to save the feijoada for later in the week since the black beans were taking forever to cook and since I couldn't find hominy anywhere just made a random "taco soup" instead.

(It tasted better than it looks)

It's Alive!

2010-11-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

I was in the throes of a mini meltdown and could not think about how I was going to get through the night let alone dinner so Max and I decided to go out. We went to Life Alive since Max hasn't gotten to try it yet and it is pretty cheap (we got dinner for two, and a package of cookies for $14!)

I love the silly names of everything on the menu and their rice/quinoa bowls remind me of one of my favorite cookbooks ReFresh by Ruth Tal and Jennifer Houston (Make any of those rice bowls! They're excellent!).

I had "The Emperor" minus the corn, plus beets and broccoli and subbed cheddar style Daiya for the real cheese.

Max had a "Green Goddess" and the sauce on it was SO GOOD (they call it "ginger nama shoyu")

This morning when I was deciding what to have for breakfast I remembered that we still had a ton of kale in the refrigerator from when I went crazy at the farmer's market last week. I decided to try and make my own "ginger nama shoyu" sauce and eat some steamed kale over quinoa. I also added some slivered almonds and avocado. It was a great idea.

"Betty's gonna show you sauce":

1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons tamari, shoyu or other soy sauce

2-4 tablespoons tahini

water

Plop everything except the water into the blender. Blend until smooth. Add water until you've reached the desired consistency.

I think this would probably be great with some lemon but I didn't have any. Try it and let me know how that goes for you.

Saturday was not a special day

2010-11-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Somehow I'm already four days behind. Ah!
Fortunately you haven't missed much. Max was sick all weekend.
I worked all day and yet still somehow managed to make him a delicious soup.
I call it "Empty the crisper drawer soup":

1 large leek slice thin
2 cloves garlic
couple tablespoons of white cooking wine
olive oil
2 carrots
2 parsnips
a couple of red bliss potatoes
a couple of sweet jewel fingerling potatoes
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
2-4 leaves of fresh sage
1 bay leaf
water/vegetable broth (duh)
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the leek and garlic in oil for 2-5 minutes until it is bright green and soft (or until you are done chopping the other vegetables. Add wine and cook for a minute or two at high heat then turn it back down to mediumish. Add the other vegetables and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Throw in everything else, cover and cook until everything is cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Who needs precise measurements? Not me. Just go by taste. It doesn't sound like anything special but it was delicious. I promise. Here's no picture because I am lazy:

I left most of the soup for Max and I got dinner at Pepper Pot in Roxbury. Gardner got the Channa dinner comprised of the same rice and peas and vegetables but instead of tofu he got oily but otherwise well seasoned chickpeas in sauce. I was so excited to eat some fried plantain but I forgot to order them! Dumb. I guess I will have to go back. I did two other dumb things that very same night! 1. I left my bicycle helmet somewhere (this is the second one I have lost in three months) I thought I had locked it to my bike. I guess not. Dumber than that, I left this delicious platter of food (half eaten) at Juniper Manor. I hope someone enjoyed it.

Gluten-Freedom so far

2010-11-15T20:00:00.001-07:00

Aside from a minor slip-up (I ate a few Oreos on Friday night) avoiding gluten has been quite easy.

Every once in a while I really want to eat a pb&j and then realize I have no bread, but that is mostly because I haven't had the time to make any. I found a recipe ~~somewhere on these nets but I can't seem to find it again~~ on this lovely blog called Gluten-Free Goddess. I cannot wait to try it! Hopefully I can get around to some of her other recipes too.

Eunice made these chocolate chip cookies for Outstitute on Friday substituting Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Mix for all purpose flour and they were EXCELLENT. I ate so many. Too many (just enough?)

These cookies are part of the reason (homework being the other part) why I have not made any cookies for a few days. Sit tight though, they're coming.

I didn't make these cookies either, but they are yummy.

They're Liz Lovely's and you can get them HERE or at your local Whole Foods/health food/hippie store. If you can't get them near you that's a major bummer, because they are pretty tasty (of course at 200 calories per serving, half a cookie, they better be). Because it's Vegan Mofo, and I'm feeling generous (and crazy) I want to share some of Liz's loveliness with you. Tell me about the worst cookie you've ever eaten in the comments I will choose a winner at random. (Alternatively, if you live locally I will make you cookies if you'd prefer)
[*Deadline for comments is Saturday 20 Nov]

(Gluten Free Triple Chocolate Mint pictured below)

quino-wha?

2010-11-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Can I say how much I love quinoa?

I LOVE IT

I love it warm or cold with a little "milk" and maple syrup,
I love it with curry, or vegetables or anything else you would eat with rice,
I love it in soups and stews!

I didn't get a chance to make any soup today but I did get to go to the Diesel Cafe and pick some up there. Tomato quinoa and sweet potato. DEE-LICIOUS.
I didn't take a picture of it either, because it was so yummy I ate it too fast (with a little help from some friends).

Sorry.

potato leek soup

2010-11-11T22:25:00.001-07:00

It is far from beautiful, but it was really tasty, and so so easy to make.
I found the recipe on a blog and made a few adjustments.
(here is the original)
I did not notice the part of the recipe that said, "2 large leeks light green and white parts"so I used all the dark green parts too. That's why my soup is really green. I did not have Yukon Gold potatoes, only Maris Bards. They are white white white and creamy and wonderful. I also did not have a full cup of soy milk, so I just added a few splashes. Oh yeah, and I don't have an immersion blender. After a while it got tedious blending it up in batches so I just gave up. Fortunately I like my soups with mysterious chunks. Also I am a bad photographer, and too lazy to style a bowl of soup so...

Boring.

I probably could have done just fine without a recipe. Next time I guess.

vegan mofo...catching up!

2010-11-09T22:05:00.002-07:00

This one is kind of long-ish.

Since Nanowrimo last year was a total fail I decided to set a realistic goal this year and participate in Vegan MoFo. Blogging about vegan food as close to every single day all month seems easy enough since a) I eat food every single day (and it is vegan) and b) I have lots of homework to avoid this month!

I have been thinking about doing another theme this month and the crappy weather has me thinking about soup...and cookies (the latter being a little more complicated because I have also decided that I want to do a gluten/wheat detox after Pizza Month). I know we're already almost two weeks in so I'm kind of late to be starting Vegan MoFo and a theme, but better late than never right? So without further ado here's what I've been cooking lately starting with the most recent.

Today:

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup from Vegan With a Vengeance. This soup is one of Gardner's favorites and since he's leaving soon, I thought I would do something nice for him besides letting him sleep on my floor. Because I had a hard day (life) today (everyday) and Max was feeling sick, I thought I'd make cookies. Sometimes you just need a cookie or ten, you know?
I "liberated" Sell Your Soul Pumpkin Cookies from Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar ("liberated"...har har get it? 'cuz I gluten freed them by replacing the 1/4 c oat flour with almond meal (I thought I had oats, turned out I didn't) and the 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour with 3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour and 1 cup brown rice flour)

...I <3 Yo?
I generally don't make breakfasty breakfasts on weekdays but I had some cinnamon raisin mochi I wanted to finish up so I made myself some mochi waffles. Thanks for that one Alicia Silverstone.

Yesterday:
*Isa's photos from the PPK blog are way prettier than mine so I borrowed one.

It was rainy and gross all day so after lunch with Gardner at Life Alive I came home and made homestyle chocolate chip cookies from Dreena Burton's Vive Le Vegan. I used spelt flour which I KNOW is not gluten free, but I really like the texture and it isn't wheat so... Nellie came over to eat Max's lunch (because he was too busy studying to answer his phone) and cookies. Lucky gal even got to take some home. Don't tell Johnny! In the evening Lucia came over and we ate cookies and Quinoa, White Bean and Kale Stew (I highly recommend adding some hot sauce and lemon juice to your bowl). Lucia also got lucky and Nonna Betty sent her home with leftovers.

Sunday:

Alex came over. We made Ancho Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple.We watched A Swedish Love Story by Roy Andersson (and a lot of weird memes). I had checked it out from Widener library because I am kind of obsessed with this music video

The soup was delicious! The movie was beautiful! Sadly, there were no leftovers.
I also made brunch. Gluten free pancakes from Bob's Red Mill mix (surprisingly fluffy and delicious), chelsea waffles from Vegan Brunch for Gardner and Max as well as tofu scramble from Ruth Tal's Refresh and tempeh sausage crumbles from VwaV.

Saturday:
We FEASTed. It was wonderful. There was soup there, I think potato something? Also mushroom stuffing, roasted carrots with mint, white bean and sweet potato (?) salad, and marinated cauliflower (which was probably my favorite thing on the menu).

Friday:
Clover with Hapleys, Bergolds, Capellandersons, and Toibutts. I had a white bean soup of some kind. It was tasty, though not particularly memorable.

Thursday: I was at school all day and probably didn't eat anything (if I did, I don't remember)
Wednesday: I Clovered before work. Chickpea fritter "boat" (it's their chickpea sandwich without the pita)

Tuesday: Christian and Marina had us over and made us two different soups! Tortilla soup and corn chowder. Both were excellent. I made and brought along gluten free coconut heaven cupcakes from The Flying Apron Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking Book. Also, Max and I voted!

Monday:

I had been promising Gardner I would make a breakfast pizza (for dinner) all month but never got around to it so I made up for it by making one last pizza on November 1. It was awesome. Especially with some ketchup, chopped tomato and Tapatio. That stuff on top of the crust is (in no particular order) tofu scramble (recipe from Refresh), hash brown potatoes, garlic, cheddar style Daiya and tempeh bacon (from Vegan With a Vengeance) a la Lucia ("burn the shit out of it").

That's it! I'm kind of impressed with myself for remembering all of that, especially since I'm turning into a grandma. The only thing better than eating food is sharing it so if you missed out on pizza month and you're into soup and cookies maybe you should come over for dinner soon (I'm serious).
xo
Nonna/Abuelita/Granny Betty

p.s. I added a few pictures of the last (and possibly best) pizza of October to my flickr feed as well as all the other photos here. It's easier to keep that updated than my blog sometimes so if you are dying for some amateur food porn check that out http://www.flickr.com/photos/seaburgers/

"Pizza at any price!"

2010-10-06T20:45:00.005-06:00

This is the unofficial motto of Pizza Month 2010 inspired by the big ol' pizza who could:

Gardner's Mashed Potato Pizza (for a list of everything that was on top check out the Pizza Month flickr set)

I was at work/school all day and Max has been working a paper he's presenting at a conference this weekend (it's in Providence so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Nice Slice!). We gave Gardner two choices, make something or pick up the phone. Being a Seawright, he decided to cook. AWESOME! Except that when he went to bake his creation, the oven wouldn't turn on.

By then it was already 8:15 and Peace O' Pie doesn't take delivery orders after 8:00 on weeknights (I wanted to order from there because they have a Wednesday night special and we just had Veggie Planet over the weekend when Francesco and Evelyn were in town). When we got home from the library at 9ish Max and I played with some knobs on the oven and still nothing. Not even a spark! We started to worry that maybe there wouldn't be a pizza tonight but yours truly, pizza maniac declared, "Pizza at any price!" Max went to buy matches and we were all set to cook Gardner's masterpizza on the stove, one slice at a time on the skillet. By that point the pizza had been sitting in the cold oven on the pizza stone for over an hour and it was all nice and goopy. Had it not been for my handy pizza peel it would have been impossible to get off. Max came to the rescue with matches and the brilliant idea that perhaps our problem was electrical. He flipped a switch and poof! Pilot was back on. Still, valuable lessons were learned:

1. We need a grill

2. Gardner should cook more often

3. Pizza at any price!

pizza magic

2010-10-05T20:41:00.000-06:00

I have created a flickr set with pizza month pizzas so far. You can find it HERE. I will try very hard to keep it (and my blog) up to date. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the pizzas of the first two days.

Keep it real pizzaheads (or magical, whatever)

Um..did I happen to say?

2010-10-03T17:12:00.005-06:00

Gimme Pizza!

Our first three days of pizza:

On Friday morning we ate leftovers from Peace O' Pie in Allston. My favorite, the "Peppy", and Buffalo "chicken". Last night Max made a delicious soul food inspired pizza topped with a garlicky black eyed pea spread, collard greens, and yams. It was great, especially with hot sauce but I think it could have been even better with tempeh bacon or something a little sweet and salty. Fortunately we have twenty something more days of pizza eating to experiment with this one some more.

All I can say about tonight's pizza is that it was inspired. Seriously. The Pizza gods have smiled on us after two years of faithful service and planted the seed for this:

Bottom - top: whole wheat crust (from TJ's), cheddar style Daiya, diced heirloom tomato, roasted beets, green onion, and fresh dill (sprinkled on top after I took the pizza out of the oven). Remembering a beet and horseradish salad I saw in a Jamie Oliver book I thought we needed a little kick on this pizza so Max mixed up a little dijon mustard and vegenaise. We were both pretty much speechless. It was THAT good.

You know, since it is Pizza month and this is all over the place why not?

I just don't know what to do with myself

2010-08-11T12:11:00.014-06:00

My hair is really long right now. Not Max long, but longer than it has been in probably about 5 years. I don't really know what to do with it anymore besides let is go crazy, braid it, or but it on top of my head in a nasty, nappy bun. Part of me thinks- "Betty! You've made it through the most terrible awkward part! It is only a matter of time before you are looking like one of these amazing Alexander Wang models!"

Lately it seems the forces of the universe are conspiring against me in an effort to get me to submit to the scissors.

Emma Watson just did it, and she looks AMAZING

Last month, Max and I went to see the fiftieth anniversary restoration of Breathless and I was reminded of how much I love Jean Seberg...and how much I loved it when people told me I reminded them of her.

I've also been listening to Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin (it is totally awesome and scary) narrated by Mia Farrow

Mostly I've been thinking a lot about how there are some women who are just short hair women, like my number one Winona Ryder. Am I one of those women? I haven't decided but I probably should sometime soon before I go crazy.

The Crabbiest Crab (that's me!)

2010-08-07T19:05:00.005-06:00

Max is in Montreal this weekend but before he left he wrote me a cute cute story. I have posted it below, though the crappy isight pictures do not do his lovely watercolor illustrations justice.

Cause for celebration!

2010-07-26T18:39:00.007-06:00

This is my 100th post! While this in itself is a totally awesome thing even more awesome are a few others:

1. I am Rio de Janeiro with Max

2. We are a three minute walk from Copacabana beach

3. Food here is cheap and delicious

4. I am learning some Portuguese

Last year I thought I would try to learn a little Portuguese before Max and I left for Portugal. It didn't go to well and to date the only thing I can really say is "Nao falo Portugues"(I don't speak Portuguese). Fortunately for me Max speaks pretty well so listening to him I picked up on how things should be pronounced for example: "x" is "sh"(this is important). When we got to our hotel in Lisbon I read "PUXE" on the door and said, "Hey! Puxe! [remember: pronounced poo-she] I know what that means!" and charged the door.

You may have figured out by now that puxe means pull. Weird right?

Today we bought some delicious cookies. Tropical cookies because, we're in Brazil. They have coconut in them and cute little palm trees on the front– JUST LIKE THE PICTURE ON THE PACKAGE! That never happens!

I was about to tear the package open on our way out the store when I noticed something:

"Puxe! I know what that means!"

Now I really do.

A Little Lost

2010-07-19T11:35:00.004-06:00

That's how I feel when Max isn't around. That's how in love we are.

Thank goodness for Skype that makes five thousand miles feel a little more like three.

Thank goodness for Arthur Russell for writing this song:

While I'm being sappy– remember THIS?

"Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you"

2010-07-19T01:14:00.002-06:00

*my apologies to those who subscribe via googlereader. it is likely now obvious that I don't proofread until after I've already posted

So ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife is not ironic, but Alanis was certainly right about one thing; life certainly does have a funny way of sneaking up on you. More than anything the last few weeks have been proof of that. In the span of two weeks, I was pregnant...then I wasn't, my grandfather went into the hospital...and passed away less than a week later, I reunited with a high school friend...and found out that same night another had ended his own life. A few years ago I wrote a silly essay about my first kiss. You can find an introduction HERE and the essay HERE. Should you decide to read it, please keep in mind it is a draft. In light of recent events a lot of people have been Googling (or Yahooing I guess but let's get real, who even uses Yahoo?) this young man's name and of the three results the top two hits are links to my blog, both are to my essay.
An anonymous commenter left the information I imagine most of those searchers were looking for:

Anonymous said...
sorry to inform you of this... nick padesky has just passed away... his wake will be held on monday july 19th at krouss funeral home 7pm its on hempstead tpke on the corner of sherrer blvd... i wish i could say that this was a cruel joke but unfortunatly it is the horrible truth... your story was a good reminder of how funny nick was.. so "smooth" lol he will be missed...

I would probably go if I hadn't just left New York last night.

He made me hate this song: http://tinysong.com/q55I for a long time (if you've read "Dream On" and heard me tell other stories it's obvious why) but I heard it on the radio while I was out driving Sunday morning and was struck by how sad and beautiful it is, the lyrics possessing an eerie resonance they never had until now.

This may seem strange (perhaps even ironic in a Morissetteian kind of way) but somehow all the madness of the last few months have gotten me thinking about getting on Facebook again. Perhaps my rational thought is impaired by a touch of PTSD? Do you have any compelling arguments one way or the other? I promise if you give me some advice I won't make you wait so long for another post.

I am an idiot

2010-04-27T18:10:00.000-06:00

I accidentally posted a bunch of the answers to your questions to a different blog. Good luck finding them!

Who is your favorite friend?

2010-04-22T14:19:00.001-06:00

If you didn't get then answer you were looking for it is because you asked the wrong question. The answer to the question as you asked it is Max. Duh.

Ask me anything

We all get captured for a while

2010-04-22T13:38:00.000-06:00

Chris Allman wrote about this site, formspring.me on his blog a little while ago and it got me thinking. One of my favorite features of Facebook was the honesty box. I love secrets, confessions and getting a peek at something I probably shouldn't (remember my last post?). I want to share that with you! There's a little of an exhibitionist in me too I guess. Here is your chance to ask me ANYTHING and I will answer honestly and candidly. Promise.

http://www.formspring.me/bettyetc

Seconds of Pleasure [this post contains offensive language]

2010-04-12T15:35:00.006-06:00

I don't own a television.
There are a few shows I will watch (Big Love, Fringe, The Wire, Buffy) but I mostly get my fix on DVD or the webs. Max and I have been TV free since moving to Cambridge mostly because the one we had in Provo was too big and heavy to move. Fortunately we've found other entertainments. As 2010 is the year I will read two hundred books, reading is obviously a big one.

If you know me very well, you know that I love other people's stuff- the more personal, the better: clothes, shoes, family photos, letters, and books. Pretty much if it gives me a chance to catch even a fleeting glimpse into someone else's life I love it. Oddly enough I don't love reality TV or our apartment's paper thin walls.

Ok. I lied. I TOTALLY DO.

I love buying used books for a lot of reasons, and perhaps the most compelling is my unabashed voyeurism (I realize this word has sexual connotations- ignore them, that is not what I mean). While I was out running errands today I thought I would pop into the Brookline Booksmith and see if they had a book I needed for school. They did and I got it, but I also found this:

This is where it gets good (or bad)

At first glance, it is nothing special. Just a book of short stories by BYU alum Neil LaBute. Then I flipped through it and happened upon this dog-eared page:

...

*11:37pm 02-09-06 ->
right now i want to be
sexually pleasured while
listening to cheesy techno. i'm
not sure why, but i just felt an impulse,
heard a song, and felt a tingle. Fuck
ice cream, fuck weed, i want to get off [underlined].
BEST HIGH EVER
...

Fuck Biggest Loser, fuck listening to the neighbors fight, BUY USED BOOKS!

"Shelf Discovery"

2010-04-11T17:14:00.001-06:00

More like "book truck discovery", but that doesn't sound nearly as clever.
When I walked into work today I saw an old friend laying on a book truck: Alistair In Space. Do you remember that Reading Rainbow episode? I have to say I was a little nervous the book wouldn't be as great as I remembered it – but it was better! I may have to revisit some other childhood favorites...

(yes that is my card catalog)

"Christmas bells are ringing! Hear what they say to you..."

2009-12-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

You may or may not remember the song referenced in the title of this post but I've been thinking about it a little today. Ok, not actually thinking about the song but what I think about when I think about Christmas...

My sister Karen and I had a conversation a few months ago about how excited we were to get together for the holidays in Utah this year:
"...I'm so excited Brooke is finally old enough to understand the most important part of Christmas..." The virgin birth is hard even for me to wrap my head around so I was surprised seeing as how the kid is not even two.
Luckily Karen clarified for me. "Presents!"

Oh yeah.
Presents.

Don't get me wrong- I LOVE PRESENTS. I spent many hours working on my Amazon wishlist and then sent it out to my family with a disclaimer letting them know that I don't actually want anything from Amazon. What I REALLY want is for them to provide me with the means to get what I want from my favorite independent booksellers. Supporting my local economy has been something I have been thinking about a lot, especially in light of recent economic events and the havoc wreaked on small businesses.

This year I've made a goal to do all of my Christmas shopping without setting foot in big box retailer or mall. I'm almost done and so far have had great success! As I'm approaching the end of this post I am seeing how it may seem kind of snobby or boastful. That's not really my point. Mostly I just hope I can inspire you to try and do the same for your community and family! I am so excited about the unique and fun gifts (and great books!) I've gotten for everyone so far.

So Christmas bells are ringing and they're saying BUY STUFF and it's ok to give in but buy better stuff from better people. Like these people:

The Harvard Bookstore
Stellabella Toys
Curious George Books Games and Toys
Local crafters! (Bazaar Bizarre and Mass Market- (THIS WEEKEND!)
Dirty Ass Soaps (from Somerville!)
and of course Etsy where we picked up holiday cards from our friends at Sycamore Street Press
and where you can find wonderful little gems like THIS

It's not you, it's me

2009-11-30T20:05:00.003-07:00

We broke up.
America's favorite social networking site and I.
I won't say it had nothing to do with Farmville, How Well Do You Know Me?, Mafiawars, or We're Related, but I am going to take full responsibility for this one.
Maybe you logged into Facebook this morning and thought, hey I'm going to write on my friend Betty's wall- except that you couldn't find Betty's wall.
I'm sorry. Maybe you can send me a letter or an email or text? Or call me?
I deleted my profile last night. Surprisingly, I don' feel as liberated as I thought I would but I am sticking it out.
You may be thinking to yourself, "But Betty! You're so popular! You probably had like a zillion friends who are going to miss you so much!" That is sweet of you to say, but really I don't care that much. Internet friends don't mean much to me but real friends do and Facebook made it too easy to get lazy about staying in touch, I want to earn your love! So I'm going to try a little harder. For the rest of this year (if it works I will keep it going through 2010) I am going to send an email or call a friend. A real friend, not an- "OMG! I haven't seen you since the eighth grade and I hated you then so I have kind of been hoping you got fat/had ten babies/have gone to jail since then"- friend EVERYDAY. If I don't get to you right away, I'm sure it isn't because I don't love you, I just have a lot of catching up to do, and by all means if you want to initiate do! It only makes things easier for me.

I'm only doing this because I care about you, and I think you deserve better. I hope you understand.

Love (I really mean it!),

Betty

housekeeping

2009-10-30T17:21:00.002-06:00

Ha.
No not that kind, who do you think I am?

Blog housekeeping of course.
I am noticing that my sidebar links are old, and missing a lot of people. If you would like me to link to your blog let me know! I probably don't even know you have a blog!

2009-10-26T20:10:00.001-06:00

That was western Massachusetts one week ago.
Today was 60 degrees.
WTF! I thought I left this nonsense behind in Utah valley.

Close Encounters of the Famous Kind

2009-10-24T06:50:00.009-06:00

Yesterday Max missed his train to Providence so he called me in a panic. He needed to get there in time for class (he's taking one at Brown this term) but he also needed to do some reading, and he had stayed up all night so he was SUPER tired and would likely have driven off the road. Good thing his sweet wife didn't have any plans for her day off.

I was planning on just dropping him off and letting him take the train home but I decided to just stay and hang out for two and a half hours. GOOD THING I DID. Minding my own business walking through the Brown bookstore (texting) I looked up and saw none other than:

If you're wondering, she really did wave and smile like that. No not really. She was just hanging out with her friend. But she really is just as beautiful in person as she is in every photo (except this one).
Later we were standing next to each other at the information desk when we were both (apparently) looking for books.
I didn't want to be a creepy weird fan because I'm sure she has plenty of those. So I just twittered about it...and texted my biggest Potter fan friends.
We were literally practically rubbing elbows. Does that make me famous by association?
Icing on the cake? When Max got out of class we had delicious pizza at Nice Slice.

Date night!

2009-08-17T21:45:00.002-06:00

P1000868, originally uploaded by bettyburger.

Bonnie and Laci if you read my blog, this post is for you. (and of course all the rest of you my darling faithful readers- especially you Kalar! Since you said you wanted to hear about my life)

Max and I haven't been on a proper date in a while so though we have less than twenty dollars between our two checking accounts (we did have some cash). I suggested we go to dinner and a movie tonight.

We were going to take the T to Davis Square until I pointed out that we could save a few dollars if we walked...in spite of the fact that it was 90 degrees outside. Literally.

So we saved $4.00 and walked. We ate at Spike's Junkyard Dogs- cheap and delicious! Max had a Samurai Dog (sauteed onions and teriyaki sauce) and I had a German Shepherd (sauerkraut and delicious spicy mustard), we both had "poodle fries" and shared a homemade root beer. Heaven! I think we may have to have a burger/dog month after this October's pizza month...There were some kids who were trying to get their pictures on the wall by eating 6 or more hot dogs in under an hour thirty minutes without leaving the store or using the bathroom. I told Max that would be pretty easy and we should do it sometime, until I realized you have to pay for them all no matter what. 6 x 2.99 is not equal to a free Spike's t-shirt, though I am still in awe of the girl who is pictured not one but THREE TIMES for eating +10 dogs, I think one of the pictures said 17.

After dinner we went to the Somerville Theater, the basement of which houses one of the galleries of the MOBA, Museum of Bad Art (they have a website! http://www.museumofbadart.org).
Here are some of my favorite pieces:
http://www.museumofbadart.org/collection/recent18.php
http://www.museumofbadart.org/collection/recent06.php
http://www.museumofbadart.org/collection/recent08.php
The descriptions are so great they ALMOST make the art great.

After delighting ourselves at the MOBA we headed back upstairs to catch a 7:30 showing of UP. Can I say that it is probably one of the best films I have watched this year? There are a lot of reasons for that one of them having something to do with this:
http://vjmorton.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/uppoker.jpg
If you haven't seen this movie, you must! Miranda July would love it, I know she would. The only thing better than seeing it with Max would be seeing it with her AND Max.

I cried more at UP than I did in The Time Traveler's Wife. The more time that passes between me and that movie the less I like it- UP on the other hand, I can't stop thinking (or smiling) about.

After the movie we decided to save another $4.00 and walk home- but we had to stop and get some band aids for my feet (-$2.50) and cookies for my tummy (-$5.00) so walking home ended up being more expensive, but so much more delicious.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better I suggested we take a short cut through a tunnel Lisa once showed me which took us right past this AMAZING mural. Part of what I love about Cambridge/Somerville is the amazing mural work we have all over the place. From Trader Joe's to creepy underground tunnels made not so creepy by our friends THE FRAGGLE's.
This photo is so worth the fifty cents we saved by not taking the T on this, our most awesome of dates in a long long time.

Os Animais!

2009-06-06T06:44:00.001-06:00

Os Animais!, originally uploaded by bettyburger.

From a park in Lisbon. Coincidentally a nice veg restaurant, Terra is just down the street. We passed this on our way and couldn't resist the photo op. If you haven't deleted me from your google reader feed yet (I promise I will be more active!) Go see more photos from our trip so far on flickr!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seaburgers

at least we have our pizza

2008-11-04T22:23:00.004-07:00

you may recall February of this past year, Max was unable to vote. Now, I'm not a conspiracy theorist but it seems that disenfranchisement of the Bevington-Seawright family is on someone's agenda. You can read about round 2 of our being robbed by "the system" HERE. Since we live in Massachusetts I was not too concerned about voting for president - Obama won handily with over 60% of the states popular vote. But I am going to be living here for at least the next six years. There were some super important ballot measures I wanted to vote on like question 1, a proposal to phase out of the state income tax and not replace it with any other sources of revenue insane? uh...yeah. that's why it was voted down. even without my vote. thank goodness.
At the moment I am watching the Prop 8 numbers and it is stressing me out and making me sad.
Of course, things aren't that bad because it is day 4 of Pizza Month and we are still going strong. There is still some pesto sauce left but I felt like switching things up a bit so I made a spicy roasted garlic and red pepper sauce. Last night I think I said it was our best pizza so far, but I think tonight was. I could get used to this.
62% of Americans prefer meat toppings on their pizza, while 38% prefer vegetarian toppings (I don't know where these "statistics" come from)
I am normally not big into meat analogs but I picked up some Field Roast veggie italian sausage (though I could have easily made it myself) and it was so delicious! Especially tonight with my spicy tomato sauce which I will post a recipe for tomorrow- in the meantime, remember this Pizzahead?

Kids 3-11 prefer pizza to any other food group.

2008-11-02T15:35:00.004-07:00

Pizza is a "food group"? I am going to have to take a second look at that pyramid.
In honor of pizza month I will be providing you with pizza facts, legend and recipes so I checked a book out of the library called, Pizza: A Slice of Heaven by Ed Levine, a fellow pizza lover. As part of his research for his book Levine ate pizza everyday for a year. I am sure if Ed Levine and I ever met it would truly be a great event. Here is a great excerpt from the introduction of his book:

"Anyone -- vegetarians, carnivores, even vegans -- can find sustenance and satisfaction in pizza, and even in the same pizza if you go half and half. Could pizza be the catalyst for world harmony? A candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize? The appeal of pizza crosses all ethnic, racial and class lines. Everybody, from working class families to college kids to multibillionaires, loves pizza."

Amen!
On another note, I asked some Chacha guides about their favorite pizzas, here are some of the answers I got:
"Pepperoni and mushrooms is delicious!"
"Canadian bacon and pineapple!"
"I really enjoy Sbarro"
"I ate too much pizza in college so I don't each much of it these days"
...wait a second last two, are you serious?!
I am afraid they were.
The best answer I got was a crazy breakdown of percentages but I accidentally deleted it.

After church today we were starving and I was so glad that pizza cooks so quickly. We don't have a pizza stone yet so I stretched our whole wheat dough into an approximation of a circle on a cookie sheet and topped it with sun dried tomato (from Vegan With a Vengeance), chopped red peppers, cremini mushrooms, white onion, fresh tomato, spinach and a little bit of veganrella. I probably should have left off the veganrella since it is actually pretty gross but the other toppings covered it up relatively well.

Catch you later pizzaheads.

schmoctober nowhenevember

2008-11-02T10:09:00.002-07:00

So apparently pizza month is "officially" October.
I am not going to let it stop me.
We had our inaugural dinner last night with Courtney, Quinn, Dear William (a new friend!) and Precious Rachel.

not a joke.

2008-10-25T23:41:00.001-06:00

I know every word to this song.
AND
I love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xzxDRA93Nk

I have the best life...

2008-10-18T21:58:00.007-06:00

... sometimes

I came home from work today and Max was making me dinner! (Pizza!) AND Peanut Butter Bomb cookies!

It was almost as awesome as Friday night, when Rachel came over to make brownie bites and pizza for this week's DFAC.

All that pizza got me thinking about how totally awesome pizza is and that I really should make more of a concerted effort to make it a larger part of my life so... I suggested to Max that November will be pizza month in the Bevington-Seawright Household.

I strongly believe that if we all had more pizza in our lives the world would be a better place. Everyone would be happy! Imagine- no wars or world hunger because we would all be eating awesome pizza all the time. Basically I am just doing my part to get us closer to world peace by eating pizza every day for a month.

Here are some ideas that I have had (and may have already done):

-pesto pizza
-pizza salad
-spicy black bean pizza (a recipe I found in a magazine)
-peanut butter and jelly pizza/calzone
-plantain pizza (maybe with collard greens or something on it too?)

I would LOVE your pizza suggestions and of course will be including photos over the coming month.

I had to hurry and write this blog post so that Max's agreement to "Pizza month" would be in writing and he can't go back on it. My little bloggins- you are my witnesses! Nothing can stand between this woman and her pizza.

On My Pond

2008-09-21T22:15:00.006-06:00

Thursday, 18 September 2008 was a glorious day here in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was the second meeting of the DFAC (Dessert First Adventure Club) and all members ( Rachel, Max and your humble blogger) were present. The original plan involved a short trip to Walden Pond where we would enjoy a picnic of fresh fruit, a modified version of "The big bread sandwich" (from The Silver Palate Cookbook) and sip on San Pellegrino Limonata. Unfortunately we left a little late...and forgot a picnic blanket...and it was cold so we changed the plan a little. We left the food in the car and just hiked around the beach enjoying the sheer beauty of it all, talking and enjoying one another's company. Once the parks service showed up sirens ablaze to let everyone know it was time to leave we headed back to the car where we started in on dessert. The whole evening was almost overwhelming in the most positive way possible. I was overwhelmed by the gall of the BMW driver who flipped me off on our way, overwhelmed by the beauty (and size!) of Walden Pond, and overwhelmed by the love I have for Max and Rachel- especially Rachel who has made living in a really lonely place more than bearable.

Since I am now a Massachusetts resident with the driver's license to prove it I couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging at Walden Pond so in parting I leave you this song that was in my head during our brief visit to the park. Anyone who watched Sesame Street as a child is probably familiar with this Kermit classic.

I must admit, I watched this video for the first time in many years and it made me a little misty.

Sesame Street - On My Pond

midnight rides

2008-09-09T20:02:00.003-06:00

Hello friend,

I feel badly that I have not texted/called/emailed/written a letter or blogged for you. I apologize. Moving to a new city has been harder than I thought it would be. I promise that I haven't forgotten about you, I just got a little carried away in my wallowing- but I am better now! During church on Sunday I was weepy and feeling kind of crazy- now I am pretty sure everyone thinks I am mental. Somehow, in spite of it a neighbor invited Max and I to a potluck with a bunch of other people from our complex (a lot of them from church). After that things started looking up.

Yesterday I turned in my Utah driver's license for a Massachusetts one and the picture is pretty great. Later in the day Max and I met up with Rachel Hunt for ice cream at Wheeler's, a vegan ice cream parlor in Boston. We walked around the North End and went to the famous North End church where Paul Revere lit the lanterns to warn American colonists that the British were approaching just before the battle of Lexington and Concord...so they say. We headed back to Cambridge to get pizza at Veggie Planet, the only veg place Max and I really know of in Cambridge. I am leaving out all the details, like the great conversations we had but you get the idea. We decided to really get to know our new city, the three of us and I am so excited for our future adventures! The only thing that could make living here better is you.

Love,

Betty

double vision

2008-08-27T09:57:00.004-06:00

Remember when I dreamed Lindsay Lohan and I were BFF's?

It totally came true!

Actually not, I only wish it was so.

I saw this photo of LiLo and Samantha Ronson on Go Fug Yourself and did a cartoon double take. Apparently I have found another doppelganger.

årgh

2008-08-23T20:46:00.002-06:00

Let it be known that in spite of my spiffed up living room, I hate Ikea. While it is true they have not cornered the market on inexpensive furniture, they are one of very few retailers that provide 'good design' at a realistic price point.

Then there are the sadists over at Design Within Reach. $6,000 for an armchair? Really? Evidently they forgot the small print, "Design Within Reach for people richer than you". While I love the licensed Eames chairs and other works of great design by great contemporary artists, and I totally believe in quality materials and the integrity of someone else's handiwork I have a hard time justifying the cost… Actually, I don't, I’m “jus jelis”. Buying a piece of quality furniture is an investment much like purchasing a piece of artwork, right? But back to why I hate Ikea.

I am being about 30% sarcastic when I say ‘good design’ in reference to Ikea. Looks aren’t everything. When a piece of furniture is truly a good design top-notch quality is implied- at least to me – which is where my loathing for every twentysomething, American, pseudo hipster’s favorite company (since Sigg and H&M) comes in.

After evaluating our budget Mr. Everything and I discovered that our newly acquired wheels had set us back a little more than we expected and we still needed to furnish our apartment! So we set out for Ikea because we were in need of some media storage and small space solutions that were stylish and within our price range (frankly, after two moves in three months our boxes were looking a little haggard and living out of suitcases was losing its boho charm).

The trip of course was not without its drama and there were tears shed. I just want my house to look wonderful! Is that too much to ask? Apparently from Ikea, the answer is yes. Even though I like how a lot of things look I somehow always feel like I am settling- maybe it’s the particleboard, or the pegs that never seem to go in straight, or those wacky little alan wrenches, but my guess is it’s the sub par quality- and that is why I really hate Ikea. I understand that to some degree you get what you pay for, and that ain’t much but for the hours invested in putting the junk together are worth something too, at least more than a wobbly coffee table and crooked bookshelf.

easy as 123

2008-07-23T13:19:00.003-06:00

Erin tagged me for this a while ago and I have only gotten to it now. Sorry!
I almost didn't do it. After finishing a tasty lunch by Max I was just a little too comfortable to get up from the kitchen table and find a book- then I remembered I was supposed to be working on homework instead of catching up on my bloggins and there was Paul Beatty's The White Boy Shuffle right under my computer!

I turn to page 123 and post the 5th sentence:

"Boys and girls floated across the floor superglued at the crotch, grinding on each other's privates into powder in a mortar-and-pestle figure-eight motion."

If that doesn't make you want to read it I don't know what will.

the monkey has left the building

2008-07-06T16:08:00.005-06:00

This is my niece Brooke. she is probably the cutest baby I know which makes sense because her Auntie Betty is the coolest, smartest person I know. I am so into dressing babies up in silly holiday themed outfits- old people, babies and wacky teachers are the only people that can get away with it.

Our fourth of July was pretty uneventful here. Nothing much happened except that we finished Season 1 of Angel- which was awesome. We originally had planned to visit Courtney and Quinn in our nation's capital but I had to work and I am still trying to finish my incomplete from UVSC (since I left before it became UVSC it will never really by UVU to me). Fortunately in regards to that monkey on my back which has prevented me from updating my blog as often as I should I have good news for you- my faithful reader(s?). I will be done with at least one of my papers no later than Tuesday evening! What does this mean to you? If you live in the Northeast it means, you will see a lot more of me! If you live west of the Mississippi it means, you will get more texts, emails, letters, postcards and blog updates from me! I am also trying to catch up on important things I have been neglecting one of those things being wedding presents. If you got married sometime in the last year or two and never got a wedding present from Max and I let me know! I will send you one and it will be good!

Max has not found a new job yet but he did find us a great little apartment and we will start moving stuff out of my parents' house next weekend though we will not stay there ourselves for another month. Sad news- I did not get accepted to BU which was my first choice for school but I did get into UMASS Boston, not so awesome but It will work for a few semesters (hopefully not more than three). I also applied for some jobs that will be a shorter commute from our house since Nordstrom will be almost an hour by train. Hopefully I will hear back this week and the news will be good! I love and miss you.
Hannah hopefully this can count as at least part of that email I owe you.

ketchup

2008-06-22T21:32:00.004-06:00

Everyday crazy things happen and I think to myself (60/40 joking...though now more like 10% joke 90% serious) I have to go home and blog about this! Here are a few things over that last few weeks that have made me think in such a way...

Max and I finished season six of Buffy! It has been slow but at last we have reached the final season! Definitely worth the time, though I can't say season six was even close to my favorite so far I didn't have too much to complain about. Rumor has it, the show "jumped the shark" after the switch from WB to UPN and that is kind of true, but I still need to find out what happens at the end. Fortunately the TV show is not the end- Joss Whedon has been writing "Buffy Season 8" as a graphic novel series, which is AWESOME. If you care, I will let you know how it is.

A crazy lady at work THREW a pair of shoes at me when I told her they were made in China. Did I mention she was CRAZY?
I have a love/hate relationship with my job. There are some aspects of it that I love- like spending the whole day working with fabulous fabulous shoes.

Late one Friday night as I was leaving work, a co-worker and I encountered a boy dragging around a girl in the mall parking lot. Both of the kids were OUT OF THEIR MINDS (either crunk or tweaking) whichever it was it was terrifying. A couple of middle aged ladies were trying to convince the boy not to take the practically unconscious girl on the bus and my friend and I ran to get them a cab. The cabbie did not want to take them anywhere (other than a hospital!) but one of the nice ladies offered to pay for them to go wherever they said they needed to. I spent the whole night worrying about what would happen to them...

One thing I am totally loving about New York is remembering how many great friends I have here! When we first got here I was super lonely and forgot about all of the people we love so much. Walking in Union Square with dear friendsHelen Stevens, Marissa, and Thomas I totally saw Chloe Sevigny! When I mentioned to everyone later Marissa said, "You know I just thought, wow that girl is really hot." My sentiments exactly. She basically just looked really really awesome. She was wearing cut off denim shorts, a t-shirt, vest, fedora and Ray Bans. Don't dare doubt me because I peeked behind them and saw her eyes- it was TOTALLY her. Thomas and Helen ended up going home which was lame but Marissa and I hung out with Bardhi, Jared, Chris and their new roommate Ben- which was AWESOME. Shout out to my favoritie Kosovar Baby Zemer!

In other celebrity sighting news- Salt of Salt-n-Pepa fame was shopping for shoes in my Nordstrom! Awesome I know. I did not get to help her myself but I caught a glimpse from across the sales floor and she seemed to be a lovely, nice lady.

We all have sorrows

2008-06-07T10:13:00.001-06:00

Lean on Me just came on the radio came on and the radio and I started bawling like a baby. I'm not even premenstrual!

we deliver

2008-05-12T09:14:00.004-06:00

Our boxes arrived today relatively unscathed, but I decided to hold off on the celebration until I could do a more in depth assessment.
Sadly, there were a few casualties in our cross country move.

This one is the most tragic of all as it was just replace a short time ago.
Hopefully we can go shopping soon for 3 bowls, 1 plate, and two glasses.
I suppose it could be worse- luckily our CDs and books are fine.
I am interested in having pen pals this summer and hopefully it will work out a little better than last. If you're down, email me with your address.
Caitlin I have your card and Cupcake book that I will try to get sent out today!

leaving on a jet plane...

2008-05-02T09:41:00.002-06:00

My bags are not packed yet and I am not really feeling ready to go, but it's happening- TUESDAY! I don't know where the time has gone but there certainly has not been enough of it.
I am so grateful for all of our great friends in Provo (shout out to Orem Meg!) but seriously, everyone I love you all! In a true, genuine Alison Faulkner kind of way!
Oddly enough, I have felt more at home here in Provo than I ever did with my friends at 'home' in New York although now it seems many Provo friends are transplanting back East so there is hope yet.
Do keep in touch, my phone number will be the same for a while and I luv 2 text.

Lucy and Antonio

2008-03-30T22:28:00.001-06:00

On the walls of our luxury suite here in Nawlins... Let's just say next time we won't skimp on accomodations.

Greetings from the Big Easy

2008-03-27T10:22:00.003-06:00

Max and I are in New Orleans this week! It's wonderful and I would have tons of pictures to post if I hadn't forgotten our camera, sorry! Luckily I can tell great stories without a camera and will get around to doing that soon.

We were worried about being able to find vegan food around here but so far it has been alright, we bought a few groceries at Whole Foods and had dinner last night at a delicious Camaroonian/Gambian restaurant called Bennachin. It was heaven! I had what i think is called "Jama-Jama ni Makondo" sauteed spinach with coconut rice and friend plantain, the plaintain was super ripe and wonderful wonderful (it is my favorite way to eat plantain!) I don't remember what Max had because it wasn't as good as mine maybe something with little tiny noodles and squash and zucchini in a ginger peanut sauce.

Wish you were here!

Betty.

Doppelawesome

2008-03-01T11:19:00.004-07:00

Last night at a party, a friend mentioned that his daughter- that I want to babysit- has been obsessed with Disney's 101 Dalmatians. He said I should probably bring Max because frankly, the resemblance between Max and Roger is uncanny as you can tell in exhibits A and B. I had a vague idea of what Roger looked like...floopy blonde hair, long arms and legs but I needed a visual cue. Thanks to Alissa our house now has cable and so when we got home we flopped on the couch and turned on the TV because that's what people who have cable do. We had been watching for less then ten minutes when what to my wondering eyes should appear? A COMMERCIAL FOR THE ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF 101 DALMATIONS complete with a clip of Roger playing the piano and singing the Cruella Deville song. We cracked up!

Any suggestions for my cartoon twin? (these are not the best pictures. I tried to find ones where he was smiling and looked even MORE Maxish but it was too hard so I gave up.)

double take

2008-02-28T23:15:00.001-07:00

Max has been accepted to...

lowercase L

2008-02-19T20:19:00.001-07:00

A picture I submitted was posted on the blogville favorite, lowercase L!
here it is
PlEASE THAKS

Brooke Madison

2008-01-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

Isn't she precious?!

And then

2008-01-28T02:49:00.000-07:00

I'm an auntie!

Babytown

2008-01-28T01:59:00.001-07:00

My sister is in labor. Right now!

weird?

2007-12-28T21:29:00.001-07:00

For some reason this struck me as hilarious! This message can be found at the fuel pumps of Orem Smiths.

I'm it.

2007-12-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

I should have done this a long time ago...I didn't realize that by "Elizabeth" Amanda meant me. duh. Most of these things are not in any order but some are.

8 Things I am passionate about
1. books
2. music
3. animal/human rights
4. movies
5. love
6. my family
7. school (hatred of)
8. sharing

8 Things I want to do before I die
1. go to Europe
2. make a baby
3. adopt a baby
4. rescue a greyhound
5. get a pet hedgehog
6. finish school
7. read all of the nobel prize winning novels
8. open a bakery

8 Books I have read recently
1. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao- Junot Diaz
2. On Chesil Beach- Ian McEwan
3. Get a Life - Dupuy & Berberian
4. Portnoy's Complaint- Philip Roth
5. The Veganomicon- Terry Hope Romero and Isa Chandra Moskowitz
6. The Inner Game of Tennis- Timothy Gallwey
7. Don't Go Where I Can't Follow- Anders Nilsen
8. Exit Wounds- Rutu Modan

8 Things I often say
1. Ugh
2. That's ridiculous
3. Just kidding!
4. Hey baby
5. Sorry
6. I'm running late
7. Stupid
8. Delicious

8 Things that attract me to friends
1. physical attractiveness (if you say this doesn't matter you are lying)
2. honesty
3. good jokes
4. pleasant company
5. intelligence
6. similar ideologies
7. likes to talk poop
8. text messaging abilities

8 Songs and Albums I could listen to over and over again
1. Toxic- Britney Spears
2. Comfort Me- Scout Niblett
3. Southern Man- Neil Young
4. I'm Hip- Blossom Dearie
5. Lie in the Sound- Trespassers William
6. Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits- The Magnetic Fields
7. If You're Feeling Sinister- Belle and Sebastian (album)
8. Jack in the Box- Clodagh Rogers
...there are actually a LOT of these but eight will just have to do it.

8 Things I learned this year
1. There may be some hope of me graduating from college
2. Mothers are almost always right
3. Some things are better left unsaid (I don't know why that one took me so long)
4. I am capable of writing a half decent 8 page paper
5. Max and I are a pretty great team
6. Goodreads is better than Myspace because I can use it at work
7. How to save money
8. I am going to be poor for the rest of my life (probably)

8 Random things about me
1. I have a paralyzing fear of the dark
2. I have never been outside of the United States
3. I am not afraid of spiders or most bugs
4. Sometimes I am mean
5. I have been called a "hippie" on more than one occasion and it was intended to be an insult
6. I want to be a librarian when I grow up
7. I would be perfectly happy eating nothing but spinach and avocado forever
8. Miranda July is my hero

8 People I tag
1. Max
2. John Garlock
3. Bardhi
4. David H. B.
5. SamSam
6. Ashleigh
7. Natalie
8. Alissa 'The Skindawg' Skinner

In primary today

2007-12-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

'What do you use a hammer for? Hamming.' Funny it took me a minute to realize that wasn't right

2007-11-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have so much to blog about I can't decide where to start.
I'll be back.

...

2007-11-04T00:05:00.000-06:00

I read the news today OH BOY.

2007-10-17T11:07:00.000-06:00

Over the last few days I found myself thinking a lot regarding how I feel about the state of things in a general sense. For so long I have allowed myself to be apathetic and avoided thinking about current affairs, politics, human rights violations and huge moral issues that can't be ignored and realized I can't be neutral.
I am not going to wax political but I truly had a rude awakening- you cannot do nothing, there are a lot of things I find very alarming going on ALL THE TIME and if I don't make the time to do something about it I can't be sure anything will get done. I am so excited for my little family and to raise children who are active in their communities and care passionately about the future of the world. Maybe this is coming out of the fact that I'm back in school again so I am thinking more about everything, but I am finally seeing the enormous implications of things I thought were inconsequential before.
I had a long phone conversation with Max about this so I am pretty much worn out but this won't be the last you've heard from me.

You're Wecome

2007-10-12T22:45:00.000-06:00

Mind your P's and K's.

*This is my fiftieth post!

Deelishiz

2007-10-07T21:57:00.001-06:00

Deelishiz, originally uploaded by bettyburger.

The Donkey and his wife came over for dinner tonight with their cute cute kids. We invited them in hopes that Christopher's "vegan week" could end on a high note (due to poor planning he starved himself and subsisted on apples and Oreos).
Overall it went off without a hitch, although the boys were disappointed Max shaved off his mustache. (not to worry, Tommy found it in the bathroom)
I made coconut rice and jerk seitan from Vegan with a Vengeance with sauteed collard greens and baked sweet potatoes. For dessert we had rich chocolate cake from The PPK with german chocolate cake frosting and Soy Delicious ice cream. Wish you were here!

bell bottomed tear

2007-09-26T16:40:00.001-06:00

I don't care how "in" they are. I will never ever ever wear bell bottoms again.

Oh, Alison, my aim is true

2007-09-26T11:08:00.000-06:00

Dear Alison,

I think today is cupcake day.
You ought to give me a call before I eat them all.

Love always,

Your friend in a foil wrapper

ask a librarian

2007-09-25T08:36:00.000-06:00

You may or may not be aware that you can find out anything at the library.
Here are a few people who know how to use this valuable community resource...

The lady who called looking for Bono's phone number
She had so much confidence that I could find it for her. I only wish it were true. "I think he's working with the U.N. now, you can probably find it through them..."

The gentleman who looks for the histories of and phone numbers for little known gems such as, The Popcorn Museum and The World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame. If you let him, he will spend all day having you look up phone numbers for these national treasures. I once asked him what he did once he got the numbers, "I call 'em, you know ask about their history and stuff." Let's just say, I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end of those calls.

The "Classifieds Lady" on any given day at least one staff member will have spent at least 30 minutes looking at classified ads for apartments online.

A sweet older lady called me and asked if I could look online and find out what channels were available to her as a satellite TV customer "You see, my husband wants to watch the BYU game on TV and we heard it was going to be on suchandsuch channel and I just wanted to see if we get it. There's a 45 minute hold time with the satellite company and I thought, the library should be able to help me!"

On an almost daily basis I look for Dex listings, directions, movie times and other information services I didn't even know the library offered. I love every minute of it.

check it out.

2007-09-25T08:32:00.000-06:00

Everyone at the library is way into goodreads.com. It's kind of like Amazon and kind of like Myspace.
I'll be your friend if you want.

I want to wake up- in the city that never sleeps

2007-09-04T23:30:00.000-06:00

Now that Max and I have been home from New York for about 2 weeks I can maybe take a minute to share some of the highlights:

We got a copy of the Vegan NYC Dining guide and went to a different restaurant every day.
Of course we had to go to Sacred Chow even though we have been there before. Max swears that he has never had a better meatball hero in his life- including any that had real meatballs
Some other places we ate:

Curly's Vegetarian Lunch
- Curly's was a cute casual diner. I loved it right away because they used Fiestaware (if you know me you know how much I LOVE Fiestaware) The portions were HUGEMONGO. I ordered an openface "turkey" sandwich on rye bread. It was smothered in gravy and came with a side of cranberry sauce...basically I was in heaven. Max ordered some Caribbean rice something or other, or maybe some kind of tempeh bbq? I honestly don't remember. My sandwich was so delicious. For dessert we had a banana chimichanga: deep fried tortilla with banana, chocolate sauce and ice cream. By the time we left I thought I was going to puke but everything was so good. Fortunately us vegans poop a lot so within 2 hours I was fine.

Kate's Joint
-Kate's Joint was another veg diner type place, for some reason I did not much feel like eating much ethnic food on this trip.
I had a "turkey" club, again on rye. It was cut into cute little triangles and stuck on toothpicks for easier handling. I also had a side of mashed potatoes with gravy, which was bliss. Max and I shared an order of ONION RINGS. We were in heaven. Neither of us has eaten onion rings for a few years because we have never found vegan ones. It was like being reuinited with an old friend. Max had a buffalo tofu sandwich. I was skeptical because it was tofu and in general I find tofu disappointing, but we were both pleasantly surprised- in fact we were blown away by its deliciousness. We shared a mediocre slice of cheesecake for dessert. Our server raved about it. Max and I agreed I make it better. We should have gotten the pie. A few things that were lame about this place:
1. Service. We waited FOREVER for someone to take our order. I'm glad the employees are all buddies but seriously they can wait until after work to hang out.
2. The "non-dairy" cheese was no such thing. It contained casein, which makes it not vegan, therefore; I couldn't order chili cheese fries (not that I would have wanted to, but what if!?)
3. The place looked pretty sketch, mismatched chairs crooked tables- but to their credit the menu looked great.

Viva Herbal
Pizzeria offers 6-9 varieties of vegan pizza, and a few pasta dishes as well as "regular" pizzas. The slices here are enormous even for New York. I went to this place last year/two years ago (I don't remember!) with Seth, Kendra, Courtney and Quinn. The pizza here is so loaded with delight you won't even notice the cheese is missing. Max had some wacky slice with fake tofu cheese (not that good), sundried tomatoes, and kalamata olives (as well as other things I forget). My slice was AMAZING. It was covered with spicy "sausage", whole roasted garlic cloves, tomatoes and I don't even remember what else- but it was delish. We finished with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Probably the best I have ever had. We should have taken pictures. We almost went back here again but reminded ourselves it will still be there next year (hopefully)

BABYCAKES NYC...I thought I made good cupcakes
We made plans to have dinner with my dear friend Danielle Berkowitz who I haven't seen in ages because she has been living in Israel for almost 4 years. She was in town visiting her parents and I have been dying for Max to meet the whole family so we went to their home for a delightful meal. The Berkowitzes are orthodox Jews who follow kosher law. Danielle said she would handle dinner (red beans, rice, roasted vegetable kebabs- it was all wonderful), Max and I would take care of dessert. We had been planning on stopping at Babycakes in honor of our very own Miss Babycakes and had made an attempt a few days earlier, only to find they were closed on Mondays. On Wednesday they were open and we picked up a dozen vegan, kosher cupcakes (some even gluten free!) for dessert. It was quite an assortment- red velvet, lemon, carrot cake, chocolate, and good ol' vanilla. The most impressing part to me was the icing. I don't think I have ever had better frosting. It was smooth and perfect. PERFECT. I am serious.

There were some good parts of our trip other than food of course.
We went to the "Summer of Love" exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art that made me think of sweet Maggie. I'm sure you would have loved it.
We also saw a Rudolf Stingel retrospective that I thought was great, Max said he couldn't figure out what the thesis of the exhibition was. You can read about him in the most recent issue of Art in America. Even better than either of those were two works called "Profiling" (together) that used surveillance video technology and gauged the "Rock Star Potential" of museum patrons.

After seeing them in Salt Lake and having so much fun, we decided that we should see The Rentals again in New York. That was definitely a good decision, it was so much fun- and WAY better than the Salt Lake show. I am also pretty sure I saw Maya Rudolph sitting up in the VIP section.

I had planned on going to a lot more shows but we were so tired from having so much fun that the only other one we went to was Camera Obscura at the South Street Seaport where we met up with Jon and Amber Troutman.

Of course I can't forget the best part of our visit! We hung out with some of our Provo friends that have relocated to Brooklyn:
Alissa, Chaunte (for the summer) Matt, Arthur and of course FRANCESCO! Pictures from karaoke night can be seen on Francesco's Facebook profile. Pictures from Chaunte's going away dinner are on hers. After dinner with the "family" we went out to what we thought would be some kind of glam rock night- but it was MUCH better. We had the good fortune to go to Rififi on the 3rd Saturday of the month for Subway Soul!. Crystal (or anyone who loves fun) would have had a great time.

There is a lot more adventure and fun to write about but I have school tomorrow and homework yet to be done. Stay tuned for part II.

[I hope you are satisfied DHB]

stone cold fox.

2007-08-15T18:53:00.000-06:00

my sister is so foxy. unfortunately for you stupid boys, she is getting married.
she should be on shampoo commercials.
I am not responsible for what they are wearing, however; I will take credit for HER dream face and hair, can't say the same for the dude.

avert your eyes court.

2007-08-15T13:29:00.000-06:00

I happened upon a link for a blog called "s.l.c. pomp", silly play on the film SLC Punk no doubt.
This S.L.C. Pomp blog, touted as, "a blog of Salt Lake street fashion" in the tradition of Fruits the Japanese street fashion magazine responsible for our obsession with all things cute and absurd, is nothing of the sort.
In order to be a blog of street fashion it is assumed that people in the place you are blogging about are FASHIONABLE and have a style that is unique, interesting or is worth emulating- sadly, none of this can be said for the vast majority of unfortunates featured on S.L.C. Pomp. There is simply no style at all. Everyone looks like a boring clone, or like they let a Nordstrom salesgirl dress them.
See for yourself.
Ask any of these folks who their favorite designers are or what their favorite collections are you will likely get looks like this:

better yet, ask them what they think of Acne jeans or Vivienne Westwood, or anything you can't get at Nordstrom

if you would rather not waste your time, check out these blogs instead
hel-looks
the sartorialist
stockholm streetstyle it doesn't matter that you can't read it...they look so so good.

true love

2007-08-02T16:28:00.001-06:00

I saw this picture in the Summer 2006 issue of Venus, one of my favorite magazines, and needless to say I was smitten.
These two are just so cute! (You may recognize Jona Bechtolt from YACHT, or The Blow- who he was recently touring with)
Funny thing is, as cute as the people are...I was really stuck on those sweaters. I HAD to have them, but where would I find them?
Fortunately for me, on a little thing called the world wide web/information superhighway/internets (THANK YOU AL GORE!!) and a place called Ebay, one can find almost anything.
Long story short, Max and I are now the proud owners of matching Garfield and Odie sweaters.

yoink.

2007-08-01T11:57:00.000-06:00

places I've worked
1-Orem Library [currently]
2-Borders [probably forever]
3-Provo Care Center
4-Einstein's Bagels

movies I can watch over and over
1-Mary Poppins
2-Airplane
3-Royal Tenenbaums
4-The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

places I've lived
1-Flushing Queens, NY
2-Valley Stream, NY
3-Provo, UT
4-Provo, UT

favorite tv shows
1-Shear Genius (or any competition based reality show)
2-The Simpsons
3-Curb Your Enthusiasm
4-Lost

places I've been
1-Chicago
2-Yellowstone
3-Los Angeles
4-Fort Worth

favorite foods
1-Pizza
2-Cookies (chocolate chip)
3-Spinach
4-Mashed potatoes

majors I've considered
1-Psychology
2-Latin American Studies
3-Media Arts/ Film
4-American studies/women's studies

places I'd rather be
1-New York
2-Grandma's house
3-Lisbon
4-Florence

I don't wanna be a drag

2007-07-27T02:15:00.000-06:00

I want to make music.
I want it to sound something like this:

are you in?

<3 earth.

2007-07-23T18:03:00.000-06:00

you can't have too much of a good thing.

2007-07-20T14:39:00.000-06:00

you may have seen this on Max's blog...but have you seen these?

thomas ray has done this to me.

2007-07-20T10:46:00.000-06:00

Pure Nerd

73 % Nerd, 43% Geek, 43% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Congratulations!

Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

This test tracked 3 variables. How the score compared to the other people's:

Higher than 83% on nerdiness

Higher than 65% on geekosity

Higher than 76% on dork points

an interesting thought

2007-07-19T17:43:00.000-06:00

"Well I hate America, Louis. I hate this country. It's just big ideas, and stories, and people dying, and people like you.
The white cracker who wrote the national anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word 'free' to a note so high nobody can reach it. That was deliberate. Nothing on earth sounds less like freedom to me."
-Belize, Angels in America Part Two: Perestoika by Tony Kushner

Something about this quote really resonated for me. I don't know what exactly, but it felt so good.

it wouldn't be funny if it weren't so true...

2007-07-18T22:25:00.001-06:00

Fortunately since I've moved to Utah this hasn't happened, but it was a pretty normal thing back home...

April, I think you know more about this than anyone.

layout woes.

2007-07-18T16:45:00.001-06:00

i am seriously so mad at you right now blogger. don't even talk to me.

a pizza the size of the sun.

2007-07-18T14:54:00.000-06:00

I'm making a pizza the size of the sun,
a pizza that's sure to weigh more than a ton,
a pizza too massive to pick up and toss,
a pizza resplendent with oceans of sauce.
I'm topping my pizza with mountains of cheese,
with acres of peppers, pimentos, and peas,
with mushrooms, tomatoes, and sausage galore,
with every last olive they had at the store.
My pizza is sure to be one of a kind,
my pizza will leave other pizzas behind,
my pizza will be a delectable treat
that all who love pizza are welcome to eat.
The oven is hot, I believe it will take
a year and a half for my pizza to bake.
I hardly can wait till my pizza is done,
my wonderful pizza the size of the sun.
- Jack Prelutsky, A Pizza the Size of the Sun

Once upon a time my favorite authors were Jack Prelutsky, Robert Munsch, Ann M. Martin and Judith Viorst. back then I had lofty goals- like making a pizza the size of the sun, becoming a veterinarian/writer/fashion designer and graduating from college. These days I don't even know what I'm going to eat for breakfast or wear to work. If I am having trouble with minor decisions what am I going to do if I graduate.
The solution may be just to take undergraduate classes forever so that I never need to pay off my student loans or decide what to do with my life. Tap dancing? Printmaking? Hip-hop? Color Theory? Anyone?

Seriously though, at this point I am pretty sure I want to go into library sciences- especially after reading this article. We'll see how things go this Fall, if I expect to make grad school a reality I should get my act together.

posh & becks

2007-07-13T19:04:00.000-06:00

Victoria and David Beckham have just done a shoot for W Magazine!
I bet this one will be even sassier than Brangelina's...

2007-07-11T20:09:00.000-06:00

In the past I have been repulsed by genre fiction and mass market paperback, however; somehow I have found myself reverting back to my old self who loved genre fiction and I have decided to give it another try.
Since my father has been telling me I should read it since junior high I have finally picked up Foundation by Isaac Asimov, the first in a series of the same title. So far I am about fifty pages into it and I am really enjoying it! I know I know- science fiction is so not me...but it was once, so I guess in a way I'm just going back to my roots. I guess I will have to re-evaluate my stance of science fiction and genre fiction in general and say that I will read basically anything so long as it is well written.

[note: I have since finished the book and I absolutely loved it. I am working on Foundation and Empire now]

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...

2007-06-29T09:27:00.001-06:00

MEGA SIZE YOUR UNIT

"juice up your johnson"

2007-06-28T10:50:00.000-06:00

I love spam.
- not the luncheon meat, the email inbox junk. I love Google for featuring Spam recipes on top of my spam inbox, like "Spam Imperial Tortilla Sandwiches" it sounds so good and so bad. Supposedly Spam is big in Hawaii, I have a hard time believing it. Spam has it's place- we will be so grateful for it after the nuclear holocaust- but I can't think of any other good reason to eat it.
Spam email is so funny to me, I skim through the subject lines before I delete them and it cracks me up! "Juice Up Your Johnson" is the best I've seen in a while, I found it just this morning. Does anyone really call their penis a "johnson"? I hope so! I may have to start using it more often...I tried once, Max told me I was weird. I think it is a pervy old man word- which is probably why I love it. I think "Johnson" will be the "raise the roof" of 2008

Brangelina

2007-06-25T12:34:00.000-06:00

I have been saving the July 2005 issue of W for almost 2 years, mostly because it was beautiful but partly because I thought it may be worth it to hang on to for a while.

Today I was poking around on Ebay and found two auctions for this magazine- one was at $20 with 2 days left and one was a "buy it now" for $50. Mine is in better condition than both.
I am going to hold on to it until they get divorced.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

2007-06-21T18:13:00.000-06:00

This song describes today perfectly.
Ev'rything's goin' my way! Really!
UVSC is not so bad, and I ended up doing well enough in my class- I could have kissed my professor.

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,The corn is as high as an elephant's eye,An' it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky.Oh, what a beautiful mornin',Oh, what a beautiful day.I got a beautiful feelin' Ev'rything's goin' my way.All the cattle are standin' like statues,All the cattle are standin' like statues,They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by,But a little brown mav'rick is winkin' her eye.Oh, what a beautiful mornin',Oh, what a beautiful day.I got a beautiful feelin' Ev'rything's goin' my way.All the sounds of the earth are like music,All the sounds of the earth are like music,The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree,And a ol' weepin' willer is laughin' at me!Oh, what a beautiful mornin',Oh, what a beautiful day,I got a beautiful feelin'Ev'rything's goin' my way.Oh, what a beautiful day.

2007-06-21T18:11:00.000-06:00

Dear Blogosphere,
I've missed you and all of the sweet sweet distraction from the doldrums of real life you offer. School is over until fall and I am back, hopefully with regular posts.
love,
Elizardbreath

for so many reasons I am glad I am not a boy

2007-06-12T23:32:00.000-06:00

Davey Gendelman Hits Puberty

WHITFORD, NJ—School security camera footage showed that Gendleman now experiences spontaneous erections, especially while sitting near classmate Sarah Miller.

Really, I really got this email from this real live person...

2007-06-09T00:30:00.001-06:00

Why am I plagued by this gross abuse of spoken English?!
WHY?!

SELL?!

ugh.

I am assuming this person is an actual person with an actual job and who thinks of herself as being somewhat successful.
I am at a loss.

p.s. Max FINALLY got me to watch the season FINALE of The Office, I loved it so much.

love letter

2007-06-01T10:51:00.000-06:00

Dear Jerry Bruckheimer,

Sir, I loathe you more than words can wield the matter...

I hated Pirates of the Caribbean (2) because I was expecting closure. I

resolved that I would

not see Pirates (3), but I did, and I still did not get what I was looking for- AN ENDING.

Jack Sparrow became my absolute least favorite character of this film,

the Jar Jar Binks of

sea. It was awful, even worse than that ridiculous wedding.

Stick to TV shows and stop trying to make more money,

are a Gulfstream IV jet and 2 1500-acre farms not enough for you?

..A hatred that makes breath poor, and speech unable;
Beyond all manner of so much I loathe you.

"There ain't no ... woodsman in this world. "

2007-05-22T00:53:00.000-06:00

Max and I watched Little Children tonight, a film based on a novel of the same title by Tom Perotta. I have not read the book so I don't have a lot to say about that, but I can say I found the movie to be thought provoking.
Some aspects of it reminded me of another movie I watched some time ago that broke my heart, The Woodsman.
In The Woodsman Kevin Bacon plays a convicted child molester who has been released from prison after 12 years and is attempting to live like a normal person. Similarly, in Little Children Jackie Earle Haley (he is not in anything you have seen and this is why you don't recognize his name) plays a man who has just moved into his mother's home in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood after he has been released from prison for exposing himself to a child. Watching both films I found myself feelings sorry for both of these "bad" characters. They simply wanted to live normal lives (although Haley's character makes this very difficult for himself at times). Ronnie McGurvey's (Haley) mother tries to convince him that he is just a good man who has done some bad things, but he has a hard time believing her- he truly believes he is a "bad" person. He argues he was released from prison not becuase he was rehabilitated but because they had to let him go while Bacon's character has a sister who will not talk to him because she is convinced he has not changed. At times he questions this himself but he is making a sincere effort and it seems as though he has turned his life around.

...all this got me thinking, I have to write a research paper and I was having a hard time coming up with a topic (my thesis statement and final decision on a topic is due tomorrow/today) I had a few in mind (veganism and ecology, prostitution and pornography in Japan and the influence of US occupation, graphic novels as literature) but after watching Little Children I felt so sad for Ronnie McGurvey. He really was trying and what did he get for it? (You will have to watch the film, I am not one for spoilers) I think for my paper I would like to discuss rehabilitation for sex offenders, it's effectiveness etc.
In my Shakespeare class towards the end of the semester we were discussing The Tempest and the character of Caliban. At one point Caliban lives in peace with Prospero and Miranda- until the "uneducated brute" tries to rape the young girl. As a result of this Caliban is no longer allowed to live in their home but Prospero continues to teach him moral conduct and impart a small portion of his vast knowledge. In our class we argued about whether or not Caliban was a social outcast and in my clearly he is not, Prospero allows him to stay in their small utopian society and continue to learn and teaches him right and wrong- in an attempt to rehabilitate him. Perhaps Shakespeare is making a commentary on the criminal justice system of his time (ours is not very different). It is very difficult for a person to be rehabilitated and return to a "normal" life, when they are not treated like normal people. During this discussion a girl in my class, whom I already found incredibly aggravating, insisted that that interpretation was wrong. That Caliban was a societal outcast- and rightly so because one could not have a Utopia with a vile criminal in their midst. She made an outrageous analogy and likened it to allowing a person who raped your daughter to live in your home. I am glad that class is over mostly because I don't have to hear that girls' voice. My heart was breaking. Obviously it is a little extreme to allow a person who raped/molested your child to live with you but, what if they reciceved treatment and had learned? Would you give them a second chance? Can they change? (This girl argued that people cannot change- which I think is completely wrong...does repentance mean nothing? apparently she does not understand a lot of things, logic included)
I think I can make a really good argumentative paper, however; this is kind of a delicate subject. I hope I can handle it appropriately.
The title of this post is a quote from The Woodsman, Kevin Bacon's parole officer is telling him about a horrific crime and they are talking about the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The Woodsman in the story is the one who rescues Red from the Big Bad Wolf (he cuts him open with his ax and retrieves everyone from inside safely). The officer is lamenting the fact that there is no one to protect the innocents from the Big Bad Wolves of the world, you'll have to see the movie to see Bacon's reaction to this but I think it is really quite beautiful. Maybe this would make an interesting conversation, I hope there are some comments on this.
I hope at least some of this made sense, I was kind of excited but I am also really tired and not thinking completely clearly.

strawberry fields forever

2007-05-19T14:03:00.000-06:00

AT LAST! My mother's Easter gift has proved itself to be worth a damn! My Wild Strawberry Eggling has sprouted.

web 2.0 (thoughts)

2007-05-18T18:20:00.001-06:00

There is a woman who comes into the library regularly, she is small and perhaps from eastern Europe?
She is very quiet, polite, and anxious. It appears as though she avoids certain types of people, although I can't tell exactly how she singles them out. Today she wanted to use the internet, but did not want to use the computer that was available saying she would rather wait. After a few patrons came and went she approached me and asked if it was ok for her to use the computer. Perhaps this isn't particularly interesting to anyone other than me but I can't help but wonder if she has some kind of social anxiety or something.

also...
it occurred to me that if "Nick Padesky" were to Google his name he would find it both in my blog and my diaryland- both would be related to the same incident and neither would be positive. Poor thing.

2007-05-18T17:53:00.001-06:00

there are supposed to be some things in italics- those are my thoughts. I am too lazy to go through and change the formatting.

It's back Goldbird...

2007-05-18T17:50:00.000-06:00

This is what I turned in this morning for my English 1010 personal narrative (I'm only slightly embarassed:

“It’s easy! I stick my tongue in your mouth; you stick yours in mine and then just slosh it around.” Just slosh it around? I found that I desperately wished I had gone to track practice. Alas, the choice had been made, therefore; here I was, in a parking lot with none other than Nick Padesky.
Most high school girls expect their first kiss to be romantic, like something out of a Disney movie perhaps: horse drawn carriage, flowers, violins, and a starry sky. Instead of a horse drawn carriage and flowers, I got a Chevy Blazer full of gum wrappers, Powerade bottles and gym clothes parked behind a Rockbottom. In place of violins, Steven Tyler wailed, “...Sing with me just for today...” while I prayed for good Lord to take me away right now. I certainly could not wait for tomorrow.
At one time I wanted nothing more than for this moment to arrive. As a high school sophomore who had never been kissed, it was evident to me I had a problem. Perhaps I was not diligent enough in my personal hygiene; perhaps I wasn’t stylish enough; and there was always the possibility that boys were intimidated by my beauty, however; that seemed highly unlikely. Whatever the problem I was determined to solve it and had my scope set on the target: Nick Padesky. From the first day of seventh grade, until I found out he was kissing my best friend; Nick was the apple of my eye. He had been president of his class every year since grade seven; he was a junior (one year my senior), tall, dark, and handsome; a real “Italian Stallion”. A group of friends began referring to him as “Sexy Man” in seventh grade, and the name stuck as it could not have been more fitting. Teachers and students alike swooned when he catwalked by, hair perfectly coiffed, wearing Kenneth Cole loafers, slim slacks, and a perfectly pressed dress shirt unbuttoned just enough to titillate anyone who noticed.
One of Nick’s responsibilities as junior class president was to run the school store every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon. Once this fact was brought to my attention, come Hell or high water, there was never a day I missed meeting him there. I stole quarters from my father’s sock drawer so that I could buy Airheads and a few moments of his attention. As days passed I grew more confident and graduated to stealing dollar bills, and flirting. He must have endeared to me over giggly chats about his shoe size (11), lip-gloss flavors (I wore fuzzy peach), his cologne (Curve), and our chewing gum preferences. Before long, it seemed I was making progress in the quest for my first kiss and one memorable afternoon Nick invited me to go on a car ride. On this particular Wednesday I had chosen to purchase a pack of gum instead of my usual fare (Airheads or pretzels and a Coke) and moaned about how bored I was and would skip track practice should something better come along. He took the bait! My mind was reeling; did I remember to put on deodorant today? Is my breath ok? Is this gum strong enough? I should have gotten a side salad instead of garlic knots with my pizza. What if he thinks I’m a bad kisser? What if he tries to do more than just kiss? Is this really happening?
Walking towards his car I felt like I was in a daze, perhaps this is what it’s like to be on drugs, I thought. After scheming nearly all year, it was finally paying off. Approaching the student parking lot I recognized his car right away; I had watched longingly as it pulled away day after day, without me. Once inside, the gold Blazer did not seem as glamorous as it had been in my mind. It looked like a boys’ locker room, and smelled only slightly better, he must have sprayed some of that cologne. Strewn about the floor and seat were socks, books, empty bottles, candy and food wrappers, and a few parking tickets. We drove without speaking for a time, while I hoped sincerely that my breath was ok, until he broke the silence. “So...uh...what do you want to do?”
Unfortunately I hadn’t planned this far ahead and was still recovering from the initial shock of the being in his car. “Um, I guess whatever is fine; did you think I planned this or something?” Oh I did not just say that. I hope my fat mouth did not ruin this whole thing. Before I could embarrass myself any further he interrupted, “Never mind, I know just the thing. This will be a lot of fun.” He flashed his Don Juan smile every girl at Valley Stream North High School had come to know so well and I turned to Jell-O. His idea of fun fit my agenda perfectly.
We parked in a mostly empty lot behind a neighborhood discount store called Rockbottom. Normally this would have been exciting, it seemed adventurous, unfortunately; I could see the kitchen window of my home just a stone’s throw away and my mother had good aim. I was not that adventurous. Suddenly, I was stricken with panic; I felt as though I had just been told I was sentenced to the electric chair. What if she sees everything! The fact that my mother is legally blind was hardly important at a time like this; she had a way of knowing everything. My palms got sweaty, my tongue felt like a wad of cotton. It was no secret my mother hated boys, she had been warning me of the dangers of boys for as long as I could remember and taught my sisters and I how to defend ourselves in every situation, but I wanted to be in danger! He leaned towards me as the words on the stereo swirled through my mind, “....Dream on, dream on, dream on...” I could never have dreamt my first kiss would be like this. It barely resembled my worst nightmares. I don’t even LIKE Aerosmith.
“Elizabeth,” he whispered; I loved the way he said my name. I was putty in his hands, “Have you ever kissed a boy?” In an attempt to be coy, something that is very difficult when one’s mouth is full of cotton; I twittered, “Tee heehee.”
Suddenly just as badly as I had wanted this to happen, I wanted it to stop. Perhaps it was all a bad dream and I could wake up! Testing this theory I pinched myself to no avail, my anxiety grew by the second and as though he could sense it Nick attempted to comfort me. “Don’t worry, you can’t get STD’s from kissing,” he assured me, “besides, I only have simplex.”
How is that supposed to be comforting? He must be kidding, albeit; that was not a funny joke. Before I could blink he had deftly reclined my seat and positioned himself just above me in one fell swoop. By the time my eyes opened again his tongue was in my mouth and I had forgotten the instructions he had given me earlier. The slimy alien intruder shocked me and without realizing what I was doing I bit down. Hard. I tasted blood. He jerked back. Surely it was over.
“I bet you can still make it to practice,” he said. The engine started and we pulled away, solemn as a hearse in a funeral procession. Looking back towards my house I thought to myself, you would have been proud mother, wouldn’t you.

welcome to the future

2007-05-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

Now Blogger saves my drafts automatically!
Wow. How lucky am I?

Dream On (that is what I called it)

2007-05-14T05:12:00.001-06:00

I have finally completed an assignment. I'm a better student already!
This is the first draft for a personal narrative/short story (it is slightly fabricated- but mostly true, you may be able to guess what was made up). Keep in mind that as a draft I mostly just wanted to get this cheese pumped out and it is chock full of grammatical errors and awkward, clumsy language. Feel free to give me feedback, if you care to take the time to read this steaming heap.
love,
E.

I took this off because I was reading it in class today and decided I have a lot more to do. Maybe I'll put it back up later.

ASH! I TOTALLY AGREE.

2007-05-13T23:08:00.000-06:00

At the time I posted my last entry I was quite sure this phenomenom was exclusive to UVSC. I hate to admit it, but I WAS WRONG!
I found these outside of the Wymount office.

hurrah hurroo, there'll be an execution!

2007-05-10T08:46:00.000-06:00

My first week at UVSC is coming to a close and it has been really fun!
I saw this little gem on a board in some building whose name I do not yet know. CAR FOR SELL? I think it is because this poor, unfortunate soul pronounces "sale" as "sell" and reflects that in their writing. SAD! Max said I should call and tell them, or just take down the sign to spare them the embarassment...only at UVSC folks. (I hope)
There are some interesting characters around these parts, I kind of love it.
I think my favorite part is the fact that there is NO HONOR CODE! So I can finally fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a bearded lady! Maybe Max will become an alligator man like this woman's husband...

first comes love, then comes marriage

2007-05-03T08:33:00.000-06:00

Max really did poop his pants yesterday.

We had a house guest arrive last night. I'm pretty much in love with her.
Her name is Lily, she is a dachsund puppy. My sister and her husband are on vacation in Disneyland so we are pet sitting. She is so cute and funny...and way easier than a baby.

to whom it may concern:

2007-04-24T15:58:00.000-06:00

Dear Hannah [Or anyone else (does anyone else read this?) who may have been wondering why I've been updating so much lately]

I should be doing a lot of things that are much more important than blogging, however; those other things are not nearly as fun and it makes me sick to think about them. If I get kicked out of school it's all your fault.

love,

E.

and we all fall down.

2007-04-19T20:32:00.000-06:00

Would you still love me if I were a college drop-out?

2007-04-09T16:51:00.001-06:00

I think I need one of these.
Maaaaxxxx....

this is related to a funny thing that happened at work. I can tell you all about it if you want.