whoops.

has it really been 3ish weeks since my last post? i suppose the two week olympic hiatus proved to be true. yes i had olympic fever. i had it bad. especially the first week. second week, not so much. well, i got a little addicted to curling. also, lack of posting is due to my busy life schedule. not gonna lie, my life has gone up a notch on the busy meter. i got a job about 2 weeks ago. i didn't even go looking for this one. it's not what you know, it's who you know. i must say it's nice to have a slight purpose in life beyond entertaining myself all day. however, the job factor did put a kink in my non-routine daily routine. actually the whole j-o-b really disrupts my workout schedule ie the only really productive thing i do everyday. i would proudly like to state that i have gone to the gym a few days a week, before work. (meaning i get up long before the sun comes out so i can be at work by 8.) i know you want to know all the dirty deets about the job, but let's just say it isn't exactly up my alley and not in a bad way. i am working in the medical realm so mostly i just do what i am told and work diligently to remain in the good graces of those who tell me what to do. the job has its perks and is interesting, in a i'm-not-really-in-my-element-kind-of-way and it's nice to have a solid paycheck en route to my checking account. plus i work with some characters, and i mean this as a compliment.

i am still waiting to hear back from some grad schools. i had an interview with one this past week. more to come later. slash when i actually have some information to give. i would really love some non-loan money tips though.

i haven't really been baking so i have no new recipes. i'll save the book club stuff for later because my reading pace has slowed considerably.

oh it snowed all day on march the second. yes, i thought it was crazy when it snowed on march the first last year. this weekend it is in the high 50s-low 60s. go figure.

anddddd i'm leaving for key west tomorrow. my first big travel adventure since the great european tour. and yes, i have a free place to stay. that's how i roll. we all know i am an expert on doing it cheap and doing it well.

(that's what she said)

with, that i'm gone again, but hopefully more exciting updates coming soon!

travel writing and reading.

it's time for the book club update...

i finished the bell jar last week. it didn't end quite like i was expecting. the book ended a little ambiguously, allowing the reader to come to whichever conclusion or fate they want esther to take. next, i have decided to pick up eat, pray, love by elizabeth gilbert. from what i've read, some of her travels based on self-discovery and the no obligations philosophy takes me back to several months ago during my soul searching european travels. while i left for europe under much different pretenses, some of this book (albeit she is still in italy) it reads much like my diary. and i am forever envious of anyone who gets to travel and get paid for it. if only they could share the wealth!

on another note, and as mentioned in my previous post, i've mostly been glued the to tv watching the olympics. also, friday afternoon we got about 3"-4" inches of beautiful, fluffy snow. of course the sun was out bright and early saturday morning so it was very short-lived. also, i am failing at the job search. someone please help, i'm going crazy!

two years of waiting.

and olympic season is finally here!

i prefer the summer games, but the winter games are a nice filler every two years. i'm totes an olympic junkie, so see you in two weeks!

the king of pop.

yesterday, i watched this is it. (yes, the michael jackson movie.) as a child, i remember listening to, and loving, billie jean. i always liked him. obviously during his dark ages, i became a quieter fan, but that phased out sometime in high school. in college my friends and i were all huge mj fans. i think this was a solid foundation to our friendship, that and being architecture majors. we even took it so far as celebrating a friend's 21st each as a respective michael era/song (with the appropriate attire and not to mention music) in the comfort of our apartment. all the bases were covered...baby michael, billie jean, thriller, black and white, even trial michael. (in case you're curious, i was thriller michael.) sorry i won't be posting any photos. those of you who know me have facebook privileges. to get back on track, i was quite shocked when i learned of his sudden death. not only because the king of pop had died, but because this forever ruined my chances of ever seeing mj perform live. no, i did not have tickets to his up and coming show. i remember having arguments with people about whether or not he still had 'it'. i did not doubt that he had still had 'it' because performing truly was his essence. even numerous scandals, bad press, and countless plastic surgeries could not affect the pure talent it takes move your body like he could. after watching this is it, my hypotheses were proved fact...michael still had 'it'. even at 50 he could move just like he did at that billie jean performance when he captivated millions with the moonwalk. the july show would have been unforgettable, and michael was planning on pushing the boundaries yet again. i am sorry that he never got the comeback he planned for. bottom line, if you like mj, you can't go wrong with this movie. it's nonstop rehearsal footage of all his best songs with the complete dancing, stage, etc, etc, etc. for now i will leave you with one of the most iconic moments of pop culture and the music industry.

neiman marcus cookies.

a few years ago, i tried some homemade neiman marcus cookies. i've been wanting to bake them ever since. my baking adventure today involved these cookies. i must admit, i make a mean chocolate chip cookie. therefore, i am always a little skeptical of a different chocolate chip cookie recipe. i decided to be bold and experiment with the nm recipe. these cookies turned out b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l and taste great as well. i did some slight tweaking of the recipe, but next time i will do a bit more. i also altered the baking time, but the cookies turned out a bit crispier than i prefer. the original recipe is below.

NM CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE

Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1 cup light brown sugar 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 large egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder 1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips Directions 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds) 2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds. 3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips. 4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.

the dough just before baking.

if you like softer cookies, i would suggest baking the cookies for 12 minutes. i baked them for only 15 minutes and the cookies came out quite crispy. as a general rule of thumb, i always add a little more salt to my cookies.

a warm cookie + a cold cup of milk = perfection.

book club.

seeing as my life is fairly uneventful, i have taken full advantage of this by immersing myself into books. i am currently reading by 6th book already this year. i most recently finished the help by kathryn stockett. i think it might be the best book i've read this year. it takes place in jackson, mississippi during the heat of the civil rights movement. the book centers around skeeter phelan, a rich white girl, who is secretly involved with several black women, the help of many of her married friends. skeeter and the help are writing a book chronicling the good, the bad, and the ugly throughout years of raising young white children on top of doing all the cooking and cleaning for wealthy southern families. i found myself laughing throughout much of the book and crying towards the end. i definitely recommend this book to anyone out there. i finished never let me go last week. i'm not sure whether i liked or disliked the book. overall, it was a good read and i wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it. however, upon finishing the book i wanted more out of it. mostly, i think i just felt sorry for the characters and the book ended much as i expected or what i could anticipate while reading it. not that that was a bad thing, i was just hoping for something better for kathy.

currently i'm reading the bell jar by sylvia plath. i spent much of my high school english classes reading her poetry, and have been wanting to pick up this book for several years. finally i am. from what i've read, it reads much faster than i thought it would, considering it contains such a dense and morose subject matter.

in case you're interested in other books i've read or talked about the list is as follows:

the brief, wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz

the glass castle by jeannette walls

her perfect symmetry by audrey niffenger

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro

my favorite things.

one of my favorite things is the hours between 6 and 8 monday through friday. why, you ask. it's because of the world cafe broadcast. although i don't listen to it nearly enough, i do stalk david dye's website and music selections. the guests are always great, and much of my new music discoveries, i must attribute to dye's ear. plus, it's npr. how could you go wrong?

growing up, my parents constantly listened to npr. we (my 3 siblings and i) used to moan and grow tired of the constant talking and world updates. to this day my mom still cooks listening to all things considered. my parents have even seen michael feldman's whad'ya know? live. although, i can't get totally into some of these shows i think they're happy that npr has rubbed off on me.