What I've been up to...

Hi Everyone!

So, I noticed it's been nearly a year since I updated my blog! It feels like there is so much to tell, and yet there's hardly anything to tell! If I was to sum up 2011 to this point, I could say "Jeff and I purchased a house, got a dog, and I turned 30."

Yes, that is how boring my life has become. And yet, it's wonderful to be boring. It's such a nice change from working 60+ hours per week.

Last September Jeff and I bought a magnificent house in a suburb north of Seattle. Here's a gorgeous picture for your enjoyment. :)



Last February, Jeff and I "adopted" an Australian Shepherd puppy. He was 8 weeks old the day we brought him home. I never thought that I could become attached to an animal the way I have, but I can honestly say that he may as well be my baby. I love him so much. His name is Duncan Dougal. He is now almost a year old and so dang smart! Too smart for my own good! He's very high energy which keeps me on my toes! For your enjoyment, here is a plethora of pictures of Duncan from the first year of his life. :)

The day we brought him home:



The first few days after that:




The first few months of his adorable little life:





And now that he's getting a little older:




So there's a few cute pictures of my little fluffy man. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Let's see here...what else have I been up to? Ooh! I've become a gourmand! I was seriously considering culinary school for a while, and haven't yet given up entirely on the dream. However, I'm having a hard time justifying spending $50k on school and not doing something with it. I literally want to go simply to have that extra skill.

I had taken up the hobby of crocheting when I saw most of you last...I am now pretty darn good at knitting! I've knitted many sweaters for myself and the people I love, and they always turn out pretty good! Here's a picture of me wearing the first sweater I ever knitted...



I've also been to Disneyland again twice since I last talked to all of you. Yeah...you're jealous, right? Don't lie, I know you are!! Jeff surprised me with a trip a couple weeks ago to The Magical Kingdom to see it all beautified for Christmas. It was McGorgeous!! If the Kardashian's were there, they would have given it a GORGEOUS AWARD!

I've been singing in The Everett Chorale under the direction of Lee Matthews. It's been such a treat to be musical again. This year I am the section leader of the Alto group. It's so much fun, and it helps me to feel super important. December is a crazy month for the Chorale. We have so many sing-outs and concerts planned! If you have any interest in coming to hear us sing, we'd be delighted to have you! You can find out more information at www.everettchorale.org

Jeff and I will be traveling to Austria with The Everett Chorale. I am excited. I'm going to have the opportunity to see where my favorite composer (Mozart) lived his life. Get to see the piano where he played his music...all sorts of awesome stuff. I get chills just thinking about it. In addition, we'll be doing "The Sound of Music" tour. I can't wait to dance in the gazebo with Jeff singing "I am 31 going on 32!" Heh.

Well, I think that's it for now. I hope that everyone's having as happy of a time as I am!

Love to all ya'll,

Racheloni

Oh wait..I almost forgot...I went back to being a redhead...



And now for your enjoyment, here is my favorite picture of Jeff Bridges:

I've Been Watching Too Much Food Network

We recently got cable again, and I have been enjoying watching Food Network. I was also thrilled to have the cable up in running in time for the season 2 premiere of my favorite telly show V. Well, we all have learned by now that what I watch and read seems to effect what I dream about. So, without further adieu, my most recent wacky dreams.

The other day my mum had her tooth pulled, and I (being the good daughter I am) decided to keep her company. I introduced my mother to my favorite telly show, V. I brought over my blu-ray of the first season so that she could better understand what was happening in season 2. I fell asleep on her couch while we were watching it. The entire time, I dreamt that I was with Alton Brown, and he was cooking aliens. Like, chopping them up, tossing them in a food processor, pureeing, sauteing, boiling, baking, deep-frying, aliens! And unlike what he normally does, which is to explain what he is doing while he does it, and the science behind is actions, he just kept screaming AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another dream that I had the other night is also related to watching too much Food Network. I really enjoy the shows Chopped, and Worst Cooks in America. I believe this lead to me having a very wacky dream in which I was a contestant on a show that was a cross between those two shows. We needed to cook up a meal using a certain set of ingredients, with no formal training in the art of cuisine. One of the ingredients called for was jalapenos. However, the jalapenos had not been provided the way the rest of the ingredients were. Well, the show luckily was being filmed at Pike Place Market, so I offered to run out to one of the fruit stands and get the jalapenos if the judges were willing to stop the timer. They all agreed on this, and I ran out to get some lovely jalapenos. (The fruit stand, in case you were wondering, was run by chef Robert Irvine. It was a fruit stand/fine leather handbag stand, also in case you were wondering.) I got the jalapenos, and even had Robert chop them up for me for good measure, and headed back to the kitchen studio. Upon my arrival, the kitchen studio was in utter chaos. But not food chaos. No. All of the chefs/judges/contestants had become ninjas. Killing each other with spatulas and wooden spoons and Kitchen Aid Mixer attachments. I tried to run to safety behind a wall. Also hiding behind the wall was Gordon Ramsay, and favorite of both me and my husband. I stood their star struck as Gordon skewered other kitchen ninjas with a pair of BBQ tongs. He then turned to me and said "come with me if you want to live." I said "ok Gordon, but I should probably let you know that I'm married." That's when I woke up.

I should probably stop watching late night Food Network.

I Dream of Lady Gaga

Last night I had another crazy dream. I dreamt that I was best friends with Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga. We had a great friendship. We borrowed each other's clothes (I know, ha-di-ha, I'm easily 2-3 times the size of Lady Gaga), did each other's hair and makeup, and had a great time being gal-pals. I taught her how to knit, and she taught me how to dress like a freak. I taught her how to crochet, and she taught me how to dance. But then she had the audacity to be unkind to my husband. And so I had to call her the "c" word. (Which, by the way, I would never actually say in real life. I am, if nothing else, a lady.) After I gave her the ultimate insult, she proceeded to attempt to beat me up. But, as I stated a moment before, I am easily 2-3 times her size. So I quickly over-took her and flattened her nose and knocked out a couple of teeth. And she had to take the stage for her show that evening looking like Ellie Mae Clampett.

I'd like to say in closing, I would never insult or hurt miss Gaga. I do think she's quite fabulous.

The end!

Dear J.J. Abrams...

Dear J.J. Abrams and the other writers of the hit television series Lost...

REALLY?!?! I mean REALLY?!?! For the past 6 years I have sat in front of my television set for an hour once per week watching you create mystery after mystery, willing to put up with it because you promised you would explain it all to me.

This past Sunday, you disappointed me. In fact, you flat out lied. YOU LIED! YOU DIDN'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING!!! Why did women who got pregnant on the island die? Why were Hurley and Libby in a mental institution together? What's with Kate and the horse? What's with Walt? Answer me!

I don't think the world has felt this betrayed since Saint Elsewhere.

I think this is just something J.J. Abrams likes to pull. Take the recent installment of Star Trek. Yes, it ended up being phenomenal, but a lot of Trekkies were disappointed because he took years and years of Gene Roddenberry's writings and did away with them by simply saying "oh, this was an alternate reality."

Was that your excuse for Lost, J.J? "Oh, everyone in fact died when the plane crashed on the island the first time. The entire series took place in the few moments before Jack passed away.

You know what I think, J.J? I think you dug yourself in too deep and ran out of time! Or got tired, or lazy. Either way, I will not be watching anything you ever put out again. Not even the Star Trek sequel when it finally comes around.

Insincerely,

Rachel

My New Hobby!

Well, in honor of "national delete your Facebook day" (which I haven't done yet, but plan on doing so at my next earliest convenience) I decided to start my new Facebook-free life doing something I haven't done in months...blog! I do love my blog and am very grateful to my husband for purchasing a URL for me and everything, so maybe I ought to use it, eh?
I have a new hobby. Well, I have many new hobbies, including crochet and going to the gym. (Ok ok ok, I'll wait for you guys to all come back because I know you all nearly wet yourselves laughing when I said that going to the gym was a hobby for me. I, in fact, had water come out my nose from laughing after writing it. Because it's not a hobby, it's something I do because I feel that my life is so good that I need a small amount of suffering in it. So I torture myself by going to the gym.) Anyway, I started a new hobby today and am quite keen to share it with all my friends. I like to call it Cruiseshipspotting. Cruiseshipspotting is quite similar to trainspotting, or camelspotting (if you're a fan of the Python chaps you'll get the reference.) Cruiseship spotting is when you spot cruise ships.
The first cruise ship I spotted was last night when Jeff and I were taking a walk. We were walking the Seattle waterfront and had come to the aquarium when I started jumping up and down. This nearly caused my husband to have a cardiac arrest because he wasn't aware that I was jumping in excitement, he thought maybe I had hurt myself. After assuring him that I was fine and apologizing profusely for the near-death-experience that I gave him, we walked to get a closer look.
The cruise ship was the Sapphire Princess, from Seattle's own Princess Cruise Lines. Sapphire Princess whisks the lucky passengers away on a 7 night cruise through Alaska. The itinerary is Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord, Juneau, Skagaway, and Victoria British Columbia. The ship itself was a beautiful sight to behold, lit up against the Seattle night sky. Here is a picture for your enjoyment. (Taken from the ship's website, http://www.princess.com)



And a picture taken last night with Jeff's camera phone.




Well, seeing this beautiful ship put me in the mood to see more. So after my trip to the gym (feel free to laugh hysterically yet again) I took a quick drive down the waterfront. There were no ships in port at pier 66, but looking across the water I could see 2 lovely looking ships at pier 91, so I went to investigate! Now, the bugger with pier 91 is that you can't get close to the ships the way you can at pier 66. So these pictures will have to suffice until I remember where I put my Olympus camera (which, incidentally, was purchased on a cruise ship! The Carnival Paradise which Jeff and I enjoyed during our honeymoon.)

The ship I was able to get the most clear look at was the Holland America Zaandam. Now, the cool thing about this ship is that it's smaller, and designed to handle fewer guests. This has the possibility of making for a much more enjoyable cruise. This cruise ship is musically themed. The decorations range from things like Bill Clinton's saxaphone, to guitars signed by Queen, Iggy Pop, Eric Clapton, and the Rolling Stones. This ship (like every other cruise ship that embarks from Seattle) goes to Alaska. Here is the picture I was able to take.


The final ship that I was able to spot was Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Sea's. This ship was quite lovely. It features lots of glass walls, and a retractable awning. Here is the picture I was able to take of it.



Well, that's all the cruise ships I was able to spot. Until next time, please enjoy this lovely video about a related hobby called Camel Spotting, which is very aptly explained by Mr. Eric Idle.



Cheers!

Ooooohhhh....what a lovely curry!

So my friend Shari requested a couple of my recipes, so I figured that using my rarely-updated blog would be an easy way to share them with everyone.

This is a recipe for "Rachel's most seriously awesome amazing delish curry ever. Seriously."

Ingredients:
-1 tablespoon oil. (I like to use coconut oil because it's better for you when it's fried as opposed to olive oil but it's up to you.)
-1 12-oz package of extra-firm tofu (or if you eat meat...12 oz of whatever kind of meat you want...or if you don't want either...2 large potatoes peeled and chopped. I've tried both tofu and potatoes and they're both DEEEEELISH!)
-1 tsp seasoned salt
-1 tbsp butter or margarine
-1 onion chopped (I prefer either sweet or white onions. Size of onion depends on what you're in the mood for. I have a love-affair with onion so I try to use this biggest one I can find.)
-3 cloves of garlic, minced. (I get the already minced garlic and I toss in a tablespoon. It's more than the recipe calls for...but when has extra garlic ever been a bad thing?!)
-1 can of coconut milk (I used the low-fat variety because...who would've thunk that something like coconut milk could be so calorie-laden?!?!?!)
-At least 2 tsp curry powder (I am a curry fiend...I usually toss in at least 2 TABLESPOONS! OM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!!)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp black pepper (I just do about 3 turns of the pepper mill.)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I just buy a bunch of it, chop the living tar out of it in my ultimate chopper, and use it all. Cilantro is kind of like garlic...there's no such thing as too much.)
-1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper. (This is optional, it is only to make your curry spicy if you prefer it. I don't like my curry spicy so I don't do it. But you're welcome to! Try it and let me know what you think!)

1) Heat oil in skillet. Toss in tofu and seasoning salt (or potato, or chicken, or fish, or lamb, or whatever kind of whatever you want). Fry in oil until golden brown on each side and fully cooked (about 15 minutes for tofu...longer for potatoes and meat.) Once cooked, put aside on a paper towl.
2) Add butter to same skillet. (If you want it spicy, this would be the time to add the crushed red pepper.) Add onion and garlic and cook until transparent.
3) Add coconut milk, curry powder, cilantro, black pepper, and salt, and return tofu (or potato, or chicken, or whatever) and simmer for 15 minutes. (I also like to toss in a half-cup of frozen green peas at this time too.)

Serve over basmati rice, with a piece of naan and a salad of cucumber and tomato in tzatziki sauce on the side.

Food will be even more awesome the next morning!

25 Unbelievably Boring Things You Didn't Know About Me

1) I sleep in a hyperbaric chamber. This is to ensure that I stay beautiful and look 28 for the rest of my life.

2) I don't believe in gravity. Not like "ooh, the gravity of the situation is unbearable." More like the gravity that allegedly keeps us from floating off into space...I just don't think it's real.

3) I have 46 different tubes of mascara. And have tried them all. And still haven't found one that I am completely impressed with.

4) I've had 4 concussions in my life.

5) I've had 4 concussions in my life.

6) Don't tell anyone, but I have a secret crush on Leonard Nimoy.

7) Don't tell my husband...but I adore Lady Gaga. I'm serious, don't tell him. He'll never let me hear the end of it!

8) If I could be 21 again...I wouldn't...maybe I'd like to stay at 25...but I don't ever want to be 21 ever again.

9) My hair isn't real. I'm actually bald. I suffer from a rare condition called alpha-1 antiepidermalhair syndrome. I've had this problem for 10 years. Every 6 months I take a secret trek to India where I have a monastery full of women growing their hair out for me to come and choose whichever ladies locks I like the best. Jeff just thinks I'm popping off to Vain Salon in Seattle to get my hair colored by Carissa.

10) I invented transwarp teleportation. This is how Jeff thinks I am simply at the salon when I am in fact, in India getting my hair weaved. Gene Rodenberry borrowed my idea for his famous "Star Trek" books and television shows. I get paid $2.14 in royalties each week.

11) $2.14 * 52 weeks = $111.28 in royalties that I receive from the Rodenberry foundation each year. I spend it on gum and gloves. Which I usually bury in my parents back yard each 12th day of the month at 3am. This has been going on for years. This is the first they'll be hearing about it.

12) I've had 4 concussions in my life.

13) I hate it when people blame their Thanksgiving sleepiness on triptophan overload. It's a myth, I tell you. A myth! Triptophan does not make you sleepy! This is just an excuse for the men to slink off and take a nap and leave the poor women in the kitchen doing the dishes!

14) If I owned my own business, I would open a little shop and call it "Rachel's Sandwich Shop." We would serve tacos, and gelato, and nothing else. Not even water. You'll have to bring your own water. In an eco-friendly container, as I am allergic to styrofoam.

15) I easily get distracted by sparkly things. This makes my wedding ring particularly hazardous to people that are driving on the road with me on a sunny day. I got stuck in the elevator for 6 hours yesterday just going up and down because I had just had my ring cleaned, and forgot what I was doing.

16) You know how normal people crave different foods? I crave things like lipstick and mascara and pink cardigans.

18) I've had 4 concussions in my life.

19) So, I have this idea for a great movie. It's about two gnomes who find a bracelet of power, and they have to take it to the Burning Steppes and cast it into the Cauldron. They form the Brotherhood of the Bracelet. Along the way they're trailed by a murloc named Gottom, who's obsessed with the bracelet, and nine bracelet bogeymen. It could be a three-parter, called 'Ruler of the Bracelet'. The first part would be called 'The Brotherhood of the Bracelet', followed by 'A Couple of Towers', with the climactic ending called 'Hey, the King's Back!' I tried to pitch it to Wingnut Films and New Line Cinema, but they wouldn't go for it. They said it'd already been done. Must find out who this Peter Jackson fellow is and kill him. Along with his muse, some guy named JRR Tolkein.

20) I don't care about Team Edward or Team Jacob. For me it's all Team Sylar. There's simply no other way to go.

21) I was a praying mantis in another life. It was kind of a lonely childhood. Along with all the other pressures of adolescence, there was the constant threat of being devoured. People would say "Hey, where's Billy?" "Oh Billy? He got devoured!" It made it really hard to get up a decent kickball game. So I started conquering galaxies instead!

22) I pretend that I care to read intellectual books by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. But really, all I care about are Sophie Kinsella novels. And that Stephanie Meyer lady. Oh, and I like that JK Rowling lady too. She's quite lovely.

23) I've had 4 concussions in my life.

24) I'm a compulsive liar.

25) I like pancakes.