Pura Vida

I can easily recall many scenes in movies where the main character is frantically searching for something, or trying to escape from an enemy, and suddenly she stubs her toe, or trips and falls, only to discover something very important located right where she lands. The flashlight! The gun! The secret escape hatch! Dramatic moments like these don’t happen to me on a frequent basis, but in line with the overall theme, I have been made privy to how an unexpected disruption can lead to something previously undiscovered.

When I was in Costa Rica a few years ago, I was alone in my room just after dusk, when the electricity went out. My dad and I were in a relatively remote area of Monte Verde, and there was little moonlight. I had a hard time seeing even a few inches in front of me, and even if I had slightly improved visibility, the next nearest building was a difficult uphill trek even in broad daylight. I was not about to attempt it alone at night in the dark. Let’s face it; I’m not the most surefooted individual in the world.

I began to search for my cell phone to try to generate a little more light, and found my way to the window where I opened the curtains, hoping for illumination. What I saw instead were the most exquisite remnants of the sunset, sinking behind the silhouettes of nearby trees.

I fumbled for my camera and managed to snap a series of pictures through the window in an effort to capture this display. It lasted only a few minutes before again stranding me in cave darkness, but I felt fortunate to have witnessed such a fleeting moment of serenity.

I understand, but I don't get it.

When I left the gym yesterday it was member appreciation night. In addition to free chair massages and a few booths set up advertising healthy lifestyle choices, the gym had purchased several pizzas and was serving slices free to members. Granted, pizza is truly not that bad for you, considering many of the other temptations available to us, but it's also not generally a snack recommended for maintaining a healthy weight.

A dentist doesn't give you a Snickers when you leave, a counselor won't tell you to hang out with people who have caused you pain and a teacher won't tell you to go spend endless hours watching cartoons. In general, people don't facilitate the demise of what they have worked to correct or prevent.

I was discussing the irony of the situation with Jen as I drove home and she noted that her gym does the same thing but gives out hot dogs and steak on their version of member appreciation night. My first thought was that my gym is lame because they don't distribute fillet. My second thought was what on earth is wrong with these places throwing high calorie foods at members struggling to shed pounds.

As Jen put it, she could understand that pizza is cheap, and that people like free stuff, so the gym probably put those two facts together to generate the idea for free pizza night. That said, we can't get how this actually happens. Are carrot sticks and granola bars that much more money than hot dogs?

Phrase coined: "I understand, but I don't get it."

The more you think about it, the more this sentence explains every battle of head verses heart. You can often times logically understand why something has occurred when viewing it in black and white, but once you progress to think of it in a gray area, it can be difficult to fully grasp the reasoning behind something.

Even dictionary.com seems confused here. To understand: to have a systematic interpretation or rationale, as in a field or area of knowledge. To get: to acquire a mental grasp or command of; learn.

Anniversary

Tonight Jimmy and I celebrated our two year anniversary. Such a special night together and such an amazing meal at our favorite place, Cafe Boa. We had two flites of wine, and as an appetizer we shared a huge cheese board with dates, nuts and fruit. I had pasta with shrimp, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes and a goat cheese cream sauce. Jim had a Kobe beef burger that was amazing.

I love the extra touches this restaurant puts in. Sprigs of rosemary tied around the napkins, olives and hummus as a starter with your bread, it's all delicious. They also have the best servers of any restaurant I frequent.

Senorita Wilson

JW # 2: I cannot wait to be your sister, and am honored to be a bridesmaid. This was such a classy way to ask!

M-I-C, K-E-Y...

When I do all my chores Jim makes me Micky Mouse pancakes. I don't care how old you are these are the best thing ever.

So Fresh and So Easy

I have mentioned before how much I heart social responsibility, (it literally warms my heart) and it's great to see that some mainstream retailers and grocers are taking a huge step in the right direction. The picture here is of the recycling receptacle I saw at Fresh 'N Easy this weekend.

I am no manufacturer but this could not have taken too much time or money to create, and could be easily customized to suit different stores. Maybe prisoners could make them since most states have segued away from inmate-crafted license plates.

Why oh why doesn't every store in America have one of these? Even if only every other store had one, think of the bags, bottle and cans destined for a landfill that would instead be recycled.

Come On Get Happy

In college I was a frequent visitor to the Gold Bar in Tempe. I used to head to this unique coffee and tea house to pretend to study. I generally spent all my time texting or people watching but it was a solid effort on my part to do the studious/urban outfitters/emo thing.

I went tonight to meet Keri and it was great to be back. I had one of the best teas I have ever tasted and it was called Get Happy. It was decaf so I guess that means happiness is not derived from caffeine. I think the tea made me happy, as well as the half pound slice of carrot cake I tried.

To get an idea of the charm of this place, located literally in a parking lot, check out the Top 10 list they have on their Web site:

Top Ten Reasons for Choosing Gold Bar Espresso:

10. We don't have naked ladies on our cups.

9. We have loyalty cards that's like a 10% discount.

8. We never have to close to retrain our staff.

7. We do not assult your ears with cds we're trying to unload.

6. Our coffee is fresh roasted by people who know what they're doing.

5. We have live jazz and classical guitar on the weekends.

4. Our caring staff want you to have the best drinks possible.

3. We have dog bones for your dogs.

2. We have granita...fresh and frozen without using ice or powder. They have blended drinks, blah and diluted.

And the number one reason for chosing Gold Bar...

1. We don't charge you more for the GOOD coffee.

Wine Art

Last night we went to the tasting room, a.k.a. the magical basement, at Sun Devil Liquors in Mesa. The place was awesome and I entertained myself for part of the evening just perusing the collection of wines.

Apricot Glazed Chicken

I cook all the time and am always searching for easy recipes that can give the impression that you spent all day putting it together. Here's one I tried last night, solely for the purpose of getting rid of random things I had lying around, in this instance apricot jelly.

Ingredients:
-2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
-1 small jar of apricot jelly
-1 10 oz. can of low sodium chicken broth
-Half cup of light soy sauce
-1 tablespoon of corn starch

Brown the chicken in a large skillet, add jelly, broth and soy sauce and stir. Simmer for about 20 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken from skillet and add cornstarch to thicken sauce to your liking. Add chicken again and mix well. Serve over rice.

Pink Ribbon

This morning Nicki and I did a 5K run out in Gilbert, AZ that we found out about online. The proceeds were going to benefit a Valley organization that helps out single moms battling cancer. Both of our moms are breast cancer survivors so we felt it was completely appropriate to participate.

The infamous pink fire truck was on display at the race, which I had not seen since last summer when I was working for Governor Napolitano. The fire truck made a stop at the Capitol in July 2008 and the Governor, also a breast cancer survivor was one of the first (if not the very first) to sign the truck. As you can see in my photos, there are now thousands of signatures from people all across the U.S.

Here's some background on the effort: A member of the Glendale Fire Department organized a Pink Ribbon Tour to encourage fire and police department members, local leaders and community members to to show support (and wear pink) for those battling breast cancer. The tour included a custom-painted pink fire engine complete with an enormous sculpted metal breast cancer ribbon.

The official tour began August 24, 2008 and stopped in 32 cities across the United States. Each scheduled stop served as an opportunity for the Pink Ribbon Tour to partner with the local Komen affiliate in that city. Together, the goal is to raise support and awareness for breast cancer research, education and treatment services. The brains behind the effort, David Graybill, likes to point out the significance of a male-dominated field (police and fire departments), supporting a female-dominated disease.

The race was interesting. We were under the impression it was a run, but it was actually a walk. We figured we'd run anyway, and broke away from the crowd. When we had been running for about 20 minutes, around the time we should have been finishing mile two, the race volunteer nearby told us we had finished the race. We paused, and contemplated packing it in, even though there was no chance in hell we had just completed a 5K, but then Nicki had the bright(?) idea that we could run the whole course again. So we did. And then I was really tired.

This morning was a cool experience that made it easy to help out a fabulous cause. There were probably only 200 people or so participating, unlike the Race for the Cure which brings in about 30,000 people per city, but it was just as rewarding.

Rising Star

Did you ever get the feeling, at a very young age, that you were destined to be a star?

Cooking Crafts

I have decided that my passion cooking and baking is the adult equivalent of my former love of arts and crafts. The same basic principles apply, and a similar satisfaction and sense of ownership are generated. It’s the joy of doing the work and putting pieces together to create a whole, finished product. I enjoy that even as I get older I can use the culinary arts as an outlet for creative energy when it has become less appropriate to bust out a coloring book. The same way that a five year old version of myself would draw a picture or craft a valentine to show someone how much I cared for them, my 25 year old self bakes cookies or a pie instead. Cooking can also produce a similar fury as would arise when a painting just didn’t come out the way my childhood mind envisioned it. When I’ve spent the time and money to put together a meal and it comes out looking like something from a science fair, I want to throw it on the floor, e.g. crumple it up and throw it away like a bad drawing. Maybe this is why I like to photograph certain things I cook, because unlike a collage, cupcakes don’t fit well in frames or and banana bread doesn’t stick to the fridge with a magnet. The pictures give me a way of remembering the satisfaction these ventures created.

Appetizer Art

My mom vs. Jim over the weekend...

Jack Talk Thai...

Jim's Thai Curry. It takes a confident and wonderful man to incorporate baby corn into his recipes.

Disturbing Fact of the Day

Costco sells coffins. I don't even want to think about how or why this came about.