Celebrity Sightings in Starbucks

Today was a good day. First of all, the sun came out after two miserable days of rain, but more importantly and more excitingly (is that even a word?) I saw Chris Meloni today at the Starbucks near my office. I know. My heart was all aflutter (it’s even fluttering now as I relive it in my head). For those of you sad, sorry people who don’t know who he is, he plays Detective Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU – one of the few shows my DVR is set to record. I had heard rumors that he lived in our building, and some of my coworkers had spotted him previously, but I’d never seen him. Until today! My colleague and I were waiting in line when I saw him in the line behind us. I immediately began *subtly* poking my friend and mouthing “look!” Understandably, it took her awhile to realize why I was freaking out – though I’m surprised he didn’t notice my antics. When she finally realized who I wanted her to look at, she was a lot less excited than me. Another colleague came in and after the same poking and head tossing to point out my celebrity sighting, she said, “oh, I don’t know who that is.” Me, I could barely contain myself. On the rare occasion that I see a celebrity I’m always torn between respectfully going up to them telling them I’m a fan and acting “cool” and nonchalant about it. I usually go with acting “cool” though I’m sure I look nothing of the sort while I’m stealing glances and giggling like a preteen. I decide not to speak to them because I know I won’t be able to restrain myself. I’ll end up gushing and professing my love for them or stumbling all over my words. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a huge celebrity hound, but Chris Meloni? Come on. There was no way I could go up to him without blushing something crazy and sounding like a complete stuttering idiot. Now, of course, I regret it. That always happens. In the moment, I’m torn, racked with inner conflict, but always take the “I’m a cool New Yorker who sees celebrities all the time” route, like everyone else in Starbucks (seriously, no one else seemed to notice that Detective Stabler had just ordered a tall latte!). But when it’s over and they’re long gone, I wish I had gotten a picture with my cell phone or been that flattering, over-enthusiastic fan. I guess I could always turn stalker and go to Starbucks every single day at the exact same time, waiting for my second chance. Just kidding. I may be overly excitable, but I’m no stalker. At least I have that going for me.

The Right to Walk-Out

While sitting captive in the doctor’s waiting room last week, I saw a story on the news that got me thinking. Students from a Linwood, NJ school had staged a walk-out to protest some of their teachers being let go. To conclude the story, the reporter stated, “disciplinary measures are being considered.” I understand that these students are disrupting the school day by walking out, but should they be disciplined? They are peacefully protesting their AUTHORITY FIGURES being let go. They walked out in support of their teachers. Isn’t this what we want from students? Support for their teachers? They weren't being rowdy or obnoxious. In fact, their walkout drew the attention of the news and shone a spotlight on a very real problem. I say bravo. When I was in 5th grade, my elementary school did something similar. One of our teachers was being let go. He was dedicated, well-loved, and an all-around great teacher. But rumor had it he didn’t get along with the superintendent. Frankly, I think petty politics do not belong in our school systems as the true meaning of teaching ends up getting lost, but I digress. Grades 5-8 staged a walkout. We wore buttons, carried signs, and even had the support of many teachers. The superintendent threatened to expel all students who participated – an empty threat since he couldn’t very well expel EVERYONE. Our walk-out generated some local media buzz, but all in all, was completely ineffective. Our teacher was let go anyway. But it showed our administrators that we cared what happened to our teachers, that we wanted good teachers. Sure, the superintendent wasn't keen on our disagreeing with him, but our intentions were good and our teachers supported us.

My question is, why are these administrators looking to punish these kids? They’re exercising their freedom of speech as well as their right to gather peacefully. I think it’s brave and touching that they banded together in support of teachers - whom they normally rally against. They should be applauded. And maybe (gasp!) even listened to. I think school authorities sometimes forget that to really teach children means to listen to them and to consider their concerns, not just throw information at them and hope it sticks. I truly believe most teachers understand this - all good teachers do, certainly - but I think it becomes lost on the administrators. I think we need more students who will fight for education and for the benefit of good teachers. Who else will?

All-nighter

Tonight's the night. I have my EEG in the morning, so I'm not allowed to sleep. I've been up since 5, just got home from work, and now I have 12 hours of wakefulness ahead of me. Ali's coming over to stand guard and make sure I don't fall asleep. It'll be a night filled with girlie movies, junk food, and late-night diner runs - a typical sleepover...without the sleeping. This will be a running post tonight, hour-by-hour. So check back for periodic updates if you're up all night with nothing to do. Here goes nothing.

9:30pm - blogging and eating a milkshake. Ali just got here. Kurt's friends are here to watch basketball. I'm already tired. It was a long day. Spring Break 2010 Party at work today.

11:00pm - Ali and I are reminiscing. The boys are listening to our crazy stories from middle school. I'm pretty sure Kurt is now wondering what he's getting into - if he wasn't before.

12:20am - My eyes are starting to close. Switching from contacts to glasses soon and am now chugging Dr. Pepper. Still watching b-ball which is helping keep me awake. Really want to sleep.

2:00am - Getting a second wind. We just played rock band for the past hour. I'm a master on the drums. Eight hours until I can go to sleep. Ali and I plan to go to an all-night diner around 3. Apparently, most of the diners near us aren't open 24 hours anymore! I'm a little upset. This is New Jersey! What are people supposed to do at 2 and 3 in the morning after going out drinking all night? Ali and I will find one. I know Crystal is open 24 hours, but we're going to stick to Rt. 130 and drive North until we find something. Road trip!

4:30am - We just got back from our mini road trip. Apparently, there are no 24 hour diners in New Jersey. We drove for about 20 minutes up Rt. 130 past two diners, both closed, before we headed to Lawrenceville and Crystal Diner. On the way, we got Dunkin Donuts coffee. The smell of it instantly woke me up (I'd been falling asleep in the car - don't tell Ali). When we walked into Crystal, the manager told us they were closing in 30 minutes (!?!?). What happened to all the diners?? We ate quickly and left before 4:00...and stopped at Dunkin Donuts again. The man at the drive-thru recognized us, laughed, and gave us some free munchkins. Now we're home and I'm much more awake than I was before eating and drinking two lattes. Only 3 and a half hours until my appointment and 5 hours until I get to sleep again!

6:20am - Normally I'd be leaving for the train station about now. I did it! I don't feel as bad as I thought I would. I can't believe I made it. We just finished watching Town & Country - weird, weird movie, but cute. The sun is coming up and it feels good to have accomplished this and stayed up all night. Thank you Ali for being such a good friend and staying up with me! You're the best!

10:30am - Just got home. EEG went well. Probably should not have driven to the test. I could feel my body trying so hard to shut down the whole drive there. Weird experience to say the least. I still have goo in my hair, but I don't care. All I can think is SLEEP. Goodnight!

White Lies

So I had an awesome weekend. Not only was the weather beautiful and warm and made me never want to be inside again, I also learned that I have the best family and friends ever. Kurt and I were going to lunch at my friend’s parents house with my dad on Sunday...or so I thought. When I opened the door, our bridal party and close family were all there to surprise me. They had thrown me a surprise engagement party! (And I say “me” because Kurt knew about it, not because this wedding is all about me, which I know it’s not ;-)) Once I got over the initial shock and confusion (I can’t wait to see the pictures from when we walked in – I’m sure the look on my face says “whaaaat??”) I was very very touched. Kurt thought he had blown it a few times, and if I were a suspicious person, he probably would have, but I had absolutely no idea. There were clues throughout that I just never thought twice about: Kurt wearing a polo without my prodding, my father dressing up for “lunch,” Kurt calling “lunch” a party and then backtracking. Yet I remained blissfully unaware. I still can’t believe my friends and family pulled it off and managed to lie (white lies of course, but lies nonetheless) to me for months. I know they worked so hard and it was absolutely amazing. My sister even went as far as to call the township and have them change the St. Patrick’s Day parade! At the last minute, the township had changed the course of the parade, sending the bagpipers and paraders down the street we needed to take. She called them and told them what they were planning and they didn’t block off the street! My sister kicks butt. It was absolutely perfect; the weather, food, family, and friends. I am a very very lucky girl.

On a completely separate and random note, I need to start taking vitamins. I say this about once a year. If you haven’t yet noticed, I’m the kind of person who gets stoked about/obsessed with something for a short period of time, and then just as quickly, bored with it. Every so often, I vow to take a multivitamin every day. It lasts about a week, and then the bottle sits on my desk, in front of my computer screen where I look at it everyday and think “I should really take my vitamins,” but still it sits, untouched. Pathetic, I know. Well, you all heard about my appointment with the migraine doctor and all the crazy tests I have to have to make sure my brain is lesion-free. He has also recommended that I take Magnesium Oxide and Riboflavin every day along with my vitamins (because I lied and told him I take vitamins every day). These are natural remedies (Riboflavin is B2 and found in fortified cereals – you would know this if you liked to read cereal boxes, like me). Not only would these reduce my migraine occurance, but the occurance of ALL headaches. You’d think I’d jump right on that right? Wrong. I keep meaning to, but haven’t bought them yet. Today though, I made the first step and took my multivitamin. Next step, CVS for some MgO and B2. Maybe writing it down will actually force me to do it. And then my headaches will magically disappear...for the week or two that I remember to take the pills.

How to Emulsify

The past few weeks have been insanely busy and I haven’t had time to make dinner. I went to the grocery store Monday night, bought a ton of groceries, only to realize I barely had time to make 2 recipes this week and wouldn’t be home most nights.

Wednesday night I made Sirloin with Chimichurri, my famous smashed potatoes, and sauteed veggies. The chimichurri came out good and went great with the sirloin. I was a little worried since it called for a food processor and I don’t have one. I used my trusty chopping knife and some elbow grease instead. I learned a new word as well: emulsify. It sounds scary, like pulverize or puree, so that’s what I assumed it meant. It actually means to mix two liquids that do not normally mix well, such as oil and water. Not so scary. The sirloin itself was a little tough, so I’ll have to figure out how to make it more tender next time. I don’t even think we have a mallet. My smashed potatoes are simple and amazing if I do say so myself. The only problem with them is I always make too much and end up eating ALL of them in one sitting. I peel only about 3/4 of the potatoes, boil the peeled and non-peeled potatoes, then smash them with a masher (keeping some lumps in). I mix in milk, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. Please note, these are not “healthy” smashed potatoes. But really, when you want something comforting and tasty, who goes for healthy? Butter and sour cream make everything better.

Next on the menu: Chili-rubbed Tilapia (except Shop Rite didn’t have Tilapia, so I’m making Sole instead). To come on Sunday.

On Tuesday, I took a personal day and went to the Neurologist. For as long as I can remember, I’ve gotten migraines. They’re rare, but debilitating all the same. For about the past fifteen years, the only symptoms accompanying my migraine headaches are sensitivity to light and sound and nausea – basically the symptoms that turn a headache into a migraine. I don’t know my triggers since they are so rare, it’s difficult to find a common factor. But over the past 3 years, three of my migraines were preceded by loss of vision and mental confusion. I can’t even describe how scary this is. The first time it happened, I was so panicked I thought I was going blind. For anyone who's wondering, the confusion is more terrifying than the vision loss. Like any closet hypochondriac in my generation, once the symptoms subsided and my headache started, I looked up my symptoms on WedMD and found they were fairly normal for migraine sufferers, but I was determined to get it checked out anyway. It took two more migraines like this to put me into motion.

The exam was interesting. Honestly, I felt like I had time-traveled back to the ‘60’s. The doctor actually had a black “doctor” satchel filled with his stethoscope, little hammer, and the thing they use to look in your eye. After an extensive and exhausting round of background questions, he performed the neurological exam: providing resistance while I pushed and pulled my arms, legs, elbow, wrist, etc. He then hit my joints with the little hammer and declared that I was normal. In order to be completely sure I don’t have a lesion in my brain (!) he’s having me do an MRI and a sleep-deprived EEG. This means I have to stay up all night next Thursday. I’m not allowed to sleep at all, nor am I allowed to take anything to help me stay awake. I’m not sure this doctor knows who he’s dealing with. I can pretty much fall asleep at any time. I LOVE to sleep. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I have pulled maybe 2 all-nighters in my life and both times were nights when I was surrounded by people, music, and constant stimulation. Here’s the deal: if I’m bored, I will fall asleep. So what to do? I’ll have at least 8 hours to kill and I’ll be exhausted and delirious for most of those hours. I need suggestions. I’m thinking about cleaning the whole apartment from top to bottom, taking a shower or two, maybe going to an all night diner at some point. I’m seriously dreading Thursday night and I’m REALLY not sure I can do this. Stay tuned.

On my nightstand:

I finished Neverwhere last week. It was awesome. Please please please go read anything by Neil Gaiman. He is such a great storyteller.

Now, I’m on to The Help. It’s a New York Times Bestseller and I’ve heard rave reviews from a ton of people at work. Now, I agree with all of them. I’m about halfway through. It takes place in Mississippi in the ‘60’s during the Civil Rights Movement. It alternates between three women: 2 Black housemaids, and 1 wealthy white woman who wants to help them tell their stories. It’s filled with drama and history and is so well written and the story, so well told. The voices are completely unique and I’ve found myself becoming deeply attached to each of them. It’s an easy read too. It’s a long book, but I’m devouring it, quickly. Definitely worth lugging to the beach on vacation – though you might not want to put it down to turn over while tanning.

Polar Bear Plunge

For the past three years, Kurt has participated in The Polar Bear Plunge. It is possibly the craziest charity event ever. People run into the ocean, in February, in New Jersey. It benefits The Special Olympics and each person raises money before taking the plunge. I signed up for the first time this year and let’s be honest, I was far from excited. I was flat-out dreading it. I do not enjoy being cold. I love Winter, but only when I can be curled up under a blanket, inside a heated house, drinking hot cocoa. I take super hot showers and don’t even like air conditioning that much (I end up turning it off half of the time because it gets too cold). So was it surprising that I had an awesome time at the Plunge on Saturday? Yes. Is it even more surprising that I plan to do it next year? Absolutely.

We lucked out. It was originally scheduled for February 27th, but it had snowed a lot on the 26th. While most people would think a little snow would make it that much more authentic, I would think a little snow would cause a lot of frostbitten toes. I think the organizers agreed with me. It was postponed until March 6th, this past Saturday. The bad news was that Kurt and another team member had to work and so couldn't make it. The good news was that it was a balmy 50 degrees and the water temperature was a scalding 42 degrees. Alright, not exactly sunbathing weather, but it was WAY better than 30 degrees and snow, right? We waited until the very last second to take off our coats, sweatpants, and sweatshirts (see "before" picture below) and get down to our bathing suits and even then, I stood there in my bikini, shivering and jumping from one foot to the other.

There are two ways to do the plunge. The first is to race into the water when they blow the horn. This allows you to get in quickly, but you then realize that getting OUT quickly is not going to happen since 4,000 people are running in behind you. The second option is to wait a minute or two before going in, thus allowing you to get out quickly. This was the option we chose. While we were able to get out quickly enough, we could not get IN quickly enough. While walking down to the water on wet, freezing cold sand, weaving through the throngs of wet, cold people who have already plunged and trying desperately not to touch them, my feet began to go numb. We tried to push through faster, but it just wasn’t possible. I finally got to the water, ran in, dove under a wave, jumped up, and promptly ran out to take pictures before drying off (see "after" picture below).

The whole “plunging” experience lasting about 10 seconds, but it was totally worth it and it was invigorating! It was fun! It wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be. Even attempting to (and succeeding in) changing out of my swimsuit on the beach without revealing ANYTHING was fun.

All in all, we raised over $900,000 for the Special Olympics. I may rave (and complain) about the experience and the fun and the cold, but let’s not forget the true message. The Seaside Heights Polar Bear Plunge is the largest in New Jersey, but it’s only one of the many across the country raising money for a worthy cause. I will definitely be participating again next year. Who’s with me??

On my nightstand:

I started a new book yesterday. One of my favorite books is The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. It won the Newbery last year, so I picked it up…and couldn’t put it down. It was amazing. I loved the story, the characters, the voice, everything. So, while I was at Borders the other day searching for a new title, I came across Neverwhere, also written by Gaiman. It sounded interesting, so I picked it up. I’m about 100 pages in, but you know those books that you can tell you’ll love after the first page? This is one of them. I’m thinking of going on a Neil Gaiman kick – reading all of his books thus far. He’s written so many wonderful books that I just haven’t had the time to pick up – Stardust, American Gods, Coraline – just to name a few. Neverwhere is about a young man who moves to London and makes the decision to save a young girl. By saving her, he enters a world full of mystery and magic: the London Below, where people who have "fallen between the cracks" live. How could you NOT love a book like this? I’ll update as I read more.

Rekindled Obsessions and a New Discovery

This week, I rekindled an old love: Quaker Rice Snacks. I know what you're thinking. Quaker Rice Snacks? But really, they're amazing. Especially the Caramel Corn ones. Back in college I was obsessed with the Peanut Butter flavored cakes, but today I confirmed it, they've been sadly discontinued. I had held out hope for years - "maybe they're just out of them, they must be popular!" I'd tell myself whenever they weren't with the other flavors. But no, I'll have to make do with Caramel Corn.

Everyday after lunch, I have a craving for something sweet and giving up chocolate for Lent has drastically limited my choices. Apparently, the company who stocks our cafeteria believes that the only sweet things in the world are chocolate. Today, propelled by my craving, I found myself standing in front of the vending machine in search of a non-chocolate sweet. While desperately trying to avoid the snickers bar, milano cookies, and oreos, my eyes landed upon the Caramel Corn Quaker Rice Snacks. Finally! Something sweet, that's not chocolate, that I would actually consider eating! AND it's healthy! I pretty much inhaled the 100 calorie bag and I want more. I'm back on the rice cake bandwagon! It looks like I have a new obsession to give up for Lent next year.

Giving up chocolate is not easy, especially for someone with a sweet tooth like me. Every week, some of my girlfriends and I get together to watch Grey's Anatomy. Whoever hosts that week makes goodies for everyone. Mine almost always include chocolate: chocolate-chip cookies, brownies, s'mores. This week, I hosted and needed to find something to make for the girls. My mind immediately went to brownies, until I realized I wouldn't be able to eat them. And let's be realistic, if I made brownies, I was eating them. I don't have THAT much will power. At the last minute, I thought of lemon bars. Perfect! Everyone loves them, they're easy to make, and they're not chocolate, so I could eat them! I found Paula Dean's recipe online and got started. You make the dough first, bake it for 20 minutes and while it's baking, make the filling. The filling goes on top of the dough, and you bake it for another 25 minutes. Let's just say Paula's oven must not be as hot as mine. The dough burned a little bit, on the bottom, but they were still tasty. I've learned my lesson. I will check on my creations periodically to make sure they're not burning. For my first time, they weren't bad! I'd like them to have more of a lemon flavor than they did, so next time I'm adding more lemon juice. (Note to self, buy a juicer).

On my nightstand:

I know I've been slacking in this part of my blog, but I haven't read anything that I could really tell you about. They're mostly manuscripts. I did read a manuscript though, that I can tell you about. It's called Kiss in the Dark, by Lauren Henderson. It comes out on 4/13/2010, which is still 6 weeks away, but it's the third in a series, so you can get started on the first two in the meantime. They are Kiss Me Kill Me and Kisses and Lies. They're all murder mysteries set in England. Scarlett Wakefield becomes the main suspect in a strange murder and must investigate to find out who the true murderer is. These books are fast paced and fun reads. Scarlett's voice is chatty and cute. You instantly want to be her friend. She can be a little frustrating at times, the way characters can be when they do something you KNOW they shouldn't do, but she's a strong heroine. I really enjoyed these books. There's also the added aspect of teen romance in each for those who enjoy chick lit. Highly recommended.

Food-Shopping Aversions

In my quest to become a better and more experienced cook, I attempted 2 new recipes this weekend; one spontaneous and one planned. On Friday, while at the grocery store (one of my least favorite place – more on this later), Kurt picked up a Butternut Squash. “It’s only $1.50! Let’s try it!” So, that night, I found a simple recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash. We halved and seeded the squash, placed it flesh-side up on a baking sheet placed a tablespoon of butter where the seeds used to be, and sprinkled it with brown sugar, salt and pepper. (By the way, brown sugar is my new obsession – I spent the entire time I was in the kitchen eating it with a spoon). We baked the squash at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. I think we did well for our first try. The whole house smelled wonderfully of baked brown sugar. But the squash needed more butter and more brown sugar (because you can never have enough, really) to give it more flavor. We made the squash the focus of our dinner and accompanied it with sauteed green beans and white rice (and a dirty martini or two).

On Sunday night, I made Chicken and Dill Souvlaki. This was the easiest recipe yet and one of my favorites. I mixed dill, lemon juice, olive oil, sliced kirby cucumbers, sliced onions, and chicken (cooked) together, making sure the chicken was coated completely with the mixture. I spooned out about 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt on a piece of flatbread and put the mixture on top of the yogurt, folded the flatbread and voila! Dinner! If you use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store (I sauteed 2 chicken breasts instead), there is no cooking involved at all. It’s a little messy to eat – using a pita might help with that – but it was so tasty!

So, now onto my hatred of grocery shopping. I never used to loathe the grocery store the way I do now. I used to enjoy it actually. Now, I can’t wait to get out. I have fond memories of grocery shopping. As a child, my mom would take me shopping with her and I’d sit in the front of the cart (I always had an irrational fear that my legs would get stuck in the little holes and I’d never be able to get out, but that's beside the point). The person behind the deli counter would always give me a piece of cheese to nibble on and my mom would buy me a doughnut to eat on our way through the store – most likely just to keep me quiet. In Italy, I loved the grocery store. It was fun to look through all the new foods. The produce was ridiculously fresh and it was never crowded. The same went for the market. I loved walking through the market, buying fresh ingredients for dinner that night. Now, my food shopping experience is much different. People leave their carts in the middle of the aisle, abandoned, and then yell at you when you move it out of your way. The lines snake through the store and when you finally get your purchases on the conveyor belt, the person in front of you has 20 coupons or runs off to find something they forgot as if you have all the time in the world. The produce is mostly brown and unappetizing, and the aisles are so cluttered with displays, I become claustrophobic. But all these things are not why I hate the grocery store.

Since I turned 17 and got my driver's license, I have been taking/going grocery shopping for my grandmother almost every week. Between having to buy hemorrhoid cream, returning coffee, produce, and various other purchases for a refund, fighting with her while in the express line with 90 items, and generally having a nightmarish experience almost every time - I could write a book from all my experiences - I have begun to loathe the grocery store. It's simple conditioning: I've actually begun to associate grocery stores with anxiety, embarrassment, and frustration. I now have a full-blown grocery store aversion. It's similar to the aversion one develops to tequila after it's made one terribly sick. Grocery stores are my tequila. It's unfortunate, my situation, since I cannot altogether avoid grocery stores if I ever want to cook again. I wish I could do what restaurants do and have all my fresh produce delivered daily. That would solve a lot of problems. Or else, find a farmers market that in no way resembles a grocery store. Hm, that would have the added benefit of supporting local farmers. I'm on it.