Habitually Uncool

Some Thanksgiving Eve Eve thoughts

Juanita — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:00:58 +0000

17 days of posts before I slacked off – not too shabby. Between book club and spending time with the BF, I just lost focus on my blog posts this weekend. Then last night my laptop’s hard drive warned that a failure was imminent and I should back up my data. Luckily I had done so on Saturday, because when I tried to last night it couldn’t copy my files. Still, I’m determined to finish NaBloPoMo. I’ll be putting the WordPress iPhone app to the test.

Tonight I’m packing and prepping myself, the BF and our two ~~Tasmanian devils~~ pugs for our road trip to Napa. We’re spending Thanksgiving with my family after a few years of staying in Ventura. It’s our first without his dad, and we’ve both been on edge. Being back home with my parents and my brother and sister will help, I think. The last time we were all together for a holiday Robert was with us. He loved my mom’s feast! Rob will be remembered fondly by everyone present this year – I’m so grateful he was a part of our lives.

So! I’ve still got a hundred little things to do before we hit the road at dark o’clock mañana. I hope everyone enjoys these next few days. Don’t let family stress you out, take lots of deep breaths, hug everyone just a bit tighter than you think you should. And let’s be safe out on those roads people, we’re each someone’s precious cargo.

Do You Love Me?

Juanita — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:53:15 +0000

The BF and I have been together for ten years, and we’ve had a lot of fun. He’s convinced me to do things I never thought I would, we’ve had adventures both big and small. But the one thing I’ve not been able to get him to do with me? Dance. We’ve never gone dancing together. And after ten years, I was sure we never would. But that all changed tonight. Ladies and gents, tonight we met up with our awesome friends @dyingechoes and @Sifu_John at a local Chinese restaurant to learn how to swing dance. Yes, really. Somehow I talked him into it and he was encouraged by the knowledge that John, a serious bad ass, would not only be going but actually enjoys dancing.

People, my man can dance. And he loved it. I’m still a little in shock over the whole night. He did the lesson, he paid attention, and when the time came for us to dance together – he amazed me with his confidence and that smile that said Yeah, I can do this. How you like me now, baby? And really, is there anything sexier than a man who is willing to dance with you? I think I fell in love with him all over again. *swoon* I so cannot wait for next Thursday night.

Phoning it in

Juanita — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:53:11 +0000

Between my training session with Sifu John this morning, playing chase with my silly pugs and our Power 90 cardio and abs workout tonight – I am exhausted. I don’t have much energy for anything tonight and it’s difficult to keep my thoughts straight. This is a good thing, I know, but after taking such an extended break from our workouts it hurts getting back into the rhythm. So basically this post is filler. But it still counts. Right? (Ow.)

Adventures in the Kitchen #1

Juanita — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 07:59:18 +0000

Somewhere along the line I convinced myself that I cannot cook. When someone would ask why, I’d always mutter something about not enjoying it, or not being interested in learning. These weren’t lies exactly, but what it really boils down to is that I simply lacked confidence in my own abilities. I worry so much about the end result that I have trouble just relaxing and experimenting in the kitchen. Everything my mom cooks turns out beautifully, I would put so much pressure on myself to compare to her. I just never really tried. But I’ve changed in many ways over the past year. Having people to care for and nourish with healthy, strengthening meals helped me to push through this block I’d created within myself. So I’ve begun with simple recipes – soups, basic chicken and beef dishes. Then I branched out into baking. I made Robert’s mother’s banana cream pie, then a chocolate and fruit tart. And each time I’ve felt my confidence grow. Though I’m still a beginner, I’m having a hell of a lot of fun now. And so, every so often, I’ll share one of my adventures here.

When I woke up this morning I envisioned a steaming bowl of albondiga soup. And I couldn’t get it out of my head. My mom still hasn’t given me her recipe, but I did have a youtube link up my sleeve. Amelia Ceja, President and owner of Ceja Vineyards, posts video recipes for many of her favorite dishes online, and I’d been saving this one for over a year. Albondiga Stew with Amelia Ceja:

The recipe is quite simple and the ingredients are fairly inexpensive. I didn’t follow her recipe exactly – I left out the mint in the albondigas; in the soup I added a few dried basil leaves, substituted a can of El Pato sauce for the tomatoes, whole garlic and serrano chilies and omitted the corn (the only fresh corn at the grocery store was just too expensive).

The end result: my test subjects loved it, and each had seconds. My craving sated, I sat back and enjoyed another glass of wine while the guys cleared the table. Success! I hope you give the recipe a shot – if you do, please let me know how it went. Salud!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…

Juanita — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:44:25 +0000

me: “I’m going to start decorating for Christmas. I won’t put the tree up yet, but this place could use some color and cheer, damn it.”

the BF: “I don’t like it. What happened to your whole ‘No Christmas ’til after Thanksgiving’ rule?”

me: “Yeah, I know. I’m over that. I realized that I love the holidays, it’s my favorite time of year. So why limit it to a month? Why not enjoy it as long as possible?”

the BF: “You’re nuts.”

me: “Irrelevant. And I’m not the one humming ‘The Christmas Song,’ am I?”