Because I am a big ol' copycat, I'm taking a note from Catherine, and posting my Top Ten TV Shows I TiVo:
1. Daily Show
2. Colbert Report
3. Anything on BBC America's Mystery Monday (right now, it's Waking the Dead)
4. Anything pregnancy/birth related on Discovery Health Channel. Personal favorites are Birth Day and Baby Baby
5. Arrested Development (cry)
6. Battlestar Galactica (new episodes! yes, I am a big geek)
7. House
8. Mythbusters
9. Project Runway
10. MXC - Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (guilty, mindless entertainment)
And now, Top Ten Shows Suggested to Me by TiVo
1. Rocko's Modern Life (reminds me of college)
2. MASH (I do love love love this show)
3. Firefly (and I do love Joss Whedon)
4. Stargate SG-1 (eww, don't love this)
5. Charmed (huh?)
6. Becker (why?)
7. The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (what's with the cartoons?)
8. Cash in the Attic (yay BBC America!)
9. Spin City (?)
10. Amazing Animal Videos (I have idea)
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Thursday, January 05, 2006
California, I think I love you
I knew there was a reason I'm proud to live in California (despite our sorry predeliction to vote actors into elected office).
From the Public Policy Institute of California Statewide Survey: Special Survey on Population, December 2005
From the Public Policy Institute of California Statewide Survey: Special Survey on Population, December 2005
- The vast majority of Californians (78%) – including Latinos (74%) and evangelical Christians (66%) – prefer sex education programs that also teach children about obtaining and using contraceptives.
- A strong majority of Californians (68%) believe that their local school districts should require such programs in both middle and high schools.
- Seven in 10 Californians (71%) support Roe v. Wade – including majorities of all major racial and ethnic groups – while 22 percent want to overturn it.
K.I.T. -- keep it together, keep it together
Taking a note from Catherine, I must focus on creating a list to distract me from my bitter disappointment in USC's loss to Texas last night. So, here we go.
Top 3 Cookbooks That I Love & Actually Use (listed in no particular order)
The Dean & Deluca Cookbook. This one is a winner. There are no photos, and only a few sketches, so it doesn't qualify as "food porn," but this is a hard-working, solid cookbook. I've made just about every pasta sauce in here and absolutely loved all but one (an unbalanced tomato & onion recipe with WAY too much onion). The book is more than sauces, though. I've made pork chops, steak & chicken recipes, too, from this tome. David Rosengarten, the author & Food Network celeb, offers really informative about food origins, and the differences between types of ingredients. I love this book. It has to be top on my list of books to gift people.
La Belle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About. Who knew Patti LaBelle could cook? Well, to the doubters out there, she can. Beware, this is not a "lite" cookbook (apparently, Patti does have a "lite" cookbook, but I can't vouch for it -- yet). Every recipe is loaded with butter (real butter), and many include cream, cheese, and even alcohol. But everything is divine. This was one of the first cookbooks I bought for myself as an adult. It's not something I would havr bought, except that I went to a dinner party given by my friend, Allison, and she used this cookbook's recipe for rum cake, Scandalously Rich Rum Cake, I think it's called. And it was to die for. And having made several of the recipes in this book, (including the most wonderful homemade macaroni & cheese) this is a keeper.
You're Cookin' It Country by Loretta Lynn. Look beyond the fact that I looove Loretta Lynn. Pay no attention that I bought my (autographed) copy of this book at Hurricane Mills, Loretta Lynn's plantation home in Tennessee. This is a good cookbook. Obviously, I love Southern cooking (see Patti LaBelle), but this is a great cookbook for quality basic recipes and stick to your ribs cuisine. My two favorite recipes from this book are the stuffed baked potatoes (twice baked with blue cheese & bacon) and the fudge pie, which is so rich & creamy, it's like slightly undercooked brownies in a crust. And how can you resist the stories that Loretta writes of her mother's banana bread, her own award-winning canning abilities, and of course, the famous chocolate (salt) pie that brought her & Doolittle together (as shown in the best film ever, Coal Miner's Daughter).
So those are my three favorite cookbooks. I've recently purchased some new ones that have potential: It's All American Food: The Best Recipes for More Than 400 New American Classics, by David Rosengarten, and The Les Halles Cookbook, by Anthony Bourdain (which, by the way, is the most entertaining cookbook I think I've ever read), but I haven't made enough of the recipes to give a full recommendation.
Top 3 Cookbooks That I Love & Actually Use (listed in no particular order)
The Dean & Deluca Cookbook. This one is a winner. There are no photos, and only a few sketches, so it doesn't qualify as "food porn," but this is a hard-working, solid cookbook. I've made just about every pasta sauce in here and absolutely loved all but one (an unbalanced tomato & onion recipe with WAY too much onion). The book is more than sauces, though. I've made pork chops, steak & chicken recipes, too, from this tome. David Rosengarten, the author & Food Network celeb, offers really informative about food origins, and the differences between types of ingredients. I love this book. It has to be top on my list of books to gift people.La Belle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About. Who knew Patti LaBelle could cook? Well, to the doubters out there, she can. Beware, this is not a "lite" cookbook (apparently, Patti does have a "lite" cookbook, but I can't vouch for it -- yet). Every recipe is loaded with butter (real butter), and many include cream, cheese, and even alcohol. But everything is divine. This was one of the first cookbooks I bought for myself as an adult. It's not something I would havr bought, except that I went to a dinner party given by my friend, Allison, and she used this cookbook's recipe for rum cake, Scandalously Rich Rum Cake, I think it's called. And it was to die for. And having made several of the recipes in this book, (including the most wonderful homemade macaroni & cheese) this is a keeper.You're Cookin' It Country by Loretta Lynn. Look beyond the fact that I looove Loretta Lynn. Pay no attention that I bought my (autographed) copy of this book at Hurricane Mills, Loretta Lynn's plantation home in Tennessee. This is a good cookbook. Obviously, I love Southern cooking (see Patti LaBelle), but this is a great cookbook for quality basic recipes and stick to your ribs cuisine. My two favorite recipes from this book are the stuffed baked potatoes (twice baked with blue cheese & bacon) and the fudge pie, which is so rich & creamy, it's like slightly undercooked brownies in a crust. And how can you resist the stories that Loretta writes of her mother's banana bread, her own award-winning canning abilities, and of course, the famous chocolate (salt) pie that brought her & Doolittle together (as shown in the best film ever, Coal Miner's Daughter).So those are my three favorite cookbooks. I've recently purchased some new ones that have potential: It's All American Food: The Best Recipes for More Than 400 New American Classics, by David Rosengarten, and The Les Halles Cookbook, by Anthony Bourdain (which, by the way, is the most entertaining cookbook I think I've ever read), but I haven't made enough of the recipes to give a full recommendation.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Hurrah for 2006!
First, let me state for the record just how happy I am for 2005 to be over. Some good things happened, but overall, I'm glad that 2006 brings a bright & shiny new year.
I hate the word "resolutions," so instead, let's talk about plans for 2006. Of course, plans change according to circumstances, so it just sounds better that "plans changed," rather than "resolutions broken."
Sara's Plans for 2006
1. Move to bigger/better apartment. I'm so friggin' sick of our apartment. It's small and so crammed with crap that I don't know where to start purging. But by moving, I will be forced to throw away/donate/sell all our excess stuff.
2. Get back to sewing. I did so much knitting & crocheting in 2005 that I felt I neglected the sewing. Partially, this was because my sewing machine is in the living room, and stuff gets piled on top of the sewing table and chair. Hopefully, this will be helped by the moving and acquiring a 2nd bedroom for sewing/music/computer.
3. Subscribe to magazines, rather than buy them at newstands. I am a magazine junkie, and it's time I admit it, and just subscribe. I end up spending too much money on them at newstands, and so, this year I will subscribe to the following pubs:
A) Food & Wine (continue current sub.)
B) Interweave Knits (continue current sub.)
C) Budget Living (continue current sub.)
D) Vogue (new)
E) Elle Decor (new)
F) Metropolitan Home (new)
G) Vogue Knitting (maybe)
H) Simply Knitting (Brit. mag -- expensive, but worth it)
4. Be a better pet parent to my turtle, Nigella. I feel like I short-change her, compared with the love & affection I shower on my cats, Deano & Doyle. She really enjoys attention (from behind her tank glass -- she is not a holdy kind of turtle), but because she's in the bedroom instead of the living room, it's kind of "out-of-sight, out-of-mind." When we move to the new place, she'll go in the living room (which will also force me to be more on the ball with cleaning her tank).
5. Entertain more. Actually invite people over for to eat dinner, have drinks, hang out. Again, this is a plan for the new apartment, which will
A) Have better parking for guests
B) Be bigger and have more seating options for guests
C) Be cleaner! I don't want guests to get grossed out. Which brings me to...
6. Hire cleaning service. Ok, it's time to admit that neither Rich, nor I, are naturally clean people. We let the clutter and mess build and build until it's so bad, I can't take it anymore, but it's so overwhelming that I don't know where to start. So now, what with the new place, we'll start out right and just have a service come in once a month to do the big stuff and then we can keep up with the little stuff.
Strange that most of my resolutions involve spending money. Yes, the subscription thing will save me money in the long run, but it's an outlay of cash upfront. Oh well. Baby steps.
I hate the word "resolutions," so instead, let's talk about plans for 2006. Of course, plans change according to circumstances, so it just sounds better that "plans changed," rather than "resolutions broken."
Sara's Plans for 2006
1. Move to bigger/better apartment. I'm so friggin' sick of our apartment. It's small and so crammed with crap that I don't know where to start purging. But by moving, I will be forced to throw away/donate/sell all our excess stuff.
2. Get back to sewing. I did so much knitting & crocheting in 2005 that I felt I neglected the sewing. Partially, this was because my sewing machine is in the living room, and stuff gets piled on top of the sewing table and chair. Hopefully, this will be helped by the moving and acquiring a 2nd bedroom for sewing/music/computer.
3. Subscribe to magazines, rather than buy them at newstands. I am a magazine junkie, and it's time I admit it, and just subscribe. I end up spending too much money on them at newstands, and so, this year I will subscribe to the following pubs:
A) Food & Wine (continue current sub.)
B) Interweave Knits (continue current sub.)
C) Budget Living (continue current sub.)
D) Vogue (new)
E) Elle Decor (new)
F) Metropolitan Home (new)
G) Vogue Knitting (maybe)
H) Simply Knitting (Brit. mag -- expensive, but worth it)
4. Be a better pet parent to my turtle, Nigella. I feel like I short-change her, compared with the love & affection I shower on my cats, Deano & Doyle. She really enjoys attention (from behind her tank glass -- she is not a holdy kind of turtle), but because she's in the bedroom instead of the living room, it's kind of "out-of-sight, out-of-mind." When we move to the new place, she'll go in the living room (which will also force me to be more on the ball with cleaning her tank).
5. Entertain more. Actually invite people over for to eat dinner, have drinks, hang out. Again, this is a plan for the new apartment, which will
A) Have better parking for guests
B) Be bigger and have more seating options for guests
C) Be cleaner! I don't want guests to get grossed out. Which brings me to...
6. Hire cleaning service. Ok, it's time to admit that neither Rich, nor I, are naturally clean people. We let the clutter and mess build and build until it's so bad, I can't take it anymore, but it's so overwhelming that I don't know where to start. So now, what with the new place, we'll start out right and just have a service come in once a month to do the big stuff and then we can keep up with the little stuff.
Strange that most of my resolutions involve spending money. Yes, the subscription thing will save me money in the long run, but it's an outlay of cash upfront. Oh well. Baby steps.
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