An Open Letter/Prayer...

I will address this to the Heavenly Father, because when I was praying daily a few years ago, He is who I addressed.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Perhaps it isn't often enough that these thoughts are expressed to You, I feel it is necessary today, given the great blessing You've placed upon our families recently. Upon the completion of reading this article, I find it pertinent that we thank You (we, being me and Frank). I know all too well the struggles of losing a job, dealing with unemployment, and wondering how I would put food in my stomach to nourish not only my body, but also my soul.

Last summer, You blessed us both with great new jobs. I garnered a job in my field that has finally allowed me to use the skills You've so graciously blessed me with. I remain happy and pleased with this position, even though I'm sure You've placed a few obstacles in my path just to see how I would react, learn, and grow from such trials. I am now acknowledging this, and thanking You for your efforts to teach me new things about myself every day.

Frank was also blessed with a new job, one that would help us provide for one another as You would want us to. But the obstacles You so graciously placed in his path were, perhaps, a bit too challenging for him. Being the gracious Father that You are, You closed that door for him, but not before opening another. Today Frank began a new job, a position which I am sure he will be able to grow with and utilize the gifts You gave him.

I find it pertinent that we thank You because, well, You know, we haven't always placed you at the forefront of our lives. I know there have been plenty of times where You have been nearly absent from our minds, but the moment we need something to go our way, we ask You for help.

But now, You've helped us in ways far beyond my expectations, and rather than asking You for something, I just want to thank You. Nothing more, nothing less. You've provided for us so that we could provide for each other. It is a great feeling, for once, to know that we don't have to scrape by at the beginning of the month to pay the rent and the bills. We will be just fine when the rent and bills are due. When the holiday and birthday celebrations continue, we can be there to support each other, and our families.

You've blessed us both with wonderful families, and each of our families has welcomed the other with open arms, just as You welcomed us into this world. You gave us life so we could live it, and for this, we thank You.

I am ever-so gracious, and when my name is called, I will bow before You, because with out the guidance my grandmother always told me You'd provide, I'm not sure where I would have ended up. And so, once again, I say to You, Thank You. You know how much these blessings mean to us, as You're the one who sees our needs, wants, and struggles, and You're the one that eventually guides us home.

As You know, I've always said, this isn't our home, I'm just along for the ride. To quote a very intelligent woman, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" - Erma Bombeck

Absolutely,
Lauren

A new adventure... sort of.

So, with the aid of my sister, I've finally decided, on my own, that it's time for a lifestyle change. diets are viewed as a quick, temporary fix. This is not what I'm after. By this time next year I want to be OK with having salad for lunch almost every day and not feel so proud when I drive past the drive-thru while running errands on my lunch at work and not order something. I've started a food journal, i wear a pedometer every day, and I try to make it to the gym 4-5 days a week.

these ambitions aren't with out some extreme challenges, I might add. This weekend was probably more challenging than thanksgiving would be, but a little less than Balbiani Family Fun Day (a huge party with Frank's God parents where all you do is eat all day) will be this coming Sunday. I watched as my family and friends enjoyed fried artichoke hearts and zucchini, huge bowls of polenta topped with sauce and cheese, sfingis (Italian donuts), sausage sandwiches and ravioli. I, on the other hand enjoyed half a sausage link and some peppers (no bun) for lunch on Saturday, followed by a grilled eggplant and pesto sandwhich for dinner, minus half the bun. Sunday, I got smarter. I had breakfast at home and brought a snack with me. But by 2pm I was hungry. so I ordered tri-tip with pesto and tomato, and ate half of it, sans bread. Sunday night, in the comfort of my mother's home, I watched as my family ate 2-3 helpings of pasta with homemade sauce and bread and butter, while I ate a 5 oz piece of baked salmon, green salad, and some roasted squash. Good grief, what am I doing?!

I've been known to make some of the best Hollandaise sauce in my family (thanks Betty Crocker!), so I've been promising Frank I'd make him eggs benedict. Well, I've been eating lots of egg whites and saving the yolks, so last night I caved and made frank eggs benedict. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a 110 calorie bagel-thin topped with a small piece of lean ham steak and egg whites scrambled with mushrooms, and a few roasted potatoes. This batch of Hollandaise sauce was probably some of the best I've ever made, so I'm glad he enjoyed it, with out me. while I watch. haha!

So what's it all for? During a recent visit to the doctor, I was informed that I have some all too common syndrome called PCOS (poly-cystic ovary syndrome). It's a catch 22, really. It can cause obesity and troubles losing weight, along with excess and dark facial hair and moderate to sever cystic acne. Not to mention ovarian cysts and troubles with fertility. But, it can also be cause by obesity. So which is it? Do i have it because I'm fat, or am I fat because I have it? We don't know. All I know is I have to be healthier if I want to treat it and have the symptoms fade. I don't know if it will ever go away, but it's being treated.

For the last 7 years I've toyed with the idea of getting more fit, back to the high school water polo player I was 10 years ago. But pot was my only drug of choice and Jack in the Box is open for an extreme sausage sandwich at 2:30 in the morning. So I smoked and ate and didn't care. I don't partake in fat talk. I've never stood in the mirror and picked out every flaw, I've never complained about being over-weight and I've said "I don't know how I got like this." Oh no! I'm well aware of how I got fat, and I'm finally ready to deal with it.


Best thing is, I'm not setting weight loss goals. I'm setting fitness goals. I want to do at least 5 burpees with ease by my birthday (don't know what it is? look it up. they're intense!) I want to RUN the willow glen 5K next May. I want to be as strong as I was when playing a whole water polo game wasn't THAT hard.

So follow me, cheer me on. Lord knows I need it!

Absolutely,

The Lady

College Student vs. Working For The Man

So, a while ago, I had a thought while I was going pee at work... I know, a potential overshare, but just hear me out... I was looking at my legs, and I was a little offended by the sheer white-ness of them. Now, every other summer, this has never really been an issue, because I've taught swim lessons, been a nanny, or, in general, was able to spend more time in the sun. Next Tuesday will mark my 1-year anniversary of officially working for the man. Herein, I will examine the pros and cons of being a college student, and working for the man...

Round 1: Scheduling:

– When you're in college, your schedule changes at the end of every quarter/semester, and chances are, you get a week off between them. This is great... sometimes. If you register too late, your chances of any time sleeping-in are pretty much gone, and you'll likely get stuck with a class at 7:30, which is half an hour to an hour earlier than most people start working. BUT, chances are, you only have classes m-th and get a 3 day weekend, which is great for tanning! But then there's homework...

– When you're a full-time employee, generally, work begins somewhere between 8 and 9. When I worked in Hollywood, I started at 10. I work 8 full hours, and leave when I should. I'm not married to my job, and I don't take my work home with me. There's no homework, but I also don't get 3 day weekends or the option to choose my schedule. But, if I take time off, it's approved, and I get paid for it.

Round 1 Winner: College Student

Round 2: Getting Paid

– Well, this should be a clear cut decision... When you're in college, it's pretty difficult to work full time and go to school full time. Don't tell me it can't be done, because I did it for 8 months. And don't tell me it's easy, because I did it for 8 months. BUT, at the same time, you're working to pay your living expenses, but you're also taking out student loans to pay for your education. So you're spending more money than you're making in the long run...

– Ha! There's a chance you could not make enough money to live at the means you'd like. Such might be the case for Frank and I right now, but mostly because I am the primary bread-winner and have student loans and a car payment that are continually weighing on my bank account. But, there are many more times where I go to the grocery store and don't count the cost of food down the very last penny, because if I spend a little more than I planned, it's not that big of a deal.

Round 2 Winner: Working for the Man.

Round 3: Days Off

– When you're a college student and don't feel like going to class, you just don't go. You might do the "right thing" and email your instructor and feign an illness or emergency, but you lay in bed and relax, go tan, run errands, have lunch with friends, whatever. But, you're paying valuable money for an invaluable education that's "supposed" to get you a great job with an earnings potential to pay your student loans off in a timely manner (Supposed is in quotations because, let's face it, right now, there are no jobs. For anyone. It's cut-throat for some of the most qualified college graduates.)

– Meh, I don't feel good this morning. I get up and go to work, but perform at half my ability, because, well, I don't feel good... I'm really sick, I call (or text, in my case) my boss and let them know I won't be coming in today, but if they really need something from me, they can call or text me and I will do my best to take care of it. And, if I have sick hours accumulated, I'm getting paid for recuperating. Or, I have a thing planned, and I need the day off, I take a vacation day. I've never been the type to call in sick to play hookey. If I'm out sick, it's probably because I spent the night with my face in the toilet, or I've got a fever.

Round 3 Winner: Working For The Man

---

Now, let's face it, a "real" job/working for the man isn't for everyone ( and I don't quite qork for the man because there are only 15-20 full time employees in my office on any given work day, and well, the owner is nearly 90 and he comes in every day...)  Some people might still tell me I don't have a "real" job, since I get to play on a computer all day and make Arsty-Fartsy crap. And well, while that might be true, I also have bosses, and a strict schedule, and deadlines, and last minute stressful situations, and a salary. It doesn't matter how early I come in or how late I stay, I get paid the same amount. The 15th and last day of every month, my check is always the same.

I didn't feel prepared for high school after middle school, I didn't feel prepared for college after high school, and really, I didn't quite feel prepared for a full-time job working for the man after college. 18 months ago, you could have asked me what scared me most in life, and my answer would have been, in this order: earthquakes, thunder & lightning, and whatever it is that comes after college. Well, now, for me, whatever it was that came after college was a full time job utilizing the skills I paid a shit-ton of money to learn. So it's pretty worth it to me.

But, I can't say I don't miss swimming till my fingers are prune-y, getting a great tan, partying on a Thursday night because I don't have to wake up and go to anything on Friday, staying up late because i have limited responsibility... But what's great about things like this now are that I can afford to go spray tan because I don't have time to get a real tan, I'm too old to party on Thursday and make it to work on Friday, so that's usually date night, and I have a real schedule that makes me feel like an adult.

You're supposed to grow up. Some people take a little longer than others (points at self!) But, realistically, you're expected to act like an adult, moreover, a grown-up. Not too long ago that word made me shudder. A swim student once asked me, when I was probably 21 or 22, if I was a grown-up. I told her no. I was an adult. But not a grown-up.

Now, I'm afraid, I'm kind of a grown-up. And it still scares the shit out of me!

Absolutely,

The Lady.

 

Finally... An Update!

When I last decided to blog, this is what I had decided to begin with "So, it's been almost 2 months since the last post. and there's nothing I can really say, other than, I'm lazy, busy, and a little more lazy. But, I've decided it's time to get back on the wagon, at least for now. And because soo much has happened, this will be done in a 2 to 3 part update." and now, I don't care. A lot has happened, and rather than writing it all out, I'm just going to list it, and move on, because there's a lot more coming up, and i want to get back to the real focus of what I wanted this blog to be when I started writing it... and that is, honestly, to share new recipes and log my weight loss. I've done neither one of those in the last 3 months. I'd apologize, but I don't really feel it's necessary. Moving on!

Since I last blogged, the following has happened:

- 4/17 | I purchased my first-ever brand new vehicle - a 2011 Subaru Impreza 2.5i premium hatchback - it's the car i've been creaming of for the last 2 years, and now, it's mine. well sort of. the bank "owns" it, but as soon as I pay them off, they mail me the pink-slip!

- 5/7 | My mother and I participated in the Willow Glen 5k walk/run. We finished in less than 50 minutes, a personal best for both of us, I believe. We also decided we're going to train so we can run/jog the whole course at next years event.

- 5/14-15 | The Relay For Life was a huge success. Our entire event raised over $150K and our Sicilian Sisterhood & Friends Team raised over $5K. Despite the rain, our team persevered and took many strides towards our goal: a time where the words "I have cancer" won't be so common, or even spoken.

-5/20-22 | Frank and I broke in my new car with a drive to San Diego for his sister's graduation from San Diego State. We stopped and had breakfast/lunch with Lupe at Nat's Early Bite, one of my favorite haunts, on Friday. Sunday, on our way home, we stopped and enjoyed authentic burgers at the Original Bob's Big Boy in Burbank/Toluca Lake before jumping on the 5 freeway to head home.

6/5 | I helped give Katie a wedding shower, along with her mother, aunt and neighbor. I wanted to make the favors, and upon a visit to Starbucks, sparked the brilliant idea to make cakepops. While they turned out great and I would definitely make them again, they are not as easy as bakerella  lead me to believe. But, the shower went off with out a hitch and everyone enjoyed the favors.

-6/11 | Frank enjoyed his very first big-venue concert: Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan & The Band Perry at Shoreline. We even got to attend a special VIP experience where we saw Tim McGraw perform a few songs in a small tent before the big show.

- 6/19 | We celebrated a combined Father's day and Mother's day - Parent's day - at the Mansion with both our families, respectively. We reserved the big BBQ and had ourselves a little party.It was a little hot, and we were breifly "rained out" by the horribly positioned sprinklers in the area, but we had a good time.

And now that you're all caught up, I'm about done typing this post. I did, in fact, make a new recipe last night, that you can find by clicking here. It's called Shrimp with Warm Coleslaw. I followed the recipe almost precisely, save for adding the extra bacon drippings to the coleslaw mix and adding the red wine vinegar. I realized that it called for said vinegar, but I didn't realize we didn't have any, so I simply omitted it. Instead of fresh shrimp i thawed some peeled and cleaned shrimp i had in the freezer from one of our recent Costco excursions. I also seasoned the coleslaw with Pete's Salt and served it along side green onion couscous drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with Pete's salt. Overall, this meal was delicious and it attracted me because it had veggies and shrimp, which i love. I imagine it'd be great rolled in a tortilla as a wrap, too. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, fresh and healthy dinner idea.

In other news, i will very briefly tell you that I will be travelling to Seattle, more appropriately, Suncadia Resort, to spend the 4th of July weekend with my Godfather and his family. I haven't been up to the Pacific North West in a few years and I'm excited to catch up and spend time with this section of my family.

Absolutely,
The Lady

A Happy Birthday Indeed!

It's not a secret... my life with Frank isn't romantic. But that's not in the nature of either one of us. We play around, bicker, poke fun and jab at each other all the time. It makes it fun, and it makes me love him. When anyone makes a remark about him not being romantic, he gets defensive, which I think is hilarious, because I'm not the romancing type of girl. Hell, give me a hot dog and beer at a Dodgers game over a fancy dinner any day, as long he's sitting there next to me.

I didn't know what I wanted for my birthday, so I couldn't even give him an idea, except for some Juicy Couture perfume I've been wanting. At my family party last Saturday he told me he hadn't gotten me anything yet, but that it wasn't my birthday. I of course told him it was fine. Tuesday when I got home a spied a small wrapped box on the credenza in our entry way.  I opened the tiny box, the box that looked like a ring box, only to find a note. A NOTE! A note that said I needed to pack a bag and get off work early on Friday because he was taking me away for my birthday. At dinner I guessed that we were going to Napa, and he was a little frustrated, but I didn't and couldn't guess anything else we were doing.

I anxiously waited the rest of the week, and at 3pm on Friday I was in my car headed home. We left our house around 4 and made it to our cute little inn around 6.15 called the Chardonnay Lodge. A tiny, 20-unit motel, with themed rooms and beautiful roses. We relaxed and decided on where to go for dinner. We decided on Black Bear Diner, an inexpensive restaurant we both knew would be just fine, considering all the things we would do on Saturday.

Saturday Morning we poured over a map and chose 2 wineries to visit before our lunch reservation at Michael Chiarello's restaurant, Bottega, in downtown Yountville. We ended up choosing Castello Di Amorosa, or, The Castle Winery, and world-famous V. Sattui Winery.

As you approach the castle at Castello Di Amorsa, it feels like Italy. The long driveway is lined with gorgeous cypress trees, surrounded by vineyards. You walk up several stairs and cross over a draw bridge, into a large courtyard. We just purchased a tasting, not the whole tour, and walked through the castle into the tasting room. We were treated like family, our server was Italian himself, and was very knowledgeable. We each chose a bottle of wine we couldn't leave with out and wandered around the grounds a bit.

We got back in the truck and headed to V. Sattui. A place that is literally everyone's speed. From the amazing BBQ to the tasting room and cheese shop. We tasted some amazing wine and wandered around the cheese shop and gardens. We ended up purchasing 4 bottles of wine and while I really wanted to get some different cheese, there wasn't any way for us to transport it and keep it cool since we were going over to Yountville for lunch.

We visited Dean and Deluca and wandered around in awe of all the amazing produce and delicious looking food they had to offer before heading to Bottega. We were a little early when we got to Yountville, so we wandered around NapaStyle. A little store right across from Bottega where Michael Chiarello features his wines for tasting it offers an amazing variety of rock salts and specially crafted meat rubs. We tasted the Roasted Garlic rub, and I knew I had to have it!


We had a 2.30 reservation at Bottega and were still a bit early, so we sat at the bar and had a drink and browsed the huge wine list. We were sat outside under the canopy and it was gorgeous. We ordered Polenta Under Glass for our appetizer and were still deciding on entrees when our server came over and offered us the special, a veal burger with truffle mayo. OMFG! I love truffles, so I jumped at the chance to order that. Frank ordered a raviolo made with potato dough and black truffles.

As i was starting to get really excited about my veal burger, a waitress came over to tell me they'd run out of the special, I was totally bummed, but went back to what I originally wanted before the special, red wheat linguine with veal and pork bolognese. Ugh! It was to die for. We both mmm'd and yumm'd our entire meals. When we'd finished, i had already decided this place was just too good to pass up dessert, so we ordered Tiramisu Profiteroles. Little cream puff shells filled with tiramisu ice cream and drizzled with freshly melted chocolate. Ugh again! Heaven on a dessert plate! (Frank's phone takes much better photos than mine, so you'll see a few more photos soon).

We headed back to our room as fat, dumb and happy as could be. We relaxed for a bit and decided what we should do for the night. We headed out to Downtown Napa and walked around, gawking at all the closed shops and debating about what small thing we should eat. We wound up at Downtown Joe's on Main Street in the heart of downtown. Frank watched the Giants lose, and I watched the Sharks win. We had some of the best bar food we've ever tasted, and had some great hand crafted, fresh brewed beers.

Sunday morning we knew we were heading to Downtown St. Helena to have a very early lunch at Gott's Roadside. Home of, literally, the best burger ever. We shared. Yeah, that's right, we shared. For those of you that don't know Frank that well, he doesn't share, ever. But I ordered a fresh ahi tuna melt, and he ordered the Bacon cheeseburger, and we shared. Ugh! great food. We walked around downtown St. Helena and wandered in and out of shops the whole afternoon before heading to Redwood City to meet my parents for dinner at the Old Port Lobster Shack.

And well, what can I say about the Lobster Shack? Quite possibly my new favorite seafood place. Lobster Bisque, huge lobster rolls, and even a WHOLE LOBSTER! Ugh! Frank and I shared again. We ordered the WHOLE steamed lobster, and a lobster roll, filled with huge chunks of lobster, mayo, green onions piled in a toasted buttery bun. I love lobster, and this place was phenomenal.

We left my parents and drove on home from our long weekend. we unpacked slightly, threw some clothes in the washer and fell into the couches. we were exhausted, and as Frank said, sometimes you need a vacation from your vacation.

But this was by far one the best birthday weekends I've had. Ever. Look for a new recipe coming soon and a video from this weekend.

Absolutely,
The Lady

So Many Things Have Happened In Just One Year....

Just like it sounds. So many things have happened in the last year. Almost all of them good, but life has moved so fast over the last 2 years that I almost don't believe it.

At this time last year, I'd just returned from Los Angeles with Frank and a fresh tattoo. I'd endured 48 days of drinking nothing but water and tea. I'd just spent my first holiday away from my family with Frank's, and enjoyed a coca-cola classic for the first time in 48 days. Frank took me to San Jose Cafe for a birthday breakfast, where I enjoyed a full cup of Hot Chocolate topped with whipped cream. I worked that day and picked up the girls from school, where they were so excited to wish me a Happy Birthday. Later Frank and I celebrated with a birthday dinner at PF Chang's with my family and best friend.

And now, it's been a year.

It's been over a year since I got my tattoo and went to Disneyland. I did the same Lenten sacrifice, only this year I gave up the eff word too, and I'm still with Frank. But so much has changed! and it's, quite frankly, awesome!

I finished school, and had a fabulous graduation party filled with family, friends, food, and Bocce! I finished my work as a nanny, and went back to work teaching swimming lessons, which wasn't an ideal job for me, but it did yield a pretty awesome tan and some much needed time in the sun. I dove head first into helping out with the Aiuto Foundation's annual Sicilian Golf Festival and even landed myself a spot on the Women's Auxiliary Club board of directors as the Communications Director.

But August 13th, (which was a Friday, I might add), was probably one of the most life-changing days of the year. I got the call from Empire Broadcasting that they wanted to offer me a job as the new Creative Services director. I was so thrilled I could barely hold it together to call my mom to tell her. It was one of the most exciting days of my life so far.

2 months later Frank and I would travel to Reno for the Great Italian Festival and celebrate his birthday with a surprise trip to see his uncle conduct the nova vista symphony and attend a 49er's game in the rain with my dad the next day.

Thanksgiving we traveled to Paso Robles to enjoy an amazing weekend of food and wine with his family and even took a day trip to Moro Bay. Christmas Eve was spent with his family and Christmas day was simply spent with my little family at my sister's house in Clayton since she'd sustained a pretty gnarly car accident just 5 days before.

New Year's Eve was one of the best celebrations I've been to in a while, and I was sure to drink my weight in vodka and rum with some of my best friends and well, Frank. Haha.

At the start of the year we were itching to move out of the Box, so as you all know, on February 13th we moved out of the box and into The Mansion.

So now, an entire year has past, I'm 26, employed in my field doing a job a love, and earning a great salary.

We see my parents almost weekly, and have Sunday Dinner almost every weekend at his mom's house. Talk about some traditional Italians! We enjoy spending time with our families, and that's probably the one thing I missed the most while I was living in Los Angeles. Even though my friends were my family, there's nothing like joking around with your parents.

Frank and I are happy, and he's planned a weekend trip out of town for my birthday. I only know we're going to Napa, what we'll do there is still a total mystery to me. But since he paid for my tattoo for last years birthday, I guess he figured a trip would suffice. Haha!

Here's to another amazing year. We'll see what I have to say when April 6, 2012 rolls around and I'm 27!

Absolutely,
The Lady

Apologies (again), Valentine's Day, Computer Issues, Sur La Table, Bunny Baskets, Iron Chef: BACON! and Relay For Life. Wheew!

Ok, So, first and foremost, I apologize. As my mother so kindly pointed out, I haven't been blogging. It's been almost 2 months, and while I had visions of grandeur about what this blog would be and how it would lead to some amazing opportunities, this can only happen if I put the time into it. So now, I'm here, apologizing, though I'm sure most people didn't miss me, or even wonder where I'd been. But If you were one of the few (my mother), I'm sorry.

Now we'll discuss. Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, or fortunately, which ever way you'd like to look at it, Valentine's Day came the very day after we moved into our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. Affectionately referred to, as, The Mansion.  We we're stuck with no furniture, and the same rinky-dink triangle-turned-square table we had in The Box. But I had planned to make a little dinner and just hang out. We'd discussed, several times, I might add, that Valentine's Day was cancelled for us. We didn't have a lot of money because of the move, and we were pretty wiped out from all the packing and unpacking. So We weren't supposed to purchase gifts or anything.

Yeah, well, clearly that didn't happen. Frank is generally very matter-of-fact. Sooo, when he said there would be no Valentine's Day, I believed him. I was wrong. The receptionist in our office rounded the corner towards my office as I was standing in the hall way with a large box and said "this is for you." I said "are you sure?!" and she said yes. So I took it from her and opened it very slowly. Inside was a teddy bear, and  vase full of a dozen mixed roses. It was one of the best surprises I've had in a long time.

 Ugh, and now, onto computer issues. So, VERY unfortunately, my computer at work died about 3 weeks ago, and man oh man, I was NOT a happy camper! I couldn't work, I couldn't access my files, and I was having the wrath of nearly everyone in my office come down on me because it was my machine and files that EVERYONE needed weren't backed up anywhere. I've been working on my personal machine since it happened, and while that's all well and good, I still don't have a computer. Our amazing IT genius has ordered me a brand new machine, and I should have it fully loaded by next week.

Now I understand that's not an excuse, but that has been stressing me out, like to the max, and that's one of the main reasons I hadn't been blogging.

Sunday afternoon Frank and I ventured to Santana Row so I could spend a gift card for the amazing kitchen store, Sur La Table, only to be stopped by all the traffic on Stevens Creek. So I said forget it, but he said we could go to Palo Alto. I was a little surprised because he was driving, and we all know Frank doesn't really like to drive or run errands, or any of that. So we made our way to Palo Alto and even took the scenic route on 280. Once I walked in, I wanted EVERYTHING in site! I ended up purchasing a rolling pin, a pig-shaped cookie cutter, a Shake & Chop garlic chopper, a "prep taxi" (see photo) and a nice bottle for Olive Oil. 

I wasn't planning on the rolling pin or the pig-shaped cookie cutter, but my office has an "Iron Chef" competition each month, and this month's secret ingredient was Bacon, so on Sunday, I decided to participate. The event was so take place on Tuesday, and I had a meeting Monday night for the Women's Auxiliary Club. It wasn't a meeting I could have easily skipped, since we were making Easter baskets to give to the Children's Shelter for Child Protective Services. This charitable cause is so important to me that I put off making the cookies till Monday night. 

I planned to make roll out sugar cookies with bacon inside and a maple glaze on top. And while that's the type of cookie I made, the dough was very soft, and I didn't want to wait until midnight for it to harden. So i made drop cookies dipped in the maple glaze, and I thought they turned out pretty darn good. I didn't win, or even place, but I thought they were pretty creative. 

Our women's club does great things. I mean, really, we do some amazing things, and there are some amazing women involved. Monday night we made 53 Easter baskets and today they were taken to the Children's Shelter. That's amazing to me, given the idea that some of these children were taken from their parents and probably won't ever see them again. 

On another note, there are only 45 days left until The Relay For Life. Wow! I can't believe it's so close. My sister and I some-how decided we would take on this year's Silent Auction and become co-chairs. As if we both didn't have enough to do. But still, this cause is one that's very close to my heart, and I'm SO PROUD of my amazing team. To date, we've raised $2,010. That's just $490 short of our goal of $2,500! I'm so proud of our team this year. We'll be hosting a fundraising event at the Pasta Market in the San Jose MarketCenter on Coleman Ave Thursday April 14th! Print out the flyer to the left and please, PLEASE come out and support this amazing cause. I will be there, along with several other members of my team. If You'd like any information about the Relay For Life fundraiser at the Pasta Market, don't hesitate to email me at ldisalvi@empirebroadcasting.com.

I hope to become a regular blogger again, and post a video of our new apartment/The Mansion. I'm also going to try to be diligent about posting a new recipe each week. I printed one out from Yahoo! Shine for a chicken burger, so maybe I'll make that next week. At this point, though, I'm certain that this blog has been sufficiently long enough given my extended absence. 

Absolutely,

The Lady

P.S.

The Day Of My Birth is less than a week away! If you're racking your brain for a gift idea, I can always use some if this!

Pineapple Coconut rice, Relay For Life 2011, and Baseball!

So here we are. January is completely finished, February 13th (moving day) is fast approaching, I have a new recipe to share aaaaand... Football season is finally over and we get back into the swing of the bat and baseball season! Thank God!

The Dodgers will be in the Bay Area for their first game of the season and if moving wasn't stealing all my money, I'd be going to a game. Oh well, at least I get to watch my boys in Blue play on TV for a change. But, being that the 4-game series is right before my birthday, anyone feeling generous enough could certainly buy me tickets! haha!If that doesn't happen, I suppose I'll settle for some beer and chicken wings at Hooters or some other equally awesome sports viewing establishment. Who's with me?

Moving on, I'll tell you about my new recipe for Pineapple Coconut Rice. One day last week ( I can't remember when, so don't ask), Frank and I went to Mom's for dinner and we had steamed veggies, pineapple sausage, salad and this awesome pineapple coconut rice. I don't use a rice cooker, ever. We own one, and Frank likes to use it, but I feel like the rice always comes out mushy or hard. There's no happy medium. So, I cook rice on the stove, and it's always good. I used regular Calrose white rice, 1 cup of rice calls for 1 2/3 cups liquid. I doubled the recipe and put 2 cups of rice in the pot with 2 cups of water, 2/3 cup coconut water and 2/3 cup pineapple juice and cooked it as usual, letting it boil, then turning it down to simmer for 15 minutes, then turning the heat off and letting it stand for 5 minutes. I tossed it with salt, pepper and chopped green onion. Man oh man! It was really tasty. I think next time though I'll add 1 cup each of pineapple juice and coconut water and 1 1/3 cups regular water.

The Result? Yum with a side of Yum! It was sticky, a little salty, a little sweet and had a little onion kick from the chopped green onions. It was really good and I would definitely make it again.

Now, for the thing that is weighing on me the most, and I meant that in an amazing way. It's been decided that I would be the team captain for the Women's Auxiliary Club's Relay for Life team: Sicilian Sisterhood & Friends this year. I can't tell you how excited I am to be taking on this amazing adventure with some truly special women in my club. 

I like participating the American Caner Society's Relay For Life because it doesn't raise funds for one specific type of cancer, rather, it supports all forms of cancer research. 

I relay for so So SO many reasons. Among them are young women who happen to be my friends, my best friends, who are and were fighting thyroid cancer. Of course I also relay for my mothers parents, her sister and my grandfather's sister, relaying for these two young women means so much to me. I can't even imagine what my life in Los Angeles would have been like with out them, and I don't want to. 

In one weekend I was able to reach my fund-raising goal of $100, but I'm far from finished. I challenge everyone out there to imagine a time where the words "I have cancer" will no longer be a standard part of conversation. Where women won't lose gorgeous locks of hair from Chemo and men won't have to worry about prostate cancer. This is why I relay.

Click here to view my personal page, read ALL the reasons I relay, donate to the cause, or even join my team! I'm diving head first into fund-raising, so be sure to keep a look out for ways your can help raise money for team Sicilian Sisterhood & Friends. 

Absolutely dreaming,

The Lady

Semi-Apologies, Big News, Crab and Tortellini Soup...

First of all, I semi-apologize for being absent last week and the good majority of this week. There have been some major developments among The Lady's household, and so I've been managing that.

What are these developments? Well! Frank and I will finally be moving OUT of the box! We've secured an apartment within the Country Club Villa complex in North-East San Jose. It's situated at the edge of the Foothills right near the San Jose Country Club. On February 13 (Happy Valentine's Day to us!) we'll get the keys to our huge, 900 sq ft 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. That's right, I said it! 2 whole bedrooms and 2 whole bathrooms! I was literally lost for words when I got the call that our applications had been approved. We're planning a combo House warming/Birthday Party on April 2nd, so keep your eyes open for that!

As for the crab, well, what can I say... The January Sons of Sicily Crab Feed was amazing, as usual. Since February's feed is always so crowded and sells out quickly, January is more relaxed and roomier. Despite the crab being small, it was delicious! I'm nearly an expert crab cleaner and I didn't get one single whole piece of crab out of the shells I cleaned. I was a little frustrated with my ability, but then I realized it had everything to do with the way they were cracked, and the size of the crab. ugh! Anyway, I'm very excited about February's crab feed, because I fully intend to eat my weight in crab with my whole family. That photo is me and momma at last years January Crab Feed.

And now, this amazing creation I made for dinner I call Spicy Tortellini Soup! This soup didn't follow a recipe, rather, I'm trying to clean out my refrigerator in an effort to NOT move food. So I knew that we had a package of tortellini, some chicken broth, a can of tomatoes and a bag of onions onions. I picked up some spicy italian sausage links, spinach and green onion at the store, and used everything else from home. 

I removed the sausage from the casing and crumbled and browned it in the bottom of a heavy pot. I sauteed diced onion and crushed garlic in the renderings from the sausage. I added a can of diced tomatoes flavored with roasted garlic to the mix. I let it all simmer together and dissolved 2 chicken bullion cubes in hot water. I buy the cheap kind, it's called Caldo de Pollo. I added that to about 4 cups of water let it warm before adding it to my big pot. I also had about 2 cups of left over chicken broth from the Cream of Cauliflower soup so I threw that in as well.

After the whole pot was boiling, I added a whole 1 lb package of cheese tortellini. I salted the soup with a hefty serving of Pete's salt, black pepper, garlic powder and dried basil. As the tortellini were about done cooking, I added about 3 cups of chopped fresh baby spinach. When the tortellini were done cooking I turned the burner off and let the spinach wilt and the soup cool. I served it with plain biscuits and topped it with Parmesan cheese and green onion. Keep in mind that isn't my photo because I'd left my phone in the car and didn't take a one. Sorry! There's a lot left over and I brought some for lunch today, so I might replace this photo with my own before lunch.

The result: Wow, this soup was really good. While I felt it needed some additional flavoring, it came out really well for not having a recipe, and for never having made soup. If you have any recommendations for adding some flavor, I'd love to hear them!

Keep an eye out for another recipe coming soon, and you can be sure to expect a video tour of the empty box apartment. I might even give a "before" tour of the new apartment and one "after" when it's all furnished! In the words of the wonderful Ru Paul "I'm so excited I could just spit!"

Absolutely,

The  Lady

No Recipe, New Cautionary Tale and Other Useless Information

So While the plan was supposed to be a new recipe every week, this week has been crazy with unexpected events to keep both Frank and I busy. Monday my mom and I went shopping, as we do almost every Monday that my dad attends his weekly meeting with the 7:30 Club, but this time Frank went with him for guest night. Apparently he's considering joining. Who knew? Haha! 

Tuesday yielded a slow day at work and I was excited to try a new recipe that night, but lo and behold, the King of the Empire (owner of the company I work for), wasn't feeling well and raffled off his 2 pairs of Sharks tickets (we're talking 12th row, center ice), so Naturally I had to enter. And I won. Frank was in a dull mood and tired, so I called my best gal Laura and of course she was raring to go, I mean, who wouldn't be (except Frank)? So we ventured to the Sharks game where there was an alarming number of Toronto Maple Leafs fans around us and I couldn't help but yell "GO BACK TO CANADA" every chance I got. The Sharks ended up loosing and I decided I'm going on a Sharks hockey hiatus for the next 3 weeks to see if they can pull their shit together again.

 

Last night I had  my monthly board meeting for the WAC over at the Drying Shed on the east side. I don't like driving over there by  myself so I caught a ride with Frank's mom Janet. We chatted about moving and all that and worked some things out. Also, the apartments we've decided we'd really like to move to are over in that area, not to mention Frank's aunt and some of our other family friends live in the same complex, so I spoke to one of the women in my club who helps manage them (as her family owns them) and we're hoping to be able to move into a 2 bedroom on her property by the end of March. Ugh, moving is getting so close I can almost taste it, I'm dreading packing, but can't help dreaming of all the space that would be offered with a 2 bedroom, rather than a 450 sq ft box!

So now, aaaaallllll of this brings us to today, where I'm working hard and hardly working all at the same time and my mother and I and hopefully a few other women will walk 2 miles at the Campbell Community Center tonight at 6pm. If you're reading this, available, and in the area, you should come join us. We don't walk super fast, but we're done in under an hour and then go home and have a healthy dinner. So come on out! We may have a new recipe tonight, I'm not sure. It depends on if I go home and cook for Frank and myself or if we go over to mom's. 

And now, for the cautionary tale. If you ever decide to wax your arms at home, by yourself, I would advise against it if you'd like to keep your top layer of skin... Haha! I know it doesn't sound funny, but it is, because I decided that since I wax my eyebrows, and my sideburns, and I used to wax my legs that I could totally wax my arms. and I did, for about 10 minutes and then realized I'd also waxed off some skin near my wrist on my left arm. So I concluded nothing good could come of this anymore and I should stop. You really couldn't tell unless I pointed it out to you, and really, it just looked like a peeling sunburn. I know, I know: I'm lucky I didn't pull more skin off. It didn't hurt and as soon as I realized what I did I stopped and cleaned myself up and slathered the freshly waxed area with neosporin. So now, the next time I decide I need to remove the hair on my arms and I want results that will last longer than shaving, I will totally go to a salon and have someone else rip the hair out of my skin. Thanks for making it seem so easy, Sally Hansen. You liar!

Oh, By the way, I made this for my sister for her birthday... Happy Birthday Baby Boo!

Absolutely,

The Lady

Mediterranean Pizza Skillet and a 3 mile walk.

Alright, so the original plan for this blog was to cook one new recipe a week, however, this week I made 2 different dishes. I just couldn't help myself because they both looked so good! So after making the crab cakes on Tuesday night I was on a kick, so I ran with it. Even though Frank had to go do laundry, I brought everything to his mom's house to make dinner. I loved this dish! It's a Mediterranean pizza skillet, and literally, it's a one pan meal.

Of course, we never follow recipes exactly around here, so here's what I did: I used chicken tenders seasoned with Pete's salt, cut them into little chunks and sauteed them with garlic for about 5 minutes. I added 1 can of diced tomatoes flavored with garlic and basil, and 1 can of drained quartered artichoke hearts packed in water. I let that boil for about a minute and then reduced the heat to low. While it was cooking down I sliced medium black olives in half along with some green onion. I tossed just the olives into the pan, leaving the olives for later. I sliced a loaf of soft French bread, put it on a cookie sheet and broiled it on high for about 4 minutes, this way the top gets nice and brown but the bottom stays soft. 

When the bread was done I removed it and let it cool a bit while I added baby spinach to the pan. I rubbed the toasted side of each slice of bread with raw garlic and spread butter over the top and put it back on the pan. Then I put them back in the warm oven until the spinach was wilted. I topped the skillet mixture with the green onions.I placed 2 slices of bread on each plate and topped them with the skillet mixture and a sprinkling of garlic and herb feta cheese.

The result? Good grief! This dish is amazing! It's a one pan wonder and I will most definitely make it again. Total cooking time for the whole skillet is about 20 minutes, and you prepare the bread during that time, too. I served this with a salad and Frank's mom made these delicious cauliflower fritters (another recipe soon to come, don't worry). 

My only suggestion would be to leave out the chicken next time and make it a vegetarian dish, OR crumble some Italian sausage and then follow the same recipe. The recipe I had called for kalmata olives rather than black olives, and romaine lettuce or escarole instead of spinach. I had a can of black olives and didn't want to buy the others, and I don't like warm lettuce and escarole is expensive. So I adjusted based on what I know we all like, and it was great. Definitely a 4 star dish!

And now for the more exciting part, tomorrow morning I will join my mom, Frank's mom, a co-worker and some of the women from our Women's Auxiliary Club to walk 3 miles. This group began around this time last year and I joined them in February and the pounds just started melting off, so at the start of this year I took the initiative and contacted all the women and let them know my mom and I wanted to start walking again. Hopefully we'll stay on track (no pun intended) and keep going through out the year. We'll meet at least 2 days a week. Once on Saturdays for a 3 mile walk at Almaden Lake, and once during the week, typically Wednesday, for a 2 mile walk in Campbell. This is the year to get fit... for all of us. I can feel it.

Absolutely,

The Lady

Crab Cakes and a Mini Fridge!

Alright, so, I'm really proud of myself thus far. I've already lost almost 2 pounds, and I've been really diligent about bringing my lunch to work. I was spending a lot of money on lunches because I refused to either A) Make my own lunch, or B) Put anything in the fridge in the kitchen at work because it's like a science experiment. So my dad brought me a mini fridge he had in the basement at my parents' house. Now it's stocked full of fruit cups, yogurt, lite cream cheese, bagel thins and water. Plus it let's me bring my lunch to work. My new favorite thing is  a whole wheat pita pocket spread with lite chive cream cheese and stuffed with lettuce and turkey. It's what I've brought for lunch the last few days and it tastes really yummy.

Anyway, how about some Crab Cakes! My mom and I found this recipe online and while I mostly followed it, I didn't really measure everything exactly. So, really, they're not hard to make at all! We mixed plain panko bread crumbs and mayonnaise with lemon juice, black pepper, red pepper sauce, parsley, green onion, dijon mustard and egg yolks. After mixing that together, I gently folded in about 12-16 oz fresh crab meat. The recipe called for 18 oz canned lump crab meat, we used  fresh since we had all that crab! If you're going to use fresh crab meat, check it for shells! We had 2 containers of crab, I dumped the first one in and picked through the second one since I saw a shell. Oops! Should have picked through both of them because Frank and momma found a few shells!

After I folded the crab meat into the binding mixture I made the breading mixture. More panko bread crumbs, melted butter and old bay seasoning. I know that panko bread crumbs are unsalted, I added a sprinkle of Pete's Salt (the seasoned salt Frank's godfather makes)*, and since Old Bay seasoning can be a little strong, I didn't measure it, I just added it to taste. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and packed down the cakes and coated them with the buttered bread crumbs and placed them on a baking sheet. The recipe said measured 18 crab cakes and I made 17. So it was pretty spot on. We baked them in the oven for more time than is said and didn't flip them because when we tried the first one, it almost fell apart.

The results? Delicious! My only comment would be that next time, I will absolutely ad more flavors, like some Pete's Salt to the crab mix, more onions and some garlic powder. But man oh man, with some tarter sauce, they were so good! Damn near restaurant flavor! You can find the recipe we used here on AllRecipes.com. Though we substituted green onion for chive, used fresh crab rather than canned and used less Old Bay seasoning and added Pete's Salt.

Also, I've designed and printed out sheets to help me plan dinners each week. This way I know what we're having and can take things out of the freezer accordingly, rather than arguing with Frank about what we're having for dinner when I get home from work. It also has a little box for "notes". Like last night I made Crab Cakes at mom's house, and tonight I'm making a skillet pizza dish, but we'll be eating at Frank's parents', so it gives me a place to note that. While I was this morning I learned that if you serve dinner from the stove or the counter rather than from the table, your almost 50% less likely to have a second or third helping because you really make yourself think about if you want to get up and serve yourself if you're not still hungry. Which is what we do in the Box because there's not enough room on the table, but still, I think I'll keep this in mind anyway. If you'd like to receive a PDF copy of the meal planner, feel free to comment here, contact me on facebook, or if you know my email, send me a personal email.

I will definitely update tomorrow with how the pizza skillet goes. It should be really good!

Absolutely,

The Lady

*A note about Pete's Salt: We have no idea what's in it, and he won't tell anyone. It's a seasoned salt, but it's much different than Lawry's. It's mostly white, has hints of garlic and onion as well as oregano or parsley. I've gotten some from Frank's mom for my parents and my sister, and Frank and I use it almost regularly instead of table salt. In Frank's fathers house, the only reason they have table salt is for pasta water. Pete's salt is used for everything else. Including salting meat for the barbecue, chicken for a saute, vegetable, potatoes, pork, beef, stir fry. EVERYTHING!

Happy New Year!

I literally just sat here for more than a minute staring at the screen, drawing a blank while my sisters dog sat on Frank's lap getting spoiled when she suddenly burped up food and then proceeded to smack her nasty little mouth as she swallowed it back down. Gross! Ugh! 

Anyway, Friday night we went to dinner with my parents at Frank's parents' house. We had this special dinner from Northern Italy called bagna calda (pronounced bania calda). It's oil and butter simmered with with mashed garlic and mashed anchovies. Now, I don't like anchovies, but this stuff was to die for. But let me tell you, if you don't have a cast iron stomach, prepare to feel wrecked about 10-20 minutes after eating it. But it's so good, you don't even care. After dinner we ran home and got ready for our first night out in a long time. We headed to my friends house for a cool little cocktail party and celebrated the new year. We went home early because, well, let's face it, we're not that young anymore and it's a little harder to party now than when we were younger. We spent Saturday recovering., well Frank needed a little more time to recover than I did, but anyway. I went to visit a friend and had lunch with her and her babies. We hung out and played Wii with the kids for a while in the afternoon. Frank and I went to dinner at his moms for the new year. 

Bringing us up to speed for the new thing I baked today! My mom and dad marinated a bunch of crab & shrimp, andmy mom made baked rigatoni for a belated family Christmas since my immediate famiglia and I ventrued to Clayton for Christmas  since my sister was out of commission. Anyway my aunt came over with her friend, her daughter and her 4 daughters. My cousin had a birthday the week before, so, duh! I made a cake for her. I created what I call Banana Split Cake. I baked yellow cake, turned a small portion of it chocolate with cocoa powder and marbled it. I baked it in 2 round pans and let it cool. I used whipping cream and I mixed it with strawberry jelly to create strawberry cream filling. I spread that on the bottom cake and topped it with thinly sliced banana.


Now, I've watched plenty of cooking shows and my mother worked in the Albertson's bakery for several years before she got pregnant with my sister, so I know a bit about assembling layer cakes. First I put some of the jelly in a bag and piped it around the edge of the bottom cake before spreading the strawberry cream and banana so that the weight from the top cake would cause it all to come oozing out the sides. Then I frosted the cake with whipped cream and topped it with chopped peanuts. It was perhaps one of the best creations I've made in a long time. The only thing I would change is that I used salted dry roasted peanuts my mom had left over, and it gave the whipped cream kind of an odd salty flavor. So in the future, I believe I will use unsalted nuts, or buy the ice cream nut topping from Safeway. But still, it was really good and perhaps one of the best confections I've made in a long time, if not ever. 


Bonus, my cousin Susan and I cleaned all the left over crab after tonight's feast, and mom and I are definitely going to make crab cakes for dinner Tuesday night. Thus giving me the new recipe to try this week. Be excited, cause I am! Haha!

Happy New Year Babies!

Absolutely, 

The Lady