Où est le bébé?

Connie rocks. Connie sent us a king cake. She baked it, packaged it (with appropriate instructions, "Please handle with care! Thanks!"), and shipped it right to our little home.

Emily also rocks. Emily attacked the king cake last night. I helped her. We are trying to find the baby! Just let us! Justin did not let us. He stopped us. There are still parts of the cake left, but it has suffered great losses. And we have not found the damn baby.

Maybe we need a real detective on the job?

A question of logic

If P -> Q.

If you blog -> your blog is about who you are.

If you are what you eat -> your blog is about what you eat.

Does this make sense? I stopped going to my logic class about halfway through its run and that was many semesters ago. But I think it all follows correctly. That said, today's blog will be about food.

Krystina posted a blog not too long ago about Ratatouille, a movie I currently have resting on my bedside table from when I watched it a week or so ago. It was a hard jump for me to make, watching a movie about a rat in a kitchen and it's supposed to be good? But I made it and I enjoyed it. The reason Krystina wanted me to watch the movie so much was because I am a foodie (Or a fatty, really. Funny how those two rhyme...). I love food. I have a love affair with food.

This week in French class, we're talking about the French love affair with food. Today's lesson focused a lot on le déjuner. Part of the whole "French people don't get fat" logic is that they have their scandalous trysts with bread, cheese, and wine in the afternoon rather than late at night. Le diner is served late and served light. Le déjuner, on the other hand, is practically a party. But I am not here to school people on the aspects of French vie et culture that they already know from their textbook. I am here to share how the French gave me some inspiration for a delicious lunch of my own.

So, I walked to Caviar and Bananas and made some careful selections to bring home with me. The end result, un festin.

First, I gobbled up a healthy serving of brussel sprouts. I would like to thank my mom here for being one of those people who actually liked the things and, as a result foisting her like upon her little girl. After that I snacked on a little bit of bread with a little bit of cheese. I needed something to hit my sweet spot so I took a little more of that same bread and put just the tiniest bit of Nutella on it (I admit- I am an addict). To top it all off, a cappuccino.

I am so full. And so happy.

So, back to my logic.

If the Food makes the Moira -> what does this food make this Moira?








(I think the answer might be a budding Francophile. More to come on this development as it, well, develops.)

For the poopsmiths...

Today I shall resurrect a post I started about a week ago but got too lazy to post pictures. I dedicate it to Krystina. More than a dedication, though, I consider this post an In-Your-Face-Sucker! moment. Bask in it. I am.


I was bored as I sat on my couch this evening. Nobody was home. Scrubs was over. The dogs had just been walked. There was not a whole lot going on. Did I want coffee? No, it was just a little bit too late for that and I've already had my self-imposed espresso quota (one per day, otherwise the convenience of it will overpower my weak, weak willpower).

So what should I do? Make myself something sweet? But I wanted something warm. I had nutella... and milk... And, wait... Could this work? Well, might as well research.

My first research tool, of course, was to ask Krystina. As she texted me no, I was already searching the world wide web (I was anticipating this answer and wanted a second opinion before I got the first).

The world wide web gave me a resounding yes. Where my friend had said "no", the anonymous world said, "Oh mama, bring it on!" Maybe this is why people love to date online/ find friends online/ play World of Warcraft. Okay, that last one was overkill. There just may be no excuse for WoW. But I tried.

So I tried. I saw a number of variations with cinnamon and espresso and such. I just wanted to stick to the basics. (Though I did add some dark chocolate to the mix.)

And the result?


See how inviting that massive, massive mug of hot cocoa looks?


It lights up an entire room. Like a beacon of warmth. And deliciousness. And chocolate-hazelnut goodness.

Eat my poop, smiths.

Ch ch ch changes...

I wanted to paint my blog black.

No, really, I just got tired of always having somebody else's layout as my blog template. So, until I am in the mood to make one myself (which will happen some day, I promise, but perhaps not some day soon), I will just use the template that blogger gives me.

If you want something done right you have to do it yourself, no? I actually don't subscribe to that wisdom, but I do want this blog to be an expression of myself and not of whomever it is that makes layouts at cutestblogontheblock or myspaceoryours. Though they are both very talented, I think it is time to take matters into my own hands.

If what you see is what you get, you might as well see something that is my doing. Get a little more me and a little less everybody else. That is what this blogging business is all about, right?

For my Friend

I love you! And how do I express that? By making a playlist. Weird, I know. But I think it suits me. And I hope the playlist will suit you. I couldn't resist the John Legend. The rest are just songs I think you should love as much as I love you. Can't wait to live in Philly with you!!!! (I mean that, no matter what Joshua says.) And so I present...

oh-KK

1. The Beach Boys- Wouldn't It Be Nice
2. Counting Crows- Rain King
3. Dido- Here With Me
4. Hall and Oates- She's Gone
5. Jefferson Airplane- Volunteers
6. Tom Petty- Mary Jane's Last Dance
7. Rooftop Singers- Walk Right In
8. John Legend- Ordinary People
9. Queen- You're My Best Friend
10. Justin Timberlake- Rock Your Body
11. The Who- My Generation
12. Soft Cell- Tainted Love
13. Lauryn Hill- Everything is Everything
14. Rilo Kiley- My Slumbering Heart
15. Death Cab for Cutie- We Looked Like Giants
16. The Verve Pipe- Bittersweet Symphony
17. Mariah Carey- Fantasy
18. No Doubt- Simple Kind of Life
19. The Police- Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
20. Portishead- All Mine
21. Belle and Sebastian- If She Wants Me
22. The Postal Service- Such Great Heights
23. Rachael Yamagata- The Reason Why
24. The Rolling Stones- Brown Sugar
25. The Darkness- I Believe In A Thing Called Love
26. The Cranberries- Linger
27. Scissor Sisters- Filthy Gorgeous
28. Fatboy Slim- Praise You
29. Colin Hay- Overkill
    

I hate to brag...

But there are some things I am just good at. I won't list them all here because that would be obnoxious and I am certain that there would be people around who could contest that I do not, in fact, do those things well at all. And that is fine with me.

It isn't quite right to toot your own horn tout le jour, buuuuut I figure just this once won't hurt so much, will it? We all like that feeling of accomplishment when we realize that we can do something with excellence.

And what can I do with excellence?

I can make a latte. A delicious latte.



Don't you just want some?

Cold and colder

When I woke up this morning, I checked the weather. It was cold. When I say cold, I mean to say that the temperature was 26 degrees and it "felt like" 17. This to me is actually more than cold. It is, quite technically, below freezing. In my world, though, it's below the conditions in which humans should be expected to live/function/survive.

In fact, I think this cold is so absurd that I actually checked my school email account to make sure classes weren't canceled. If I were a professor, I would have canceled classes today. All that work to get your PhD and you still have to trudge through the below freezing cold weather to teach? Naw dog. Not me.

But I don't have the power.

There is, however, something that annoys me more than the cold weather.

People who are prepared for the cold weather, what is your problem? Seriously. You live in Charleston. Charleston, where? Charleston, Vermont? Nooooo. Charleston, North Dakota? Nooooo. Charleston North Carolina? Closer, but nooooo. Charleston, where? Charleston, South Carolina. Sud. Sur. South. That means, in our Northern hemisphere, down toward the equator. It is supposed to be warm here.

In fact, it was colder here today than it was home in Maryland, where it was snowing. No snow here. Just people wearing parkas and long wool coats. And these people, they're the ones who really get my goat. Where in the hell did you get this from? What, somewhere in your brain you remembered that once every 12 eons it gets cold in Charleston and you bought this nice down coat just in case?

Why aren't you like the rest of us? The rest of us are unprepared. We dress in many layers. We finally trade our flip flops for a pair of boots. We wear scarves (usually just a fashion accessory, but in this climate functional). We drive our cars to class (or get rides from our roommates) instead of walking. We do the things that normal, unprepared people do: improvise.

And there you are. In your huge down coat. It isn't as if you're one of those people who just happens to have a ski jacket for when you take vacation. This is a coat designed for New York City winters. Sure, you may be from New York, but you're not there now! Why do you have this! And why, for the love of all things holy, are you taunting me with it!

So here's to you, you prepared bunch of ninnies. I zip up my hoodie, slip on my gloves, and peer at you with a mixture of jealousy, contempt, and wonder from beneath my ski hat. All in honor of you. Enjoy your "warmth" and don't worry about the rest of us, we're doing just fine. And no, we're not shivering, we're actually just seething with anger at your preparedness.