Someday I Will Laugh About This, Just Not Today

So God smoted me, karma kicked my ass, whatever it was, a large portion of my hair was burned beyond recognition late Thursday night. My straightener malfunctioned and I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. It is pretty horrific. There is nothing to be done. You can't un denature proteins. Such is life, and it is my life for six to eight months...It can look okay from a distance if there is enough assorted gels on what is left of it, but the texture, oh the texture. What a way to start my 28th year. I am trying to get over it. I don't have The Cancer, it will grow back. But damn, it sucks. I haven't burst into tears over it in almost 24 hours, so that is progress. We will see how getting ready for work tomorrow goes. For a more humorous look at the incident head here.

Hey An Actual Post

So all's been quiet on the blogging front. When the rules are no blogging about work and no bitching about people who read your blog it is easy to hit a dry spell :) But this weekend I did get in the kitchen and do something fun. Friday was couples dinner party at Yoshie and Bear's, muy divertido. I got to get my cook on and the other half of my couple got to play Gears of War 2 with Yoshie (I met him through Yoshie). It really couldn't have gone poorly. So what did I choose for the big event? Keep in mind Bear only eats chicken as the protein, Yoshie only eats meat and bread, and the other half of my couple is lactose intolerant. I avoid gluten and sugar, but for special occasions (like the month of September), I indulge (hello 5lbs). So here is the menu:

Chicken Sandwich with Caramelized Onions and Paprika Aioli

This was an excellent sandwich. Kroger didn't have sourdough rolls, so we had to use sourdough bread. Not quite as classy but I got over it. The flavored mayo was delicious. Bear is a jerk and refuses to let me buy her a grill so our chicken breasts were brined and then broiled. They stayed really moist. That was the first time I bothered to brine chicken breasts, and for broiling it was so worth it.

Roasted Fingerling With Red and Yellow Piperade

Also a big winner. The only thing I would do differently is use less oil on the pan. They were a little oily for my taste. I also went light on the parsley and basil, I didn't want to scare away the less adventurous. I didn't pour the Champagne vinegar over the potatoes because I wasn't sure how it would go over. I just left it up to the individual. I was the only one who opted too...to bad suckers it really made the dish. It didn't make them taste vinegary, just better. I had to use red potatoes because Krogers produce section blows and their fingerling potatoes were all leathery and had a sell by date of 2 days prior...Krogers produce really has been letting me down lately. The basil was all brown. The red potatoes I did get weren't the greatest. It has been like this for awhile. I think I will have to stop at Schnucks on the way home from work if this keeps up.

Since Bear and Yoshie aren't veggie people I went with what my couple wanted, "crispy green beans" basically any version of green bean that hasn't really been cooked. Pretty easy. Sauteed some garlic in olive oil. Threw the green beans in the pan, splashed in some water, clamped the lid on so they steamed for a minute to get the chill off of them. Perfectly not well done green beans.

Bear was in charge of dessert and she made some peanut butter cookies, honestly they were the hit of the party. The menfolk inhaled them. It is a good thing I get enjoyment out of the process of cooking rather than the end results, otherwise with this crowd I could set out some Chicken Helper, let Bear make cookies, and get the same end result.

Tipping Point

So apparently when you are 5'1" there is a weight point when people think they can pick you up. I must have hit it around Friday since I have been picked up twice since then. Prior to that I had not been picked up since....oh first grade-ish. I am not sure how I feel about this. Yeah it nice to see that being "up in the gym just working on my fitness" (tm Fergie) has paid off. Yet, having both feet off the floor is a little disconcerting. Now I will say, these were people I care about doing the lifting, so over all it was a positive feeling. But dude, the first time some Random tries to lift my elfin self I am busting out the Shred muscles and kicking their ass.

So What Have I Been Doing?

Cleaning out my closet...literally and metaphorically. Much love to Bear and Aimers for helping with the heavy lifting in its various forms. You gals are the best. Also, can I just say how much I love having matching wooden hangers? It makes me feel very zen.

Two Faced

So on the left is me left to my own devices. Can you say "HATCHET FACE"? On the right is after my lovely sister intervened, channeled her inner Tyra Banks, and told me "Know your angles, chin down, and shoulders back." I think Tyra would be really proud, much less hatchety in take 2.

My Summer Vacation by Vanilla Bean Counter

The Good: Gorgeous weather. Found a couple of geocaches. Circus World was pretty entertaining and everyone had a good time. Gluten Free birthday cake from The Silly Yak bakery. Glamor shots for match.com were obtained. Carefully posed and selection to make me look as fun and interesting as possible. I've decided to go the false advertising route, a little bait and switch action. Laoation is always so tasty. Sleeping on S's couch vs Aimers' (Sorry Aimers, much love for you, but not your couch. But really, I am damn near 30 years old, maybe I should spring for a hotel room). Live music on The Terrace Saturday night.

The Bad: No babies in slings sightings, none! The planks ("hash browns") at The Dairy Barn. Picking Caramel Cappuccino instead of my usual Butter Pecan. The freaking roads in Illinois. Little Puppy Maia was not along for Circus World. She will have to be photo shopped into the Christmas card. Having to watch animals perform unnatural behaviors. Elephants aren't supposed to roll on balls!

The Ugly: My legs, oh the damage the mosquitoes did. Geocaching in shorts, dumbest move I have made in awhile.

Best Laid Plans

Friday was a beautiful evening in Peoria. Xena and I, in an effort to eat healthier, decided to cook tacos at her house rather than going to Jalapeno's. That was all well and good until my will power broke down and I had "just a half glass" of Cuervo already mixed Margarita. I hardly ever drink, but that Margarita was good. Xena, realizing the rarity of the event started having more as well. Before I knew it, I was like 6 half glasses gone and we were moving our party of two out to the roof top deck. There we inhaled a bag of baked Tostitos, half a jar of queso, and the entire handle of Margarita while listening to R & B/hip hop/pop hits from the late 90's early 00's. Good thing we decided to be healthy, right?

Although if we hadn't done that we would have missed the excellent fireworks show. From the deck you can see the fireworks from the baseball field, but Friday night there were additional fireworks just south of the Bob Michael Bridge. The show went on for over 20 minutes. Not just random amateurs, an actual coordinated show. I have no idea what it would have been for or who paid for it. Google fails me. Anyone local know what those fireworks were about?