Slacker

So I've been pretty busy recently. Hence the lack of weekly post! Work is beginning to pile up, and professors really like giving tests back-to-back. It's been great, really. Let me think about the past few weeks...

Honestly, not much has happened aside from school nonsense. Travis and I did get a Wii, though! We must have called every Game Stop and Best Buy in the Philadelphia area for weeks on end. Travis got lucky last Monday when he found a Wii at the Game Stop in the ghetto. I had to take a little adventure by myself, which ended in my driving over a curb to get into the parking lot. It was interesting. But we have the Wii and that's what matters, right?!

Other than that, nothing. My sister got a puppy for her birthday, so we went to New Jersey last weekend to see the new baby. She's pretty adorable! Her name is Dolce and she's 11 weeks old. I had no idea she was going to be so small! She's about the size of a guinea pig! Too cute.

Miss Dolce and Big Ol' Lenny

My sister Sarah and her baby

Sleepykins

Spending a little quality time with Lenny

I also have some videos of the new puppy (plus some of my stupid kitties!) on YouTube. They're too cute!

Let's see if I get a new (and more eventful) post up next week!

Chilled to the bone!

Drinks at Chaucer's on Tuesday night

Well the weather here in Philadelphia is just gorgeous!!! KIDDING! I can see the appeal in a snowy streetscape, but if you lived on my street you would cringe at the fist sign of snow or potential ice. If you've never had the pleasure of driving me to my house, let me just describe my parking/street situation. The street is one-way and a sort of thoroughfare connecting two main roads. So it's pretty busy all of the time. I also have one of the only driveways on the street, and people just LOVE parking inches away from it. So if you've seen my little white Jetta around and thought, "That girl must hit a lot of things," I would like to clarify that a lot of people like parking close to my driveway, causing me to dent my car. Oh did I mention that my street is a hill? I would guess at a 55° angle. So imagine this combination during the snowy/icy months. To top it all off my car is a manual, and also horrible in the snow. I've had to explain this to people for almost 2 years now and it's getting old. So I hate the snow and ice. I also hate driving, especially late because that's when people like to not only park close to my driveway, they like to park in front of it. Well that certainly is enough of my rant.

ONTO FUN THINGS!

The past week has been busy. Wednesday night I went out for drinks with friends. BTW Smith's Restaurant + Lounge is an awesome place to go for drinks and snacks. Any establishment that has $3 Yuenglings earns a place in my regular rotation. The food was really tasty, too. I had the butter lettuce salad and was very impressed. Apparently my friend's boyfriend-thing's ex-boss owns the place. Give it a shot if you're in the Rittenhouse area.

While we were out, I stumbled upon this:



The rest of the week/weekend was pretty relaxed. Travis's poor Powerbook G4 died. I am not to discuss the particulars of this tragedy. Considering his school life is based around that machine (he'll be graduating with a B.S. in Graphic Design) he had to get a new computer. I would say he's pretty happy about it (but sad of course)...



While we were in DE making electronic purchases, we picked up this previously owned Micro Korg. I love it and can't wait to put out some cute and funky music!




This week should be interesting. My obligations include: Pathology quiz; Biochemistry exam; preparing a presentation on James Polk (what?!); working my retail job. But fun things will certainly be on the list. As Valentine's Day is on Thursday, Travis is taking me to Bistro 7 for dinner. I'm so excited.

Enjoy your week!

quick!

I'm waiting for Heather to come and pick me up. We're having a little girls' night thing. While I'm waiting I'm going to give you a tasty recipe.

Chicken Tikka

• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• enough chicken (or tofu) to fill your hungry belly!

Mix the garlic, ginger, cumin, and chili powder together in a bowl or a zip-lock bag. I like using the bag so I don't have any dishes to clean. Once the seasonings are mixed add the yogurt, lemon juice, and tomato paste. Add your chopped chicken (or tofu) and mix up. Marinate for at least 3 hours. It is best if you marinate the chicken overnight. I wouldn't marinate the tofu too long, though. Sometimes tofu can get mush and bleh if marinated for too long.

About 30 minutes before you're starving, turn on the broiler to your oven. Chop up some onion ( I like to do wedges) and drizzle with olive oil. Lay the onion onto a baking sheet, or aluminum foil. Put the chicken on top of the onions, and broil for 15 minutes. After that time is up, flip the chicken and cook for 15 more minutes (or until done. It takes 25-30 mins total). I like to serve this with rice. It takes my rice cooker about 35 minutes to cook enough for Travis and me, so I just set that up right before I'm ready to cook the chicken. This is pretty delicious, and you should probably try it out. YUM!

snack dinner

There are few meals I enjoy more than snack meals! While other people were stuffing their faces full of hot wings during the Super Bowl, Travis and I enjoyed a lovely treat of bread, bean mush, arugula, goat cheese, and jam! Trust me, it was way better than it sounds. Last Thanksgiving I made these tasty little treats as an appetizer. I used white beans instead of the chick peas, though. I just think they make for a creamier puree. Well that's what I made for dinner last night. Along with the bread, goat cheese, and raspberry jam. You can't beat a snack dinner.

We had chicken tikka for dinner tonight with some buttery rice. That's delicious. Maybe I'll post the recipe later this week. If you have a stove and a refrigerator, you can't go wrong with this one!

He's a picture of Nori the Cat for good measure:


Last night I got to talk to a good friend. It's when I get his phone calls that I realize how much I miss him. There are very few thinkers and dreamers left in the world.

Weekend Recap

Well, if you lived in my house you would know that 0 items from my To Do List were accomplished. The weekend technically is not over, so the closet will probably get cleaned out and I will definitely drink at least a few beers.

The weather was just too nice yesterday to stay inside and clean. After sleeping in (yay!) Travis and I picked up Laura and went into the city. After my 30 minute parking search, I gave up and parked in a garage. We just browsed around Walnut and Chestnut for a few hours. I have a hard time buying clothes this time of year. Spring lines abound, but I just can't justify hiding bright yellows and blues behind my black wool coat of winter. I'll wait a few months. Once mid-April hits I should have a little money saved up, and the weather should be better.

So after shopping Travis, Laura, and I went to Tampopo on 21st for dinner. If you're looking for something light yet filling, try one of their bento boxes. My personal favorite is spicy chicken breast. Tampopo is also one of the only places (along with the underground grocery store in Chinatown) where I can find my favorite iced tea .

Ito En Green Tea

Travis getting ready for his fabulous dinner.

Laura being silly.

Pure Sass, as usual.

As for the upcoming week... things shouldn't be too crazy. I'm in a constant state of suspense concerning my med school applications. All checks have been cashed, meaning they're at least looking over my stuff and I should have some sort of decision coming my way. I would like to know if I need to look for a job, or if I should begin to enjoy my last few months of freedom! Oh well, we'll see soon enough.

ta da

To Do List:

• Clean out the hall closet
• Hang the lamps
  
• LAUNDRY
• Stain the shelves
• Devise a hanging method for the polaroids
• Drink more beers
  

Obviously my life is exciting. Honestly this is the first weekend we've been home (and not sick) for a while. It's so easy to be pulled in twenty different directions these days. Luckily we have understanding families. But I'd really like to get all of the loose ends of the apartment tied up before parties start popping up.

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Anyway. This has been a tiring week for me. Labs officially started back up on Monday, which always adds to the stress of my life. Two quizzes topped it off. Meetings helped. Plus application stresses. Oh my. And that was just school.

My Uncle died last Saturday; he had pancreatic cancer. The viewing was last night so that was pretty depressing. I always feel so awkward when death is concerned. I have no personal problems with death and loss, but I just never know what to say to anyone. "I'm so sorry," is pretty standard. It's typical in my family to say, "Oh I like your hair. Is that a new style?" instead of really talking about what happened. I have no problem, but some people do. The worst part of it all was the open-casket viewing. No one ever looks like they did during life. I've seen a lot of dead people, but it's just so much easier when you don't know them. I'll really miss "pull my finger" at Christmas...

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My mom gave me this plant a few weeks ago. Her plant had babies (hehehe) and she couldn't just get rid of them! So I asked her to nourish the baby into a healthy and Colleen-proof state. I took my plant home, put him on the shelf (his name is Mr. Plant) only to find that my fluffy cat Miso really likes nibbling on his leaves! So I moved Mr. Plant to a new locale, one that was not really conducive to kitty exploration. Well miss princess tried to eat the plant again! I caught her in the act.


She's already munched down two leaves! Bad cat! She got a little scolding, but it obviously has no effect. She's the type of cat who scratches on the couch, gets yelled at, but stares you right in the eyes and keeps scratching. She knows what she's doing, that sassy girl. Sass must be contagious in my house.

This is Miso after her scolding:


She was still thinking about eating Mr. Plant. Good thing he is non-toxic.