Rain

Pretty much rained all day. That's all there is to say about it. No pictures because it was a boring day. I'm going to go destroy the rest of a paper now.

Cheers.

The Cereal Saga

I came back from running (Week 7, Day 2 - 25 minutes non-stop) today and decided that I would like some cereal with sliced strawberries on top. I didn't eat a whole lot for dinner and then ran. I had a mother of a cramp in my stomach. So, I headed to the kitchen, with the thought that I would have some of the Smacks. However, this is what I found:

 To the pantry we go, to get the Honey Smacks! Oh boy! 

 Do de do, honey smacks, just singing about Honey Smacks and looking forward to my cereal and strawberries.....

 What. What is this. 

 Look at this shit. There are only crumbs in this bag of Honey Smacks! What the crap?! Where have all the Honey Smacks gone?! Oh that's just disappointing. 

 Who do I know that lives in this house that leaves not enough for a bowl of cereal in the bag and then never eats it? Who here, in this apartment, of the two people living here one of which is me, would do this? Who has ruined my healthy midnight snack? 

 Into the trash with ye, nearly empty bag of Honey Smacks. I refuse to eat your crumbs. 

I substituted with Honeycomb cereal. For the record, that bag was almost empty too. WHO WOULD DO SUCH A THING? I REALLY CAN'T IMAGINE (since I never eat cereal here in the mornings unless it is weekend).

Gandhi

 I seriously need some Gandhi in my life right now. I find work to be more and more frustrating as I lose patience with those that are considered my superiors. Gandhi had some patience, didn't he? And he had to deal with the British. And that is highly simplified, as I am learning while I write my paper. He also had to deal with the Muslims that wanted to create their own country. (PAKISTAN.) I need some Gandhi patience. I'll work on it.

 All the pictures you see here are actually taken by Work Friend Josh (WFJ). He had to run an errand today outside of the office and I shoved my camera at him. I knew I was going to be stuck there all day with no cool pictures. I needed some pictures for today.

The inscription you see on the stone up there reads: "GANDHI LED INDIA TO FREEDOM FROM BRITISH RULE IN 1947. HE IS HAILED AS THE FATHER OF THE NATION. CRUSADER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND LIBERTY, THINKER, WRITER REFORMER, APOSTLE OF TRUTH AND NON-VIOLENCE (AHIMSA), GANDHI SUCCEEDED IN UNITING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS ACROSS INDIA IN A MASS MOVEMENT OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.
ON GANDHI'S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY, ALBERT EINSTEIN WROTE, "GENERATIONS TO COME, IT MAY BE, WILL SCARCE BELIEVE THAT SUCH A ONE AS THIS EVER IN FLESH AND BLOOD WALKED UPON THIS EARTH". "

The statue is located on Massachusetts Ave. and 21st St. in Dupont Circle. It was put there as a gift from the people of India and the Indian-American community. The sculptor's name is Gautum Pal and the statue is made from granite and bronze.

More cool things you may not know about Gandhi and should: " After assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns to ease poverty, expand women's rights, build religious and ethnic amity, end untouchability, and increase economic self-reliance. Above all, he aimed to achieve Swaraj or the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led his followers in the Non-cooperation movement that protested the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (240 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930. He launched the Quit India Movement in 1942, demanding immediate independence for India. Gandhi spent a number of years in jail in both South Africa and India."
He was assassinated on January 30, 1948 by an extremist Hindu.

Beauty

I just wanted to share that it was a gorgeous day today. People were outside. Birds were singing. Trees are starting to get their leaves back. I sat out on my balcony and ate dinner and read a fun book until it was too dark to see. A very lovely evening to a Monday. I'll be having a day off from the blog tomorrow, then back on Wednesday, hopefully with some new improvements. I'll keep you posted. (OH, the pun!)

Savory Sunday!

Alright ducks, break out your crock pots. This recipe comes to you straight from the Crock Pot Recipe Collection book and can be found on page 228. This is an all day recipe, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time before you're doing dinner!

Asian Ginger Beef over Bok Choy
2 tbls. peanut oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 green onion (sliced)
6 cloves garlic (I minced mine, recipe is not specific.)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used the less sodium kind)
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. Asian chili paste
9 oz. fresh udon noodles, COOKED AND DRAINED
3 cups bok choy, trimmed and washed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Sear beef on all sides in batches to prevent crowding, turning each piece as it browns. Sear last batch of beef with onions and garlic.
2. Transfer to 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add broth, water, soy sauce, ginger, and chili paste. Stir well to combine. Cover; cook on LOW 7 - 8 hours or on HIGH 3 - 4 hours or until beef is very tender (I went with the low setting.)
3. Just before serving, turn slow cooker to high. Add noodles and stir well. Add bok choy and stir again. Heat on high until bok choy is tender-crisp, about 15 minutes.
4. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Makes 6-8 portions.
Calories (I think): 292 per serving, give or take a few calories
NOM rating: 5 stars! Super good!

I really love bok choy and I've had udon before. Together, with some beef that has been cooked to "falling apart"...mmmmm. I inhaled mine.

Well, I'm heading back to continue working on my paper. Below are a few more things that I wished to share!

 

I bought this bracelet from Lady Gaga. The proceeds from these go directly to Japanese aid. I also added on some extra monies to go towards the donation. That side says, "We pray for Japan" in English. On the other side, (see below) it says the same thing in Japanese. I recognize some of the characters, but not the kanji. Kanji is hard! 

Back to work. I might get to post tomorrow! There is no class, so I should have a picture and more ideas to make the blog more awesome! Stay classy, San Fran.

I saw Jane Eyre (a remake of the older movie and based on the book) today. I remain unconvinced that anybody who wrote at that particular time had happy things to say or do. In fact, I am convinced it rained non-stop and people fell in love in the blink of an eye, only to be ripped away due to some farce of a situation. But that's just my thoughts on the matter. The movie was good though.

I'm still working on ways to make the blog more awesome. I need serious suggestions, although the last suggestion I got does seem to have some merit to it. Porn does draw many a viewer. It's just...I'm pretty sure my grandma(s) read this and that seems like a really bad idea.

My picture for today is the awesome new coat I got from Ann Taylor Loft. It was on sale online. I think it was originally 98 dollars. I got it for 44. BAM. Please don't look at my face. Just marvel at how awesome the coat is. It has ruffles and cinches and all sorts of fun things. HH just has a talent for taking picture of me in which I resemble a troll.

There will be a recipe tomorrow! Huzzah!

Deep Thoughts

I got HH some get well soon flowers. They worked really quickly. He went back to work today. I continue to use the "Gurgle Pot" my mother got me as a vase. It's really great how the fish looks like its spitting (spouting, sprouting) flowers out of its mouth.

"It's just a tickle in my throat...WAFRAGLABLE!!!" 

I am going to do a full on post for the National Cathedral, which was another destination I discovered when my friends were here. If you would like to see the pictures ahead of time, you can look at my facebook picture album. Right HERE it is. Just click the link. I've been doing some thinking about making my blog more awesome. So that I can get more readers and gain a following for when I take over the world. I'm trying to decide what kinds of things I can do to set myself up for that. I tend to be really random with this blog and I just have word vomit all over the place. I really like doing my pictures and I'm not going to stop that. But I would like to do something else to make the blog more readable to people who don't know me.
Does anyone have any ideas? Comment! I need your help, Obi-Wans of the interneting world!