Name Change

Yesterday I met up with Michelle (Tina) at Macy's Mpls, downtown store. We did some chattin' and shoe shoppin'... I found 2 pairs of shoes, but now I think I splurged too much and I think I might return them! Even though they were on clearance, I really am trying to be good with my money. Anyway, after shoe shopping, we went to Sawatdee in Uptown for our favorite meal, Jalapeno Wontons, Chicken Paid Thai and a bottle of wine. However, we noticed something slightly off about Sawatdee, it is no longer SAWATDEE!!! It now goes by Uptown Thai Chili. We tried not to freak out, so we asked a server and he said, that for some reason the owner of this Sawatdee is not affiliated with the other ones. But for years he kept the name until recently. The server assured us that everything was the same, same menu, food & chef. WHOOO WHEEE! I personally think that of all the Sawatdees in the Twin Cities, the Uptown one is the best. So I would've been sad if anything changed. I guess i can handle a name change.
Anyway, we enjoyed our meal and Michelle showed me pics of her recent trip to Israel\Palestine. Her boyfriend Ahmed, is Palestinian, so they went to visit his family in Jerusalem. Ahmed is a Jerusalem Palestinian, and the Palestinians in Jerusalem have a lot more rights and freedoms in Israel. Unlike the West Bank or Gaza Strip Palestinians, whom are pretty much stuck in their settlements. Michelle said it was very sad to see... I real eye-opener for her. She also showed me pics of her travels including a trip into Jordan's Petra (one of the new eight wonders of the world). Her pictures were amazing and beautiful! I hope to go travel there myself one day.

I have been aching to travel, it has been way too long since I've been on a big adventure! I really want to go to Uruguay. I read an article on it a couple of years ago and i fell in love with this country. Right now it is cheap to go there, because it is winter... who cares! Count me in!

And then there was light...

So after 3 days with no electricity, the power came back on! I can only live in darkness for so long. Yes, it does give me a chance to be away from tv and Internet. But after awhile the milk starts to spoil and I get sick of stumbling around in the dark trying to find my bed. The light is a welcome change to the darkness. And I guess that also goes for a lot of things in my life. Letting go of the dark and walking into the light.

"I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am." -- John Newton

I took the day off of work today. I wanted to just have a day to get stuff done and get some needed sleep this morning. I was over at the Vlachsters last night for some delicious Thai Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese sandwiches. Oh dear, I love good food, but I love the company more. It is the simple pleasures in life...

When I got home last night, the onset of what looked like a big storm was on its way. I stumbled around, lit some candles and did some reading. My dear friend Sarah called and we had such a nice conversation. What have I done to blessed with such a sweet friend! And not just Sarah, but ooodles and ooodles of amazing friends. Actually, looking at my day yesterday, I had some really encouraging messages and conversations. Rachel, Bonnie, Tabitha, Paula, Shannon, Jeanelle, Megan, Ellen, Sarah, Mom, Lori, Kelly, Kyle and a Partridge in a Pear Tree... how does a girl get so lucky!

Tonight I am off to meet up with Michelle, for a shopping extravaganza at Macy's and dinner w\ a half priced bottle of wine at our favorite place; Sawatdee... Thai it, you'll like it!

Michelle just got back from Israel\Palestine and I can't wait to hear all about her adventures!

On a side note, I had to use up some of my food that was surely going to go bad this weekend. One of the things i made was, Spicy Shrimp with Ginger Coconut Rice. Meowrific!!!

Rock out with your Vlach out!

Trees Falling on Buildings

I haven't been able to blog all weekend, so I will give a re-cap of this weekends events. Friday night at about 3:30am I awoke to hear a loud thud and saw a huge flash of light outside my window. Now of course, I am waking out of a dead sleep so I completely freaked out and disorientated. I have this funny thing about me that if I wake up from a dead sleep I pretty much lose all sense of logic, and cannot think strait for a few minutes until I get my bearings. It's kinda humorous, because I really think bizarre thoughts right at that moment of waking. So anyway, at the moment of waking to a loud thud and flash of fire\light outside my window, I didn't know what to think, maybe someone was breaking in, maybe there was a fire... but really i had no clue where I was. When I finally figured it out, I realized that a huge tree had fallen on my building and with it it brought down a power line and ripped the electrical wiring out from the buildings wall. So I still do not have electricity, therefore no blog updates. I'm just thankful that the tree fell where it did, because if it would've gone the other way it would've been on my car!
Saturday was brutally hot so I left in the afternoon to go to my parents trailer to sit in air conditioning and charge my cell phone. I later got together with Shannon. We had a great night of laughing and eating yummy waffle fries at Joe Sensers. We even played trivia and it was really fun and partly because we were so obnoxious! It was rather funny that right before we went out we were deciding what to do, so we got in Shannon's car and just started to drive. I said to Shan, that 13-14 years ago, this is exactly what we used to do. Get in the car, drive around and look for something to do. I always say that life has a way of coming full circle. Nonetheless we really had a fun time and it was good for both of us to have a laugh and get our minds off of dumb things in our lives.
Sunday I spent most of the day in quiet and solitude. With no television or Internet to distract me, I had a lot of time to think and read. It was not the best day in my life, there were many things on my mind, unresolved issues and lots of questions left unanswered... Why is it when there is a problem it is easier to focus on what someone else did wrong than to really exam where you went wrong? What causes the most problems in life? Someone else's crap or your own? Or is is a combination of both? If you can't control the situation why is it so easy to try to make sense of someone else's behavior than it is to question your own motives and behavior? But at the same time, people do hurt others. Sometimes there are just situations when nothing makes sense, and maybe there is someone to blame, but to live in bitterness and frustration is not good. I choose to be strong. I choose to let go and move on. Just as I have been given grace, i must learn to give it out too...
Last night I went to visit my friend Monika's church, Woodridge Church. On Sunday nights they have a service for the younger generation called The Exchange. http://www.maketheexchange.com/index.php
It was a great night, exactly what I needed. I'm glad I went. I met some really great people, and I am looking forward to going back.
Well hopefully, my power comes on today!

Tra la la

I am in a bit of a self-depreciating mode this morning, so I decided to list my top 7 favorite songs of all time. Why 7 you say? Seven is a good number, it is the number of completion. I'm sure those of you who know me may be a bit surprised at my choices. I have favorite bands, but that doesn't mean they have a favorite song that makes my list. These 7 songs are the songs that when they come on the radio I will stop and I will start singing...loudly. Yes, I like cheesy pop ballads, I admit it! I can't put my finger on why I love these songs so much, but I do and I will not be ashamed.

7. I Just Called to Say I Love You, Stevie Wonder

6.Tell Her This, Del Amitri

5. Tiny Dancer, Elton John

4. At This Moment (live), Billy Vera

3. One More Try, George Michael

2. You Go to My Head, Louis Armstrong, w\ Oscar Peterson

1. Into the Mystic, Van Morrison

Supermarket Sweep

Lately, every time I go to the grocery store, random people start talking to me. I'm not exactly sure why, maybe I seem like a friendly person, maybe I look like I know what is the best thing to buy? Who knows? Either way, it is completely random. I could say, oh well, maybe that guy asked me about avocados because he thought I was cute? But I have women ask me questions too, young & old at that. Typically it is in the produce isle when people ask me about a certain item. "Do you think those peppers are hot?" "How do you quickly ripen avocados?" "How do I know if the sweetcorn is sweet?"... so I smile and offer my best advice and wish them good luck. But this is the ironic part, I HATE grocery shopping! I find it to be one of the worst tasks I have to do in my life. It fits somewhere between filling my gas tank and answering the phone. I guess I just find that grocery shopping is a lonely task. Of course now I might start having a change of heart about going to the store, with all these new friends I'm making...

Does anyone remember that game show Supermarket Sweep? OMG I loved that show! Now if going to the grocery store was like playing Supermarket Sweep I would go everyday! Fo sho!

Here is the recipe for the meal I made last night for the dinner party at K&K's...

Summer Shrimp Salad

1 pound frozen, fully cooked medium shrimp, thawed

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

4 cups watermelon, roughly chopped

2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped

2 avocados, roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon honey

3 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, onion, watermelon, jalapeños, and avocado.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, honey, oil, salt, and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad; toss. Sprinkle with the cilantro. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Yield: Makes 6 servings

My go-to meal

This is the meal I make when I need to whip up something fast and delicious. The recipe calls for Shrimp & Scallops, but I have made it with just the Shrimp. I have also had this meal at
Pop! Restaurant, and they make it with Shrimp & Chorizo Sausage, and that tastes great too! Speaking of Pop! I once was there and ordered a bottle of wine, because the person I was with said they would have some too. Well they didn't have very much, I ended up drinking almost the whole bottle... I really don't remember too much after that, except we went to see I (heart) Huckabees and I do not remember one thing about that movie! But the funny thing is, is that I had to pretend that I wasn't completely trashed, because I didn't want the person who I was with to think I was a total spaz! Well we ended up dating for 2 years after that, so I must of hid my inebriation pretty well! Good memories... Ok, here's the recipe:

Shrimp and Scallop Stew with Israeli Couscous
Ingredients
Serves 4
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, washed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 teaspoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (carton tomatoes taste best, such as Pomi), with juice

2 cups Israeli couscous
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, tail section left on
3/4 pound sea scallops or large bay scallops, muscle removed
3 tablespoons fresh coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Directions
Slice leeks in half lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch dice.
In a stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic; sauté, stirring, until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add jalapenos, carrots, spices, and salt; lower heat to medium low, and cook until carrots are almost tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, couscous, wine, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, and lower heat to medium; until couscous is soft.
Stir in shrimp and scallops; cook until just opaque, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat, add cilantro.
Recipe by Martha Stewart, with adaptions by moi.