on: being a (grief) counselor of sorts

i was at work last saturday and was still kinda cranky b/c i didn't really wanna be there, but since 2 people had already called out and saturday is one of the days that i'm technically in charge of the department, i felt like i had no choice but to suck it up and go.

so i'm at work and i notice that one of my co-workers is on the verge of tears. i asked if she was ok and she said that something happened that made her think of her mom and before she could finish that sentence, i pretty much ordered her to go hang out in the back room so she could have a quick crying jag & pull herself together.

see, this co-worker lost her mom about a month and a half ago, and since she's the oldest child, she feels like she has to put on a strong front for her siblings and for her dad. she knows that i'm well acquainted with the whole losing parents/family members thing (sigh), so she asked me if the pain ever goes away.

i didn't lie. i told her the pain somehow eventually gets easier to manage, but that in my experience, there will always be a part of you that will always be in mourning. i told her like i've told other folks both here and off-line - grieve however you think is best. if that means you need to take a few minutes at work to have a mini-breakdown on my shoulder, then so be it. (that totes happened, btw.)

later that day, this same co-worker asked how i was able to do such a good job of helping her and other co-workers who've experienced a loss in the family. i jokingly said that it comes from years of experience, but there's a bit of truth there, i suppose. work has been kinda weird lately anyway, seeing as how one of the librarians died earlier this month from injuries suffered in an accident while they were on their way to work. a lot of people have been coming in to express their condolences and in a couple of cases, i end up consoling them b/c they are distraught to the point of tears and frankly, sometimes i can't handle that kind of energy while i'm working at the desk, esp. from people i don't know.

it's different with y'all, obviously. we're cool enough and clearly y'all trust me enough to share your grief with me, and hopefully i do a decent enough job of listening and helping y'all work through whatever it is you feel like working through at that moment.

i've noticed that it's not just grief/coping with someone's death, though. a lot of times i'm pulled into a counselor role for friends who are just having a rough time. i'm ok with that. i like to think that i'm good at it. i can be that friend/counselor that allows you to say whatever's on your mind and if the situation calls for it, i can offer to beat people up or flip a table on someone's behalf or pass you some tissue or enable the eating and/or drinking of your feelings.

the difficult part, though (you had to have known that there was a "but" coming somewhere), is that sometimes i have to sacrifice myself a bit in order to effectively play that counselor role. i am human enough to admit that i'm not as selfless as i'd like to be during these circumstances. it's challenging when my selfish side is all "what about me and my feelings and my needs pay attention to me dammit" when i know good and damn well the occasion is really calling for me to shut the entire fuck up and listen to what y'all need and attempt to fill those needs as best i can. sometimes that means ignoring the fact that there's only one person on the desk at the work so i can literally lend a supportive shoulder to a colleague. other times it might mean changing my plans in order to buy booze that i really shouldn't be spending money on so i can help a friend drink their cares away.

i suppose that's kinda what being a counselor is about - having the ability to temporarily put yourself aside so you can serve others? i've been that friend for folks since high school (and possible junior high, but y'all know how my memory is sometimes) and it feels like it gets more difficult as we get older. which makes sense, i guess, since our lives get more complicated as we get older and therefore it gets harder to compartmentalize your needs so you can focus on the greater good.

so if i haven't already, let me apologize if at any point during our "counseling sessions," i've spaced out or gone quiet or you felt like i wasn't 100% there. that's me reminding myself to get my shit together and focus on the task at hand, which is helping you deal with whatever you've brought to the table at that moment. i appreciate that a certain level of vulnerability has to exist in order for us to talk about deep (and even the not-so-deep) stuff, and i don't take that responsibility lightly. we'll get through it together. i promise. :-)

love that father's day chicken

i had popeye's for dinner b/c, as previously stated, i wanted my father's day feelings to taste delicious. i have whiskey caramel frozen custard (!) for dessert later. feelings...nothing more than delicious feelings...

while i was having dinner earlier, i found myself pulling off the chicken skin to save it for last, which is something i've done ever since i was old enough to eat fried chicken, i think. actually, that's not completely accurate. there was a period in my life when all i ate from fried chicken was the skin. it drove my family nuts. mashed potatoes? done. whatever veggies were on my plate? gobbled. cornbread? you know i was 'bout that action. but the actual chicken? nope. it wasn't happening. luckily this was a phase i grew out of relatively quickly, probably b/c knowing my brothers, that "naked" chicken didn't last long on my plate.

fast-forward a bit to a visit to kokomo to see my former stepmother. i think i was about 9 years old. daddy & i had driven in for the weekend - my former stepmother hadn't left her job in kokomo yet and there was a weird long-distance/commuter thing happening. i'm sure that was part of why their marriage didn't last. at any rate, we were there on a saturday and i think daddy had decided he wanted popeye's for dinner. my former stepmother went to popeye's and came back, we sat down at the table, loaded up our plates, and started eating.

now, anyone who's broken bread with me knows that my tolerance for spicy food is low. there are certain foods that i will just sweat my way through even though i'm thisclose to passing out from pain b/c the food's that good, but that's a short list and my tolerance for those foods is a relatively recent development. i have a number of friends who, when i ask them for a sample of whatever spicy food they're eating, will tell me straight up that i shouldn't eat it b/c i will have all of the regrets. i trust them.

my former stepmother, in a sort of wisdom that is still lost on me, ordered spicy chicken from popeye's. i am 37 years old and i still don't fuck with popeye's spicy chicken like that, so you know 9 year old me  wasn't having it. at ALL. i took one bite and was in tears by the time i spat it out and told daddy it was too hot and i couldn't eat it.

oh, man, the argument that ensued after that. former stepmother's rationale was that i should just shut up and eat what was on my plate. daddy's point was that if the food was making me uncomfortable and/or was inedible, he wasn't gonna force me to eat. then former stepmother tried to play the "well, i've raised more kids than you and you're just spoiling her" cards and...y'all. i can probably count the number of times i saw my father lose his temper on one hand, and this was one of them. i got sent from the room so they could continue their "discussion." i don't remember which one of them made a second popeye's run, but i did indeed have some chicken i could eat that night.

funny how this memory has stuck with me all these years. i never saw it as daddy spoiling me so much as him knowing his kid enough to know that if i said something was too spicy, it was too spicy and therefore it was a problem. i remember once in high school when someone was teasing me about being spoiled (one of the hazards of being the youngest and a daddy's girl, i suppose) and daddy said that he'd work as hard as he had to and move heaven and earth to make sure i had everything i needed and, if possible, some of the stuff i wanted. i was old enough to appreciate the difference.

that night in kokomo, daddy knew that i needed something edible for dinner. (yes, i know, how very first world of me.) he knew it was his job to fulfill that need, and if that meant getting into an argument with his wife about fulfilling that need, then so be it.

it's one of the things i love(d) most about my father. if you said you needed something and he was in a position to make it happen, consider it done. i think some members of my family took that for granted b/c he never made a big deal about it, but after i turned 18 and daddy felt like he could treat me more like an adult, we had some conversations about it and i knew the lack of acknowledgment hurt him.

17 years after his death, i still feel so incredibly blessed to have been daddy's girl. happy father's day.

father's day flashback

i wasn't kidding last month when i said that i'm an equal-opportunity hater w/r/t mother's day and father's day. here's what i had to say about it last year, and i stand by it now:

good morning. happy sunday. happy father's day.

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) June 16, 2013

s/o to all the dads i know who are raising children that i actually enjoy spending time with outside of #adventuresinbabysitting.

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) June 16, 2013

s/o to all of my friends' dads who i've adopted along the way. thank you for raising kids who grew up to be great adults (so far).

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) June 16, 2013

s/o to the folks who have complicated relationships with their fathers and therefore can't get behind the sentiment today. *hugs* for y'all.

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) June 16, 2013

s/o to the folks who lost their fathers way too soon (16 years ago for me) and might be feeling some kinda way today. *hugs* for y'all, too.

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) June 16, 2013

and i know there's a few daddy's girls on my timeline (takes one to know one, dig?), so make sure you holla at him if you can today.

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) June 16, 2013

recipe review: parmesan-crusted tilapia

i was reading gale gand's new cookbook tuesday night as i was attempting to decompress enough to go the fuck to sleep. i'd had some time off from work and my first day back was wednesday, so i was hoping to turn in early enough so i wouldn't be completely exhausted. of course i couldn't go to sleep right away, even though i was in bed by 9:30.

anyway...i'd already started my shopping list for the week and saw that tilapia was on sale, so i added it to my list, planning to make another batch of dijon fish cakes. then i saw this recipe for parmesan-crusted tilapia, and the fish part of it looked easy enough to try out.

i got 3 tilapia fillets, which was slightly more than a pound. i used shredded parmesan instead of grated b/c that's what was in the fridge. i also used dried parsley instead of fresh b/c that's what was on hand. i didn't actually measure the pepper - i used a ziploc bag for the panko/parmesan mixture and just kinda eyeballed the pepper (and the parsley, actually).

verdict: meh. i think it needed a bit more seasoning of some sort. not salt, necessarily, b/c parmesan is salty enough on its own, but something. maybe i'll add a bit of paprika next time. or lemon pepper instead of black pepper. i'm not sure. i'm willing to try it again, though. i was kinda rushing through prep because i wanted to eat and have things cleaned up in time for the blackhawks game. i was successful in that quest, but maybe next time i won't be as harried and can actually think about seasoning, etc.

a stormy monday of sorts

obviously depending on how you choose to define "stormy." it looks like it's gonna rain any minute now as i write this.

i woke up around 3:30 this morning attempting to shake myself out of a really intense nightmare. that was one of those moments when i once again realized how much it sucks to be lonely - to not have someone that you could curl up with and they would tell you, even if it's a bald-faced lie, that things would be ok.

i was watching anthony bourdain's parts unknown while working on job apps late this morning. this week's episode was all about the mississippi delta, and it made me think of my father, and then i got all weepy. actually i'm still a bit on the weepy side. i know - who cries over seeing tamales being served in mississippi? this girl does, apparently. i remember how excited daddy was when he was finally able to get his hands on a tamale recipe and make it his own. those tamales were good, too.

and now i have to leave for work in a few minutes and hope that the bullshit is kept to a minimum b/c i'm already in a weird mental space today.

happy monday. :P

just in time for mother's day

i think it was monday or tuesday of this week that i officially hit my "i am so DONE with mother's day ads" peak. mother's day is difficult because of [reasons], and every year, it feels like i'm bombarded with more and more commercials and sales and gift ideas and offers until i want to literally run away screaming. i don't like announcing that i feel this way, though, b/c i know mother's day is a big deal for some folks and i don't want to steal their joy, but sometimes, i just wanna yell "holy fucking shit we get it moms are awesome enough with the commercialism already" as part of the aforementioned running away and screaming. i am the worst.

as an alternative, though, i thought i would share some of the tweets i posted last year for mother's day and then go back to pretending that this holiday doesn't really exist. (yes, i do the same thing for father's day. i'm a equal-opportunity both parents are dead and therefore i have no fucks to give about these holidays hater.)

good morning. happy sunday. happy mother's day.
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) May 12, 2013

s/o to all the moms i know who are raising children that i actually enjoy spending time with outside of #adventuresinbabysitting.
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) May 12, 2013

s/o to all of my friends' moms who i've adopted along the way. thank you for raising kids who grew up to be great adults (so far).
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) May 12, 2013

s/o to the folks who have complicated relationships with their mothers and therefore can't get behind the sentiment today. *hugs* for y'all.
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) May 12, 2013

s/o to the folks who lost their mothers way too soon (29 years ago for me) and might be feeling some kinda way today. *hugs* for y'all, too.
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) May 12, 2013

oh, what the hell...*hugs* all around. the sun's out and this is the last sunday i have to work until june, so i'm trying to be positive. :D
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) May 12, 2013

lucky for me that i no longer have to work sundays, which means i can spend this mother's day...i don't actually know what i'll be doing yet, besides watching hockey. maybe i'll just drink and watch hockey. that's an acceptable way to spend a sunday, right? right.

but seriously - happy mother's day to all the awesome moms i know. thank you for raising (mostly) wonderful children. your efforts are noted and appreciated. :-)

recipe review: one-pan roasted chicken and broccoli

bobby deen, youngest son of the infamous paula deen (god, remember when i used to be all #teampaula before she got caught being ridiculously mega-racist? b/c that totally happened), has a new cookbook out, and i ordered a copy from work so i could give it a go. i'm not a huge fan of the recent "zomg you can cook everything healthy and fresh and organic in less time than it takes you to order from grubhub!" trend. i blame rachael ray, she of "30 minute meals," for giving that trend its initial platform.

but i digress. i've seen enough of bobby's show on cooking channel to know that he really is focused on making healthier meals that don't suck, which i can appreciate. i also appreciated this recipe for roasted chicken and broccoli, b/c any excuse to roast a pan of broccoli is ok with me. i don't know where my fascination with roasted broccoli came from a few years ago, but i'm cool with it sticking around. it's a lot better than my childhood days of only wanting broccoli covered in cheese sauce. (i was young and i didn't know any better. shut up.)

i used 3 garlic cloves instead of 2 - 1.5 with the broccoli and the remainder with the chicken. i skipped the hot chili powder altogether and doubled the cumin - again, using half on the broccoli and the other half with the chicken. there's leftover chicken broth in the fridge from sunday's risotto making, so i used that. i also added more olive oil (maybe a 1/2 tablespoon or so?) when i combined the chicken and broccoli. i let the chicken cook for about 15 minutes instead of the 10-12 minutes called for, b/c a lot of the chicken pieces were still kinda raw halfway through the cooking time. i squeezed lemon juice on top instead of lemon wedges b/c what's attractive about lemon wedges after you've already zested the lemon?

verdict? nom, would make again. would also try with boneless skinless chicken thighs b/c i'm sure they'd work just fine in this.

recipe redux and review b/w cooking with beer

remember the bacon risotto i made this fall? i was watching something or read something that mentioned using beer in risotto, which sounds delicious b/c hooray beer. i got to thinking about revisiting this bacon risotto recipe and using matilda beer bacon instead of regular bacon, and, of course, using goose island matilda to replace some of the chicken broth used in the recipe.

today's bacon (and beer) risotto has 1/2 a pack of matilda beer bacon, which i think was about 5-6 slices. i doubled the garlic to 4 cloves, and used 2 cups of matilda beer and 2 cups of chicken broth. i cooked the bacon first and then let it drain on paper towels while the onion and garlic cooked. still not enough grease to drain off, so everything went into the slow cooker as it was. i set the time for 90 minutes on high so i could check consistency/doneness before dumping in the cheese. the rice was still a bit on the crunchy side after 90 minutes, so i let it cook for another 12 minutes on high before adding the parmesan cheese and turning the slow cooker off.

i can't believe i'm saying/typing this, but i think i'd use less beer the next time i make this. i know, i know...such sacrilege on a sunday, but while the risotto was delicious and definitely better than the 1st time i made it, holy fucking shit does it taste like beer. this is not necessarily a bad thing, so i'm thinking i'd use 1.5 cups of beer to 2.5 cups of stock/broth next time. or maybe i'd keep the proportions of beer/stock the same and not use beer bacon. obviously this is going to need further research. y'know, for science. :-)

you might also remember that i recommended serving some sort of vegetable along with the risotto. while i was looking for my printed copy of the bacon risotto recipe, i found one for sautéed spinach from this craft beer cookbook i read last year. i knew i'd still have some beer left b/c i'm not going to finish the bottle until i actually eat today, so this sounded like a great idea. here's the recipe as it's listed in the cookbook:

Sautéed Spinach 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large shallot, finely diced
1/4 cup Belgian white beer
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 ounces fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté for 1 minute. Add the beer and chicken stock and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. 

Add the butter, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach is just barely wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and toss well. Serve hot.

i forgot to buy shallots when i went grocery shopping the other day, so i improvised with a little bit of red onion that was in the fridge - maybe about 1/3 cup diced? those fresh express bags o'salad were on sale, so i bought 2 6oz bags of spinach and arugula mix and used those instead of regular spinach. 4 cloves of garlic instead of three.

if/when i make this again, which i probably will the next time i make this risotto, i'd let the liquid reduce by two-thirds instead by half, b/c there was still a fair amount of liquid left by the time the spinach/arugula had wilted down. still nom, though.

and now my full stomach and i are on the couch with the remains of this 765ml bottle of matilda in easy reach, b/c of course i can't let the rest of this beer go to waste, right? right.

to thank or to donate?

one of my guilty pleasures, if you must call it that, is reading both the "social q's" and the "modern love" columns in the new york times every week. i just read both columns for this coming sunday (thanks, technology!) and one of the letters in the "social q's" gave me enough pause that i had to share it with y'all.

We received a mass email from the parents of a 5-year-old girl, whose birthday party my daughter attended and to which she brought a gift. It said: “(redacted) had a wonderful time at her birthday party. In lieu of thank-you notes for your gifts, we are making a charitable donation in the name of (redacted)'s preschool class.” What?!

Anonymous, (city)

Agreed: that is one wacky email. The time for doing something charitable here was before the party — in lieu of gifts — when you and the other parents were racing all over town trying to find mini-Miele vacuum cleaners and other accessories for Barbie’s Malibu Dream House. The birthday girl’s parents are free to make whatever charitable donations they like. But 5 is old enough for drawing thank-you pictures or dictating notes (and she should get on them pronto).

i had no idea this was hot in the streets! i've not experienced this, primarily b/c i haven't been to a kid's birthday party in a while (stupid work schedule getting in the way of my fun), but i'm inclined to agree with the columnist in that the time for being charitable is doing that whole "in lieu of gifts, please consider a donation to xyz charity" on the invites.

i can't even pretend to understand. when did it become ok to skip thank-you notes and make a charitable donation instead? parents - is this a thing? has this happened to you? how do you feel about it? would you do something like this? why/why not?

another (anti-)epiphany? don't mind if i do!

so i just finished reading a book by one of my favorite romance authors (don't act like you didn't know i've been reading "trashy" books for as long as you've known me, if not longer) and i'm kinda fighting back tears even as i type. i'm going to go ahead and blame some of it on hormones b/c, well, hormones.

a large part of it, though, is the re-realization (is that a word? whatever it's called when you realize something again? that's what i mean here) is that as good of a facade as i've put on my life to date, i am still in shambles and i have no idea when i'll be able to put myself back together again. i'm writing this on the couch in quasi-landlord's office/den. i'm 37 years old and i'm sleeping on a twin bed in quasi-landlord's spare bedroom b/c i still can't find a full-time job or even enough part-time employment that will let me move back out on my own w/o adding to my current and immense financial struggles. it sucks and i hate it. there. i said it. this fucking sucks and i hate it.

i really hate it when i re-realize (seriously, there's gotta be a better word for this - someone help me out here) that while i might be emotionally ready to dive back into the relationship pool, there's no way i can seriously act on those urges at the moment. i keep saying that i want to be back on my own and at least pretending to be established before i decide to start dating or pursue a romantic relationship or whatever the kids are calling it these days. that makes sense to me. if i'm into someone, i wanna be able to spend time with them at my place w/o feeling like i'm a teenager sneaking around when my parents aren't home. i have told myself this. i have told myself that if i'm gonna be serious about anyone and have any kind of partnership/relationship/whatever, i need to bring something to the table besides my student loans and sparkling personality. (shut up. there are moments when i can really pour on the charm, dammit!)

reading this book reminded me (ok, i guess i can go with "reminded," even though that's not really what i want, but fuck it) that something resembling love is out there and that, god help us all, i kinda wanna go find it again. i'm not saying i'll get married again. (some of you might remember that i only planned on getting married once, but, well, you know...) i am saying that at some point, preferably sooner rather than later in the context of now vs. before i die, i'd like to be in a relationship again. i've been battling with myself over this for what feels like forever but what really has only been about a year or so, give/take a few months.

and that's where the frustration kicks in. i hate knowing what i want, not just relationship-wise but in general life terms, and not being about to make that shit happen. a big part of why i am so encouraging of other people's dreams and aspirations is b/c i can't seem to get it going for myself, so i might as well play cheerleader for my friends and loved ones while they #doitlive. i don't begrudge their happiness. i am genuinely excited when things go well for people i care about. it's an awesome feeling, but sometimes it's really difficult.

did i mention that this fucking sucks and i hate it? i hate not being able to make even medium-range plans, let alone long-term plans, b/c i literally don't know what i'll be doing or where i'll be. i hate knowing that there is something (and maybe, just maybe, someone) else out there for me and it's not happening right the fuck now, despite all of the hard work and wishing and praying i've been doing. this shit is hard and sometimes i get tired of focusing on being thankful for the little things i have b/c every once in a while, i need to remind myself that this isn't the end. there is more. i want more, and if that makes me greedy, then i'll be a greedy bitch b/c fuck this shit. i don't accept my current circumstances as my destiny and if you're trying to do some shit that you believe in, i am the 1st one in your corner waving a flag of woo (or oom). that is how it should be. you'll have to forgive me, though, if sometimes i can't hold up that flag for an extended period of time. it's not all shits and giggles over here.

*peeks out* i think it might be safe now...

o hai. i was really kinda worried about getting through the first week of march relatively unscathed, emotionally. between the anniversary of my mom's death on march 1 and the anniversary of james' death on the 8th, i was fully prepared to have all of the crying fits and not want to get out of bed. (ok, so there were a couple of days when i didn't want to get out of bed, but that was more laziness and/or weather-induced than anything. :P)

while i was out being social sunday night, it occurred to me that i'd meant to do a blog post commemorating the 5th anniversary of james' death but i hadn't gotten around to it, so i tweeted some stuff instead:

i will say, though, that yesterday was the 5th anniversary of james' death & i managed to make it through the weekend w/o falling apart.
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) March 10, 2014

a big part of that is thanks to hanging with some of y'all this weekend. a lot of you had my back 5 yrs ago and i'm forever grateful.
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) March 10, 2014

so, yeah. here's to self-care in the form of hanging w/friends, eating and drinking well, & being thankful through all of it. i love y'all.
— eulalia (@queeneulalia) March 10, 2014

that pretty much sums it up. i love that my friends and i still stand up for and with each other even after all these years. let's try not to lose that, mmkay? :-)

beware the 1st of march

march 1, 1984. i was 7 years old. i remember coming home from school and seeing everyone in our living room. i knew something had to be up because why else would everyone be home from work already? my now former sis-in-law was the one who told me that my mother was dead. my family, being the religious bunch that we tend to be, had previously had the "heaven is where people go when they die" talk with me, but they were astute enough not to say anything about how soon my mother would be one of those people.

i knew she was sick, though. there were times when she'd be in the hospital and i couldn't go see her b/c i was way too young. i drew her cards, though. james helped me with some of them. when she was home and couldn't really get out of bed, i'd make sure the radio was on so she wouldn't be lonely. i "cooked" for her. my imaginary rabbit stew was legendary. i don't know why i fixated on rabbit stew - probably b/c daddy liked mocking my attachment to stuffed animals and cartoons - but i had a pretend stove and sink and bowls and pots and y'all could not tell me that i wasn't creating a culinary masterpiece.

i was 7 when i found out my mother was dead and i remember screaming and crying and my oldest brother picking me up and carrying me to bed b/c i screamed and cried myself to sleep. i remember the part of the funeral where my mother's pastor asked if any visitors were present & i tried to get daddy to stand up b/c we weren't members of mama's church. my brothers were, but daddy was a staunch a.m.e. until he died and wanted nothing to do with those crazy baptists. the fact that he was willing to tolerate occasional services after my brothers & i all switched our church memberships to 1st c. was a testament to bishop tears, really. daddy loved hearing bishop preach.

but this isn't about daddy, even though i really am a daddy's girl at heart. this is about my mother, who died 30 years ago. the woman who i did not get to spend nearly enough time with before she died. 

i think i was in high school when i learned that mama had cancer. all those years i'd believed, or had been told to believe, that mama died of a heart attack. maybe she suffered cardiac arrest in the hospital, like daddy would do some 13 years later. i don't know. but it was cancer. breast cancer. 

my mother was a teacher. details are sketchy, but i'm pretty sure she'd given it up right before i came along. that would explain how i started reading when i was 2, though. my mother loved playing the lottery and gambling. family legend has it that my first (and so far only) trip to vegas was when mama was still pregnant with me. i don't know what kind of luck she had. i do remember crown royal bags filled with quarters. those were always around the house.

i don't know what mama's favorite color was, or her favorite food, or what she wanted to be when she grew up. i don't know how many times her heart was broken. i don't know what she felt when, as a woman with two sons by two different fathers, this guy that she'd eventually marry and have two more children with first came along. i don't know how they met, or when they fell in love, or when they decided to get married, or if they were even still in love when she got sick. i don't know what kind of advice she would've given me about life or love or how to be a woman. there's a lot i don't know. there's a lot i'll never know.

i do know i'm essentially a slightly darker version of my mother. y'know how folks say someone looks like so-and-so just spit them out? i get that all the time w/r/t my mother. i didn't get her height, which would've been nice to balance out these super-long feet i got from her. i did get some of her jewelry, though. that ring i wear around my neck? it belonged to my mother. i started wearing it in high school, i think - the ring was too big for my finger and so i just put it on a chain i had and the rest is history. 

i prefer to think that i got my love of reading and learning from her, too. can enjoyment of soap operas be considered a hereditary trait? b/c i'm willing to claim that, too. i was all about all my children and one life to live and my scandal addiction has already been documented for the record. mama loved her some guiding light, to the point where 2:00pm was my nap time and even if i wasn't tired, i had to go in my room and be quiet for that hour. yes, it was that serious.

i don't know if my mother loved music, but i have to assume she did. part of me likes to believe that she and daddy bonded over their mutual love of music. the radio was on a lot in our house. i had a toy piano in my room and took lessons for what seemed like forever but was probably only a year or so. i'm listening to music as i type this and it just seems right.

it doesn't seem right that my mother has been dead for 30 years. that i have carried this grief and longing and yes, sometimes anger with me for 30 years. i may not have been able to give voice to it 30 years ago, but i can damn sure vocalize it now - the shit's not fair and cancer fucking sucks and while i can't pretend to imagine how differently my life would've turned out if my mother had lived long enough to help me through my first heartbreak or been there to applaud when i graduated, i'd be a lying sack of shit if i said i didn't indulge in daydreaming about it every now and again. yes, i know, life is difficult and we all lose people we love and there's not much we can do about it, but this is my mother i'm talking about here and the fact that i have to grasp at memories of her instead of having a whole mental database of reminisces to draw on both is depressingly maddening.

today is march 1, 2014, and my mother has been dead for 30 years. i don't know what her dreams for me were, nor do i know if i've even come close to them, but i'm here and she's not and i am sad and angry that this is a reality that i have had to resign myself to. this is a part of who i am whether i like it or not and every now and again, i have to face up to it instead of letting it simmer just under the surface while i attempt to get through my everyday life. today seems like as good a time as any to let it out.

(and if you think this was maudlin, stay tuned for my "omg i can't believe james has been dead for 5 years" post coming in the next week or so!)

what a difference a year makes, or something

i wrote this last year, but this is the 1st time it's seeing the light of day.

"today is february 20, 2013. robin roberts made her triumphant return to “Good Morning America,” and I think I just unofficially committed, in my head, anyway, to getting back into the breast cancer awareness/fundraising game.
 Shit.
 After the 3-day in 2004, I said I was retired. No more walking. No more crewing. Hell, I’m not even sure I’ve donated to anyone’s bc-related cause since then. I was done. I’d worked on crew for 4 straight years and then walked close to 60 miles in the 3-day and I was done.
 As 2013 got underway, though, a tiny part of me started thinking about coming back. 10-year anniversary of my last walk. 30-year anniversary of my mom’s death. So many survivors to be honored. So many who succumbed that deserve to be remembered.
 So. Much. Work. to. Be. Done.
 Fuck.
 I hadn’t really paid that tiny voice much attention until this afternoon when I saw robin on tv. I didn’t sob, but there were legit tears in my eyes all the same, and as I drifted off to sleep (hey, it’s my off day and I can nap if I want to), that tiny voice got a little louder. Recruited some other tiny voices to its chorus. Made sure it was the 1^st thing on my mind when I woke up from my nap.
 Dammit.
 It feels all kinds of weird to be mapping out fundraising goals and taglines when I don’t even know when the 2014 walks will be. Hell, I don’t even know where I will be by the time 2014 rolls around.
 And yet.
 $3,000 goal. 30 years without the woman who brought me into this world and who left it entirely too soon.
 I think I’m actually going to #embracethecrazy on this one. Holy fucking shit. This might actually happen, god help us.
 I haven’t been this afraid of putting words to paper in a long time, which kinda leads me to believe that despite my protests to the contrary, this is something I should do. I don’t even know if I want to do it, if we’re going to be completely honest here, but I think I should. I think I have to. Because fuck cancer. The hell with more daughters and sons and families losing loved ones prematurely.
 Typing that last graf might’ve just sealed the deal in my head. What in all purple fucks am I thinking? This is madness."

today is february 24, 2014. i'm back in chicago (i was in skokie last year when i wrote the above) and a few weeks ago, i actually decided to look at the avon walk site to see how i could get the ball rolling on the plan i concocted. turns out registration for crew members is closed. so much for that plan. and i know in my heart of hearts that i'm not in a place where i can commit to participating as a walker this year.

i've made my peace with not being actively involved in this year's avon walk. i still want to punch cancer in the face, though. sigh.

recipe review: lemon chicken

so i've been following shutterbean for a while now and have bookmarked/saved a number of her recipes for future use. when i saw her lemon chicken recipe yesterday, i sent it on to quasi-landlord with a note saying that we should probably try it out, given that the most recent trip to costco yielded almost a whole freezer shelf full of chicken breasts and chicken thighs.

i was willing to leave it at that and figured that we'd get around to trying this out at some point. "at some point" turned out to be tonight, thanks to the "hey, did we defrost anything for dinner?" conversation i had with quasi-landlord this morning. luckily, we already had everything else on hand, so i was perfectly ok with taking charge of dinner prep.

of course, me being me, i did a couple of things differently - i used 5 cloves of garlic instead of 3 b/c the cloves were kinda small and also b/c both quasi-landlord and i agree that garlic is delicious. i used 1 medium-large sweet onion b/c sweet onions are delicious and that's what was in the kitchen. i skipped the parsley b/c i was unable to locate it in the fridge and by the time everything was done, i was ready to put food in my face and couldn't be bothered to continue looking for parsley. i regret nothing.

instead of rice, i made some of this rice and lentil medley that we'd picked up from whole paycheck once upon a time. yeah, i know - i'm not usually a big fan of lentils either, but i'm ok with them when they're mixed into other things, like rice, or beans. i called dibs on the leftover roasted broccoli we had in the fridge and quasi-landlord had peas. definitely spoon some of the sauce on the rice, or potatoes, or pasta, or whatever.

verdict? omg lemon. the lemons i used were definitely large and if you like the taste of lemon, you should definitely find the largest lemons you can get your hands on for this recipe b/c omg lemon. i baked the dish for 40 minutes and then let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes. the chicken was perfectly done, except for the edges that were slightly over-cooked b/c they'd gotten a head-start during the quick defrost i gave them in the microwave. the onions weren't as brown as i thought they'd be, but they were still delicious. quasi-landlord & i agree that we'd be up for making this again, maybe with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs to see if there's a noticeable difference in the thickness of the sauce.

and there you have the 1st recipe review of 2014. took me long enough, didn't it? :P

a few thoughts after watching "island in the sun"

i first heard about "island in the sun" about a year or so ago while watching a special about dorothy dandridge. to be honest, i'd forgotten about it until a few weeks ago, when the movie was on cable. i was thisclose to falling asleep, though, so i didn't watch it that night. instead, i ordered the dvd from the library and finally got around to watching it last night.

guys. this movie is easily one of the oddest movies i can remember watching in a long time. i kept reminding myself that the movie came out in 1957 and therefore a lot of the "shocking" moments and story lines could only go so far, but it was still odd.

then i got to thinking...i wonder if diahann carroll watched "island in the sun," which featured not one, but two of her co-stars from "carmen jones,"and wondered about the (given the times, kinda remote) possibility of one day portraying a rich bitch opposite joan collins on "dynasty," who was also in "island in the sun."

part of me wants to get harry belafonte and joan collins in the same room and have them talk about "island in the sun." what was it like making this movie? how do they feel about it now vs. how they felt about it almost 60 years ago? i don't doubt for a second that this movie was all kinds of controversial when it was first released, given the (SPOILER ALERT) interracial romances.

me, myself, and a couple of my favorite de la soul songs

a certain section of teh interwebz is having all of the excitement over de la soul releasing almost all of their discography for free this weekend, and since it seems like said section of teh interwebz is having fun sharing their favorite de la soul songs/moments/memories, i figured i might as well join in.



"say no go" is a de la soul song that i would consider a sentimental favorite of mine. i say sentimental b/c i remember listening to it in junior high and becoming obsessed with it. so obsessed, in fact, that when i auditioned for the pom-pom squad, i made up a whole routine to "say no go."

(waits for laughter to subside)

i was doomed from the get-go, really. everyone knew that the pom-pom squad was predominately made up of 8th graders and that 7th graders like me rarely made the squad. also, i couldn't do a split. my reputation as a nerd, albeit one who could move between all the various cliques, was pretty solidified. what the hell was i thinking?

but i practiced, and i auditioned, and of course i didn't make the squad. in hindsight, this might be one of the first #embracethecrazy instances that i can remember. funny how that works, i suppose. :-)

attitude of gratitude, valentine's day 2014 edition

guys. this week has been pretty solid. my #fatgirlhappy has been indulged in mighty ways. my ddpp mix did not suck; actually, i danced so hard that my legs were sore for damn near 24 hours afterward. i helped quasi-landlord celebrate her birthday and i did not make any snarky comments...ok, not overtly snarky, anyway. none that i remember. whatever.

today? today i worked on job apps and downloaded all of the de la soul and stuffed my face full of honey butter fried chicken pizza from piece and made a tiny dent in my to-be-read pile.

this is a real improvement over where i was 2 years ago, and for that, i really am thankful. i am back in chicago and while i'm not in my own place yet, i'm as stable as i can be right now. amen. :-)

2014: the year of all of the feelings

the first month of 2014 is over, for all intents and purposes, and oh what a strange trip it's been so far. there are a few of you who, i'm sure, would be more than willing to punch january in the face just on general principle.

it occurred to me early this morning that 2014 is filled with anniversaries for me, and therefore i should just own up to the fact that i will be a big ball of emotions and feelings year-round. hi, my name is eulalia, and i will pretty much be an emotional wreck this year.

why? here are all of the anniversaries/noteworthy occasions i can think of right now:

i finished grad school 10 years ago.
i participated in my last breast cancer walk 10 years ago.
i graduated from high school 20 years ago.
james died 5 years ago, the fact of which, when i did the math this morning, pretty much knocked me for a loop. it doesn't feel that long ago, and yet it's been 5 years. wow.
my mother died 30 years ago.

last winter, i wrote some notes to myself about how i wanted to commemorate the 30th anniversary of my mother's death. i just looked at them for the 1st time in almost a year and i'm pretty sure i'm going to have to adjust those plans by a lot. ironic in a way, really, since i just wrote about dreaming big and embracing the crazy and now i have to be a bit more realistic with one of the crazy dreams i had for 2014.

so, yeah. apologies in advance if you catch me on a day when i'm more down than usual. you can't say i didn't warn you, though.

on: friendship and embracing the crazy

as the grammys wrapped up on sunday night (note to the producers of the grammys: 3.5 hours? seriously? you could cut that to 2 solid hours and i'd be happy), i was on twitter where, honestly, i'd been all evening. except for that brief stint in twitter jail, that is. i could see tweets but the only way i could post something was by going quasi-retro and tweeting by text. good times, let me tell you.

anyway - i was on twitter trying to wind down from the grammys and, as y'all know i am wont to do, went off on a tangent. sunday night's tangent was about being an enabler. one of my friends said she wanted to marry a french robot and i was all "fuck yeah let's make that happen!" because, well, why not? it started innocently enough, with me saying "i like enabling crazy dreams that my friends have...," and then it went into this:

that's part of my job as your crazy friend. best believe i'll tell you no when shit's really real, but otherwise? fuck it! let's dream big!

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) January 27, 2014

we are all too well-acquainted with struggle and heartbreak. every now & then, i wanna let loose and #embracethecrazy. let's dream big!

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) January 27, 2014

yes. life sucks. i know that all too well. i don't want all gloom and doom everything, though. sometimes we need to have fun.

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) January 27, 2014

i stand by all of this. i really do believe that sometimes we all need a bit of extra encouragement for things that might, on their face, seem trivial to most. who the hell am i to say no to your daydreams? i mean, i'm still hoping for a booze cruise with crazy uncle joe and jeff bridges and andrew w.k., and i don't want any of your "logic" and "facts" getting in the way of my big dream, ok?

this is not to say that i won't call you out when it's necessary. that's another part of my job as your friend. sometimes i have to tell you uncomfortable truths and sometimes i have to listen to you say uncomfortable truths to me and not default into "fuck you i'm not listening lalalalalalalala" mode.

for the most part, though - and i'm sure a lot of y'all can vouch for this - i am that crazy friend that says yes to whatever you're dreaming about, no matter how farfetched. i don't ever want us to feel like we have to stop dreaming. don't ever feel like your fantasies can't come true. sometimes our dreams and our fantasies are the only things that get us out of bed in the morning. don't act like it's just me b/c i know you're full of lies and deceit if you say otherwise.

keep dreaming, no matter how ridiculously crazy those dreams may seem to be. don't ever feel like you don't deserve to have fun or enjoy yourself, even if it's only for a few fleeing moments. if you don't have someone in your life who supports your batshit crazy quests, i'm here for you. :-)

try it out, folks. try being that person that supports your friends' crazy dreams, no matter how impractical they might be. #doitlive

— eulalia (@queeneulalia) January 27, 2014

some of my favorite songs of 2013

you can listen to the playlist via spotify, or, if you want, i can burn you a cd. enjoy. :-)

eta: these aren't in any particular order. just thought i should point that out.

top concert* experiences of 2013

* - one of these is a dj set, which i suppose isn't technically a concert, but i'm including it anyway.

so 2013 is almost over, which means it's almost time for everyone's year-end/best-of lists. i'm working on my 2013 favorites playlist and will post it when i'm done, but i also decided to share my favorite concert-going experiences from the past year. by my count, i went to more than a dozen concerts in 2013. i'm not sure how i pulled that off, either. i guess it helped that some of these shows were free or really inexpensive?

here's my list, in no particular order except for number one.

milwaukee summerfest, june 2013 - ll cool j, femi kuti, and morris day and the time all in one weekend. hell yes. this was my first trip out of chicago in a long while and holy shit i needed that quick getaway. in hindsight, i suppose it was a good thing that ll decided to skip chicago during this most recent tour, huh? ll's show entertained me greatly, despite the multiple fights breaking out in the crowd (really, milwaukee? that's how y'all roll?). femi kuti and his band and his dancers made me dance like i'm younger and skinnier than i really am, and affirmed my bucket list item of being one of femi's backup dancers at some point. morris day and the time always puts on a good show, and on the way back to the car, i made up a song to the tune of the flintstones theme song about some mini-doughnuts that we bought. in my halfhearted sorry-not-sorry defense, though, those mini-doughnuts were fucking delicious and i regret nothing.

frankie knuckles at smartbar, november 2013 - 'twas the night before thanksgiving and i stayed out until damn near 4am dancing. frankie knuckles has always been one of my favorite house music dj's and smartbar was full of fellow aficionados and we all collectively lost our shit multiple times when certain songs were played. one song in particular has made it onto my 2013 favorites playlist.

sphinx virtuosi with denyce graves, october 2013 - i was front and center for this show and i swear on everything holy that denyce graves smiled at me at one point during this concert and i almost died of squee. denyce graves is only one of my favorite opera singers and this was maybe the 3rd or 4th time i'd seen her live and never that close and omg i'm having a fangirl moment just thinking about it again.

turquoise jeep at bash on wabash, august 2013 - if you have any familiarity at all with the phenomenon that is turquoise jeep, then you know why this is on my list. if you don't, go watch some videos on youtube. there was also a miley cyrus wannabe who wound up on stage, so that provided extra entertainment value.

greg spero at city winery, may 2013 - this was a tasting event hosted by glennfiddich and it was also a full-out jazz piano concert, which was a total bonus for me b/c, let's face it, i was really only there for the whiskey. greg's a great musician and you should check him out if/when you can. i even got an autographed cd after the show!

lizz wright and raul midon at old town school, october 2013 - this concert was so amazingly wonderful that i almost slid out of my seat with joy. more than once. i really need these 2 to come out with a duets album, preferably a live version, so i can relive the magic forever and forever.

and now, my #1 concert-going moment of 2013:

daley at schubas, december 2013. ok, so this was a part of #alldecembereverything and i might have been a bit biased on this one, but the audience at this show was hands-down my favorite audience of the year. during intermission, a fellow audience member and i sang a duet version of oleta adams' "i just had to hear your voice." i'd never met this guy before, and yet we sang THIS WHOLE DAMN SONG IN HARMONY like we grew up in the same church choir or something. it was amazing. a few songs after that, the entire audience sang along with a live version of jill scott's "the way." as stephanie put it, it was a "peak blackness moment" b/c not a single one of us missed an ad-lib or anything else. oh, and daley put on a great show, too. :-)

when the ask is too damn high

y'all know i come from a nonprofit background, right? that most of the gigs i've had to date have been in the nonprofit sector? i know and have worked with a number of people in fundraising and development. so really, i get it when organizations send their end-of-year appeal letters asking for specific amounts that might be slightly higher than their normal ask. i understand it, i do. you're taking the chance that your donors may be in the holiday spirit and are feeling more generous than usual, and you also figure that you'll never know if that donor will contribute (insert dollar amount here) unless you specifically ask for it.

i was going through my mail yesterday and there was an end-of-year appeal letter from an organization here in chicago that i've previously supported. it was pretty standard as far as donation letters from this organization go - they did their mail merge correctly and inserted my first name more than once to make me feel special, etc. i skimmed it, really, b/c this organization is usually on my list of year-end charitable contributions anyway, but then i got to the ask.

"eulalia, your gift of $2500 or more will..."

i literally laughed out loud. well, as much as someone with laryngitis can laugh out loud, anyway. as i said on twitter yesterday, the most i've given to this organization is maybe $100, and that's been in a very good year when i was working full-time and actually was staying in my own place, etc. my usual contribution amount is in the $20-$40 range, depending on my list.

needless to say, this organization won't be seeing a cent from me this year. i know i should probably contact their development office and tell them that asking me for that kind of money is just ridiculous, especially given my current circumstances, and maybe i will, after the 1st of the year. right now, though? whine whine whine bitch bitch bitch.

37 (and still counting, please god)

guys. guys. guys. guess what day it is? c'mon...guess what day it is?

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! *releases virtual balloons and confetti*

i've developed this annoying (to me) habit of waking up between 3-4am for no apparent reason whatsoever. when it happened this morning, my first thought was still "fucking hell why am i awake so gotdamn early?" but then i realized that it was officially tuesday, december 17, and therefore i'd actually made it to my birthday (not that i was all that worried, but still), and so i went into #attitudeofgratitude mode and managed to go back to sleep shortly thereafter.

a couple of nights ago, i tweeted about having a story to tell today. see, this time 20 years ago, on my 17th birthday, i was super-depressed and if i'd managed to put my hands on a sizable number of pills, i probably would've attempted suicide. that's not a secret, right? i mean, i alluded to such in one of the intro posts i did for this blog (see #7), so i don't feel like sharing this is a super big deal.

my original plan for this post was to flesh out more of why i was feeling suicidal 20 years ago, but when i finally woke up f'real this morning, i decided that wasn't the route i wanted to take today.

today - and really, the whole month of december so far - is about celebrating myself. i'm alive. i'm relatively well. i'm safe. i may not have my own place but i have somewhere to sleep that doesn't involve a shelter or a cta train. i have a part-time job that doesn't completely suck. my friends win all of the awards for being wonderful. i am loved. there is obviously a metric fuck-ton that i can be upset about, and trust me, i am totally upset about a lot of things a lot of the time, but for right now, in this moment? happy.

recipe review: sausage and bean skillet

it feels weird saying that i made this recipe up out of the blue, b/c i'm pretty sure i've stolen elements of it from various soups/stews/pastas i've made previously.

here's how it all started. i realized that i had a pound of ground italian sausage in the freezer that i wanted to use sooner rather than later. for some reason, i didn't want to make a pasta dish. i wanted something i could make in one pot or one skillet b/c on the day in question, i was running on fumes and knew i didn't have the energy or attention span to dedicate to cooking a "full" meal.

italian sausage and spinach, i thought. that sounds delicious. i can brown the sausage and then add the spinach and i'll have meat and vegetable together. but it didn't sound like enough. beans, i thought next. i'll add a can of beans!

list of ingredients:

1 pound of italian sausage, pre-ground or if in link form, removed from casings and crumbled

1 bag of spinach (i used a 9oz bag of spinach - you could use baby spinach or a spinach/arugula blend if you wanted)

1 15oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

seasonings to taste (my default is lawry's seasoned salt - use whatever you want)

heat a nonstick skillet on medium/medium-high heat. add a couple of tablespoons of oil to get things started, then add the sausage. cook, stirring and breaking up larger chunks as necessary, until the sausage has browned. depending on how much fat is generated from the sausage, you'll want to drain the fat from the skillet.

add the spinach in batches until it's all in and wilted. stir in the beans and cook until they're heated through. season as you see fit, then eat.

this serves 3-4, depending on your serving size. i had 2 dinners and a lunch out of it. 

bon appetit!

#alldecembereverything: the list

hi guys! guess what month it is? it's december! happy birthday month to me! as in years past, i will be treating myself to various social outings and gatherings, and you're invited to join in as much or as little of the fun as your schedule and budget allows. trust me - i totally understand about the budget thing. :P

here's the list as it stands right now:
saturday 12/7 - karaoke at third coast comics. do it. you know you wanna.

sunday 12/8 - one of a kind show at merchandise mart. i'll be there with a couple of girlfriends. there are discounted tickets available from goldstar, and some of the artists may have links to free tickets on their websites.

monday 12/9 - bears vs. cowboys on monday night football. i don't know where this game watch will be happening yet, but it's gonna happen. stay tuned.

tuesday 12/10 - "the upstairs concierge" at the goodman at 7:30pm. tickets are free, but you need to reserve in advance.

wednesday 12/11 - apparently this show at schubas is sold out, so unless you already have a ticket, you  will be unable to go to there with me. sorry.

saturday 12/14 - "the rooster room" staged reading at the goodman at 11am. ok, yeah, this one is also sold out, but it looks like there might be standby tickets available? my bad.

oh, and i might do brunch after the staged reading. i'm kinda on the fence about it as of this writing, so we'll see.

sunday 12/15 - it's possible that i'll be hanging with bff in the afternoon/evening, but if there was some sort of gathering that involved the bears game, i would not be opposed to participating in said gathering.

tuesday 12/17 - happy birthday to me! lunch at primehouse as is my tradition, and then watching the blackhawks game at burger bar later that night. 1/2 price wings, anyone?

wednesday 12/18 - dj michellelesliebrown makes her triumphant return to dance dance party party! ladies only. $5. dancing. it's gonna be ridiculous.

thursday 12/19 - unbridled at untitled. 10pm. burlesque + whiskey = good times. i have a very limited number of free tickets available, so if you'd like to go and save your cover charge for more whiskey, let me know asap so i can save a ticket for you.

tuesday 12/24 - 'tis the season to go gambling on christmas eve and sing happy birthday to jesus at midnight!

this list will be updated/edited as needed. happy december! :-)

recipe review, thanksgiving side dish edition

i suppose that should read "thanksgiving side dishes edition," since i decided to try not one, but two recipes to add to the dinner that quasi-landlord ordered from whole paycheck...i mean whole foods. i was a bit amused by the fact that their dinner for 4 people included a boneless turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce, but no vegetables. at first, i was just going to roast some broccoli, but i had a bit of sticker shock when i went to jewel on tuesday and there was no way i was going to pay damn near $3 a pound for regular broccoli - hence this green beans recipe.

green beans and cherry tomatoes - i used grape tomatoes instead of cherry b/c that's what was available during the aforementioned shopping trip to jewel. in what will come as a shock to absolutely no one who reads these reviews with any regularity, i used more garlic than what the recipe calls for (i think 5-6 cloves instead of 3?) b/c garlic. if i make this again, i'd probably let the green beans cook for a few minutes longer b/c they were still on the crisp end of the crisp-tender spectrum.

maple bacon mashed sweet potatoes - i really didn't plan on making sweet potatoes at first. see, what had happened was, i was flipping through my recipe folder looking for veggie side dish ideas, right? and then i found this one and put it aside, and i read it, and that's what had happened. i don't remember exactly when i discovered the joys of sweet potato fries dipped in maple syrup, but it's one of my favorite snack/side dish treats and this appeared to be based on the same premise, plus bacon. you might need to adjust the cooking time on your sweet potatoes, depending on their size - the ones i bought at jewel were so massive that they clocked in at about a pound each, so i only used two - but otherwise? nom. i'd probably add more maple syrup next time to make them a bit sweeter. i'm sure you could also add cinnamon if you wanted.

happy friday! :-)

gobble gobble!

i'm so full right now, you guys, and not just b/c i stuffed my face full of nomz earlier.

this time 2 years ago, i was staying with bff & her mom during my month-plus of couch-surfing and house/pet sitting. i can't remember if laz had already agreed to let me punch him in the face as a goodbye to 2011 at this point. maybe? i dunno. this time 2 years ago, i didn't really know where i was going to end up after january 1. the introductions that led to my north suburban sojourn for the first 9 months of 2012 didn't happen until december of 2011.

this time 2 years ago, i was stressed beyond belief b/c i had no job and no permanent residence. i still don't have a permanent residence (yet!), but i've come so far since then that i could shed happy tears. i'm writing this while on the couch at quasi-landlord's place. i am full of nomz, the majority of which were paid for by quasi-landlord as a treat for me & her downstairs tenant, who unfortunately is sick and therefore i had to eat by myself. i have a part-time job that does not completely suck, although it definitely drives me up the wall at times. i am as stable as i can hope to be in this moment right now. my circle of friends remains strong and powerful and amazing and i am so very thankful to have them.

are there things in my life that i wish were different or more resolved? absolutely. am i still occasionally stymied and frustrated that things aren't going quite as i like? hell yes.

i'm still thankful, though.

and now, i'm gonna go watch a charlie brown thanksgiving and allow myself to slowly get into the holiday spirit. here's hoping y'all are doing well. :-)

recipe review: spinach and feta risotto

this was another recipe that i wanted to try from the slow cooker cookbook i read earlier this month. i was looking forward to it, too, b/c, well, spinach and feta. i love spinach and feta. mmm...spinach and feta...

where was i? oh, right. this recipe, which i really wanted to love but i couldn't. i'll explain why after i finish typing said recipe out for y'all b/c there's no link available:

Spinach and Feta Risotto
Serves 2 as a main dish 

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
2 cups sliced fresh button mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried dill
3 3/4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
10 ounces fresh baby spinach 

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Add the oil to the insert, and swirl the rice in it to fully coat with the oil. Add the mushrooms, dried onion, dill, and pepper. Stir in the broth and wine. Cover, and cook on high for 3 hours. Stir well, then crumble in the cheese, and add the spinach. You may need to shove the spinach in to get it all to fit. Recover, and cook on high for 20 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted. Stir well and serve.

i used onion powder instead of dried minced onion b/c that's what was on hand. a 9oz bag of "regular" spinach was cheaper than 2 6oz bags of baby spinach, so that's what i bought. based on last week's risotto experiment, i decided to set the timer for 2 1/2 hours and adjust if needed. the rice was pretty tender after 2 1/2 hours, so in went the cheese and the spinach for another 20 minutes as directed.

y'all. i have made some pretty craptastic-looking meals that wound up being super-delicious. this? no. probably will not make again. it looked revolting and although the 1st bite showed promise, by the time i was finished eating a bowl for dinner last night, i knew this was not the risotto for me. i tried again tonight, thinking that maybe the flavors would have melded/hung out a bit more/improved overnight, but i was wrong and dumped it all out.

if you decide to make this, i'd cut back on the mushrooms (1 cup should be plenty - 2 cups seemed like overkill), and maybe adjust the wine/vegetable broth ratios to give it more flavor? i don't know. this was a culinary experiment gone wrong and i'm not inclined to give it another go. that bacon risotto, though? i'd totally make that again.