Oatmeal Cookies are better with chocolate chips than with raisins.

Usually when it comes to cookies, it's only chocolate chip cookies for me. But today I am home sick with absolutely no voice, and I got bored and decided I wanted to cook myself some oatmeal. Then, as I stared at the oatmeal cylinder, I though... "Hmm. Oatmeal cookies sound better than a bowl of oatmeal."

So I made some of those instead.

The following recipe is the best oatmeal cookie recipe ever. Period. That's all there is to it.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt

3 cups rolled oats
1 heaping cup chocolate chips

Instrucciones:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt;


stir into the sugary, buttery, eggy mixture. Then stir in the oats and chocolate chips.


Drop by whatever-size-you-want spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.


Bake for about 9 minutes... but check them at 8.


Now, for higher altitudes, I've finally mastered all the baking challenges! First, you'll want to preheat your oven to about 25 degrees higher. Then you'll want to decrease your leavening agent (in this case, the baking soda) by a little scosche (scoshe?).ll like make it more of 3/4 tsp instead of a full tsp. You'll also want to decrease your sugar a bit... so with the white sugar, I only put in about 1/3 instead of 1/2. And that's it! Something about things baking faster at higher altitudes, so the flour rises and falls quicker, but still keeps baking, in turn making a hard, sunken product, blah blah blah. But, either way, delicioso!

Lacking inspiration...

I miss blogging. But, as noted in my title for this blog... I've been without artistic inspiration these past six weeks. I don't blame my parents, whose house we've been occupying for the past six weeks. I blame the lack of space and time to sew and bake/cook. My sewing machine has been in storage since September 19th! Can y'all believe it? I'll be so dead on the inside by the time I have it set up in our new place, I don't know if there will be any coming back from that.

With any luck, we'll be moved into the condo this Saturday, and perhaps I'll post pictures of our fabulous newly-painted green walls and fabulous new furniture!

Going, Going, Back, Back, to Reno, Reno!

First, let's acknowledge what an awesome title I picked for this blog.


Okay, second, I would post another picture of the Reno arch for this entry, but I posted it two entries ago... dang it. A picture of the state of our spare bedroom (now: the box room) will have to do.


Dave got a job, I got a job, so back to Reno we go. We'll be there by the 20th of this month.

And now, to sing us out,... here is REM, detailing how one can be a star in Reno (thanks for the reminder, Matt).

Baby Luke's quilt

I finally finished the baby quilt I made for my friend Heather's new baby: Luke. (And boy was he a whopper of a baby, ladies and gents... 8 lbs 15 oz... I guess the days of her making fun of the big baby I was are over!)

I must admit, I really outdid myself on this one. I followed a simple pattern provided by the lovely blog, The Purl Bee. When I completed the quilt top, I thought it looked a little boring, so I appliqued on some turtles from some leftover backing fabric I had. When I added the embroidery, I felt better about myself.

Here is my husband, behind the quilt. Isn't he looking great today?

Here's a close-up of the embroidery.

Here's a super-duper close-up of another appliqued turtle.

Aaaaand, here's a picture of the backing fabric folded over on top of the quilt.

I made something for Max too, but I forgot to take a picture of it. He took a real liking to Dave when we visited. This is a picture I snapped right after he begged and pleaded with Dave to pick him up.

Vacation

I'm going to Reno this weekend! Woot woot!

Finished Journey Quilt top

Here it is with the additional border. You can't really see the turquoise squares in the corner b/c it's just so dern big. At first I wasn't sure about the red, but by the time I had put all four borders on, I loved it! Pearl really liked it too.

Journey Quilt and Danny's Shenanigans

I haven't posted anything regarding sewing/quilting in a long time, and I know you've all been waiting with baited breath.

I just (nearly) finished my Journey quilt top. I wanted to get it done before the hus and I drove to Reno in mid-August because once there, I'd like to take this quilt to my favorite quilters who live in Carson City... though they always seem to charge me double what they charge my mother. (This time my mother and I have cooked up a brilliant scheme. We're going to go TOGETHER to drop off our quilts... then we'll see! Then we'll see...)

Here are some pics of this fabulous quilt:

Here's a close-up of the cute corners:

And here are some close-ups of some of my favorite blocks:

The reason I said I (nearly) finished it is because at this size it is just a wee too small for our bed. I'm going to make an extra border out of these fabrics, so stay tuned for more pictures:

While I was having this quilt photo shoot, Danny had some 'splainin' to do! He somehow gets himself stuck under the dresser. This is the second time it's happened... at least while we've been home to hear him growling for help. I'm making it a habit to snap some pictures before giving him any sort of assistance.

He tried to squeeze out by himself:

Then he got frustrated and just stared at me:

Isn't he adorable? Today I let him lick my ice cream cone a few times... it's not so gross after all. As Michael Jackson said on a constantly re-aired documentary special from 2003 with Britain's Martin Bashir regarding adults sharing their bed with friends' children: "That's love... that's love."

Strawberry Cake

Num.

1 package vanilla cake mix
1 3 oz. package strawberry flavored gelatin (only use 1/2 - 2/3 of the package)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 oz. frozen strawberries (or 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries)
1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Thaw and drain the frozen strawberries (if you're using frozen instead of fresh).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Combine the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, oil, eggs, flour, strawberries, and buttermilk. Mix until combined. Pour into prepared pan (I made cupcakes).
4. Bake at 350 according to cake box directions. (I baked my cupcakes for 20 minutes)


It's enjoyable, and sometimes embarrassing, to hear reactions of those who try my desserts. This time, my friend Traci enjoyed these cupcakes so much, she said, "Ohhh sh*t!"

July 4th, 2009

Red (Velvet) White and Blue Mini-Cupcakes!
I'm taking these babies to a barbecue tonight.

I finally visited some San Diego Missions

Life with a husband studying for the bar can be really boring. Rather than sit at home over the holiday weekend, I decided to get out my camera and visit some places in San Diego to which I haven't yet been. Whilst my pictures aren't extraordinary, my experience was pretty fun! Yes, I felt like one of those lonely travelers, with my camera around my neck, walking around by myself, but I still enjoyed my time.

Here is a close-up of the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. It is the first mission in California, founded on July 16th, 1769, by blessed Junipero Serra. It was pretty cool. Free, of course, so that made it nice. Apparently it's an active Catholic parish today. There's also a current excavation site right inside the grounds of this mission, so that was fascinating... a big section roped off. They have uncovered old walls and brick flooring about 6 feet underground.

I then headed over to what I guess isn't technically a mission (Well, actually I stopped off at the mall to get some new undies first). It is a museum situated on the original site of the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala... but it looks just like a mission. It was cool, but I didn't get to go inside because the museum has been closed since February, and there is no news on when it will re-open. It is called the Junipero Serra Museum. While the first mission was more interesting (I guess just because it was actually open), I'm glad I visited the Museum because you can see this one from one of the major freeways here, and I'd never quite figured out how to get there.
It was a nice afternoon, yet I am no more tan. And it's July. So that's no good. And that's three sentences now that I've started with conjunctions.

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Quinoa, Peppers, and Basil

Dave and I tried this recipe tonight. It is approved, Phase 2 food (South Beach Diet). It sounded delicious, then as I was cooking it, I thought, "Hmm... maybe this won't be quite so delicious." But then it was delicious! It pulled the ol' trickeroo on me!

1 cup Quinoa, prepared with chicken stock, according to package directions (so you'll need two cups chicken stock)
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
4 tbsp garlic flavored olive oil (I just used regular because that's all I had)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (I used green)
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
20 leaves fresh sweet basil, julienne (I just used dried basil... b/c I was too lazy to go to the store)
grated parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into one-inch pieces. Heat large nonstick skillet over high heat and add the oil. Add chicken and saute for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Add onions, bell peppers; saute for one or two more minutes; add garlic and saute until peppers become slightly limp, but still bright, about one to two minutes; season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from heat; add basil and quinoa. Toss until basil wilts; garnish with parmesan cheese. Serves four.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Whatever Works

I am SO excited for this movie.

Oops...

I lost already. I don't think NaBloPoMo hosts a contest, necessarily, but if they did, I would have lost.

I forgot to blog yesterday. Here is NaBloPoMo's official policy on mistakes such as these:

"8. My cat died/my boyfriend asked me to marry him/I just spent the night in the hospital and I missed posting for a couple of days. Can I just post a little extra this month to make up for the missing days so I can still be eligible for the prize drawing?

First of all, I'm so sorry/congratulations/I hope you get well soon. Secondly, no. If I let you skip a couple of days then I'd have to let everybody post whenever they felt like it, and that would defeat the whole purpose of NaBlo which is to get you to sit down and write something every day. If there's one thing I've learned from all this it's to post as early in the day as you can. You'll catch more readers that way (most blog reading gets done at lunchtime), and you won't have to worry about posting something lame after work when you're tired, or accidentally forgetting to post at all."

I know we're all feeling really bummed right now, especially after all the great times we've had together during the first two days of June. I'd like to give this final gift to you: a song I feel all of our hearts are singing already. The Muppets might be a tad distracting, given our sad state of affairs and their naturally cheerful aura. Just try to concentrate on the melody.

Douglas Yancey Funnie's "Quailman"

I want to stay on the theme of "Heroes" as much as possible this month, but I nearly found myself already unable to think of a good hero. I decided to go through as many cartoon heroes as I could. I first thought of Bartman, then wondered... does the Bartman count as a hero? I decided he did, so look forward to a future post on the topic.

My mind then went to Quailman. The alter-ego of Doug Funnie from the originally Nickelodeon show, "Doug." He was a much purer alter-ego than the Bartman. He doesn't think doing the Quailman will make you "bad like Michael Jackson." But he does defend the world from evil using his three powers - patience, intelligence, and speed. When those powers failed, he used his Quail Eye - a beam of fire that shot out from his eyes. He had more control of his Quail Eye than Cyclops had of his Quail Eye apparently.

Let's not forget Quaildog... Quailman's trusty companion.

And on this topic... I loved the show Doug so much. When it went to ABC... it began to suck. They got a new theme song! What could be better than "doot doo doo, doo doo doo doo do doo do doo?" Patti got a new haircut! Roger got rich! Voices changed and everything! I'm angry!

NaBloPoMo Day 1

First, a shout-out to Sara McGinness - without whom I would not have heard of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). The theme for June is Heroes, and I thought that sounded semi-inspiring; therefore, I will be blogging everyday in the month of June, y'all! It is not required to stay on theme, and I haven't yet made up my mind on whether or not I will do so. However, my first post is very much on the topic of heroes. Superheroes, that is.

I completed The Superhero Quiz last night to prepare myself for the month of June. I was pleased to find this quiz to be very comprehensive - not one of those lame quizzes on facebook that any fool can create. No, this one seemed nearly empirically based. It consisted of 47 questions regarding individualized opinions on important components of Superhero-dom. I completed the quiz.

I am Iron Man. I consider these results to be quite sound because I remember taking a Superhero quiz a few years ago and getting the same result. It wasn't nearly as scientific as this one, but the shared results might still leave one pondering. In case any of you were wondering, the three descriptors of Iron Man are "Inventor, Businessman, Genius." Just change that to Businesswoman, and it's like I'm looking in a mirror, right?!

I further explored the site and took a poll regarding one's favorite Superhero. First, I was surprised by the plethora of Superheroes out there, many of whom I have never heard (Deadpool? Elektra? Hawkman?). Enter Special Commentary #1 from my spouse, David Gamble, Jr: "Deadpool is now likely best known as being portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in the movie, 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine.' However, unlike Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool almost always wears a full-body jump suit and a mask... You're impressed, aren't you?"

I picked my favorite Superhero - Wolverine. I had to pick a second favorite, and it was tough. I'm not a big Superhero fanatic, unlike my husband, and... I basically picked Wolverine because Hugh Jackman is a lovely man at which to gaze. I think I picked Batman as my second favorite. I clicked "submit" to see what I thought would be expected results.

Oddly enough... Green Lantern is the favorite Superhero. I knew I had heard of Green Lantern before but needed a refresher. Enter Special Commentary #2 from my spouse, David Gamble, Jr: "There's a couple Green Lanterns. Which one do you want to know about? Oh yeah, one of them was black, I forgot about that... but the main one, I actually can't remember his name... grey-haired guy... also, a good reference site would be Marvel Vault, oh, except Green Lantern is DC, so you couldn't use that site."

Hmm, Special Commentary #2 was not nearly as coherent as Special Commentary #1. I couldn't find a comparable "DC Vault," so I had to resort to the Green Lantern's wikipedia entry. Warning: It is reaaaalllly boring. He (they) looks like an exciting enough guy, but apparently there is the intergalactic police force, the Green Lantern Corps, that each Green Lantern is obliged to be a part of; magic rings that have to be granted by Guardians of the Universe to each potential Green Lantern; required philanthropic membership in various Justice Lagues; blah, blah, blah. Why in the world is this the most highly regarded Superhero (at least according to nearly 32,000 votes)?

It is for reasons like these that I'm glad I'm Iron (Wo)Man at heart. Just a coo' guy, trying coo' stuff, killing off bad guys. No extra community service necessary because I am already bestowing much goodness on the world.

Again I'll say it... that quiz seemed nearly empirically based.

The End.

What a month!

Our second anniversary was actually May 26th, so I'm a few days late with this post. This picture is actually from May 25th. We celebrated a day early for the same reason that this post is a few days late. I was in San Francisco from the 26th until yesterday, the 30th, for a training. But... we got some adorable with a capital A pictures... that would make them Adorable, so I thought I'd post one.

But then I got to thinking and realizing that I never posted any of the pictures from the REALLY big event this month. One might think that nothing could be bigger than a 2-year anniversary, and normally one would be right; however, law school graduations do not come around that often. Dave did it! With bells on, he finished a gruesome three-year program. [He didn't actually have bells on, but he did have a hood, honor cords, and a lei. My dad bought him a lei (unfortunately, my dad didn't make the hilarious, "You've just been lei'd" joke when bestowing the lei upon Dave) and we all made him wear it for as much of the day as possible!], so he had other objects instead of any bells.

Anywho... it was a very busy, but very wonderful month. Way to go, Dave - on becoming a lawyer and sustaining a marriage to a fabulous woman for two years!

Chinatown (San Francisco)

Cemeteries!