The Dracula Who Loved Pizzas

I was going through some old boxes and found a notebook where I had written stories. I was always writing stories when I was younger. I have no idea when I wrote this - I'm thinking around second grade. Anyway, hopefully you will get a laugh out of this. Apparently I was in a pizza mood or something... Happy reading!!

Once there was a Count Dracula who lived next door to the Croft family.

One day Mrs. Croft brought home some pizzas from Safeway. Count Dracula loved the smell of pizzas but didn't know what they were.

So Count Dracula went over to the Croft's house and said "I vant to have vhatever smells so good." Mrs Croft said "It's pizza." And she gave him a piece of pizza.

The Count loved the pizza so much he asked if he could stay for dinner.

Mrs. Croft said "That would be fine." Katie Croft gave The Count the numbers of Dominos, Godfathers, Pizza Hut, Pizza Haven, and Pieatros and more.

So The Count and the Croft family lived happily ever after.

So if you are ever near The Count's house and you're hungry for pizza just ask and The Count will invite you in and have dinner with you and it will always be pizza.

The End

Kitchen Adventures

So lately I've been in a cooking mood so when I saw Mandi had tried a recipe for kung pao from Everybody Likes Sandwiches I thought I would also give it a try! I modified it just a bit to remove the broccoli because let's face it, Emily does not like broccoli. I also added in chicken. Since it isn't often I actually try and cook, I ended up buying most of the ingredients, but at least they'll be on hand if I decide to make it again. I think it turned out okay, for the most part. I had a problem with the tofu - it ended up being more of the consistency of scrambled eggs as opposed to cubed. I'll have to work on that for the next time.

kung pao vegetables (+ tofu + udon) - broccoli + chicken
1 t sesame oil
1 T canola oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 small head of broccoli, broken into florets (or leave it out!)
2 carrots, sliced on the diagonal
1 rib of celery, sliced on the diagonal
1 small packet of prepared udon noodles
1/2 block tofu, cubed
1/4 c peanuts, chopped

sauce:
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c orange juice
1 T cider vinegar
1 T ginger, minced
1 T chili paste or asian hot sauce (the one with the rooster on the bottle)
1 T brown sugar
1 T bottled peanut sauce
1 T cornstarch

1. Mix sauce ingredients in and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet. Add onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add carrots, celery and broccoli and stirfry until crisp-tender. Add the sauce and the udon noodles and combine well so everything gets saucy.

3. In a separate pan, fry up tofu in a bit of oil until brown on all sides. Add tofu and peanuts to the vegetable mixture, stirring gently to coat with sauce. Serve in deep bowls.

Before

After

Woohoo!!!

This doesn't happen a lot - "my" team won the Amazing Race!!!

YAY TK & Rachel!!

Also YAY NY Giants & NE Patriots!
I'll worry about which one I want to win the Super Bowl later...

Persuasion

I just finished watching the newest version of Persuasion for the second time. PBS is doing a Jane Austen series and I happened across it and I am now looking forward to the rest of the series after seeing how well Persuasion was done.

Persuasion is probably my favorite story by Jane Austen. Something about the unrequited love and being reunited after so many years struck a chord in me the first time I read it. Even when I read my "mushy" romance novels the ones I enjoy most are those where the main characters are reunited after years of separation and overcome whatever it was that drove them apart all those years ago.

I really enjoyed the movie version of Persuasion that came out several years ago and wasn't sure if I would like the this new version. But I was quickly "persuaded" this new version was very likable! It didn't focus as much on the subplots, instead concentrated on the main story between Anne & Frederick, including the subplots only when necessary to move the main story forward.

If I could have lived in any time, I would have loved to live in the Jane Austen time period. Probably because I have seen the romanticized versions in books, movies, TV and of course I have romanticized it in my imagination. I love the dresses, the manners, the balls and Mr. Darcy. Well, any of Jane Austen's heros really, but Mr. Darcy in particular! Okay, so given my family history (mainly peasants, farmers, etc.) if I had lived in that time period I would not be wearing the nice dresses and going to balls and meeting eligible gentleman such as Mr. Darcy and Captain Wentworth. No, I would have either been in the country on a farm, or if I made it to city, I would have been a maid or something along those lines. But that is what my imagination is for - to imagine myself in the dress, at the ball, meeting Lord Sebastian Woodhurst! As I read that back I realize it sounds a little Clue-ish: Colonel Mustard, in the library, with the pipe. And for those wondering, Lord Sebastian Woodhurst is a figment of my imagination. Or maybe he'll become the hero in the book I'm eventually going to write.

I do realize that as much as I would have wanted to live in the late 1700's, early 1800's, I would have wanted to live with lots of modern conveniences - what would I do without my cell phone or my computer or my car? Not to mention hot water heaters, running water, hair dryers or microwaves!! So it is probably best I live now and read about the Regency time period.

A Final 3 I Can Live With

Is it already the middle of January? I would say where has the time gone but I know exactly where it has gone!! Gotta love the end of the year as an accountant! But things are looking much brighter now, and I think this time it really is the light at the end of the tunnel instead of a freight train barrelling towards us.

Last night I made it to the gym (first time in forever!). Leaving the gym I got a phone call from work and headed back to the office. When I finished I came back out to my car only to find a half inch of snow!! Snow is definitely a four letter word in Seattle. It had stopped snowing by then and was fairly slushy. By morning however, the slush had turned to ice. Yikes! It wasn't too bad until I got the hill leading up to work. All the entrances were closed except one and it was backed up. It took me 30 minutes to finally pull into the parking garage. I used to like snow much better when I didn't have to drive in it. I really wanted a snow day!!

I'm finally caught up on the Amazing Race and all I can say is YIPPEEE!!!! Nate & Jen are NOT, I repeat NOT, in the final 3 and there is no way they can win the race. Nate & Jen were the Squabbly McBickersons of the race and while it makes for good television, it makes for a completely unsatisfying ending if they end up winning. Which, their story arc seemed to predict. I am actually okay with any of the remaining teams winning. The Amazing Race is probably my favorite television show. I was hooked from the first season when I was randomly flipping through channels and saw the Eiffel Tower. I stopped, intrigued and have been watching ever since. It is not often that my team wins, which is why I am so happy to know that Nate & Jen will NOT win this season!

I realize this is probably an all over, rambling post - it makes sense in my mind, but that may be the only place it makes sense. I haven't slept much since January 2nd.