Oh Coffee, thy name is Keurig!

My boss has a Keurig in the office that he lets the rest of us use. I bring in my own K-cups, and we alternate providing filtered water.

I bought a large variety pack of k-cups. I've not tried all the varieties in the box yet, but I'm working my way through. My thoughts so far:

English breakfast tea - very good. Just want EBT should taste like (though EBT's aren't my preferred tea). B+

Earl Great tea - AWESOME! I love EGT, and this one is very good. My new morning staple. I've already purchased a box. A

Organic Green Tea - perfect for an afternoon. I don't like a lot of caffeine, and this is a good option for me. A wee bit bitter, but not anymore bitter than the Flavia green tea I've had at other offices. I have a box of it, but I'm not sure I'll get more once I'm out - not sure that I want a hot beverage in the afternoons with summer on its way. B+

Emeril's Big Easy Bold - a big nasty flop in my book. Very harsh flavor. Tasted somewhat burnt. D-

French Roast - not bad. Not amazing, but still good. Roast could be richer, but it's not weak. I give this a B. Needs more tasting.

Cinnamon Roll (Donut House) - not for me. The cinnamon tasted burned. My Sweetie reports he liked it. D+

Butter toffee - yummy! My favorite of the flavor coffees so far. Sweetie reports this is his fav flavored too. B+

Nantucket Blend - had this one earlier, but needed to refresh my memory. Today I added one Moo and a bit of FrV dry creamer (the horror!). Smooth, well blended. No bitter after taste. No harshness. A good morning blend. I think I may need to pick more of this up. B++

More reviews to come!

The Garden is here!!!

To date, we have planted:

In the bed
12 pepper plants - 4 varieties of bell peppers, 3 plants each (purple, green/red, orange, and yellow)
6 yellow squash
6 zucchini, 3 pickling cucumbers*
3 slicing cucumbers
room for 9 okra plants from Pops and maybe some onions.

On the deck
12 seed potatoes in "grow bags"
3 cherry tomatoes (each a different variety - Ping Pong Pink, Matt's Wild Cherry, and Sweet 100) and 1 paste tomato (Amish paste) in upside down planters
3 Brandywine tomatoes in a container
3 Burpee's Big Boy in a container
*we also have one pickling and one slicing cuke that will go into upside down planters

The herb area
2 stevias/sweet leafs
2 Pesto basil plants
2 Italian flat leaf arsley plants
Chives in a container
Catnip - survived from last year
Arp rosemary - also survived from last year
2 pots of aloe - rescued from Sissy last year

This evening I need to work on the front flower beds. There’s gonna be a whole lotta transplantin’ going on! Mexican heather into the beds, geraniums into the Mex Heather's former pots, 1 boston fern into the shady part of the bed and a Butterfly Weed into that pot (then back to the deck), plus some caladiums and fox tail ferns and 2 more Butterfly weeds into the beds.

I am SO thankful I don't have to mow, edge, & blow. Salvador's crew do an awesome job of that for me!

New jobs

Started a new job at the end of last week. I won't go into much details about the where's, but I'm working in what is essentially the marketing/PR dept of a local organization that does a lot of good work for the people of Houston. I'm excited to be a part of such an organization, and to FINALLY be in a position to use my degree. I started crying this weekend because I was so happy. And then my Sweet Patootie pointed out that I had also gotten the job on my own merits, and not with my Dad's help or any of our family political connections. I can't really describe how good it makes me feel.

One of my biggest fears of returning to Houston was that it would reinforce my identity as "Ken's Daughter" - that I would only be a reflection of my Dad's success. While it's certainly helpful at times to be "Ken's Daughter", it's also a lot of pressure. What if I screw up? What if I offend someone? I would hate for my Dad's reputation to be tarnished because of something incredibly stupid that I'd done. And in the ever changing political climate of Houston, what if Dad fell out of favor? Even though he's not an elected official, he's connected to several. In fact, his former boss was recently involved in a big scandal that ruined boss' career. What if Dad's current boss does something scandalous? Dad could be dragged through the mud by association. Would my repuation suffer as well? Afterall, we have a fairly uncommon last name (and I'm often asked at political events if I'm "Ken's Daughter" or "Ken's Wife" or "Kin to Ken") - so making the connection between us is quite easy.

So I'm proud that I was able to get this all on my own (save for the fact that my parents raised me and provided countless oppourtunities for me that had contributed to my success - but you get the idea). I'm also relieved. This is my success, and if I fail, it's my failure. Just like all my failures in Chicago.

Bed Hog

How is that a 60 lb dog manages to hog a queen sized bed from a full grown woman? I try to move him back to his "side" (which is more like the middle), but he gives me the side eyes, or makes this pathetic noise halfway between a whine and a groan.

Lately, he's been trying to sleep alongside me, facing me, with his head next to mine or on my shoulder. Cute right? Not so much - he needs a bath, and he's REALLY warm. Plus, he leans in, putting his weight towrd me, gently pushing me closer to the edge of the bed.

At least he's quiet, unlike a certain Sleeping Loudly in the next room.

Dog House

I'm in the dog house. SAM's mad at me that I posted on a social network site "delaying wedding. I hate being poor!"

I guess a relative called him. So he texted me that he's really mad at me, used a few expletives, and said I have a big mouth. I'm pissed too.

I'm pissed because I DON'T WANT A WEDDING. I just want to be married and get on with our lives. I don't need an elaborate event to prove I love him. I don't want the stress of planning a wedding. And I don't want to spend a bunch of money on just one day. It's not worth it to me.

There's a few factors at play. 1) I've already had a Big White Wedding from a marriage that ended in divorce. I don't want want to go through the stress of planning another BWW, I'm already over wanting the "dream wedding" (I'd rather have a good marriage), and since we spent so much money on just one day, I'm not too keen on doing that again. 2) SAM eloped with his first wife. So I understand that he WANTS a wedding (partially because I think some of his family is pressuring him to have one). BUT, he's not been involved much in doing any of the research and planning. I have a hunch all of that will fall on me - partly because I'm the bride and partly because I'm not working right now.

BUT, if this election goes well, I'm about to become CRAZY busy. So won't have much time available to plan a wedding. And my Dad's about to start running another election (which rules out fall 2010).

So I'm about ready to just say "F it all!" I'm starting to feel like it's more important to him to have his dream wedding (that we can't afford - hence the delay) than it is for me to be his partner.

I want to scream and cry at the same time.

I need another vacation

My darling Secret Asian Man's (aka Ed) mother stayed with us for OVER a week for Thanksgiving. While she was an excellent house guest, long visits are still very stressful, and I'm happy to have my house back to myself.

Thanksgiving day was more or less succesful. We hosted 11 people! 11! (Why do I feel like I'm in "This is Spinal Tap"?) The turkey turned out beautiful - we brined it a la Alton Brown's "Good Eats". And we had too many sides and desserts, but is it really Thanksgiving unless there's too much food?

But a whole week without adequate access to the internet was tough. I feel so out of the loop! So I'm frantically trying to catch up on my blogs & fav community site before I head out to do more phoning for Mr L's campaign. Early voting has started, and election day is around the corner! EEK!

Tilapia Helper & other experiments

We're a little prone to experimenting in the Oli-Nish family kitchen. Though for the record, Ed's not allowed to "experiment" anymore except on his own plate. Early in our dating he tried to create wonderful dishes for me, and they flopped. The salmagundi he attempted would have been a lovely "leftovers" stew (which is what salmagundi basically is). Only pasta should not be allowed to stay in a crock pot for a whole day. It made a great thickener, but was barely recognizable as pasta.

The second "Ed Surprise" was an even more colossal failure. I don't think I will ever let him live it down. We were gifted with some wonderful ground venison, and were itching for chili. Alas, we were out of chili seasoning packets - but Ed thought that the taco packets we had would substitute just fine. I think it was the worst thing I've ever tasted that was technically edible. Venison and taco seasoning should never be in same thought process, let alone dish. Yetch!

But even though Ed's been banned from experimenting, I've had more success with it. Back in college and act of poverty and desperation lead to "Pink Pork Chops" - a successful experiment from marinading and cooking pork chops in red wine vinaigrette salad dressing. Though the gravy's pink too, it's pretty tasty.

A bored and bare cupboard afternoon in college (what is it with college?) let to the discovery that nutella really does taste good on just about anything, including baked chicken. Though I think I'll save that odd combination for pregnancy some day.

A Rachel Ray recipe inspired my new love of Brussels Sprout - as long as they've been lightly steamed then sauteed with butter, onions, garlic, and BACON! (but then, bacon makes everything better)

The most recent experiment was also a success: Tilapia Helper. Yesterday, while emailing back & forth, the usual question was asked: Any ideas for dinner? Ed was feeling fish, and we have a bunch of individually packaged frozen tilapia fillets in the freezer. I'd been avoiding them after discovering that being frozen hadn't done much to preserve their texture. And then it dawned on me - surely we have a box of Tuna Helper somewhere in the kitchen? Canned tuna's texture is a bit lacking, and tilapia's a very mild flavored fish. I I wonder if this will work......

It was a hit! Normally, tuna helper's not too high on my list of dishes I look forward too. After spending 5 years with a Hamburger Helper addict (the ExH), I wasn't too keen on anything called "Helper". =P But Ed seems to like the stuff, and it's a great excuse for him to do some experimenting on his own plate - usually with the addition of canned or frozen veggies. (though I have to admit that the cheesier HH's are good with a dash of curry powder)

So while the tilapia was browning in some butter, I opened the last box of Tuna Helper - Fettuccine Alfredo. It was SO good.

I wonder what I'll do next in the kitchen.......