The Starter Blonde

Cocktails, concerts and edible women

lindsayc77 — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:37:25 +0000

Every personal blog — well, most of them — has a post like this. OMG! I’ve been gone! I started this, but then, my life got in the way and I’m so busy and fabulous that I dropped this lame-o blog like a hot potato.

Yeah, I did that. And I don’t even feel guilty! 101 things in 1001 days is supposed to be fun. JoAnna says so, and I believe her. So! An update.

Things I have accomplished

#16: Have a cocktail party

This is my friend Gwen. She is drinking a cocktail.

Gwen made this butter duck. His name is George.

Last December, I threw a Christmas cocktail party. I even invented a cocktail for it: pomegranate juice, fresh lime juice, simple syrup and cava, with a few pomegranate seeds floating on top. We tried it with Grand Mariner and a version with vodka, but the basic version was the best. I also served a mulled wine with brandy from my slow cooker, which was a big hit.

Along the way I learned a few things. 1) Warm drinks from the slow cooker are easy and delicious for a crowd; 2) Pomegranates may squirt when you open them, but they really don’t give much juice and 3) Major snow storms are no match for people who want to toast the holidays.

#18 Make a berry-flavored vodka.

This was kind of a fail. I got some blackberries, and Patrick and I put them into a bottle of vodka, and after awhile it got kind of murky and gross and I forgot about it. May try this again next summer.

#20 Make a recipe out of every single cookbook I own, including the weird ones.

This is a Work In Progress, but I think I’ve been doing really well. Instead of always going straight for The Splendid Table’s How To Eat Supper or Bitty or one of my old Ina stand-bys, I made some dishes out of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea and a delicious egg bake out of Chocolate and Zucchini. I have been turning more and more to my cookbooks instead of the internet, and I’ve branched out cuisine-wise — I have been investigating Cajun/Creole food in preparation for an upcoming vacation in New Orleans and I just picked up Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen. What a delicious challenge.

#32 Go to a concert I’m really excited about.

I have done this now multiple times, most recently: Ben Folds in Overture Hall, in row 10 or something. It was awesome. He even played “You Don’t Know Me,” a song which Patrick and I love to bits, without a female singer and we got to sing along to “Army.” That’s even though the douche who requested it yelled out the name during an intro to another song, which made Ben launch into an entire improvised number about how NOT to behave at concerts.

Read my whole review here at madison.com.

#40 Read the entire body of an author’s work.

I haven’t completed this yet, but I think it’s going to be Margaret Atwood, and it’s going to be her novels (because I can change the rules if I want). So far I have read the titles in bold:

The Edible Woman (1969)
Surfacing (1972)
Lady Oracle (1976)
Life Before Man (1979)
Bodily Harm (1981)
The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
Cat’s Eye (1988)
The Robber Bride (1993)
Alias Grace (1996)
The Blind Assassin (2000)
Oryx and Crake (2003)
The Penelopiad (2005)
The Year of the Flood (September 2009)

#52 Go to a movie by myself.

Even better, I went to a movie of an OPERA, which FYI is worse-attended and way longer than your run-of-the-mill blockbuster. I went to see “Das Rheingold,” presented by the Met Live in HD. I thought it had some cool technical effects and I love the bass/baritone (Eric Owens) who played the troll (Niebelung?) but otherwise, God, Wagner is static. It’s majestic, but slow.

I’m going back to the cinema for Nixon in China on March 2. And I am bringing my own snacks (don’t tell).

#72 Volunteer at church for at least two events.

Done! I joined the communications committee at Lake Edge more than a year ago, on which my main accomplishment was to create a “time and talents” form to match congregrants with volunteering activities.

I mentored a wonderful high schooler, Katie, who is smart and self-motivated and a track runner, for her confirmation studies. And I made two meals for elderly folks — Stan, who just turned 98, and Wes and Ethel Stempke, who are delightful people.

#75 Take a dance class.

I have taken the first step in the right direction on this one. A few weeks ago, I went to a community class at which Chris Walker and FuturPointe Dance taught Caribbean movement to me, a few older folks, a bunch of little girls and a couple of swivel-hipped black 20-something girls who popped in on a whim (they picked up the moves *way* faster than me). I sweated and tried to keep moving and laughed and thanked God there were no mirrors. And it was great.

And finally … #95 Vacation somewhere warm during winter.

We’ve booked plane tickets and a bed and breakfast for a week-long spring break trip this year in New Orleans. I have reservations at Bayona (Susan Spicer). I have reservations at Restaurant August (John Besh). The b&b has a hot tub and I am bringing a bathing suit.

How long until summer?!

#50 See three local bands we’ve never heard of (1/3)

lindsayc77 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:20:17 +0000

My parents, with their newly empty nest-status, have become something of a party couple. When they’re up north at their cabin, they rock out at Ma Deeter’s. Never mind the smoke or the awful karaoke — they love it.

Last week, they visited for Thanksgiving. After we went to “The Santaland Diaries” on Friday night, mom still wanted to party. I had suggested seeing Natty Nation at the High Noon Saloon, but P was convinced that would take too long (and be out too late for my dad, who drowses off early). We ended up at Mickey’s because it was a short walk from the house and I had heard a friend’s band, the Shabelles, was going to be playing. Sexy fries and no cover? I’m there.

Unfortunately, the Shabelles played last, and the band we did see, Sylvia Beach, didn’t start until after 11. P left after two songs, citing ear pain. My ears hurt too, but in our spots at the bar, I felt completely trapped. When other people left, the lead singer commented on their leaving, saying “our other songs are better!” Awkward.

Also: he was wrong. Sylvia Beach was poorly balanced, out of tune and any lyrics were completely intelligible. It was kind of awful. I liked the drummer, who looked like he might’ve been on speed (dad kept saying, “that drummer was SOMETHING!”) but the next time I see Sylvia Beach is playing somewhere I’ll give that place a very wide berth.

#99 Attempt Zumba

lindsayc77 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:16:50 +0000

I have stiff hips. That’s not news.

What IS news is actually something I expected to be true: I love Zumba anyway.

That’s Tammy Zee in a photo by Dick Riniker — notice her slightly popped hip? Notice all the people waving randomly, in no particular formation, behind her? That’s Zumba. Pop a hip, dance around, and 45 minutes later you’ve had a workout. It flies by.

I tried my first Zumba class with Katjusa at the Chakra House on Lakeside. It was an absolute blast — I felt like I was revving up for an island vacation (which PS, I AM! Going with the girls to Vegas in March. But that’s another story).

#71 Find an eye doctor and dentist

lindsayc77 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:29:04 +0000

I’ve had my new insurance plans for more than a year, but it’s taken me this long to get my act together and visit the dentist. First visit: success! No cavities. And my dental tech let me watch the Food Network!

(Although she apparently has a very bad marriage, which was … awkward. Is it really a big deal if he brings home a bottle of wine for himself but not for her? Is that really something to “come back and bite him” later? Weird.)

The second visit: minor fail. First, I came in with insurance that supposedly covered my exam AND frames and lenses. I walked out $180 lighter. What?

If I wanted a new contact lens prescription, I had to be measured ($50). Not covered by insurance. OK. Then, because I wear my contacts for a couple months instead of one (eye doctor = very disapproving!), I needed a new prescription for contacts that are TWICE as expensive as my old ones. OK.

Then I chose these frames.

They seemed to fall somewhere in the middle of the Wisconsin Vision price-range: $170. And insurance covers frames and lenses, right? Wrong. They cover $100 worth of frames, and then it’s 20 percent off the remainder ($55 total). And the lenses need a $20 co-pay. …OK.

But wait, my prescription, which is actually *less* than my former one (my eyes have improved?), would require lenses, like, a half inch thick. Huge. Goggle-eyes. So I ponied up for the polycarbonate ($40 more). But they said oh, wait, those are super soft. You need a scratch-resistant coating. That’s $15.

By this time my head was spinning at the adding numbers. When she asked me about “glare protection” I re-interpreted the word. She got the idea.

Fast forward to a few days later. My contact lens check-up showed that they’re not actually fixing my vision all the way; my left eye is still a bit cockeyed (so glad I paid all that extra money for a new exam, eh?!). I picked up my glasses, but when I tried to wear them, I felt like I was in a fish bowl. The earpieces hurt. So I went back.

A reasonably nice woman adjusted them, and said if they didn’t work this time they’d have to do the measuring, fitting, etc. all over again. They still aren’t as comfortable as my old ones, but hell if I’m going back to that place.

When I went to place my contact lens order online, I had the rude awakening of their increased cost, too — $115 for two boxes was the cheapest I could find. Also, they WROTE THE PRESCRIPTION WRONG. I had to call and double check it because the numbers didn’t fit.

I am not going back. #71 success. Wisconsin Vision fail.

#37 Go to five art gallery openings

lindsayc77 — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:47:23 +0000

Herpes is kind of cool. Really. Look:

Isn’t that pretty? Wouldn’t you think it’s, like, raspberries or red olives or something if you didn’t know better?

Check it out — this is E. Coli:

And HIV:

This is a long way of saying I went to a gallery opening last week at the Ebling Library in the Health Sciences Building. Laura Olear is a Chicago-based artist who gets digital images of bacteria and viruses under a microscope, does watercolor or other “studies” of them and then creates big, bold oil paintings from the studies.

Some of them look completely innocuous, even friendly. Others, like the plague (below), look like they could seriously mess you up. I think color has something to do with it.

Four more openings to go!

Slowly but … slowly: Progress on long-term goals

lindsayc77 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:38:50 +0000

I’m making steady progress toward some of the longer-term goals on my list. For example:

#25/Reduce debt by 75 percent: We recently moved into a new apartment that’s $200 cheaper than our last one. I am encouraged and hope this will help us begin to save.

#63/Get down to 125 and maintain: I’ve started biking to work every day. Well, OK, it’s only been two days, but I after all our vigorous biking on our recent Door County trip I was inspired to keep moving. (Also, I’m annoyed my pants don’t fit. Ahem.)

#87/Read the books on my side of the shelf I haven’t read: I am currently enjoying “My Life in France,” a memoir by Julia Child that my fabulous editor, Katie, bought me for Christmas. It was a sweet gift and well-written — Alex Prud’homme really captured Julia’s voice.

#71/Find “my” eye doctor and dentist. My dentist’s name is Michael Kosovec and he has an office on Eastwood Drive, a short walk from here. I don’t have an appointment yet, but I will soon. And I’m working on the eye doctor.

#60/Eliminate all clothing that doesn’t fit or I haven’t worn in two years. I gave two (three?) huge boxes to St. Vincent DePaul’s with things I just don’t wear or use anymore, and Patrick took another box today of our combined re-sellables. I finally dumped files off my old desktop computer from college (not clothing, but still, progress!) and I even got rid of some cookbooks I didn’t want, like Weight Watchers ones from the 1980s. Blah.

I have some goals for the fall, specifically: keep up the biking. Take one WHOLE DAY off per week with no work. And I like an idea I recently saw in “The Splendid Table‘s How to Eat Supper,” which involves a New Year’s resolution to work leisurely through a cookbook for a full year to establish yourself in a cuisine. I love that, and I am thinking of doing it for a half-year with Nigella’s “How to Eat.” Maybe after six months I’ll look like this.

Attempting digital detox

lindsayc77 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:06:52 +0000

I (almost) did it! I almost went a whole weekend with no internet!

It boggles my mind how HARD it was. I had no idea how much I’m online. I guess I knew that I’m on Facebook pretty often. And I listen to Pandora every day. And I check my email compulsively … which brings me to the fail.

I checked my email once on Saturday because my friends Angela and Amanda were MIA from the wine tasting, and I figured (correctly) that they’d emailed me about it. And then Sunday, in a moment of weakness … I played Alchemy (AKA the intertubes’ most addictive game ever, which I am mercifully unable to play while in the office).

My coworker keeps mocking me because she did an 11-day digital detox, and I attempted it for a measly 48 hours. Still, she went on a vacation, and I spent an entire Sunday afternoon BY MYSELF with NO INTERNET.

I was a little surprised (and pleased) at how many other things I was able to do without my face plastered to a screen. I read a play. I watched a movie. I cuddled with Miles on the couch and did four loads of laundry and made a pressed sandwich for Katie, my editor, who just had a baby.

I went for an hour-long walk (those flowers were in a neighbor’s garden). I listened to three (four?) episodes of This American Life and one episode each of The Splendid Table (*LOVE*) and Good Food. I made grilled prosciutto and manchego sandwiches. I made a watermelon-feta-mint salad with olives. I emptied the dishwasher. I made my lunch for today (Nigella’s fabulous Greek salad, with fennel and marinated red onions) before it was even afternoon. Being forced to go to my cookbooks instead of the internet made me appreciate them more, one step closer to No. 20!

Sunday especially was an eye-opening day for me, as with Patrick gone most of the afternoon I would probably have spent the day watching television episodes on Hulu, playing Alchemy, reading comic strip archives and scanning back episodes of Wine Library TV. It’s not that I need/want to be productive all the time, but I’m less likely to sit in one place for hours if there isn’t a website calling my name.

(And if I’d been watching the screen instead of wandering the neighborhood, I never would’ve met this little guy. Hi, Louis! I know that I only love you because I have no vegetables within the reach of your greedy little rabbit teeth, but love you I will until then.)

Fail, fail, fail again

lindsayc77 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:12:31 +0000

So this is not going all that well. Ahem.

After — how many weeks? sixish? — not only have I not lost any weight (No. 63), I’ve actually gained. The food at the O’Neill was so awful that I would make myself a big salad, then indulge in two cookies. (Can we say great plan?) I’m breaking out. I haven’t gone for a significant walk (No. 69) since last Saturday, when we ambled downtown … and had a big brunch, with bagel, lox, and a Bloody Mary, topped off with half a carafe of wine and chocolate at Osteria. Delicious, but damn. Not helpful.

My clothes are starting not to fit. I’m eating bites of cheese straight out of the fridge and last night at Concerts on the Square, I am pretty sure I drank an entire bottle of rosé. I’m breaking out. Did I say that? I feel huge. My gym subscription just ran out. THIS IS NOT GOOD. Maybe it’s time for the Self Challenge?

Also fails … I have had Citizen Kane (No. 1) in my house since mid-June and we still haven’t watched it. I desperately need to get my eyes checked (No. 71), but instead I just re-ordered the contacts I already have. (If I get a new prescription, that’s wasted money! Not smart.)

It’s kind of surprising how little I’ve accomplished. I haven’t hiked at a state park or a watched a local band or spun at a spinning class. My posture still sucks. I have no idea what to do with a dipstick. Fail, fail, fail.

Well, OK, I have made tiny progress. I threw together a tofu pasta tonight with a bunch of CSA veggies (No. 58) and I’m feeling better about cooking with weird square-shaped protein. I went for a walk in the Conn College Arboretum (where the above pic was taken) — not a state park, but something. I’m reading August: Osage County (No. 4) and … well, it’s depressing me.

I have not lost all hope. Just a lot of it. Did I think this was going to be easy?

In progress: 39. Organize a picnic feast with friends

lindsayc77 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:14:32 +0000

On Saturday, eight of us are going to American Players Theatre to “play in the woods” before a production of George Bernard Shaw’s “The Philanderer.” Of course, I’m organizing a fabulous picnic before hand, with salads and fruit and baguette and cheese and olives and rosé wine — it will be DELICIOUS.

Also, even though my book club has decided we’re reading “Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace (my spot in library queue: 15 out of 16 requests), I have put in my request for “Olive Kitteridge,” the most recent Pulitzer fiction winner (spot in queue: 154 of 154). It might be awhile before I get that one. Anyway, I finished the first “Rabbit” novel (“Rabbit, Run” from 1960) and can now move on to the two that have won Pulitzers, “Rabbit is Rich” and “Rabbit at Rest.” Only problem is…I really hate Rabbit. He’s kind of a self-centered jerk. I’m going to get over that — right?

15. Getting Comfortable with Japanese Cuisine

lindsayc77 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:44:33 +0000

The other night for our (epic!) cook-off, featuring an Axis-versus-Allies battle of wills between the lovely Nicole (at left, with her winning “Atomic Bundt”) and myself, I made this recipe for the first time. I was the Axis powers, which gave me Italy, Germany and Japan.

The grilled miso-marinated scallops (and shrimp) included the challenge ingredient, alcohol, in the form of sake, which I had never cooked with before. What surprised me is that I already had a number of the Japanese ingredients on hand — miso paste, wakame seaweed, and sesame oil — as well as the expected, like cucumber, scallions and canola oil. So I think I’m well on my way to this one.

I also made a friend today who knows how to braid challah. That’s one step closer to No. 14. And Katjusa said I can learn to drive stick shift on her car (No. 29) and I have planted four tomato plants (No. 51) and I just heard about Universe in the Park, sponsored by the UW Space Place, where I can totally learn five new constellations (No. 82). Onward, upward and ever forward, as my sophomore year math teacher would say!

(Also, I made cheesecake for the first time on Monday. But that wasn’t on the list.)