Boom, Boom!

Just cuz.

croque monsieur

Even though it's simple to make, I like to follow recipes until I can make them with my eyes closed.

Le Croque Monsieur according to Jacques Pepin:

He uses good Jarlsberg, Gruyère, Beaufort, or Comté ( I used Swiss in a money pinch) cheese and the best boiled ham (called Sara Lee) that I can find at my market (Rouse's). The sandwiches can be prepared ahead and baked as needed for a large party or wedding reception.

Arrange 2 thick slices white bread next to one another on the counter and cover 1 slice completely with slices of cheese. Add 1 slice ham to cover the cheese and then add another layer of cheese and ham before finishing with the other slice of bread. Spread about 1 teaspoon butter on each side of the sandwich and arrange it on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until the croque-monsieur is brown and crusty on both sides. Cool for about 5 minutes. Trim off the crust if you like and cut into 6 small rectangles. Serve hot with toothpicks.

Makes 6 mini sandwiches

Who Really Rules The World?

Who really rules the world? That's the title of the small pamphlet I received inside an envelope today. The envelope was addressed to my first two initials and my last name in very neat penmanship. I believe the writer even may have used a ruler to keep the lines perfectly straight.

Alice B. sent me the pamphlet with a lovely letter, written in pencil, and addressed inside to Ms. M!@#$%^*. How lovely!

Her message is brief, yet full of concern.

Her work, she goes on to say, is patterned after the work Jesus Christ "established when on Earth." She does this voluntarily, and she endeavors to help individuals, like me, to "come to AND accurate knowledge of the truth." (whatever that may be)

I felt this letter, which was weirdly written in pencil, was the perfect topper to my day. I opened it on the first floor, and laughed at the cosmic weirdness it added to an already crappy day all the way to the third floor

I thought to myself,"What am I doing?"

I don't know.

The only way I get through times like these is to think of Melanie Griffith's Tess McGill in Working Girl.

This song always makes me feel better when work is not going well.

Stigmata

After a late afternoon of dinner and a margarita with some work friends, I was not wanting to step into my apartment and see *this* dribbling down the wall closest to the front door.

My apartment was leaking water from the attic. What's interesting is that the water did not drip from the ceiling, but, instead, found a way to not stain the upper part of the wall and just stain the middle of the downward. Weird, huh? Leaks come from the weirdest places.

Naturally, my insane obsessing mind couldn't leave this alone, so I lugged my buzzed behind to the attic (not my favorite place to be after the bat incident) where I began to search for the troublesome leak.

I ended up finding it right above what I imagined the entrance to my apartment was, so I placed an old empty wonton soup container from Chinese take-out right underneath it. *sigh*

It's just another call to my landlord that I dread making, and another reason why buying a house feels so much better.

If it starts leaking blood, I should call the Vatican, right?

The Descent

Have you ever seen a horror movie that you can only see once? I have, The Descent.

I have tried to watch it again, but my pulse rises and I end up holding my breath at the anticipation of something popping out of the dark. So, I try to avoid it whenever it comes on TV.

Here's the trailer for it.



Now I hear they are coming up with a sequel. I can't imagine that it will be as good as the first one. They never usually are, but if it is then it will hopefully be just as scary. I may just have to hold my breath all over again.

Here's the trailer for the sequel.

Ensalata Caprese

Look at what I made today!





It wasn't my recipe, but it looks good, huh?

Here's the recipe via Jamie Oliver:

Serves 4

4 x 150g balls of buffalo mozzarella
2 handfuls of good mixed ripe tomatoes, of different shapes and sizes
the white of 1 spring onion, very finely sliced
extra virgin olive oil
good-quality herb vinegar

for the dressing:
a big handful of fresh basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

First make your dressing. Keeping a few leaves aside for later, roughly chop the basil and pound with a good pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar. Add a splash of oil and stir it in to make a lovely smashed basil dressing.

Carefully tear the mozzarella on to a large serving plate. Chop the tomatoes roughly into chunks and dress in a bowl with the spring onion, some olive oil, a little herb vinegar and some salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes in and around the mozzarella and drizzle the basil sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the reserved basil leaves and serve.


As you can see, it's simple without exact measuring (frustrating for me, but alas).

It's even more delicious with homemade vinaigrette.

The Last Night of Summer

I go back to work tomorrow, and I'm very sad. I'm sad that my 2 month break is over and of whatever craziness I'll have to face at school in the morning.

For now, though, I'm going to bed. I'll read my Doris Day biography (fantastic btw), and dream about our condo below.

IGNORANCE

Actually, this is beyond ignorance, so here you go...

Updating

Geez! It's been a really long time since I last updated. I haven't been feeling like blogging, blah, blah,blah.

I can say that I've had lots of blog ideas, but no follow through. I haven't even been following anyone's blog until today. I posted some comments. Finally.

OK, vacation time is coming, and I'm really looking forward to it. Honestly, I'm already on vacation, but I don't consider it so until I leave N.O. You know?

7? of us are going to Destin. Not my original choice because of the crowded beaches, but it'll have to do this year. I know I will enjoy myself no matter what.

Other than that. I'll be seeing "Whatever Works" with one J a s o n tomorrow, and eating some deelicious Mexican food at Nacho Mama's. Yum!

To entertain you till my next post, here is a clip of a "Mamma Mia!" parody from the U.K. I particularly loved Joanna Lumley playing Christine Baranski playing Patsy Stone!
PART 1


PART 2
They won't let me embed part 2, so here is the link. :-(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZOdvWBPAqY

Cool Easy Listening Stylings

I've recently been thinking of songs from back when I was in high school and college and Lisa Stansfield's name came to mind. This Barry White cover is one of my favorites from her CD collection.

The Lil' View

The Lil' View - watch more funny videos

Snapped

Has anyone heard of "Snapped"? It's a show on Oxygen that tells the stories of women, mostly, who snapped and killed someone.

I snapped today. I didn't commit a murder, but I snapped.

I was calm driving to school. I was calm walking into to school and signing in. As soon as a co-worker said,"You're going down to the end of the breeze way." All common sense left my body.

Before I go on, let me explain. Every seven weeks, groups of teachers have early morning duty in certain spots around the school to herd students like cattle in areas so they don't crowd the already over-crowded cafeteria. The group of teachers whom I work with decided, without me, that they would rotate areas every day. The first time we did this, I was not made aware of this decision and I said it was stupid then but I went to my spot on the breeze way.

This time around, I stood in my same spot and since no one asked me to move I thought we weren't going to switch spots. Silly me. Foolish me. As soon as my co-worker told me to move, I went crazy. I crossed my arms and said I wasn't. going. to. move. Then we proceeded to argue as kids were streaming in to the school. We had smiles on our faces, but we were dead serious.

She decided to compare what I was doing to deciding against teaching one day. How dare she! There's no comparison. This is just standing outside watching kids. Who gives a fuck? (pardon my French)

Maybe this all sounds silly, but it just bothered me today. I suppose if I was to delve into this whole situation then the real problem, as I stated before, is that this decision was made without me even though I'm supposed to be on their team. Now I just have to look at it as a cleansing because I let my feelings be known. Phew!

WWJD?

"Reverend Mother, I have sinned"-Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp

At the end of a conference with a parent of an unruly student, I not-so-casually mentioned to her that her child used Church as an excuse for not doing his homework.
Well, she wasn't pleased about him using Jesus as an excuse to not do his work, so I used her displeasure as fuel to make her child feel guilty. Yes, I used religion to make someone feel guilty. So what! The Vatican does it.

After the conference, when I picked her son up to go to class with me, I explained what we talked about with his mom and how she was displeased and at her wit's end. After volleying back and forth what I thought he should do and what he thought he actually did, I decided to change direction. So I quickly brought up Church and how he was using Jesus as an excuse to not do his homework. He then responded that Jesus was not the Church, so I shot back that he prays to Jesus in Church. Therefore, the Church is Jesus.

He teared up, and that's when I knew I'd gotten to him.

Do I feel guilty? No.

Was I desperate and grabbing at straws? Yes.

You do what you have to do.

I'm Not Talking Prada

I do not speak Prada as Isla Fisher says in her movie promo, but I wouldn't mind speaking Hugh. Hugh Dancy that is. Yummy!

A Prescription for j a s o n

I hope your cough gets better.

Milk

This is not a review of Milk as much as it is a change of heart concerning Sean Penn. I'll be the first to admit that when I saw Mr. Penn in "At Close Range" I was not a fan. I may have been a fan of his unnaturally huge biceps, but not a fan of his acting or his personal escapades.

Fast forward to "Dead Man Walking" and I was able to see a more vulnerable side of Mr. Penn. I felt his character's regret and fear.

Some years later, "Mystic River", or "Mystic Pizza" as I initially typed it, showed his over-the- edge fatherly side, but it was a bit over the top. He received the Oscar that year, but I believe it was more for his body of work than for this particular role.

Finally, here we are in 2008, and he's in "Milk" where he truly transforms himself into someone who is not anything like the persona Mr. Penn has worked so hard to conjure. He's soft. He's caring. Hell, he's gay! I believed him in this role. I fell for him in this role. He convinced me. I believe Mr. Penn. I believe.