#KBChat - Death by Whole Foods

In an earlier post I mentioned that I don't blog much because my life is heavily documented in other places.  I decided that what I could do is bring some of those more memorable tid bits here and share them with you [aka no one] to keep the highlights in one place.  You know, so they're easily accessible for my memoir.

I'll start with a Gmail chat between Byron and me.  We've come up with the term #KBChat when we're referring to our Gchats.  Trust me, there was a need.  Mostly because excerpts are sent to others in emails.  As in "this is from today's #KBChat"....just go with it.

Enjoy...

4:11 PM me: Byron

  

  yesterday

  after work

  everything was out to destroy me

 Byron: haha

  oh no!

  when ice cream attacks

 me: no - ice cream was the only good part

4:12 PM Byron: he

  hehe

  

  Yesterday

  First Stop: Whole Foods

  (+) Almost missed the SLUT, but didn't - yay!

4:16 PM Byron: (yay)

 me: ( - ) Pesto Pasta from the salad bar, that USED to be everything I ever wanted in cold pesto pasta has been changed.
Is now pesto pasta salad...with peppers, and mayonnaise

  Is death

4:17 PM Dinner plan has vanished at the beginning of a long line of errands

  (oh - I went to the rack first, which took 30 minutes longer than planned...silly jewelry - so am already WAY behind schedule)

  Blood sugar plummets - am wandering around Whole Foods trying to not have a nervous breakdown

4:18 PM Byron: :/

 me: angrily eat some mac & cheese

 Byron: haha

  GRRRR

 me: get even angrier at the $@#$@^ lack of Diet Coke options

  realized I hadn't had diet coke since lunch at me-hi-co

  blood sugar low + caffeine low = DyingKat

 Byron: :(

4:19 PM me: mac & cheese gives me enough focus to buy what I needed at Whole Foods...well, half of what I needed

  Grow angry at Whole Foods not having all two items on my list

  realize I should eat more food

  

4:20 PM get small scoop of mashed potatoes and 1 chicken strip from hot food section

  is almost $10

  realize that between mac & cheese, potatoes and chicken

  this non-dinner is not only NOT what I wanted to eat

  but also cost more than lunch

  which included magical chips

  and ALLtheDietCoke

4:21 PM (still have not had anything to drink at this point)

  Stumble out of Whole Foods vowing to NEVER GO THERE AGAIN

 Byron: im not sure i understand how you didn't just die right there at the grocery store

 me: I ALMOST DID

 Byron: :(

  (haha)

4:22 PM me: go to Bed, Bath & Beyond....find...almost everything I need....but am still suffering from lack of focus...
like...put my stuff down and am running back and forth at the giant utensil wall (wall is giant....not the utensils)

  WHERE ARE THE GRATERS!!?!?!?!

  WHERE ARE THE GRATERS!!?!?!?!

  Oh - they're right in front of me

  buy things, leave store

4:23 PM Oh - left phone in store

  go back

  crawl to downtown cupcake royale

  eat ice cream with the angels

4:24 PM Byron: hahaha

  oh jeez

 me: realize last downtown errand will probably not happen as it's after 8pm and the store is probably closed

  run for bus

  9pm get home

  inhale life source (Diet Coke)

  sit on chair in the dark

4:25 PM Byron: haha aw

6 minutes

4:31 PM me: realize I still need to go to the grocery store

  Walk into grocery store and through the produce "LIVE IS SO MUCH BETTER ON CAFFEINE - YAAAAAAAY!!!"

  ............................

.............................................

  * "WHY IS THERE NO MILK!?!?!?!" *

 Byron: hahaha\

4:32 PM me: WHERE IS THE MILK!?!?!?

  DAD!!!! HOW CAN THEY BE OUT OF MILK?

 Byron: ...are you asking me right now? or was this last night?

 me: (I called my dad every time a store tried to kill me - by the time I was at the grocery store, he was just laughing at me)

 Byron: haha

  oh dear

4:33 PM why do you call him? do you expect he will magically fix the grocery store?

 me: turns out...they had more milk....in another spot

  yes

 Byron: ...

  ohisee

 me: they also didn't have something else I needed

  which prompted a 10 minute call to my dad

  "what do I do instead?!"

  I thought I was doing better because of the caffeine

  but...

  today I realized

4:34 PM hey, I didn't unpack xxx last night - I could've SWORN I bought some...

  Check receipt....not on receipt....

  was it in the cart?

  did I not pay for it...AND leave it in the cart when i went to the car?

  Is the item still in the cart?

4:35 PM When I was at Whole Foods

  I sent Sara the following text:

  Whole Foods is destroying my soul. I hate everyone and everything

4:36 PM She told me to think happy thoughts and fight off the dementors

4:37 PM Byron: ...

  wow

 me: It was really bad in wholefoods

4:38 PM Byron: do you need a hug?

  :(

4:39 PM me: Oh, I'm fine today

  Really it was the change of dinner plans on top of the no caffeine

  it was poor planning

  #LogistiKatFail

4:40 PM Byron: tsk tsk

 me: well

4:41 PM I do blame Whole Foods too though

  who tf puts mayonnaise in the pesto pasta?

  

A Tale of Two Cookies

I love to bake.  I usually say "I can't cook, but I love to bake!"  To be clear, I probably can cook.  It's just a pain to cook by myself.  I've tried it and it's a lot of work for 10 minutes of eating.  I think baking is more fun, tastes better (in my opinion) and usually provides me with something I can easily share with others, which I like.

In the past week, I've successfully attempted 2 different cookie recipes using lemon.  I didn't necessarily plan for this to happen, so I thought I'd share the outcome, for the one person a month who randomly stumbles across this secret blog.  (Update 10/29/12 - Hey, guess what!  There actually is about one person a month who lands here by googling "Nordstrom Lemon Ricotta Cookie"!  If that's you, you'll want to scroll down a bit, because it's the second recipe listed.  Also, let me know how yours turn out!)

First up - Gluten and Dairy Free Lemon Drop Cookies

I had a game night last week to break in Dixit Odyssey.  Christine is gluten free and I like to try and have fun new gluten free option at our gatherings.  I was googling....I think it was something like "gluten free drop cookie" and found this recipe for Lemon Drop Cookies.  Perfect!  The first thing that attracted me to this recipe was that it used Gluten Free Bisquick.  This meant I did not have to go find all sorts of fancy gluten free flours.

About half way into my excitement I realized "Oh, right!  Christine is also dairy free - whoops!"  This is how my first experiment with vegan butter came into existence.  Looooong story short, I think the cookies were a success.  I didn't like them at first.  The texture was drier and crumblier than I preferred/expected - I think that clouded my judgment.  Everyone else, including Christine, seemed to like them.  They're incredibly light and the icing is delicious.  If you try the recipe, don't skimp on the icing!  An added bonus is that they look really pretty!  Take a look:

I really appreciated the video that the blogger included with the recipe, especially since I'm not used to using gluten free flour - having a visual of what my dough was SUPPOSED to look like was helpful.  Not that it looked that different from regular cookie dough...but still!  It was nice to know I was on the right track.

This weekend I made another new [to me] recipe for Lemon Ricotta Cookies.

The Cafe at work sells Lemon Ricotta cookies and they are seriously addictive.  The cookie is like more cake like in texture.  I think that's why I like them so much.  The texture sort of reminds me of a black & white cookie (which I love) although I think black & whites are a *little* drier.  I've actually been trying to find a good recipe for black & whites, because it occurred to me day that I COULD just make them, instead of bemoaning the fact that you can only get them in New York (...and apparently Utah.  Lindsay brought one back from SLC for me.)  After singing the praises for this lemon cookie at work, I realized I could try to make *them* too!  (I'm a real quick study.)

Jared offered to be my baking buddy and we set to work last night making this recipe.  We head to the grocery store to buy lemons....and there was one left.  Seriously.  Apparently if lemons are discounted by 10 cents, they fly off the shelves.  It could've also had something to do with the fact that it was 11:30pm.

We ended up buying a 2lb bag of organic lemons, and it's a good thing we did, because we needed 3 tablespoons of zest, and that one sad little lemon couldn't have handled that.  We learned that one medium sized lemon yields approximately 1 tablespoon of zest.  See, you learn new things every day!

I was so pleased with how these cookies turned out - I was giddy and giggly - I kid you not!  I was so ridiculously happy.  Some things of note:

• They are really flat, and I think they even deflate a little bit once you take them out of the oven.  They're still delicious, and it doesn't really bother me, but I may try to see if there's any "solution" for that later.  
• They are the antithesis of a dry cookie, and are likely to fall apart if you don't handle them gently.  It's just a side effect of their yumminess.
• There are many recipes out there for lemon ricotta cookies.  I went with this one because the blog claimed that they were the Nordstrom Cafe recipe.  I don't know if it's from the cookbook, but the taste is an exceptionally close match (the ones in the Cafe are just 5 times bigger).
• Many of the recipes out there use a glaze (similar to the glaze on the gluten free cookies).  A lemon glaze is all kinds of delicious, but I recommend using this recipe for more a frosting.  It goes well with the cake like texture of the cookie.

Gorgeous! (and dangerous!)

What a lemony week!!! Now I have all of these left over lemons, so I'm sure I'll be attempting one or two other lemon treats before the next week is out.

Happy Baking!

Baby Fish Mouth

While I was walking through Costco tonight I was forming a blog post (otherwise known as talking to myself in my head) about all things literary related - because last night I went to my first ever book club meeting.

However, with the passing of Nora Ephron today, I feel that it's necessary that I share my thoughts about two of my all time FAVORITE MOVIES.

You've Got Mail

A movie full of win.  How could I not love this movie?!  Bookstores and the Internet...does it get any better than that?  This movie came out in 1998.  The summer of 1996 was when I first logged on to AOL...and it changed my life.  I say that with equal parts seriousness and sarcasm...I mean, didn't the Internet change everyone's life?  Let's just say...the words "You've Got Mail"...I get it.  Those three little words.  On top of that the movie was just delightful, funny, touching, hopeful and full of quotable lines.

• No, but there is the dream of someone else
• Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?
• F-O-X

When Harry Met Sally

As far as Romantic Comedies go...I may have to say this is the absolute best - of all time.  I first saw When Harry Met Sally in 2001.  Yes, you read that correctly.  WHERE HAD IT BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!?!  Or more accurately, where had *I* been its whole life?!?  This was a movie I took with me on Semester at Sea.  A movie I had never seen before.  I don't know how many times I watched it that summer....but let's just say that for awhile there, I was watching it every single day.  That's not incredibly odd behavior on my part.  I also knew every word (also not terribly unusual) and every musical cue (ok, a little more extreme, even for me).  Is it even worth mentioning that the love story is the best because it's actually believable - you actually believe it CAN happen to you?  It's also brilliantly funny - obviously. The most impressive thing about When Harry Met Sally?  It's timeless.  I don't know if it's because the storyline spans years....or because of the interviews with the couples....or if it's because their names are Harry and Sally....this movie is as true and relevant today as it was in 2001, and as I'm sure it was in 1989.

We lost a true gem today.  I'm so thankful that she left behind these wonderful gifts.

I Got Yo Back!

My back has been hurting every morning when I wake up for the past 4 weeks, so today I decided to find a doctor.  I realized that I can't constantly preach preventative care if I didn't address a month long back issue.  Plus, what if it really is something more serious?

Well....am I glad I went?  Sure - I guess TECHNICALLY the doctor eliminated some of the more serious possibilities.  Did I walk out with any helpful information?  Not really.  Did I spend a lot of money?  Absolutely (well, I haven't been billed yet, but I'm sure it wasn't cheap). On the plus side, I made some progress on today's chapters while I was waiting for the doctor to arrive.*

Considering I have no knowledge of any changes in my routine or lifestyle, I was not providing the doctor with much helpful information.  No, it's not my bed.  No, I've been using this handbag for years (could the extra weight of my Kindle Fire be killing my back!?)  I had a horrible moment where I thought my back pain coincided with when I started wearing my new TOMS wedges....but then I realized that I started wearing them about a week after my back started hurting.  (Don't ask me how I remember things like this.)

On a side note - when I mentioned that I HAD been wearing a certain pair of shoes a lot, along with "but they're so comfortable," my doctor said "comfortable for your feet....."  What sort of unjust world are we living in if I can finally find shoes that are comfortable for my feet but are painful for my back!?!?  Also, does this mean the solution is that I need to go shoe shopping?? #KatProbs (No, really, it's a legitimate #KatProb...I don't enjoy shoe shopping 98% of the time.)

So I left with a list of stretches.  Stretches I already know how to do.  I guess I could be more diligent with them and see if anything improves.   I was also told I probably have a weak core - I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge.  What's implied along with that is that my apples are too big (also common knowledge).

I will do the stretches....I will try to not fall asleep on the couch....I will consider finding other shoes.  I've always been very cautious/paranoid about back and knee issues.  I value my freedom of movement to much.  I originally thought the pain was stress related...and if it's muscle related I suppose there's the possibility that it at least STARTED as stress related.

Maybe it's time for another massage...

*See Wheel of Time blog that I haven't written yet

Even More Dreams

Eyes out, hair up, SYTYCD on.

I've had a few more dreams...

In one I started off as pregnant, but I didn't look pregnant.  So much so that at one point in the dream I thought "am I really pregnant?"  Later in  the dream I had a baby boy named Julian.  Interestingly, I've had a dream before where I had a baby (don't know if it was a boy or a girl) and the baby's LAST name was Purdue.

In this recent dream I was being attacked.  This has also been a recent theme, but I'll come back to that.  What's been nice is that in all of these recent being-attacked dreams, I haven't been scared.  As in, they are not nightmares.  In this dream, I was in a car with my mom and the baby, and people came up to the car and started stealing stuff from the trunk.  I had to get out and shoo them away, and then I told my mom she wasn't allowed to park in that parking lot anymore.  (I have a feeling this setting was due to the recent shootings in Seattle.  There was a car jacking/shooting that happened not to far where I live/work.)

Then, last night I had a dream that I woke up at 8:30am for a 9am meeting in Tukwila...then when I got there, the meeting was 3 hours late.  Luckily, I didn't REALLY wake up at 8:30 for my 9am meeitng.  I woke up at 6am.

Lately I've actually been going to bed at a normal time. I don't think I'm really a fan, but that's a story for another time.

Oh!  The other attack dreams.  I had a dream where I was going to be attacked (obviously).  I was siting in my car in a wooded area (why was I there?!?) and there were these people running toward the car.  I knew they were coming to get me (and not just running toward me.  I woke up...and all of the sudden I could FEEL the adrenaline spreading through my arms and legs.  It was early...maybe around 4am? but I just stayed awake because I figured, with the adrenaline there was no way I was falling back asleep.

Then it happened AGAIN - maybe a week or so later.  I was being attacked on the street in that dream.  I MADE myself fall asleep again that time though, because when I woke up (and felt the adrenaline rush) I looked at the clock and I had only been asleep for TWO HOURS.  Ugh.

I've been having the most interesting dreams lately.  I think it's because I actually set my alarm for an hour to an hour and a half before I need to wake up.  and I think it's in that last hour that I have dreams that I remember because I'm not going back into a deep sleep.

To be clear - the adrenaline dreams are in a separate category from the other dreams I've been writing about recently. :-)

Dreams Continued

I fell back asleep and had the following dream...

I was finishing some kind of race, possibly a triathlon (Oh, it's one of those FUNNY dreams!) and came running out of the water, running up the sand, up a little hill and THREW myself over the finish line.  I'm pretty sure I was ahead until that last little sprint.  No time to dwell on that though, because the next part of our challenge was being explained, and it involved....possibly jumping out of a plane and I was terrified.  Here's where we transition into a different scene.  These things that look like wheelchairs show up, with some weird fan thing attached to the back that we're supposed to use to fly to our next location....the next location being where I have to go to get ready to be in someone's wedding.  I'm worried because 1) I don't want to fly and 2) I'm worried my hair will get caught in the fan.  I turn to someone....and say something along the lines of how I wish I had something to put my hair in ponytail, but why WOULD I have one because I always leave my hair down when I exercise and how was I supposed to know we'd be flying in something like that. Actually, I told the person that "this is the conversation I'm having in my head...."

I could NOT get that stupid chair to fly.  My parents could.....no problem.  My dad was messing around and flying it backwards for awhile...probably to mock me.  To get it going you had to roll along like a wheelchair but only using one hand and gain enough speed to take off, but there weren't a lot of long, flat areas of land available to take off from.  At one point, this covered wagon being pulled by a horse came down the path...then the horse took off.  He looked like he was running toward me, but he veered off to my left.  The wagon was actually a place to buy souvenirs.  I made an Oregon Trail joke with the guy working in the cart, but he wasn't really following me.  I was willing to trade ammunition for something.  (No, I didn't have any...it was a joke.)  He also didn't seem to care that the horse had run off.  I wanted to buy something but had to get to the wedding so I left.

I ended up NEVER getting in the air.  Well, at one point I think I got a little bit off the ground (1 foot max), but panicked and came back down.  Eventually I end up at this courtyard that's at the entrance to this building where the wedding is taking place.  There's a hotel and I need to find the room where we're getting ready. 

My parents have gone to change, and the first time I see them, I think my mom is in a shirt and pants and my dad is in a wedding dress, but the next time I see them they're dressed normally.  Later I pass by a little cafe and my mom is sitting in there having a snack with my brother, who is really young (maybe 7, as opposed to his real age of 22).

This whole hallway is full of rooms with people getting ready for weddings.  I finally find ours and it's filled with people getting ready....like maybe 5 other girls.  They were pretty much all people from high school.  Two girls are wearing white.  At first I think "Oh, the maid of honor is wearing something like Pippa's dress!" (Only, it had a texture that Pippa's dress didn't have and also it was really thin - I could pretty much see through it in the light.)  Then I had moment where I was confused about which girl in white was the bride, and I had to check the sign on the door to be sure.  The sign on the door had all of our names and why we were in the wedding.  I can't remember WHICH one was the bride, but the sign did answer my question and apparently I was a good friend from high school who had continued to be supportive when the bride-to-be had moved to Toronto.

I start to get ready and realize I don't have ANY of my make up...I've left it at home.  I look at the other girls, thinking maybe I can get away with the make up I have in my handbag, but they're all super done up.  I go track down my dad and tell him he's going to have to fly back over to where the cars are parked and run to my place to get my stuff.  We should have time.  It's only about 1pm and the wedding isn't until 7:30.  He has to go because not only did I switch handbags and not have any make up with me at ALL - but I also didn't have any Diet Coke (#BridesmaidFAIL).  I have a really hard time giving him instructions on where to go and what to bring back, and at one point he calls me to say what he's grabbing, but hangs up before I can give better instructions and make sure he has everything.

That's about it, but I also remember complaining about the flying chairs.  Apparently mine was made of a cheaper plastic while everyone else had metal ones.  Had I KNOWN the place wasn't that far (about a mile away) - I would've just walked instead of spending all that time TRYING to make it fly.

Dreams

Lately I've been remembering weird details of dreams....here are the latest.

1st Scene - The Gym (or rather - a gym)  I'm wandering around holding a 20lb free weight and trying to find a matching one.  At some point it becomes known that we just had a horrible earthquake, even though I didn't feel it.  Something like a level 16 (yeah, I know...huge!) - haha!  Then I leave the gym with a friend (possibly a flash mob friend, but I don't know exactly who - definitely a guy) while being annoyed that my parents hadn't called yet to see if I was ok.

2nd Scene - Going to lunch with Byron.  I thought it was a place we had never eaten before, but once we got there, I realized I HAD been there before (although possibly not with Byron) - it was just called something else when I was there before.  I should point out that if I really HAVE eaten there before...it's only been a dream - it's not a real place.  You enter by walking down a long flight of stairs.  We ordered food and went to go sit down in the executive area (this back, around the corner section that has nicer seating - that I've sat at before, the other time I've "eaten" there).  We  got a giant cinnamon roll to share - like the giant one I split over the weekend at brunch with 3 other people.  Byron treated - we had burgers.  Thanks Byron!

I was sad because I woke up before we ate the cinnamon roll. :-)

In My Defense

My life is heavily documented through emails, Facebook and Twitter.  I like to think that's why I'm not skilled at maintaining a blog....I'd be sharing it all over again.  That's probably why I posted it today - I spent today by myself and hardly talked to anyone, so I'm talking to you instead.

When I'm rich and famous, I'll need to hire a biographer to skim through my Facebook and Twitter for the all the good stuff.