Rule #1 Do not deviate from Deb's Recipe

Christina's Adventures In Cooking.

 

It was a culmination of my inability to make instant oatmeal at the office lunch room, a flopped pumpkin soufle attempt last Friday by myself Teresa, and my mom and a sucessfull practice of creating a vegetarian thanksgiving meal for Teresa and Scoutt.

In the show NCIS, Gibbs has several unwritten rules which he follows. For example Gibbs Rule # 13 always carry a knife.

In my case I too now how set of unwritten rules to follow Christina's Rule #1 Do not deviate from Deb's Recipe. Because for anyone whose eaten her food, I will ask, Have you ever had anything Deb Pool made that wasn't good?

Thanks to Deb Pools generosity of sharing her time in consulting with me yesterday, her cannelloni recipe which she makes as her tradition for christmas, and her highly saught after red sauce; following Christina's rule #1 made my cooking adventure yesterday an epic success.

So lets start from the begining with Oatmeal at the office. It has long been known that I love to cook and bake. I have spoiled my team during unit meetings with pear cake with home made run carmel and candied ginger sprinckled on top all from the comforts of my studio apartment kitchen consisting of 2 hot plates and a oven that does not hold a 9x13 pan. It has become a game for me to see what I can produce from my little kitchen. So my co workers have tasted what I can cook. Last week they also whitnessed my inability to make instant oatmeal. It was so bad that it exploded all over the microwave infront of not only my supervisor, but the director of the Concord office. ( and Yes to all the mom's out there who know me, I did take out the plate immediately and clean it all up). I tried again after cleaning up the mess... Two Words. Epic Failure. My instant oatmeal was so horrible tasting, I made a face like one does after taking a shot of cheap alcohol. My co-worker felt so bad she left half her borrito at my desk for me to eat.

I needed to redeem myself.

Friday night seemed like a great time to do so. We were going to try out a good option for Scoutt and Teresa's thanksgiving vegetarian meal. It has been a tradition and my treat to them the past few years to find new, and great tasting and great presentation meals for them on thanksgiving. Just because they don't eat turkey doesn't mean they deserve second class food. Its been a pleasure to treat them to different meals over the years. Pumkpin souffles sounded like a winner to us.

This is where the cooking wisdom of Deb Pool starts to creep in.

Now the pumpkin sufly is not a Deb Pool recipe , BUT I happen to see her recently at a get together and I mentioned the idea to her. When discussing spices, she mentioned Fresh sage and types of cheese. This will be key later. And remember what my rule #1 is. So Friday comes along, Teresa, Scoutt, Mom , Dad, Neon and I are all very happy cooking and laughing. So as it turns out, there are a few things that we ended up sustituting like fresh pumkpin for canned, fresh sage with dried and parmesian cheese instead of the type that it called for. So with a nice robust salad, we sit down to beautiful looking sufes. Ugh. whats the opposite of Woot? It was the right tecture, no flavor. It was a monday meal, NOT a thanksgiving meal. Honesty, I think we could have taken a chance and tried again following the recipe to the letter, but we couldn't find the type of pumpkins ect etc. So.

Like a souffle we were deflated.....

Granted I have less than two weeks to find a great recipe to have to privilege to make for my sister and Scoutt.

I emailed Deb telling her my delema and requested any recipies she might have to fit my tall order. During my consultation yesterday she was able to help me not only choose a dish but cut it down to smallers serving sizings, choose ingreedients that would work for peoples tastes and diatary needs and helped me with presentation.

What I love about looking at people's favorite recipies is that you can tell they are well loved and used when there are markings in different color pens and pencills with changes from year to year. My recipie cards all say things like Margie Fosters English Toffee, Deb Pool's Curry Brocoli Soup, Sandi's Ginger Bread, Dad's Chart House Cheese Cake, Mom's home made pesto, It is like walking down memory lane with the people I love and have shared so many good meals with.

By the end of the food consultation, I was equipt with an action plan in hand, a recipe, bay leaves and just as I was about to leave Deb Pool went into her "vault" of preserves as though it was the queens jewels and pulled out a most prized possesion. Her mothers recipe " Red Sauce". I knew that Teresa and Scoutt dinner could not go wrong.

But because of my recent inability to make oatmeal, I needed to test it out. Just incase.

Thanks to the generosity and courisity of my co-worker Carolyn, I went to her house last night

Dad had to remind me of Rule #1 as I was purchasing the noodles for the canaloni. But I was quickly redirected and off I went to Carolyns house where together we meticulously followed every direction given to us to make the canaloni.Taking only a quick break for salad, it took 3 hours to prepare the white sause, the cheese filling portion, roasting the veggetables and cooking the noodles. We stuffed the Aldente noodles and then placed them on their cooking dishes which had been layered in white sauce, At exactly 9:29 they came out of the oven onto our dinner plates

Perfect.

I have done a lot of cooking and baking. I also claim to be a meat and potatoes girl. But this recipie was by far the best food I had ever eaten and NOT ONCE did I think it needed meat. It was the best food becuase it was made with love from start to finish, from the recipe from Deb, to having Christina Rule #1 and knowing that this thanksgiving I will be honored to place this dish infront of Scoutt and Teresa.

On a side note. Carolyn says I can come over any time to test out recipies, but claims the right to ask what I plan on making .... incase it's instant oatmeal.

Funny How Technology Changes Things

I had a chuckle the other day when I was sitting at my computer at work. Funny how technology has changed things over the past 20 years.

 

 

When I was in high school I have fond memories of my best friend Lauren and I stalking the UPS truck in front of Eraldies mens store in Sonoma waiting for our lettermens jackets to arrive.  Knowing that every day there was only 1 UPS truck that would come through Sonoma , when he came and that if happened to come, it would drop off our treasured jackets just before we got out of school. After the last bell Lauren and I would rush down and see if it had been delivered.

 

Now thanks to the miracle of barcodes and GPS, I can sit in the comfort of my cubical (if you can call that comfort) and I know that my World Series Sweetshirt, (just as important an item to my wardrobe as my letterman jacket) was flown from Ohio, to kentucky and over night made it to Oakland.As of 5;44 am it was put on my UPS truck in Cncord where I awaited its arival at my office later that day.

 

 

Good memories.

Making Paper Work Fun....

We all know that paper work is taking over our life as case managers here at RCEB. So I sat down and thought of ways to make paper work more fun.

In the end I have realized that paper work is still no fun, but my hope is that this gives you a chuckle.

I know there is probably a stack of files that you are looking lurking on your desk.  How do you choose where to start? My solution, Leave your work to chance.

Put all your annuals/ IPPs due on small pieces of paper in a coffee cup, then go to a coworker and have them pick a name. No peaking!

Make a cootie catcher and have some fun choosing which annual to do.

The concept of IPP Shoots and ladders seems interesting.  Roll the dice, if you get a ladder take a 5 minute break, and if you get a slide (shoot), you have to do the annual at the bottom of the slide. Large slides need bigger penalty like IPP and CDER and HCC or even worse an exception.

Would paper work be more fun if what we wrote looked for prestigious?

For example : “Client wants to move out into the community within three years”.

 In Latin looks like:  Huius vult ire in communem tribus annis.

Κοινωνική ασφάλιση πρόκειται να λάβει όλα τα χρήματά σας

Means “Social security is going to take all your money.”

After all Social security should be written in Greek any way, I’ll never understand it.

Sign your name “Bazinga” because we all know what ever we just signed will change anyway.

Title 19 things like client seemed very very very very very angry at case manager as evidence by the increase in decibels of screaming that client did over the phone.

Put “like” and “um” into our sentences.

Live dangerously, use green ink to sign documents, or worse Pink!

Print out all documents in red ink.

Change the font so that one letter takes up each page, thus any one has to tape 3000 pages together to get the whole picture.

This was written to give you a chuckle. I know that we all work really hard. Have a great Friday.

Christina

Gourmet cooking made easy "Mug Cake"

My friend Katherine bought my a very thoughtful gift for my anniversary.  Its called a "mug cake".

I used to think that to make something gourmet and scrumptious it had to be made from scratch. You know home made, nothing from a box. Hours slaving over a hot stove using every pot and pan I own in my little tiny kitchen. Until I tried "mug cake".

It was the kind of treat I was sceptical about, but on the day that I "cooked" it, I was so excited to find something so good and so easy to bake.

Its a cake literally baked in a mug. Take a coffee mug (lord only knows I have several of those), grease the inside, ad 1/4 c milk and stir in contents of Mug cake packet. Put in microwave for 1.5 minutes AND.....

Dessert is ready. No fuss, no frills, just good cake ready in less than 5 minutes. David loved it, I was thrilled and we each got our own cake.  Thanks Katherine you know me so well.

Faith Laughter and Dancing, our 1 year anniversary

This week David and I will celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. My dad would say jokingly that the key to a successful marriage is two words "yes dear." My mom might say "coffee and a kiss from my dad every morning."

David and I both agree our first year felt like much longer than 365 days. I could spend this post writing about the woes of our first year, but instead I would write about what we did that allowed us to come out stronger relationally.  And while I could say its duck tape and an electric screw driver to put me back together or put back a screw that was loose, in truth it was Faith, Laughter and Dancing.

Faith in the goodness of people, in neighbors that rescued our dog that got out 3 times in the first 2 weeks of work. Faith that I would be provided with employment, where I could be supported, molded and heaven help me appreciated into the damn good social worker I always knew I was. Faith that no matter what situation was thrown our direction, David and I could make it through because we had each other and a spiritual understanding why things happened the way they do and because of that it was easier to wait and accept. (notice how I said easier not easy).

This year we learned to laugh. I can't say that life was funnier, because it wasn't. But we learned to laugh at the situations because at some point they were comical as we couldn't believe that despite our best efforts everything we touched went wrong. Yet our laughter came from watching our dog instead of reality TV, 3 dollar Thursday night dates at Costco for hot dog and soda at the dog park with Potter, text messages filled with lines from the Muppet's, Winnie the pooh, dancing soda from McDonald's and the occasional sesame street reference. This combined with our new found love for the Jimmy Fallon show and Big Bang Theory made for a lot more laughter over this past year.  In our life Laughter was the best medicine.

Finally, David and I danced. My grandpa Witkowski used to say "why thank you , remind me and  I will dance at your wedding." It is a phrase my dad picked up as well. David and I didn't have a first dance at our wedding however, at least once a week we put out a vinyl record and play a tune. We'll slow dance to the love songs of old. If you could peek into our home some nights you can see us dancing,  so in love, so off beat, so out of tune. Yet so happy. 

When David and I got married I told him I wanted to be there when he no longer saw life as a Picasso, but instead as beautiful as a Monet. Our life can still be seen very much as a Picasso, crazy , unpredictable and hard to understand. However, every once in a while if we hold still, stand back and stair we see glimpses of Monet. I like to think they stand out most when we have faith, laughter and when we dance.

Desktop computers truly need a desk top to be ergonomically correct.

I live in a house with David and Potter. Its a small studio apartment whose main room is 11 x 16. And yes for those of you quick at math that's 176 square feet. Tack on a very small entrance, the kitchen and a bathroom with a standard tub and we might be pushing 250 square feet total.  About every 6 weeks I spend countless hours on the Internet looking up "designing for small spaces" and take all of my furniture and re-arrange it. Thinking that "this time it will satisfy my needs". I have a "space" for my bedroom, living and dinning area. But what there is no room for is an office.

I am a messy person, organized in a way that no one else can understand. In a small house, messy and unorganized equals countless hours of tearing the whole place apart looking for one receipt or a set of heirloom recipes on cards I could have sworn I put in a safe place. It is very frustrating at first, then comical, and then maddening when after spending hours I still can't find what I have been looking for and I have to clean up the whole place. I would give my left arm for space to make an office.

I even went as far as putting out desk to on a window ledge 14 inches deep next to our bed in homes that sitting propped up by pillows would some how make typing easier. But as you can see by the fact that I have not blogged, nor written a long email since doing so, it didn't work either. Sitting on a bed with the desk top on a window ledge is not ergonomically correct and would have the people at workers comp. cringing.

Enter the last "space" in my studio I have not mentioned. The walk in closet. For the past year this has been designated as David's sleeping space. A place that is quiet and dark and a twin bed inside. Seriously I think its bigger than my kitchen. But out of respect for a guy who works nights and doesn't get much sleep, I have never dared to touch it. Until today.

Last night David and I go the giggles as I was trying to sleep and he was sitting up next to me with the cords from Google Mars, and  I wake up in the middle of the night sudden, this could not be a good thing, suddenly having images of a computer falling on my head.  He looks at me and said "Christina, no body keeps their computer on the window ledge, tomorrow make my room into an office."

This morning, I popped off the hinges to the door of the closet. Just the visual of having 10 more feet of width was helpful. I put up to TV trays (of course miss matching) made it so one could still sleep if needed and installed another light and fan so that the computer user would be comfortable by all the rest of the part sleeps.

"you should blog about this." David told me before he left for the day.

My friend Katherine told me once, Christina you are going to look back on your first year of marriage and laugh, "Hey David, you remember the years we lived in that tiny studio when we had way to much stuff, you re-arranged the furniture all the time and you didn't have a real kitchen but made gourmet meals any way." And I will smile. Yep, I will reply, we learned to laugh more, enjoy small things and never take for granted any space, not even a closet.

Pictures to follow when I am done. I just wanted to blog, now that the computer is comfortable again and I am sitting on a chair and the keyboard in on a proper table.

An Alien Ab"duck"tion, OR My mom's mothers day gift

Mothers Day is no longer just a Hallmark Holiday.  But it is a Holiday where a gift from the heart is very important.

I was talking with David the other night about what to give my mom for Mothers Day. I had gone in to look for camping gadgets because mom and dad are going camping in Arizona for a few weeks. I thought it would be fun for them to have something new for their road trip and adventures. 

David thought about it for a while, when all of a sudden you could see the light bulb go on. 

" I got it! " he said. "You should get your mom and dad Duck Callers so if they get lost they can call for help, because DUCKS DON'T LIVE IN THE DESERT! " 

 I couldn't have asked for a better idea. Its so true, if you heard a duck call in the middle of no where desert, won't you look around? So.. I got my mom and dad different duck calls (different) that way when they are with my sister and Scoutt in Arizona she can tell them apart. 

This gift far surpasses the antenna topper that lights up and has a tag that says "yes mom this is your car", it beats my folks wrapping my wet suit inside my prom dress for Christmas. I think a duck caller for an active hiker in the desert is perfect.  David thought of something so unique and in tune with my folks.

Can you even imagine? I bet no one else got a duck caller when they are lost for Mother's Day.

I couldn't wait to celebrate Mothers Day this afternoon. Mom opened a small certificate I had made with an explanation as to why she needed a duck caller. Attached to her pair of duck caller's were fishing license holders so that they could put their duck callers in the holder and attach it to their belts when hiking. Mom was elated, she ripped open the box and to my delight made a wonderful (and loud) duck sound. But to my horror, it was broken because she exclaimed "this doesn't call ducks, it attracts DOGS!" 

 But the worst pun of the day was yet to come...

 My dad said, "Better watch out , when we are in the desert people might think its an alien Ab"duck"tion.... "

Happy Mother's Day Mom, Its the thought that counts. 

Hello Modder, Hello Fadder...

Mothers Day is here again. I can’t help but look back at all that my mother experienced with us this past year. Mom was the mother of the bride twice this year and attended both of our wedding celebrations. Each so different and yet, each matching our character. Mom guided us through significant life changes while accepting Teresa and I for who we were and what we needed. Teresa’s wedding was so Teresa and mine was so me. Mom’s belief in individuality causes one to see that I  am a self proclaimed “meat and potatoes girl” and Teresa a vegetarian. Is it possible that when you look at the Witkowski side of the family you see one daughter’s mirror image, and at the same time the other is a clone of the Lamberts? How special is it that I can take my mom to San Francisco to watch the World Series parade along with 1 million other crazy people. Then at the same time Teresa can take Mom to go off road camping in the desert. To have meaningful relationships with two daughters that are so different is remarkable. Even more so, is that despite not looking the same, acting the same, or sharing similar beliefs, there is a foundation in both daughters that is a piece of her. The idea that family is indispensable, as is respect and work ethic. She taught us both about the importance of education. When we came to mom with ways of life that were not the norm, she accepted yurts, house boats and grand-dogs as though they were white picket fenced homes and grandchildren.  You want to talk about leaving a legacy for your children; look at what my Mom Jane has done allowing us “to be who I am”.

Houston, we have a problem. Really, thats why I get woken up?

As a kid when ever there was a technical problem in our house my dad would announce "Houston , we have a problem". And like the crew from Apollo 13 we all would scramble to fix what ever it was that was broken.

I am learning to ask David his "status" before coming over so I can prepare myself for what ever catastrophe might be coming our way. Lately we have been prone to dealing with several. But I knew that today was looking up when today's problem sounded a little something like this:

To be Read like a Melodrama

 I was awaken by David today in an urgent tone.

 "Christina I have a problem."

"Oh crap." I thought to my self.

 As I braced myself for who ever died, what family member was ill or what financial crisis needed to be solved, David looked up from the computer and exclaimed:

"I can't find the north pole on Google Earth! Its gone!  I thought there were TWO poles. Please tell me that there is a north and south pole."

It took me a few seconds to realize this was not the catastrophe I was expecting. At which point I said.

"David why did you wake me up about the north pole? I know it exists , Santa Claus came and visited me as a kid,"

 And with that went back to sleep for the last 20 minutes until my alarm went off.

After making my self a cup of coffee , I realized that David was still staring blankly at the computer screen which showed the top of the world. Sure enough there was no North Pole. Was the world really coming to and end?
                                              The plot Thickens...

As many of you know my Mr Mike the science teacher knows all kinds of random pieces of information about things such as the north pole. Surely Mr. Mike would know the answer. So I posed the question to him.

His response: " I think it is a conspiracy. The Grinch stole the north pole so Santa wouldn't have any place to live."

Now that's helpful, Thanks Mr. Mike. David was not impressed by Dads scientific answer, and was becoming visibly upset that there was a potential that the north pole was truly missing.

Enter the Heroine...

Have no fear, Super Social Worker to the rescue.

When I got home I googled "where is the north pole ?"and to my amazement the true answer is : the location of the true north pole MOVES!!!!

According to wikapedia (we can have a talk about reliable information later) ... The Earths North Magnetic Pole is the point where the Earth's magnetic field points vertically downwards. It moves over time due to the magnetic changes in the Earth's core. In 2009 the Canadian Geological Survey believed that the true north pole was located
82°42′ 114°24′W / 82.7°N 114.4°W and was moving towards Russia between 34 and 37 miles a year.

The big finish

So now I can breathe a sigh of relief, the world is not coming to and end, the North Pole is NOT missing despite not showing up on Google Earth, and I can go to bed knowing that Santa Claus will come next year for all the good kids and dogs out there. I've decided that Google should come out with "Google ICE" so David can track the North Pole.

The Moral to the story:

Really if that's the biggest problem that happened today, life must be looking up. :)

Insert Cyber Applause Here..

Ode to an electric screw driver. OR The key to a successful marriage.

The Electric Screw driver, the key to a successful marriage?

Who knew that the key to a successful marriage could be bought a home depot for 19.99. In my case, its an electric screw driver. At first purchasing an electric screw driver so I can put together a piece of furniture I bought at Ikea was not a big deal. Until I realized the true potential of a woman and a small power tool. Not only did the screw driver help me assemble my table so I can eat dinner tonight, but it made me realize how lately I 've really had a screw loose and a screw driver is just the thing to put me back together. Whether a screw loose is a metaphor in life, or truly a screw loose remains to be seen. But one thing remains for sure. We all need to ask for a little help these days. Life isn't supposed to be simple, in fact true adulthood so far has been easy. But having the tools in life to put your self back together everyday is so important.

Potter helping to hold the directions.

 I realized as I was reading the directions that support from friends, and family, getting the giggles and sharing in joys and small victories such as being empowered by a screw driver to put something together by my self is a big deal.  I plan on taking this small victory and applying it to bigger tasks at hand.  Plus I gave the screw driver to David, in case my own screw is loose again , he can put the pieces back together.

The note that David came home too...

The Two Stooges go to Opening Night.

To say that what ever we do is graceful, and all lovie dovie all the time would be a lie. In fact I would have to say that last nights attempt to leave for the ball park to go to opening night was more like watching the two stooges. I am of course Curly (yes I know he's the bald one) but I'm also roundish in the face and have pretty darn curly hair, and David is Moe.

In our attempt to leave, we had to unlock the gate,  the security screen and the front door 3 times because we forgot things such as car keys, the cooler of food and yeah, the dog got out. I checked that we had in fact brought two tickets for opening night probably 3 times, the first time I realized the game was an hour earlier than expected. (who starts a game at 6:05 instead of 7:05), the second time to make sure I had the right tickets (as they came in a set with another pair for a game later this April), and the third time at the rate we were going to make sure there were 2 tickets not one , and I put them in an envelope because as a mail carrier David is less likely to toss the envelope some where I can't find it.

We then went around the two cars out front making sure to get all items needed, only to drop my cell phone twice in which case the battery flew out both times once onto the street and the other back in the car. Needless to say David drove to the City.

I am happy to announce that these antics were the only mishaps for the entire night. And based on our track record since getting married, that's pretty darn good. From there it was smooth sailing to our favorite parking garage that is NOT on the ATT website, which happens to be right across the street from the park. We then walked through our favorite entrance in the Giants Dugout Store and greeted "grouchy Judy" our long time attendant in section 101 for I have found that if you say hello and talk shop, she won't ask to see your ticket when I am coming back down with 4 things of food and soda in my hand. 

Note: Sect 118 has THE best 10-12 inch polish sausage for 8 bucks (regular dogs are 6.50) it comes  with real roll and grilled onions prepared right next to the sausage. Definitely worth wondering over for.

I pulled out my camera which I got many years ago to take some snaps of the players warming up. I got this camera specifically to take pictures of ball players. The zoom is amazing. Its not so great for shots of the two of us together as it zooms too much.But, the shots I got of Barry Zito pitching were from the first base side across the entire field to the home teams pull pen, are pretty impressive. The key is to hold still... (insert snicker here). Which is something I am not go at, but thanks to the miracle of digital photography I could snap several pictures and then got one that was "golden".

The game started, we laughed, and cheered and watched the game. It got cold, then colder which is to be expected in April. We ate good food, we watched the people around us pretend they could catch balls lobbed into the stands by ballplayers and were privy to a close 3-3 tie going into late into the game. So with my husband David and 41,672 of my closest friends we watch the Giants pull out a walk off win in the bottom of the ninth. The Giants "Torture" couldn't be so sweet.

A quick trip through the dugout store produced giants baseball salt and pepper shakers, a new sweatshirt for me and a lanyard for the two of us so ticket loosing in massive pockets is no longer an issue. Then it was smooth sailing home again (much quicker to Hercules than all the way to Sonoma). A perfect ending to a Two Stooges beginning.

The Dawn of a New Era, or Error....

I only find it fitting that I start a blog on the dawn of a new year. A new year starts in April you might ask? Yes indeed, for baseball fans like me, Giants Opening Day is the beginning of a new year. A fresh start, undefeated, my national personal holiday of which I have taken the day off every year since I was in 4th grade. So get your favorite hot beverage, sit down to your computer and enjoy the peek into the life of the Dugout Diva.

I plan on exploring not only topics of baseball, but that of real life (not the things posted on Facebook), of learning to cook gourmet meals in a kitchen with a hot plate, an oven that doesn't hold a 9x13 pan or a standard cookie sheet. I want to share what its like to be a person with a disability who has to climb mount Everest every morning before putting my feet on the floor and yet once the climb occurs, I seem to be able to almost function as a productive member of society. Its not easy, my husband will be the first one to tell you that. It is my hope that I can share some of the memorable things that happen in our lives together as so many are not able to spend time with him, to get to know him like I have. I want to share endearing stories, keep a collection of quotes and be able to laugh about the things that keep me going.

Yes Giants baseball opening day is the best day to start a new era of writing for me.
 Happy New Year to us all. And to all a good night. Cheers!