Mother's Day, two weeks late! (More to the point - Cafe Hiro!)

Alright, I'm all about the tardy posting. This post is long overdue, and I have soooooo much to rave about, but quite honestly, it was the pics that my mom sent me that put me over the edge. I kind of wish we'd had more pictures of the food.

Mmm, the food. Well, it was super good!

Also, just to get my crassness out of the way - it is not cheap!!! But I will probably crave it a couple of times a year, so I can just plan for that. What bums me out is that I always drove by this place and totally, fully, gungho dismissed it because ONE time I walked by at night, it looked very deserted (totally thought the place was going to close shortly thereafter!) and the menu looked weird. I remember walking over there to check it out, willing to give it a shot ... and I've eaten at EVERY other restaurant in that complex on that corner. Mmm, Sweetee Thai! And even the sushi place, and the revolving door of joints that have occupied the western corner - I think it's Dragon King Chinese food there now. Also, I knew a PERFECTLY nice exchange student name Hiro when I was in college, but I have to admit I found him VERY unnattractive, and the bad associations with the name of the place, etc., etc., etc., .... I know, I am crazy.

So, fat lot I knew, passing up Cafe Hiro. Actually, what I really passed up was throwing lots of money at them over the years!!! Then again, maybe my tastes have changed since way back then as well. I was on a huge California Fish Grill kick for a few years ... I will definitely say that place is the ONE joint that made me love. to. eat. fish. Love, love, love love love. Amazing, amazing grilled salmon with garlic butter on rice, and a cute teeny little raisin and almond-sliver coleslaw that they forget to put in my to-go bag half the time. I also like the calamari (strips of the steak, I think), and the scallops are decent too. But those last two are the frozen breaded kind. The clam chowder is excellent as well. But the salmon. Go for the salmon. I think it used to be $5.95 or $6.95, when they just started, and now it's $8.95, which is okay. I was fully expecting it to be $12.95 last month, considering how they were raising prices every other month for a while. Their $1 Taco Tuesdays (only fish tacos) are CRAZY - get there early, or be prepared to WAIT!!!! They used to have breaded fried shrimp taco deals, and those were my absolute favorite. I don't think they have that on special on Tuesdays anymore. But I really was NOT into fish AT ALL before I tried that place ... so thank you, thank you!!!

Bye bye, Fish Grill!

OK then. So I checked out the raaaaaaaaaaaaave reviews for Cafe Hiro from yelp.com, and we hit it for Mother's Day: Dad, Mom, me, both sisters, and middle sister's fiance. Whee.

We made sure to stop by and make reservations for the evening on our way home from church, and yes, they did take reservations for 6 people ... but only for 7:30pm. It was a bit later than we wanted, considering work and such the next day, but we went ahead and took it.

I will say, the decor is beautiful, and cute, and they have a little river rock feature right up next to the window by our table. The wait was so. Freaking. Long. But we came in during the big dinner rush, so I think they were just swamped. Coming in later, the wait was certainly not as long for the table next to us. I swiped one of their seat cushions before they came because sitting on the hard wooden bench was not cutting it for me.

We ordered sooooooo much food - I love to do that when I first hit a place, to get sort of a feel for things.

Appetizers:

Calamari Friti: fried calamari covered with Parmesan cheese and parsley.
* Super, duper, yummy yummy - the cheese gave it a nice saltiness to the fried crunch and tender calammmmmmaaaaaari.

Crispy Fried Tofu: four pieces of tofu, deep-fried with onions in a spicy apple-ginger sauce.
* These were just okay. I think the tofu was nice and soft, but not as crispy as I like it. Dirty Chinese restaurants have better, super-soft, milky and crispy fried tofu with the most amazing sweet/savory sauce. I think this had some scallions and grated daikon on it as well.

Crispy Salmon Spring Roll: salmon spring rolls with sliced onions and a plum sauce.
* The server said there were two pieces only, which I didn't think would be a problem with that many appetizers for 6 people. However, TWO PIECES means ONE roll, cut in half - albeit served beautifully. They tasted okay. Nothing mind-blowing. Never had a salmon egg roll/chimichanga before. A picture of this can be found here.

Creamy Crab Cake: creamy crab cake breaded and deep-fried to a golden brown with a tomato sauce.
* This was probably the most disappointing thing, actually. I have to admit it. The portions are smaaaaaall. Not what I am used to, or what I prefer!! The crab cakes were little square-soap shaped, and the outside breading was nice, but the inside mostly had the consistency of mashed potato. I didn't taste much crab at all. Never had anything like this before, and probably won't order it again.

Before the entrees, we got the soup and the salad - mine didn't come with either, but we shared. They had the daily soup, a pumpkin soup, which was pretty nice - it had the texture of a pureed potato soup, and I think it was a pale pale orange - I like it okay, but I'm not a huge root-soup fan.

The salads were VERY nice! On the menu, they have the Mesclun Salad: mixed greens with a sesame-miso dressing. The salads are NOT very big, but the dressing is awesome. Nice and sweet and tart and I love miso. Not TOO dissimilar to the lovely, lovely, LOVELY dressing at Sango Sushi, just down the street. Interesting that it doesn't get rave reviews on yelp.com. But it's cheap!

Entrees:

These were fuuuuuuun!!

Front row, left to right: (Chicken? I forget what he ordered) Curry, Pork Cutlet (like Tonkatsu), Pasta Carbonara
Back row, left to right: Roasted Chilean Seabass with Asparagus, Roasted Chilean Seabass with Mushroom Risotto, Uni Spaghetti

Curry: I didn't try the curry, so I have no idea how it was. It seemed okay, though? I will say, the best curry I remember having was indeed at Curry House (the one in Cypress). The curry is brown, sometimes even a dark brown, like beef gravy, not yellow, or orange, or tan, or what have you - I guess it is a Japanese, not an Indian curry. Mm, Curry House.

"Kurobuta" Pork Loin Cutlet: Tender "Kurobuta or Black pig" Pork Loin Breaded and Fried to a Golden Brown w/ Demi-Glace Sauce or Citrus "Ponzu" Sauce, and Sauteed Vegetables
Okay, I admit this one was a little strange. My dad tells me that this is a special delicacy, this black pig business - because it has a solid chunk of lard rind on it. I'm sorry, but I can't eat that! I eat unhealthy enough as it is! I don't remember being wowed by it or anything, but I think the breaded crust was nice.

Carbonara: Spaghetti with Crispy Bacon in a Cream Sauce **Add Chicken and/or Spinach and/or Mushrooms
My sis had the spinach, since she loathes and detests mushrooms. No idea why! It was really, really, really rich. White sauce, that's all I remember. I think she was asking what was in it - eggs in the sauce, maybe?? And I like my bacon crispy, not carbonara. It's not something I would usually order if I'm eating out, I guess. Because I have a sick love affair with marsala, rather.

Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with Asparagus: Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with Asparagus, Tomato and Garlic-Lemon Soy Sauce.
My sis ordered this off the specials menu, but I think they have it regularly. It was sooooooo good. What a great piece of fish, I can't tell what it is, anyway. Some people say they think it's not Chilean seabass. I had great Chilean seabass at Kabuki, too, though. It was very very good, boiled asparagus, from what I could tell.

Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with Mushroom "Risotto": I have no idea why "Risotto" is in "quotes". It was yummy, as well. Great, great fish! Portions small. :( Very teeny weeny. I don't remember the risotto that well, but gee, I loved the fish. Here's a pic!!

Sea Urchin/ "Uni Spaghetti ": Sea urchin spaghetti with toasted seaweed.
I'd seriously never heard of this, but it got rave reviews on yelp, so I finally ordered it since it was the ONE thing I was DETERMINED to try, which nobody else seemed interested in having. I love the uni. But maybe it wasn't totally fresh? Bah, what do I know, I think it was the first time I'd ever had uni. I heard about it before - never had it on sushi/nigiri. My former mentor teacher my first year of teaching, she was from Lebanon - she told me she remembered going down to the port and finding sea urchins, breaking them on the rocks and sucking them out RAW. Um, sounds fun, I guess.
But back to the pasta. It did have a briny, fishy, sea-smell. But I kind of love that. Great sauce, great pasta al dente, I freaking HATE and loathe wasabi, so I picked the smidgin of that off, and the toasted nori seaweed is a fun touch. It reminds me of the gruel/rice porridge/congee for breakfast, with the jars of roasted sesame or dried shredded fish or pork sprinkles. And the sesame seeds. Hooray!

Desserts:

Panna Cotta - A soft and creamy pudding with fresh seasonal fuits.
Walnut Creme Brulee (they have it spelled Creme Crulee on the site :P)

I like the creme brulee okay - I admit to not being much of a discriminating critic of creme brulees. I haven't met one I didn't like, including the septuplets at the Wynn Buffet a few years back! It wasn't too nutty, which was good.

THE PANNA COTTA WAS MINDBLOWING. I love cream. Hate milk. Non-fat milk, sick. It's like drinking white water. Better now than before, when the first non-fat thing came out, but STILL. I'd much rather have my cereal with half and half, and I once lined up 30 creamers at the little campus cafe in college, and I downed them like shots. Never again.

The panna cotta, which was often mentioned in the yelp reviews, was seriously amazing. I will try making some my dang self, I think, since it's basically sugar, cream, and gelatin. Right??? Gah. I love the consistency, like a thick, slightly chunkified yogurt, it was very smooth and silky and creamy and sweet, and the fruit was great. One of my favorite desserts of all time now, and I think it is super easy to make. Hooray!!!

And to add: I dragged my parents back here to Cafe Hiro about two weeks after Mother's Day, because I was craving that awesome, amazing, weird uni spaghetti.

We ordered the calamari rings again (still very good, but slightly too salty this time), I got the Roasted Chilean Seabass with Mushroom Risotto AND Uni Spaghetti (numm!!), I made my dad get the Osso Bucco because THAT got great reviews as well, and my mom got the BBQ Beef Salad.

We ate everything. Seabass STILL great and awesome, but I am still disappointed by their portion sizes. I would like to try the uni risotto sometime, maybe with the grilled scallops!!! My dad liked his Osso Bucco okay, and I thought it was okay. Reminds me a lot of pot roast, basically, but the meat was good, the sauce was nice and dark.

He got it with the rice.

The surprise of the night, which I will DEFINITELY order again (only $7.50, I think!!) was the BBQ salad! Wow, that salad is amazing. So good. The meat was so good and tender and amazing. I think it was medium well. It was definitely red in the middle, and I'm sorry, but I like my meat bacteria-free FUR SHUR. If all meat tasted like THAT, though ... bring on the redness!! Great salad, with a great dressing, again. We did get the soup and salad with our entrees, and this time the "pumpkin"/squash soup was greenish. Tasted about the same. Maybe slightly bland and watery??? But seriously, it was all of about a half-inch of soup in a platter and not very much. DON'T COME HERE IF YOU WANT HEAPS OF FOOD!

I wanted to get a dessert, but didn't feel like justifying the cost. And I already had the two entrees. I liked the uni spaghetti again, maybe it was a bit salty this time too ... but I had my fix and won't need one for a long time, I think.

Next time - scallops and that amazing BBQ beef salad!! :)

A review with pictures

another review

Found a new blog.

Not sure if I will add it to the blogroll yet. I will have to peruse more. Gorgeous pictures, though. Californian meets Frenchy and moves there and starts buying up antiques.

Tongue in Cheek - stories and things collected while living in France.

I thought it was interesting to start from the beginning.

Wikipedia and the Eiffel Tower

On my next trip to Europe (hopefully next summer? Since tentative-though-initially-firm plans for a trip this summer are now axed), I will visit Paris and look for an Eiffel Tower snowglobe, probably (though not preferably) made in China.

I have a snowglobe from Venice that I bought for €5 in 2006, my sister gave me one from New York (at my request) for Christmas 2007, and I guess I'm still greatly influenced by that movie Equilibrium, and the scene with Christian Bale when he finds the room with artifacts ... including an Eiffel Tower snowglobe.

I don't think I've yet encountered THE ONE, but I particularly like this one:

Though I could live with having this one:

And this is a very nice and pretty picture as well:


Now, I've read that the very first snowglobes were actually of the Eiffel Tower, sold as souvenirs for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair), though the wikipedia article about snowglobes states they appeared in the EARLY 1800's in other parts of France. In any event, it is clear that one of the earliest known snowglobes is of the Eiffel Tower, from the late 1800's. This paperweight museum in Wisconsin has one. I want one.

I still remember going down to see the fireworks on the Eiffel in 1998. My memory is fuzzy, and I don't think I took many pictures, but it was Bastille Day (July 14), similar to our 4th of July. I guess they also call it the 14th of July over there, as well.

In 1998, France, the host of the World Cup, just ALSO happened to have won the finals the day before, so it was quite a big dust-up. There were parades during the day, some jets flew overhead, and lots of flags. Lots and lots of flags. I remember one of my traveling partners taking a really cute shot from behind of a toddler waving a little French flag, and trying to be surreptitious and sneaky about it. I have never encountered anyone in Europe who has denied me the request of taking a picture of their child, but maybe they aren't as paranoid about some things as Americans may be. Also, it's nice to take candid shots of children sometimes, rather than the deer-in-the-headlights look they may adopt.

Anyway, we trudged down to find a decent viewing spot, and I totally forget where it was. What I remember is that the fireworks were horrendously late. Over an hour, I think. I can't seem to remember if the French are known for not starting on time or something. Probably not. And they turned off all the lights on the tower for the fireworks. When they finally got going, I remember red, and blue, and pink fireworks shooting off from the top of the tower and off to the side. It wasn't AMAAAAAAAAAAAZING (I was quite impressed by the fireworks I'd seen in Florence in mid-June, during the Feast of St. John the Baptist, which we totally caught by accident - the first time I'd ever seen happy face fireworks and heart-shaped fireworks ... and also stood in the street for an hour breathing in motorscooter fumes because nobody turned anything off), but it was very very memorable. But come on! Fireworks! On the Eiffel Tower!! When I am in Paris, France!! It was a nice experience.


Especially since after the fireworks had finished, because they'd started so late, we'd missed the last metro back to our hostel and had a lengthy walk in the middle of the night.

Paris, 1998. The bakery down the street from our hostel had the best croissant I'd ever tasted in my life. I took my sister to Europe in 2004 and we stayed there again, as well. I got us lost. Waaaaaaaaay into the outer industrial arrondissements, when I was JUST trying to walk us down to Notre Dame and maybe catch a glimpse of the Eiffel. Oops. Guess it's pretty bad when there's an intersection of TWO STREETS WITH EXACTLY THE SAME NAME. However, I DID buy a creme brulee at another little bakeshop and it was divine. And at least we went to Sacre Coeur (fond memories!) and having read up beforehand on scammers, definitely saw all them dudes with the bracelets ripping people/couples off.

So, on to more wikipedia. I don't know WHAT it is, but somehow I always end up on that site. I'm a big ole nerd, basically. The internet is the best library that has ever, ever, ever been invented and I am grateful for it every day. I love to read. I love to research. I look everything up and find it all fascinating. And apparently, Hitler told this guy to demolish Paris and sack it before leaving, including busting up the Eiffel tower, but he didn't. I love this guy, I guess!!

Generally, I try to take everything with a grain of salt, but sometimes I get a little too excited.

I love the wikipedia article about the Eiffel Tower because it also has some seriously neat photographs.

This page has another history of the tower, with a picture of the plans!! Wowee. This site is another nice page.

So somehow I found this picture:

Which I just thought was ... totally mesmerizing, and fairly shimmering with pathos. I thought it was a picture of Russia, or someplace. But no. I totally had my mind blown.

*Warning - the next part of this particular post gets kinda intense with WWII-related material, so be forewarned - it's not exactly happy stuff.

This picture is from the wikipedia article about Oradour-sur-Glane, a town in France near Limoges. It was obliterated by the Nazis (a good portion of the perpetrators were actually from the French Alsace, as well, though that part gets left out sometimes) when 642 of the townspeople were killed in one day - the men rounded up and shot, mostly in the legs, so they were too injured to run before being burnt in the barns, and the women and children barricaded in the church, machine-gunned, and torched as well. There were 6 survivors, including one seven-and-a-half year old boy. The only one to survive the church was a woman who was shot five times, but able to climb up a ladder in the rear of the church and hurl herself through a window that was 10ft off the ground so she could hide in the garden between a row of peas or cabbage. The rest of the men survivors pretended to be dead so they would not be shot, and only ran out of the burning barns when they were starting to be burned themselves. There was a mason amongst them who was able to make a hole in one wall so they were able to escape. I think at least one of the men is still alive today.

And then I'm thinking to myself, am I uneducated? Why have I never heard of this??? I think there have been several films made about this specific event, but honestly, until today, I had never heard of it, much less of WWII tragedies in France involving mostly civilians. I know there was the French Resistance, and Normandy, but ... anyway.

I found the picture mesmerizing, and started looking up more information about it. What I find utterly fascinating is seeing the pictures - some pictures before June 10, 1944, some immediately after, and some taken quite recently. It is compelling for me to find vintage pictures and compare them with contemporary pictures at the same location, from the same vantage point, or of the same subject.

Anyway, seeing old pictures of the town, with more recent pictures, is just fascinating - there are pictures of the church, the post office, and of course, the doctor's (now thought to be the wine merchant's) car abandoned in front of the building. There are several very good sites, but this one is a particularly beautiful and comprehensive one.

It is a bit sad and depressing, especially once you start watching some of the videos from youtube, but it's one of those things that just feels more human not to ignore or overlook it.

So then, in terms of pictures, the WEIRDEST thing I found was pictures on wikipedia with captions such as "This image was selected as a picture of the day for July 04, 2008. It was captioned as followed: English: Car and buildings in Oradour-sur-Glane" and "This image was selected as a picture of the day for June 05, 2008. It was captioned as followed: English: Champagne Pool, Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland / New Zealand."


I was like, wait, what day is it???? I CAN SEE INTO THE FUTURE!! Quite cool, actually, to come upon that by accident - and I only clicked on the picture because I recognized it from my trip last year!

Not quite the same impressive effect, eh??

Anyway, wikipedia has already chosen the pictures of the day for all of June and July if any curious readers would like to check it out.

I will end this post (finally!) with one of the most beautiful pictures I can ever recall seeing.

Food.

Whoo, it's been a long time since I posted!!! (As Tiffani and Lauren pointed out on Thursday ...)

Speaking of which, yes, we got together on Thursday for "A Taste of Seal Beach"!!

From the Long Beach Press Telegram:
Seal Beach event

"Taste of Seal Beach" will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the McGaugh Elementary School open house.

Area restaurants will donate menu items to benefit the school charity, Seeking Excellence in Education for our Kids, or Project SEEK, which gave $104,046 for the 2008-09 school year in February.

Tickets for Taste of Seal Beach are $10 for adults and $5 for children and will be available at the door of the McGaugh gym, 1698 Bolsa Ave.

Lauren emailed to ask if we'd be interested in attending, Little Miss Foodie that she is. It was nice to see them again, and I should have brought my camera, because I like to take pictures of get-togethers and sometimes forget to. And K is a CRACK-UP. "Meow." It would have been nice to take a picture of the food, as well.

I think it's amazing that the restaurants donated the food! How fun. The line was semi-long, but not too bad, and then they gave everyone a school lunch tray to fit everything on. We were going to go outside to sit and eat, till the little middle-school bouncer girls informed us that we could leave ONE TIME ONLY!!!! Hmm. So we went back into the gym, and just as we were about to claim 2 plastic garden chairs, they were snatched up. So we stood around a table and ate. I just wanted to clean the plate off so I could have room for every booth there!

There were a couple of standouts, fer shur, and places I will probably bring my family to if we get the chance. I went back to the list Lauren included in her email, since I wanted to remember what-all places were there.

320 Main - I can't remember!!! They were there, though. Maybe they were the place with the wraps? There was one place where I had a BBQ chicken in an avocado wrap. It was a bit soggy, but would probably be quite good hot and fresh.
Beachwood BBQ - pulled pork sandwich (some slaw on it, too, interesting) and root beer, which I declined.
Blackboard Bistro - I got a turkey, lettuce, and tomato on wheat with mayo. Maybe it was a turkey BLT, which I see on their menu.
Bogart's Coffee - iced vanilla latte, which was REALLY good. Yikes. Even better with some of Starbuck's half-and-half thrown in. I almost went back for the mocha just to try it out. I have cravings for iced coffee now, probably half due to McDonald's commercials on TV recently.
Cold Stone Creamery - at first I thought I missed it, then I realized that I DID see cups of ice cream and passed on them because I don't have much of a sweet tooth ... and I'm swimming in self-control, natch.
El Burrito Junior - stingy spoonful of spanish rice (like Rubio's), two tortilla chips, and a spoonful of watery salsa/juice/puree. Ha! Weirdos. I think they thought I was back for round #2 because apparently I look like a greedyguts. Or maybe they misinterpreted the meaning of my obviously-used tray and appearance at their station. I wasn't leaving till I tried everything!
Finbars - I BELIEVE this was the place with the freaking amazing pasta. It was simple, and basic, but really good. You KNOW food is good when it smells and tastes good after you've been eating for a half-hour already. :) It was multi-colored rotini with sundried tomatoes in an aglio e olio. Yum! They also had a meatball in marinara sauce, which was just okay. How is Finbar's Italian, though? Sounds Irish, like a Finnegan O'Malley and ...
Hennessey's - maybe it was a big Irish boycott, because I don't remember this place either.
Islands - they had chicken strips and caesar salad. Whee, the caesar salad was super good!! I saw ONE halved chicken strip in honey mustard sauce left when I got there, and asked for it, and chick tells me, "Sorry, we're out." WEIRDO! Maybe it was her dinner??? Then they cleaned up all the rest of the dozen cups that were set out with honey mustard and barbecue sauce. Heh.
Jamba Juice - I think they had smoothies with granola - mango or blueberry. I went with mango and it was just so-so.
Mahé Restaurant - tuna roll. It was okay. Kinda bland.
Marie Callender's - a very nice spinach salad with orzo, walnuts(?), and citrus dressing. I think this was also the place with tri-tip!
McDonald's - hamburgers and cheeseburgers, I think, and maybe coffee. Like I took up room in my stomach with Mc-Heavin'-Donald's. I already had dinner there 3 times last week with the 25¢ Chicken McNuggets!! Used to be 5/$1, though.
Naples Ribs - Louisiana Sausage Bites and BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad ... YUM!
O'Malley's - some dang spicy chili, yo. Were these "the most popular" items from each place? Because friggin' spicy Irish chili is not anything I would have ever considered. The guy was very nice, though!
Patti Bakes - cheesecake, man. Little mini cheesecakes in mini cupcake papers. I only tried the plain one. The guy next to me was raving about them and asking his wife, "Hey, hon, would these work if we got a bunch of these?" And he asks Miss Patti how much 100 would be, for some kind of party, I'm assuming, and she actually says she doesn't know, because she usually sells them in batches of a dozen. I'm like, does she need business, or does she not?? He's asking for 100 and you can't give him a price?? 12x8, man, come on!
Panda Palace - pretty sure they didn't come!
Pick Up Stix - pretty sure they didn't come either! What's with the Asian food no-shows.
Rubio's - maybe I got this place mixed up with El Burrito Jr. Oops.
Starbucks - like, duh. What else.
Taco Surf - a little taquito! I forget what was inside. Flesh, right, probably?
Tropical Juice - a pink berryish slush.
Walt's Wharf - seriously awesome clam chowder. Wow! It was one of the first things I tasted and one of my favorites, but then again, I am a full on seriously out of control clam chowder FREAK. I went and asked for seconds, which they had no problem giving me!
Woody's Diner - at this point, I have no clue, because this took way longer to type than I had anticipated. I kind of think they weren't there, though.
Yucatan Grill - there was a super yellow rice, and some ahredded beef, I think it was. He also had fried plantains as well as tortilla chips with salsa. I only tried the rice and beef. I looked up the site and apparently it's Mexican/Caribbean! That explains the plantains, I guess.
Z Pizza - I had the pepperoni. They also had cheese, and a mushroom onion, I think, as well as veggie wraps which looked a bit soggy.

Well, freak. So the Finbar's pasta dish was QUITE memorable. And pasta aglio e olio is very easy to make. I remember making it all the time in college, on the cheap. Soooooooo much garlic. One time one of my housemates (senior year) felt sorry for me watching, me eat only garlic, oil, and pasta, so she gave me a mini can of spaghetti sauce. It turned out nice, actually, and mixed better than I thought it would. Too much garlic = flatulence, though, so you gotta watch it.

So I was all inspired this week and decided that I was gonna make it for dinner. Then last night I passed by El Pollo Loco and I haven't been THERE for ages, so I had my usual chicken tostada salad (looooooooove it) with some $1 drumstick legs and CHURRRRRRRRRROS. SO. GOOD.

And I was brainstorming lunch today, and realized I have both clams AND half and half, along with half an onion in the fridge, so I could make a basic plain clam chowder ... AND the pasta ... and then I started craving some couscous.

Couscous. Seriously, if you haven't tried it, it is DA BOMB. So easy to cook, goes with everything, lovely consistency. My half-English auntie made it for dinner once when I stayed with them in England in 2006, otherwise I never would have tried it. She put some chicken and red peppers or sun-dried tomatoes in it, and I wanted to lick the pan. Didn't realize how easy it was to cook. Then I found some at Big Lots, and I was sooooold. It is yummy with mushrooms and shallots and peppery olive oil.

Anyhoo, I THOUGHT an aglio e olio recipe should be easy enough to find online, and then I remembered that I have the best pasta cookbook in the whole world:

I randomly got it a few years ago when I was browsing through Tuesday Morning (that store scares me now) and remember raaaaaaaving about it with the fellow kindergarten teachers ... once of whom is married to an Italian, so I don't know why she thinks she needs this book. I told her I'd get her a copy if I ever ran across one again, but I didn't.

I had only tried one recipe - the linguine/spaghetti alla vongole, and it was stunning. Seriously unbelievable. I did not realize how good easy, basic stuff could taste. My dad had gotten about a pound of fresh clams, I wanted to try a recipe, so I did, and the TECHNIQUE he used is what won me over. Never thought about undercooking pasta before draining it, then finishing cooking the pasta IN the pot WITH the clam broth. It made all the difference in the world!

Also: whee, butter.

I am happy to see that the reviews on Amazon are 5 *s across the board, with 21 reviews, and this blogger wrote about it too, on the other side of the world, and exactly a year ago!

So I referred to the trusty Hazan tome for a basic aglio e olio, the first recipe in the book. I remember reading it over before and not being SUPER impressed, because it looks so easy.

So I basically followed it, though usually I am an eyeballer and cook very informally - never use measuring cups or spoons or whatever, so I guess I cook a al Rachel Ray. I was also feeling very Rachel Ray because I neglected to throw the skins from the garlic and junk into the trash bag, but threw them in my "garbage bowl."

Garbage bowl. Seriously, I saw one of hers at Kohl's a few weeks back, and wanted to vomit. Her bowl LOOKS like it's made out of dried, crusty vomit. I thought it was the stupidest idea ever. And it's like, $20.

Feast your eyes:

I love the comments and reviews at Chowhound, and apparently some people really buy into this. Good gravy!

In terms of saving time, if one has a ridiculously enormous kitchen, I mean, maybe. I use the plastic bags from the grocery store, and always have. Dad taught me that. I have never ever purchased garbage bags, it's a ridiculous idea to buy things to throw away. I suppose it saves me a total of 5 minutes to throw stuff in a bowl instead of stuffing it in the garbage bag. My kitchen ain't big enough to justify that. And pukey salmon mottled plastic??? What was she thinking. I feel nausea just looking at it. I prefer my clear, gold-flecked $1 plastic bowl from Target (long live post-Christmas clearance!).

ANYWAY. I did the pasta, probably put too much olive oil in, but ... it was nice. Oil, and I had some leftover spring onion pasta in the pantry, and I broke out my brand new Oneida chopper since the thought of mincing all that garlic (5 large cloves, baby!) was daunting. It was so fast! But I made sure to rinse everything off right away since I wouldn't want everything all garlicky if that's the first thing I ever chopped.

That was all I had for lunch, I ended up not making any clam anything. Maybe for dinner, if I'm still hungry.

All this to say, I have discovered a truly GREAT kitchen secret with regards to chopping garlic.

I usually prefer to hand-mince it. Cut off the part where it is attached to the bulb (does that have a name??? I'd love to know), slice almond-shaped slivers, baby julienne, then cut across to a very fine mince. It's quite time-consuming. I tried a garlic press once, but maybe it was horrible because it basically just juiced them - maybe I need a sharper-bladed one?? I think I will make use of the chopper from now on, though the garlice gets so fine it sticks to the blades and retracts up into the body of the chopper and some goes to waste. Boo. And my neighbor swears by the jars of pre-minced garlic, but somehow that does not appeal to me.

And my dad always seemed to flatted the garlic before he cooked with it. He'd press on it with the flat of the all-purpose cleaver, just enough to break the skin but not crush the clove to pulp. I've seen this done with the bottom of a can, as well, but usually I use the heel of my hand. But that hurts sometimes.

Well, in the midst of my garlic prep, I realize HOW easy it is to actually peel garlic by just twisting the skin in opposite directions between the fingers.

This is like an epiphany for me. I wonder if/how many other people know this. It's what I'm going to do from now on!

Happy cooking!

Guilty pleasure -

Girlicious! (I might add some links at a later time if I feel up to it. I KNOW y'all know how to google-it. :) )

Man, I love trashy TV. And these girls are horrrrrrriffic. In a way that seriously has me wanting to experiment with some mondo make-up-gun-set-to-"Working-Girl" kinda levels.

This show also made me look up another singer who is not HUGE, but has definitely gotten major airtime ... I is so sorry, but she be seriously harsharoonie on zee eyeballs. I won't say who, but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang. She gots a face made for radio. And I wasn't even that shallow, I thought, but now I notice stuff like that. I would feel less bad about saying all this, Miss Publicized, if she didn't have stupid-arse ridiculous videos (as they ALWAYS do) proposing the laughable concept that she is indeed sooooooooo sek-say and stops traffic. That anvil banging over my head weighs at least a gazillion tons, YO. *gag* She was born in 1989, though. ;)

I think I was "researching" [trolling myspace] and following links and stuff and found a video that someone had done with aforementioned ESTABLISHED singer. I totally could have lived my life just fine not ever having watched that useless business.

Anyhoo, I just want to put this out there well in advance, because my "research" resulted in some interesting findings ...

I predict the final three for Girlicious - right now, I'm predicting it - will be Natalie, Carrie, and Chrystina.

Yeah, I said it. And I know why! "Research." Now let's see if I'm wrong :P.

Update from a Barkeeper

Hi there, folks!

Dang, I'm always bad about posting around this time of year. It is called BURNOUT!

Anyhoo, the reason for the title???

The Long Beach outdoor market at Vets Stadium again.

I went last Sunday and I was feeling all chagrined with my mental vacation self because I forgot my hat at school. I should buy another one and leave it in the car or something. I now find that since I used a hat and sunglasses in my trip in 2004, I feel a bit lost without them.

Then again, since I got my new glasses, I haven't gotten a desperately-needed new pair of sunglasses that will actually fit the frames.

Anyhoo!!

I bought some Pyrex. Of course. Because I am addicted to this stuff. There is one bowl I bought for $10 that is a darker blue, and I actually haven't seen too many of these so I don't know what the deal is. I'll either take a picture or snake one off the internet.

For those of you that love visuals, this was $10 also:

That is definitely not a great price, but I'd never seen it before and thought I would really regret not getting it because it is the shade of blue that I really like. I can always resell it, I suppose. I want to use more of this color in the kitchen. Have a Pyrex-themed/inspired kitchen and stuff.

So! I saw this one space that was nearly all Pyrex, and so tastefully arranged according to color. I chatted a bit with the lady and she was very nice and friendly. Their Pyrex was $25-$35, out of my range, and, in my opinion, out of the order of reason, basically. They had the dots Pyrex also, which apparently is rare and always goes for bigger bucks on eBay. I always love hearing about how to clean Pyrex properly since it's a collectible and I want to keep what I have in the best condition possible.

She mentioned this!

I remember hearing about this, probably when I was looking to remove the dingy rust marks in the white porcelain sink, but I was likely feeling all cheapskatey. Another very, VERY nice man that I met at Ola's Antiques who gave me a rare discount from his booth said he uses Softscrub to clean Pyrex. I saw him at a local estate sale last Friday, also. Just seeing him makes me smile, he is SUCH a nice older guy, retired, who just does this as a hobby. I LOVE NICE UNASSUMING PEOPLE! And he had pink glass, which I love. It was a pink Planter's jar. Hee!

So the lady mentioned that she found this Bar Keepers Friend stuff at Smart and Final for $7 a 3-pack, and I walked to the store up the street and got it this afternoon!

I tried it out on the sink and one rust stain it took out immediately, but the other one was stubborn even after three scrubbings. I think I will try some salt and lemon, because apparently that works.

Whee, we love chemistry. :) I should probably have tried this on my big rusty cheapo Kitchenaid ginsu knife before chucking it in the trash. Hmm.

As for the sink? Man, it does indeed look decidedly better. The friend of the keeper of the bar works wonders! I haven't tried it on Pyrex or my bathroom yet, though. But stuff like this makes me like, love cleaning, no easy task. Mmmm, cleaning. I love cleanliness, but not enough to do it every day, because I think I love laziness a bit more. I can't wait to try it on the bathtub, a household area with mondo scuzzy gross-out factor.

Before I hit Smart and Final, I also walked over to the thrift store up the street, because I've had my eye on some Pyrex plates. It is bagged in a set of 4 dinner plates, 4 salad plates, and 3 saucers. But no cups. :(

Originally? $29.98. Haha. Yeah right. It is now marked $18.98 but that is still too high for me. I have been checking for at least a MONTH to see if it will go down further because I can handle $10. These plates would go so well with my kitchen. They are not impossible to find but they aren't always as cheap as I like.

Basically, I was going to walk out with nothing, but I then spied a little mirrored vanity tray, EXACTLY to match the very, very, very first one I ever bought, which happened to be the very first time I went to the Vets Stadium and oopsy walked in through the back entrance and didn't pay the entrance fee. Heh. There was another vanity tray there, which I didn't like nearly as much since it wasn't as pretty, and it was also marked $5.95 instead of $2.92.

I ended up getting a mug as well, which I'd always seen but couldn't convince myself to buy, except that now it had been marked down to 90¢. It is red and it has a gold decal on it that says VIP! It is shaped like a beer stein and is rawther heavyish. Hee. I also hemmed and hawed and ultimately passed on the GREY glass dessert cups - there were two, and I think they were either $2 or $1 each.

And I just found the picture on eBay!



I love this listing, it's so funny. "Picture show 5, there are 8, other 3 did not make it to the photo session." What, were they held up in traffic or something?

Anyway, I did end up getting 4 adorable, dainty, little dessert cups for 60¢ each because they would make for an absolutely stunning berry/pudding/layered thing.

As I was checking out, one of the Japanese people I'd noticed walking in the store up and said, "You got a good deal!" She was looking at my vanity tray. She had picked up the other one, as well as a swirly candelabra. She asked about the price, since her tray was $5.95, and they called over another chick to see if they should both be the same price, but no go.

I swear, EVERY time I go to Vets Stadium I am seeing more and more Japanese people. I never encountered one in a thrift store before, though. I asked her if she was out here buying old stuff, and how long she was staying, and I recommended Vets Stadium to her, but she was only staying a week and the next one is on the 30th. She didn't seem to interested in hearing my suggestions for other local thrift stores, though. Her loss! She mentioned she's coming again in May, so I don't know WHAT is up with these Japanese people coming over and buying the stuff. They must be rich, firstly, to be all flying over here. Secondly - is it popular over there, coming to buy antiques?? The dollar is so lousy trash now, they may as well.

Speaking of which, I totally noticed a trio of Japanese women scoping out a white-painted foldable dessert tray server when I was at the antique market on Sunday. Jibber and jabber in Japanese, and they ended up not getting it, but one girl seemed to really like it. It was priced $29. I about died.

Because I got two of those at the big local thrift store for $2.95 each. WAZZAAAA!

The mark up I saw on stuff was seriously incredible this time.

There's a wire basket I use in the bathroom to hold extra toilet paper; it's on the toilet tank. I got it at about 30% off at Target, I think, for $6.98. On Sunday, I saw the SAME thing (I love to ask the prices of stuff for which I already know the ballpark price :P), finally found a little handmade tag, and it said "antique iron wire basket - $29.50". What on earth! No way.

It certainly isn't antique, much less vintage, and it's not even nearly as adorable cute as the other bigger one I got at the thrift store for $3.95. THAT one just has class and panache.

Later, I saw a cake stand. TOTALLY not old glass, NOT even that fancy, but it had the basic aura of old time with some glass beading along the edge of the foot and the plate. Made by Anchor/Hocking. $9.99 at Target. I bought it in December. SHE TOLD ME THE PRICE WAS $49, "And I believe it's [insert some random obscure American glassmaker whose name I don't even recognize but it probably starts with an H]."

Yikes, man.

Lesson? You now need to really know your stuff when you go to this market, or you will get totally hosed! :)

Lastly, there was the rag lady. Or, the rag couple. Except, the lady is the one that is really in charge and she basically calls the shots. They are an older Mexican (I think, but I ought not to assume) couple who buys rags, I guess, sorts through them, cleans them very nicely, and she has aprons and napkins and sheets and pillowcases and table runners and other nice linens.

I bought a beautiful redwork-type flat sheet (seriously, it was absolutely COVERED in gorgeous embroidery) for $35 in October or something. I was a bit pissed because the price tag said $25, but I have a feeling she changed it on me after I asked her to hold it for me. I got over it, though, because she charged me less than half on a couple other table runners I got, which were amazing french knots and stuff.

Anyhoo, she mentioned that she had matching pillowcases and I wanted to scream. Turns out she didn't bring them, but she said she would next time.

And I haven't been able to find these people since! They always have the same spot, and I missed a couple markets, but they said they at least hadn't sold them and would look again for them. They may be shams, because the lady said she separates shams since there aren't usually as many of those.

Anyway, the man was very nice, and ended up letting me have one pillowcase for $1 instead of $4 since it was fraying on one seam. It is basically a loss as a pillowcase anyway, but the embroidery is gorgeous and I want to use it on a craft or something.

What was a totally crazy altercation was this pair of women, and the guy/husband they went and got after spying a big crocheted bedspread. The chick with the Brit accent wanted it, they consulted with the guy after asking the price (which they thought was a bit steep), everybody was helping them with measuring, etc., I guess they couldn't agree on the price, and the next thing I know, there's this argument back and forth with talk of being "babied" and calling each other a-hole and whoa!!! Bad vibes, man.

But the man was nice to me since I am nice to him and I think I will keep doing that.

The only bummer in an otherwise lovely lovely day? I missed out on a Blue Willow (total reproduction, but still - I wanted it to match my cups and saucers that I have already!) teapot with sugar bowl. Missed out by 2 minutes. Walked up to the table just as another lady started looking at the teapot. :(

I walked away, hoping she would leave and I could come back, but she was thinking about it too, and finally, when I asked the seller about the prices, then looked at the sugar bowl, she decided to take it. Darn it! It was only $10, the bowl was $5, and they matched. Made in England. :(

But Marshall's and TJMaxx and freaking HOME GOODS are my new fixes for the pretty tea time pottery stuffs. Those will have to do.

Home Goods. Wow. Love that store. TJMaxx got me into the tea stuff (I should have gotten that pink teapot, darn it!! $10, Valentine's line), but now Marshall's and Home Goods are on my radar. I guess they are owned by the same parent company or something.

I DID find the teapot eventually, at Marshall's, on clearance, but it was missing the lid!! I bought it anyway, then regretted it and returned it. And it's still there at the Marshall's where I returned it. But after church the week before, I found the giant cake plate on clearance for $5. Yippee!!

When I checked eBay for the teapot, it was listed $9.99 with $7.40 shipping. Poo. I passed. Then it was relisted for $5.99. And I totally would have bought it, except I forgot to bid and be by the computer when the auction ended, since I was on the phone with my future sister-"in-law". Grr. And then it was relisted for $12.99 Buy It Now. Nooooooo.

I gave a best offer of $5 (hee, lowball), she's counteroffered for $8, and I need to think about it.

Not sure what to do.

Except go and watch Mad TV now!! Yippee.

Oh, yeah -

Happy birthday, Hillary!!!

Dang. We've known each other for over half our lives now. Hee.

I had a very nice time with her and the high school buddies Frick 'n Frack on Saturday!! :P

I think it's very good to get together with old friends on a regular basis. Keeps you grounded.

Here's to a great, monumental, watershed year, Hilby!!

Late night amusements.

Okay, so my sleep is totally off. I also had an unusually busy, albeit uber-social weekend (when I GENERALLY prefer to just SLEEP AND REST), along with the time change ... so I have been feeling wonky since like, 7:30pm. I really really really felt sleep at 9:30. And I just woke up at 1:30am. So, whatever.

I was trolling through eBay (again) for some old vintage stuff that I find very interesting. I AM trying to be more discriminating, since I have some things already, and of course space is an issue.

Anyway, in the last month or so, I have come across some listings that leave me utterly bewildered.

I don't know, I find them so hilarious. It's probably NOT nice of me because it falls into the realm of mockery and making fun of people. But it's not like I'm going to out them or anything. Some people that I encounter just make me wonder WHAT on earth they are REALLY like in real life. Also, I need to say -I HATE SPELLING ERRORS AND GRAMMATICAL INEPTITUDE WITH A FIERY, BURNING, PASSION. I just find them so entirely odious. And then I kind of hate myself a little bit when I see my own mistakes. But other people do it more. :P I swear I am not REALLY a grammar Nazi (half the stuff I do is done on PURPOSE, I SWEAR, because I am speaking in THE DIALECT I CALL TONGUE IN CHEEK), but on the inside, I'd be mighty chuffed if someone DID call me that in earnest. :)

In the end, I realize that people PROBABLY are not doing this on purpose and PROBABLY do the best that they can, but geez, would it hurt to be a little more aware of some of the basics? And spell check!! It's free!!! It's standard!! See, there's no excuse in that regard. "If you don't know, you better HIRE somebody who does, dammit."

Okay, so the first *disturbing* listing I found a couple weeks ago. I actually had it saved to post and hadn't gotten around to it until now. I just needed tonight's inspiration, I guess!!

eBay. I swear it just about does me in sometimes. Did you HEAR about the giant cupcake cookie jars that Target was selling for Valentine's Day for $14.99? Limited availability, VERY limited. Had I known, I'd gotten all 6 that I saw when they first came out.

BECAUSE THEY SOLD ON EBAY FOR $200 EACH, PLUS SHIPPING.

Even IF packing breakables is a pain in the butt ... THE RETURN ON THAT IS JUST INCREDIBLE!!! :( Yeah. Shoulda-woulda-coulda all the way to $1200. Ha.

:)

Are you ready for this???

Verbatim, except for identifying details removed, please - and the red is the junk that I found so strange, yet ultimately amusing. This woman had two similar products listed with similar listings. I took the liberty of replacing the name of the lotion with [THIS STUFF I AM TRYING TO SELL YOU] the name of the gel with [OTHER STUFF I AM TRYING TO SELL YOU].

Exhibit A:
Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the BEST BODY LOTION I have ever used! I use it daily! Its great to moisturize when traveling! I have searched long and hard for that unique body lotion that will absorb quickly and LEAVE NO OILY RESIDUE. This skin moisturizer is it! I absolutely love the smell. Its not strong or overwhelming. Its light scent is as close to the fresh fragrance of oceanside sea air as you can get! I use it on mostly on my extrimities including my arms, legs, hands, and feet, but sometimes when I'm in a rush will apply it to my face. I was always searching for that mystical amazing moisturizer that would replenish and rehydrate my skin, remineralize, calm, smooth, and rejuvenate my skin's surface without an oily residue that stays on for hours. I almost thought there wasn't such the perfect skin cream out there until I discovered [THIS STUFF I AM TRYING TO SELL YOU]. You just have to try [THIS STUFF I AM TRYING TO SELL YOU]. This is the best lotion out there.

I use this body lotion exclusively with my [OTHER STUFF I AM TRYING TO SELL YOU]. Together they make an incredible team. Mostly I use the [other stuff] at home and then this lotion when I go out shopping, dining, sports events, family gatherings, trips, anywhere really. It really absorbs fast, goes on smoothe, and gives my skin that simple shine. I would say I use the [OTHER STUFF] more often for my face and intimate places and the body lotion for my arms, legs, hands, and feet. You really have to try this lotion. The more often you apply the more amazing results!

There you have it. These are my testiments to why you should try [THIS STUFF I AM TRYING TO SELL YOU].

Exhibit B:
Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the BEST [OTHER STUFF] I have ever used! I use it daily! I have searched long and hard for that unique face and body lotion that will apply on smoothly and LEAVE NO OILY RESIDUE. This skin moisturizer is it! I absolutely love the smell. Its not strong or overwhelming. Its light scent is as close to the fresh fragrance of oceanside sea air as you can get! I use it on my face and on my body. On the bottle it doesn't say whether its for face or body, it just says its for skin. I have skin on my face and on my body...so it goes both places. What I have done in the past is use a face lotion for my body. I like doing this because they always seem to make the face lotions and moisturizers better and smoother. I care just as much about my body as I do my face, so I continued with this type of application. I was always searching for that mystical amazing moisturizer that would replenish and rehydrate my skin, remineralize, calm, smooth, and rejuvenate my skin's surface without an oily residue that stays on for hours. I almost thought there wasn't such the perfect skin cream out there until I discovered [OTHER STUFF]. You just have to try this [OTHER STUFF]. Its not a lotion. Its not a cream. Its not a butter. ITS A [OTHER STUFF].

I have classified skin care terminology into these four categories and rank them based upon my own experience and their actual performance.

Lotion: It just hydrates and smells sweet.
Cream: Its smooth, but still oily.
Butter: Its very smooth, hydrates, and soothes, but just isn't a SOUFFLE
SOUFFLE: This is the best of the best. It hydrates, smooths the surface, soothes the tension, remineralizes, AND DOESN'T LEAVE THE RESIDUE.

There you have it. These are my testiments to why you should try [OTHER STUFF].

Le sigh. Can we say hyperbole? Can we say TMI? Whyyyyyyyyy did I need to hearrrrrrrr t hissssssssssssssssssssss.

I don't NEED to hear about your "extrimities" and yer frickin' FEET (honestly, was that mention REALLY necessary???) OR EVEN THE GOSHDARN TENSION-LADEN REMINERALIZED "INTIMATE PLACES"!

Keep your intimates PRIVATE and to your own personal SELF, PLEASE.

*le huff*

At least she's consistent with her general lack of apostrophes, rather than the more commonly seen problem of it's it's it's it's it's ubiquitous frickin' presence everywhere!

Man, I'm getting myself all worked up over there.

Hee.

I will end with this -

Exhibit C:
I read a listing for a neat old photo album of some college students.

Maybe it was a special school.

You decide.

Because apparently, in the photos, "First 12 pages contains teachers and students with their signature below the pictures, I see one Black and Japanese Student the rest appears to be all male."

Gee, I didn't know those labels were mutually exclusive.

Au revoir.

:)

Hey look!

I can clutter up my blog, tooooooooooooooo.

23

I missed 4 out of 26!!

How is that a C. :'(

I Scored a 100%!

YES!!! REDEMPTION!

And then:

306 WATTS Body Battery Calculator - Find Out How Much Electricity Your Body is Producing - Your Body is Producing 306 Watts!
This is 22% MORE wattage than the average person

* You could light up 3 light bulbs
* You could power 77 iPods
* You could power 2 Xbox 360s
* 3 of you would be needed to keep a refrigerator running















And imbeciles. I can't neglect the mentally derelict on this one.

Oh wait! Let's also add STUPID-@$$ DRIVERS, cuz they suck and I must be a MAGNET for them.

Honestly, sincerely, and quite literally, I do indeed hope they die.

Something's wrong with me, on that one, I think. Probably lots is wrong with me. But still.

Is it really that bad to wish for a speedy end to a completely useless, self-absorbed, dangerous megalomaniac in control of a several-ton weapon??

I don't think so.

:(

Whee, *angst*







I would enjoy eating those squids, though.

I SCORED A 81%

83%LUSH

But I'm not, I'm totally not, I'm just smart :(.

63%

Well, shit, what the hell does that even mean.

45% Geek

41%

Gross!!!!! wut da hayle

38%

136,182 People

And Debussy died on my birthday.

67%

The end.

CHEATERPANTS.

I have soooo many posts I am working on but I wanted to throw this one up really quickly.

I found a myspace blog with this link: How many countries can you name in 5 minutes?

Here was my first brain dead result:

66

AND THEN I DECIDED TO CHEAT!! And I turned it into a typing test:

122

Haha, funny.

This site justsayhi.com has a bunch of funny stuff on it that I'm going to go check out now.

But as I was reading over the list of countries I'd forgotten the first time, so I could type them in THE NEW window ... I found myself fascinated by these countries that I'd never even heard of. I mean, I figure Africa probably has the most number of countries on one continent ... so I just looked up countries I didn't know on wiki.

And now, it's official - I have already been to the two smallest countries in Europe: The Vatican City, and Monaco.

And the third? A teeny little encapsulated San Marino.

San Marino. San Marino??? We have a city down here called San Marino!

Anyway, I think it would be cool to go visit it and say I've been to the THREE smallest countries in Europe.

I love finding a randomzoid place on the map and just up and going there.

Kind of like I did with Lithuania. Whoa, that was crazy. I'll post about that eventually.

But honestly, my visit to Lithuania is one of my prouder accomplishments and one of the neatest things I think I've ever done. And it also spawned the absolute most deathly terrifying experience I've ever had - just about as close as I've ever come to feeling like I was GONNA DIE.

And I don't think I'm usually dramatic like that.

Okay, off to poke around and "justsayhi" AND ACTUALLY CLEAN SOME MORE. I washed dishes and cleared the sink this morning. :) And organized the piles that had sprouted in front of the stove and in the corner by the counter.

I have so much to doooooooooooooooooooooo ................