Community Service

New thing today, dealt with someone trying to claim community service as a volunteer, for something that they weren't registered for and didn't really do. I'm not going into the details, but it's some weird shady stuff.

Anyway as head of some volunteers on my off-time for our parish, today I had to deal with weirdness, dishonesty and overall laziness of some people. Sometimes I get a super high from helping the community, and sometimes it's just frustrating to see people who don't try or who have given up in trying to do the right things.

So anyway, going to pray and stay positive, and hope the light we give in this world outshines the dark that is out there. Happy Monday?!

The Godfather novel by Mario Puzo

New thing today, finished The Godfather novel by Mario Puzo. A coworker had given me the book and said it was really good and couldn't put it down. I had it for months, hesitant and not in the mood to read it. I wasn't really interested in a crime mafia drama, and so it sat on the shelf waiting.

In the meantime I've been trying to read a ton of other books and just couldn't get into anything. This week I started the book half-heartedly not in the mood but trying it out since all other books couldn't keep my interest. This book was AWESOME! It was really nice to finally have a book that held my interest. It was an eager page-turner and I finished it in about a week. I even stayed up late a few nights just to keep reading! So nice to come across a book like this.

If you've watched the Godfather movies, this is pretty much it and this book is brilliant. I loved the movies, and I saw the movies playing in my head while reading the book. As a good book does, it elaborates on characters and fills in a ton of interesting details to the story. It paints a deeper and more intricate picture.

I highly recommend this book if you loved the movies. I wasn't in the mood, but this book really reeled me in. Lovely! I just wish I could find another book to read next.

Since this was so good I decided to lookup the next book in eager anticipation to keep reading. Unfortunately The Godfather Returns (an awful title) was written by a different author and published in 2004 after Mario Puzo died. The movies were released before the novel's sequel came out, so that's odd. So I'm overall a little hesitant to read the sequel, as it will most likely be a disappointment. I may borrow the sequel from the library? Eh.

Although this has peaked my interest in the Mafia stories and I will probably be watching The Godfather movies soon, and have added The Sopranos series to my Netfix queue (I have never seen an episode of The Sopranos before).

Church Leadership Meeting

New thing today, attended a church leadership meeting. I'm in charge of one thing at our church, so was invited to a leadership meeting. Basically we discussed the current ministries and goals of the parish, and ways we can improve or grow. Surprisingly it was good. I was a bit nervous being new to the whole thing and really not knowing anyone, but people were lovely and welcoming and overall positive. Enjoyed it.

The Junkyard Cafe

New thing today, 3 more dishes from the Junkyard Cafe in Simi. Chicken Marsala, appetizer sampler and happy hour street tacos. All excellent! Go there! You will eat well :)

Garage Door Broke

New thing today, our garage door broke. We live in a condo complex and we share a garage with our neighbor. Anyway she was using it like normal today when it broke. So she called around and waited all day for HOA's garage door people to fix it. She also took the day off and guarded our stuff that sat in there and covered it up so random people wouldn't come in and steal anything. Really good neighbor.

I came home and she broke down what happened. She also let us know that the garage fixer said he'd be there from 6:30-9pm. The guy showed up maybe 9:45pm and it took him maybe 30-40 minutes to fix the thing.

Anyway all is well. I'm just tired. Best part is, I got to chatting a lot with our neighbor and she is super cool. We gossiped a bit about some other neighbors, talked about our condos and overall just got to know each other. Really random but nice way to get to know your neighbors.

Homemade lettuce wrap

New thing today, made a homemade lettuce wrap. I like the WichWich lettuce wraps, so I decided to try to make one for lunch today. I took a few lettuce leaves from a head of lettuce, put a layer of cheese and deli meat and put some mayonnaise on it as well, then wrapped the whole thing up in wax paper and took it to work. It stayed crisp and turned out pretty good! Fairly easy to eat, and better than a salad! I so prefer this to salads. So new thing and a healthy cool food for the summer :)

The Junkyard Cafe - Simi Valley

New thing today, tried some new dishes at The Junkyard Cafe in Simi Valley. It's become our new favorite place to eat. Delicious food! They have daily specials like paella on Mondays, dollar pizza and tacos during happy hour at the bar, and great atmosphere and service.

These are a few dishes I tried that were absolutely fabulous! Appetizer mussels marinara. It comes with killer focaccia bread. That marinara sauce is incredible! It's a bit spicy and but oh so amazing. Might be one of the best, if not the best marinara sauce I've ever had :)

There's also calamari salad. Very tasty! My mom loved the steamed clams. Very buttery.

Overall the food here is surprisingly high quality. It looks like a divey place, but the dishes are superb! So much variety in the menu and a fun unique vibe to the place. Will keep trying new and different things and posting!

NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour

New thing today, discovered a new podcast which I love - NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour. Of a lot of the podcasts I've been trying out, this group and their topics seem to jive with what I like. I like their random topics, format, commentary and overall have enjoyed all the episodes so far. May add this as a favorite :) Check it out if you haven't already.

Played Tennis

New thing today, played tennis with the husband at a new court.

One first, played tennis with the husband. We've never played together. We've always talked about it but never did. But we did today. It was hilarious. I'm horrible at tennis. The only other time I've ever played is in high school and I was miserable as well. I was terrible again today. It was so awful it was funny and we were laughing a lot throughout the game. Lots of fun and I would do it again. I guess I can only get better.

Another first was we played at new place. I guess anywhere I play would be new. It was a park we always go to in Simi.

Anyway those were the new things today. Who knew being horrible at something would be so much fun :)

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

New thing today, watched Edge of Tomorrow (2014). I liked it! It's like Groundhog Day but action sci-fi and a bit of a love story. It also has some good comedy moments peppered in and the Sisyphus effect feeling of the story.

Bill Paxton has a great role and I enjoyed his scenes. I like Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise in general, so I liked their pairing in this. Their chemistry wasn't overly obvious in the beginning, but you see as time goes on he develops the crush, and for her she's just met him so I think that played really well.

I really liked how the story plays out. It's not cut and dry obvious what they should do, so there's a lot of trial and repeat in the story trying to figure out what to do. I don't want to give away too much if you haven't seen it, but overall it's nice. Pacing was good and it concludes nicely.

The aliens are kind of insane. I always like when the delve into the villain or antagonist, but they didn't go too much into the aliens, just a bit. Overall a good movie. May be on we end up adding to the collection. Not sure? I do like this sci-fi stuff, and this was a good movie! Go out and see it! I'd give it 4/5 stars :)

DGAF

New thing today, learned DGAF. Stands for Don't Give A Fuck. Happy Friday!

Candy Blast Mania - level 33, again....

New thing today, played Candy Blast Mania level 33,... Again. So sad. Oh well. Just need to replay until I hit my previous 200+ level. Good thing I like this game.

New iPhone - Protection Plan

New thing today, got a new iPhone from my Apple Protection Plan. The "off" button on my iPhone wasn't working, and so I took it in to have it looked at. Scheduled a genius appointment (also a first) and they ran a diagnostic to check my iPhone. I also backed up my phone the night before.

Anyway the problem was covered and unfixable so they got me a new phone. Woooo! Thank goodness since I've had scratches all over my phone too. Anyway got a new replacement phone, and had to go home and restore it back to last night's status.

There's one awful thing I noticed, I lost my Candy Blast Mania progress. When I went into the app it started me back at level 1. I was on level 200+... so I'm a little peeved. I have to figure out how to restore it, or play back up to the level I was at.... so sad and frustrating. Ugh. Looking it up on the internet now :( argh!

Kudos to the husband for reinstalling everything and being tech support. I sometimes hate Apple products, but the frustration is from not understanding them the way he does, so ya. Ugh.

Also I need to research some new iPhone cases to see what can avoid all future scratches. I do drop the phone quite a bit, so I need something sturdier and possibly with a cover? We'll see. Blah.

With or Without Glycerine by DJ Tripp

New thing today, heard another great mashup song. With or Without Glycerine by DJ Tripp. Rock and roll! Fabulous :) It really works. Considering I find Glycerine a bit annoying sometimes, this works. I was thinking, you could probably mix in With or Without You into a lot of songs and it would sound pretty good.

CPK - Lite Menu - Cedar Plank Salmon

New thing today, I tried the Cedar Plank Salmon from CPK. It was on the lite menu, so decided to try it. It came with a cedar plank! It was really really beautiful and delicious! Fresh lime, fresh cooked and ever so tasty! I've never liked a lite meal so much before! Beautiful presentation! Felt so refined even though it was CPK takeout. I would gladly get this again and I hope they have this on the menu for a long long time. 

Taking Time Out for Myself

New thing today, took some time out for myself. It was a very tiring and active Saturday, and I started getting a sore throat Saturday night. Today I let myself stay home and take care of things to help me feel better. Usually I do what I'm supposed to do. Today I said F it and I'm going to take care of myself. Felt nice. Felt good. I felt a little guilty, but then if I pushed myself, I think I would have gotten sick. So here's to taking time off for yourself, and letting things slide.

Yogurtland - Toasted Coconut Caramel

New thing today, tried the new Yogurtland flavor - Toasted Coconut Caramel. OMG wow game changer. This was amazing. I am not usually a fan of caramel, but I like coconut so I tried it out. Was amazingly pleasantly surprised! So good! Try it! YeayYogurtland! Plus it's healthy, sweet and tasty! Stay cool!

Shooting Star Mashup by Euan McLachlan

New thing today, heard the Shooting Star Mashup by Euan McLachlan. Pretty cool :) I like how melodic it is. It's long, but it mixes and transitions everything really well. 

Hives

New thing today, we think I have hives! Exciting right? New thing and new diagnosis ever for me. So anyway I've been getting these really itchy random rashes since April. Never had them before and it was really weird since I'm fairly healthy. I tried different moisturizers, soaps and such, and read up on rashes, but couldn't figure out why I was so itchy all of a sudden. Then I scheduled a doctor's appointment and finally had it today.

I had lots and lots of photos of my rashes, and then a small outbreak while in the doctor's office and I showed her and described the symptoms and issues. She thinks they're hives and thankfully the prescription was an antihistamine once a day for a month, to calm the reactions. Then see what I'm like without the antihistamine, and see what it's like in a month? Also just in general it looks like itching makes it worst, so stop itching. Hopefully it would go away.

It's nice to have a doctor so confident in your issue, and to have a new solution to try to fix an old problem. Also it's great to know it's not something worst or scary. Of course, we have to see in a month if it slows the itchiness and extreme reaction, and hopefully all will be well soon. I was worried it was eczema, a gluten allergy, or something more permanent. Hives look temporary!

I joked with my husband that the doctor thought I was allergic to dogs. He didn't think it was very funny! Oh well. At least it isn't shingles or something worst - hopefully.

Cross your fingers and wishing good health to all those out there :) Thank your Doctors as well :)

In defense of Tom Cruise - also New Thing the Nerdist Podcast

New thing today, listened to The Nerdist Podcast for the first time, episode interview with Tom Cruise. I liked the podcast and will listen to other episodes. I also enjoyed hearing the host and Tom joking around and being nerdy about movies. It was a very interesting episode and I recommend it!

The reason I chose the Tom Cruise episode is because, recently I've come to the conclusion that I like Tom Cruise and his movies. I like his performances recently in sci-fi and his overall body of work. He's done very well over the years and most movies he delivers a solid performance.

I want to watch Edge of Tomorrow (2014), I enjoyed Oblivion (2013) and I rarely buy movies, but I  actually own and enjoy watching Minority Report (2002). My husband and I liked him a lot in his performance in Rock of Ages (2012) which is one of our favorites. I saw Jack Reacher (2012) recently and was entertained - it was a descent suspenseful movie which got me to read the book Killing Floor by Lee Child. I enjoyed Knight and Day and wrote about it. This movie did horribly and was pretty awful in a cheeseball way, but it was cheesy/silly/action enough to be entertaining.

Also, have you looked at Tom Cruise's IMDB profile? Holy Smokes. He is a solid actor. You forget all the stuff he was in because he's just Tom Cruise. Sure there are some stinkers in the mix, but unless you're the Golden Goose you're not going to lay golden eggs every time you do something. Give the guy a break?

Also all the chatter about him being crazy, um... he's really not that bad. He jumped on Oprah's couch and was awkward and dumb? So he's a Scientology geek. He got mad at some guy with a water pistol, who wouldn't? Um... have you met Kanye or Kim Kardashian? Can we just step back and compare on the celebrity pop culture scale of... "out there". He hits pretty normal in my book.

Anyway for some reason he had an unpopular decade, and he's on the brink coming back and choosing the sci-fi genre (which I love) and he does a great job on the big screen. Have you seen his performances? Intense and captivating! He does a good job!

So anyway, enough. Overall I'm a fan. I think he does a good job, and I think he gets more criticism than respect.

So the Nerdist podcast confirmed my opinion of the guy. He's just a big movie nerd. He loves movies. He loves acting. He loves learning and trying new things and being an actor. There was one funny moment where they were like "Do you have a home movie theater" and he's like "Ya" and they were like "is it big?" and he was like "oh ya it's big", lol. I mean, come on? Lighten up people.

Of course I don't know the guy. I'm just an ordinary person on a couch or theater that enjoys movies and being entertained. He could be a total dick in real life, or a way nicer guy than you could imagine. How would I ever know, or how could I ever judge another human being accurately? From the little I know, I like the guy in movies. Don't listen to all the hype and judge for yourself. That's a general rule for life anyway.

Watch the movies and his performances. I think he's done pretty damn well for himself and he's done a lot to entertain us in the movies lately. Isn't that his job?

Anyway the podcast episode was good :) They just nerd out over movies, actors, getting started and the creative drive, projects, etc. It was great hearing stories of Tom starting out, celebrity stalking when they started out and just learning his craft. They have good banter and anecdotes over movie making. Listen to it and go see some movies :) Enough reading! Nite.

The Alton Browncast - Andrew Zimmern & Samantha Brown

New thing today, listened to The Alton Browncast for the first time, and listened to 2 episodes - the interviews with Andrew Zimmern and Samantha Brown. This was pretty awesome because they are two of my favorite Travel Channel show hosts! I'm not a huge fan of the Alton Brown personality from the Food Network, but mainly because I don't watch him or pay attention. These podcasts were great so I may start having to pay attention to him. Anyway these were great interviews and it was really interesting to hear about my favorite travel hosts!

I love how Alton Brown wants to ask questions that have never been asked before and the way he engages and interviews people. I may be subscribing to this podcast. Anyway here are some highlights.

Andrew Zimmern - I had no idea he was an addict who struggled, recovered and succeeded. He goes into a bit of his story in this podcast and that really surprised me and made me appreciate him a lot more. I also loved his perspective on life and travel and how he tries to appreciate other cultures through the Bizarre Foods show (also a favorite). Overall a very interesting interview.

Samantha Brown - She has a luggage line! So exciting! I did not know that. I also appreciated her perspective on travel and the way she finds connecting with people and finding her own path and adventure more exciting than "hitting the greatest hits list" when traveling. They talked about getting lost and staying safe and travel preferences, as well as traveling and eating off the beaten path. They're both fun to listen to and also a great interview.

Fun new thing! Learning to travel life in your own style :)

Ted (2012)

New thing today, saw the movie Ted (2012). Husband got it on Netflix. I had completely zero interest in watching it, but I walked in halfway through the movie and got curious. Saw the last half first, then watched the first half of the movie after that to see the backstory.

Overall it was just alright. Mainly silly. Some of the scenes were very nostalgic, picturesque and almost classy, but then you have the shock humor and stupid jokes and it's a pretty funny pairing overall. Some parts were just so stupid but they were funny. Not my favorite movie but not awful either. I think I enjoyed it.

I don't know, but this might be one of those movies that gets funnier over time. I think walking in halfway through the movie was more interesting for some weird reason. A very general but positive review, maybe 6 or 7 out of 10. Not as bad as I thought it would be with some funny surprising moments. So glad we didn't see it in the theater though - waste of a big screen and ticket price. Try it out sometime? Might not be your humor but you might find yourself surprised at what you laugh at or find entertaining.

Happy Monday folks.

Famous Dave's BBQ

New thing today, tried Famous Dave's BBQ. I got a burnt ends Texas sandwich with collard greens and husband got a smoked cheddar brisket burger with fries. All very yum! Also got a blue moon beer and some home cooked warm BBQ chips (only crumbs left in photo). Overall fun ambiance, tasty smokey hot food and a good time. Good service and messy but fun. We will go again and try different foods!

White House Down vs Olympus Has Fallen (2013) Comparison

New thing today, watching and comparing White House Down (2013) vs Olympus Has Fallen (2013).

Every now and then, Hollywood likes to release the same move twice in different tones. Some that come to mind are....

Friends with Benefits & No Strings Attached (2011)
The Prestige & The Illusionist (2006)
Armageddon & Deep Impact (1998)

I'm sure there are more, but those are just a few examples. Anyway I would like to compare the two that came out just last year. We finally saw them via Netflix and here is what I think - some spoilers ahead.

White House Down is overall the more audience friendly, fun loving action adventure type movie. Channing plays a less serious character who has a daughter who is into politics, takes her into the White House on the inauspicious day that they hijack the place and president. He ends up saving the day and all, and there are some funny parts and action and suspense.

Olympus Has Fallen is far darker with a more serious tone. It takes itself quite seriously which I disliked. Even the mood, characters, scenes and shots overall are darker in look and tone. Gerard Butler is more serious and intense. There aren't any real funny/light scenes, and even the action is bloody, gory and painful. I suppose it's also due to the director Antoine Fuqua, but ya, wasn't really liking this that much. Oh there's also this opening scene where Gerard Butler doesn't save the President's wife, so there's this whole redemption thing with him that he's going through, but it's all a little too serious and such. Even the traitor's lines about why he hijacked the President and the main villain's motives were overdramatic and a little weak. The whole thing was unappealing to me.

Remember, I also like silly action adventure stuff like Battleship and Pacific Rim, as well as the Die Hard series and guilty pleasures like Under Siege, so take my critique with that taste palate in mind (I just learned how to spell that properly). I prefer White House Down. Overall it's just more light, fun and romping good terrorists hijack the White House and the good guys beat them and win. We find the bad guy, survive and get em. And there are some cheesy fun scenes where a kid and a White House tour guide get to be heroes for a second. I also looked into the director Roland Emmerich and found I preferred his other movies as well overall.

Also, come on! The titles are pretty much exactly the same as well.

White House Down (another word for "Fallen")
Olympus (code name for White House) Has Fallen (another word for "down")

I suppose that's the standard for these similar movies.

Anyway it was interesting comparing the two. I might do that with future movies.

Back to December/Apologize/You're Not Sorry - Taylor Swift

New thing today, heard a new song that I really liked. It's Taylor Swift's mashup - Back to December/Apologize/You're Not Sorry from her World Tour Live CD-DVD. I heard it on Pandora and liked it. So it wasn't really new, but I liked the surprise at the end - mixing in and mashing-up of "Apologize" which went really well with the Back to December lyrics :) Anyway here's a YouTube video of the song and a pic of when it popped up on my Pandora.

Baja Fresh Kids Meal

New thing today, got a Baja Fresh Kids meal - bean and cheese burrito, juice, applesauce and rice. Pretty good. Small. Fewer calories. Felt like a kid - in a good way. Nothing like a 30 year old drinking from a juice box and having applesauce. Oh ya.

Go Kings Go!

New thing today, saw the Kings win the first game in the Finals! Go Kings Go!

Rainbow Trout on the Cast Iron Griddle

New thing today, made rainbow trout on the cast iron griddle. A coworker had fished and had extra trout so wanted to see if I wanted some. I said sure and he delivered! He asked if I wanted him to clean and gut the fish first. Thank God he asked and offered because I have no idea how to do that.

Anyway the first photo is the fish he gave me - in the bag, gutted and sort of gross and slimy eely feeling. Even just holding them in the bag felt sorta gross. Then I rinsed them more and ewwwww the eely slimy feeling again, but shock wore off and it was ok.

Next I put salt & pepper on the outside and lemon slices on the inside with some squeezed lemon on the trout.

I lined our griddle with foil & oil, heated it up, then put the fish on. Guesstimated cooking time - maybe 8-12 minutes on each side.

The meat was cooked and tasted tender and good. Also more lemon flavor than salt (I like salt) but it was quite good! Tasted fresh!

Then I skinned the thing and crisp cooked the skin with lots o salt and munched it - yum. Filipino roots showing. Also I decided to just take out the bone and head and just refrigerate the fish meat leftovers.

Overall a successful first! This is not the first fresh rainbow trout I've had, but it was the first time I ever cooked it, and over the cast iron griddle too. Very wild and exciting. Adventure!

Bear in Alaska

New thing today, saw a bear in Alaska. It's Monday, my first day back from vacation, and I couldn't bear it, so I thought I'd share this new thing today.

We were in Skagway Alaska on the White Pass Yukon Trail railroad up the mountain last Monday (a much better Monday). Anyway this was also a new thing and I highly highly recommend the train ride if you're ever in the area. Anyway, apparently bears like to eat and get high off the dandelions, so we saw this one hanging out by the railroad tracks. It wasn't scared of the train and just stayed out of the way. I managed this photo!

Happy Monday. A picture from a much more exciting, fun and relaxing Monday.

Paper Monster Calendar - June

New thing of the day, June's paper monster - a dragon! Nuff said.

Trader Joe's Dinner's Done - 4 recipes

New thing today, tried 4 new recipes from the Trader Joe's Dinner's Done cookbook.

Coconut rice - easy but couldn't taste the coconut in the rice. Oh well?

Crab on Cucumber Boats - ok. We didn't have dill so I taste tested and improvised with rosemary. Not bad. Not great either, but it's an interesting appetizer.

Figs with Goat Cheese - yum, easy and a new favorite. I think I might like goat cheese. A great snack and dessert.

Cucumber soup - eh. Leans to eh gross but overall it's healthy, refreshing and different. Plus nicer in this summer heat.

Overall I think the cruise opened my eyes to new different foods and taught me to be more adventurous. I also think I'm going to eat smaller interesting meals more often, and I'm definitely going more exotic and risky with food. Adventure! I think my health also appreciated this new slant to my eating/cooking.