2009 Christmas Menu

I've finalized the Christmas menu for this year. Click on the links for recipes.

Aromatic Christmas Ham
Sweet Potato Casserole
Garlic Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Hazelnuts
Chestnut Chocolate Pots

Check back here for updated posts on progress.

Bon Appétit!!!

Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn...

So I'm quite excited about my first Christmas with Chris. In lieu of actual family plans on Christmas Day, we get to spend the day together and I am damn sure going to make it the best day ever.

Aiding me in that endeavor will be Nigella Lawson and her fabulous cookbook, Nigella Christmas.

I haven't quite pinned down the sides for our fabulous Christmas meal, but the centerpiece will be the Aromatic Christmas Ham. It will be the first ham I've ever prepared and I'm getting pretty stoked about it. I can't decide if cooking it or eating it will be better.

Ever absent, ever near

I seriously have to be one of the worst bloggers on Earth. I'm like a bad boyfriend. I always leave you hanging. Alas, my life has been quite busy as of late. The past months have been a whirlwind of activity with numerous trips and weddings. When I last left you, it was the beginning of October. I was about to embark on the old annual camping trip, promising an update. Yeah, I didn't do that. Minus one point for me. (Yes, just one point. It's my blog, and hence, I am the overseer of the point system).

Anyways, even though the camping trip went really well despite how frigid it was and I would really love to tell you about it, I'm not really one for living in the past. I'm actually quite excited about the future now. It's almost the end of the year and there are all these LISTS to create and review. I love lists. They give life a sense of order in a world of chaos.

And, naturally, since it's the end of the year, I'm thinking about how I want to make 2010 better.

The year of '09 was quite successful in that I landed a swell guy and cut a handful of poisonous ones from my life. Quite easier said than done, but the result has been pure bliss and a refreshed outlook on love and life that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise. So, that brings me to resolution number one, which is more of a continuance from last year's accomplishment: Only include people in my life that deserve to be there, who make me a better person, and who love me as much as I love them.

And while I'm on the track of only including people in my life that are good for me, I should probably consider expanding that idea to encompass only including THINGS in my life that are good for me. Read: healthy food and exercise.

Being in a relationship certainly can wreak havoc on your BMI, especially if the only contents of your loved one's fridge includes soda, beer, meat and cheese and their standard dinner consists of "freezer treats." I'm a foodie by nature and I come from a family of eaters. My mom is a cook, so of course I like to take a stab (ha) at preparing delicacies in the kitchen. Whoever said good food is made with lots of love and lots of butter wasn't kidding. But, if I want to live to see age 30, I might as well get back to my old ways of eating healthy, organic, mostly meat-free fare and hitting the gym a couple of times a week.

So ... so long, Coca-Cola, brownies and the convenience store in the downstairs lobby. It's been real. I'll miss you guys, but you're not really doing anything for me. It's not me, it's you. Let's just make this a clean break. Really, I'm better off.

Love, Brandy

I'm a Non-Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!!

Some of you may remember my earlier post about the possibility that my boyfriend would drag me into the wilderness at some point in our relationship. Well, the time has arrived. This weekend, I will be heading into Arkansas to attend Chris' annual family camping trip.

Enough with the jeers. I realize that the thought of me camping might be a bit comical. Yes, I realize that I once took approximately seven outfits on a camping trip just to be sure I had plenty of options. I also realize I was only nine. I also realize this might have been the last camping trip I have been on.

But, I was a regular camper at Camp Pin Oak (at least three summers in a row) and I'm pretty sure that if my much younger self can handle nature, the older, wiser version of me can hack it.

Do I feel bad that I have to Google a list of items to take on a camping trip? No. Am I embarrassed that it hadn't even occurred to me to take a flashlight? Slightly. Do I plan on kicking this camping trip's ass? Absolutely. I've already got major plans for our sleeping arrangements in the tent, which include foam mattress pad, 600 thread count sheets, and a down comforter.

Obsession of the moment

I am on-the-edge-of-my-seat excited for The September Issue, a documentary following Vogue editor Anna Wintour and her staff as they put together the September 2007 issue, which is generally lauded as "The Bible" of fashion. Why am I so fascinated and excited for this film to come to St. Louis? Well, I am minorly in awe of Anna Wintour and how she runs her magazine. As a person, she fascinates me ... probably because she's never really let that many people know much about her. She's famous for being a total ice queen and from the preview, she sort of lives up to that reputation. But seriously -- if you had to sit through interviews where people asked you straight to your face if you were a bitch, you'd probably be a tad icy too.

I have a lot of respect for her as a professional woman. She demands a lot of attention and respect in her career which -- let's be honest -- is what we all want. And, even though she has about a million critics and probably has about a million ideas about what defines beauty that are completely opposite my own, you have to credit her for being able to handle it all with complete and total poise.

But what I'm really hoping to get out of this movie is a one-time-chance to see her crack the Botox and smile or laugh a little. Or, on second thought, it might be more fun to see her make someone cry.

Verano en fotografia

Just call me Brandy Van Winkle

Yeah yeah, I know. It's been a while. I've been neglectful. Certainly not because I don't love you ... whoever you are. I do. Really ... I just needed some time to myself. It's not you, it's me.

Now that that awkward moment has passed, let's move on, shall we?

I've recently become inspired to start writing again. I'm not entirely sure I'm the most enthralling subject matter, but as I have no other ideas at present time, it will have to do.

What the hell have I been up to? Oh, loads. I can't write it all in this blog post. You'll die of boredom, but I sure can sum it up in a handy dandy top ten list of things I've done since my last post:

10. You see that beautiful, sad little puppy below? I no longer belong to her. She had to find a new family - one that could be home enough to prevent her extreme separation anxiety. I mean, I know I'm cool, Mills, but I'm not THAT cool. It was a hard breakup, but we had to make it happen. On a brighter note, Holly Golightly (queen bee/Persian cat of Barker Manor) is elated that she has the whole nest to herself again.

9. I saw a baby being born. Live. Yep. 'Nuff said. I will say that all you mommies out there are effing troopers and I salute you. Seriously. Especially my cousin. I think the hardest part was trying not to laugh out loud when she told the nurse she could go fuck herself. It was a special moment.

8. I've successfully started reading for pleasure again. I've plundered my way through four books in the past two weeks and I have no inclination to slow down. I bought 10 books from Hastings courtesy of a gift card from my dad and some family friends and I'm making those books my bitch.

7. Attended my high school reunion. A decade later, I managed to attend an event that I was totally dreading and ended up really enjoying. Findings: Some people really do change for the better. Some people blissfully stay just the same. And some people you can probably stand to delete off your Facebook.

6. Successfully fooled some good friends of Chris' into thinking we were actually married. And I didn't even try. Apparently, it was the constant picking on each other that gave them that idea.

5. Attended a wedding at Starbucks. Yup. It was as awesome as it sounds. Awesome wedding, awesome couple, awesome coffee.

4. Lost an evil stepmother. She and Lady Tremaine should get together, have drinks, and swap stories.

3. Paid off my car. This requires no explanation, but I certainly will accept your congratulations.

2. Attended the bachelorette party of one of my oldest and dearest friends and didn't have to introduce Pedialyte into the equation. I consider this to be a shining moment in my adulthood. I know when to say when.

1. Turned 28. That's two years away from 30. This gets a person to thinking about what they want out of life and how they want to continue living it. There are certainly some adjustments I want to make. There are things I'd like to continue doing and things I'd like to start doing. But that's all for another post.

Puppy Love

Introducing the newest member of the Barker family — Millie! Millie is a 2-year-old Basset Hound, full of energy with the cutest puppy dog eyes you've ever seen. Her interests include eating dog treats, sniffing anyone and anything, going for long walks, playing with other pups, tormenting the cat, and occassionally peeing on the floor. She loves a good bath and having her belly rubbed and she fancies herself a lap dog. Welcome, Millie. My carefree mornings of sleeping in are over. And somehow, I think you'll be totally worth it.

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Weather

The weather here is crap. Sometimes I really hate living in Missouri, which is the meeting place for all climates and weather conditions. (Insert opportunity for east coast relatives to throw out very persuasive arguments for relocation). It's April 14 - we're well into Spring by now, and I still feel like I need a coat and boots. I'm ready for sunshine and daisies. In the meantime, I'll settle for the daisies on my desk. Who says a gal can't give herself flowers?

Yowza

I'm sorry, but this woman is stunning. Just ... stunning. She fascinates me and I love that even though she's technically a stripper, she's known for her oustanding personal style. Tip of the tilt hat to you, Dita Von Teese.

Photo source

Best or Worst Idea Ever

Today is my assistant's birthday. People in our practice group have birthdays pretty frequently. With birthdays come birthday treats: sinful, little cupcakes, brownies, pastries, doughnuts and the like.

Usually, the birthday treats are hidden from view in our service center. I drink a lot of tea which unfortunately requires me to visit said service center at least every couple of hours. But no, not today. Today, the treats are delightfully situated on a cute little round table that happens to be in complete view of my office. That's right, each time I turn my head to the right, I see these mean little temptations. But what makes it so incredibly tough is that some GENIUS/SADIST has decided to take two of my favorite things — brownies and Snickers — and put them together in one little square. I had one. It was the best thing I've ever experienced. That said, it makes me want to ring their neck. And then give them a big hug. It's a weird dichotomy.

Perhaps I'll have to do Jillian's 30 Day Shred twice tonight. That is, if I can fit through the door. Thank you, Brownie Lady.

Greatest photo ever

Roughing it: A conflict of interests?

My boyfriend is an Eagle Scout. He likes to get dirty and make things with his hands. I can tell the closer we get to warm weather, the more excited he gets at the prospect of being out in nature. This weekend, he looked at me and asked me if I was capable of "roughing it." I ceremoniously told him it depended on what his definition of "roughing it" was. This conversation also led to a subsequent conversation with my pal Charles, who probably shares/understands my love for the comforts of modern society more than most:

Me: Camping. Chris wants to camp this summer. Probably a lot. He’s worried I’ll girl out on him. I want to be the Bree Van de Kamp of camping. Effortlessly striking, yet totally capable. He keeps asking me if I know how to “rough it.” That makes me nervous.

Charles: I fucking hate camping more than almost anything. If I wanted to sleep in the woods and eat cold food and dig my own hole to crap in I would just move back to JC! Tell him to have fun and go to the spa with me instead.

While at one point in my life (age 7 and under?), I probably would have gotten dirty with the best of them, I begrudgingly admit that it's possible I've become somewhat of a priss. I've always had an interesting duality: effortlessly balancing equal parts priss and tomboy. When I was 4, you could regularly spot me wearing a pink frilly dress with a sensible hiking boot. I hope this duality has carried over into my adult years. Right now, the priss seems to be stomping the tomboy down with her shiny patent leather stiletto.

I'm sure the sequel to this post will appear a few months from now, either telling you that Charles was right and I should have gone to the spa or that I surprised the hell out of Chris and held my own against the elements. Or, perhaps I could persuade Chris to go Glamping. After all, aren't relationships about compromise?

You can never be too careful

After and reading the article below, accessed on KSDK's Web site, I can firmly say I'm considering getting a weave of my own, especially since the ex-whatevers continue to call. You can never be too careful. Thoughts?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Other than having a bit of a headache, a Kansas City woman is uninjured after a bullet fired at her ended up tangled in her hair weave.

Police said the 20-year-old woman was in a convenience store parking lot late Wednesday when a man flagged her down and told her that her ex-boyfriend still loved her. She replied, "Well I dont love him," then heard gunshots.

She said she looked behind the vehicle and saw her ex-boyfriend firing a handgun at her. She stomped her accelerator and fled, then turned into another parking lot and called police. She told officers she recently had ended an eight-month relationship with the suspect.

Police arrested the ex-boyfriend and his friend in a car.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Associated Press

Disgruntled employee

Piece of advice: Never come between a stressed out employee and their morning coffee...

Out of the woodwork ...

So, I've been quite amused of late about a little known (or maybe not so little known) phenomenon whereby when you finally fall into a relationship that fits, ex-boyfriends, lovers, heartbreakers, etc. decide all of a sudden that after months/years of non-contact, they want to "reconnect." WTF?

My friend Ellen thinks there have been actual scientific studies conducted on this oddity. I guess it just proves the theory that people always want what they can't have.

So I suppose I can take this opportunity to let the cat out of the bag for anyone who didn't already know. Yes, I am in a relationship. I know. Me. I've fallen into monogamy and I couldn't be happier.

You know how people always say that when you stop looking it will just kind of happen unexpectedly? Well, several months back, after a slew (read: about 5 years) of undesireable dating experiences, I said — "Fuck this. I'm done." I proactively gave up dating for at least 4 months, deciding instead to focus more heavily on work and nurting relationships with my friends (and occassionally also nurturing a bottle of champagne Charles would bring over for Champagne Thursdays ... but I digress).

Well, right before Christmas, an old friend popped back into town and I insisted we meet for drinks. He brought another friend of ours with him — someone I hadn't seen or spoken to in five years — for no other reason than I graduated college and moved away. Well, long story short, something clicked that night, we started dating, and now Chris and I are in a very happy, warm, fuzzy place.

It's sort of amazing that we've known each other for so long and are only now just realizing what a great fit we are for each other. In many ways, I'm his complete opposite. He's completely left brained and I'm ruled by the right brain. He likes computers. I like using the computer to make pretty things. He likes math. I like words. He's blonde. I'm brunette. He has light green eyes. I have dark brown eyes. But, we both enjoy a heavy dose of sarcasm and a good debate. (That should keep things interesting). He makes me smile on a regular basis and I feel great when I'm with him. It's a nice change. I think I'll stick with it.

So, all you exes/heartbreakers out there ... move it along. You can't compare so don't even try.

The Superbowl is the Valentine's Day of Football

This makes me want to institute a quote of the day. This might be the only quote of the day I ever have, but it's still worth posting. I laughed so hard I almost snorted. Today's quote comes from our friend Charles, who shared his musings on Superbowl Sunday ... which I equate as the Valentine's Day of football. It's the one day where people feel they are expected to act like they care about football.


"If I wanted to watch a bunch of bitches in big shoulder pads and tight pants roll around in the grass I would just watch Dynasty reruns."

Like mother, like daughter??

I just found this photo. Perhaps this gives a little insight into how I developed my quirky personality. My mother...dressed as Elvis with a blow-up electric guitar. God, she's awesome!

To the people who were in the bathroom before me, let's review...

OK, I see this all the time and NO WONDER people around my office get sick as often as they do. It makes me wanna barf a little bit when I see people who think that running their hands under the water for 5 seconds equates to washing their hands. If you've never seen the poster — DIRTY HANDS SPREAD DISEASE.

Maybe I'm overreacting a bit, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves. Do you really think I want your poo germs anywhere near me? My cousin will even go as far to tell people who haven't washed their hands to do so before they exit the bathroom. Good. You should be called out if you think you're above soap.

But for now, as a courtesy of both myself for posting it on this blog, and of the Mayo Clinic for being so wise to post it on their Web site, a tutorial on the proper way to wash your hands.

Proper hand-washing techniques
Good hand-washing techniques include washing your
hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Antimicrobial wipes or towelettes are just as effective as soap and water in
cleaning your hands but aren't as good as alcohol-based sanitizers.

Antibacterial soaps have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, these soaps are no more effective at killing germs than is regular soap. Using antibacterial soaps may lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the products' antimicrobial agents — making it even harder to kill these germs in the future. In general, regular soap is fine.

The combination of scrubbing your hands with soap — antibacterial or not — and
rinsing them with water loosens and removes bacteria from your hands.

Proper hand washing with soap and water Follow these instructions for washing with soap and water:

Wet your hands with warm, running water and apply liquid soap or use clean bar soap. Lather well.
Rub your hands vigorously together for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
Scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
Rinse well.
Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel.
Use a towel to turn off the faucet.

When should you wash your hands? Although it's impossible to keep your bare hands germ-free, there are times when it's critical to wash your hands to limit the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other microbes.

Always wash your hands:

After using the toilet
After changing a diaper — wash the diaper-wearer's hands, too
After touching animals or animal waste
Before and after preparing food, especially before and immediately after handling raw meat, poultry or fish
Before eating
After blowing your nose
After coughing or sneezing
into your hands
Before and after treating wounds or cuts
Before and
after touching a sick or injured person
After handling garbage
Before
inserting or removing contact lenses
When using public restrooms, such as those in airports, train stations, bus stations
and restaurants

I know it's hard, but let's all try to remember the simple principles we learned pre-kindergarten and spend an extra 20 seconds scrubbing the plague off your hands. My immune system thanks you.

The truth is as bitter as the cold

At least some person in St. Louis figured out a good use for the space in Ballpark Village. And, killing two birds with one stone, found a way to make the most of the snow.





I'm not sure to credit for the photos. All I can say is I love you.