Category Archives: Personal

Three Years Later…

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the evening of the 28th of December and I was still in the Chicago office. I texted my mom to see if she wanted me to be at my grandparents’ apartment.

Mom suggested that I go home (my own apartment at the time) since it was snow hard out and the roads were slick. So I did what I was told.

My phone was on silent and I went to sleep, but something woke me up and just before midnight I noticed I missed a few calls from mom and her text message

He’s gone.

A relief actually. After a slow decline over the course of two years he finally found rest.

Only a few days prior my mom and I were half joking about when my grandfather would pass away. She said:

I begged him to avoid the 24, 25, 27, 31, and 1st.

In case you were wondering my parents’ anniversary is the 27th of December.

So he passed the evening of the 28th… a little after 11:00 pm. Granted his death certificate says 1:00 am on the 29th of December, but that was when the funeral home picked up his body and the death certificate was official.

My uncle and I drove to my grandparents’ apartment the moment we were awake and able (meaning around midnight), and we stayed until my grandfather’s body was taken away.

Why wasn’t I there when he passed? As it turns out, my grandfather wrote a letter years prior with the people he wanted to be there when he passed: his wife (my grandmother) and my mom. And hindsight being as it is… I understand why, doesn’t mean I have to like it…

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Fleeting: WDI’s Colby Awards (Pre-Thoughts)

While cleaning the apartment and prepping for tonight’s Colby Awards (an annual awards ceremony at Wheaton Drama aka WDI that honors parties that work backstage) I started thinking about my time with WDI in general.

Ever since I had the privilege to be cast in WDI’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels back in May of 2012… I haven’t been able to leave the group since.

A self-proclaimed “floater” wherein I join a theatre group, partake in a couple of shows then disappear to the next group, Wheaton Drama was the first that provided an opportunity that I never had in the past: to work in stage management backstage.

After Dirty Rotten Scoundrels it was agreed that for the next musical (in this case The Sound of Music later that year) I would help as ASM and learn the ropes as it were. The original intent being that I learn as much as possible and I could rotate with the other SMs for the musicals so I could still audition for shows around the Chicagoland area and suburbs. I wanted to have the flexibility of not only being onstage but backstage as well as my work schedule dictates.

Before Dirty Rotten Scoundrels I was lucky enough to be in productions and to have had opportunities to interact with various parties to build confidence and joy in being onstage… and although I loved it (for it was a kind of escape from everything else) I knew a balance between the two parts of me was completed me.

However, as the story goes, an ex-bf was cast in The Sound of Music that forced me to beg out of the production for my own sanity and I had to wait until the next production came along before I could be ASM (in this case WDI’s Into the Woods.
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Fleeting: Eating Words

So who remembers this post from over three years ago? You know the one… the one where I was “closing the door” and “leaving” community theatre because I felt dead inside and there simply wasn’t any joy in it for me? Where theatre was more of a parasite rather than something that I can truly enjoy and want to be a part of?

You remember that post…

And here I am eating my words in ways I did not expect.
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Fleeting: Pre-JoCoCruise from Chicago to San Diego

Typically I have very little issues traveling, a hiccup once in a while, but today started off on not necessarily the “wrong foot” as much as just… off.

Let’s start with the work portion of the day:

Work was semi-normal, woke up early to triple check my luggage and headed to the local office (why would I drive to the Chicago office on a day like this?) relatively early… I was behind and being prepared for the trip, but had caught up beautifully. The only major item was that I was suppose to have a monthly forecast financial meeting with the cost engineer at work… except that didn’t happen.

That should have been my first hint that things weren’t going to be smooth.
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Kitchemprovise: Alcoholic Butterbeer Ice Cream (Round One)

13346336_10102440433962899_3116114454674751185_oAll shall be revealed in time…

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butterscotch schnapps
1/3 cup sugar (or honey powder)
1/2 butterscotch (I use whichever butterscotch recipe I have recently made)
dash of salt

Mix all of the above well… Pour into an ice cream machine and let it churn! The consistency is a bit more liquidy than normal. Wait approximately a half hour to and hour (depending on how churned you want your ice cream to be). Pour into an airtight container and store in a freezer overnight. Ready to eat!

Kitchemprovise: Apple-Flavored Butterscotch Sauce

applebutterscotchJust preparing some butterscotch sauce for another dish, but since I am adapting from another recipe I figured I’ll post what I actually used here.

1 cup of light brown sugar
2 TBSP rum

Put the above into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue boiling while stirring often for 2 / 3 minutes.

Remove from heat & stir in:

5 TBSP butter
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1/4 tbsp salt
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 TBSP rum

Stir until smooth; turn up heat until mixture boils. Continue stirring for 1 minute; turn off heat.

Pour butterscotch sauce into airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

Voila!

Kitchemprovise: Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

Ugh Ugh Ugh.

I really wanted to create a spectacular dessert to emulate the film “Inside Out” and I thought creating a chocolate bomb would have been the perfect solution.

If you don’t know what a “chocolate bomb” is, I highly recommend watching this video and then come back to the site…

Have you watched it yet?

Good.

So in a perfect world I would have created the mini-blueberry cheesecake to be inside the chocolate bomb, and then with hot chocolate syrup people could pour onto the chocolate sphere, melt it to gain the treat inside. Ideally by creating a “chocolate bomb” dessert to emulate “Inside Out” there would be multiple ways to break into the chocolate sphere:
– Anger: Using an eating utensil and cracking the sphere open
– Joy: Using the hot chocolate syrup and pouring over the top of the sphere
– Disgust: Simple removing the sphere rather than melting / destroying it
– Fear: Not eating the sphere at all and just grab one of the extra mini-cheesecakes

Perfect right?

Nope. Not. At. All.

Could not find (granted this was rather last minute) a sphere mold that I could use that was large enough for what I wanted to do.

So what did I do?

I decided that I was going to move forward in creating the mini-blueberry cheesecakes and instead of the “chocolate bomb” idea, I would dip the cheesecakes in various colors of candy melt and have sphere-ish globs instead…
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Recipe: Double Chocolate Chip Raspberry Merlot Ice Cream

Yes, a mouthful and a mouthful of yum if my friends are to be believed… so how did I come up with this concoction?

Well…

3 cups heavy cream
1 cup of your favorite merlot
1 cup of sugar (or honey powder)
1 cup of fresh raspberries
1/2 bag of chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Fairly simple ingredients… and the instructions not that difficult either:
1. Soak the raspberries in the merlot overnight in the fridge
2. puree the merlot / raspberries
3. strain the puree mix to remove the seeds
4. add heavy cream and sugar and mix
5. pour the mix into the ice cream churner / machine for a half hour or until preferred consistency
6. when ice cream is churned then either pack into container and place in freezer or start eating!
7. enjoy!

Fleeting: Foodie Blogs

Over the past year I have been trying out recipes and stretching my cooking and baking wings. Some of these recipes have been posted and any variations have also been posted. However, some of my inspiration have come from other food / recipe blogs that I keep up with over the years.

SWEETS, SWEETS and MORE SWEETS

CONFESSIONS OF A COOKBOOK QUEEN

I’m a prime example that even the most imperfect people can create fabulous things in the kitchen.

I have no formal training, other than some cake decorating classes I took a few years back at Michaels craft store. I do some cake and cookie decorating from my home, and I feature those projects from time to time. Mainly though, I just want to present good recipes in a very approachable way.

THE COLLEGIATE BAKER

I’ve been baking and writing this blog for about a year-and-a-half, but I still consider myself an amateur baker and definitely an amateur photographer. I do a lot of experimenting and baking for fun. I’ve learned a lot since I started, though, and I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my baking and blog posts. Hopefully I’ll continue down this path and I hope you enjoy reading about it!

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Fleeting: Do Disney Villains Kill?

Don’t ask me where this question came from, I suppose it was one of those lingering thoughts that stemmed from a photo:
Comic-Con Disney Villains

Which then inspired a Facebook conversation where someone mentioned that the the hunter in front was the most evil because he was the one that killed Bambi’s mother…

Then a few years later a separate conversation between friends as to which villains have actually killed… which then inspired this post.

So that begs the question…

Which of Disney Villains Kill?
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Recipe: Butterscotch Schnapps Ice Cream

Earlier in the summer, I decided to clear out my alcohol stores… since I was already running low on the Butterscotch Schnapps, I figured it was time to clear that out. Which I did, and the below recipe was just a quick idea I put together and it turns out that people enjoyed it…

So here you go!

Butterscotch Schnapps Ice Cream
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Fleeting: Preferred Reads

BOOK SERIES
The Pink Carnation Series by Lauren Willig
I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this series, perhaps it was my research with the history of early-19th century England that led me to this world… a kind of extension of the world established by the play “The Scarlet Pimpernel”. Historical romance (of the non-bodice ripping type) at the core, this series aligns fairly closely to historical events that indeed did happen although adjusted here and there for dramatic effect.

The summary of the first book of the series is as such:

Nothing ever goes right for Eloise. The day she wears her new suede boots, it rains. When the subway stops short, she’s the one thrown into some stranger’s lap. And she’s had her share of misfortune in the way of love. So, after deciding that romantic heroes must be a thing of the past, Eloise is ready for a fresh start.

Setting off for England, Eloise is determined to finish her dissertation on two spies, the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian. But what she discovers is something historians have missed: the secret history of the Pink Carnation-the most elusive spy of all time. As she works to unmask this obscure spy, Eloise has more and more questions. Like, how did the Pink Carnation save England from Napoleon? What became of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian? And will Eloise Kelly escape her bad luck and find a living, breathing hero of her own?

When reading this series there was a distinct sensation that this particular series (of twelve books total) could be separated into three groups:

  • Group 1: Books One thru Four – Wherein the characters and the environment is established creating a foundation for the remainder of the series while providing strong storylines for the characters.
  • Group 2: Books Five thru Nine – The action moves away from England / Ireland and shifts towards other locales, predominantly in France and India.
  • Group 3: Books Ten thru Twelve – Storylines move back to England and loose ends are tied up.

What really drives this series to me is that despite the natural romantic notion of the stories there is still so much more going on beyond the romance that I can’t help but be drawn in. Plus the author makes a point of adding reference notes so that one could read up on the historical texts that she uses when writing her stories, providing insight on why she moved historical events around for dramatic effect or how certain historical events worked in the storyline as a whole.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J R Ward
When I needed a new book series to sink my teeth into, trust a friend of mine to come forward with a couple of series to try out. Best described as a paranormal romance series, this deals with a hidden vampire society set to the backdrop of Caldwell, New York. The first six books of the series focus on The Brothers, a group of six male vampires whose purpose is to protect their vampire society from their enemies and humans.

From the glossary of the Black Dagger Brotherhood website:

Highly-trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of the other classes except when they need to feed. They are the subject of legend and the object of reverence within the vampire world.

For more information about the Black Dagger Brotherhood visit the fansite: Beyond the Mhis or read up on the BDB Cheat Sheet via Book Thingo. Both of the fansites are extremely comprehensive and would provide more than enough information in understanding not only the characters in the series but the background and mythology that the series revolves around. Keep in mind that spoilers will be found.

The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger
Another paranormal romance series it’s set in the 1880s with a steampunk twist. This finite five book series revolve around a strong female heroine in the form of Alexia Tarabotti whose best friend is flaming vampire Lord Akeldama who (somehow) knows everything about everyone and every rumor in London. She is also friends with a very Scottish and gruff Lord Conall Maccon, a werewolf… and yes there is an uneasy peace between the vampire society and the werewolf society in London who has found a way to integrate the paranormal into the “normal”.

What I really love about reading Gail Carriger’s blog is that she goes into more detail about the characters she has created and the world that her characters were immersed in.

My personal opinions and thoughts of the books:
Book 1: Soulless
Book 2: Changeless
Book 3: Blameless
Book 4: Heartless
Book 5: Timeless

The Final Dance aka The Dancers Series by Christie Golden
A currently incomplete fantasy book series that I actually love and enjoy. It is a pity that Luna did not wish to continue this very well written series. It has been a while since I have read the series, only the first two books of the series are in print while the third book of the series is available in e-book format. The final two books in the series have not been released because Luna Publishing chose to discontinue the series.

The Dancers Series revolve around five persons, each one the personification of the five elements: fire, stone, sea, wind and soul. The story goes that The Dancers are given five chances to save the five varying universes from a growing evil. If they fail to save at least three of the five universes then the evil will take over all five universes, else if they were successful in saving at least three of the five universes then the evil will only take over those they fail to save and would leave the others. When the series began they have lost two universes and successfully saved two universes now with the final universe hanging on the balance. After the determination of the finality of each universe The Dancers are reincarnated into the new universe and process begins again…

Fables, Jack of Fables, The Literals and Fairest created by Bill Willingham (via Vertigo)
For anyone that really enjoys fairytales and nursery rhymes and are open minded to the seeing them in a new light would really pick up this series. Taking many of the beloved fairytale characters and re-imaging them while staying true to their roots (roots as in the original Grimm stories and those from Hans Christian Anderson, etc… none of the Disnified versions).

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Being a huge fan of Battle Royale created in Japan, I was skeptical of this series until I came to the conclusion that there is enough basic concepts and ideas that really two totally unrelated series could have similar premises. In some ways a classic rags-to-riches and rebels against the government mentality I did find myself drawn to the series in some capacity.

Written in the voice of 16 years old Katniss Everdeen, the series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the countries of North America was combined to be known as Panem all run by a singular government called: The Capitol. In remembrance of The Capitol’s defeat over the rebellious districts in the last great war, The Capitol holds The Hunger Games, an annual event in which each of the twelve districts were forced to select via a lottery one boy and one girl ages 12 to 18 to compete in a televised battle to the death until one person is alive.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J R R Tolkien
Yes, I know that this is dry read. Yes, I know that this tends to come off more as a reference reading as opposed to a story, but I love it. I have this attraction to series that have such well thought out and deep mythologies where you know there are millions upon millions of stories that are just begging to be written. Tolkien is very much like that, where you know that there are millions of stories just waiting to be revealed. Unfortunately much of those writings are in half works and references and notes as compiled by his son. In fact my favorite book of the collection is from the beginning: The Silmarillion.

Because this is an older series there is naturally a lot of information out there including:
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Lord of the Rings Wikia
The One Ring fansite

Harry Potter series by J K Rowling
The fantasy series that took over the world and got a new generation of kids to read again. The series revolved around a young boy who finds out that he is a wizard and he (as well as the reader) are drawn to the invisible world of magic. There really isn’t much more to say about that, because the world is so vast J K Rowling partnered with Sony to create Pottermore to give lovers of the series a new way to appreciate the series and learn more about the mythology and background. When you are getting sorted by the Sorting Hat if you’re not sorted into Gryffindor you learn more about the history of whichever house you happen to find yourself in. Unfortunately I didn’t get such luck as I was sorted into Gryffindor which I found rather odd all things considered, but what can you do?

Jane Austen related fiction
With all the fantasy and science fiction series that I seem to follow this author and her stories could actually be an outlier of sorts. However, I remember when I read Sense & Sensibility for the first time and fell in love, somehow the heroes were too good to be true and they still are. With fansites with constant discussions and articles about anything and everything to deal with the life of Jane Austen and her works called Pemberley (yes, based off of the family home of Mr Darcy from Pride & Prejudice) and quite aptly Jane Austen’s World.

Over the years there have been many books that attempt to build off of the original works or re-imagine them into the modern age, many of these writers of the former are known as the Crown Hill Writers. There are others still that rewrote the books into the point-of-view of the heroes of the series, one of the most popular being the Heroes of Jane Austen’s Diaries by Amanda Grange

One book series that I rather enjoy is the Mr and Mrs Darcy Mystery Series by Carrie Bebris. This should come as no surprise since I enjoy a fantasy series… so a mystery series wouldn’t be that far off the mark.

Of course, like any other well known author, there is a website dedicated to anything and everything dealing with Jane Austen known as the AustenBlog: There’s No Crying in Janeball. But if you are a Janeite you best head on over to the Jane Austen Society of North America and peruse around and consider joining up the group to understand more of the life and stories of Jane Austen.

Fleeting: What are you willing to lose…?

Last month, after meeting with friends for some afternoon tea, we decided to head to an old haunt of ours in Greektown to enjoy some good food, atmosphere and a little bit of nostalgia. During the course of our dinner conversation one of the party started talking about how proud and impressed that veterans whom have lost limbs during the war are able to overcome what they have lost and become stronger in the end.

Naturally this would evolve into a conversation of what each of us would be willing to lose, and subsequently what is the one thing that would terrify us should it be taken away from us. Be it a limb, a sense, etc.

When it comes to the natural five senses this was what would be the most detrimental

  • For the artist: losing sight
  • For the vocalist: losing hearing
  • For the foodie: losing taste

And then there was me…

I know, technically I would fit in any of the above categories, but I also know myself enough to know that I am most likely capable of adapting should I lose any of the above one day. I mean if I lose my sense of sight, I would still be able to imagine what the world around me would be like through the spoke word. If I lose the sense the hearing, I can still feel rhythms and beats as long as the music is loud enough… also one could still carry conversations even if one were deaf. Losing the sense of taste although difficult isn’t impossible… and so on.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks…

It wasn’t a physical limb, or a sense that would be the most detrimental to me… it would be if I could no longer imagine, or think, or process… essentially brain cancer / tumor / etc would be the most terrifying for me.

So now I posit the question to you… what can you not live without?

Fleeting: Bertrice Small’s “The Kadin”

One weekend recently I randomly went to a favorite second hand store and found myself perusing the historical romance section… Particularly Bertrice Small.

Bertrice Small (whom recently passed away before completing her 57th novel) was the first historical romance (bodice ripping to be perfectly blunt) author that I was introduced to… and has been one of my personal favorites, her novels well worn out on my bookshelf. Not knowing that she had passed rather recently I came across an older novel of her’s “The Kadin”.
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Fleeting: Harry Potter “What Ifs” Part Two

So in the past two posts I mentioned some fanfiction that I found myself reading in their entirety and the “What If” scenarios that caught my attention despite my love of fanfictions that stick with canon. However, since the “What If” scenario that posits what would happen should Cassius Warrington of Slytherin were to be the Hogwarts champion as opposed to Cedric Diggory is so darn appealing how to adjust the rest of the series so that the Hufflepuffs would come into their own…?

The key here is that Hufflepuffs by nature don’t strive for glory like the other three houses, they aren’t necessarily the underdogs either, instead they tend to stick to the background working diligently and consistently to earn their wares. They tend to be the background players who provide the security, knowledge, forethought, etc for any problem and situation while others present said information to the masses.

BETWEEN BOOK 4 (Goblet of Fire) and BOOK 5 (Order of the Phoenix)
Keeping the above in mind it would not have been far from the realm of possibility if towards the end of the events of Book 4 (keeping in track with the “What If” from the previous post that Cassius Warrington was the Hogwarts Champion) Harry Potter glances around the school and sees small groups of Slytherins interacting with students from other houses, or a lone Slytherin being comforted by other houses.

This is the time where the Slytherin students are divided internally, be it within themselves or within the house itself. There are Slytherins that are still steadfast in the ways of the regime as promised by The Dark Lord and there are others whose belief was shaken to the core and they are questioning the world and beliefs that were instilled in them from birth.
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