good news and bad news

as you may or may not know, ryan has had some issues with the wireless on his computer ever since we got comcast internet. SO i've been trying tons of things to fix the problem (playing around with settings, buying a usb wireless adapter, etc.) so we finally gave in and called comcast to come out. well it turns out when i entered the key for the network, i entered it wrong. goodness, did i feel like an idiot! no wonder the wireless worked on mine & not his!!

but... alas, i said there is bad news. my three year old ibook has been having trouble charging/holding a charge the past few months, so finally i opened it up and it wouldn't turn on. i knew the dc-in board had gotten messed up somehow, so i finally just brought it into the apple store. because they have to order the new part, it'll be a week until i get it back, so i'll probably be blogging a bit less, especially with photos because i can't edit them!

now really

that's more like it.

republican for thirty minutes

so today my mother gave jess and i two free tickets to go to a rib fest for local republicans. oh my goodness jess and i couldn't have been more out of place, but when you are on a tight budget and free food is your best friend, then look out red states here we come!

i had two and a half slabs of ribs and three huge cups of beer(budweiser, ewww...), and jess had a smattering of everything they had to offer. and the highlight of the day was when jim oberweis offered us some ice cream!!! i have mentioned oberweis in one of my early blogs, when he lost a recent election. anyway, free ice cream from the man himself.

ok...back to reality.

we love free food, we are the exact opposite of republicans, but this was such a fun time, to just eat our food, people watch, and be thankful we know better than to vote for mccain!

thanks mom!

ryan 2's birthday get-together!

for ryan's birthday, i made a strawberry kittee kake with strawberry cream cheese frosting! i don't make many cakes so frosting & decorating (if you can call it that) it was an experience, to say the least! oh, and buki helped!

yes, more food!

this morning ryan & i headed out to the farmer's market and picked up our produce for the week. we got some popcorn, two walla walla onions, big tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, yellow + green long beans, swiss chard, & flat leaf parsley.

we also found some massive avocados at the mexican grocery store!


& we're sending a vegan care package to Remi from dead format in france!

not shown in picture:
ricemellow and teese

tempeh pot pie with biscuit top

this was delicious!

a productive food day!

phew! today i made a bunch of things for during the week...

this morning before work i made the filling for a biscuit-topped stew with some things i had hanging around the kitchen. the stew has finely diced onions, carrots, and sweet potato + fresh corn, green peas, & tempeh in a tangy herb gravy. tomorrow i'll top the casserole with some fluffy biscuits... mm, comfort food!

today i also made some chocolate chip cookies and some butternut squash wontons!




for the wonton filling i roasted and mashed two medium butternut squash and then sauteed it with some sage, garlic + onion powder, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. i fried them in some canola oil... which i never do, but i just couldn't resist! they are so so rich and i think i may pair them with a chili-plum sauce later this week.

ellen & portia!

so adorable... makes me so happy...

& all of the food at their wedding was vegan, and they had a red velvet wedding cake!

so great.

bike-apaloza

last monday i finally got a new bike. my old bike was old and not well engineered for long travels. so we decided that it was high time that i got a new bike. although the picture does not do the bike justice. it's a specialized
globe sport. i have cut my biking travels by about 15mins, which is great(my trip is now about 1hr 5mins). i also got a helmet and some riding gloves. especially since my most recent blog about the lady that we witnessed get hit by a car, it made it pretty clear to me that i need to be safe when i am biking as far as i am.

last night we had a great night. we enjoyed our first night with cable tv. we felt remarkably normal and strange. although jess has been extremely annoyed at my following of the olympics and cubs, we have been enjoying our freedom of changing stations and not dvds. also buki has a problem worse than chicken, she is now a full-blown beer box-aholic

we also decided last week that we are going back to our favorite vacation spot. here is a polaroid from a past visit to hawk valley:


so psyched for november!!!!

a lazy sunday

we've been having a bit of a lazy sunday hanging out and watching tv & the kitties have been lounging around the living room all day...

last week we made reservations at hawk valley retreat in galena, il so we're trying to hard to stick to a strict budget before our vacation in november! we're trying to drive the car as little as possible and i'll be biking to and from school come august 25th! i'm excited for classes to start back up and hope i can find that balance between school, work, and everything else...

for dinner we made bbq baked tofu, cumin/lime fried jasmine rice, and some more local corn.



the tofu was baked with some sauce out of the bottle and the rice was stir fried with extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, lime zest, cumin, and cayenne. we just ate the corn with a squeeze of lime juice and some salt. simple, quick, and delicious.

birthday parties & a heart shaped breakfast!

yesterday brayden came over! we played cars, had a "birthday party" (aka: ate cupcakes), & went to the mexican restaurant for lunch.


this morning ryno & i made heart shaped biscuits to have with gravy... it was delicious and adorable!




i also wanted to share the great surprise ryan brought home on friday! when we were in DC for polly's wedding we went to a book store & i found this great book but we both agreed to pass it up. when i got home, i searched and searched for this book online but had completely forgotten the name... well, ryan found it for me & it's just as great as i remembered! so great!

getting over being sick... or convincing yourself to

i'm on my fourth day of my five day antibiotic regime and am still feeling pretty yucky. i've gotten my voice back for the most part, but i still can't fall asleep at night without at least an hour of violent coughing... not to mention how wacky the antibiotics have made my belly feel.

so today i'm going to work at one and hope that i'll be able to do it without falling asleep or coughing up my insides!

right now i'm watching the simpsons, eating some plain brown rice, and hoping to feel better. lovely.

good news....not as good news...

so we never told you the best/worst part of this weekend! jess didn't have to get "mouth raped"[pardon our rather lurid euphemism for wisdom teeth removal] this weekend because the doctors were being a bit persnickety about payment. jess isn't out of the clear for long, she is working on finding a doctor that she prefers. so for now her mouth is safe...wellll sort of.

three days ago she began getting a sore throat. complete with mouth squeakiness and ouchiness. it wasn't long before she began to sound like our cat panda panda. while most of you have yet to meet panda panda,[panda panda juniper chacey to her parents when she is being silly] she has yet to learn how to meow in what would be considered a typical cat sound. it sounds more like a squeak. and since i am not that great at onomatopoeia i cannot describe it particularly well. anywho...at this point, jess is not well, so we have to see if we can get her into the doctor today. which is poo, 'cause who wants to be sick on such a nice day?!?! but she definitely wants to be well when her school starts, which is only two weeks away!!! i was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with work(since this is my third day in two weeks), but a bear has to do what a bear has to do.

oh ryno rambings will you ever never be?

this weekend was pretty laid back.

well before i talk about the laid back part, lets talk about bike accidents as it relates to cars. today as jess and i were pulling into our parking garage we witnessed a bicyclist getting struck by an SUV. because i ride my bike to work frequently, i am an obvious advocate for the cyclist who was struck. i also must admit that knowing that i ride my bike so much, maybe my clarity of the event wasn't clear, but what i saw was a bike rider being careful as she approached a blind corner and a SUV driver approaching an intersection without consideration for pedestrians or cyclist. the cyclist was alright, just shook up. her husband was with her and comforted her. i got out of my car to make sure she was alright, and flagged down a county police officer. i stayed around to give my witness statement, and offered my sympathy and support to the biking couple(and my obvious disdain for four wheel vehicles and their drivers who are oblivious to bike riders and bipeds). the bike couple opted not to press charges(or make a police report) though i had encouraged the husband that it might be a good idea, but they figured that since everyone was physically alright(the bike riders bike was un-ridable) that they wanted to just exchange info and be on their way.

since the biking couple was miles away from their vehicle and the wife's bike was not in riding condition, i offered to drive them to geneva(where they had started their bike ride). they were very happy to have someone to help them, and i was humbled by how thankful they were. i strapped my bike rack on the mini and threw their bikes on the rack and drove them to geneva. on the ride we chatted. it was nice. not that i felt proud or big headed, just that i felt this was what humans are supposed to do. we see someone in need, we respond. i obviously wanted to advocate strongly for my fellow bike riders, but it was comforting just to know that my existence meant something. when we got to their car, i got their bikes off the rack, and said my goodbyes. the woman asked if they could do anything to compensate me, and i said i really couldn't think of anything. i told her and her husband to be safe. she asked if she could give me a hug, and i said sure. we hugged, and i felt as close to a stranger as a human could. i drove off knowing i will most likely never see them again.

ok...now other things:

on thursday we went over to nancy's house to meet each other's mutual partner's. jess had never met nancy and i had never met her fiance brian. we had a great time catching up. we also had a wonderful time making homemade bruschetta together and eating that with french bread. nancy was nice enough to let us raid her garden, and we also had a great time playing with all of nancy and brian's many pets.

friday i had a vacation day. so i spent that day cleaning, doing laundry and running. it was perfect. after jess' work we went out to dinner to our most favorite indian restaurant. it was so good. and it was excellent because the staff there was extra helpful and attentive. they explained a new appetizer to us, they went out of their way to make sure we were taken care of. nothing is more comforting than being a regular at one of your favorite restaurants.

saturday we went to lush to pick up some bath stuff for my mom and some staple items for ourselves. we then stopped at the an antique mall and got quite a lot of pyrex and got our friend ryan his birthday present. we then wondered around the mall, and ran into a couple old friends(betsy and seth) and then i had one of the most annoying/gratifying experiences of my life. here it goes:
i was talking on my cell phone as we were leaving the mall. we pass a vonage kiosk, and one of the sales people looks at me straight in the eye(as i am on the phone), and starts talking to me. and i yell at the top of my lungs with about fifty mall folks around me, "I'M ON THE FREAKIN' PHONE DUDE!" and kept walking. the guy was visibly shocked and embarrassed. and goodness that felt good. the only thing that compares to this gratification is flipping off our share of hummers this weekend. after the mall, we went to kiss the sky and i got a few lps:

broken social scene s/t
broken social scene"spirit if..."
nico chelsea girl
oberst, conor s/t
wolf parade on mount zoomer
beck modern guilt
mates of state re-arrange us
ting tings we started nothing


and then when we got home, we had a pizza and wings watched one of our favorite movies. we drank rootbeers from our favorite brewer. we listened to some of the records we bought and i washed jess' new pyrex. overall great night.

today we have been watching law and order SVU dvds, the first season. jess dyed her hair and have been laying down[she's feeling kinda sicky :(], and i have been transcribing all my poetry onto my other blog. tonight we will watch some simpsons and family guy and have a good sunday before another week of work ensues.

goodness if you read all this, you do not have A.D.D

some new pyrex finds!

a bit on local eating, & some dinners...

the aurora farmer's market has finally gotten into full swing & we've been enjoying the bounty of local produce very much. the aurora market may not have some of the fancier things others have but everything we've gotten has been delicious.

we bought a half dozen ears of corn last saturday and i'm definitely regretting not buying the full dozen! it is hands down the best corn i've ever tasted and i'm pretty sure it'd be blasphemous to soak it in butter like so many of us are used to doing...

as part of a surprise batch of gifts for me, ryan picked up some awesome roundhouse rootbeer... also local, also delicious!



last night i made the chili-cornmeal crusted crusted tofu from veganomicon with a side of steamed local swiss chard & bicolor corn. delicious, as expected! he also got us the first season of law and order svu on dvd & a raw foods cookbook for me!!

tonight i made a vegan take on "salsibury steak" with some more corn on the cob & some homemade dinner rolls, which were perfect for soaking up the savory gravy. i've never had salsibury steak before, but ryno said it was definitely reminiscent and delicious!



to make the gravy i caramelized some thinly sliced onion and button mushrooms in olive oil and brown sugar. then i stirred in some flour & broth until thickened, tossed in some herbs, lots of black pepper, and (the cheater part) a packet of onion soup mix. i boiled and seared some chunks of tempeh and simmered them in the gravy while the rolls baked. by the way, i used this recipe for the rolls and it couldn't be easier thanks to buttercup!

very yummy. the picture may look a bit dull, but this was perfect summertime comfort food.

we survived!

last night there was a major storm, complete with tornado warning so we took shelter in the bathroom!

we were hanging out having a good time with lots of pillows and blankets and beverages and simpsons on the laptop...!

we made it!

more tattoos?!?!

well yes!

last week jess and i got tattoos at ronin, and yesterday i got some more work done.
so my my upper left arm is looking a bit fuller now...not much to say, except to reiterate that kevin pretty much rules my skin!

thanks again kevin!

Honey Cafe (Glen Ellyn)

last night ryan & i ate at honey cafe in glen ellyn and i must say, i was a pleasantly surprised. we had initially planned to go to our usual indian buffet but after dining out with some co-workers, ryan decided i would enjoy honey.

when it comes to dining out i've found myself let down time and time again by many local restaurants. and, of course, the suburbs are a breeding ground for the generic chain SAD restaurant. boring.

i'm not too picky, though, really. as long as i get my food and it's good, i'm pretty happy. at a place like honey - an average sized space that probably fills up quickly - i don't necessarily mind waiting a bit for my meal or my check, which we did. the server was quirky & cute, and the atmosphere was fun and light. this isn't a restaurant that "takes itself too seriously" and it was a nice change of pace.

honey does american, gourmet comfort food, which is a style i've come to enjoy. all their meats and greens are organic and they've created a good deal of dishes to suit a wide range of dietary preferences. there were several vegetarian options on their menu and they evened offer a tofu scramble during breakfast hours. i was surprised and excited to see this!

ryan ordered the three mini burgers & i ordered the veggie burger - we both had their sweet potato fries with their harissa sauce, which were both delicious.

i've eaten veggie burgers out plenty of times before and have certainly eaten my share of frozen boca patties at larger chain restaurants. honey's veggie burger was one of the most delicious things to enter my mouth recently... the burger stayed together well (a common problem with veggie burgers), was perfectly seasoned, and topped with fried leeks and their harissa sauce. yum. the portions were plentiful and i ate my leftovers for lunch today.

i had a vanilla bean cupcake for dessert which was topped with mounds of frosting. a little sickly sweet for me... and the cake was a bit heavy, but overall decent. i would have prefered the red velvet cupcake they offered - but they were all sold out!

overall, i'm excited to have such an option here in the suburbs and look forward to coming back to honey!

prince chunk????

it turns out that princess chunk, is really a prince. i guess the fur and girth made genitals hard to detect(that's a sure sign you've gained a lot of weight, when you cannot see your own wiener!). so here's to you prince chunk, the best/worst cat since garfield:

princess buki?

princess chunk surely gives buki something to strive for... did someone say CHICKEN?!

princess chunk pt 2

do you see that little appetizer behind the princess???!?!?!??! man that kitty is going to be kitty food...well who are we kidding, i don't think princess could get up to get that kitty...it seems everyone is getting in on the princess 'o chunk. my most favorite coverage would have to be 'best week ever.'


and here is a lovely vid of the princess:

and i guess you know yr a big cat, if they ask, "can she walk?" awwww...god, who asks that??? man, i bet princess kitty is going to eat that lady!

and i finally know who i am voting for:


VOTE PRINCESS CHUNK!