Sunday, August 7, 2011

Home is wherever I'm with you

For starters, my car is back on the road! It only took a day to fix, but of course managed to cost me $150.. Automobiles are quite the investment. You have to pay for little unexpected breaks like this, then there's buying gas, paying for service appointments..insurance if you're not under your parents..the list is practically endless. My best friend actually has to pay for a new license plate because she hit a bird which somehow caused the front plate to become detached. On her way back home she went to try to retrieve it, and saw an old man crawling up from where it fell off, get in his truck, and drive off. She went to the spot where she lost it and it was gone. Apparantly the DMV pays for returned plates but charges you to replace them, so traveling grandpa must have snatched her plate.
Chicken Roast
In case I haven't made it clear in previous posts, I'm pretty inexperienced in the kitchen. A few days ago I pulled out a recipe from my "Absolute Beginner's Guide to Cooking" and decided to make a greek chicken roast. I made a trip to the grocery store, bought a fresh whole chicken, idaho potatoes, lemons, and oregano(all things that are totally uncommon in our kitchen) and got to work on it later in the evening after I got out of work. It wasn't too difficult. It's kind of fun to prepare the chicken..is it morbid if I made it dance a little before I put it in the pan..?  Then I coated the chicken and the potatoes and carrots I cut up with olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and salt and pepper. Then I just let the oven work her magic. Since I started the whole project after 9:00 and finished around 11 I had to wait for lunch to know whether it was a success or not. And a success it was :).I was happy to hear that both my parents sat down and ate it for lunch together, they never eat together because my mom is a picky eater and when my dad wants to eat she has to fix something up for them, so they wind up eaing separately. I was glad to fix something they could enjoy at the same time. So atleast now there's one more thing I can feel confident that I know I can make.

Something new.

I cut my hair! I had been thinking about it for awhile, with dead ends driving me crazy. Plus my hair has been the same style/roughly the same length since like...9th grade. So Tom and I went to the hairdresser in town and got haircuts together (insert "Aww" here..haha). So I basically got it as short as she could do it without it turning out poofy, because curly hair gets poofier the shorter it gets. I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. It looks different when it's curly like below, but yesterday it was poofy from the humidity so I took the straightener to it. I had forgotten what a total pain in the ass it is the straighten the back of your hair.


I began this post yesterday, which was Saturday, but I never got around to finishing it until today. We went to see Cowboys and Aliens last night, which was a good movie, but I kind of ruined it for myself by having a sour mood. I think I've discovered what one of my biggest pet peeves is--- sitting on the end in a movie theater. It just makes you feel isolated if you're not sitting next to someone who's making an effort to include you in on the whispering and jokes. Plus it worked out that Tom was on the opposite end of the row, when he wanted to sit next to me. Our two friends in the middle were talking, but I couldn't hear what they were saying, and they didn't ever turn to say anything to me. And I was to grumpy to come up with anything to say to them first. I didn't want to be a pain in the ass and ask to switch the seating around since I'm like with Tom, and didn't want to be that girl who CAN'T be separated from her guy, but it would've been nice to have been able to socialize with someone. Okay that's the end of my rant, it wasn't really a big deal, it just kind of sucked.

Tonight I made steak and mashed potatoes for my parents and grandma. Other than getting a little splashed with oil from the pan when putting the steaks on, it was a pretty smooth experience. No pictures though, I was in a rush to make it when I got home from work, so by the time I finished everyone was ready to dig in.

Well the power just went out, and my laptop battery lasts for like..twenty minutes..so I think this will have to be the end of my post. Maybe I'll read something by candlelight.

7 comments:

Nicole Linette said...

Haha, the power went out here too! It was a beautifully silent hour.. I hope you were able to do some flash light/candle light reading too :D

Your hair cut is beautiful. I mean, you always were, but the shorter length seems to give it new life! I cut mine last summer before school and everyone's amazed at how long it is again. Have fun experimenting with new looks!

And congratulations on fixing your car (I've decided I'm never going to drive; too much of a hassle) and that amazing chicken lunch!!! And you said you're timid in the kitchen :) that's all it is for me, just throwing things together that I assume will taste good.

Ohh and that's another reason I usually don't go see movies in theatres.. bad seating. At least the movie was alright.

Talk to you soon, Olive!
Cheers,
nicole.

Natalie said...

I'm glad your car troubles weren't too terrible in the end! Phew. That's pretty lame of the grandpa to snatch her plate though... what gives?!

I'm glad that your cooking adventures turned out with great results! :D As a fellow nonexperienced chef, it gives me some hope that I would (hopefully) be able to manage something like that... Good job!

I hate sitting on the ends at movies too, cause it always results in a crappy view! I don't care so much about being isolated from the talking I guess cause I want silence during my movie anyways, haha.

I LOVE YOUR HAIR, SO FREAKING MUCH. SO MUCH. IT LOOKS FANTASTIC! :)

Allison said...

Ugh, I blew a speaker in my car (whoops, why do I still think I'm 17), and it's not covered by BMW's warranty - so frustrating! RIP all my money.
I can't believe an old man jacked your friend's plate! I've never heard of that before. Maybe I'll start stealing people's license plates to pay for my blown speaker?
Congrats on getting into the kitchen more! It sounds like you had a complete and total success - and a whole chicken is definitely not an easy thing to start with :) It must have been super reassuring that your parents sat and ate together over your meal!
Your hair looks amazing - I love the length! It really works well for your face - you look gorgeous, dear!
I always, always make sure I'm sitting in the middle when I go to the movies with a group of friends. I am that person who does not like to be left out of conversation, so I totally feel your pain!
Good luck reading by candlelight, dear. Hopefully your power comes back on ASAP! xox

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Anonymous said...

I love you for incorporating a Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros' "Home" lyric into your title! <3

See! Cooking can be fun! All you need is a little more practice, and you'll be like Julia Child in no time! Hahaha, I laughed when I read that you made the chicken dance. Zounds, I hate removing a bird's innards, though. I always make the excuse that I think it's degrading to the bird. xD By the way, the roast looks like it turned out to be amazingly delicious, and I commend you for taking on such a challenge! For future kitchen endeavors, it may be to your benefit to check Epicurious!

I've already told you this, but I love your hair cut. The length on you is gorgeous! It's only a couple of inches shorter than mine when shortened! Plus, it's the best way to beat the heat! Your hair probably feels so light and fluffy. I got seven inches axed off my sophomore year, and I couldn't stop running my fingers through my hair.

Catherine & the Crazies said...

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Jocelyn said...

Oliveeeee

Was upp homie!?

I am so jelaous that you are cooking such delicaces I need to catch up on your blogging I have missed so much going on in everyone's lives!

I love your hair, sometimes a change is just what you need, I think that haircut looks great... and oh man straightening the back of my hair is like one of my top pet peeves. I can NEVER get all of it...

aren't cars just a hassle? Maybe we should just buy jet packs and play around, your short hair will come in handy there as well, no fried ends from the heat, eh? haha that was a lame joke... okay that's enough rambling from me.

Glad to be back!

I love edwarde sharpe PS.

-joce