If life gives you zucchini, make zucchini bread!

Wednesday morning I think I did some writing, then I went to work in the evening. Don't really remember much special about it.

Thursday was my Saturday, so I slept in and then made zucchini chocolate chip bread and muffins, using zucchini from the CSA, as well as eggs. They are SO GOOD! I can hardly stand it. How can zucchini be so yummy?! Did some other things I've been wanting to get done, then went to my first work shift at the CSA. The deal is you pay for your share and then work two two-hour volunteer shifts to help keep the process running. I was 4pm to 6pm, so I found the delivery truck along the side of the school, helped unload the boxes upon boxes of veggies, rolled them inside, and checked people off the list as they came to pick up their stuff. It was nice to get an idea of who else is in the CSA, since I usually only see a couple people at a time. Lots of mid-twenties to mid-thirties Brooklyn couples, several with kids under 10. Turns out picking up your CSA share is a great counting exercise. Brought my stuff home, then made sausage, peppers, and onions with Matt. It was so good! Used peppers and onions and basil from the CSA. It was really delicious, and not very hard. We watched "Once," which is the movie the Oscar winning song was from last year. Sweet story. Oh, almost forgot! This week in my CSA share, I got:

-Swiss Chard
-Salad Mix
-Cabbage
-Blueberries
-Onions
-Cucumbers
-Zucchini
-Sweet Italian Peppers
-Eggs

You can also see my bread and muffins in the background.

It's been one of those months

Even when I'm doing a good job blogging, I seem to be a week behind. One of those months, I think.

Sunday the 20th (one week ago) I worked in the morning, then went to Ben's 29th birthday BBQ. They had a really nice set up in the garden, with the neighbors' tent on the deck and two grills and lots of good food. Hung out until about 8:00, then went home and did some work. Went over to Matt's and he helped me use GarageBand on my MacBook to edit together my music for my class.

Monday I slept in, did more work, then went to work. Don't remember anything else interesting.

Tuesday I worked in the morning and went to class in the evening. We started working through our acts, which was really fun. My idea is really solid and everyone laughed when they were supposed to, so I'm excited about it. It was a long night, though, because our guest speakers were willing to stay late and talk about makeup and hair and other stuff, and when experts are willing to share, you don't leave early. I was pretty beat by the end, though.

Disney, but LIVE

Friday I got up early and went to a dance audition for Disney Live, which is...some sort of touring Disney thing. It was a dance call, and I danced well, but I think they were looking for someone a little more...not white. So it was one of those "good experience" things. Went home and made pasta salad for the next several days, then went to work.

Saturday I worked in the morning, which was fine but left me tired. Went home and napped, then ate pasta salad with Matt before heading back into the city to see the Pinchbottom Burlesque, which is a show produced by the first two guest speakers we had in class. The theme was war, and they had a really clever script with political jokes that somehow didn't seem tired, and the acts were super fun. Having never actually seen a full burlesque show, it gave me a good idea of what New York neo-burlesque is all about. Also, I already knew or recognized a bunch of people there, so that's cool.

When Zucchini Attack

Thursday was my second day off for the week, so I did laundry in the first part. Did some writing, and some lying around, then went to get my CSA stuff for the week. I got:

-Beets
-Blueberries
-Zucchini
-Broccoli
-Cucumbers
-Scallions
-Lettuce
-Eggs

Got everything put away, then met Matt for dinner and we went to see my friend Haley's production of "Pippin," which featured my friend Chris, among other CAP alums. I'm really excited for them that they got it off the ground and running, which is no small feat. Matt and I had Tasti-D in Union Square, then headed home.

Paying debts in dumplings

Tuesday I worked in the morning, then went to Coney Island for my class. It was so hot that it was hard to focus, but I still got some good ideas.

Wednesday I had the day off, but I can't remember what I did with most of it. I think I went to Target and got things I needed, like a new dish drying rack, and things I wanted, like popsicle molds. That evening I took Derek out to dinner at Chinatown Brasserie to thank him for earning me a bunch of money in the referral bonus I got for him at Bouchon. We had a really nice dinner, then met up with Matt, Rafi, and Rafi's friend Melissa at Soda Bar.

Panic Sunday

Sunday I worked in the morning, which was kind of crazy because Randy was scheduled for a double but was too sick to come in. We ended up being ok, but it was a high stress shift. Came home and Mom ordered me to nap, which I did. Got up and we went to get groceries, then made dinner for the two of us plus Matt and Randy, who was finally able to eat something. Had a relaxing evening in.

Monday I had to send Mom on her way, sadly. Basically got up in time for breakfast and goodbyes, which didn't have to be too sad, since I'm going home soon. Did some work, then went to work, which was incredibly slow.

Stuffed to the gills

Saturday I worked until around 4:30, then went to Union Square to meet up with Mom. Ate a small late lunch at Whole Foods, then went to DSW, where of course we both bought a pair of shoes. Did some more looking around, then headed back to Bouchon for dinner. The chefs sent out salad du jours with burrata mozzarella, roasted beets, Serrano ham, and peppercress, and soup du jours with gingered mushroom broth, lobster, and Thai basil. We ate our entrees, and they sent us mini hot chocolates before dessert. We were so full! It was a really nice dinner. Then we had to waddle back to Brooklyn.

Out with Mom!

(Preface: this was my away message Friday. Dad sent me an IM saying, "In with Dad!")

Friday morning Mom and I got up, got ourselves together, and walked to Joyce Bakeshop for breakfast. We then made our way to the Botanic Gardens, which were beautiful as always. Saw some crazy waterlilies and lily pads. Once we made it to the bottom of the gardens, we crossed through Prospect Park and ended up in Park Slope, where we had a really good lunch at Miracle Grill. Walked back to my place just in time to change and head into the city to meet Matt at the Seaport, where we caught the Circle Line tour of the Waterfalls art installation on the East River. They're these man-made waterfalls that are set up in different locations along the water on the east side of Manhattan and the west side of Brooklyn, and they were really neat to see from the water, not to mention the perfect weather and the city views. Got back to dry land and went back to Brooklyn for dinner at Franny's.

Mom Time!

Thursday morning I got up and did some cleaning, then went into the city to meet Ethan for a working lunch. And work we did, for over two hours. We made some great progress on putting an order to the show, but by the time we finished my brain was ready to explode. Stopped to pick up my CSA on the way home, and I got:

-Blueberries
-Kale
-Savoy
-Bok Choy
-Lettuce
-Purple top turnips
-Broccoli
-Squash
-Eggs
-Cucumbers

Came home and did more cleaning while waiting for Mom to track down her baggage at JFK, since it ended up taking a different plane than she did. Matt came over to help make dinner, and by the time Mom got here it was almost ready. Yay Mom! We had glazed ham with apples, mashed turnips and potatoes, and broccoli, with chocolate ice cream for dessert. Good food, good company, good conversation.

Hurry up and get some culture!

Monday morning I returned a book at the library and did some prep for my class in the morning, then worked in the evening. Nothing too life changing.

Tuesday I worked in the morning, then went to Coney Island for class. It was really hot in the museum, but we had interesting speakers and learned lots of stuff. Afterwards we went downstairs to see what the Sideshow class was learning, and they were pounding nails into their heads and swallowing swords. Cooooool. Got sushi and blood orange gelato and made Matt eat it with me.

Wednesday morning I went to the Brooklyn Museum to see the Murakami exhibit, which is closing on Sunday. Saw lots of crazy animae style art, but my favorite part was in the cartoon video where the alien bounces down the hall, and instead of saying "boing" he says "byong byong byong." That tickled my funny bone. Anyway, it was cool to spend the morning seeing some art. Got groceries, went home, wrote a bit, and went to work. It was busy because the show at the Rose Theater upstairs this week is "The Bacchae" starring Alan Cumming, which got a great Times review, so lots of people hurrying for an 8:00 curtain. It went fine, and hopefully we made decent money. Ran errands, then went home.

To work, then to China

Saturday morning I had to work, so I left Ali to her own devices. Came home and waited for her to come back from meeting Mary and some friends, then she and Matt and Randy and I went to dinner at Amorina, followed by dessert at Cocoa Bar. I think it started to set in that Ali was flying to China in the morning, because she started making a list of all the things she hadn't done yet. We went home and took care of some of them, then called it a night.

Sunday morning Ali and I got up, finished the list, then put her into a car that arrived right on time at 8:00am and sent her off to Newark Airport to head to China. Weird that she could wake up in my apartment and finish her day halfway around the world. After seeing her off I went back to bed, then Matt and I had brunch and I did some writing at his place while he did some computer work. Went back home and worked on music, then met with Ethan to work on the show. Got good stuff done, then went back to Matt's for Indian food.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of barbecue

Friday was the 4th of July, so of course we had to spend the entire day celebrating. Ali, Randy, Matt, and I all had breakfast at Tom's, then Randy had to go to work. The rest of us gathered at Matt's for an all-afternoon-and-evening barbecue. We started at two, actually had guests by around 3:30, and Ali and I were some of the first to leave at 10:30pm. Whew! Lots of Bouchon folks, Ben and Atsuko, some of their friends who we also know. It was a mixed and fun crowd. We did two sets of grilling, and by the end of the night I had hot dogs coming out my ears. A fun time was had by all, but I was ready to be done with parties for a while by the time we left.

Race you to the end of July!

Monday I worked in the morning, then met with Ethan in the evening. Ate leftovers for dinner.

Tuesday I worked in the morning, then headed to Coney Island for my first Burlesque Master Class. It was a total blast! My instructor knows so much and obviously loves to teach, and she has all these friends coming in as panel speakers, and the class is held in the Coney Island Museum so there are old bumper cars just sitting around. Very cool. Anyway, had a blast, then hopped back on the train and went home.

Wednesday I think I slept in and then cleaned things. Worked in the evening.

Thursday I worked behind the bar in the morning, which was great except I had to throw a guy out for the first time, which was weird. Had lots of support from the rest of the staff, and it was nothing terrible or dangerous, but it gave the shift a weird feeling. To make up for it, around two my bar included two guys who were totally in love with everything they ate, two people who it turned out were from Minnesota and had grown up across the Ford Bridge from me, and Matt, who came in after getting out of work early for the holiday weekend. How nice! Also, it turned out one of the food-loving guys knew someone I knew I high school. Weeeeird. Met up with Matt and went to pick up my CSA, which this week included:

-Strawberries
-Bok Choy
-Eggs
-Red beets
-Swiss Chard
-Head of lettuce
-Salad mix
-Giant turnips

Went home, finished building my night stand, then found Ali on my doorstep! She was very tired from lugging her bags, but we dragged her to the grocery store and then had a very very late stir fry dinner. Welcome to New York, baby sister :)

Back from Vacation Panic

Sunday morning we got up and had B&B breakfast with the two other couples, who we'd also eaten dinner with the night before, so we knew each other a bit, which was nice. Ate delicious quiche and coffee cake, then headed back to the city. Had a pleasant drive back with a stop at a diner, then hit some crazy rain coming back into the city. Still had time left on our car rental, so we decided to stop by Ikea. However, we didn't think about how long we'd have to wait in line and ended up dashing through the rain to return the car on time. Ooooh well, at least I got a new nightstand. "New" as opposed to "the pile of boxes I've been using since I moved in." Came home and started to freak out a little about the coming week. Interesting how only 36 hours out of town can still give you that "back from vacation" panic. Matt and I made dinner, then watched "Mighty Aphrodite," which was really funny.

The Wedding

Saturday the 28th was Austin and Anja's wedding! We started the day by meeting Flora, a friend of Austin's who had taken a bus in from Toronto overnight and was catching a ride to Connecticut with us. We had bagels, then hit the road in our Zipcar. Matt drove and I navigated, which is the best combination for us by far. We didn't get lost once, and with a brief stop for lunch dropped Flora at her B&B and made it to ours around 4:00. That gave us just enough time to get pretty before driving to Tyrone Farm, where the wedding was held. The farm was totally gorgeous, great views of rolling hills and all that. The ceremony started right at 5:00 and was really fast, so before we knew it, they were married! Had a cocktail hour with snacks under a tent, then dinner in the barn. We were sitting with some friends of Austin and Anja's, some of whom we'd met before, all of whom were friendly. Had a great dinner and danced the night away.