Friday Five

1. I now use the scheduled post feature in Blogger in draft to post my blog. I work on posts throughout the week and when I finish with one, I publish it with a post time of Friday at 6 a.m. On Friday I didn't have to worry about it. Awesome!
   
   
2. I recently created two individual tracks from those annoyingly-long songs with a hidden track after several minutes of silence. One of my favorite SheDaisy songs comes at the end of a Christmas song, which I never get to listen to because it's holiday music and filtered out of my playlists right now, and I because I always hit skip once the silence begins. Not anymore! Follow this guide to create individual tracks in iTunes.
   
   
3. I'm stressing about my job at the camp in New Mexico this summer. It's hard to create a training curriculum for a camp you have never been to. And this camp is unique because each week is the responsibility of a different director, so each week is different. No one really knows what goes on each week on this end of camp because no one has spent an entire summer there. So it's going to be a learning experience.
   
   
4. I've started watching the TV show Battlestar Galactica with Dustin and Eileen. We've watched one or two episodes a night since Sunday. We're about halfway through the first season.
   
   
5. Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy and most importantly, LOST, returned Thursday! Thursday is my busiest night of TV watching because I also watch 30 Rock, Scrubs and the Office (and occasionally My Name is Earl.) Good thing I get off work at noon on Fridays so I can catch up! I'm sure you are jealous of my social lifestyle.
   

Tuesday Shuffle

I'm listening to my iPod on shuffle mode, which is almost all I do. These are the last five songs I've listened to.

1. Keith Urban, Raining on Sunday
2. Love Syndicate, Ain't No Sunshine
3. Dido, Thank You
4. Martina McBride and Bob Seger, Chances Are
5. Chris Rice, Hallelujahs

Now it's your turn: Hit that shuffle button, and share the first five songs that play. Editing to make yourself (and your taste in music) sound cooler is frowned upon.

Friday Five: A Week in Food

I've been reading cooking-related blogs recently. I enjoy looking at the pictures of the food, so I decided to give you an idea of what I eat during the week in pictures. The photos aren't great - my camera kept blurring all the close-ups and the lighting in the kitchen is horrible - but it's a visual guide to my week in food.

1. A few weeks I blogged about the anti-inflammatory diet I put myself on, the one that Wendy said made me sound old. Thanks! This is a picture of the blueberry buckwheat pancakes I eat for breakfast every day I exercise. I eat them with butter, powdered sugar and fresh strawberries.
   
   
   
2. I make Rachael Ray's Zucchini-roni Pizza, and I love it! You use jarred roasted red peppers as the sauce, mozzarella cheese and sliced zucchini with Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes as the pepperoni. I can't find prepared whole wheat pizza crust, so next time I'm going to make my own. Anyone have a recipe?
   
   
3. The chili-salmon with zucchini and corn I made this week was a new recipe. I broiled it in the oven. Every time I opened the oven, the smoke detector went off from the heat; there was no smoke. Annoying.
   
   
4. I also used the broiler for this simple pesto pita pizza. I used my own pesto recipe with a little red pepper flakes for flavor and heat. This is a great lunch meal if I make the pesto in advance because it only heats in the broiler for a few minutes.
   
   
5. I've experimented with several tortilla soup recipes and this is my quick-and-easy favorite. I chop an onion, but everything else I dump and heat: canned diced tomatoes, pinto beans and green chiles, water and chicken brother. Crumble chips in the bottom of the bowl and top with cheese.
   
   

Green Challenge

I'm trying something completely different for my Friday Five post this week, so I'm actually blogging on a day other than Friday!

I try to be mindful of my impact on the environment. I recycle, carry my own canvas bags shopping - and this awesome on-the-go, fit-in-your-purse Chico Bag (pictured) - instead of the horrible plastic ones, replace burned out bulbs with CLFs, wash my clothes in cold water, drink tap water instead of bottled water, and walk to work when I can, which hasn't been lately due to the logistics of making it to the gym on time, but I have a plan to remedy that. But I also use paper towels, paper plates and disposable razors. So my new green challenge is to stop using those three products. Not using paper plates will be the easiest. It's just one more dish to wash. No big deal. Not using paper towels will be harder, but that is more about breaking a habit than anything else. I went to Sam's on Saturday and bought a pack of towels that I plan to use instead. So far so good. Whenever I wash towels or sheets, I'll just throw those in with the load. I've always used disposable razors because it seemed ridiculous to spend $10 on a razor and as much or more for new blades. I still think it's ridiculous, but every time I throw a razor away, I feel guilty. I was at Target over the weekend, and they had a razor and three-blade refill package for $10, so it was like getting one item for free. (The thrifty Jamie can't believe I spent so much money on a razor!) Those may seem like small changes, but if everyone makes small changes, it will make a difference. Anyone else have their own green challenge?

Friday Five

1. We took a family photo when I went home during Spring Break. My parents, my aunt and my younger sister are in the picture with me, along with my aunt's dogs. She refused to let us take the photo without them.
   
   
   
   
2. I finished reading Bee Season by Mayla Goldberg. I recommend it. Near the end, it gets a little weird, and the final spelling bee performance was totally predictable, but I enjoyed it. Now I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which is vastly inferior to Bee Season. It's not nearly as well written as Bee Season, and I can't get a handle on the characters. The structure of the book is partly to blame - in each chapter the characters are different ages - but I don't feel like I know them. I don't picture them in my head. I don't even picture the actors playing them in the upcoming movie. And the author has used the word resplendent to describe the same male character's appearance twice. Please. I'm enjoying the book, but I'm halfway through and I can't figure out the point.
   
   
3. Someone out in the blogosphere directed me to The Pioneer Woman. If you have some time on your hands, read her series "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels." It's the compelling story of how the author met and married her husband. You won't be disappointed.
   
   
4. I've agreed to go on a blind date. I know. I'm waiting on the guy to contact me. He's has a bit of an advantage in this situation. Due to my work with the United Way, he received at least one email a week from me for six months. It was one-way communication, so he knows a bit of my personality while I know nothing about his. Apparently people try to set him up on blind dates all the time and he refuses. My emails must have been mighty impressive! :-) I'm not excited as much as I am curious.
   
   
5. I always play tennis with Janie when I go to DFW. We played twice over Spring Break, and the last time we played before that was during Christmas break. Our play is erratic due to our inconstancy, so we made a pact to play with other people before the next time we play together. I am playing next with with a guy at work that played in college. I'm expecting to underwhelm him with my "talent." If he can stand it, hopefully we'll start playing on a regular basis. I played in high school for those of you out there that didn't know that. That also explains why I love watching tennis. I'm upset at the TV coverage of the tennis match that just ended. They only aired the final, but there were several exciting matches along the way that an American TV audience would have enjoyed. For instance, every time Andy Roddick plays Roger Federer everyone talks about his chance to break his losing streak. Federer always wins and keeps the streak alive. Not this time. Roddick beat Federer and no one saw it. I know all of you are sad about missing that match.
   
   

Friday Five: Saturday Edition

I'm late in posting my regular Friday "column" due to a shotgun trip I made to the camp I'm working at this summer. I went up on Thursday and left on Friday. That sure is a boring 5-6 hour drive.

1. Here are a few pictures of where I'll be living this summer. I wish I had taken more, but I meant to leave after lunch, and it was 5 p.m. before I left, so I took a few quick pictures on my way out. I'm excited to spend my summer there!
   
   
   
2. I've been listening to the new album by Zooey Deschanel, the actress from Elf, Failure to Launch and Almost Famous, among others. The album is She & Him: Volume One. It's the perfect spring soundtrack. When I listen to, I envision a couple wandering around Paris on a sunny, spring day. Part of the reason that image comes to mind is because some of the songs sound like the waltz Julie Delpy plays in Before Sunset. I bought it with a gift card, but I would spend money on it.
   
   
3. I like to discover new music anytime I have gift cards. If I end up not liking it, it's not as big of a deal because I didn't waste my money on it. It addition to She & Him, I also bought two albums by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Another good purchase. Her music is a mix of folk rock, southern Gospel and other genres. Of the two albums - Nothing but the Water and This is Somewhere - I would recommend This is Somewhere, but my favorite songs are the title tracks to Nothing but the Water.
   
   
4. My experience as an alternate delegate at the county convention was uneventful. I spent a couple hours in the morning waiting in line to get my credentials, then spent a couple hours sitting at the convention. My precinct didn't need to call up any alternates, so I left when they started voting on chairs and other things. Alternates can't vote. It was neat to be part of the process though.
   
   
5. I'm reading "Bee Season" right now and enjoying it. Up next is "The Time Traveler's Wife." Anyone read either of those?