CHOCtOyouLATEr

Breakups are never easy.

The hardest part is figuring out how to pick up the pieces and live your life without that person...or in my case, without that one food that I love so very much. You see, my friends, my dermatologist has once-and-for-all confirmed what I had always suspected to be true...this lady is allergic to chocolate.

Following a three day patch test and hours of consultations with my dermatologist, it was determined last month that I am very allergic to nickel. By "very" I mean that I cannot use a normal eyelash curler anymore (the metal is nickel and makes my under-eyes swell up and I break out into rashes), I have to coat the part of my costume jewelry earrings that go in my ear with clear nail polish (this was not specifically recommended by my derm, but has always worked for me), and I have to minimize my skin's overall exposure to costume jewelry.

As if all of those limitations weren't enough, my dermatologist also printed out a list of additional items and foods with trace to heavy levels of nickel in them that I needed to limit/prevent my exposure to. And guess what happened to be on that list? You got it...chocolate.  Chocolate, while only having trace amounts of nickel, is still extremely irritating to the skin of a person with a major nickel allergy. So, while the only major detrimental consequence of consuming chocolate to a non-allergic person is the expansion of their waistline, I experience skin breakouts (and I mean, bad, painful blemishes), rashes (not fun), and other non-waistline related ailments. Stupid chocolate, putting me through so much heart skin ache.

Well, like most breakups, I knew what I had to do. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I knew I had to cut chocolate out of my life forever. If you know me well, you know that I am not a sweets person. Never have been and, likely, never will be. Chocolate was the only sweet I ever really loved...well, other than the occasional Starbucks coffee crumb cake. Those that know I'm not big on sweets also know that I'm not a big baker. By "not a big baker," I mean I don't bake. I love to cook, but I have never really had the desire to bake. Maybe that's because I cook the things I love to eat, but I don't really love to eat baked goods.

Either way, saying goodbye to my previous lover (chocolate) required a rebound, and that rebound had to be one that was easy and didn't require a Starbucks run.

Enter Baker Josef's (Trader Joe's) Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake Mix...chewy cake, crispy cinnamon spiced crumble topping...doesn't get much better, or easier, than that.

 Trader Joe's Cake Mix

 Ingredients (Butter is unsalted...came with a takeout order from a restaurant...didn't have any other butter in the house...details details) 

 Batter

 Crumb mix and butter

 Crumb topping once butter and mix were combined

 First and third layers are batter

 Second and top layer are crumb. Then into the oven...

 ...and BA'BAAM!!!

 Cut up into many moist pieces

 Yum!!!

Needless to say, I broke the first cardinal rule of rebounding...I fell in love with my rebound. The good news, however, is that I'm not missing that bastard chocolate anymore. Ladies and gentlemen, that is how you get over a breakup.

Happy Friday!!!

Happy Birthday Maman!!!

Happy Birthday to the best friend I have ever had, my biggest fan and cheerleader, my role model for life...my mom.

While she may have left this world, I will always hold her kindness in my soul, hear her laughter in my ears, and feel her love in my heart.

x

Look Ma...I Planted aTree!

Growing up, our house was always filled with plants.  One plant, a favorite of my mom's, poured its long leaf covered vines all the way across and down our piano. Another similar plant sat on a plant stand in the corner of the room, and at least five others called different parts of the living room their home.

I suppose it made sense that our house was always filled with so many plants. After all, my mom had a PhD in plant physiology.

My brother, grandfather, mom, me, and my grandmother on my mom's PhD graduation day...one of the proudest moments of my life.

More importantly, she loved plants. Despite her extremely busy schedule (conducting research as a postdoc while being an exceptionally wonderful single mother to my brother and me), she always made time to tend to our plants. This included watering the plants, trimming them, and singing to them. No, that was not a typo...my mom used to sing to our plants. You see, my mom believed that plants, like people, needed love, encouragement, and a little bit of music to blossom. So, as she watered our plants, she would sing songs by Hayedeh to them.

Flash forward to my adult life...When Dr. Love and I married in 2009, I moved into his bachelor pad. I immediately tried to incorporate some of "me" into the space. Naturally, this included the purchase of a plant - more specifically, a basil plant - for our tiny sliver of a balcony. While our love developed and expanded during our time at the condo, my basil plant shrank and shriveled. I bought new ones, but one by one, they met their maker. Three basil plants later, it became very apparent to me that our condo was not a love nest for all. There was not enough sun for the plants, and I suppose I may not have been giving them the sufficient amount of love or water that they needed either.

In 2011, when we moved into our new home, among the many things that most excited me about her new home was the amount of sun that poured in and all around around it, including onto the patio.  I could not wait to try my hand at planting and gardening again. I just had to decide what I wanted to plant.  About a decade earlier, my maternal grandmother, an avid gardener (and cook, and baker, and all-around amazing person), had taken on the daunting challenge of transforming my aunt's huge and dirt-filled garden planters into a heaven on earth. Among the most beautiful fruits of my grandmother's labor were the proud and vibrant snap dragons that would blossom spring after spring and would later serve as a reminder of the woman who had planted each and every one with her bare hands.

My grandmother in my aunt's garden with the snap dragons in the forefront.

In her memory, and as a reminder of all of the wonderful memories of a time when all of my family was together, I chose to plant snap dragons.

I, first, removed the bamboo shoots that the previous owner had planted in a planter on our patio and emptied out about half of the soil (I was too lazy to remove all of it). I then added some fresh soil and planted some small and fragile looking snap dragons about 6 inches apart from each other in a zigzag pattern. To be honest, while I hoped that they would grow to be as beautiful as the ones my grandmother had planted and as healthy as all of my mom's plants, I highly doubted they'd live to see spring. After all, I had a bad track record and was lazy about watering them. Little did I know that Dr. Love, my partner in all things including the botanical arts, had been emptying our aquarium water - fishy poop and all - into the planter every time he cleaned the tank. Turns out that our fish are more than just the cutest little dudes in the world...they are also the producers of some of the most amazing fertilizer known to man. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but their poop is seriously amazing. Don't believe me, look below...

Spring has come and boy have our snap dragons sprung!!!!

I suppose the success of my snap dragon experiment gave me the false impression that I had inherited a green thumb, because I decided to forge forward with my gardening adventures. A few weeks ago, on a warm and sunny spring day, I got the crazy idea to plant four herbs (my old friend basil, cilantro, oregano, and mint), bell peppers, and a peach tree. Yes, I planted a peach tree. To be precise, it's a Bonanza Dwarf Peach Tree. Smaller tree = smaller roots = planting it in a pot is a-okay. According to all of my research, the tree is capable of thriving and producing fruit when planted in a pot. The only challenge, above and beyond the normal list of "tree planting challenges", is the fact that the pot needs to be replaced by a bigger pot as time goes by and the plant's roots grow. No biggie......I hope. The challenge I had, naively, not anticipated facing was that of leaf limpness and injury, as evidenced below...

Not only are the leaves on my peach tree limp and unhappy looking, but so are the leaves on my basil and cilantro plants. FYI, herbs are supposed to be one of the easiest things to grow. So, I am, as you may imagine, a bit disappointed and shocked that they are not doing well.  Despite all of the water, sun, and green thumb genes in the world, it appears that I am still not giving my plants everything they need...or quite possibly, I am giving them too much of what they need. My guess, too little singing, too much water, and a little bit of bug/animal intervention. So, for the next couple of weeks, I'll be doing more online research, watering less, and belting out some of my mom's all-time favorite Hayedeh songs in the hopes that my peach tree and herbs will grow to be as healthy as my snap dragons (and bell pepper plant, more on that in a later post). I wouldn't mind a little bit of heavenly intervention from my mom and grandmother either, wink wink.

Happy Birthday, Buddy Boy!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SMART, HANDSOME, KIND, AND GENEROUS BIG BRO!!!

 

 I LOVE YOU!!! x

What You Caulking About?! Part One

Today's post starts with a confession...I love bleach. I know bleach emits toxic fumes. I know toxic fumes are bad for my health, but...I also know that cleaners with bleach leave my sinks, bathtubs, and toilet bowls shiny and clean. What can I say, I am was a bleach-iever.

Why past tense? Well, it turns out bleach doesn't leave every surface shiny and clean. In fact, sometimes, it strips all the goodness away. Sad, but true.

You see, when my husband, Dr. Love, and I got the keys to our new place last August, the first thing I did was spray all of the toilets, sinks, and bathtubs with my bleach cleaner. Oh, and I sprinkled Comet Bleach powder (love that stuff) all over the surface of our master tub.  Actually, sprinkle doesn't fully describe what I did. I basically shook that container of bleach until nearly 1/3 of its contents were in my tub.

After a good long rinse, the master tub (and the other surfaces) looked great...or so I thought. It wasn't until after our first shower that I started to notice something happening. It seemed like the tub was getting more and more stained each time we showered.  The tile caulk was no exception. Its appearance was no longer white and smooth  either.

So, what did I, a staunch bleach-iever, do? I doused the master bath with more bleach. Bad idea.  Within a week, our once crisp white tub had turned into a moldy, crusty nightmare.  Pictorial evidence (not for the faint of heart) below...

Ewwww, right?!?!  Turns out, the tub's anti-slip surface coating and the caulk between the tub and tiles didn't fancy bleach as much as I did. In an effort to disinfect my new tub, I had managed to disintegrate the coating and caulk. Not cool.

Flash forward moooonths later ('cuz that's the way we roll), and it was finally time for Dr. Love and I to talk about the caulk.  I assure you, this conversation was far less awkward than it sounds.

Basically, we both decided that it was time to fix up the bathtub that I had all but destroyed. We took showers in the guest bathroom for a week to let our bathtub fully dry, Dr. Love conducted some caulking research (again, far less awkward than it sounds), and we headed to our local hardware store to pick up the necessary supplies (more information on research sources and supplies later).

As you know, I had a big client matter (research/draft demurrer and motion to strike) last week. Well, most of late last week, this weekend, and this morning were devoted to working on that matter, with the exception of two very important breaks:  the one I took on Friday to celebrate a friend's successful thesis defense (woohoo, Dr. Molly!!!) and Sunday night's Game of Thrones episode.  Best.Show.Ever.

While I was up to my neck in work, Dr. Love decided to get started on the tub. First step...remove existing caulk...

The de-caulking step took a good 5-7 hours...not sure if that's standard, but I suppose it's not that crazy for amateur DIY-ers. Needless to say, this project is not a one day job. More pics and info. regarding the process, supplies, and tips later this week.

Until then, I leave you with one simple, but poignant, thought:  Don't bleach your caulk.
 

Sweet eMotion

Nope, that is not a typo in the post's title. That is sheer cleverness (or dorky-ness...take your pick) on my part.

So, as I've said before (and as my blog title suggests), I love to try new things and pray they turn out well. Today is no exception!

As some of you may know, I'm an attorney by trade but a ninja by nature...okay, okay, the second part is a complete lie...but I have considered taking ninjutsu lessons and am convinced that I could kick some butt if it ever became necessary...so i think that sort of makes me a ninja. No need to make a final decision on that one right now.

Back the first part of that rant...I've been an attorney for about a year now and love it. I know that sounds crazy (especially to my lawyer peeps who rarely use the words "love" and "attorney" in the same sentence), but it's true. I love everything about it...with one huuuuge exception. The economy is not being very kind to the types of law I am most passionate about - corporate and business transactional law. Transactional law, in the business context, basically requires me to help clients form businesses, govern their businesses, enter into business deals with third parties, hire employees, etc... What that means in a bad economy is that I basically don't have that many clients, because, simply put, not that many people are engaging in business transactions right now.

Sooooooo, let me spare you any more boring details and cut to the chase.  I love to practice law, but the law I love doesn't love me too much right now, so I've decided to try something new. Yup, I decided it was high time I got on the litigation bandwagon. After all, while a bad economy seems to discourage entrepreneurship, it seems to have a way of encouraging litigiousness. Basically, the people are going lawsuit cray cray.

And that's where I come in :). I recently started a new litigation gig and have a huuuuge new assignment. My boss asked if I'd like to try my hand at drafting my first ever demurrer and motion to strike and I was like, "heck yeah!"  So, here goes nothing!!! For the next 12 hours I will be motion drafting...

I've got my grande coffee (Starbucks for liiiiiiiife!) next to me and my thirst to learn in me. Wish me luck!!!

Welcome Peeps!!!

I could not be more excited about starting this blog, as it has been a dream of mine for quite some time.

As you will soon come to learn, I am a dreamer through and through. I dream of a million things I'd love to try, try them, and, often, fail miserably....with pictorial evidence. This should be fun!