Ok we’re back! These are my latest obsessions: baked tortilla chips and salsa and guacamole. Yeah I go all out.
Ingredients
4 (soft) corn tortillas (cut into quarters)
2 tomatoes (roughly chopped)
1 avocado
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 cloves (or 1 large clove) (chopped)
1/2 cup of cilantro (chopped)
sea salt to taste
1 lime
First the chips:
Preheat your oven to 350.
Cut the tortillas into quarters and brush each side with vegatable oil. Space them out on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 15 minutes until your chips look like this:
While the chips are still warm, sprinkle with sea salt to taste and voila.
And the guacamole:
Pit the avocado and roughly chop it in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of half a lime on it.
Now mix in half of the onion, half of the garlic, 1/4 cup of cilantro and a quarter of the tomato.
Now the salsa:
There are many ways to make salsa, I like it chunky. So I chopped up 2 tomatoes, a quarter of an onion, a handful of cilantro and squeezed a lime and voila!
As you know, I love Ramit of I Will Teach You To Be Rich and used to do everything he said, but then I got lazy… and went grad school broke. At any rate, after a month of completely reckless spending, I’ve decided it’s time to get my finances back in order and to finally get around to doing something Ramit always says to do: automate my spending.
Instead of spending time each month locating and paying your bills, take some time today and set up your bank account to automatically pay your bills each month. This way you won’t have to worry about missing a payment because it will be set. If you’re back in school, like me, you’ll need to alter this plan a bit as you’re not making as much as you used to and probably aren’t contributing to your 401K anymore, but this is still helpful. In his book, he really breaks down this process, but his video (below) explains this with enough detail that you can get going.
Honestly, do this. One less thing to worry about. Instead of having to make a list of all your bills and taking the time to write a check (eek!) or go through each website to pay online, save yourself the hassle, take an hour today and do it.
The first time I tried to loose weight, I asked my cousin how to start. She said, “Eat half of what you eat now.” Simple advice, that actually made a huge difference. Now I am more nuanced (and educated) about how much I should be eating, but something I noticed in my package food was that there was normally more than one serving size included – particularly in my bottle sodas (which I desperately need to give up *sigh*) and bags of chips (can anyone say kyprtonite?). Women’s Health has a slideshow to illustrate “the truth about serving sizes.”
I’m trying to find a graphic that shows how small serving sizes are – particularly of mean (the size of my fist? weak).
And no, it’s not because of the lack of brown people, that was to be expected.
I know this is probably wrong and insensitive to say, but I didn’t like SATC2 because it dealt with “old people” problems, or at least older people problems. You don’t watch SATC to learn how Samantha deals with menopause, because in reality, we know she adores botox and by that point in her life, she would have had a few lifts, so the whole toolbox full of creams and pills was nonsense. And the early scene would have been enough, but to sit through a whole 146 minute long movie and hear about menopause is not sexy or fun.
Then there was the fact that most of the movie was not shot in New York City. Sure I get it, they love decadence. But it was too over the top, even for these women. And it didn’t add anything to their stories (which were all left behind in NYC).
And then there was Aiden (yeah I’m gonna spoil it). I, for one, am sick of Carrie getting in her own way and the whole Aiden situation really, really irked me. First of all, you don’t owe your ex fiance anything, least of all a fancy dinner in a skimpy dress with racoon eyes. Second, you just spent that past 10 – 13 years trying to tie down big and you throw it away because you miss “sparkle?” Third, you don’t get rewarded for making out with your ex finance with an amazing black diamond ring. It doesn’t work that way, and while I get that his a movie and we like happy endings, it was simply just too foolish for me.
I thought the movie strayed from who the characters were and what they would have really done in their situations. Mirand would never, never, never quit like that. First she’d make a list and battle with it for a few days, she would have been complaining about her boss for months, maybe even years, to her family and friends, and three, she would have had a job already lined up before she quit. Charlotte probably would have freaked over the babysitter after Samantha pointed out her perky breasts, but she quickly would have realized that even if the nanny was straight, she was not trying to steal her bald, overweight, and more importantly, super-in-love with her husband. Charlotte has always been the one with the most sense when it comes to marriage, she would not trip like. And she would not have gone to Abu-Dhabi because she’s (light-weight) racist. I’ve already addressed Samantha’s flaws, but I was happy she finally got some play in the movie.
But my biggest problem was with Carrie’s character. Her whole story line was about doing things differently, and for the most part she had. I loved that she wore her engagement ring on a necklace. I love that she didn’t have one with Big, and that they didn’t get married because that wasn’t her thing. I even love that they decided to not have kids because they weren’t those kind of people (because they really aren’t, although I’m sure in SATC3 she will change and there will be kids). But of course, her girls and their good intentions got in the way (again). Granted, what they really should have done was tell her to stop being a nag and just enjoy spending time with the love of her life, but I guess that doesn’t make for good movies. This especially irked me because during the show, all she wanted was Big and for him to want her. And in two movies, somehow him wanting only her has never been enough. I really hope they don’t pull this card in the third installment, because I promise you, I will walk right out the theater.
So long story short, I didn’t dig the movie. Maybe I should stick to watching old episodes on DVD. What did you ladies think?
By now, I’m sure you know that yesterday Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were sentenced to a maximum of 14 years of hard labor for being in love. The couple, who were arrested following their engagement party are charged with unnatural acts and gross indecency. Their punishment was given the maximum sentence, which is reserved for “the worst crimes.” Though not surprising, this sort of intolerance toward homosexuals is not uncommon in Africa, even in the more westernized countries. This sentencing sets a bad precedent.
While the White House, Amnesty International, the United Nations and and celebrities like Madonna have condemned the ruling, these words will most likely have no effect. However, the threat of withdrawing funding from Malawi could help this cause. Currently 40% of Malawi’s budget comes from foreign aid. Even this is unlikely as even in America, there are still many hate committed against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters and many laws barring them from basic rights (hello gay marriage).
There are currently two separate petitions online calling for the release of these two men, you can sign them here and here.
I just got this phone today and I am in love with it. I wanted an iPhone for a long time and was ecstatic when I heard rumors that it was finally coming to Verizon in June. However, a quick chat with a sales representative quickly squashed my dreams of having an iPhone and staying with Verizon. So I got the next best thing (or maybe it’s better?): the Droid Incredible.
Ok so what can I tell you about the Droid Incredible? Unlike its predecessor the Droid, the Droid Incredible is touch screen only. That’s the hardest thing for me to adjust too, but I suppose I’ll get the hang of it sooner than later. Much like the iPhone it has a ton of applications, pinch and stretch, and you can flip through 6 different screens by wiping your finger across the screen.
It comes with 8GB of memory (I also got a free 2 GB memory card) and a sweet camera. I’ve already watched a few videos on the phone – super fast – it beat my Dell (ugh don’t get me started on my Dell). With all that memory, it might replace my iPod.
It’s fully supported by Google, so you get all of Google’s cool apps and they all sync together perfectly. After activating my phone, I just signed onto gmail and I had all my contacts on my phone. It was really easy to sync that info with facebook, in fact, the phone had pretty much done the hard work, I just had to confirm if they matched the correct people. After that I was good to go. I added all the apps I had on my blackberry, plus a few more (how fun is
And since it’s a phone I suppose the most important part of this review is how good of an actual phone is it? Well it’s from Verizon, so I get service pretty much everywhere (sweet). I can hear people clearly and it doesn’t drop calls.
From experience, your best bet is to buy the phone online and get the $100 rebate instantly. If you’re up for your free upgrade (new in 2) you get an additional $50 off. In some cases it might be cheaper to get it from a different website from Verizon, but if you’re up for the new for 2, stay with Verizon. If you get it in the store, you have to pay $300 up front and then mail in the rebate.
You can find out more about the Droid Incredible here and here. Does anyone else have one? Is anyone else thinking of getting one?
So yesterday I was hanging with my bestie and she was telling me about some contraption she wanted to buy to tone her abs. I gave her the side eye and said “Well, you already have that big exercise ball, what do you need that for?” So then we started talking about how she could use stuff that she already had around her apt to make at home gym. I also started thinking about the from the comments on my posts Being for real about our weight, parts 1 and 2 – if women really don’t want men to see them without makeup/sweaty/frizzy hair, etc, this is the perfect way to get in shape and save face.
So what do you need: worst case, if you are super broke, you can start off with nothing at all, and just use your body weight (with squats, lunges and push ups) and lift canned veggies or books to tone your arms.
If you do have a little money to spend, I would suggest getting:
yoga mat
exercise ball
weights (start with 5 lbs, then work up to 10lbs)
exercise bands
DVDs (if you feel like you need some encouragement or you just don’t know what exactly to do with all this stuff)
If you want to go hard core with your home gym, you could also get:
medicine balls
balance trainer
So what do you lovely ladies have in your home gyms?
Most people’s response to my trip to Minneapolis was “Why? What’s in Minneapolis?” But there was a glint of hope in the few encouraging words from a fellow travel junkie who said “That should be fun.” Having no idea what to expect from Minneapolis, I set out with an excited curiosity to discover the Twin Cities had to offer.
Where to begin?
Of course I tackled some of the commonly known landmarks like the Mall of America. I’m not even afraid to admit that I was a bit intimidated to tackle the world’s largest mall (known to have more than 400 stores). With many stores that most of recognize, DSW, H & M, Macy’s, Frederick’s of Hollywood and a few I haven’t seen before, like a cute, chic, home decorating boutique Afternoon, the Mall of America is unique in that it houses an aquarium and a full amusement park, which is what took the cake for me.
The Social/Nightlife
Within my short stay I got to see a bit of nightlife in Minneapolis: a fun night at Imperial Room, after which I caught a glimpse of the city life vibe throughout the streets of Downtown Minneapolis. I was even pleasantly surprised to find a full club on a Monday night at Envy. I also heard of a new club New York, who supposedly plays NYC music.
Although happy hour is pretty common, something about Minneapolis’ happy hour was special. The opportunity to indulge in several dishes and drinks for the price of an entrée always makes me happy. The site with the happy hour info www.thriftyhipster.com/minneapolis/
Which brings me to my next very important point…
The Food (oh, the food)
If I share everything we ate, you might judge me. So I’ll keep it to the memorable/noteworthy experiences:
@ The Loop: Cappuccino Martini- best of both worlds: a drink and a dessert;
Chocolate chippers- fresh baked cookies: crispy on the outside, light and heavenly on the inside and served with ice cream
@ Hell’s Kitchen- Tequila Mockingbird- I think it’s the homemade grenadine that made it special
Fish and chips- local walleye and sweet potato fries; served with jalapeño tartar sauce and chipotle mayo
@ Sebastian Joes- homemade ice cream that comes in numerous amazing flavors including:
REAL Oreo ice cream- not vanilla ice cream with Oreo pieces, ice cream that is full of Oreo flavor in every spoon; mint Milano- with whole pieces of Milano; Pavarotti-banana nutty chocolate chip mix; Raspberry Chocolate Chip; Cinnamon (may be better alone); and Emmaculate Confection
Honorable mention:
@ The Weinery (as seen on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives)- sausage wrapped in a pancake
@ Red Dragon- Wondrous Punch
@ Good Day Café- spicy ketchup
But it doesn’t end there….(judge if you want) lol
The ultimate food experience happened at the Fair, which also happened to be my first chance to visit the twin city St. Paul. From battered potatoes, foot long hotdogs, tacos, flowered onions, pork chops on a stick and big fat bacon to deep fried candy bars, donuts, funnel cakes, chocolate covered fruits, buckets of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and an endless milk stand, the fair was definitely a foodie’s dream come true.
Even beyond that, it was so beautiful to see what seemed like all of Minneapolis come out to enjoy the festivities. Definitely a family affair: all the ladies sounding like the mom from Bobby’s World, happy babies, and an overall vibe/feeling of happy in the air. Good clean fun, which I think is safe to say is a good representation of what I saw in MN overall. From what I saw the work/life balance is very important. And with such drastic winters looming in the near future, they show a sincere gratitude and appreciation for the summer months: lots of outdoor seating, enough bike riders to compete with car traffic and more lakes than one can imagine to choose from.
While there I learned so much that will stick with me much longer than any geography lesson I got in school. Now that I know what’s in Minneapolis I can tell everyone!
Who knew?
Minneapolis is the home of Target, 3M and General Mills.
The land of 10,000 lakes is where the L.A. Lakers started.
So much thanks to Toni for being such a great host and Tiffany for sharing all the Minne fun facts!
Disclaimer: This trip was during the summer. I’ve heard that winter in Minneapolis is a force to be reckoned with. For you brave souls ready to take on the cold head on, pack those extra layers. You’ve been warned
So last night the House passed the health care reform bill AND the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 (a.k.a. student loan bill). Thank God.
I know everyone is hyped about universal health (and I am too) but I am really hyped about this student loan bill. So what’s in it:
kicking the banks out the mix, which will save you money when it’s time to repay your loans
more money for Pell Grants
loan forgiveness for people serving in the military
starting in 2014, reducing the cap on how you repay each you (from 15% of your income currently down to down to 10%)
more funding for community colleges and HBCUs
early education funding is out, but I’m sure it will get money in the revamped No Child Left Behind
The health care bill has loan forgiveness for doctors, dentists and nurses – lord knows they need it.
You can read the full thing here (yes, it’s at the end of the health care reform bill).
So back in November Essence ran an article titled “Date Like a White Girl.” Long story short -after Melanie Sims’ boyfriend cheated on her, she decided dating like a white girl, meaning that she was going to be “footloose and free.” According to Sims, when Black women date like every man is a potential husband. Instead of looking for Mr. Right she starting settling for Mr. Right Now.
Now when I first read this I was on the defensive, thinking, we don’t date like that! But, yeah some of us do. Shoo, I do did. I originally wrote this post in November and have been sitting on forever. If we wanna keep it really real, I looked at basically every guy I like as a potential husband and that put pressure on everything. I could go on tangent here and talk about all the external pressure we get to get married – especially since the media is making it out to seem like we have a better chance of flying on a unicorn over a rainbow than getting married, but I’ll save that for another day. This is about the pressure we put on ourselves. I wasn’t sure if I could separate these guys I was dating from the larger goal. Poor guys, never had a chance.
This year I decided to do things differently. After crashing and burning with two guys, I had to keep it really real with myself and admit I was doing it all wrong. I had to consciously (and constantly) check myself with the next one. So I did. I went on a few dates without expectations – full disclosure: this might be because I wasn’t absolutely crazy about him. I actually impressed myself, kept it really light, just let it be and enjoyed the moment. For once, dating was actually fun. But now for the best part, it didn’t work out and I was fine with that. It wasn’t a big deal, and that felt awesome.
So what say you SASSY ladies? Do you currently date like a white girl? Are you willing to give it a shot?
, he really breaks down this process, but his video (below) explains this with enough detail that you can get going.
