"... What's goin' on in the kitchen, but I don't know what's cookin'"

I love Rachael Ray.

There, I've admitted it, but it's not exactly my deepest, darkest secret. Actually, it's no secret at all. It's common knowledge that I'm quick to tune into anything starring the bubbly brunette, be it 30-Minute Meals, $40-a-Day, Tasty Travels, etc. She's fun, she makes great food, and she has excellent advice.

Therefore I was sold on the virtues of Balsamic Vinegar the moment she touted it's benefits. Indeed, her Rosemary Chicken Breast recipe was a real crowd pleaser when I made it earlier this summer. Great, I have one recipe that calls for BV and a bottle of the stuff collecting dust under the stove. What else can I do with it?

The idea came to me after my mom let me in on the family recipe for Salmon Patties. They're delicious, but lack something in the flavor department. As I thought back on my chipper days in Ireland, the thought occured to me: fish and vinegar rock together. What would happen if I put balsamic vinegar in the pattie recipe? The rest is history.

Now I'm following in Ray's footsteps engineering my own recipe. I'm so excited about it, I want to share it with the world. So here it is, Megan's Balsamic Salmon Patties:

Ingredients:
1 can of salmon fillets
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup of oats (substitute crushed crackers)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Pure canola oil

Procedure:
Combine ingredients in bowl (TIP: strain fillets first. If cohabitating with cats, strain excess oil/water into dish on floor for them to lap up). Fill frying pan with oil to between a quarter and half an inch from the bottom. Heat on medium. Fashion salmon/oat/egg/vinegar mixture into patties. Plop in oil, cook on both sides for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oil and wick away excess liquid with paper towels. Enjoy.

Get your kicks...

Shopping for shoes with a side of insanity? Look no further than your neighborhood Shoe Carnival.

I hadn't been in a Shoe Carnival in years, so when Cliff suggested we swing by the Green River location to get some new sneakers, I didn't think twice. I'd heard there was a sale there (buy one, get one half off) and I needed some new shoes for work (my 7th grade gym shoes that I'd been wearing were losing their soles). Besides, Cliff had a gift card he needed to use up, so after we stuffed ourselves with all the Fazoli's breadsticks we could stand, we headed over to the happiest shoe store on earth.

I should clarify that by "happiest" I mean "most psychotic." The minute we stepped in the door we were greeted by a creepy looking man in a bow tie standing atop a pedestal hawking promotions like an auctioneer. The music (70s/80s dance classics) was so loud I had to shout to hear myself think. The crowds, the deals... they just kept coming. I quickly located some adequate footware to meet my employer's dress code standards and plopped down in men's athletics while Cliff paced the aisle... first New Balance, then Asics. After much deliberation over comfort, style and affordability, he settled with the New Balance.

We at last escaped with our brand new kicks, a few dollars saved, and, believe it or not, our right minds. I even sported my new Sketchers at work today to the applause of many. Of course, this applause only came AFTER I pointed them out enthusiastically.

Call me by my secret agent name.

I just worked an eight hour shift at Starbucks with no bathroom breaks. Add to that a meal break and travel to and from the Bux, that's nine hours straight! Haha, take that ADH inhibitors!!!

I received the most interesting comment ever today. Cliff told me: "You smell like St. Louis." Yeah. Not sure...

My new "alias" in my coffee passport is Tootsie Roll.

"No more papers, no more books..."

In the past week or so, stores have begun to advertise Back-to-School sales. As I peruse the newspaper ads for discounted Jelly Roll pens and Trapper Keepers, I feel an acute emptiness. Suddenly, I reach a startling realization: This fall, for the first time in 17 years, I will not be going back to school.

I've been looking forward to this state of being for quite some time, but I must admit the situation strikes me as a bit odd. I'm not entirely sure what to do with myself. Of course, there isn't anything I should be doing with myself. I have entered the Real World. I've been there for a couple months by now. Why am I so surprised?

Three weeks ago, I found myself and three friends walking the campus of Taylor University, our Alma Mater. As we reminisced about the past four years spent in the midst of corn, we couldn't avoid admitting to the specialness of that place. "Oh no," one of us exclaimed. "We've become Taylor Alums!"

Being back on campus was a strange experience in itself. Everything was so familiar, yet at the same time entirely foreign. I can never go back to being a Taylor student. Nor would I want to; I quite enjoy the freedom graduation entails. Yet something within me aches for that familiarity. Perhaps it's the fear of the unknown.

Recently, I disclosed to a coworker my awkward feelings concerning Back-to-School sales. He affirmed my emotions, but reassured me.

"It's ok. You can still buy new shoes."

Under pressure

About two weeks ago, my Mr. Coffee coffee maker broke. It was nothing special. I work around coffee everyday, so brewing my own cup isn't a top priority to me. I like coffee, but I get along fine without it if need be. Still, I've wanted a french press for a while now and yesterday the price was right. Check out my new toy:



It's a thermal french press that recently got marked down to half price. With my discount and my current lack of brewing technology in my own home, the purchase just made sense. I drank my first cup of Komodo Dragon Blend from this baby this morning and, let me tell you, it was awesome.

"Give me strength, Reserve control"

I'm not much for politics. In fact, during my brief stint as a "reporter" in Washington, D.C., I found myself blind to the actual work done in the Capitol as I wandered aimlessly admiring all the pretty buildings. So when I start to smell something fishy in a political campaign, something must be hopelessly wrong. Fortunately, I'm dating a savvy political scientist who can answer any questions I have about said fishiness.

It seems as of late the committees backing the candidates for our regional congressional representative think smear ads are a sure-fire way to get their candidate elected. Both sides of the ballot (for an election which I don't think happens until November) have been televising shady attacks on their respective opponent's character. One ad attacks current congressman John Hostettler (R), saying he voted three times to raise his own salary while voting down a bill that would raise the minimum wage.

Wait a minute, I thought. This doesn't sound like the Hostettler I know. Sure enough, Cliff informed me that Hostettler has actually voted against congressional pay raises on numerous occaisions. Besides, he said, raising the minimum wage is probably not a very good idea.

I'm inclined to agree with him. I'm currently halfway through Nickle & Dimed: On [Not] Getting By in America. This book details one journalist's quest to make ends meet working for minimum wage. It's supposed to be a shocking expose of the horrors imposed upon blue collar America by white collar America. Unfortunatlely, I'm not buying it. I haven't finished the book, so this isn't a review (yet), but it seems to me that the struggles of the lower-class are not entirely the government's fault, nor is it the government's responsibility to fix everyone's problems. What can they honestly do? Raising the minimum wage would only cause the cost of all other necessities to become more expensive. Those working at the newly-hiked minimum wage will still not be able to pay their also newly-hiked rent/ grocery bill/ laundry bill/ utility bill/ etc. The problem will not go away.

Life is not typically fair, but more often than not, I've seen individuals receive eventual rewards by good-old-fashioned hard work. That's the beauty of this capitalist system: those who work hard can reap enormous benefits. Sometimes they get screwed over, but that's not the government's fault. People in general need to take responsibility for their own circumstances and choose the best course of action from their own particular starting point.

That said, I know very little about government and I slept through high school econ. What I do know is that America's system, while not perfect, allows people to reach their own potential better than most other government systems. So now I shall dismount my political soapbox before I start sounding like Bill O'Reilly. That, my friends, would be ridiculous.

Know your audience

Interesting/sick happening of the day:

Went to work out this morning at the gym. Showered prior to heading into work. Whilst drying hair, noticed poster on locker room mirror advertising a blood drive with the catchy factoid, "Donate a pint, Lose a pound!" At least the Red Cross knows their audience. :/