Snow Day 2012

Remember how cool snow days were when you were a kid?

I remember just begging the universe on several occasions to send us a bona fide slam dunk blizzard to keep us out of school and in our homes for hours of cartoon reruns, sledding, hot cocoa and comic book reading!

I think snow days went more like — clean your room, do some chores, shovel the drive way, and then.  Maybe.  You could go play.

Well, this friday the fair city of Denver was blanketed with a marvelous storm.  I happened to have the day off in advance, so did my husband, and school was called by 7pm the night before so we knew we were in for a REAL snow day.  Usually one of us has to work on snow days, and this is actually probably the first real snow day we’ve all had off together in a very long while (thinking back to the blizzard of ’06).

While this day  was not exceedingly spectacular in and of itself, I think I will remember this day as “The Best Snow Day Ever” for the Smith family.  We managed to cook all our meals together, we shoveled ourselves out, and our neighbors (+ a Rogue stuck in a snow drift on the corner).  We chatted with some friends (honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen and/or talked to that many neighbors at once since our block party 5 years ago).  We played board games.  We built a fire.  And we watched movies together.

Just like a Hallmark card, or a poster child for the happy suburban family that we are – we laughed, had fun, and enjoyed this brief shut down of the hassle and bustle that is our daily lives on any other Friday.  We enjoyed each others company and I will be forever grateful that I got a day like this to spend with those that I love more than anything else on this planet.  Sappy?  Sure it is, and I love it!

Here’s video of the family dog that I shot in the morning.  She’s chicken of rain and snow.  She hates going outside when there is any kind of weather event happening.  This snow day she utterly refused to even give it the old college try.

The dog won’t go outside

By day #2 of the storm, our drifts had doubled, we shoveled more driveways (but didn’t have to push out more stuck cars), and we tried knocking drifts off the eaves of our house.  I had a Homer Simpson moment and took a drift to the head in my efforts (snow in my shirt, pants, hat, ears, etc… you get the idea).  But all in all a successful storm.  Thank you El Nina weather patterns for a little together time!

Year of the Dragon

Happy Chinese New Year – Year of the Dragon

I was lucky enough to have been invited to a fabulous foodie event at a friends house this weekend.  It was a 7 course Chinese New Year dinner extravaganza!  (Plus 3 appetizers, means I did not entirely stick to my diet this weekend, but  bah!  With food this good, who can diet??!!)

I’m sharing two of my favorite recipes with you from the evening.  PLUS a bonus vegetarian entre that I found while researching these other dishes, that just screamed – ADD ME TOO!

Here you go, happy new year!

Red Cooked Chicken in a Crockpot

• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoonChinese five-spice powder
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed with press
• 1 bunch green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces (white and green parts separated)
• 3 pounds bone-in skinless chicken thighs
• 1 bag (16-ounce) fresh veggies for stir-fry (snow peas, carrots, broccoli, red pepper, etc.) – optional

In 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine sherry, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, five-spice powder, garlic, and white parts of green onions. (Coarsely chop remaining green parts; wrap and refrigerate until serving time.) Add chicken thighs and coat with sherry mixture. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook as manufacturer directs, on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours.

If adding optional veggies, add the final 10-15 min of cooking time right before serving.  Add to top of crockpot dish to steam them.

Serve with rice or udon noodles, sprinkled with green onions.

Orange Flower Water Oranges/Tangerines

3-4 oranges (mandarins, tangerines or Clementines)

¼ cup orange flower water

1-2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon (add more if you prefer a stronger  cinnamon kick)

Combine water, sugar, cinnamon in a large bowl.  Add oranges (peel small oranges like clementines or mandarins and keep whole, or slice larger oranges if you prefer).

Chill 1-2 hours before serving.

Alternate recipe –

Use recipe above, but layer orange slices in the water and chill/marinate for 1 hour.   Serve on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Tangerine Seitan

1 lb seitan (cut into strips)1 red bell pepper (sliced into strips) 2 garlic cloves (minced) 1 tbsp fresh ginger (grated) 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (flakes) 1 tbsp soy sauce (braggs liquid aminos) 2 tbsps rice vinegar

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce (vegan)

1/4 cup sherry (dry)

2 cups broccoli florets

22 ozs mandarin orange segments (tangerines or mandarin orange segments drained)

12 cup green onion (thinly sliced)

Combine seitan, bell peppers, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar, worchestershire sauce and sherry in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  The last 30 minutes add the broccoli.  Mix in tangerines and green onions before serving.  Serve over brown or white steamed rice.

Charlie’s Got Something to Say

A friend on facebook posted this today.  It was too good not so share.

Clara Bow - The "It" Girl

I’ve been trying to get my kiddos interested in old films.  Not just silent film, but even the more recent “oldies” from the 40s – 60s.  I adore old film.  If it’s black and white (or even technicolor) it holds a special place in my heart.  I try my hardest but I just cannot explain why old cinema is so cool to my kids who are born and raised on the highly stylized multi-million $$ stuff that factory Hollywood puts out today.  They don’t get how amazing Myrna Loy, Clark Gable, Hitchcock, Clara Bow, Douglas Fairbanks, or Cary Grant, could be — and my list could literally go on for days.

I know I sound like such an old person.  “Damn kids, don’t appreciate nothin! “  I think if I could figure out why I love these films so much, I might be able to relate it better to my kids as to why they should spend time watching antiquated films (and sometimes antiquated plots and mindsets  too) .  Is it the escape to a simpler time?  I don’t think that’s it.  They had WWI, WWII, the great depression…  to think that there was any such thing as an over reaching “simpler time” is just silly, if you ask me.  Maybe it’s just the act of being transported somewhere else.  Experiencing through another lens (literally) and wondering “what would it be like if I were there, then?”

If I figure it out, I’ll let you know.

As it is, I’m pretty excited that I introduced the kids to indie films this year and both of them are hooked on seeing movies that aren’t so mainstream.  Their two favorites from this year are “Midnight in Paris” and “Tree of Life”.  They ate those movies up faster than the milk duds we purchased from the snack bar!  My daughter still talks about Tree of Life — “remember mom, when we saw that film with the dinosaurs who didn’t kill each other…”  and my son still laughs over the Hemingway scenes in “Midnight…”.

So, I think I’m doing something right. And I’ll still try to slip in a golden oldie on family movie night, now and then.  Maybe someday they’ll get it.  Hell, maybe someday *I’ll* get it.

Bye Bye Shat.

William Shatner’s Priceline Negotiator  meets an “explosive” end to say the least…

News sources today announced that William Shatner had filmed his final Priceline commercial to air soon (but can be found on youtube and facebook).

Now what are Capt. Kirk fans supposed to do?

How to travel on a budget of $0

IF only.

So maybe you won’t actually go anywhere for nuthin’, but, just because you don’t have the dough to release the inner jet set you, it is still possible to have fun in a travel themed way.  I’m doing some link building research for my day job and I’m investigating several sites that deal with local reviews.  And you know what?  Playing around on Trip Advisor or Foursquare is almost as much fun as boarding up the pets and squandering your savings on a holiday.

Check it out.  Today I made a travel map using Trip Advisors handy tools.  Have you played around with this thing?  It’s entirely too easy to squander half a day on the TA site without even blinking.  Reviews, lists, wishlists…  a girl could get lost in it all!

1. New Orleans, LA, USA
2. Estes Park, CO, USA
3. Cancun, Mexico
4. Durango, CO, USA
5. Chicago, IL, USA
6. Austin, TX, USA
7. Laguna Beach, CA, USA
8. Glenwood Springs, CO, USA
9. Manitou Springs, CO, USA

• View my profile
• Create your own travel map or travel blog
• Find vacation rentals at TripAdvisor

I’ve been making lists of fun things on both TA and Foursquare, and man, link building has never been this much fun.   What’s better than slinging your own opinion out into the ether?   Making a “Wish List” for travel was awesome.  I can actually see myself in far off places, sipping drinks I can’t even pronounce.  I can save this list in case I forget some of the cooler, but lesser known, destinations I’ve uncovered.  For, you know, when I win the lottery or something.

Now, back to work.

Peter Dinklage wins Golden Globe

As a HUGE fan of Tyrion Lannister and the Game of Thrones series (HBO and the Martin books), I never doubted that it would be Dinklage who would walk away with the award.  If you’ve read the book series then you know that Peter’s Tyrion is a little more handsome and a little less twisted (physically, not morally – lol) than the written character.  But Peter brings the underdog champion to life with a flair that can only be described as spot on and thrilling to watch.

The Access Hollywood story about Dinklage’s win mentions that he has wrapped up his part of filming season 2 — I think the rest of the crew is now in Iceland filming the scenes for the Wall and the fight with the Wildlings – and those pesky Others.  I cannot wait to see how they take the rollercoaster ride that is A Clash of Kings and turn it into a living, breathing, viewable embodiment of George R. R. Martin’s tale.

I myself am currently finishing up book 3 of the series, A Storm of Swords, and I have no idea how I’m going to wait five years to see the final filming of all these great plot twists and character ruinations.  Spoiler alert here – how in the world will they be able to film Arya’s parts at this pace?  She’ll be a grownup by the time we’re done with all 7 of the books! But I’m sure the producers have already contemplated this. So I won’t lose too much sleep over the issue.

By the way, for those of you who may be fans of this great series (both on the screen and on paper), I HIGHLY recommend the following two links for you to peruse…

Inn at the Crossroads

and

A Cast of Thrones

Inn at the Crossroads is a wonderful site dedicated to all things foodie in Westros.  I’ve baked the bread recipes and love the work and dedication they’ve put into this food blog. So much fun, I’ve literally spent hours and hours reading through all their delicious take on modern vs medieval meals.

Go. Read. Bake. Enjoy!

Cast of Thrones is an off the wall (and wickedly over the top) podcast by a group of friends dedicated to the topic of all things regarding the Game of Thrones series.  These guys get way off track, pretty much every episode, but the joy and fun of this insane cast of characters is that it’s like sitting in your living room with your group of pals shooting the s**t and talking about your favorite HBO miniseries.  Some people find the lack of organization and often off topic banter distracting and unlikeable.  I love their digression-ary tales and they always make me crack up.  Bad thing is, I’m usually listening to these podcasts at work where I sit in a lonely little corner all alone.  So when I start uncontrollably giggling and snorting – I look like some repressed social misfit.  Hmmmm.

Well, I’ll leave it at that.

Go.  Listen. Guffaw.

Woops! I lied… The Absurd Jellyfish is Back Online.

Woops - Absurd Jellyfish is BACK!

Well, look at that.  Guess I do have more to say that really doesn’t fit on any of my other sites. So — the jellyfish has been resurrected! More blog coming about anything and everything NOT related to Colorado Mysteries or Ready Player One. Those topics are covered fairly well by my other sites. Now, I just have to learn to keep up with regular blogging and life will be good!

To begin, I’d like to do a little bit of shameless self promotion (and what blogger in the world does’t partake in that passtime at least once every other post?!)

I’ve entered myself into a contest of sorts over on www.benolabound.com — I’m trying to win one of 25 spots on a documentary “panel” to discover and learn more about New Orleans as a hub for business. This contest was made for me! Ironic that it will take place 2 weeks after my family and I will already have been out there for our family vacation. But, as a wise friend of mine told me (or perhaps it was a wise husband that told me) — “You can never have too many trips to New Orleans!” And I would have to agree. So please, if you see this, take a minute or two to read my application for this wonderful project, then share it with your fellow friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin. I would be forever grateful for any help in promoting my online reach.

Many thanks in advance!

Now, let’s get our writing caps on and start blogging!

Farewell

Ok, it’s obvious that I’m not doing very well with my personal blog.  Maybe I no longer have much to say (I’m sure my kids and husband would say differently, lol).  Maybe it’s because I spend so much of my day working on social media like facebook and twitter for my day job that I no longer feel the need to be blogging my daily thoughts.  Maybe it’s just time to pack it in and say – “It was a lot of fun” – because it WAS.  But now it’s time to put the Jellyfish to sleep.

You can still follow my other ventures if you wish:

SEO Alchemist – my freelance search engine optimization site

Mysterious Colorado – My site dedicated to all things mysterious and paranormal in Colorado

Castle Anorak – A fan site for the Book “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline

Take care, and don’t step on any of those Jellyfish!

~Tammy

Give For Life Event 2011

Kimberly Karsell and the entire Start Talking Network once again did an amazing job at this years fundraising event for suicide awareness in Evergreen, CO.  The event is held at Cactus Jacks Saloon and it is a wonderful tribute to our friend Tom Karsell, and other mountain community members who lost their battle with depression.  The Start Talking Network is dedicated to get help and resources to the mountain communities who have seen a large number of suicides over the last years.  It is a courageous undertaking, but a necessary one.  My gratitude and thanks go out to everyone who made this event so special and to everyone who gave to such a worthy cause!

Where the heck have you been?

Hahaha, no, I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet.  Nor have I been kidnapped by aliens.

Since last leaving a post on The Jellyfish, I have had a bit of a change in my career path.  I went from managing projects, which I neither excelled greatly at nor enjoyed in the least, to working hands on in the search engine marketing department of the same company as a Search Engine Optimization Specialist.  Or, SEO for short.  It’s been nearly a year and I have to say that I am loving everything about the change!  Well, OK, I’d rather be making a $mil a year, BUT that aside (lol) I am loving my new position and responsibilities.  What a huge difference it makes to be hapy at one’s career!

As part of my career change I created what I thought was going to be a one off, or mock project to show my understanding of SEO.  I made a fun little website about Colorado’s mysterious side and optimized it for my interview.  I didn’t really think I would keep going with it, but it has turned into a huge passion!  So, if you want to see what I’ve been doing with my time (when I’m not learning the ropes of a new job, and taking care of two tweens, a dog, a cat, and a husband) check out my “baby” – MysteriousColorado.com

Mysterious Colorado features ghost stories and ghost towns of Colorado AND bizarre historical figures.  I’m not going for the straight Old West history here.  I’m going for weird.  I love me some strange ole Colorado, and my research has not been boring!  It would be nice if I had 100 hours of more free time per week to get my stories and blog posts (for both this blog and Mysterious Colorado) rolling, but c’est la vie, it goes like it goes.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Or so I’m told!

My other side side side project is a personal SEO website for freelance work.  I hope to have that up soon.  When I do, you can probably find a link to it here.

So take a peek at my Colorado site, and check back for (hopefully) more blog activity on the Jellyfish!