Shop for the holidays, Support the Denver Women's Chorus

On Sunday, December 6th, Shop at any Barnes & Noble Nationwide and raise funds for The Denver Women's Chorus. All that's needed is a voucher...E-mail me for this voucher and more details. Happy Holidays!

More Chicken and Special Potatoes

This year for Thanksgiving, my sweetie wanted to make a turkey using the "Spatchcocked" method. Do I know what that means? Well, sort of. It has something to do with the way it is cut open, or something. Since the last thing you want on Thanksgiving is a disaster, a practice run was made on a chicken, and here is a picture of a "spatchcocked" chicken.



Inspired by my trip to Paris last spring my sweetie decided to bake it with potatoes on the bottom so that the juices from the chicken would marinate them as they cooked so they are soaked in chicken juices. See what it looked like:



Holy cow. it was just like in Paris....so delicious.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Yummy Chicken

This is a plate of Thai Chicken with sticky rice and lettuce. My sweet heart made it but I helped flip it on the grill. It is the best chicken in the world. Yummy!!

Shaky Ground

I am so tired and sad. It is so hard to motivate yourself when there are people in your life that do whatever they can to bring you down. I am angry that I have let anyone hurt me and make me feel this way. I must do whatever I can to get past this and move on...that means accepting that I can't change other people, only myself.

"Wicked" is still wicked!

I went to see the show Wicked last night for the second time and I still love it so much. Defying Gravity and For Good are still really awesome tunes. I feel inspired once again to get up off my duff and get started and this show makes me feel like I can. If I am really going to start my life over again I need all the help I can get.....thank goodness I still have my music!

Should I or Shouldn't I?

With Halloween just barely coming up I'm doing something that I usually loathe...planning for the holidays. I have always been a big giver of treats for the holidays and it always makes me feel good, but I am trying to decide if I want to bake at all this year. I am debating whether the warm fuzzies outweigh the cost. I'm also not sure if I really want to have the leftovers in the house as I have gained weight since I joined the ranks of the unemployed 3 1/2 months ago. I guess I will go with the wait and see approach...at least until Thanksgiving.

Come to Lunafest and Support the Denver Women's Chorus

Lunafest is a short films festival by, for and about women and a huge amount of funds raised for the October 23rd showing will go to the Denver Women's Chorus.
For more information:
http://www.lunafest.org/
Come and join me for this fabulous event!

Sometimes I hate being responsible!

OK, so Emma's Revolution is finally coming back to town...and I can't go. It falls on the same day as a DWC event, and I have committed to singing. It's a bitch being a grown up...oh well.

Being Stuck and Other Gripes

I was talking to someone over the weekend and I realized that I have been unemployed now for about 2 months. This isn't bad.....I know someone who has been looking since the beginning of the year and it could be worse. I know this, and I am doing everything to keep my chin up. Along with this I had another revelation. With the exception of a brief time in the mid 90's I have never been without a job. This fills me with anxiety and a sense of urgency. I FEEL STUCK. Like I can't move, or act or make a decision. Am I not trying hard enough, or am I being too picky? I don't know....maybe. I also feel like that kid I was in the late 80's when I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I still don't know the answer to this question. Who does? Maybe I am just being moody.
As I embark on my journey of career change I hope I am doing the right thing. Can a 39 year old woman who suddenly can't remember little things about conversations (I used to remember too much) really go back to school? I guess we will have to see.

Remembering 9/11

I said a little prayer this morning, for all those who lost their lives and the families still mourning their loved ones. It is so hard to believe that it has been 8 years since that horrifying day. I can still remember how I was feeling, how all of us were feeling. Keeping in that same mode I turned on my MP3 player and listened to "If I Give Your Name" by Emma's Revolution. The song really portrays the plight of the undocumented workers that died and their families. It is such a fantastic song because it helps us remember our compassion. We always forget our compassion when immigration, particularly illegal immigration is discussed. I of all people could be angry as I am unemployed myself, but I can't help but feel for all people who want a better life. I want a better life so why wouldn't anyone else? I'm sure when some read this they will be angry at my stance. I understand that, and they have that right. I just hope that they will listen to the song and try to remember who we are. As Americans we are generous, intellegent and yes, compassionate people. Let us not forget that.

A Toast to the Taste

The Taste of Colorado that is. It was amazing as ever with a variety of yummy eats and treats. This year we decided to stick to the different things (except for roasted corn, that is a must) and as always we went crazy in the fine dining area. A couple highlights: Crispy Orange Peel Duck Leg's and Banana & Cheesecake Springroll (it was deep fried) from Ling and Louie's. We also enjoyed Bacon Ice Cream with Bacon bit sprinkles and Chocolate Covered Bacon.
Check it out on the right --->
Everything is better with bacon....pure evil good.

We were blessed with cooler weather than usual so it was very crowded as you can see. Below is a shot of the fine dining area at dinner time.

Fun was had by all, can't wait until next year!

Check out Duo Restaurant

I love Duo Restaurant in the Highland neighborhood. They serve what is called "new American" cuisine and it is fabulous! We ate there last week (after the movie Julie and Julia) and enjoyed a delicious meal.

http://www.duodenver.com/index.html

I had the pan roasted Bass topped with remoulade, served over fried green tomatoes and wilted greens. And my sweety had the Beet Carpacio to start, then Pork Porterhouse with a smoked tomato and pepper relish and sweet corn grits. We split the Chocolate Truffle Cake with Banana Gelato and Salted Almond Crunch for dessert....Heavenly! But the real star was the wine.....a wonderful white blend from France: Willm Gentil, White Blend- Alsace, France 2007

So great with food, not too dry and not sweet.....just great.

Duo is great and reasonable and I highly recommend it!

Join my Denver Race for the Cure Team!

At the rate I am going I will be walking alone at the Denver Race For the Cure.......Don't make me do that!
Go to the link on the left and click on "Join Stephanie's Team" and follow the instructions from there. Folks out of state can can choose the "Sleep In" option when they join. Comment with your questions!

Movie and a Rant About Movie Theatre Patrons

I went to see "Julie and Julia" this weekend and wow, what a great movie it was. Meryl Streep was as brilliant as ever.....I highly recommend it to all. You'll laugh, cry and want to eat after. I now must go to my local library and get in line for Julia Childs French cookbook.

That said, I want to rant about one of my biggest pet peeves: Talking in movie theatres. Why do people feel the need to make constant comments throughout the running of a film? It is so distracting and rude. For anyone reading this that talk in movies......if you are tempted to even say one word during a movie....don't do it. Think about the fabulous conversations you can have at dinner afterwards.

Tony Bourdain in Denver

I just heard that Tony Bourdain (famous for his show No Reservations on the Travel Channel) is coming to town on November 18th.

I Do Have People Skills, Go Figure

I was riding the bus the other day and texting someone I was supposed to meet later. It was beginning to storm and I wanted my friend to know I was OK, when a dude walked up to me and asked "do you have a phone I can use?" I just shook my head no. He gestured to my phone and said "but you got one right there in front of me", to this I replied, "yes, I have a phone but you can't use it". Then he asked "why do you have to dog me, and be all manipulative for...." I just said, "I don't know you, I'm not manipulating you, I told you the truth". He couldn't argue with that and left me alone......I guess a bit of truth was just the ticket.

To Change or Not to Change

I recently went to a career counseling class to see what else I might be good at. I was very surprised at what I tested well for. According to my many tests and scores I should be working in Health Care, namely: radiology. I do find the field interesting BUT I was still shocked. I already have a B. A. in Psychology and I was thinking about going further with that but my tests showed that I was less suited for counseling....huh, go figure. I see that Community College of Denver has a program, Great, its a 3 semester program, OK.....pre-requisites: English composition, no problem, Intro Psychology or Intro Sociology (I have taken both), something called Intro to Medical Terminology, sounds fascinating, Intro to Radiology, excellent.....then I get to the kiss of death: Mat 121 or higher. I think uh oh.....is that Math? I look it up in the course catalog and yes it is, Algebra to be exact; my nemesis, what almost prevented me from getting my B.A. in the first place........
I am really excited about making a career change and applying for the program but suddenly I am freaking out. I now must figure out if I willing to put myself through that hell or re-evaluating this whole thing. Ack...the drama.

Cuss Word Substitutes

I am trying to not be such what my other half calls "a sailor" so I have been trying to substitute my usual favorites with some substitutions:
Holy Jebus, cheese doodles, son of a biscuit, and cheese and crackers come to mind.......
But its hard. What can I say, I'm a work in progress.

Yay...Top Chef is back!

I really enjoyed "Top Chef Masters" on Bravo. How awesome that one of my favorite chefs Rick Bayless (Mexico: One Plate at a Time) won the competition...and with black mole. The finale of "Masters" was followed by the first show of "Top Chef: Las Vegas" which looks to be a very exciting season (the fact that it is in one of my favorite places in the whole world helps alot). And already we know who the A**hole is this season, Michael Isabella. There is always one guy who thinks that "girls" can't cook better than him. We will have to see if he gets his balls handed to him by one of the "girl" chefs....go for it ladies.

They sure make you work for it

I never thought that a well educated person such as myself would be so confused but filing for unemployment has been a struggle. They really make you work for it.

How does this happen?

I saw this sign in my neighborhood and it just seemed funny. My friend and I were wondering if they let it out and and forgot to let it back in.......

40/190

I failed to mention in my first post that I am currently unemployed. It was unexpected and I want to give you an idea of what the job market is like because I didn't really know until now. I recently applied for a job where I was given 2 tests as the first step. One test was to check and see if I actually knew how to use job required software, the second was to see if I could do clerical functions like filing, communicating effectively, basic math, etc. When I arrived I found out that 190 people had applied for the one position and only the top three scorers would be recommended for interview. I tried not to let that discourage me and found the tests relatively simple (minus the crazy word problems that I will not torture you with). I did my best and waited with anticipation to see what would happen. The letter that came the following week said "We are pleased to notify you that you have passed all of the required tests..." well duh......it then said I scored 90 which makes me eligible, ranking 40. What does that mean? I don't know........What I do know is that 40th out of 190 won't be how I think of myself.

Why "Butter Bits"

You might ask "why butter bits?" Butter was my nickname growing up and it continues to be an influence on me. Since I wanted this to be a generic blog about my life observations I thought Butter Bits summed up many of my interests. I am many things in this life: I'm a foodie, baker, lover of good wine (because life is too short to drink bad wine) and chorus geek. I am hoping that I can amuse, entertain and most of all, teach others with my rants.