What I Will and Won't Miss by Nora Ephron

This list by Nora Ephron, which closes out her 2006 book "I Remember Nothing", is a peek inside her cheeky wit. I wanted to repost it in rememberance of her.

What I Won't MissDry skin
Bad dinners like the one we went to last night
E-mail
Technology in general
My closet
Washing my hair
Bras
Funerals
Illness everywhere
Polls that show that 32 percent of the American people believe in creationism
Polls
Fox TV
The collapse of the dollar
Bar mitzvahs
Mammograms
Dead flowers
The sound of the vacuum cleaner
Bills
E-mail. I know I already said it, but I want to emphasize it.
Small print
Panels on Women in Film
Taking off makeup every night

What I Will Miss

My kids
Nick
Spring
Fall
Waffles
The concept of waffles
Bacon
A walk in the park
The idea of a walk in the park
The park
Shakespeare in the Park
The bed
Reading in bed
Fireworks
Laughs
The view out the window
Twinkle lights
Butter
Dinner at home just the two of us
Dinner with friends
Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives
Paris
Next year in Istanbul
Pride and Prejudice
The Christmas tree
Thanksgiving dinner
One for the table
The dogwood
Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie

Nora Ephron Passes-June 26,2012

Nora Ephron, an essayist and humorist in the Dorothy Parker mold (only smarter and funnier, some said) who became one of her era’s most successful screenwriters and filmmakers, making romantic comedy hits like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally,” died Tuesday night in Manhattan. She was 71.
The cause was pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia, her son Jacob Bernstein said.

In a commencement address she delivered in 1996 at Wellesley College, her alma mater, Ms. Ephron recalled that women of her generation weren’t expected to do much of anything. But she wound up having several careers, all of them successfully and many of them simultaneously.

She was a journalist, a blogger, an essayist, a novelist, a playwright, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a movie director — a rarity in a film industry whose directorial ranks were and continue to be dominated by men. Her later box-office success included “You’ve Got Mail” and “Julie & Julia.” By the end of her life, though remaining remarkably youthful looking, she had even become something of a philosopher about age and its indignities.

“Why do people write books that say it’s better to be older than to be younger?” she wrote in “I Feel Bad About My Neck,” her 2006 best-selling collection of essays. “It’s not better. Even if you have all your marbles, you’re constantly reaching for the name of the person you met the day before yesterday.”

Nora Ephron was born on May 19, 1941, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the eldest of four sisters, all of whom became writers. That was no surprise; writing was the family business. Her father, Henry, and her mother, the former Phoebe Wolkind, were Hollywood screenwriters who wrote, among other films, “Carousel,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “Captain Newman, M.D.”

“Everything is copy,” her mother once said, and she and her husband proved it by turning the college-age Nora into a character in a play, later a movie, “Take Her, She’s Mine.” The lesson was not lost on Ms. Ephron, who seldom wrote about her own children but could make sparkling copy out of almost anything else: the wrinkles on her neck, her apartment, cabbage strudel, Teflon pans and the tastelessness of egg-white omelets.

She turned her painful breakup with her second husband, the Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein, into a best-selling novel, “Heartburn,” which she then recycled into a successful movie starring Jack Nicholson as a philandering husband and Meryl Streep as a quick-witted version of Ms. Ephron herself.

When Ms. Ephron was 4, her parents moved from New York to Beverly Hills, where she grew up, graduating from Beverly Hills High School in 1958. At Wellesley, she began writing for the school newspaper, and in the summer of 1961 she was a summer intern in the Kennedy White House. She said later that perhaps her greatest accomplishment there was rescuing the speaker of the house, Sam Rayburn, from a men’s room in which he had inadvertently locked himself. In an essay for The New York Times in 2003, she said she was also probably the only intern that President John F. Kennedy had never hit on.

After graduation from college in 1962, she moved to New York, a city she always adored, intent on becoming a journalist. Her first job was as a mail girl at Newsweek. (There were no mail boys, she later pointed out.) Soon she was contributing to a parody of The New York Post put out during the 1962 newspaper strike. Her piece of it earned her a tryout at The Post, where the publisher, Dorothy Schiff, remarked: “If they can parody The Post, they can write for it. Hire them.”

Ms. Ephron stayed at The Post for five years, covering stories like the Beatles, the Star of India robbery at the American Museum of Natural History, and a pair of hooded seals at the Coney Island aquarium that refused to mate.

“The Post was a terrible newspaper in the era I worked there,” she wrote, but added that the experience taught her to write short and to write around a subject, since the kinds of people she was assigned to cover were never going to give her much interview time.

In the late 1960s Ms. Ephron turned to magazine journalism, at Esquire and New York mostly. She quickly made a name for herself by writing frank, funny personal essays — about the smallness of her breasts, for example — and tart, sharply observed profiles of people like Ayn Rand, Helen Gurley Brown and the composer and best-selling poet Rod McKuen. Some of these articles were controversial. In one, she criticized Betty Friedan for conducting a “thoroughly irrational” feud with Gloria Steinem; in another, she discharged a withering assessment of Women’s Wear Daily.

But all her articles were characterized by humor and honesty, written in a clear, direct, understated style marked by an impeccable sense of when to deploy the punchline. (Many of her articles were assembled in the collections “Wallflower at the Orgy,” “Crazy Salad” and “Scribble Scribble.”)

Ms. Ephron made as much fun of herself as of anyone else. She was labeled a practitioner of the New Journalism, with its embrace of novelistic devices in the name of reaching a deeper truth, but she always denied the connection. “I am not a new journalist, whatever that is,” she once wrote. “I just sit here at the typewriter and bang away at the old forms.”

Ms. Ephron got into the movie business more or less by accident after her marriage to Mr. Bernstein in 1976. He and Bob Woodward, his partner in the Watergate investigation, were unhappy with William Goldman’s script for the movie version of their book “All the President’s Men,” so Mr. Bernstein and Ms. Ephron took a stab at rewriting it. Their version was ultimately not used, but it was a useful learning experience, she later said, and it brought her to the attention of people in Hollywood.

Her first screenplay, written with her friend Alice Arlen, was for “Silkwood,” a 1983 film based on the life of Karen Silkwood, who died under suspicious circumstances while investigating abuses at a plutonium plant where she had worked. Ms. Arlen was in film school then, and Ms. Ephron had scant experience writing for anything other than the page. But Mike Nichols, who directed the movie (which starred Ms. Streep and Kurt Russell), said that the script made an immediate impression on him. He and Ms. Ephron had become friends when she visited him on the set of “Catch-22.”

“I think that was the beginning of her openly falling in love with the movies,” Mr. Nichols said in an interview, “and she and Alice came along with ‘Silkwood’ when I hadn’t made a movie in seven years. I couldn’t find anything that grabbed me.” He added: “Nora was so funny and so interesting that you didn’t notice that she was also necessary. I think a lot of her friends and readers will feel that.”

Ms. Ephron followed “Silkwood” three years later with a screenplay adaptation of her own novel “Heartburn,” which was also directed by Mr. Nichols. But it was her script for “When Harry Met Sally,” which became a hit Rob Reiner movie in 1989 starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, that established Ms. Ephron’s gift for romantic comedy and for delayed but happy endings that reconcile couples who are clearly meant for each other but don’t know it.

“When Harry Met Sally” is probably best remembered for Ms. Ryan’s table-pounding faked-orgasm scene with Mr. Crystal in Katz’s Delicatessen on the Lower East Side, prompting a middle-aged woman (played by Mr. Reiner’s mother, Estelle Reiner) sitting nearby to remark to her waiter, indelibly, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

The scene wouldn’t have gotten past the Hollywood censors of the past, but in many other respects Ms. Ephron’s films are old-fashioned movies, only in a brand-new guise. Her 1998 hit, “You’ve Got Mail,” for example, which she both wrote (with her sister Delia) and directed, is partly a remake of the old Ernst Lubitsch film ‘The Shop Around the Corner.”

Ms. Ephron began directing because she knew from her parents’ example how powerless screenwriters are (at the end of their careers both became alcoholics) and because, as she said in her Wellesley address, Hollywood had never been very interested in making movies by or about women. She once wrote, “One of the best things about directing movies, as opposed to merely writing them, is that there’s no confusion about who’s to blame: you are.”

Mr. Nichols said he had encouraged her to direct. “I knew she would be able to do it,” he recalled. “Not only did she have a complete comprehension of the process of making a movie — she simply soaked that up — but she had all the ancillary skills, the people skills, all the hundreds of things that are useful when you’re making a movie.”

Her first effort at directing, “This Is My Life” (1992), with a screenplay by Ms. Ephron and her sister Delia, based on a novel by Meg Wolitzer about a single mother trying to become a standup comedian, was a dud. But Ms. Ephron redeemed herself in 1993 with “Sleepless in Seattle” (she shared the screenwriting credits), which brought Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan together so winningly that they were cast again in “You’ve Got Mail.”

Among the other movies Ms. Ephron wrote and directed were “Lucky Numbers” (2000), “Bewitched” (2005) and, her last, “Julie & Julia” (2009), in which Ms. Streep played Julia Child.

She and Ms. Streep had been friends since they worked on “Silkwood” together. “Nora just looked at every situation and cocked her head and thought, ‘Hmmmm, how can I make this more fun?’ ” Ms. Streep wrote in an e-mail on Tuesday.

Ms. Ephron earned three Oscar nominations for best screenplay, for “Silkwood,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally.” But in all her moviemaking years she never gave up writing in other forms. Two essay collections, “I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Reflections on Being a Woman” (2006) and “I Remember Nothing” (2010), were both best sellers. With her sister Delia she wrote a play, “Love, Loss, and What I Wore,” about women and their wardrobes (once calling it “ ‘The Vagina Monologues’ without the vaginas”) and by herself she wrote “Imaginary Friends,” a play, produced in 2002, about the literary and personal quarrel between Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy.

She also became an enthusiastic blogger for The Huffington Post, writing on subjects like the Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn’s accidentally putting a hole in a Picasso he owned and Ryan ONeal’s failing to recognize his own daughter and making a pass at her.

Several years ago, Ms. Ephron learned that she had myelodysplastic syndrome, a pre-leukemic condition, but she kept the illness a secret from all but a few intimates and continued to lead a busy, sociable life.

“She had this thing about not wanting to whine,” the writer Sally Quinn said on Tuesday. “She didn’t like self-pity. It was always, you know, ‘Suck it up.’ ”

Ms. Ephron’s first marriage, to the writer Dan Greenburg, ended in divorce, as did her marriage to Mr. Bernstein. In 1987 she married Nicholas Pileggi, the author of the books “Wiseguy” and “Casino.” (Her contribution to “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure,” edited by Larry Smith, reads: “Secret to life, marry an Italian.”)

In addition to her son Jacob Bernstein, a journalist who writes frequently for the Styles section of The Times, Ms. Ephron is survived by Mr. Pileggi; another son, Max Bernstein, a rock musician; and her sisters Delia Ephron; Amy Ephron, who is also a screenwriter; and Hallie Ephron, a journalist and novelist.

In person Ms. Ephron — small and fine-boned with high cheeks and a toothy smile — had the same understated, though no less witty, style that she brought to the page.

“Sitting at a table with Nora was like being in a Nora Ephron movie,” Ms. Quinn said. “She was brilliant and funny.”

She was also fussy about her hair and made a point of having it professionally blow-dried twice a week. “It’s cheaper by far than psychoanalysis and much more uplifting,” Ms. Ephron said.

Another friend, Robert Gottlieb, who had edited her books since the 1970s, said that her death would be “terrible for her readers and her movie audience and her colleagues.” But “the private Nora was even more remarkable,” he added, saying she was “always there for you with a full heart plus the crucial dose of the reality principle.”

Ms. Streep called her a “stalwart.”

“You could call on her for anything: doctors, restaurants, recipes, speeches, or just a few jokes, and we all did it, constantly,” she wrote in her e-mail. “She was an expert in all the departments of living well.”

The producer Scott Rudin recalled that less than two weeks before her death, he had a long phone session with her from the hospital while she was undergoing treatment, going over notes for a pilot she was writing for a TV series about a bank compliance officer. Afterward she told him, “If I could just get a hairdresser in here, we could have a meeting.”

Ms. Ephron’s collection “I Remember Nothing” concludes with two lists, one of things she says she won’t miss and one of things she will. Among the “won’t miss” items are dry skin, Clarence Thomas, the sound of the vacuum cleaner, and panels on “Women in Film.” The other list, of the things she will miss, begins with “my kids” and “Nick” and ends this way:

“Taking a bath

Coming over the bridge to Manhattan

Pie.”

This article was originally posted by The New York Times Online.

10 Reasons I Love Being Puerto Rican

1.) We have the best music ever! Latin music is so catchy, and everyone knows what it is as soon as it comes on. Whether it's fast or slow, it's the perfect soundtrack to anything. Even a shower is better with latin music playing in the bathroom.
2.) We throw the best parties. We are fully prepared to be up all night and have stocked the bar with rum and Corona, thank you very much.
3.) Puerto Rican women have the best curves. And we're pretty much genetically incapable of losing them.
4.) Puerto Rican women also know how to treat a man. We won't let you step on us, but we will make sure that you are cooked for and taken care of constantly.
5.) We have the best food. Rice and beans? Arroz con gandules? Benid? Yes please.
6.) Our family trees are as long as our names. I swear, I probably haven't even met part of my Puerto Rican side of the family! And trust me, there's a lot already. Wherever you turn, there's aunts, cousins, grandparents, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and someone else gets married into the family every few years.
7.) We have the second most recognizable flag in the world. I'm just saying: tell me what a Canadian flag looks like. Now tell me what a Puerto Rican flag looks like. There you go.
8.) Two words: San Juan. If you've never been there, book the trip. San Juan is just scratching the surface of the beauty of Puerto Rico, but it's a good place to start.
9.) You always know what we're thinking. Our mouths don't shut very easily. My Uela (my nickname for my Abuela) is well known for talking to someone very sweetly while alternately yelling at and beating the crap out of someone else with a chancleta.
10.) No matter where you go, you can find us easily! I swear, I moved down to North Carolina, thinking there would be no Puerto Ricans down here-I met three my first day!

You Know You’re Puerto Rican If …
You have Cilantro growing in the windows and fire escapes, or anywhere that it fits.
You’ve ever used your lips to point something out.
You’ve ever been hit with “chancletas”, ……………….a soft flip flop mom is wearing, and she beats you with it while pissed..and it's so soft you end up laughing and she beats you harder..
or: with the cord of the iron ,she is using to iron with at the moment
You’ve gone to Titi’s house and passed through the “bead
curtain” in the living room.
You step into a house that has all those little figurines taking
up every inch of space on the TV and under the TV.
Your grandmother has a porcelain cat, dog, Buddha or elephant in her
living room.
Almost everyone you know is nicknamed “mira”.
You’ve eaten “esporsoda” with butter.
You have a perpetually drunk neighbor.
You know your mom is sneaking up on you because you can hear the
‘clack-clack’ of her “chancletas”.
Someone in you family is name “Maria”.
You have actually met several people named “Jesus”.
You treat fevers with “alcoholado”.
You need a cup of coffee after every meal.
Your uncle owns more gold than the jewelry shop down the street.
You’ve sat in a two-passenger car with over seven people in it,
and there’s a person shouting “Subete que caben mas!”.
You know at least four of your last names.
You remember Ricky Martin as the little one from Menudo.
You were raised on Goya products (Si es Goya, tiene que ser
bueno).
Your sofa or rug is covered in plastic.
You start clapping when your plane hits the runway.
Your mother, tia, or hermana’s hair is black cherry, “sun in”
red, or a burgundy that would make Celia Cruz jealous.
You go to a wedding or Quinceanera party, gossip about how bad
the food is, but take a plate to go.
You can dance to merengue, cumbia, or salsa without music.
You think Christina can beat Oprah any day.
You can get to your house blindfolded because the smell of
chuletas is SO strong.
Your mother yells at the top of her lungs to call you to dinner
when you live in a one bedroom apartment.
Telenovenas have the status of holy ceremonies.
You think platanos are a whole separate food group.
You have a picture of “Cristo” in your house.
You walk around saying “Chacho”, or “Chacha” or “Ay Bendito”.
Others tell you to stop screaming when you’re really talking.
You know someone who drives a “Cheby”.
A balanced meal consists of rice and beans and some kind of meat.
You know the difference between “Carolina Rice” and everything
else.
The thought of eating fried pork intestines filled with blood
and rice reminds you of Christmas.
You have at least 30 cousins. At least!
You can tell the difference between “Cafe Crema” and “Bustelo”.
And last, but not least:
Your grandmother thinks Vick’s Vapor Rub is the miracle cure for
everything!

Marshmallow Kiss Cookies-More Party Favors

Keeping in the spirit of wedding/bridal shower/baby shower season, here's another Martha Stewart recipe I found that serves the purpose of being both a dessert and a take-away favor. Marshmallow Kisses on top of Vanilla Cookies are just plain good-they're sweet, but not too sweet, and the marshmallow flavor almost makes you feel like a kid again! :) For this recipe, you do have to make two batches of marshmallows to match the yield of the cookie-instead of combining the two batches and doing them both at once, like you can sometimes do with cake and cookie mixes, it's best to do two separate batches of marshmallows so you can be sure they turn out perfectly. In the end, you will end up with one hundred yummy vanilla cookies topped with marshmallows to give out to your guests, no matter what you're celebrating.

Marshmallow Kisses; Makes: 50
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Vegetable oil cooking spray for pans

1 package (2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin

1/3 cup cold water for gelatin, plus 1/4 cup for syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Red food coloring

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Vanilla Cookies

1. Mix cornstarch with confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Coat two rimless baking sheets with cooking spray. Cut parchment to fit pans, draw 1 1/4-inch circles, and place on baking sheets, ink side down; spray with cooking spray. Dust with cornstarch mixture to cover completely; shake off excess. Sprinkle gelatin over the 1/3 cup cold water in a mixer bowl. Let stand to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Heat remaining 1/4 cup water and the granulated sugar in a small pan over medium-high heat, stirring, until dissolved. Place a candy thermometer into syrup; wipe sides of pan with a wet pastry brush if crystals have splattered up. Boil, without stirring, until temperature reaches the soft-ball stage (238 degrees). Remove from heat; add to softened gelatin. Hand-stir with the whisk attachment a few seconds to cool; place bowl on mixer stand. Whisk on medium-high until soft peaks form and mixture holds a shape, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Whisk in the vanilla and a small drop of red food coloring (for pale pink). Transfer half the mixture to a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch tip (such as Ateco #806), and pipe kisses inside circles on baking sheets.
4. Add another drop of food coloring to the mixture in the bowl, return to mixer, and whisk to blend. Transfer marshmallow mixture to the pastry bag, and pipe remaining kisses.
5. Let stand at room temperature until set, about 4 hours. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.
6. To assemble, place a small dab of melted chocolate on each cookie, and top with a kiss. Let stand to harden. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 day. Serve at room temperature.

Mini Vanilla Cookies, Yield: 100

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.) Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer bowl on medium speed. Beat in flour and salt until just combined. Shape into a disc; wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

2.) Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with a 1 1/4-inch round cookie cutter; transfer to prepared pan. Freeze 30 minutes to harden.
3.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until cookies just begin to brown around the edges, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool briefly on parchment, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can package these up in small clear plastic boxes and wrap them up with a ribbon, or create your own packaging according to your event. Happy baking!

Martha's Mini Lemon Pound Cakes

I'm making these as favors for a bridal shower soon, wrapped up nicely with the 1 Corinthians verse about love that most people know ("Love is patient, Love is kind...") printed on the bottom. I'll definitely post some pictures when I do make them. Lemon is a great flavor for the season, and I actually got this recipe from aMartha Stewart Weddings feature-and Martha has never steered me wrong!

Mini Lemon Pound Cakes (makes 9)
Ingredients:

For the Cakes:

• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 11/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus small zest curls for garnish
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus 3 tablespoons for brushing
• 3 large eggs
• 11/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, plus more for garnish
• For the Icing:
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Make the Cakes: Preheat oven to 325. Coat nine 21/4-by-4-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.
• Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add sugar, salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour and poppy seeds, and beat on low speed until just combined. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans, filling almost to the top (about 1/2 cup batter per pan).
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Immediately brush tops of cakes with lemon juice. Let cool 30 minutes. Unmold and let cool on a wire rack.
• Make the Icing: Whisk confectioners' sugar, cream, and lemon juice until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl. Drizzle cakes with icing (about 2 tablespoons per cake), and garnish with poppy seeds and lemon zest curls.

What Should You Splurge On For Your Kitten?

I have two furry, bratty little boys named Jezebel and Joey who run my life. These little cutie pies can win me over by rolling over.

We've been through it all with them. We've raised Jezebel from the time he was six weeks old, and we've gone through food changes, neutering, fleas, tape worms, and a UTI. Joey was 9 months old when we adopted him, and over the past two months, we've had to tame his scratching tendencies and work on his constant battling with Jezebel over who's "man of the house". Sometimes, you don't have money for the most expensive pet products, and you find yourself worrying over what things you should spend that extra dollar on. Here are a few do's and don'ts, from my experience, to guide you a little bit:

Do splurge on food. What you put in your cat's stomach is a hard thing to decide. Many go the route of wet food, but we've found much more success keeping them on a dry food diet. Either way, many brands include both dry and wet food. Splurging on it is ultimately worth it-the more real ingredients that are in your pet;s food in the place of "chicken meal" and "beef filler", the better for their sensitive digestive system. We've found the most success with Blue Buffalo (from about $9.99 for a 2 lb. bag, Petsmart.com or your local Petsmart) and Purina Pro Plan (starting at about $12.99 for a 3 lb. bag). Purina Pro Plan has especially been our savior since Jezebel had his UTI-we switched to the Urinary Tract formula and he's been fine ever since, not to mention that it was extremely easy and painless to switch the foods and both cats like the Pro Plan.

Do splurge on a catnip plant. A catnip plant is barely a splurge at around $6.99 per plant at Petsmart, but it's a little extra something that most people don't think about. Catnip can keep your cat calm when need be or get them excited when it's rubbed on a toy. It's one of the most useful plants ever-just be sure to store it out of your cat's reach, or else you could find it chewed to pieces all over the floor one morning.

Do splurge on litter. Do you want the smell and the mess? No. And neither does your cat. Litter is worth springing on simply because it keeps your house from stinking and keeps your cats from going in other places in the house because they are trying to get away from the smell. Plus, I've generally found that buying litter under $6, unless it's a reputable name brand on sale, doesn't bode well-a lot of them have powdery deodorizers whose smells clash with the smell of the cat's little, or form puffy clouds of powder when your cat kicks litter over his business or you try to pour new litter into the litter box. The best solution, and actually a fairly affordable one, is to get a Tidy Cats 30 lb. tub (about $15.99, PetSmart, Petco, and some drugstores) and continue refilling it with bags of Tidy Cat Litter (about $9.99 each, Petsmart, Petco, and some drugstores). We prefer the long-lasting action-it controls the smell completely, doesn't have any perfumes that confuse the cats by covering up their smell with flowery scents, and clumps better than any cat litter we've ever used.

Do splurge on an extra scratching post. Teaching your cat not to scratch things is about as nerve wracking as litter box training. It's even worse when you have two cats. Multiple scratch posts are key. We have one scratch mat that lays on the floor ($9.99, Petsmart) and one scratch ramp ($19.99, Petsmart), and our cat's scratching is pretty much nonexistent now. What do you think is a better investment: trying to save money by wrapping sisal around random things to make unsuccessful homemade cat posts and risking having to repair your furniture when it gets clawed to pieces, or investing $30 in two cat posts and skipping the destruction of your furniture all together?

Don't splurge on a cat bed. I get it, trust me. It's extremely easy to get sucked into the experience of buying expensive Martha Stewart pet beds, especially because you want your kitty cat to feel comfortable. But trust me-your cat will find its own comfort. Cats sleep on tables, couches, heads, your bed-pretty much any place that's warm, they'll curl right up and take a nap. In the winter, ours sometimes even sleep under the blankets with us.

Don't splurge on toys. I swear, cats will play with anything. A shoelace. A q-tip. If it's in their way or sticking out in a weird spot,they will be entertained. Use a laser pointer if you really want to keep them, and yourself, entertained. You can give them homemade toys (just make sure there's no loose threads) or stock up on things from the dollar store-I've gotten many goldfish with catnip openings for $1, and Jezebel has loved them all.

Don't splurge on a litter box. No, you don't need the $69, two story litter box with stairs and a matching mat and dome lid. Cats are more concerned with being in a space big enough for them to stretch out and do their business-nothing else. Get a plain, ordinary, mid-size plastic litter box with a lid and an opening for about $9 at Walmart, get a mat if you wish for an extra $4.99 so your kitty doesn't track as much litter around the house, and that's that-add litter, keep it clean, and you have a happy kitty.

Don't splurge on treats. As long as you get your cat dental treats, not just regular treats, you're set. Buy a bag on sale at Petsmart for $1.50 (there's a cat treat sale just about every other week) and give two to your cat every other day to keep their teeth clean. And yes, the dental treats work just as well as regular ones when you're training and rewarding your cat.

My First Trip Back to NJ

Sometimes, you just need to go back home for a couple days. I was so excited to go visit Al's family and a couple of friends, even though it was just for the weekend. Mini vacations are fun, and it was sorely needed by myself and everyone else involved.

              As you can see, Jezebel wasn't too fond of the idea. That's him sleeping in Al's suitcase.

The beautiful sky over a wild field crossing from North Carolina into Virginia. Everything in the country is so vivid! And it was really a beautiful day to drive up.

Oh, did I mention our epic gas station dinner? We stopped at a little soul food place inside a gas station and got Jamaican Beef Patties, hand made, and BLT Potato Chips. That's pretty much the most well-rounded meal I could think of.

I shot this over Al as he was driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The water is so clear, it just sparkles when the light hits it right! This seventeen mile bridge can be a bit nervewracking, but it's so scenic that it's well worth it.

The sun was so pretty as it was setting over the landscape of Maryland, right beyond the Virginia border.

Eddie was clearly excited to see us....

I had to finally sell Larry, my very first, old faithful, Jeep. The first car I ever bought for myself! ::sniff sniff:: Five minutes after I took this picture he was gone!

If you can't tell, that's a bonfire, a string of Christmas lights, and two plastic chairs in front of the camper we were staying in. We also had a cooler of beer. You can't take the south out of the boy, can you? :)

I go to hang out with this girl for one night, and she whips out a snake on me! What is this madness?

The way back was just as nice as the way up, if not nicer because we were more relaxed. We took the scenic route again and took our time on it, stopping at a few small convenience stores and fireworks stops along the way. I'm already excited for my next trip! The nine hour drive is way worth it.



A Yummy Summer Lunch: Cuban Quesadilla and Homemade Potato Chips

I love Cuban sandwiches. I had my first one a few years ago and fell in love (I think this is mostly due to my intense love of pickles). This is a recipe for a single serving of its spin-off, the Cuban Quesadille, and of course, you can add more lunchmeat and cheese if you're really hungry! That's the great thing about a simple sandwich-it can turn into something so unique to your own flavor. And what better to go with a Cuban Quesadilla than some homemade potato chips? I usually make my potato chips a little thick so that I get a slightly crunchy outside and a nice, soft inside. The potato chip recipe is also great for breakfast with some eggs, bacon, and toast!

Cuban Quesadilla (Single Serving

1 oz roast pork

1 slice swiss cheese 

1 oz honey ham

1 slice kosher dill pickle

mustard of your choice (I like Jack Daniels Horseradish Mustard)

One 6 inch tortilla

Heat a non-stick pan over low heat. Spray with cooking spray and place tortilla on pan. On half of the tortilla, place a piece of cheese, pork, ham, pickle and mustard. When cheese is melted, fold the quesadilla in half and flip to heat other side. Remove from heat and cut into 3 pieces.

Homemade Potato Chips
-1 potato, sliced
-peanut oil for frying
-1/2 TBSP chili powder
-2 tsp paprika
-salt and pepper

Heat 1 TBSP peanut oil in a deep skillet on medium heat. Coat potato slices with season, making sure both sides of slices are evenly coated. Once oil is heated enough for frying, drop potatoes in and fry for about 5 minutes, turning evenly. Heat varies on different stoves, so test the potatoes for doneness before you take them out of the pan. Once they are soft enough to eat but a little crispy on the outside, remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain grease.

A Moment of Broetry: Ode to the Jeep

How do I love Jeep? Let me count the ways...

Could it be your six different models in all different shades, and colors?

Or your gigantic wheels, made for the summer?

Nay, possibly it is your bad ass steering;

Or that when your top is off, people cannot help but peering;

Maybe the secret lies in your grill, or the way that your wheels grip up and down the hill.

And lest a burnout opportunity pass me by, you are prepared for the challenge, so young and spry.

Should I back into a wall, you are built like a tank; There is simply no other SUV that matches your rank.

Eventually, my door hinges shall rust, and possibly, my engine will bust/but your mileage, it stretches far; at 300,000 there you are.

Should I suddenly decide to take up fishing, your hatchback will accomodate my mission;

With the space inside your trunk, 17 mexicans could lay and bunk.

And should I turn you into a Monster Truck, I know that you will only bring me luck.

My dearest Jeep, you never let me down; through thick and thin, you take the car crown.

Sunday Morning French Toast

I got this recipe from a friend, and it's so great. It's the perfect Sunday morning main breakfast dish- French Toast. Everyone makes french toast differently, and there are quicker ways to make it, but nothing beats letting the nice, thick bread soak up the mixture overnight. Even if you can't soak it overnight, the half and half in the recipe instead of just regular milk clings to the bread more and gives you that nice, crispy outside while still keeping the inside moist. Just add coffee, maple syrup, and fruit to the breakfast table, and you're all set for the day. I love french toast!

Ingredients

1 cup half-and-half

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 (1/2-inch) slices day-old or stale country loaf, brioche or challah bread

4 tablespoons butter

Directions

In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

Ten Things I Love About...New Jersey

Exactly one week from today, I will be visiting my friends and Al's family in New Jersey! The excitement is building. I love living in North Carolina, and it is where I belong right now-the cost of living is low and the job that I have is fantastic. It's a great place to start out and build yourself up. But you still can't beat going home to visit :) So in honor of my upcoming vacation, I've decided to do something very easy: list ten things that I love about New Jersey, in no particular order.

                                                                 1.) Atlantic City

I'm sorry, Atlantic City is unbeatable. It's big enough to be a city but small enough that you know your way around. It wakes up early with Starbucks, McDonalds, and the beach and goes to sleep late, if at all, with casinos, clubs, concerts, and pizza joints that stay open until 4 am. You never have to drive anywhere if you don't want, because there are taxis, trains, and buses everywhere.

                                                            2.) Bagels and Lox

There is absolutely, positively nothing better for breakfast in the summer than a lox and cream cheese bagel. It's filling, it's creamy, it's sweet, and then salty from the fish-perfection. If you go really traditional, you get the onions and tomatoes too. I sincerely miss these!

3.) Beach Towns

There's just something about the beach towns in NJ that I haven't seen another state match. Here in North Carolina, we have beach towns, but they almost operate like small cities, and there's still a lot of more woodsy areas around the beach, which gives you that country feeling. The beach towns in NJ are just amazing. There's boardwalks, rides, restaurants on the boardwalk, hotels near the beach, bar blocks-everything you could imagine. It's the perfect temperature throughout the day in the beach towns-even when it's hot, the cool salt breeze blows often enough to cool you off. The air all throughout the towns is salty and sweet, and it truly feels like a vacation. NJ beach towns are the best.

4.) Boardwalk Food

Another thing that's great about beach towns: boardwalk food. There's just something about boardwalk food that can't be explained. There's places where you can sit down and have a pizza and full meal with your family, and there's places where you can just grab an order of fried oreos and a polish water ice. Boardwalk food is one of those guilty pleasures that make summer fun, whether it's a milkshake or a fried twinkie.

                                                               5.) Bowling Alleys

I swear, no matter what town you're in, there's a bowling alley within 10 miles. I lived in Mays Landing, and I had two within that distance. The sports bars inside usually sell pizza and give you more bang for your buck on bar drinks too, not to mention most have an arcade games and pool tables. The bowling alleys in NJ are more like giant bars with the lanes to keep you entertained. And trust me, when you're 13, it's either go bowling or go to the movies, and bowling is cheaper and has better food.

                                                                    6.) Concerts

There are a ton of concert venues within driving distance in NJ. Atlantic City has at least 11 major venues alone. Then there's Starland Ballroom, PNC Arts Center, The Meadowlands Complex, the Susquehanna Bank Center-and that's just a sampling. If the artist you want isn't playing in NJ, Philadelphia is only a 2 hour drive away from most of New Jersey. Even if you can't afford to go to a higher priced celebrity concert, NJ has an insanely talented and diverse music scene. Find the dive bar closest and drop in on a Saturday night-you're guaranteed to not break the bank, get drinks, and maybe discover a new rock band or jazz musician you like.

7.) Public Transportation

Another added bonus when you're too old to want to be carted around by your parents but still too young to drive: public transportation. Public transportation is amazing. It's convenient when you need to save gas, when you want to take a long trip but don't want to put wear and tear on your car, or when you want to make it a late night and need a ride home. NJ Transit buses and trains go to almost every town in NJ, and if worse comes to worse, you can call a cab and be on your way in minutes.

                                      8.) You're neighbors with Philadelphia and New York

New Jersey is in good company. Nestled between two of the most influential cities, Philadelphia and New York, New Jersey is the suburban middle ground. It's great for families to live in and raise their kids, but still be in close proximity to a city with great jobs. NJ is the more affordable choice for Broadway stars to live, and it's the place where dreams are born and then taken to Philadelphia or New York to prosper. Only two to three hours away from each other, these states belong together on the map.

9.) Homemade Fudge

There is nothing like homemade fudge. I love that in a lot of NJ fudge shops, you can walk in and see the salt water taffy being pulled right in front of you and the fudge being made and cut behind glass. You always know it's fresh and homemade, and it always hits the spot and makes a great gift.

10.) Diversity

There are all kinds of people in NJ. There are Indians, Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, Irish, Jamaican-most schools are extremely diverse. This huge mixing of cultures makes for a good environment to grow up in, free of racism. There are many people of many different heritages, and you can find them sprinkled throughout NJ.

Your Friday Wake-Up Call: How to Pack the Perfect Beach Bag

The first weekend of June means beach time! So now that you've done your full on awesome pedicure courtesy of last Friday's Wake-Up Call and painted your fingernails to match, it's time to pack up and head to the beach. So that you don't forget a thing, here's a list of things that I pack every time I set out for a beach day:

Start with the beach bag. You want something that you don't mind getting sandy, that has a zip or latch so less people are tempted to touch, and something big enough to hold your stuff. You can get them in all kinds of prints and colors, so have fun with it. (Tote, YMI Jeans.)

Pack your sunscreen. Don't forget your sunscreen! Ever! It's best to go with something mostly waterproof, with an SPF of 30 (too low, you may not have enough protection for the day; higher than 30, there's no real benefits, since SPF 30 still protects you for about 10 hours.) Some sunscreens, like Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Sunscreen, have the SPF 30 requirement, disappear well into the skin, and have the added benefit of bug repellent to keep away green heads and mosquitoes.

Bring the camera. You don't want to miss any beach moments! Don't bring your digital camera unless it's waterproof (yes, even if you put it in a plastic bag). Sand and all kinds of things can still get into the lens. Grab a waterproof disposable camera from CVS and go the regular film route, taking pictures and getting them developed. This way, you don't harm your digital camera by exposing it to the elements and you get the added excitement of looking forward to seeing the pictures once they're developed. And if they're not perfect, so what? Imperfect pictures are funny. And it will still cost less than replacing your damaged digital camera.

Grab your sunglasses. Buy a pair with dark lenses, not yellow or lighter tinted ones. Darker lenses protect your eyes better from the sun's rays. Trust me, it's no fun to lay back and tan or nap when you can't shut out the sun.

 You need some tunes. Go grab a cheap clock-radio that takes batteries if you don't already have music on your phone or an mp3 player with small speakers. The beach is just more fun when listening to "Soak Up the Sun" with your friends and ACTUALLY soaking up the sun.

And last but not least....the towel! Oh, the towel. You should actually bring two: One to lay on, and one to dry off with. Make sure they're big and fun printed. You don't have to bring your best towels or anything too fluffy-there's no point if your towel's going to get messed up anyway. You want to have fun, not worry about your 30 dollar towel that you just spilled beer on.

I'm not including the cooler in here, because that's a whole different story! You always need to bring a cooler to the beach with plenty of ice, beers, bottled water to rehydrate, and snacks. Remember to not bring too many super sweet snacks-it will attract those pesky bugs. Bring apples or raisins if you're going the fruit route. Your best bet is a bag of trail mix, some baked potato chips, or crackers. As long as you throw good friends into the mix, you'll have the perfect beach day! :)

The Perfect Dinner For Two

Al and I had the most perfect dinner tonight :) It's something fun and delicious, and something that you and your boyfriend or girlfriend can make together. Al grilled the steaks on our trusty charcoal grill while I made the potatoes and vegetables. He drank Yuengling (which also happens to be my favorite beer, especially with something as hearty and full-flavored as steak) and I drank 2011 Steeple Jack Moscato wine-a fruity but smooth wine, not too sweet, but not as olive-tasting and tart as a lot of white wines. So here it is, the perfect date night dinner on the porch as the sun goes down: Rib-Eye Steaks (or any quality steak, really), Herbed Baked Potatoes, and Snow Peas with Red Peppers.

To make the potatoes:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/2 TBSP paprika, 1/2 TBSP rosemary, and 1/2 TBSP thyme. Take your first potato and coat it with the oil-herb mixture. Wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and place in a baking dish or on a small pan. Do the same with your second potato. Bake for about 1 hour, or until fork-tender (soft to the touch, but still a bit firm).


To make the steak:

Steaks are always best done on a grill, and they're something everyone should know how to cook well. Fire up your charcoal grill. Once it reaches about 250 degrees, rub the steaks with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place them on the grill and cook for about 30 minutes, flipping occasionally. You should always check steaks to make sure they're done, with rare steaks reaching a temperature of 125, as grill temps vary according to what kind of grill you have and the type of steak you're cooking.

If you don't have a grill, just rub down the steaks with the oil, salt, and pepper and take out your cast-iron frying pan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pour 1 TBSP of olive oil in the pan and heat the pan until the oil shimmers. Cook the steaks for about 3 minutes on each side, until the outside is nice and brown. After browning, place the pan in the oven for about seven minutes, then check the temperature. Remember: for rare, you want 125; for medium rare, you want 135; for medium, you want about 145; and for well done, your steak should be at least 160. The best steaks I've had have been medium rare, but it's all about personal preference.

To make the vegetables:

Pour 1 TBSP of oil into a wok or saute pan. Heat on medium heat. Add 1 cup of snow peas and 1 sliced red pepper. Sprinkle 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, and 1 TBSP sesame seeds on top. Saute vegetables until soft enough to eat, about 5 minutes.

And since it's summer time, instead of making a dessert, you can make a quick ice cream run to the local parlor or enjoy an ice-cream cone at home on the hammock. Happy date night and happy summer!