Buy the T-shirt here: http://www.dramapatrol.com/designs/view_design/Nerdy_girls?d=289947133
Current Mood:
Amused
Made me giggle
Month: June 2012
Just a regular Thursday morning
Bean, Rabbit and I, on our way to work.
Why? What happened? Who’s that?
Those are Bean’s favourite questions at the moment and they seem to come, rapid-fire and nonstop, out of his mouth with military precision.
DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!!!!
[Gallery] Fabio Napoleoni
DeviantArt: http://napoleoni3art.deviantart.com/
What the Heart wants and the Heart needs can be found in a Fabio Napoleoni painting. Nostalgia, sorrow and moments that lift the soul are all there for the world to see and experience along with him. The vivid colors and captivating characters invite you into an emotional ride that is welcomed by the mind and the Heart. Simple landscapes set the stage to the value of emotional attachment that can be compared to no other.
It all started in Ponce, Puerto Rico 1972. Every child loves to spend time playing outside, but this was not an option for Fabio. From birth the artist suffered from asthma so horrific that several times a week he needed allergy shots to prevent severe asthma from consuming him. Many days and weeks were spent on the family sofa surrounded by art supplies given to him by his mother. An artist herself, she noticed that creating art came much easier to her son that it did for her. So, during the times that asthma overwhelmed him, she felt compelled to supply his creative side with the tools to create.
Many events influenced Fabios’ artwork but none more than the traumatic events that followed the birth of his second child. His daughter, born with major heart abnormalities, had to face several surgeries to correct issues that could prevent her from having a future. Overwhelmed with his daughter’s issues and surrounded by an emotional sea of sorrow from other parents in the same situation, Fabio grew. While his wife and daughter slept, Fabio wondered the halls of the Children’s Care Unit looking for a spot where he could sketch out his personal thoughts. From these thoughts a new form of creativity was born. The doors to Fabio Napoleoni’s Heart were now opened for the world to experience.
It took a traumatic experience for Fabio to realize what he was missing in his work… emotion. He had all the ingredients to create but none that captivated the soul. With his new ideas and old sketches in hand Fabio added the last ingredient needed. With his vibrant and bold use of colors along with many of his characters, Fabio has managed to create an emotional value to art that has been missing. His paintings could have a thousand titles and every one would be fitting of the image he has created; but one thing is for sure, you will always find a beautiful Heart in every piece of his work. A symbol of his love for his daughter… she lives today and will forever in his work.
Current Mood:
Calm
[Recipe] Tartiflette
![[Recipe] Tartiflette](https://www.flubu.com/blog/wp-post-avatar/garfield-burp.jpg)
Serve this French cheesy potato dish with pickled onions, gherkins, charcuterie and a salad.
Ingredients
1kg Charlotte potatoes, peeled (or any waxy potato)
250g bacon lardons
1 onion, finely chopped
100ml oz white wine
150 ml single cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 whole Reblochon cheese (about 450g/1lb), sliced
25g butter
splash of olive oil
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 7.
2. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then add in the potato slices and boil for 8-10 minutes, until just tender. Drain.
3. Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan. Add in the onion and fry gently for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.
4. Add in the bacon, mixing well, and fry for a further 5 minutes until both the onion and bacon are lightly browned. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
5. Layer half the potato slices in a buttered 1.5 litre ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over half the onion and bacon mixture and half the Reblochon cheese. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper.
6. Repeat the layering with the remaining potato, onion, bacon and Reblochon.
7. Pour the cream evenly over the potato dish.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
9. Remove from the oven and serve.
Current Mood:
Cold
[Recipe] Paella
![[Recipe] Paella](https://www.flubu.com/blog/wp-post-avatar/love.jpg)
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
6 chicken thighs, boned, skinned, cut in half
150g Mathesons smoked sausage
2 onions, chopped
1 large red pepper, quartered, deseeded and sliced
1 large green pepper, quartered, deseeded and sliced
150g peas
1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
2 pinches saffron (or 1/2 tsp tumeric)
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 bay leaf
250g paella rice
1L pints hot chicken or vegetable stock
24 raw king prawns
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful chopped fresh flatleaf parsley, to garnish
lemon wedges, to serve
Method
Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a 36cm/14in paella pan or a very large frying pan set over a medium heat. Season the chicken thighs with rosemary, chili powder, salt and freshly ground black pepper and fry for five minutes, turning regularly until lightly coloured. Add the sausage and cook for a further minute. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl with a slotted spoon.
Add the onions to the pan and fry gently for five minutes until soft and lightly golden-brown. Add the remaining oil, red pepper and green pepper to the onions and cook for two minutes, or until beginning to soften. Stir in the smoked paprika and cook for a further minute.
Stir in the saffron, bay leaf and rice and cook for one minute until the rice is coated all over with the oil. Return the chicken and sausage to the pan, along with any juices that have collected underneath the meat. Stir well, then pour over the stock. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat and cook for 18 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Reduce the heat slightly, scatter the prawns over the top of the paella and continue cooking for a further 6-8 minutes, or until the rice is tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, turning the prawns once and pushing into the rice where you can. The prawns should be completely pink once cooked. It is important not to stir the paella after the prawns are added as you want the rice to become lightly browned and a bit sticky on the bottom as this adds lots of flavour.
Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and serve with the lemon wedges.
Enjoy with some freshly made white wine spritzer.
Current Mood:
Full
Chatty Bean
I have just been told by Bean that we need to take a holiday by the seaside so he can go on a boat and eat blue ice cream. Also, his stuffed polar bear needs to come along because it likes to swim in the ocean.
[Gallery] Victor Ostrovsky
![[Gallery] Victor Ostrovsky](https://www.flubu.com/blog/wp-post-avatar/gorgeousness.gif)
Victor John Ostrovsky is an author, artist, and former case officer for the Israeli Mossad. He authored two non-fiction books about his service with the Mossad, as well as two other novels and several screenplays. While he has painted many subjects, Ostrovsky is best known for his Metaphors of Espionage collection inspired by his days as a spy for the Mossad.
Victor’s insight and knowledge of the intelligence community facilitates his writing of fictional novels and screenplays, and serves as a basis for his enigmatic and cryptic paintings. His canvases offer tantalizing images, evoking a mystical and otherworldly reaction from viewers. Hats, gloves, scarves and umbrellas hide the identities of his inscrutable figures, provoking and teasing our imaginations with visual portrayals of adventure and intrigue. The activities of his figures and the titles of the work reflect the enterprise and language of the international intelligence community, bringing several layers of meaning to his paintings while creating stories for the viewer.
Current Mood:
Contemplative
Why is it so bloody hard to get a mortgage???
When I first contacted ING a couple of months ago, I made it very clear that I was paid by an international organization and did not pay UK income tax. I was assured that, based on income figures alone, it shouldn’t be a problem to get a mortgage. Cut forward to today, when a different person tells me, “oh, there are some notes on your income documents. They’ve been sent for review”
After saying that I’m not overly surprised, seeing as I have unusual fiscal arrangements (yet all perfectly legal and above board!!), I’m now told that “oh, I’ll have to make a note of that, not paying UK income tax is generally a reason for non-approval”.
DAMNIT!
It’s not like I was being deceptive, I told them all of this shit months ago. And now, after weeks of faffing and being jerked around, now they drop this shit on me.
I can pay the fucking mortgage.
Please let me give you my money.
Current Mood:
Aggravated
Hitting waaaaay too close to home
