Friday, February 5, 2010

i also love

the smell of the air that comes out of matt's car's vents.

i don't know what it is.
but when he puts the heat on.
or the air conditioner on.
or just the air.
i really cannot get enough of the smell and i will sit forward in my seat to get closer to the vent and actively breathe this scent in.
i don't know what it is.
it will probably give me cancer.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

i do i do i doo-ooo

i love the smell of a vacuum cleaner when it is first turned on.

i am just realizing this.

as i sit on my butt while someone else vacuums the rug around me.

mmmmm.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

well that lasted

i was going to boycott the cafe after my experience there yesterday.



but i really. REALLY. wanted an egg sandwich.

sorry, will power.

i'm so hollywood

but i'm not.

i went to the 'when in rome' premiere party last night. in attendance [that i saw, at least] were rose mcgowan, justin long, and fergie. this was exciting. i stared from afar, or from nearby, in some cases, and acted cool. because that's what you gotta do in this town. unless you meet the avett brothers and just cannot contain yourself [see below.]

i spent the drive home marveling over the fact that i, jessica neilson, from little red hook ny, was just at a feature film premiere after party in hollywood with celebrities. matt talked about how when he was younger, anything his dad ever did before he had kids was the coolest thing ever. you used to play guitar at coffee shops?? COOL!! well now i can tell my kids that i partied with [:using this word loosely:] famous people. and i think that's pretty cool.



Wednesday, January 27, 2010

yes.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motor's Swedish Saab brand has been saved from certain death thanks to a last-minute deal with Dutch exotic car builder Spyker.

Spyker has agreed to pay $74 million in cash and $326 million in preferred stock in a new Saab that will emerge from this deal. The Swedish government has agreed to guarantee a $563 million (400 million Euro) European Investment Bank loan for Saab.

Spyker, founded in 2000, makes exotic sports cars costing more than $200,000. Only 250 have ever been sold. This year, the carmaker hopes to sell 100 of its Spyker cars worldwide. Spyker production was moved from the Netherlands to Great Britain late last year.

"Today's announcement is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide, and great news for GM," said John Smith, GM vice president for corporate planning and alliances, in a corporate announcement.

The deal is expected to close in mid-February, GM said.

As part of the deal, Spyker Cars will change its name to Saab Spyker Cars

"We are very much looking forward to being part of the next chapter in Saab's illustrious history," said Spyker CEO Victor Muller in statement. "Saab is an iconic brand that we are honored to shepherd."

Saab had been on the verge of launching two new models, a redesigned 9-5 mid-size car and the new 9-4X crossover SUV. Those launches will now continue, Smith said, with GM providing parts and support.

The 9-5 is already being produced Sweden, Spyker said. GM is producing the 9-4X, which is closely related to the new Cadillac SRX, in its Mexican factory.

Saab Spyker is expected to take over relationships with Saab's U.S. dealer network, Smith said. Warranty support will continue without interruption, he said.

"A bright spot for Saab, and potentially why Spyker worked so hard to acquire it, is some of the solid new product in its GM-based pipeline," said James Bell, an analyst with the Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com.

Saab is one of four brands, along with Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac, that GM is dropping as it attempts to restructure itself since emerging from bankruptcy in June. A deal to sell Saturn to the Penske Automotive Group fell through when Penske could not find a partner to supply cars for the brand.

A deal has been signed to sell Hummer to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., but that deal is on hold pending approval by the Chinese government. No attempt was ever made to sell Pontiac.

Another supercar maker, Sweden's Koenigsegg Group AB, had dropped negotiations to buy Saab in November. Since the end of 2009, Saab has officially been in a "wind down" mode even as GM said it was considering bids from outside investors, including Spyker, which has announced several revised offers in an attempt to reach a deal.

Spyker's motto, emblazoned over the logo on their cars, which as an airplane propeller over an old fashioned wire car wheel, is "Nulla tenaci invia est via." ("For the tenacious, no road is impassable.")



http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/26/autos/saab_spyker_deal/index.htm?postversion=2010012615

srsly?

i wanted coffee this morning. so i got up out of my desk and walked over to the cafe on the lot. i pumped my to-go mug full of starbucks coffee and then put in 3 pumps of french vanilla coffee-mate concentrated creamer [my new obsession]. during my walk to the cafe i had decided i wanted breakfast, too.
[just the other day i made the most amazing discovery. i can get one egg for $0.60 and 2 pieces of toast for $1.20. i can then take both of these things back to my desk and make my own sandwich. for $1.80. oh em gee.]

anyway. this is a new discovery so naturally i got really excited when i remembered my genius and decided i was once again going to pull one over on everyone.

so.
i got my coffee. i went up to the register with a big smile and started to order my food. "HI. i would love one scrambled egg-"
"-we are no longer serving breakfast."
"oh. what? when did you stop?"
"at 11."
"oh...what time is it?"
"11:05."
"oh. okk... just the coffee, then..."
"$2.10."
"$2.10???"
:sees the $2 in my hand: "that will be fine"
"uhh"
"ok nevermind, i will charge you for a small. $1.90"
:sadly hands over 2 dollars:
:opens register, there is no money in it: "hold on, let me get some change" :begins to walk to the back:
"don't worry about it."
"no?"
"no."

i left and came back to my desk.
i looked at the time in the corner of my computer.
11:02.

what a horrible experience.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

welcome back

welcome back to your online journal, jessica. otherwise known as your blog. that two people read. i can't believe you have been MIA for one month. one month exactly. what were you thinking?? you know that your two readers have been sitting and waiting with bated breath for you to return. you know they have nothing else to do but laze around and read your blog. and you kept it from them? what, do you get off on being withholding? do you enjoy playing hard to get? whatever your reason, you deserve a kick in the butt and THEY deserve an apology. so apologize, jessica. apologize for not giving these people their daily dose of your life. and mean it.

..i'm sorry.

Monday, December 21, 2009

saab story

i hope somebody buys saab.
i would if i had hundreds of millions of dollars.
t-minus 10 days.
someone do it!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/business/19brand.html?ref=automobiles




1992 saab 900 s.
just like mine :)

Friday, December 18, 2009

turkey chili

thank you, curtis stone.

mmmmm i saw this being made on one of the last episodes of the biggest loser [YAYYY DANNY!!!!!] and just had to have it. on the show it was served inside of a baked potato. i haven't done that yet, but i see it in my imminent future.

TURKEY CHILI [a la chef Curtis Stone, as seen on The Biggest Loser]

the following recipe makes a big potful!

3 T olive oil
2 onions, medium diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small red chili, seeded & diced [i only had yellow chilis - they seemed to work jusssst fine]
2 t ground cumin [plus more to taste later on]
2 large carrots, peeled & diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 small yellow bell peppers, seeded & medium diced
20 oz [1 package] Jennie-O ground turkey, lean
8 medium sized tomatoes, medium diced
16 oz [2 cans] black or white beans
6 c [1 bag] baby spinach
1 T freshly ground pepper
1/2 t ground cayenne pepper [to taste]
1/2 t chili powder [to taste]
1/2 t red pepper flakes [to taste]
salt [to taste]
1/4 c plain Greek style yogurt [optional]
fresh cilantro, chives to garnish [optional]

1. Heat large saute pan on medium-high heat. Add olive oil. When oil is hot, add onions, garlic, and chili. Saute until tender.
2. Stir cumin in to onion mixture.
3. Add carrots, celery, bell pepper and saute for another 10 minutes or so, until veggies begin to get tender.
4. In a separate pan, heat up the remaining olive oil and then brown the turkey on medium-high heat - then transfer to the vegetable pan.
5. Add beans and tomatoes and cook for another 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have begun to break down.
6. Stir in the spinach and remove from heat.
7. Season with above spices or spices your choice.
8. If you are going the baked potato bowl route, at this point you will slice open the baked potato and create a bowl for your delicious chili. Spoon in chili, top with yogurt and garnish and EAT!

11.3

11.3 was my hemoglobin level last night.

in order to give blood a woman must have at least a level of 12.5.
i am usually quite close to this cut off, but have always passed. at skidmore they sometimes had to put my blood through a second, more accurate test [the 'watch the blood sink to the bottom of the tube' trick didn't always work] in which they would put the small vial through some sort of centrifuge to separate the blood and then get the iron levels.

the first time i was below 12.5 out here in california i asked if they could put my blood in 'that spinny thing' to try again. technology has moved forward since then and now my blood sample is placed on a small disk and inserted into a machine. after a few moments the machine gives out a digital reading with my hemoglobin level. if you fail to pass the hemoglobin test, you must be re-checked, and here, re-checking entails being pricked a second time by a second nurse. the last time this happened to me, i passed the 2nd time. sometimes the levels on different hands are different [weird and inexplicable] and sometimes if the prick is made deeper, or the nurse wipes off quite a bit of the surface blood and takes a sample from blood deeper in your finger the level will be different than your initial one [makes a bit more sense]. anyway. last time this worked. this time, no dice.

"you do know that if you don't pass after the second time that you will have to go home"
"i know.."

this adorably cute middle-aged asian woman was so sweet and kind and gave me so much advice as to how to get my iron levels up before coming in next time [a combination of iron AND vitamin-c rich foods in the same meal] that it took a few minutes before i was really upset about not being able to donate. i know that i tried - there's really nothing i need to be upset about. it was fairly out of my control. and maybe yesterday's blood-giving was just really not meant to be for some reason. now that i think about it, the combination of traffic + me being a grade-a moron and missing turns and turning down one-way streets in an attempt to get there quicker [what?] may have been a sign that i wasn't supposed to give yesterday. i was 25 minutes late, after all.

anyway. i was still really upset for a little while. i was excited to give near christmas because i felt as though i were giving someone a christmas gift. and that made me feel good.

but not to worry! there is another drive next tuesday, the day before i go home, and even closer to christmas. red meat and leafy greens until then! :)

if you say you'll remember, remember.

i hate when i get signed out of blogger and then when i go to the sign in page, my information is NOT there. how many times do i have to click 'remember my password' for you to remember it????

Thursday, December 17, 2009

jessica's first wreath.

lucky for me there is a large bow covering most of it.

but considering i only had wire hangers and left over twisty ties from our christmas light packaging, i think i did a pretty good job.


my cat is ah. dorable.




Wednesday, December 16, 2009

douche.

I HATE DRIVING IN LA

i know i know, this has got to be like my 47th post about driving in la.
and rest be assured there will be a 48th someday.

first of all, the 101 was practically stopped this morning. and i have no idea why. and that pissed me off.

and then i got to melrose and traffic was stopped. and it was because the light at melrose and wilton was out and was blinking red and people are stupid and don't know what to do.

and then while i was in this line of stopped morons, a jaguar to my right tried to get into my lane in front of me. except there was no room for him to go. i believed myself to be at the point of no return in terms of letting this douchebag in, so i didn't. but he still tried. so i beeped at him because i was about to hit him. and he didn't even look at me, just nonchalantly gave me the finger. so i beeped some more. because i was angry. and then he got in front of me and then into the next lane and turned left.
fucking douche in your sea foam jaguar.
shut the fuck up.
ew.

my hot sauce is hotter than your hot sauce.

i'm making my dad some different kinds of hot sauces with the habaneros i grew this year.

i started with the habsolutely mango recipe i found online.

HABSOLUTELY MANGO HOT SAUCE

3 mangos, peeled & seeded
4 kiwis, peeled
3 1/2 habanero peppers, stemmed & seeded
juice from 2 limes
juice from 1 1/2 lemons
2 T of frozen OJ concentrate
1/6 cup of white vinegar
1/2 t salt
2 c water (i realized JUST now that i forgot to halve this portion of the recipe, but things turned out just dandy)

put water, salt & habaneros in large pot. boil for 15 minutes.
drain all but 3/4 c water (also forgot to halve this part).
put saved water + all ingredients EXCEPT for vinegar in a blender.
puree.
put back in pot and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
take off of heat.
add vinegar.
stir until cooled off a bit.
get ready for some HOT. SAUCE.

--------------------

so while i was in the kitchen boiling these peppers, there were a number of people in the other room having some 420 good times. i began coughing uncontrollably, and soon did everyone in the other room. they thought their drug of choice for the evening was particularly potent. but i thought it odd that ALL of them should be reacting as strongly as they were. it's not like we had a room full of amateurs. i soon realized the real truth behind our throat irritations: the peppers.
the 3 1/2 tiny habanero peppers i was boiling in water was killing every single one of us. it was practically unbearable. i was coughing every couple of seconds, people were going outside to get fresh air. at one point my throat was so irritated and closed up that i took a big deep breath. i'm still not sure why i did that. i almost died and ran outside where i took a break from my peppers.
so beware.
if you ever boil habanero peppers, make sure everyone [including you] is out of the house.
don't worry, you'll figure out something.

[oh, but the sauce came out GREAT! way too hot for me to even envision eating. ever. but the flavor is so tasty, and matt, my hot sauce connoisseur, gave big thumbs up. this shit is hot.]

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

oh my god. shoes.

i got new shoes liiike 2 months ago. or something ridiculous like that. and i haven't worn them until today. i try and match them with my outfits but they never seem to go. that and i'm just too afraid to wear anything but my birkenstocks.
anyway.
i wore said new shoes today.
and i regret it a million times over.
i had a blister by lunch time and a popped blister by late afternoon.
ugh.
i am in so much pain.

but the shoes are still cute.

Monday, December 14, 2009

it's that time of year again....

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

heavenly hummus!

i made hummus yesterday for a mediterranean pot luck i was attending. matt made falafel balls and tzatziki. mmmm..

here is my hummus recipe! it is so so so good. like, really good.

HUMMUS

2 16 oz cans chickpeas [most of the recipes i found online say to use dried chickpeas and cook them yourself. this obviously will work and is a bit more 'authentic,' if that is your thing, but honestly? my hummus tasted AMAZING and i used canned]
1/4 c + 1 T tahini
1/2 t cumin
juice from 3/4 large lemon
2 garlic cloves
1/4-1/2 c chickpea can water

Put the chickpeas in a blender and grind well. You may want to add a bit of the can water during this process to help the chopping along.
Add 1/4 c. tahini, lemon juice, 2 whole garlic cloves, cumin.
Blend.
Add another T or so of tahini and [probably] a bit of can water and blend some more.
And voila!
That is IT!
If the hummus is too thick, just add some more can water.
[and feel free to add more tahini, or less, depending on your love for it. but i find the above amount to be just perfect.]

this will give you enough hummus for a small group of people, for sure. 4 cans will give you a large tupperware container full. i find that making this in batches of 2 cans is easiest on the blender - though if you have a fancy food processor you will be able to handle a bit more. just adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly.

enjoy!

Friday, December 11, 2009

DING DONG DING DONG



merry christmas from the muppets :)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

one hit wonder

last night matt and i were looking at billboard's list of top one hit wonders from this past decade [ugh. decade?]. we were surprised at how few songs we actually knew. but by far, the best song on that list was.....drum roll please.....

HIT EM UP STYLE (OOPS!) by blu cantrell. where did she go?

please tell me you remember this song.

AHHH IT'S SO GOOD.