Frustrated...

OK, after spending a good portion of the day doing some research for the last paper I have due this past semester and running into wall after wall and coming to terms with the fact that I am going to have to go into the city for some further research I put on the Cowboys v. Eagles game and we are getting spanked! It is just not going to be my day!

I just wanted to vent. I hope everybody else is having a peaceful and wonderful Sunday! I am looking forward to the new year and beginning school again! I am up for the challenge of being more organized with my time. I also have a much better idea of what is going to be expected of me and I can't wait to have the opportunity to really dig in!

I guess I am also a little frustrated because I know that anything even remotely cool is not going to work out for new year's eve. :( I was really wanting to do something great (as always) but John is going to be working new year's eve and then he will be beginning his new job on the second so he doesn't want to stay out all night either. Oh well there's always next year...right? I feel like I am always stuck saying that. Anyway enough with the pity party and my crazy stream of consciousness writing. I am overall happy with the way things are going in our life right now, just a bad day with enough time to complain about it! Our love goes out to all our friends and family!

The Holidays

So Christmas was pretty uneventful, but nice. We slept in, had a nice breakfast, took a nap, and then went to see some movies. We saw Doubt and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Both were really amazing films. They really made us think about out priorities and the new year to come. I highly suggest that everyone go see them! Well back to internship applications and paper writing. But I just wanted to say hi. We are looking forward to the new year and a visit first from John's cousin Michael, then my little sister Laura, and last my cousin Bobby! Good times to come! We miss everyone and love everyone and hope that we will be able to see all out friends and family soon!

SO SO SO LONG

Hey Friends and Family!

I am so sorry it has been so long since I have had a chance to write! Since the end of October my life has been a whirlwind. Our dear friends Rob and Liz came to visit for Halloween and on that trip we met our other great Oxford friends Hayley and her husband Aaron in the city and spent the night at Hayley's aunts apartment. It was a blast! Then November was the beginning of my real crunch time! I had so many presentations, papers, and reading that pretty much consumed every second! It was horrible and then John was working two jobs for us and so he was working almost 70 hours a week and we really didn't see much of each other.

Me and Our Friends in Central Park.

I gave my last presentation on Monday December 15th and then went straight from class to pick my mommy up from the airport and we had another whirlwind of a time going into the city and experiencing the first major snows of the season! Ha ha it was really fun though. She just left yesterday and I already miss her a lot! But things will be fine. John's mom is coming tomorrow and then Laura is going to be down Jan. 13-19 and in the mean while John's cousin Michael and my cousin Bobby are going to be up here so we will be in and out of the city visiting them as well!

Me and Mom in Bryant Park!

Mom and Matt!

I still have one paper to finish editing up between today and tomorrow and then one more paper to finish that is due January 15th. But I am out of school and so happy! I got my first grade in for the semester and it was an A!!! I know it was a miracle. And John just got a new job! It is in marketing and he will be specifically working with non-profits. He is really excited he will be working a normal 40 hours a week and will be making about twice as much (hourly) for his time. It is a big relief because the amount of time he was working was really beginning to get him down.

Mom insisting on taking picture of John and I!

We really feel like things are beginning to fall into place for us up here. Finally! Haha not it has not been miserable it has just been a big adjustment. But we are happy and are looking forward to the coming year. Wow just thinking about it by the end of next year I will only have a semester to go! My goals for the year include beginning to go to conferences, getting a few good internships, moving into the city, studying for my comps, and beginning to get some ground work laid for my thesis. John also hope to begin working and accelling at his job, and of course moving into the city with me!

30 Rock.

Ma Dame

So a friend gave me this new fragrance. Her boyfriend gave it to her and she didn't want to hurt his feelings so she asked me if I wanted to try it! Amazingly enough it was a perfume that I had been dying to try...and guess what!?!?!? I love it! It is Ma Dame by Jean Paul Gaultier and it is fabulous! It has a very intriguing smell of orange, rose, grenadine, musk, and cedar. I love the complexity of the scent. If you would like a little something to give you a new edge I suggest you give it a try!

Goop

Ok I know this sounds very trendy and silly of me but I found this web/blog site that everybody has been making fun of called Goop. It is by Gwyneth Paltrow and I must say that I have only received one e-mail it is pretty cool You go the site that is linked up on the blog and put in your e-mail information and then "she" e-mails you. Here's the first one. I also included some picture of Long Island in the fall, because if there is one thing they do well here it is Autumn!

This week brings easy, delicious, healthy options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I absolutely love these buckwheat and banana pancakes, which I came up with when making breakfast for a friend who doesn’t eat eggs or dairy and doesn’t love wheat. I like the challenge of making super healthy food that doesn’t taste like it belongs in California in the 1970s. If my son likes them, then anyone will like them! The quick tuna sandwich makes a satisfying lunch and the soy-mayo spread really makes it sing. The chicken dinner is so easy it’s ridiculous. Just make sure your pantry is stocked with fish sauce and rice vinegar from the Asian market – they add incredible depth of flavor, it will taste like you have been slaving all day. If you only buy one organic item, it should be the chicken. Cook with love! Make it great! BUCKWHEAT AND BANANA PANCAKES I’ve got a thing for pancakes. This combination of nutty buckwheat and sweet, sticky banana is just great. You could sprinkle chopped walnuts on the pancakes as they’re cooking for a full-on pancake-meets-banana bread experience. These happen to be vegan, but don’t taste like it. Buckwheat flour adds a lot of value to the plain white flour – it’s rich in nutrients like calcium, iron, B vitamins and protein, and it's gluten-free. Definitely worth a trip to the health food store. SERVES: 3 or 4 (makes about a dozen pancakes) TIME: 15 minutes 1 1/4 cups soy or rice milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon maple syrup, plus more for serving 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or white spelt flour (substitute rice flour to make pancakes completely gluten-free) 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 bananas, thinly sliced Mix all the wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a slightly bigger bowl. Add the wet to the dry and stir just enough to combine – be careful not to over-mix (that’s how you get tough pancakes). Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat (I love Jamie Oliver’s nonstick cookware – it’s so slippery that I don’t need to use any oil or butter). Ladle as many pancakes as possible onto your griddle. Place a few slices of banana on top of each pancake. Cook for about a minute and a half on the first side or until the surface is covered with small bubbles and the underside is nicely browned. Flip and cook for about a minute on the second side. Repeat the process until you run out of batter. Serve stacked high with plenty of maple syrup. ASIAN TUNA SANDWICHES WITH SOY AND SESAME MAYONNAISE This started as an elegant, plated tuna dish, but it quickly turned into an out-of-this-world sandwich. If you’d like, you can omit the bread and simply serve the tuna on a bed of arugula and use the soy and sesame mayonnaise as a dressing. SERVES: 4 TIME: 10 minutes  2 tuna steaks, about half a pound each 2 tablespoons peanut oil 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger 8 slices ciabatta Extra virgin olive oil Soy and sesame mayonnaise (see recipe below) Freshly ground black pepper 1 cup arugula Slice each tuna steak in half horizontally so you end up with four thin steaks (more bang for your buck!). Rub them with the peanut oil and ginger. Set a large, nonstick skillet over high heat. When it’s hot, cook the tuna steaks for 20-30 seconds on each side or until just seared.  Meanwhile, grill or toast the bread and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. Spread the soy and sesame mayo on one side of each slice and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Distribute the tuna and arugula evenly on four slices of bread and sandwich with the remaining four slices.  Devour. SOY AND SESAME MAYONNAISE Beyond quick and simple but full of flavor. Also a nice dip for steamed vegetables.  MAKES: 1/2 cup (more than enough for 4 sandwiches) TIME: 1 minute!  1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise (or Veganaise – the only substitute that tastes good) 2 teaspoons shoyu (soy sauce) 2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil Whisk everything together.  CARAMELIZED BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN I recently found this recipe in Food & Wine magazine. It’s from Charles Phan, who runs the great Vietnamese restaurant, Slanted Door, in San Francisco. When I make it, I use a little less sugar, a lot more cilantro and organic chicken breasts (I prefer the texture of white meat in this preparation). This literally takes minutes, is so easy and tastes like what you always imagine take-out will taste like (but sadly never does). Serve this with jasmine or brown rice and stir-fried or steamed vegetables.  SERVES: 4 generously TIME: 10 minutes 2/3 cup dark brown sugar (unrefined) 1/3 cup fish sauce 1/3 cup rice vinegar 1/2 cup water 2 teaspoons finely grated garlic 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger 2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper 1 or 2 fresh Thai chilis (to your taste!), halved 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 shallots, thinly sliced 2 pounds organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces (1/2”) 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, ginger, pepper and chili and reserve. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the shallots until softened and a bit brown, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and stir-fry, browning it all over, about a minute. Add the sugar mixture and simmer over high heat until the chicken is totally cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve. NEXT WEEK We’ll talk to three very cool doctors about how to achieve general health, well-being, detoxification and weight loss.

Presidential Election 2008!

OK I know there are a lot of friends and family who do not agree with my political views, but I just wanted to take a moment to really petition everybody to take the time out of your day on November 4th and VOTE!!! 

Please feel free to disregard this portion of the blog but I also wanted to tell everybody to take a moment and really REALLY give this vote a lot of thought. I know I am not the most political savvy person in the world, I don't know everything about all the issues, and I am not under the impression that Obama is the coming Messiah. I am also not a person who thinks that John McCain is a bad or stupid person. He is a honorable veteran a man who I believe truly has the best for our country at the heart of his aims and goals. That being said there are SO many red flags. First and foremost (in my mind at least) His choice of Vice Presidential candidate is HORRIBLE! Sarah Palin is one of the most ignorant and unprepared candidates that I have ever seen for such a high ranking position in our government. I do not and cannot agree with their positions on Gay Rights, Roe v. Wade, Healthcare, and many other government programs. Even if you do, think about the possibility of John McCain passing during his presidency (which is a distinct possibility he is 72)! She is so painstakingly unprepared. I would be terrified. Please consider General Powell's decision. He is a long time Republican who has worked under the last three Bush administrations (Father and Son), a total of 12 years in the cabinet! Either way the coming years are going to be VERY difficult for our country. There is a lot of healing our country has to go through, but we will absolutely not be able to recover with out a discerning and even minded leader. Please just take everything into consideration before you cast your ballot. Thanks, with all my love and respect, Melissa

My Office and the Campus

OK here is a short post. This is basically my office and the Staller Center where my office and all my classes are and then the white building is the library. The last picture is me studying. This is where I spend my mornings when John is working at the grocery. Since this is where I spend so so so much of my time I figured that maybe my friends and family would like to know a little bit about it!

The Pollock-Krasner House

SUNY Stony Brook University owns the Pollock-Krasner House, the East Hampton home of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. Every semester the Art History Department hosts what they call an "arm chair chat" with a distinguished speaker and a pot luck dinner. It is a great opportunity for the graduate students and the professors to socialize in an informal setting. It began with one of the most defining art historians of the twentieth  century, Clement Greenburg. This year Ann Gibson a distinguished professor at the University of Delaware was the speaker and she gave a speech in entitled After Postmodernism. It was particularly enlightening as I was definitely not well versed in this area of history as it is still developing. Despite that fact there is still significant scholarship in this area I had not heard most of this information. Although it was an all day event and I am always pressed for time it was a wonderful day!

Carnegie Hall

Last Tuesday (a week ago today) I had the amazing opportunity to go see Yo Yo Ma in concert with the Sony Philharmonic! The Sony Philharmonic is a volunteer orchestra from Japan. They were very wonderful (for a volunteer orchestra in particular). They were so committed that they even paid their own way to the states. They played the exact same program in Tokyo a couple of months before they preformed with Yo Yo Ma.

Despite the fact that I had to go solo it was truly one of the most moving concerts that I have ever been to. He played Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op 104. Although he had clearly played the concerto several times (he had it memorized and he had played it on a CD before) he played it as if it was the first time. There was so much emotion. It was an aesthetic experience. Even though it was embarrassing I was literally brought to tears. He was so enthralled in the performance that he seemed to be transported to a completely different realm. 

Our Home

Here is the front of the single family home that we live atop. The first picture is the front of the house and the second picture is our entrance around the back. I will soon put a picture of the inside of our house, but right now sadly it is toooooo messy! 

First Blog!

Cheers Loved Ones,

I am totally copying Hayley Bellah (Jones) Winn (for those of you who know her) and making a blog for John and I it seems like a great way of keeping up with friends and family.  I'm not completely sure how easy it is going to be to keep up with this with school and everything, but well see... I figure what I can do is better than nothing! If you know anyone who knows and loves us please feel free to forward the address as I'm fairly certain I do not have everybody's e-mail addresses. I will try to put up a picture of our abode and the pups soon. I know y'all are all dying to see them. (Insert Irony Here) Anyway I am already neglecting my studies to put up this first blog, but hey this is more productive than some of my other diversionary tactics. 

With all our hearts!