1.21.2013

kale chip how to

One of my new years resolutions is to eat healthier so I decided to start making some healthy snacks.  Kale chips are super easy to make and really yummy.

You can use any type of kale:  curly, dinosaur, spear, etc.


Wash kale and remove middle stem part of leaves.  Very important:  dry leaves thoroughly otherwise chips will be chewy rather than crispy.



Put leaves in an even layer on a baking sheet and, using hands, rub oil into every part of the leaves.  Sprinkle with salt and other desired spices.  Bake in oven at 300 degrees for 8-10 min.


Ta da!


1.18.2013

musical thoughts

I am in the process of trying out a viola!  The prospect of getting a new viola is super exciting but also a little terrifying because it's not only a big investment, but a representation of my future self in music.  I have a viola that I use but getting a nicer viola means, to me, that I am committing to stay in music and be more active.  I love the idea of this but I just need to make time which is easier said than done.

My friend Maureen, an amazing violist, was kind enough to contact a friend who is selling several violas and we met a few weeks ago so I could try them.  My friend, James, was also kind enough to come along with me for an extra set of ears.


The viola I picked is a bit out of my price range but I'm falling in love with it more and more every time I play it.  I am getting more mentally serious about learning the Brandenburg and decided to take a break from violin until after the concert is done.  I even gave my lovely violin to James to use in the mean time so she doesn't just sit in the corner of my room.  If anyone is in NYC and wants to come, the concert is at the beginning of May!

xoxo- MK

home sweet home

I recently got back from visiting my mom in Wisconsin.  While I was there I realized how much I miss seeing my mom in person!



Unlike most people, we talk on the phone every day and use skype on a semi-regular basis so I feel like I "see" my mom all the time.  I hadn't been home since last Christmas and my sister, Jenna, and I haven't been home at the same time for 2 years.  Jenna and I talked about going home more often than once a year so we're already thinking about a trip home at some point in spring time.


One of my mom's cousins found these photos of my dad with Jenna and me as babies and sent them to her.  We put them together to get the whole picture.


I also got to see Jacki!  I haven't seen her for over a year either so it was great to catch up, see her new apartment, and meet her new cat- who has no name and is really, really mean... but I still liked her.


xoxo- MK

1.01.2013

2012 reading list

In 2011 I decided that I didn't read enough.  I got held up reading things I didn't like (I have this awful mental block where I can't start another book until I finish the current one.  This is usually an arduous process and usually leads to me throwing some sort of tantrum) and in the fall I got a tv which, after not having cable for years, became the thing I looked forward to doing every day (letting my brain turn to mush while watching Grey's Anatomy and the entire series of Felicity).

I gave myself a goal to read 15 books in 2012.  I ended up reading 28!  I'm so impressed with myself.

Books 2012

1. Wind Up Bird Chronicles- H. Murakami
2. Little Women- L.M. Alcott 
3. Norwegian Wood- H. Murakami
4. After the Quake- H. Murakami
5. After Dark- H. Murakami
6. A Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao- J. Diaz
7.  The Broom of the System- D.F. Wallace
8.  Identical Strangers- E. Schein & P. Bernstein
9.  The Art of Eating In- C. Erway
10.  Blindness- J. Saramago
11.  A Wild Sheep Chase- H. Murakami
12.  Room- E. Donoghue
13.  Wild- C. Strayed 
14.  1Q84- H. Murakami
15.  Lolita- V. Nabokov
16.  Everything Beautiful Came After- S. Van Booey
17.  The Perks of Being a Wallflower- S. Chbosky
18.  Stranger Than Fiction- C. Palahniuk
19.  The Time Traveler's Wife- A. Niffenegger
20.  Dog On It- S. Quinn
21.  Thereby Hangs a Tail- S. Quinn
22. To Fetch a Thief- S. Quinn
23.  The Dog Who Knew Too Much- S. Quinn
24.  A Fistful of Collars- S. Quinn
25.  A Cat Was Involved- S. Quinn
26.  The Humbling- P. Roth
27.  American Pastoral- P. Roth
28.  The Psychopath Test- J. Ronson

If you can't tell, I really like Murakami.  The world that his characters live in is surreal and incredibly imaginative.  I also really liked Quinn's books.  You will like them too if you like books told from an animal's perspective.  Also, I finally read Lolita.  It confused the hell out of me.  Feeling bad for a pedofile is something I didn't think would ever happen.  

I liked so many of the books I read and would really recommend most of them.  Except Little Women.  I really hated Little Women.  

Since my commute to work is at least an hour I have plenty of time to read on the train.  After I surpassed my original goal of 15 books, I wanted to double my goal and read 30 books before the end of the year; however, sometime in early December I didn't have a free hand to hold my book, so I started listening to an episode of "This American Life" and was reminded of how much I love Ira Glass.  He's such an amazing journalist and I find his voice to be very soothing during underground rush hour traffic.  Listening to his voice drowns out my own thoughts of kicking someone for leaning against the pole so noone else can use it.  Consequently, the last 2-3 weeks has been spent catching up on TAL episodes that I've missed over the last year or so and not reading Franny and Zoey of which I am 2/3 of the way through.

Happy New Year everyone!  
My new goal is 20 books and to catch up to current TAL episodes- I'm 6 months behind...
xoxo
MK