The most creative job search technique I’ve ever seen
Posted on 26. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in advertising, social networking, work
I’m not sure why Facebook thought the ad to the right might be relevant to me, but I love it. Sometimes creative application techniques bomb, but I think this one’s pretty good. I hope it works for him! Maybe he was wise in targeting me, since I’m winding up blogging about it. :)
These are good days to be self-employed. At least when I go to work each day, I know I have a job.
A healthy traveler is a happy traveler
Posted on 16. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in health, travel
I don’t have fond memories of my trip to Madrid in 1985. I mostly remember doubling over in pain from a horrible stomachache that I probably got by drinking water with bacteria that my body wasn’t equipped to handle.
I’ve sworn to do all that I can to avoid that in the future, so that’s how I recently wound up at the Healthy Traveler Clinic in Pasadena, CA. Until I discovered them, I hadn’t realized that there’s actually a medical specialty of travel medicine. I was very impressed by the doctor, the staff and the office, and recommend Healthy Traveler to anyone traveling to an area where they might benefit from pre-trip vaccinations. My risk-aversion trumped my fear of shots, so I bravely submitted to three shots. The doctor also sent me home with chloroquine to prevent malaria and a prescription for an antibiotic that I should take at the first sign of another bad stomachache.
Hopefully I won’t need any of this, but at least I’m as prepared as possible. I have a sensitive stomach, lots of allergies, and am a mosquito magnet, so I figure I can’t be too careful.
If I do get sick, I wonder if a stuffed e. coli Giant Microbe would cheer me up. I don’t want to test it.
Cat or dog? You decide.
Posted on 13. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in animals
It’s not surprising that a dog that
- Jumps like a cat
- Climbs trees like a cat
- Hates water as much as a cat, and
- Keeps himself as clean as a cat
also HUNTS like a cat.
Little Ricky was so proud of himself when he returned to the door with this bird in his mouth that his tail wagged too quickly for the camera.
No wonder he was so proud. It turns out he had THREE birds in his mouth, not one. That brings his total to five for this past month.
I’m sad that he’s decimating the bird population, but I don’t know what to do about it. I think he’s finding baby birds that have fallen out of their nests or he’s raiding nests built in bushes. Although he can climb one of our trees, he doesn’t get high enough to get a nest.
Hopefully the birds will figure out that they need safer places to make their nests next season.
“Hernandez Quesadilla Salad” launches at Los Gringos Locos in La Canada
Posted on 09. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in food, religion
If I get to Heaven and God says I can eat whatever I want, I’ll choose the following:
- A Hobee’s omelette and coffee cake for breakfast
- The “Hernandez Quesadilla Salad” from Los Gringos Locos for lunch
- My mom’s amazing sausage lasagne for dinner
- Mint chocolate chip ice cream mixed with brownies for dessert.
But since I’m here on Earth, I’m still determined to eat healthy food, so I’ll just stick to the “Hernandez Quesadilla Salad.” I think that Los Gringos Locos manager/owner Bent Hansen, my amiga Jody Platisa and I did a fantastic job of concocting the best salad north of the Rio Grande. I won the opportunity to develop a new dish at this year’s LCF Educational Foundation gala. It’s a win-win-win: the Foundation gets $1 every time it’s ordered for the next year, Los Gringos gets more business, and I get to finally eat a healthy, tasty Mexican salad.
The salad consists of two grilled tortillas with melted cheddar cheese between them, covered with romaine lettuce, an avocado pico de gallo salsa and the yummiest marinated grilled chicken strips you’ll ever taste. It’s served with a spicy tomatillo dressing on the side. I knew we’d done a good job, but when I had it the other day I was blown away by how amazing it is. I could eat it every day. Truly. I hope they keep it on the menu when the year is up.
Check it out! Here’s a picture of last year’s Foundation president, Deborah Weirick, me, and Bent, posing with the famous salad. It ran with this week’s Outlook article.
Check out the Valley Sun article. Ruth Longoria actually came down to Los Gringos Locos and took an action shot of me actually eating the salad. Too funny. It could have been a much worse picture, so I’m ok with it.
I can’t wait to eat the salad again!
What should I do with my dead microwave oven?
Posted on 07. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in environment, shopping
After several months of sputtering, our old microwave finally popped its last popcorn and died. I could have taken it to be repaired, but I figure a repair call would set me back at least $50, and since the oven is probably 20 years old, it might not even be able to be fixed.
I had a bunch of Best Buy coupons, so I purchased a brand-new, much spiffier microwave for $1.79. Yes, that decimal point is correct. I had lots of coupons, and the original price of the new microwave was only $79.00.
What should I do with the old microwave? Wait until bulky item pickup day? Wait until there’s another electronics pickup? Just toss it in the trash? I feel bad for producing this waste, but it made the most economic sense for us.
Right now it’s sitting outside by our garbage cans. It’s rather pathetic.
The perils and possibilities of the empty nest
Posted on 06. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in animals, my life, parenting
Thank goodness my dog bolted to the yard yesterday morning, because he passed right over a baby bird that hadn’t survived long enough to even grow feathers. Later in the day, my husband said he found a dead baby bird, too. It was a bad day for birds to leave the nest.
But it was a good day for teenagers to leave the nest. Yesterday my husband and I both put “…have an empty nest” as our Facebook status without knowing the other had. Our daughter left for a month of living with a family and studying Spanish in Central America, and we dropped off our son at a techie camp at a local university. Early reports indicate that both are growing, thriving, and enjoying spreading their wings.
Parenting is a long, slow road, but every once in awhile you need to take a leap up to the next plateau. I feel like we did that this weekend, and so far so good…
Independence Day carolers spread the spirit of the 4th of July
Posted on 04. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in food, inspirational people, local news, music
Three young patriots treated us to a striking rendition of “God Bless America” today. Thank goodness they came before we departed for that other great American tradition, In-N-Out!
The performance was capped off with an Apple Pie. What could be more American?
Happy 4th of July!
20 Books I Love
Posted on 02. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in books
Not sure what to read this summer? Here’s a list of 20 of my favorite books. Click for my Amazon.com “Listmania” list which includes explanations of why I love each one, along with a few more I recommend.
- What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers
- The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
- Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
- The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan
- Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich… Read More
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
- My Life in France by Julia Child
- Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself by Becoming an EMT by Jane Stern
- Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph by C. Vivian Stringer
- Personal History by Katharine Graham
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- True Notebooks by Mark Salzman
- Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
- First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
- Cane River by Lalita Tademy
The Design Studio website is now live
Posted on 01. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in art, work
I love Jack Johnson’s music. But as great as it is, he’s not in the same class as the Beatles, who composed and performed a wide variety of music.
The Design Studio is The Beatles of interior designers. As you can see on the new website I designed for them, Judy Van Wyk and John Fernandez-Salvador don’t confine themselves to one interior design style. Even within a category, such as libraries or residences, they design in a variety of styles, but all reflect their clients’ needs. They’re also very creative, and I’m impressed by the spectrum of themes, colors and styles they work with.
I enjoyed working with Judy and John. The design process went smoothly, and they had high-quality photographs to highlight their excellent work. I wish I could hire them for a project!
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