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Friday, July 30, 2010

Friday randomness...

  • I would love to by a fly on the wall of Chelsea Clinton's wedding this weekend. Not just to see the dress and all the other wedding accoutrements, but to see the look on President Clinton's face when he gives her away. Weddings make me cry anyway, but it's always the look on the daddy's face that turns me into a blubbering idiot. If I ever get married I will have to remember NOT to wear make up because of this.
  • Victoria's Secret Puddin' Pie lip gloss is the most deliciously scented lip gloss on the entire planet. I don't know WHY those fools decided to discontinue it, but I am determined to get my hands on every. last. tube of that stuff!!! I've had some luck on eBay but not so much on Amazon. Anyone know of any girly sites that might have discontinued lip glosses available?
  • There's a boy here at work that I'd like to try flirting with (he's just a summer intern, so he'll be gone soon), but he's not very social or talkative. How do you flirt with a brick wall?
  • I'm going to Seattle for the International Food Blogger Conference next month! SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! Seattle's been at the top of my U.S. Cities To Visit list for years and I finally get to go! Doubt I'll be able to do much sightseeing since the conference is chock full of back-to-back sessions, but I'm still excited to go!
  • It's a shame that it's so easy for me to break my toes. I'm not sure if I'm the biggest klutz in the universe or just really, really thorough at toe-stubbing.
  • Speaking of self-inflicted pain, I can't decide if playing all this Bejeweled Blitz is giving me carpal tunnel syndrome or strengthening my hand & wrist. The first few weeks of playing that time-sucker hurt like hell, but now I seem to be okay. Still, I don't want to risk it as I neither want nor afford hand surgery. Ergo, it's time to learn to play with my left hand.
  • Seriously though, I can't believe I broke my fucking toe. Must be Friday!
Thursday, July 29, 2010

Interpol: "Lights"

Few things curl my toes as hard as listening to Interpol does. Those things include: staring at Paul Banks, lead singer of Interpol; watching Black Rebel Motorcycle Club perform a two-and-a-half-hour set (I know, it's almost like I'm cheating on one band with the other... fortunately, they understand); the right dark chocolate paired with the right red wine; and free music to share with others (legally). Below is an example of the last item on that list.

"Lights" by Interpol. I don't see it being my most favorite Interpol song ever, but if I'm to go by their last three albums, this song is part of a much richer whole.

I have a crush on NBC's Brian Williams

My Facebook pals have heard me proclaim this from time to time, and now you get to read about it too.

I, Kimberly A. Morales, have a massive news crush on Brian Williams from NBC Nightly News.

It's not like I want to throw him down and make babies with him; it's not that kind of crush at all. Don't get me wrong: Brian is a very attractive man, perhaps the most attractive of major network anchors. But what makes my toes curl about him is his delivery. Brian could read the ingredients off the back of a box of Pop Tarts and I would find it the most fascinating piece of news on the planet.

Now, I grew up on Tom Brokaw, another stellar NBC news anchor whom almost everyone has heard of at some point in their lives. Tom's confident delivery of the news made me believe in him so much that I still think he should run for President of The United States someday. But there's something about Brian Williams that makes me want to buy whatever he's selling, even if he is only reading the news of the day. He's so serious, so forthright, so secure in his delivery that I can't help but listen to him, no matter how devastating the news.

But Brian is not without a sense of humor, though. He's made appearances on the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (my late night crush, swoonswoonswoon), and has even hosted Saturday Night Live. Sometimes he'll do quick pieces for the Today Show, dramatically reading morning banter that makes his daytime colleagues chuckle just as heartily as I do. He knows what he sounds like and doesn't mind poking fun at himself, another extremely attractive feature in any crush. His Robert Redford brow and his seemingly unending collection of diagonally striped ties never cease to amaze me. Honestly, in my eyes, the man can do no wrong.

Brian, I doubt you'll ever read this, but if you do, know this: nothing would make me happier than to have you read one of my PGEW posts - recipe included - on the news. Since I know that can never happen, having you feature me on your Making A Difference segment would be just as awesome, though I'm only making a difference locally for now. If that doesn't work, perhaps you could do a dramatic reading of my forthcoming book for an audiobook exclusive. The conviction in your voice would make my work sound so credible, it would take but a few signatures to include it on a ballot and turn it into law. Perhaps we could work together, you with your serious voice, me with the "sultry secretary" sound my voiceover clients all request that I use.

But even if none of that happened, I would still race home every weekday after work, just to catch you on the Nightly News.

Which I actually do everyday.

Getting used to photo shoots...

Yesterday I had a photo shoot with a couple of the folks from The Sacramento Bee for a future article in their Food & Wine section. It's been a little over a year since I was first featured in the Bee in an official capacity (there was that small bit in June...), but after a couple of brief mentions for this and that over the past couple months, I was approached by Bee staffers once again. This time around they were looking for someone who could A) make a wicked ceviche and B) do so on a budget. It's rather flattering that I'm quickly becoming Sacramento's go-to person for eating well on the cheap, and I was happy & honored to work on this feature with them.

I worked with Chris Macias this time. If you're a Sac local, you've probably read some of his pieces in the Food & Wine section every Wednesday. Chris was very friendly, easy to work with, and even offered to go shopping for the ingredients himself (for which I felt strangely guilty & ghetto, but Poor Girl means it when she says she's po'). He dropped off the ingredients the other day, surprising me with organic splurges from the Safeway down the street and some gorgeous red snapper filets. Since they wanted to do a step-by-step "how to" sort of article, I used half the ingredients to prepare the ceviche for the "finished product" shot and saved the other half for the "step-by-step" shots. It all felt very Food Network-y, with some things already pre-processed for photographing, others left whole for the actual shoot. As I was pulling out the staged food, I realized - welllookatthat: I'm actually not nervous about this anymore.

When all the media stuff first started, it freaked me out. I was worried about how many extra pounds the camera would add, whether or not the bags under my eyes were huge, how my hair looked. Nowadays I'm all about how the food looks and what the final write-up will be like. Sure, I still fuss about how fat I look in photos, especially because I've been residing in double-digit sized clothes for a good 10 months now (note to self: never get chronically sick in your 30's. This prevents you from working out several times a day, which, in turn prevents you from being a size 4 like you may have once been). But it's not the most important thing anymore.

Having my work represented well takes precedence over everything else, and having a lens shoved in my face or right up by my knife doesn't distract me anymore. It seems I am no longer fazed by all the extra attention. Last year, putting a mic up my shirt and having a camera in my face was foreign and odd. Now it's part of the drill. Granted, I haven't reached the level of popularity as many other food bloggers have so I'm not dealing with the same coverage they are, but considering how "young" PGEW is, I've had a lot of positive press. It's flattering, weird, scary, unexpected and awesome, all at the same time. But if this keeps up, I could totally see myself opening up to the idea of my own local access TV or internet show, a la Wayne's World. I'm not sure that I could pull it off without stuttering like mad at some point, but it's comforting to know that cameras in one's face can actually be kinda fun. For now. :)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Photo of the Week: Purple Flowers in Carmel

Stunning purple flowers climbing up the side of a building in the courtyard of the San Carlos Borromeo Mission Basilica in Carmel, CA.


(From the mini-vacation my mom & I took to Monterey & Carmel earlier this month. More pictures coming in a new post soon!)

Recipe of the Week: Tuna, Veggie & Couscous Salad



Easy & healthy, this is perfect for work lunches during the hot summer months! Full post available on PoorGirlEatsWell.com

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Starting over...

Once upon a time there was a thing called "MySpace". "MySpace" was a social networking site that allowed all sorts of people to connect, share their interests, music, photos, and even their thoughts through something called a "blog". I used to write on this "blog" contraption quite frequently, posting my most inane thoughts, my dreams, my rants, and my reviews of hot rockstar studded concerts. It was a release of sorts, since I have too many thoughts for my own good. It was entertaining. It was cathartic. It was fun.

Then came the day when a big giant called "Facebook" took over the world and "MySpace" swiftly faded into the background. Status updates replaced the simple blog of random thoughts, and the world completely changed. I fought the call of the herd as long as I could, for a few reasons, including: 1) I don't like to follow herds; 2) MySpace was more fun because it was more personal and allowed for a lot more customization; 3) THERE WAS NO PLACE TO BLOG!!! (Granted, the "Facebook" giant has a "notes" section, but it just isn't the same for me. Again, too impersonal.)

So I started a separate blog to quench my thirst for spilling my guts all over the place. Sadly, that thirst was nowhere near as pressing as the need to show people how I'm able to eat pretty darned well despite being perpetually broke, so all my other thoughts had to float around in my head, alone and unattended.

Scary.

Now, after almost 2 solid years of blogging about food, I am ready for a change. Not a permanent, non-food-blogging change, of course. I definitely can't see myself stopping PGEW anytime soon, not just because of my readers & fans, but because it's good for me. It's helped me to rediscover my love of cooking and has given me the creative release I had needed for so long. But it's because of this that my zillions of random thoughts are now begging to be let out, put down somewhere, brought to life. I miss sharing my randomness with others, bouncing ideas off a fresh mind or two. For crying out loud, I have pictures I want to share with the world and guess what? They're not all about food!

That's why I'm creating this space, a place where I can do all of the above and much more. Though my beloved accidental "career" blog will always be on the front burner and I may have lapses in updating, I plan to spend a lot more time here, more so than at the original Kimberland blog. If you're a fan of Poor Girl Eats Well and have stopped by Kimberland as a result, welcome! I'm glad to have you here, and happy to share the non-food side of me. I will certainly discuss food from time to time, since I do enjoy it and have a series of food-related essays I've been working on. But this will be more about life as experienced by me, illustrated by the photos, videos and writings I will post. They are all snapshots of my thoughts, snippets from my mind as a result of giant daydreaming binges or my direct experiences.

So welcome to Kimberland. Please stop by often. It's quite a quirky little place, but I have fun here. I hope you do too.

about me...

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Kimberly A. Morales
singer. writer. artist. champagne taste, 2 buck chuck budget. good cook. kooky. chocoholic. patron saint of cats. talker. listener. thinker. sometimes to a fault.
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