A favorite breakfast recipe

Today, after my walk, I decided to skip the usual steel cut oats and opt for a real Breakfast with a capital B. I made a yummy egg dish that I thought I'd share.


Scrambled eggs with corn, shallots, and goat cheese.

1/2 shallot
1/4 cup corn (can be frozen or fresh)
2 eggs
1 TBS milk
1 TBS goat cheese
1 pat of butter


Dice the shallot up, heat your pan on medium and add butter. Add shallot and corn to pan, sautee for a minute or so. Scramble eggs in a bowl with milk. Add egg mixture to corn and shallots. While eggs are cooking, add goat cheese. Keep stirring and cooking.

Voila! Creamy, sweet, and savory at the same time.

Random Walks

Lately, I've been getting up most mornings early and taking walks around my neighborhood and surrounds. I enjoy the quiet of the streets, the gray light, and the misty (or sometimes fierce) rain and watching the city wake up. There's something so cozy about seeing people in their apartments shuffle around in their bathrobes, sip coffee and nestle in for some morning news in the warm light of their apartment. I can't help but feel cozy myself and excited for the day.

I always come home from my walks feeling connected with my community. I feel like my parents when I give a hearty "Good morning!" to a neighbor walking their dog. I nod at fellow walkers or those with more stamina running. I see people walking by with warm cups of coffee planning for their day. I've gotten to know some regulars too. I make up little nicknames for them like: "Ms. Sheepdog" (she has a large sheepdog...creative, I know) or "sweet gay man with coffee" (also pretty self-explanatory).

I've also gotten to know my neighborhood better and come up with a unique appreciation for it that I don't get in the harsh daylight hours.

My Fascination with Author Photos

Since I can remember, I've had a problem reading a book if the photo of the author on the dustjacket of the book, or in the back of the book was bad. I have seriously stopped reading a book if the photo of the author is bad.

What makes a bad author photo, you may ask....

Seems like these qualities stand out to me. But, feel free to add your own.

* Author coyly looking askance
* Author staring into camera with a "hard-hitting" journalist face
* Bad hats (think along the lines of a beret or cowboy hat)
* Props
* Fuzzy, Barbara-Walters-esque lighting
* Leather jackets
* Pets (file under props)
* Swarthy mustaches
* Obviously exotic locations (look at me! I'm so successful I can travel a lot. Read my book!)
* Sexy, low-cut tops: I'm cute, and I can write.
* Turtleneck sweaters
* Pipes
* Profile-only shots
* High-school graduation portrait set-up

Spontaneously Combusting Hair

Wow. I watched the Celebrity Apprentice the other day after recording it on my DVR. All I can say is it was almost too much to have both Gene Simmon's hair and Donald Trump's hair in the same room.

Another Japanese Prank

I absolutely love Japanese pranks. I admire their in-depth planning, hearty willingness to terrify their target, gleeful abandon in preserving personal safety and the lengthy set ups. Here's one of my new favorites. It starts out slowly, but is 100% worth the 5 minute investment.

Would you like a cold with that?

On Saturday, S and I went to visit our good friends and their adorable new baby. Currently, they're living in the burbs, and we took this opportunity to do a Target run. In addition, S was really hankering for a cheeseburger from....Red Robin. Wow. Red Robin on a Saturday is kind of an amazing experience. Lots of families, guy in the corner blowing up balloons, harried-looking parents trying to contain their kids while they wait for a table.

We're seated in 10 minutes and we order. In a while, the runner brought our food out. At this point, I assumed a look of horror. The poor woman who brought out our food was suffering from a cold so bad she could almost not breathe. A line of mucus escaped from her nose, as she thrust the food at us and rasped "here's your food." Her poor voice was barely audible through the gunk that was accumulated in her various nasal and throat passages.

AGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! To me, this is the height of unappetizing.

At this point, we had a Male v. Female moment. We looked at each other with shock and disgust, but then S started digging into his burger and onion rings. I, on the other hand sat there and looked at my salad. I imagined all of the nasty germs flying from her mouth and hands to my food. My cold food. I couldn't do it! I flagged down the waitress and explained the situation and sent my salad back for a new one.

Talking to a few other male friends, they all agree they would have eaten the burger and onion rings, too. Seems to be pretty common. Most girls I spoke to though, were having none of it. We'd all unanimously send our food back.

Interesting life lesson at Red Robin.