My (Mis)Adventures in the Kitchen

It's dinner time!

Some people like to cook. Some people like to eat. I fall into the second category. As I mentioned in a previous blog, one of my new year's resolutions is to learn how to cook. In the interest of keeping my word, I recently purchased my very first cookbook to help me accomplish this goal.

There's no one to blame for my lack of cooking skills other than myself. My mom loves to cook and bake. My dad and my younger sister are also pretty good in the kitchen. In college, all of my roommates were great cooks (two-and-a-half out of five are Italian). While I was studying abroad in Spain and Italy, other people cooked for me, too.

So I've been fairly lucky in associating myself with people who like to cook, which is awesome, because as I said earlier, I like to eat. But it's time for me to step up to the plate–for survival reasons, if nothing else. One day I'm going to move out and I'm not going to be able to afford take out every night. I cannot survive on Kraft White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese for the rest of my life. But my motives are also somewhat superficial, too. I've read in numerous magazines that the way to a guy's heart is through his stomach and I'm fixing to find out.

Quite frankly, cooking scares me. As a writer, numbers are like kryptonite to me, so trying to follow a recipe (what with all the measurements and fractions), is a bit intimidating. I'm not completely helpless. I've established a few standbys over the years: homemade baked macaroni and cheese (my favorite!), penne pasta with vodka sauce and mozzarella cheese and roasted asparagus. But, alas, it's time to broaden my horizons.

Today I made dinner with some assistance from my sous chef aka my sister. The menu: Southern-style oven fried chicken, roasted red potatoes and green beans balsamic with garlic. Simple, yet tasty and fairly healthy. My guinea pigs...ahem, family members...liked it and no one got sick. I considered it a success and now I'm excited to try out even more recipes. Watch out, Rachael Ray, here I come!

Let the Beat Drop

My Gaga concert outfit.

There's nothing like the thrill of experiencing your favorite singer or band in concert. As many of my friends can tell you, I'm a concert aficionado (up to about 20 at last count). My passion for music can most likely be attributed to my father, who raised my sister and me on a healthy diet of oldies, but goodies.

Growing up, we listened to Marvin Gaye, The Queen herself Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Hall & Oates, Gladys Knight & the Pips and Aerosmith...just to name a few. Of course, at the time, I moaned and groaned about it. "Daddy, do we have to listen to this old music?" But eventually I developed a love of and appreciation for the classics.

When I was 3, I attended my first concert: M.C. Hammer. En Vouge was the opening act. At the time, I absolutely loved Hammer. I had the pants, dolls and dance moves to prove it. As a little girl, I also saw Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle in concert...what a treat!

OMG! We're at the Usher concert!

During my teeny bopper years, I saw Britney Spears, *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. A major thank you goes out to my parents for waiting in line to buy tickets (because online ticketing didn't exist back then), buying the tickets for me (because I was broke) and, in my mom's case, for sucking it up and taking me to the concerts, too. I know you probably had more important and/or exciting things to do.

My first real rap concert (unless you count M.C. Hammer) was two years ago when I took my sister to see one of her favorite rappers: Lil' Wayne. While it was a great show, I have to say my favorite rap concert was Jay-Z, whom I also saw that year. I can't wait to see Kanye West live.

Get it, Gaga!

Although I'm a huge Beyoncé fan and her "I Am..." tour was fabulous, hands down my favorite pop concert goes to no other than Beyoncé's "Telephone/Video Phone" counterpart Lady Gaga. (Sorry, B.). I have one reason: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta can sing! A lot of the pop acts I've seen either lip sync or sing along to a track during live performances...not Gaga. Home girl sang and danced her butt off and put on a phenomenal show at the same time.

Gotta get that Boom Boom Pow!

Now, one month into the new year, I have some exciting concerts lined up for 2011: my pop idol, Janet Jackson in March (I wanted to be her backup dancer when I was little), a Michael Jackson tribute band in April and the legendary U2 in June. I can't wait to rock out. So tell me, what concerts are you going to this year? What's your favorite concert?

Hello, 2011. It's me, L'Oreal.

Happy New Year!!!

It's that time of the year again and I'm willing to bet you can already tell what this blog post is going to be about. That's right: my resolutions for the new year. Or, as I like to call them, my goals. In my humble opinion, "goals" seem to be much more realistic and attainable than "resolutions." So here goes nothing...

1. Learn how to cook. Those who know me know I need a GPS to find my way around a kitchen. Everyone else in my family is a pretty good cook...except for me. I love to eat, but cooking and baking have never been my strong points. This year I vow to pay more attention to my mom when she's cooking and try some new recipes.

2. Dance more often. When I was in college, I was a cheerleader and taught beginner's hip hop classes. Basically, I miss performing and I'd love to get back into the studio. I'm excited to try something new, such as belly dancing or ballroom.

3. Live in the moment. Too often I'm looking forward to the next big thing instead of taking time to soak in and appreciate the moment I'm in right now. I'm always thinking or planning ahead. From now on, I'm going to "stop and smell the roses."

4. Set realistic expectations. Not every birthday is going to be the best. Not every night out is going to be epic. I've learned, based on experience, if you expect everything to be absolutely mind blowing, you will inevitably be disappointed. Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be.

5. Put myself out there. So there's an old saying that goes: "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." As much as I claim to be a social butterfly, the truth is I can be somewhat of a homebody. One of my goals this year is to get out there and meet new people. I'm going to keep an open mind and step outside of my comfort zone.

So, those are my goals for 2011. Nothing too drastic or life altering, but little steps that lead me toward a healthy and happy new year. What are your goals for 2011?