You Can't Stop the Beat!

Fabian and I saw Hairspray on Friday night and both loved it. It was such a fun movie! I was pretty sure I would like it because I've seen the original, but I felt bad making Fabian see it because he absolutely hates musicals. Much to my surprise, he laughed the entire time and said that he really liked it. This was a remake that actually worked!

John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer are great in their roles. The rest of the cast does a wonderful job as well, but the true star is newcomer Nikki Blonsky, who plays Tracy Turnblad. She was phenomenal in the role. Much to my surprise, I found out that this is actually her first professional acting job. Before landing the lead in this movie, she was serving up ice cream at Coldstone Creamery. I hope the future holds great things for Nikki.

Urban Beauty

This past week, I took a course at Rice University and was able to drive through my favorite area in Houston on a daily basis. Two of my favorite neighborhoods, Southampton and Boulevard Oaks are located here. To most people, these neighborhoods are seemingly one in the same, as they don’t have huge stone signs flanked by waterfalls at their entrances like the neighborhoods in my two syllable suburb do.

I am completely enamored by the fairy tale streets lined with majestic Live Oak trees. I love the image of stately homes from the 1920's - 1940's cohabitating peacefully with modern mansions. This jewel box of an area is a true oasis. Peaceful, beautiful, and dignified, yet urban in every sense of the word. Its residents post signs saying things like "War is not the answer" or "Poets for Peace" in their lawns. To me, it seems as though every house has its own story. If the walls could really talk, I would sit and listen intently for hours.

The Live Oaks, which I mentioned earlier, are what makes the area so special. Their canopies shade the streets from the blistering Houston heat. They add a sense of romanticism as their branches contort gracefully down the esplanades on North and South Boulevards and throughout the rest of Boulevard Oaks. A writer from The New York Times once wrote:

"To stand at the foot of South Boulevard in Houston is to look down what
is perhaps the most magnificent residential street in America. Staged rows
of soaring live oaks form the vaulted arches of a great Gothic cathedral over
a grassy esplanade, lined with imposing yet graceful mansions from the 1920s by
such eminent architects of their day as John F. Staub and Birdsall P.Briscoe."

Yesterday, Fabian and I spent a couple of hours strolling the the area and took a few photographs.

101 Simple Meals in 10 Minutes or Less

A friend recently posted this article from The New York Times website and I thought I would pass it along. It has 101 great ideas for quick and easy meals. Beat that, Rachael Ray!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/dining/18mini.html?ex=1342497600&en=e76301c448a572af&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Mini van cabs only, please.

Many of my guilty pleasures are of the televised variety. Among them, is Discovery Channel's fabulous Cash Cab, a show on which unsuspecting New Yorkers hail a cab and soon find out that they are in for the ride of their lives.

The passengers are greeted by flashing LED panels in the mini-van's ceiling and cabbie / comedian extraordinaire, Ben Bailey. If they agree to be on the show, they are asked a series of questions, each of which is worth $25-$200. The players are asked a multiple choice question and are given 30 seconds to answer. They also get a mobile shout out and a street shout out. In the end, they are given the option of walking away with what they've won or they can answer a double or nothing video question.

A group of professors recently won $1,500 and then doubled their money! Can you imagine winning $3,000 during a cab ride?! There have been so many episodes during which I have yelled out answers at my t.v. and cheered for the contestants (or cursed the dumb as rocks bastards who didn't deserve to be on the show), wishing that I had been the one taking a cab from the East Village up to the MoMa. I even won $1,400 once! Well, I didn't really win the money, but I would have if I had just been in the damn cab.

Fabian and I are heading up to New York in a couple of weeks and you'd better believe that I am dragging his ass into every mini-van cab I see until I am startled by flashing lights and hear the sweet sound of Ben Bailey say, "You're on a Discovery Channel game show called Cash Cab".

Check out a few clips from the show:

http://dsc.discovery.com/beyond/?playerId=203711706&categoryId=934464199&lineupId=921117047

Hot Tamales

Mmmmm...tamales. Those delicious little bundles of corn masa, or dough, filled with delectable, savory ingredients like pork, chicken, cheese and peppers or sweet ingredients like raisins, sugar, and coconut. This dish is a labor of love as it takes a very long time to make. Tamales have existed in Latin America for over 5,000 years and are prominent in many parts of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and as far south as Perú and Colombia.

Whether you've had tamales wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves, I'd like to let you in on a little secret. The singular form of tamales is not tamale, it is tamal. In Spanish, singular words ending in vowels are usually made plural by adding an "s", while plural words ending in a consonant become plural by adding "es". I hope you've enjoyed today's lesson. Now go out and get yourself a delicious tamal. ¡Buen provecho!

Do they speak Spanish in Spain?

I am a high school Spanish teacher. While my job can be really fun at times and was rewarding and fulfilling before I transfered to the suburbs, there is only so much ignorance one can stomach. Now, I have many, many stories from my adventures in teaching. I'll have to fill you in on them in August once I am back in teacher mode (I've checked out for the summer). Until then, I'll leave you with a delicious, little amuse bouche to whet your palate.

This past year, I had my Spanish 3 students put together a travel presentation on a Spanish- speaking country of their choice. As they were signing up for their countries, I had a kid ask "Do they speak Spanish in Spain?". Hmm, español… España. Do you sense a connection? Yes, I am serious and I'm afraid he was, too.

Stranger Danger

As most of you can imagine, being one half of a young twenty-something, childless couple in the suburbs can be absolutely exhilarating. Right. In addition to the joys of limited quality eateries and a plethora of banks and nail salons are the inevitable run-ins with other people's bratty children. I know what you're thinking. Why would I say such a thing? After all, every child is a little angel. Well, apparently you don't live where I live.

Case in point: I go to Jamba Juice after each work out at the gym and order their delicious Strawberry Nirvana smoothie, with a protein boost of course. It is a little ritual I have come to love. However, a recent trip to my favorite smoothie joint was a bit disarming. I walked up to the counter, ordered my drink, and planned to sit on one of the stools while I waited as I had just had my butt kicked by my trainer. There was a nice lady standing next to the other stool and her cute little boy, who must have been about five, was sitting in said stool. I smiled politely and sat down. Well, apparently, no one bothered to tell me that I bear a striking resemblance to the boogie man. I've been compared to several celebrities, but he has never been one of them. As soon as I sat down, the boy made a horrible face and shrieked out "Mommy!!", then said "That lady is sitting there. I don't want her to sit there!" Now I understand he is just a kid, but I was more put off by the fact that she pulled him off of the stool, looked at me, pursed her lips and said "Stranger danger". Believe me lady, I don't want your little gem! While I think it's great that she is teaching him to beware of strangers, it might be helpful if she took a refresher course in manners and social tact.