Riot and Frolic

Food Revolution Day - Giveaway

I've been mildly obsessed with Jamie Oliver since I saw him in a PBS show cooking al fresco near a lakeside mountain and went by the moniker "The Naked Chef".  I mean, he's not bad to look at, cooks like a cooking thing, and had "Naked" in his nickname.

Turns out he is also a darling family man, bad-ass entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Good catch, Jools.  Good catch.

In 2012, he instituted Food Revolution Day to bring real food and cooking to the masses.  It went handily along with his book, Jamie's Food Revolution, which encouraged readers to learn a couple recipes, teach them to friends, and then pass the book on.  

This year, the 2nd Food Revolution Day is May 17.  In honor of FRD, I'd love for you to send me your favorite family recipes - soup, burgers, casseroles, sweets, whatever.  Share that recipe that you always get asked for after potlucks, or the go-to 15 minute dinner you make when you need some home-cookin'.  You can email me via riotandfrolic@gmail.com or write them in the comments section below.  

For each recipe that you send (please do separate comments/emails, so I don't get confused), you'll get one entry in a giveaway to get MY copy of Jamie's Food Revolution.  I've been feeling bad about not sending it on and would love to give it away to a lucky reader!

Recipes can be submitted from today until midnight on May 16, 2013.  Enter as many times as you like!  Winner will be drawn at random using random.org.  

Good luck and Happy Food Revolution!

One year ago: LLLL, in which I run and get harsh with kids.

List of Last Week's Labors of Love

- "Mama, your nails are beige and black..." [me: how does she know the word for "beige"?] "... like Gramma and Grampa's bathroom."

...

Not what I was going for, but, totally spot on.

 

i was going for #3

 

- got my nails did again.  For some reason, I decided it would be easier (NOT CHEAPER) to get fake nails put on.  I must admit, it looks pretty swanky.  The place I just went to was AWESOME, but the awesomeness was expensive.  

Anyone have a recommendation for this ridiculous kind of thing?

- I'm drinking a cosmo.  It's delicious and surprisingly storng at the botomm.

 

the truth hurts: pink kicks ass

 

- Practice practice practice.  I've been having a bit of an identity crisis in the Ballrooms (WHY DO I SUCK DO BAD?) and am working through it by WORKING THROUGH IT.  Take that, brick wall.  I wouldn't say it's fun at this point, but I think I might be sucking less.  Score.

- saw Iron Man 3 and let me tell you: EDGE OF MY F-ING SEAT.  Like, LITERALLY.  In order to not build up your expectations too much if you're one of the 7 people who didn't see it this weekend... Meh. 

- got the Gold PlusPlus card from Victoria's Secret in the mail.  This is hilarious because A) my credit limit with them is OUTRAGEOUS B) I never use it... except to buy a swimsuit every 3 years or so.  But I am a valued customer. 

 

i totally look like this

- can i reiterate how fun Wisconsin State Dancesport Championships were?  SO FUN!  Milwaukee is a total blast-y of a city; the competition is huge and excellent; the people are so awesome.  Recommend.  Let's all go there next year and then directly to Emerald Ball and then just die happy, okay?

What'd you do last week?  Are you enjoying Minnesota's newest OS?  Spring might actually be here.

 

The Year of F-ing Replacing Things

I am blessed with the notorious "mommy brain" and a general distrust of hotel workers.  Which means, I am a total idiot sometimes and need to stop acting like an idiot.  And probably stop valuing my posessions so much.  But mostly the idiot stuff.  Here's why:

In the last year, I lost/misplaced/had stolen some of my favorite things [cue Julie Andrews]: robot sneaks, black and white enamel bracelet, stripe-y tank top that went with EVERYTHING, the real camera, the silver "brass knuckles" that keeps me from leaning to the left, my fav black practice skirt... I mean, there's more, but it's just embarrassing to list them out.  

The robot shoes (well, the one shoe that was stolen) reappeared, but the other items, not so much.  

Since I discovered ebay (Google helps out, too), I've been searching and searching for replacements.  Much to my delight, I've found some very similar goods to my lost loves.

But also to my horror, I've found some very similar goods to my lost loves.  It's like replacing your dead dog.  

I know they're only things, but I really enjoy anything I spend the time and effort to buy.  I research Amazon reviews and ask for recommendations via Facebook and compare prices and ponder the value before I decide to get something, so when I own it, I love it.  And since I lurve it so much, many of my things become sentimental.  

Good... and bad, if you have a nasty habit of losing things.  

Lesson learned?  Take care of my shiz.  I was leaving my jewelry and tech stuff out in the open in hotel rooms and in dressing rooms at competitions, but now I'm carefully stashing them in those weird dresser things that hotel rooms have and tucking my gadgetry in hidden pockets in my dance bag.  Namely, I'm very conscious of where I'm stashing my goods (because I'm not all sure that theiving hotel employees are to blame; I definitely have taken off earrings in the dark without my glasses on and "put them on the table").

What do you do with your Stuff when traveling?  How do you replace sentimental items?  Do you cry when you lose stuff?  I get angry, but to each his own.

One year ago: LLLL, in which Zoo learns to crawl.