My Rating System

So I did a terrible job of recording what I read after about August last year, and that's a shame, since I have to be honest, I read so much sometimes that I often either can't remember what I've read at all or I can't remember many specifics about what I do remember reading, and occasionally, not very often, but occasionally, I can't remember how I felt about something I've read. Maybe some of you are like "Why bother reading if you can't remember anything about it" to whom I say "Do you remember every episode of every TV show or movie you've ever watched?" because reading is my TV time. Basically. I also watch TV and movies, but usually given a choice I'll read.

Anyway. It's a new year and that means that it's a great time to start over with things, and so I'm going to get back in the "record and review what you read" game. I decided that I wanted to be more systematic in how I rate my books, though because I feel like I'm kind of fickle in awarding stars on Goodreads, I don't want to be a fickle person. Therefore and herewith is my new rating rubric:

5 Stars

This is a book that I loved reading, that I'm still talking about, and that I will recommend to and/or buy for friends. Must be both well written and in some way profound.

4 Stars

This is a book that I enjoyed reading, that I may talk about, and that I will recommend. It is well written, but does not have a depth requirement.

3 Stars

This is a book that I liked reading and that I will endorse if you're already reading it, but will not actively recommend.

2 Stars

This is a book that I did not actively dislike reading, but would tell you not to bother reading.

1 Star

This is a book that have an active and specific dislike for.

And there you go.

Four Lists of Five Things

Five Things I Miss About Key West

1. The sun. I feel like I somehow managed to be outside much more often when I was in Key West, but that might just be because Reston is a super shady (as in there is a lot of trees and therefore shade) town, so even when I am outside, I'm still not getting that full Sunshine effect.
2. The people. This should probably actually be number one, but oh, I miss the sun. Facebook is nice because I still feel like I know what's going on, but also sad-making because I wish I was there. Yay! for staying clued in, Boo! for making me miss all my awesome friends.
3. Annie's. I did not realize how great of a deal Annie's Buying Club was until I starting having to buy veggies individually from stores. And I also am still not sure about this whole, plan your menu and THEN go to the store business.
4. My tiny office. I work in a huge office building now filled with strangers (and some familiar faces). I miss both the closeness of a small office and the feeling of being a big fish in a small pond. I'm now just a regular sized fish.
5. The Cafe, Matheessen's, Big Johns, Thai Life, Goldmans, etc. Sure, there are a ton of restaurants here too, but I haven't discovered my favorites yet. And none of them is a floating restaurant.

Five Things I Do NOT Miss About Key West

1.  Living on base. Ordered pizza for lunch today, and just gave the dude my address. And then he came and knocked on my door. No need for a call from the corner of Whitehead and United. Invited my friends over, same thing: just gave them the address and they knocked on my door. Genius!
2. Geckos. They aren't cute.
3. That stink that sometimes happens in the late summer. If you've ever been in Key West during the stinky times, you know what I'm talking about.
4. Mopeds. I'm sure they are great for the people who drive them, but I hated getting stuck behind them.
5. Tourists. Luckily I live far enough away from the tourist hot spots that I just don't have to deal with them anymore. And it's glorious. I love being a tourist, but I don't love living in an area that a lot of people tour to.

Five Things I'm Loving About Northern Virginia

1. Old Friends. I do miss my Key West friends, but it's been great to start integrating old friends back into my daily life. And I don't want to sound elitist or anything, but it's been awesome that so many of them are single.
2. Target. And Macy's. And specialty running stores. And specialty grocery stores. And DSW. And holy heck how did I live my life without such convenient commercialism!
3. Smart people. I'm not saying that people in Key West are not smart, just that if you've decided to live in Key West, it's for a reason, and the reason is not so that you can randomly start talking about the Napoleonic Wars and expect five people to join in the conversation.
4. Bike paths. Everywhere.
5. Cultural Events. All the time. 

Five Things I'm Not Loving About Northern Virginia

1. Traffic. And roads that make no sense. And the people who drive here.
2. Rent. I'm getting a great deal for my area, but its still substantially more than I was paying. And also, it's not just being withheld from my paycheck like it was, so I actually see that giant chunk of money disappear.
3. The lack of a horizon. Between the trees and the hills and the wonky curvy roads, you just can't ever see that far ahead of you. Sometimes it's cozy, and sometimes it's claustrophobia-inducing.
4. Having to put make-up on every day. I sort of hate feeling like I have to look good all the time.
5. Slow hymns. Our pianist at church in Key West always played the hymns at a wonderfully fast pace and I loved it. Now I feel like I'm singing dirges all the time.

Spices are the Spice of Life

I was digging around in my spice cupboard the other day looking for my ground ginger, and I thought to myself "holy dude, have I got a lot of spices" and then that thought split in two different directions, one thought train started heading down the "There's got to be a better way to organize these" track and the other thought train chugged along the "I love that I have and use all these spices" track. Which is fun, because spices are awesome. And that is why this blog post is about my favorite spices -- which, weirdly, all begin with C -- which are:

Cumin

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I love, love, love cumin. It's such a deep, warm flavor and it is used in so many different types of cuisine, and so is really versatile for a lot of different kinds of food. I use cumin in my food probably half the time.









Cinnamon

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Traditionally, you think of cinnamon as a sweet flavor, but that's because we mix it with a lot of sugar and stuff. I'm finding more and more that cinnamon is a wonderful spice in savory dishes like enchiladas, chiles, soups, and even on red meats. How could you not love a spice that lives just as happily in an apple pie as in a quesadilla?






Cardamom

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Cardamom is another spice that easily crosses the sweet/savory border and it's one I've only recently discovered. It's a wonderful flavor that's almost as much about smell as it is about taste. It's holy cow expensive, but luckily is nice and strong so a little goes a long way. When I see a recipe calling for cardamom, I squee a little inside.





Chile, in all its variety

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I used to think that chile powder was chile powder was chile powder, but that's just not true. I now know the difference in flavor between ancho chile powder and cayenne pepper and chipotle chile powder. What I want to do next is get me a mortar and pestle and start grinding my own dried chiles for even more of a flavor punch.






There are a lot of other spices in my spice rotation that I enjoy -- basil, thyme, coriander, nutmeg -- but these are the ones that make me think "mmmm, I just love this" and do a spicey happy dance as I'm adding them to my dishes. Who else has some favorite spices? Or favorite recipes that use my favorite spices?

Commute Stats

Driving Distance from Door to Desk: 2.5 miles
Door to Desk Time Driving: 7 minutes

Biking Distance Door to Desk: 2.3 miles
Door to Desk Time Biking: 26 minutes

Number of Days I've biked to work since moving in: 3
Number of Days per week I plan to bike to work: 4

People I startled when announcing that I was passing on the left this morning: 6 (all of them)
People at work who were impressed by me riding my bike to work: 9

Times I've had to get off my bike and walk it up a stupid hill: 7
Times I got lost on the bike paths: 5

Approximate calories I burned each way:143
Approximate total calories burned: 858

Fuel savings per week: 1 gallon (about $3.50 these days)
Fuel savings per month: 4 gallons (about $14)

Units of satisfaction that I get from biking to work: about a hundred billion.

Five Thing I Am Thankful For Today

1.) Armorall Wipes (so genius and a bazillion times easier than the spray)
2.) Good friends who help clean
3.) Cuban food
4.) Poinciana trees
5.) Ali-gally, cause it's her birthday