LIGHTS OUT

no no, I'm not talking about former Charger Shawne Merriman. I'm talking about the HUGE power outage that left 1.4 MILLION people out of power yesterday 9/8/2011.
As you might know, I just recently got a job at a law office here in San Diego as a secretary.  My duties are answering phones, taking referral calls, scanning, emailing, faxing, copying, filing, mailing....ALL stuff I never knew how to do.  Also, I had never worked in an office setting before. Talk about night and day working in an elementary school classroom and then coming into an attorney office. I was excited yet very nervous.  I went shopping with my mom and sister to buy nice business clothes and it's great to know that I can wear them without getting paint or glue splashed on them from my students.
It's a medium size firm and I have learned a ton.  It is a very VERY intensive job and I had to learn quick.  There is always something that needs to be done and not a time to sit and kick back.  EVERYDAY I am learning new terms and learning a lot about law that I never knew before.  I find it fascinating when I take referral calls and learn all the drama they are having! I proof read official documents that are better than any gossip magazine.
I've been here three weeks and this week I worked full time since the head secretary was gone for vacation.  The pressure was on because in an attorney's office there is no room for error.  You have to be PERFECT every time.  I felt comfortable and was starting to get the hang of things.
This week I learned a lot about myself. I deal with a lot of angry people on the phone and I don't blame them. They are under tremendous stress and very upset.  I am talking to them during the worst part of their lives for some.  At first, I took it personally and quickly realized, I had to make a change.  There was nothing personal against me, I was just doing my job. So I am slowly working on getting thicker skin and not taking anything personally in the business. Perhaps that's why attorney's get a bad rep but to be honest, they have to act that way to protect themselves.
Just like any new job and a new career path basically, it took time to get it down and used to it.  I am beginning to really like working at a law firm and working with adults. Even though some adults I wish I could put in time out and no gold star for the day as I did with my students when they behaved badly.
I haven't given up education and believe there might be hope in the future for our education system.  I hope it angers you just as much that it angers me how crappy our education system is and that there needs to be a change now before it's too late.  It's literally the most important thing in the world and people need to be aware and also...I need a job:)

So back to the blackout.  I was at work, washing dishes since someone ate tuna fish and it smelled HORRIBLE in the office.  The sink was clogged so I flipped on the garbage disposal.  3 seconds of flipping the switch..ZZBBOOOOMmmmmmm the power goes OUT! ALL the attorney scream/yell "ohhh my document, My emailssss". I thought I blew the fuse and my heart went down into my stomach! Oh man I thought I would be in big doo doo.  I kinda kept quiet to pray I didnt cause this but then I heard downtown lost power, then ALL of San Diego.  I know me turning on the garbage disposal didn't cause all of TJ and San Diego to lose power...could it?  We sat around in the dark...no phones, no computers, no nothing.  Not to mention it's 100 degrees outside.  I could see the 805 freeway from our office and slowly but surely I saw more and more and MORE cars get on the freeway.  This would be disastrous knowing that everyone is at work, no power, and they would go home ALL at the same time.  An hour later, I was told to leave and sat in traffic for a good 1 1/2 hours (not as bad as most ppl).
Traffic lights were out so surface streets were not better.  I made it home and decided to go for a run/walk and saw our favorite mexican restaurant still open.  It was great to see the community come out. Lots of other people were exercising and almost everyone was out on their patio with a cooler with beers and a bbq.  How great! I went home where my sister met us and we drove to El Cuervo and at in the hot restaurant with lots of other people.  Everyone was generous with tips that night as we appreciate them staying open.
We went home and where we found my dad and we sat in the living room and just talked to each other.  That was a great feeling that we hadn't done in maybe forever? We went outside and the moon was almost full and we could see a lot of stars.  My dad and I went for a walk and saw lots of people out. 
I was curious going to sleep if we would get the electricity back tomorrow and if I would go to work if not.  It was interesting tho my dog, Sophie, who sleeps with me was up ALL night. Not barking but just sitting on the edge of my bed looking out the window. I wonder if she had a sense something was not right and was protecting the family. Interesting, very interesting.
12 hours after the blackout the power turned on.  They blamed a guy from Arizona who caused the huge blackout. Man must he feel bad today, FML status.

It was very exciting but  also makes you aware if you are prepared for a disaster or not.  We were prepared for a blackout but we need to be better prepared if a disaster strikes. Make sure you are safe and prepared as well!

cooking runs in our family

Yesterday, my cousin came to visit from LA with her family.    Her parents own a new bakery that makes  gluten free desserts and also organic.  They opened it in the right place, Los Angeles, where they are all about it!  My cousin picked up a love for cooking as well and yesterday we discussed cooking/baking tips and read recipe books! She decided she wanted to make mashed potatoes and lava cake!  Sounds GREAT! It's pretty simple to make mashed potatoes but she added sauteed white onions, scallions, and garlic to it.  Heavenly.  Then, my mom has a bunch of desserts from a company called King Arthur.  We made their lava cake! IT WAS SOOO AMAZING and EASY!  I highly recommend King Arthur products! It was fast, it was simple, but most important it was gooo gooo GOoOOoooD!  We had a great time discussing cooking tips and exchanging ideas and who knows, perhaps future business partners? Cooking is def in our genes!

Our first Chargers game

As you know, I'm San Diego born and raised and love this city.  However; with my 24 years of living here (minus one because I was in Prague)  I had never been to a CHARGERS GAME!  My Dad asked me if I wanted 2 tickets to go to the pre-season football game vs the 49-ers. OF COURSE I wanted to go and invited my good friend AJ.  AJ and I played basketball together for a couple years and she moved down to San Diego a few years ago to go to Law school at USD. Now she's graduated and living here in SD!

I found out it was her first Chargers game and we were very excited, especially to see what GREAT seats we had.  We had a great time, even tho the Chargers lost and they were only playing their second string.  Next time, we will go during season and TAILGATE! Man, I love American sports!

Megan's SOUTHERN grits ya'll

Megan Lavine's Blog

Shrimp N' Grits...No' Cackalacky Style

I'm a Tar Heel born and bred (actually, I'm San Diego born and bred...but I was totally born with tar on my heels). Anyway, for all y'all that love Shrimp and Grits from the one and only Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill, NC, here you go. This is a tried and true recipe and it's absolutely delicious. Serve it with Southern biscuits, sweet tea (or sweet tea vodka and lemonade), a southern vegetable and banana pudding for dessert. You will be saying "y'all" in no time.

Crook's Corner Shrimp and Grits

Takes about 1 hour to make...I would recommend grabbing a "sous-chef" to help you with the grits while you make the shrimp.

Ingredients

2 cups water

1 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth

3/4 cup half-and-half

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup regular grits ( I used quick grits and they were fine)

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

3 slices bacon

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup flour

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced green onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

lemon wedges

Directions

• Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually whisk in grits; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until thickened; add cheddar cheese and next 4 ingredients; set aside but keep warm.
• Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserve 1 tablespoon of drippings in skillet; crumble bacon and set aside.
• Sprinkle shrimp with pepper and salt; dredge in flour.
• Saute mushrooms in hot drippings in skillet 5 minutes, or until tender; add green onions and saute 2 minutes; add shrimp and garlic and saute 2 minutes or until shrimp are lightly brown; stir in chicken broth, lemon juice and hot sauce and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen browned bits from skillet.
• Divide grits into 4 large, shallow soup bowls; divide shrimp mixture into four servings and place on top of grits; top each serving with crumbled bacon and serve with lemon wedges.

Coconut Macaroons

I would think making a macaroon would be very challenging, but I recently learned in my cook off challenge 2 that it's very simple and impressive.  Once again, this is an Ina Garten recipe, (and if I haven't convinced you enough to go buy her cook book yet, this recipe will).  You will need, sweetened 14 oz. shredded coconut, sweetened 14 oz condensed milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 XL egg whites at room temp, 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Combine coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla.
whip egg whites with salt on high speed till you get medium-firm peaks.  Carefully fold egg whites into the coconut mixture.
Drop batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper (it gets STICKY)
Use an ice cream scoop and place on pan
bake for 25 min (keep an eye so they dont burn, you want them golden dark brown)

It is very sweet so I dont recommend chocolate because it would be TOO sweet.  If your macaroons flatten, dont worry.  You can shape them again in your hand to make a nice dome.

Enjoy!

String Beans!

String beans are a delicious simple compliment to your main dish.  But green beans need lovin too and just wanted to share a secret that makes your green beans out of this world.  Shallots.  Saute shallots in oil and butter and combine with your cooked green beans, add salt at the end and bam. Delicious. Just another quick tip to really impress your guest, even yourself.

It's a Cook Off

Due to my new interest in cooking, my Mother stepped up her game and created the delicious summer dish with the herbal vinaigrette and fish.  So here come ROUND 2! DING DING DING. For my second meal in this cook off challenge, I made a delicious citrus shrimp scampi and coconut macaroons all from Ina Garten's recipe book. I'm telling you people, she can teach you how to cook and more!
The spaghetti dish was very simple and easy for anyone to do.  You need: Veggie oil, Salt, 1 1/2 pounds of Linguine, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (make sure it is unsalted), 5 tablespoons of good olive oil (important to know your food is as only good as your ingredients) 3 tablespoons of minced garlic (9 cloves), 2 pounds of large shrimp (Albertsons had AMAZING shrimp!) 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, 3/4 cup of fresh chopped parsley, grated zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice, 1/2 lemon sliced very thin.  Now, just to warn you, the dish is VERY lemony! It over powers the garlic even.  If I were to make this dish next time, I would perhaps cut back on the zest or the lemon juice.

Next, boil the linguine. When I was in Italy, they eat their pasta al dente so make sure you pay attention to the boiling process. While it's cooking, in a skillet melt the butta and olive oil over medium-low heat.  It is important not to have it on high because next step is to add the garlic and garlic burns EASILY! Saute for about a minute.  I was told on a cooking show that once you start to SMELL it, it's done.   Next add the shrimp.  Add the salt and pepper and saute until shrimp turn pink.  I knew they were done when they shriveled into a firm ball.  Remove from heat and add parsley and as much or little lemon as you want (zest, juice, slices) toss and combine.  That's it! :) It was a big hit again for my cook off challenge and VERY easy to make.