Dunt, nah, nah, nah

(Why I don't go to Citrus Club for the noodles.)

For those who don't understand my sad little attempt to write out a beat, or who don't recognize the glowing orb of pink deliciousness above as a Cosmopolitan, I am writing to have an uber-girly, equally dorky moment of excitement over Sex & The City II coming out next month! I admit that I was not excited about the sequel at first. Have you ever seen the sequel to Bridget Jones' Diary? Craptastic. Alas, Jill and I were bobbing along on Friday night to the beatlicious sounds of "Empire State of Mind," and SATC II immediately came up. Prompted by Jill's insistence that the preview and naturally the outfits contained within were sensational, I had to take a peek ...

OMG! Phew, that's out of the way, now. While I liked the outfits just fine, I had a serious OMG! girl squeal moment when I saw that "Aidan" makes a significant reappearance. Officially excited.

Also, I wanted to give an update on my April goals; so far, so good!

• Composting - I got a super awesome, tricked out new trashcan yesterday. Just need to get the Biobags to go in it and we'll be in the "Gooooood for yoouuuuuu" zone immediately. (South Park? Anybody?)
• Knitting Class - I am all signed up for the ImagiKnit class that starts May 3rd. I'll be a knitting fool in no time! If you'd like to know why I chose ImagiKnit, please take a look at a picture of their head knitting instructor.
• Posting More - I got off to a good start last week then dropped off ... My goal is to try to post on my lunch hour since it's challenging to carve out the time once at home. If you've ever tried to type with a 12lb. cat on your keyboard, you know what I mean. Also, I think I may have just set a record for my most vacuous post ever. Score!

Who Are You Calling Chicken?

Adorable photo courtesy of the We Like It Wild post on Design*Sponge.

Sometimes The Universe tells me things. This week, it is telling me to keep chickens. Lest you believe I have meandered into a mental state similar to that of many Haight-Ashbury "residents," I will explain.

First, it was last week’s charming post by the ‘We Like It Wild/Studio Choo’ girls on Design*Sponge with a creative Easter decoration idea that I unabashedly cribbed for my table settings. They were inspired to create these tiny little arrangements after a visit with a woman who keeps chickens in nearby Marin County. Thus, it begins.

Photo from the Design*Sponge post

Second, it was strolling through the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market with Wilbat looking for brown eggs to replicate the goodness above and being bowled over by the price of a half dozen organic eggs. They were $4 for 6 little old eggs and I thought Will was going to flip out (and this was when he thought I was buying them for consumption – imagine when I told him my real plans!).

Third, it was checking out the Blogger feed this morning and seeing that Ashley English of ‘Small Measures’ has a book coming out on keeping chickens. Do I need it? No. Not only do I not have an outdoor space in which to keep a hen, I’m pretty sure it would be a serious violation of numerous zoning laws. Do I want it? Hell, yes. I would not mind getting her guide to home canning, either.

Photo from Ashley's post on her new books - check it out here!

Clearly, The Universe’s message to me is quite obvious. Though, I know what you’re thinking: "Oh, Nicole. Dear silly Nicole with your odd plans … You believe you want a chicken to lay you fresh eggs every morning and name Bess or Ruth or something classically 1950’s sounding, but be reasonable. You’d most certainly find yourself in over your head with the care and maintenance of a clucky hen." And perhaps you’d be correct. But perhaps you would be surprised to know that I have some chicken-raising experience, or at least more than your average bear. What might not surprise you would be to hear that when I owned the aforementioned chickens, I owned ten. Really, though, when a little girl visits the Fisco in Chico and stands before a giant aluminum basin loaded with adorable yellow chicks peeping away and scrambling around and over each other for the prime heat lamp spot, can she be expected to take less than ten? As can be expected, ten chicks were darling, ten teenage chickens were a bit precocious, and ten grown chickens (particularly those that turned out to be roosters) were a bit much. Luckily, my Dad found them new homes on a local chicken farm.

The moral of this little peep (pun intended) into my childhood is to reveal that I both have chicken-related experience and have learned my lesson about reasonable quantities. Regardless of that important lesson, I believe I will find myself Rhode Island Red-less, Hippy-Chicken-less, and otherwise hen-less for quite some time. Thus, I will leave you with some lyrics from my apparent anthem, Feist’s "Mushaboom."

Unpacking the bags and setting up
And planting lilacs and buttercups oh
But in the meantime we've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay…

Why, hello. I didn't see you there.

The date of my last post? February 19th. Shameful and without excuse!

So, here is an update of the past 1.5 months ….

What I’ve Done:

• I found gainful employment (and a paycheck). I work for a non-profit. Shocking! In fundraising. Unheard of! For a cancer organization. Get out of town! Yes, I have indeed landed in a lovely position at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and, YES, I work in San Francisco. Finally, after almost 5 years in Oakland! I now coordinate the Light The Night Walk in San Francisco. I work with absolutely lovely, fun people towards a great cause within the confines of my home city. What more is there to say? (Except, "Nicole, quit asking me for money for your blasted fundraisers …")


• I mastered another recipe courtesy of Ms. Martha that Will loves: Roast Pork Loin with potatoes, shallots, and mustard gravy. Post and photographic evidence to follow.
• I have become acutely aware that Spring has sprung in San Francisco. I have always been an Autumn-lover, but something about this Spring has really struck my fancy and made me feel awake and rejuvenated.


• Today is Will and I’s 2.5 year anniversary. Past this point, I will no longer be counting half years because it’s just silly. The apartment is loaded to the gills with flowers from Easter, so you’re off the hook, buddy.


• Learned about wonderful baby news from a friend who inspired me to blog in the first place. Congratulations, Brooke!!!!


• Explored the finest craft supply places in SF with an unscathed Jill following her safe return from South America.
• Saw Alice in Wonderland in 3-D with my mom. Quiet, haters, I loved it!


• Raided the Farmer’s Market for an Easter feast.


• Successfully re-habbed a piece of furniture from Craigslist. Future career? You be the judge. (Post and pictures to follow!)
  

What I’ve Not Done:

• Ride that bike.


• Decorate my new office (ok, cubicle).


• Used the ridiculously cute knitting patterns from the ridiculously cute book I bought when Jill and I visited ImagiKnit (because I do not know how to knit).
  

Goals for April:

• Ride that bike (helmets be damned).


• Do the "House Tour" posts I have always meant to do.
• Start composting.


• Drink 64 ounces of water every day.


• Back-Post like gangbusters:
  *The remainder of my Golden Gate Park pictures from my brief yet blissful time of unemployment.
  *Valentine’s Day crafty mccrafty-ness.
  *An intriguing (to me) examination of neighborhood displays.
  *Other stuff upon a more careful perusal of my iPhone snaps.


• I would not mind using that canner I bought in, umm...., September? Apple butter? Strawberry jam? Who knows. I just want to use it.


• Not posting about a bike-related injury would be grand. No seriously, last time I was on a bike I broke my elbow and it made for a pretty lame post-high school graduation summer.


• Maybe just a little tinge of slightly-less-white from a fabulous Vegas getaway with my best girls!


• Take a knitting class from ImagiKnit (chance this could fall into May).


• Keep smelling all these beautiful Spring flowers that send me into a dreamy daze of happiness.

Incidentally, the picture above is of Peter looking longingly at Hugh Grant. No obvious connection to the post that I can see, but let's face it, we all stare at Hugh.