Hey, I'm over here...

So I have been keeping up with blogging lately, but I've been spending time on my other blog. WordPress is a much better platform for displaying photos and I'm trying to become more familiar with the other features that the site offers.

I'll be back on MOA more regularly in the future, but check out the JCS site for all the latest!

Grand Cayman Getaway

Last week, we were lucky enough to celebrate New Year's in the Cayman Islands! Rick's friend Eric invited us to stay at his family's condo on Grand Cayman to kick-off 2011. We've been looking forward to the vacation for quite a while and couldn't wait to escape the remnants of the Christmas blizzard.

As soon as we landed at the small Cayman Airport, we were greeted with sunshine and a warm breeze. The airport is small enough that you walk directly out onto the tarmac when you land, so that was pretty cool. Eric's family has a condo on the popular Seven Mile Beach on the west coast of Grand Cayman. The beach is beautiful and the condo was right on a nice private spot along the water. Some of the other parts of Seven Mile Beach get very crowded, so we were happy to have a more secluded spot.

We went on our first excursion on the day of New Year's Eve, after Eric's friend Kimmy had arrived. We went to visit the Cayman Turtle Farm, a marine park and breeding program for turtles. The best part of the visit was holding a baby green turtle! We were able to hold little guys that were just under three weeks old! They were so adorable and soft. They also got sleepy when their little necks were rubbed and they closed their eyes. They were just like "Little Dude" from Finding Nemo!

On New Year's Eve, the island held a beautiful fireworks show off a barge on the beach. (No photos, unfortunately-- but trust me, it was gorgeous!) There were tons of fireworks going off all along the beach. Fireworks are legal in Cayman, so it seems like every other person on the beach was setting off fireworks. The island's official fireworks show was so impressive-- it was a great way to ring in 2011.

Much of our vacation was spent on the beach; sunning, reading, swimming and snorkeling, people-watching and enjoying the official beer of the Cayman Islands- Caybrew. Growing up as a Cape Cod beach baby, I could spend all day on the beach (as long as I have some shade) so I never got tired of it. People-watching in Cayman was especially interesting. The island seems to attract people from all over the world-- we heard many different accents all week. Cayman also attracts many animal-lovers, as it is known as a dog-friendly vacation spot. The addition of dogs to the beach made people-watching even better.

My favorite part of our vacation was a boat trip to Stingray City. Stingray City is a sand bar off the coast of Grand Cayman. Long ago, fishermen would stop at the sand bar to get out and clean their tools, which attracted stingrays. The stingrays were tame and used to people because of the fishermen, so Stingray City became an island attraction. We took a trip with Captain Marvin's Tours and it was great. There were about 20 of us on the boat, so it wasn't overloaded. Some of the other tour boats pack people on, but this was perfect.


Our tour included a stop at Stingray City and two snorkeling spots. Stingray City was awesome! The stingrays come up and rub against everyone's legs and they are extremely soft. I was surprised at how soft and smooth the stingrays are; touching them was so cool. I was also surprised at how pretty their eyes are-- they have dark eyes with a brown iris. I was expecting more reptile-like eyes, but their eyes were more like that of a mammal. When we were on the sand bar, we also got to feed the stingrays squid and hold them. Stingrays have a great sense of smell, so five or six would rush over at once as soon as squid was in the water. They would bump right into my leg looking for the squid! Our Caymanian tour guides told us that kissing a stingray brings seven years of good luck, so I puckered up! When in Cayman...

The rest of the boat tour was great. We stopped at two fantastic snorkeling spots, where we saw fish of every color. At the second spot, Rick and I even saw a little sea turtle swimming underwater. The trip to Stingray City was definitely the highlight of our trip. It was so unique and awesome to get up close to such interesting creatures.

The rest of our vacation was very relaxing and low-key: a perfect combination. I would absolutely go back to Grand Cayman and recommend a visit to anyone. And if you ever do visit, don't forget to try Caybrew, eat some conch fritters and visit Stingray City!

One Cold Shutterbug...

I braved the blizzard yesterday and today to take some photos. I couldn't resist how beautiful the snow looked--or how adorable Jacoby looked playing in it. I posted the photos on my Wordpress blog because I think photos look better over there. Enjoy and stay warm!

Christmas is here again!

Right after Thanksgiving was over, I was ready to bring on the Christmas spirit. I'm usually not so gung-ho about Christmas right from the get-go, but once the turkey was gone I was excited to decorate and shop.

I think part of the reason for my November 27 cheer is that I've been focusing on a lot of holiday-themed communications for the past month or so at work, and that has kept Christmas on my radar. Needless to say, all the decorations are up in our apartment and have been for a week.

I'm also in good shape with my Christmas shopping. I even have some wrapped gifts under the tree and I don't think that has ever happened that early.

Here are a few of my go-to gift suggestions for this year:

* Personalized photo gifts: The 2009 Snapfish calendar that I made for my aunt was such a hit that I'm making another one this year. This gift is personal, fun, functional and affordable. Snapfish has great deals going on now until Christmas. I've found that it's so easy to find great family photos to use because of the photos shared on Facebook or blogs. And if you don't have enough photos to create a calendar, Snapfish offers a number of great items that can be personalized like mugs, ornaments or posters.

* Gifts that give back: A number of charities like the Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Jimmy Fund and St. Jude's offer great gifts and cards that include a donation to the organization in the purchase price. So you're not just buying a gift, you are also contributing to a cause. I think it makes a gift thoughtful, especially for big-hearted friends.

* Books: I think books are always a thoughtful gift, especially when someone has taken the time to pick out a book that matches the reader's interests or was something he or she enjoyed and wanted to share. The key with making a great choice when choosing a book for someone is finding that book about a topic you think the recipient would enjoy -- there is a book out there for every interest! I also love to write a little inscription on the inside cover whenever I give a book as a gift.


(Note: although I proclaimed last year that I am a real-tree advocate, our little $5 fake Walmart tree is just fine and looks lovely in our reading corner. I still love real trees and intend on having them in the future, but not when we live on the top floor of a dry-air, carpeted apartment!)

Journalism Geek Reunion

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I was giving thanks for the great group of people I found at PC. Rick and I went down to Providence for a 75th Anniversary Celebration for The Cowl, PC's student newspaper. I was lovingly referring to the weekend as my 'nerd reunion.'

I had been looking forward to the get-together for quite a while and it was great to see so many old friends. I was fortunate to work with such a fun group of people while I was on The Cowl and I was happy to see them in person-- since I've only "seen" many of them via Twitter or Facebook in the past few years.



The event itself was great; we had a cocktail hour and then a dinner and speaking program. We had two talented Cowl alumni speak -- including Mallary Tenore '07! -- and then we continued toasting our journalism glory days at McPhail's: PC's on-campus bar.



However, the highlight of the evening was when someone found a current Cowl editor and he let a few dozen of us into the office. We then became what Rick called "kids on Christmas morning" as we pulled out the old archives, laughing at old typos and remembering long nights in the office. Geek Fest, I know.

It was so much fun to get together with old friends and reminisce. I was also reminded of how much my time on The Cowl encouraged my writing and shaped my future. I'm so lucky to have found nerds like me when I was at school!

Photos: 75 years of word nerds; Kristin and I getting silly; With Mallary and Christine at McPhail's.

A Late-Blooming Fan of "The Wire"

I know that I'm late to the game here (considering the show has been off the air since 2008), but The Wire is amazing! I've heard for years that it was a great show, but just hadn't gotten around to watching it. Rick owns the entire series on DVD, so I knew I would see it eventually see what all the fuss what about.

And man, is this show worth fussing about!

The series is about the complicated relationships between drug dealers, addicts, police, politicians and the media in inner-city Baltimore. It's tough to sum up such a deep, well-crafted show so I should say that a one-sentence synopsis doesn't do it justice. The strength of the show is the complex characters; everyone has many sides and no one is who he seems. The Wire also plays with the roles of good guys and bad guys-- sometimes the "bad guys" are the most likable characters and the "good guys" are scum.

I don't want to go into too much detail and I don't want to share a clip that might give something away to a would-be fan, so you'll just have to trust me that it's a fantastic show. (I like it this much and we're still only on season three!)


HBO photo

My first attempt at Lasagna

A few weeks ago, I ordered The Skinnygirl Dish through Amazon. Yes, it is a cookbook by reality star Bethenny Frankel, but she's also a trained chef. And I'm upfront about my love for bad TV, so I'm not afraid to say that I like Bethenny even though she is a little wacky (and she knows it). I'm also not afraid to say that I think Skinnygirl Dish is a great cookbook. It's part-cookbook, part-cooking philosophy book -- one of the major ideas behind the book is to get over one's fear of cooking and feel comfortable enough with cooking to make recipes healthier and experiment.

Tonight I tried a recipe for a healthier version of classic lasagna and it came out really well. It was my first time making a lasagna of any kind and I was really happy with the results. I don't have any great pictures of my version, but here is a picture from Bethenny's website.

Lighter Lasagna

- 8 oz lasagna noodles (whole wheat if you can find them) non-boil are much easier
- 1lb+ of ground turkey or turkey sausages with casing removed (I found some ground turkey that was pre-seasoned with Italian seasonings and it was great.)
- 1 jar of tomato sauce
- 1/2 C chopped fresh basil
- 2 TBS parsley (The original recipe calls for more parsley and less basil, but I reversed the ingredients by accident and liked all the fresh basil in the lasagna!)
- 15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese or low fat cottage cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 4 oz part-skim shredded mozzarella
- 1/3 C shredded parm cheese (I skipped the parm and it was still tasty with just mozzarella)

1. Boil lasagna noodles if necessary. Brown and drain turkey in a sprayed, non-stick skillet. After turkey is cooked, add tomato sauce and then remove from heat and set aside. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix ricotta/cottage cheese with herbs.
3. Spray a large glass dish and put first layer of noodles down. Alternate layers of noodles, meat/tomato sauce mixture and ricotta/herbs mixture. Sprinkle the top with the shredded cheese.
4. Cook in oven for 25-30 min; until bubbling and warmed through. Remove from oven and let settle for 20 min before serving. Delicious and better for you, too!

Crunchy Panko Shrimp with Couscous and Ginger-Orange Sauce

This tasty experiment came courtesy of a Cooking Light cookbook. We were in the mood for shrimp and this recipe caught my eye since it didn't seem too complicated. Luckily, it wasn't and it's definitely a recipe I'll make again. This was the first time I've cooked with Panko and I don't know why it's taken me so long to use it! I've always liked the taste of it, but just never thought to use it. (Clarice is a Panko-devotee; check out these delicious treats she recently whipped up using Panko.)

This was also the first time I've used fresh ginger root. It smells so good and is easy to peel, too. (Thanks to Martha for the quick ginger-peeling trick.) The recipe calls for fresh cilantro, which I used, but I really think dried cilantro would work, too. Enjoy!

Ginger-Orange Sauce:
1 C orange juice
2 TBS low-fat mayo
1.5 TBS chicken broth
1 TBS cilantro
1 tsp grated, peeled ginger
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt

Couscous:
1 C uncooked couscous
1.5 C chicken broth
1/2 C orange juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C chopped green onions
2 TBS sliced, toasted almond
1 TBS butter/margarine

Shrimp:
1 lb jump shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 C Panko breadcrumbs (I used more!)
1 tsp cilantro
1/2 tsp peeled, grated ginger
1/8 pepper
canola/olive oil for skillet

Garnish green:
2 C arugula

1. For sauce, bring 1 C OJ to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook for about 10 min; OJ will reduce to about 1/4 cup. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Stir in mayo and the rest of the sauce ingredients. (I used my food processor to blend everything completely.) Set sauce aside.


2. For couscous, place couscous in a large, sprayed skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly until couscous is toasted. Add 1.5 C broth, 1/2 C OJ and 1/2 tsp salt; bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add the rest of the couscous ingredients. Mix well and keep warm until ready to serve.

3. For shrimp, combine the shrimp (tails removed) with the egg white in a large bowl, tossing to coat shrimp. Mix Panko, 1 tsp cilantro, 1/2 tsp ginger and pepper in a large ziplock bag. Add shrimp to the bag, seal and toss until well-mixed. Add more Panko if needed.

4. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet. Arrange shrimp in a single layer and cook about three minute each side or until cooke through.

5. To serve, spoon couscous on plate, top with arugula, add shrimp and drizzle sauce on top. Yum!

Cute explosion

A few weeks ago, we spent a lovely Sunday with J-School friends in Cutetown, USA. Actually, we were in Hanover, Mass., but it might as well have been the headquarters of adorable. Not only did we spend time with a sweet newborn, but we also played with a puppy. A baby and a puppy!

The get-together was the NEU crew's first introduction to little Mr. Teddy! And he is one good baby. We all took turn snuggling with him and he didn't even fuss. (I will admit that I was kind of a baby hog, but I couldn't resist!) Teddy made the funniest little faces all afternoon. I just couldn't get over how expressive he is and he is just one month old!



And just when we thought the afternoon couldn't get better, Korri told us that her family brought home a golden wheaten terrier puppy right before Teddy was born and they named him Casey. Yay!



Casey couldn't look any more like a Muppet if he tried and Teddy couldn't get any more lovable if he tried. And although Teddy's mommy is taking some AMAZING photos of him, I couldn't resist taking a few of my own. They're slightly blurry because I didn't want to use a flash right in Teddy's face, but little Teddybear is still very photogenic--even when he is upset like the photo below!


It was a great afternoon and I can't wait until we get together again! (And try and top the ultimate sweetness of the day.)

Rodent Update

We caught one last night. I now feel oddly guilty... RIP mouse.

The Return (of Both Good Things and Bad Things)

Hi again, loyal blog readers (all five or so of you). I apologize for my long hiatus from MOA. The past few weeks have been pretty hectic, but I've returned to blogging and to the working world! It's great to be back at work and it's great to be back to blogging, but this month has also marked the return of a not-so-welcome guest... That's right; it's a pesky rodent (or more than one).

After my months-long war with the mice we saw in Brookline, pests have surfaced in our new apartment. (I blame Sally for sending them here.) I first saw a mouse in the kitchen a few weeks back and it darted into a gap between our counter and kitchen wall. An exterminator came to patch the hole and that seemed to take care of the problem...for a little while.

I was angry (really angry) to find mice turds on our carpet at the beginning of the month. Later that week, Rick saw a little vermin run under our dishwasher. The exterminator again return and placed some glue traps under the dishwasher. Well, the traps are empty and the turds keep reappearing.

This week, I decided to try and a new tactic and replace in the untouched peanut butter in our snap traps with some nice cheddar cheese. I moved the traps and loaded them up with fromage, feeling confident that the cheese would tempt the little suckers. And I was right-- the cheese tempted the mice so much that the cheese was gone the next morning, but the traps were empty! One even snapped, but apparently the critter was too fast.

Cut to today-- I've reloaded the traps with cheese (and vacuumed more turds) but I used a much smaller piece of cheese and stuck it onto the trap. We'll see what happens now, but I'm getting pretty tired of these mice inviting themselves into my home! Stay tuned...

Telling the important stories

I love a good story. That love of stories made me a voracious reader and writer as a child and it drove me to pursue journalism as an adult.

A well-told story--whether it's true or imagined--should expand one's horizons and leave the reader or listener thinking. Unfortunately, I think many of these stories fall through the cracks in today's media because of limited TV time or page space or because of the overwhelming amount of information available online.

Some readers and viewers may search for the sensational or gossipy stories, but the job of journalists is to tell the stories that matter. Too often, these stories remain untold for many different reasons.

While I believe the news should not be sugar-coated or dumbed down, we still need to make an effort to get the positive and inspirational stories out there, too.

NBC Nightly News does a great job of this. It runs a reoccurring segment called "Making a Difference", in which the story of a person or organization striving for positive change is told. These types of interesting and unique stories capture my attention and inspire me to find these kinds of people in my neighborhood so I can get their messages out there.

"Making a Difference" always runs at the end of the newscast--probably to leave viewers thinking about what they just saw and with some hope...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

My Favorite Holiday

It's the Friday before July 4th and I couldn't be more excited for the long weekend.

I've been looking forward to July 4th for weeks and a new blog post from my friends at Sand Pail List have inspired me to share some of my thoughts on my family's traditions for the Fourth.

The main reason why July 4th is so special in my fam is because it's my grandmother's birthday. This year, my hilarious and lovable Nana will be turning 89. We always celebrate with a big cookout at my aunt's house featuring plenty of food like hamburgers, hot dogs, lobsters and my mom's trademark dish: Renee's chicken. (The recipe for which actually came from loyal blog reader Auntie Lisa!) Growing up, I looked forward to the big cookout to see my cousins, eat lots of food and hope that someone brought along some illegal sparklers.

The Fourth also marked the official start of the summer for me-- I knew the weather would now be consistently nice and the beach would be crowded with tourists and visitors. I could also look forward to seeing summer friends again and plan on family members coming to visit.

Now that I'm older, the Fourth still holds special meaning for me. I get excited to go to our big family cookout and see friends on the Cape during July 4th weekend. And to get a little corny, the Fourth is a time to count my blessings-- I get to be on the Cape, my favorite place, and see so many of my favorite people.

I hope celebrating our Nation's (and my Nana's) birthday holds special meaning to you too!

(P.S.-The Fourth is also the birthday of my cousin Mike and a few friends, including Korri. :) It may also be the b'day of Korri's soon-to-arrive son, Teddy! Yay! )

Some of the family at the 2008 Cookout

McChrystal, Rolling Stone and Journalism

My latest piece for YPNation focuses on the repercussions of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his comments in Rolling Stone. The article and McChrystal's resignation are now old news, but my commentary looks at how this debacle could affect the media. I predict that journalists are going to have a very difficult time getting access to top officials in the future because of what happened with McChrystal. Check it out here and let me know what you think.

My New Website

I've been neglecting My Own Audience for a few weeks, but I've been working on a new online project. I just created a new website featuring my photography and freelance writing. I used the blogging host Wordpress to create my website because it offers a few more design options than Blogger and it displays photos very well. Once I figured Wordpress out, I found it easy to use and I really like how my site is looking so far. It's still a work in progress, so please feel free to pass along your suggestions and comments!

Don't worry; I'm not leaving Blogger! I'll still be blogging on M.O.A. about whatever pops into my head and I'll be using the new site to display my published work and blog about media and writing-related issues. It's pretty amazing how easy it was to create a cool and professional website and it's great to have a spot where all my online writing can be found. Please check out the site and let me know what you think.

P.S.- From time to time, there will be posts found here and at my new Wordpress site. Sorry for the repeats, but I can promise that there will always be posts here on M.O.A. that won't be on the new site!

Congrats KLC!

My very talented friend Korri Leigh Crowley was named Boston.com's Photographer of the Week on Monday. It's a well-deserved honor! Korri is creative, professional and her passion for her photography is evident to anyone who meets her. Be sure to check out her website and her self portraits featured online. Congratulations Korri!

KLC hard at work, Oct. 2009.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I've been wanting to try a delicious-looking recipe that I spotted on Everyday Food's blog a few weeks back. I finally gave it a whirl last night and the results were just as tasty as they seemed to be online. The recipe was easy to begin with and by using a few pre-made ingredients, I made it even easier. If you like pizza and barbequed chicken, you won't be disappointed with this one!

- 2 C shredded chicken (a little more than half of a rotisserie chicken)
- Barbeque sauce
- Pre-made pizza crust or pizza dough
- 1-2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced
- Chopped or sliced onion, as much as you prefer

1. Preheat oven according to directions for pizza dough or crust. Use cooking spray on a cookie sheet or stone. Spread dough out (if using dough).
2. Mix shredded chicken with enough barbeque sauce to cover all of the chicken.
3. Spread chicken out on crust first. Then top with zucchini, onion and as much cheese as you want.
4. Cook pizza according to crust directions. If using a pre-made crust, pizza will only need about 10 minutes at 425. Yum!

YP Moms Looking for Work-Life Balance

My latest story for YPNation is on a subject that's always been of interest for me: work-life balance. I think most young women with career aspirations and the hope to one day have a family realize that they'll be faced with the challenge of how to make it all work. I interviewed some intelligent, interesting women for this piece and they all had different and realistic solutions for the working mom dilemma.

May in Review

It's hard for me to believe that it's already June. May went by so quickly; it was a month full of moving, celebrations, traveling and unpacking. All the activities kept me away from the blog, but I hope one detailed post about May will make up for my absence...

Last month started off with packing up and moving into the new digs. Rick and I love our new place and our new neighborhood, but we definitely don't like unpacking and getting settled in. Part of the problem has been that I still have a bunch of my junk at my old apartment. Sally is staying there and her friend is moving in at the end of the summer, so there was no immediate rush to get my stuff out. When I first realized that I'd be able to move my things into the new apartment gradually, I was relieved. I thought it would be much easier to move things out little by little instead of a mad rush to move in one day.

I was wrong.

I've now learned that I have absolutely no motivation to move if I don't have an immediate deadline. Here we are, more than a month after getting the keys to the apartment and my closet in Brookline is still loaded with my stuff. If I'm ever in this situation again, I will give myself a made-up deadline to ensure that I move out of my old place in a timely fashion. Luckily, we will be having our first official overnight guests this weekend (YAY!), so that is inspiring me to drag myself back to Brookline and get everything else out of there.

The beginning of May also marked Rick's graduation from UConn's Business School. It was a nice weekend of festivities for the students and their family and friends. There were so many great people in the program that Rick (and myself) got to know and a number of students from countries all over the world. It was a bittersweet weekend since so many of Rick's friends are now scattered across the globe, but at least technology makes it easier to stay in touch!

We also made a quick trip to Melbourne, Florida in May. Rick will be going there frequently for work and I tagged along with him for a few days. It was lovely to sit on the beach and relax, although it was very hot and humid. I stayed under an umbrella and went through a lot of sunscreen, which is no surprise to anyone that has ever been outdoors with me. The only odd thing about our visit was that it happened to coincide with the annual infestation of lightning bugs--know in the South as "love bugs." They hatch, live for only a few days, die and end up absolutely everywhere! It was gross, but short-lived. We did feel a little bit like we were trapped in a Biblical plague...

The month winded down with the lovely wedding of one of my oldest friends. I've known Ned since we were nine, but we joke that we didn't become friends for about 10 years after that! Ned and Kristin were married at the Cape's Greek Orthodox Church and then we all celebrated at Ned's parents' house. The Greek ceremony was very interesting and the wedding program included explanations of the symbolic meaning of the Mass, which was great. In the photo above, the bride and groom wear crowns to symbolize that they are now "king and queen" of their new home and family. It was a wonderful night of Greek dancing, toasts, cigars, laughter, food, drinks and great conversation. We loved it! Congratulations to Ned and Kristin!

Finally, I hope everyone spent at least a little time this Memorial Day Weekend thinking about the sacrifices made for our country. If you ever have the chance, I would highly recommend visiting Arlington National Cemetery in DC. It is a moving tribute to our lost soldiers and a profound reminder of how many lives have been lost in honor of our country. I have visited Arlington four times and I would absolutely go again...

Etiquette for the YP Job-Hunter

Last week, my story for YPNation focused on using traditional etiquette tips and practices after a job interview. It was interesting to hear experts saying that old-fashioned etiquette may make a difference in the job hunt. Look for a follow-up article on cover letter and resume tips coming next week...