Info Burung Kicauan

Even if you've only been following my blog or twitter a short time, you have likely noticed I've got a preoccupation with chaotic closets...and trying to rebuild order.  My house is not normally a place of clutter, but for the past 6 months or more I have found myself in state of disarray with clothing and shoes piled up all over the place.  It actually started to hinder my ability to think clearly and I felt a little depressed, so as my birthday approached I made a commitment to myself to pull it together and regain a well-kept space.

Off my dining room is a narrow walk-in closet that beckoned to me in the night, "I will house your clothing in an orderly fashion kind woman.  If you build it, I will store."  Apparently it must have been whispering to the Chef too because he showed up here a couple weeks ago with a rad closet organizer that saved my life.  Last week I said sayonara to a year of my life and a bunch of clutter, too.  Yippee!!  My clean house is back...and it all started with this closet.

Recently, while strolling along a wooded path (on the grounds of a classic Ohio roadside attraction) with my family, we came upon this sign (above): "Keep Off the Dinosaurs."

Our kids are reasonably well-behaved creatures, so we did not think anything of it. Well, I guess I thought the sign had a pinch of the kill-joy spirit in it, but that's life these days in the United States of Litigation.

We walked onward.

Moments later the unthinkable happened. Liam was attacked by a raging triceratops.

Perhaps there should have been a sign for the dinosaurs saying "Don't Eat the Tourists."

Thank heavens I had my iPhone with me or I wouldn't have gotten this photo of the attack. We'll need it for the lawsuit.




[ok, just kidding. Liam is fine. So is the triceratops, according to its lawyer and agent.]

Last week I was talking to my friend Rosamond and we were discussing how we are trying to "grow up" on the subject of our birthdays and, specifically, how we handle them *read:  lower expectations so as not to be devastated*.  I don't know what is wrong with me but some years I have worked my expectations up so high, even without realizing it, and then been acutely aware of the feeling of being let down when the truth is the day was wonderful.  Ugh! Growing pains.

About a month ago I caught myself in a similar mode thinking I was 8 years old and needed a big party.  The Chef was like, "Uh, are you sure you wanna do that?  I mean we can do it, but do you really think that's the way you want to spend that weekend...planning for a big ol' party?"  Well of course I hadn't really thought it over too much.  I was already at the party in my mind, don't you know? (she says shaking her head).  Aneeway. Shortly after this grand idea of mine, the Chef and I had the perfect poolside lunch at a boutique hotel in LA.  I told him that rather than being a control freak I'd leave it up to him (to the best of my ability) and back off.  All I really wanted was for my BFF of 10 years to come to town for cake.

I can honestly say, without a doubt, that my birthday this past weekend was the best I have ever had in my life.  It was filled with great food, tons of laughs, a few crazy mishaps and, most importantly, some of my closest friends.  I really do feel like crying as I'm typing these words because it was far more than I ever could have hoped for - or thought of - and I will always remember it.

I'm probably out sipping a margarita and laughing the night away right now in preparation for the arrival of my BFF today at 5:30pm.  Yee hooooo!!  Okay actually that's what I would have been doing if I hadn't been swamped with work until yesterday causing Cleaning Frenzy 2010 to rear its ugly head over the past 24 hours.  The Chef and I just returned from having a sayonara toast to this past year of my life, and we are looking forward to a fun and relaxing birthday weekend.  Yessssssss!


It wouldn't be right to have a birthday and not share the presents *just like a kid's party where they give out gift bags* so when the kind people at CSN offered up a giveaway to you I graciously accepted.  Instead of giving away a Dutch Oven or something I opted to put a $40 Gift Certificate up for grabs - it is valid at any of their online stores where you can stock up on shoes, furniture, or housewares.  Personally I enter these CSN giveaways like MAD.  I've already won one and am hoping to keep it up....I have my eye on a $700+ Fondue set that calls to me in the night.  I'm thinking it must make some out of this world fondueness for $700!! 

And now the specifics:

THE DETAILS
*This giveaway is open to all U.S. and Canadian readers - however there may be international shipping charges in the case of Canadian addresses (CSN only ships to the US and Canada - I'm sorry overseas readers!!  There will be something including you in the future).  The entry period will run through 11:59pm PST Wednesday, September 1, 2010 and the winners will be announced on Thursday, September 2, 2010.  The winner will be selected via random drawing.

HOW TO ENTER
*For one entry you must be a follower of this free bird via Google Reader, AND leave an additional comment on this post stating that you have done so.  Be sure you either leave an email address or have a link to your email on your blog so that I can contact you if you win.

*For an additional entry  blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave a separate comment with the link back stating you have done so.

And with that...I'm off!  I probably won't have a post for Friday, but will be back on Monday.  In the meantime you can follow me on Twitter for some of the latest!  Have a great weekend everyone - and Good Luck with the giveaway!!

Pages and pages have been written lately about the future of the American Birding Association—some of it fairly pessimistic, some of it quite optimistic. Recent posts have tended toward the latter, which is reason for hope.

I don't have a lot to add to the chorus of voices suggesting how to save the organization, but I do want to make one suggestion to the ABA as a whole, and especially to the incoming president/CEO: Please make it fun.

I've been an ABA member since the mid-1980s. Back then I was trying my level best to fit in with the more experienced birders I encountered. I knew then (and still know) what it's like as a bird watcher to feel not good enough to "hang" with the big dogs. That's a problem that's plagued the ABA almost since its inception: new bird enthusiasts not feeling comfortable joining because they felt inadequate in skill level and experience.

I've heard other things named as THE reason for the ABA's decline.

"It's just a club for listers!"
"Is it a conservation group or a birding group or both?"
"All that super-difficult bird ID stuff in Birding magazine is way over my head."
"The conferences are too expensive."
"It just doesn't matter like it once did."
"It's too serious!"

That last reason may be closer to the mark than any of the other ones.

In the fall of 2008, I participated in a facilitated visioning session for the ABA. The half-dozen of us in the session worked for an entire day discussing what the ABA had done in the past, what it was doing currently, and what it might do in the future to maintain and enhance its standing in the North American birding community. I thought (as did the facilitator, and most of my fellow volunteer participants) that we came up with some really great ideas and recommendations. Sadly nothing ever came of our work—at least not yet.

If all of our recommendations could be summarized in one central theme, it would be to make being a member of the American Birding Association an engagingly fun experience.

An enormous factor in being a bird watcher for most of us is the social connection we enjoy with others who share our interest. When I look at my actual, real-world friends, most of them are birders. When I look at my Facebook "friends," the same is true.

However, being connected hasn't always been so easy.

As a young birder in the 1970s, I had no clue that there were others my age who shared my interest in birds. It wasn't until I joined a local bird club that I connected with fellow bird watchers, albeit much older than I.

In 1978, my family started Bird Watcher's Digest. We reached out through the mail to bird clubs and newspaper columnists writing about birds and nature in order to find content and subscribers. The ABA was newly formed, too, but not yet a well-known entity.

In the fall of 1979, when I went to band hawks as a volunteer in Cape May, New Jersey, I found out that there were people who did bird stuff for a living! Five or so years later, I discovered the American Birding Association and I attended my first ABA convention in 1990 in Fort Collins, CO.

Today it's far easier to find and connect with others who share our special interest. The ABA, if it is to survive and grow, needs to facilitate these connections. And it needs to make sure that EVERYONE is invited, and that EVERYONE is having fun. Like the host of a really awesome party, where everyone is having such a blast that they never want to leave.

Think this is vacuous? Perhaps it is. But it's worked for me here at Bird Watcher's Digest, in the content we create, and in the events that we coordinate.

Certainly the ABA needs to promote responsible birding. It needs to publish important data. It needs to support the development of the birders of tomorrow. It needs to figure out how to run itself like a business with good financial decisions and an elimination of the conflicts among membership, staff, and board. It needs to figure out how accomplish all these things AND how to be relevant in a world where everyone can be connected all of the time.

Make it fun, and all of these challenges will be easier to overcome. People have so many choices for spending their time, attention, and money. We humans are social creatures. We tend to gravitate to things that make us feel good. As bird watchers we might even need a bit more "feel-good" stuff since we've only recently emerged from the socially stigmatized days of Miss Jane Hathaway. A fun ABA will attract more members, which will help the organization become more relevant, which will attract more members...

Here's hoping that the months and years ahead will see a lot of F-U-N put into everything the ABA does. I, for one, believe that the hobby of birding needs the happy sense of belonging that a healthy and engaged ABA can offer. And so I'm going to do what I can to help things move in that direction.

I'm sitting here listening to the neighbor's dog bark its head off while she repeatedly hollers, "NO!" at it.  After 3 days of this I'm about to go over there and give her a rip.  Or at least holler, "NO!" to her.  I wonder if it would work?  If the dog's behavior is any indication, the answer would be no.  Or is that "NO!"?

Anyway.  It's been super warm and is early in the evening on Tuesday - just a couple seconds ago the sweetest cool breeze blew through the front door and straight out the open bedroom window in the back of the house leaving the whole place smelling like the ocean.  I have to say I love summer at the beach and am so happy it's here, even if only for just a short time.  Today was my last day of work for the week and I am officially in birthday mode (read:  cleaning before my bff from Seattle gets here and calls Hoarders for an intervention - no jokes)  I wish I was outside.  sigh

A couple of days ago the Chef and I were driving through a small beach town by my house and on a street we'd never taken.  As I glanced to the right I saw the beach no more than 50 yards away, causing me to holler, "Beach!  Stop!".  Luckily no one was behind us when he hit the brakes!!  hehe  We got out and took it in for a bit because who knows how long it will last...hopefully a month or so more, but you can never tell.  I was wearing a silk butterfly tank top by my most fave Gaby Basora - the mastermind behind Tucker.  Did you catch the preview sale for her Target Collection on Gilt last week?  It was a gong show, but I managed to hobble off with a couple of dresses and a tank...one of the dresses is in a similar butterfly print.  It won't be silk, but if I love it even half as much as the one I'm wearing here it'll be totally worth it.  I hope you are able to treat yourself to some of her collection.  It is quintessentially feminine with a touch of Parisian flair.  I never tire of any of the pieces I own, or feel bad for a little wallet slip on her stuff here and there.

Recently I was tagged by three lovely ladies and wanted to dedicate today's post to spotlighting their blogs and answering their questions.  When I started blogging just a few short months ago I didn't realize the camaraderie that would await me.  It is especially nice to be given fun awards and tags by fellow bloggers - learning and sharing more about one another in the process.  So without further ado I'll cut to the chase and get answering. 

Have you visited Heather at A measure of...?  She is a tremendous writer, an insightful person and has become someone I consider a friend.  We found each other before the Cuppie Challenge, of which Heather was the winner of my leg.  She recently showed Cuppie a tremendous time around Puerto Natales, Patagonia, Chile where she lives with her husband Serkan and their fetus (and yes I realize I am entirely inappropriate, but it's late and I'm beyond the point of stressed out).  Recently Heather gave me the Versatile Blogger Award.


I'm supposed to share 7 things about myself and tag 15 other blogs.  Okay - you're all tagged because I'm exhausted, my house is a full-on episode of hoarders, my birthday (aka d-day) is Thursday and my bff is coming to stay.  I'm to the brim.  Let's hug it out and whoever wants to, share it up!  Share something about yourself in the comments or 7 things in a post.  I think you're all tremendously versatile!


7 Things About Me:  I can spare you having to read a book...Not too long ago I answered these questions here.  Woop!  Click on over and take a look!

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Next up is Stacey.  She is the mind behind Design Addict Mom.   I love to visit her blog and take in all the tremendous design photos she finds.  It truly is amazing.  Stacey also has a clear love for her family, and it really shines through in her posts.  Her blog is personable and informative - like visiting with a friend.  She tagged me on the Super Comments Award.

Here's the Q/A:

• Fiction:  Without a Map by Meredith Hall
•  Non-Fiction:  Smashed:  Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas (arguably one of the best books I have ever read).

• The Shawshank Redemption:  I've seen it a bazillion times and always walk away with a pearl of wisdom, crying my eyes out at the end.  "I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."  ...Pardon me while I go get the tissues.
• Up in the Air.  Yes it was a relatively recent release, but George Clooney's character is, essentially, me.  The movie completely spoke to me.
• Singin' In The Rain.  Simply amazing movie.
• Napoleon Dynamite.  Don't judge.
• A Mighty Heart:  The Daniel Pearl Story.  That story/movie really shook me up and I don't even care much for Jolie.
• Oh, and I have to mention Goonies and The Breakfast Club because they are classics!!

Whew!! Is anyone even left with me??
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Finally, Lisa from Respect the Shoes (don't you just love that name?? - Lisa cracks me up daily and I'll bet she's cracking up several of you as well) tagged me on 8 random questions as follows:




I'm wiped and have to go to bed.   Thanks for bearing with me!!  And take a visit to all three ladies who tagged me!  They're rad!  Rather than selecting a bunch of blogs to pass on to (because there are so many I read and love and I don't want to leave anyone out) - how about if you follow me and are interested in accepting any of these awards and answering the corresponding set of questions - just go ahead!  It's great to learn more about you and I love reading through these types of posts.


xoxo,
Carrie

Normally I would provide you with a summary of the things that occurred over the weekend.  In this case, however, it pretty much consisted of:

1. Slept
2. Assisted the Chef in consolidating 3 closets into 1.5
3. Attended friends' wedding reception

-with 1 and 2 taking up the bulk of the time.  Number 3?  Well, there's the story and it's a horror - really every girl's nightmare come to life, so get ready.

A few weeks ago two of my close friends had a destination wedding in Mexico that the Chef and I were unable to attend *insert sad face here*.  When Saturday rolled around we were really excited to attend the small reception they were having here in California for some of us who had missed their big day.  The gathering was in the late afternoon and it was a perfect, warm summer day.

I laid out a cute dress, a pair of my fancy heels, picked out the accessories and got ready.  Everything was set to go and we were even going to be on time (miracle).  I had my shoes and handbag by the door, and the Chef and I were getting the card and gift together when he said, "UH, don't step there!"  I glanced down and saw some grass on the hardwood floor - that's it, that's all I saw.  I looked away and, when I looked back, thought he had removed it so proceeded to step down....into a pool of clear cat vomit laced with grass.  This resulted in a yelp and a "UGH!! What was that?!?" as I hopped down the hallway on one foot as he hollered back to me, "Didn't you hear me say don't step down?  There's cat barf!  Did you step in it?!?"  By that time I had stepped into the tub - fully dressed, hair and makeup perfect, sans shoes and bag - to rinse off my foot.  I turned on the water and instead of it coming out of the tap, it shot out of the shower head - precisely as I looked up - shooting me in the face, on the hair, and all over my dress.  Destruction on the low seas.

As a result we were 2 hours late to my friends' reception.  We missed the pre-food visiting, the dinner, and the video of the wedding.  Isn't that special?  Not so much.  Note to self:  carefully check bathtub faucet settings the next time you step in cat barf on the way to a special event.

Last year I saw a picture of gnocchi in a magazine and memories of gluten-filled days flooded my mind.  Pasta, Betty Crocker cakes out of the box (my fave!), french bread, croutons, my mom's cookies, pizza dough and many other things came home to roost.  Granted I can now make several of these things on my own having adjusted well to gluten-free living, but the gnocchi is something I hadn't ventured to try so in came a special request to the Chef.

It took some experimentation with different flour blends, but cut to the present and this dish is now a regular of ours.  The kale on the side is an added bonus that makes it interesting and even more delicious.  We spared you the gluten-free version, but if anyone out there would like it please don't hesitate to send me an email or leave me a comment and I'll get the flour blend we use for this recipe right over to you.

Enjoy everyone! (p.s. - i'm swamped at work, but still reading your blogs even though i'm stretched too thin to comment properly.  hopefully it'll smooth out soon!)

Potato Gnocchi with Kale
Ingredients
Gnocchi
1       potato
1       egg yolk
1/8C flour
1t      salt

Kale
3C    kale sliced 1/4 inch
3T    olive oil
3cl.   garlic slice thin
2t     red chili flakes
2T    water
salt and pepper to taste
squeeze lemon

Parmesan shaved for garnish.

Method
Gnocchi

Preheat oven to 450.
Poke potato and microwave for 5 minutes, finishing it in the oven for about 15 minutes more.
While potato is hot remove skin and mash until smooth and warm to touch (vs. hot).


Add egg yolk and salt, mix until completely cooled and smooth.


Add flour and bring together forming a ball - if dough is still sticky add flour until it doesn't stick to your hand.


Knead on table for 30sec until combined.  Careful not to overwork or your dumplings will be tough. To know it's right press gently with finger, it should spring back half way.


Cut in thirds and roll into tubes.


Cut on angle about 1/2 inch each.


Here are the next steps with accompanying pictures.  You will be rolling each one into a ball and rolling out on a fork. So begin by holding one with your middle finger and thumb, press it into the fork making an indention with your index finger and finish by rolling over with thumb.

Drop into boiling water. Once they float, remove after about 30 seconds and place into ice water.


Once chilled place on paper towel to dry.  They can be stored in the fridge for three days or frozen. To finish saute in olive oil until crispy - about 1min per side.


Kale
For the kale begin by slicing it on the width in half inch strips; place in a bowl and set aside.  Slice the garlic and set aside.

Next - add oil to your pan and heat it up on the stove top to warm the oil, but not too hot.   Add chili flakes and garlic, cooking for approximately 2minutes on low to medium heat.


Add kale cooking until it wilts, stir occasionally.  Add water cooking until it evaporates.  Pull the pan from the stove seasoning the kale with lemon and salt and pepper.


We cook the gnocchi first, so at this point we toss it back into the pan with the kale, return it to the stove top to slightly warm, and then plate.

Before I forget - If you are interested in learning more about pricing/options on the Dutzi handbags and totes, please leave me a comment or email so I can get information to you.  I have special (very reasonable) pricing available for a limited time for readers of my blog, and am happy to answer any questions you might have.  Thanks in advance to everyone who has inquired - I will be emailing information tomorrow and throughout the weekend.