happy birthday blog...

today marks the one year birthday of my blogger blog. as a few of you may know, i used to maintain a less-cool blog on xanga. upon meeting a new man in my life though i was inspired to switch hosts. and so here i am.

funny how i never really thought this stupid thing would be come so important to me. funny how i started it claiming that i would never use it to exploit my personal emotions and post only "my more serious work." funny how that didn't really continue. now, i admit, every now and then i write about something i care about...or something more serious than the meandering events of my life in california. but when it boils down to it...i use this thing to keep in touch with the people i love.

a year ago i never thought i'd live on the west coast. hell, two years ago i was swearing that i would always live in texas. and five years ago...wow, i had an entirely different life planned out for myself. funny how times change, huh?

so looking back on where my life has taken me since february 25, 2005 i guess it makes sense that my blog is not up for a bloggie or i can't sit back and live on the revenue my blog ads bring in. but, that's okay...if "marginal thoughts" serves the lone purpose of keeping the people i care about up to date with my life, feelings, and thoughts then i'm okay with that. and hell, i guess that means one thing i promised to do with this blog came true: "from now on i will have a purpose behind each blog. or at least make a decent attempt."

happy brithday blog!!

p.s. as a birthday present to my blog, tim made the lovely new banner you see above.

flashback circa middle school...

so i'm watching american idol. why? simple: lost is a rerun and the olympics bore me.

anyway, this guy "ace" comes up next in the top 12 male singers. i've heard that he's "the hot guy" this season, so when he comes on stage i expected to see something nice. to be honest, i wasn't too impressed...long curly hair and eyeshadow doesn't usually do it for me. so i shrugged and started to watch him perform. and even though he sang a george michael song, the minute he opened his mouth i was suddenly flashed back to 6th grade and had a desire to cut his picture out of magazines and tape them to the inside of my locker. girls, you know what i'm talking about - that "pit in your stomach, i can't stop looking at him, i would stand outside after a concert in a back alley just to get a whiff of his cologne" feeling.


tim of course turned to me and gave me the "how on earth did the man on the television turn my girlfriend into an instant pile of mush, i have got to figure out how to do that" look.

so for the next 3 and a half mintues i sat, eyes glued to the t.v., drool puddling on the couch next to me. it's just that he had...this look. like he was staring into your soul. this picture does no justice of what he looked like. if i could, i would show you all the TIVO moment that i will "keep until i delete." and who knows...maybe i'll just cut out his picture and put it up on my bullitain board in my office.

recipe recomendation...

this is what tim and i had for valentine's dinner. i highly recomend it if you're in the mood to try something new. even if you're not a big salmon fan, this one will win you over. thank you rachel ray (my boyfriend's other girlfriend)!

Barbecued Salmon with Grilled Romaine and Citrus Vinaigrette

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 13 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup dark amber maple syrup
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
Vegetable cooking spray
4 salmon fillets or salmon steaks, 6 to 8 ounces each
Coarse salt
1 small navel orange, zested and juiced
1 small lemon, zested and juiced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
2 large hearts romaine lettuce
3 scallions, chopped

PREPARATION:
Prepare grill or preheat grill pan.

On your stove top or on your outdoor grill, place a small sauce pot over moderate heat and cook onion in oil for 3 minutes. Add vinegar and reduce by half. Add syrup, tomato paste, Worcestershire, curry, smoke flavoring and pepper. Bring to a bubble and simmer.

Spray salmon with cooking spray and season with salt. Grill for 3 minutes, turn and baste liberally with glaze. Turn again, glaze opposite side. If you care for salmon pink at center, remove after 6 minutes. For opaque salmon, grill 5 minutes on each side.

Whisk citrus with garlic, mustard, tarragon and salt. Stream in oil to combine.

Spray romaine hearts with cooking spray and place on grill 2 minutes, charring the outside leaves. Remove and cut each heart in half lengthwise, using tongs to help hold on to the charred lettuce. Cut away core at stem. Cut each half heart in half again lengthwise. Place 2 quarters of charred romaine on each dinner plate. Drizzle with dressing, working back and fourth, strapping the lettuce with dressing. Set salmon on top of the salad. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve.

random post...

i'm having a garage sale tomorrow! and i'm excited. i plan to put the money i make toward my credit card bill. we have a ping pong table - hoping it will spark interest and convince people to come out even thought it's supposed to be cloudy and drizzley.

oh, and i want to see curious george as much as the average 6 year old girl.

my sappy, lovey-dovey, heart doilie filled post for the year...

happy valentine's day blog world! i want to take this time to do something i don't always do enough, or when i should - i want to tell all the people i care about that i love them. i wish i could somehow paste heart-shaped doilies all over this post...but technology isn't that advanced yet. so just imagine them as you read...

now, i will admit, that sadly, i had become a rather jaded person when it comes to this hallmark created holiday. in the past i haven't had the best, most romantic, love-filled of valentine's days. don't get me wrong, they were great in their own way, but thanks to this guy, i have realized that i am in store for some fantastic valentine's days as long as i keep him around.

as many of you know, tim and i were still "courting" at this time last year...neither of us expecting to be where we are today...and he sent me (what i thought at the time was) the best valentine's day card ever. complete with real flowers, a poem (that rhymed!) written in calligraphy, and of course, made with red and pink construction paper. like i said...i thought it was the best card ever. until this morning.

as i woke up this morning he handed me a red cardboard, half-heart shaped card with a pretty paper bouquet of daises on the front. when i opened it up, it made a full heart with a big "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY" message inside. sorry valentine's card 2005, you've been bumped into 2nd place.

now, i know a lot of you might be rolling your eyes or gagging. maybe even barfing a little, but come on. what other day of the year am i allowed to gush about how i have the best boyfriend ever. i spare you from it all 364 other days...the least you can do is deal with it today.

like i said...kinda jaded before, but not so much any more. so on this day, i want to publicly thank you, tim, for bringing the romantic out in me again. and reminding me that even though today is a fabricated day created to help boost sales, it's okay to celebrate it. i love you.

but v-day isn't just about the boyfriend and the girlfriends. (or in southwestern's case...it's not just about the vagina monologues either.) i want to be sure to address all of my friends out there. from texas to l.a. and wisconsin to austrialia: i love you all! thanks for being such fantastic friends over the course of my life. i wouldn't be the person i am today without you each being a part of my life, and i want to be sure you all know that you are loved.

of course i can't forget about my family: i love you too. i don't know how many of you actually visit this site, but just in case i want to let you know that you're the best family i could have been born into and you have all taught me so much. thanks for loving me!

and to all you random visitors that i don't know: happy valentine's day to you too! whether you celebrate or not, i hope you have a great day!