Winning Streak

It’s been quite a year. So much difficult, with much good and soul-affirming in between. In two weeks time I’ll be in Florida with my entire family and I’ll be gaining a new brother-in-law. The past six months, the last time I saw many of my family members, I’ve been living for this trip. The best kind of holiday season.

In between all the moments of preparing for Florida, I’ve been managing normal life. Nannying, with Harrison in tow. Cooking, especially with my Instant Pot, violin-ing with Harrison AND Oscar, working through the emotions experienced as a result of Harrison getting bitten by a dog, and winning things!

I’m pretty good at winning things that I can work towards. Card games like Canasta and Golf, Mario Kart on Nintendo 64, amateur horse shows and audition-only orchestras when I was younger. But anything that’s up to chance has been lost on me time and time again.

Until this year!

A few months ago I won tickets to see Joshua Bell perform at the Hollywood Bowl. Granted, I did work for that one by writing about my favorite mistake, but it still felt slightly up to chance to me. A few weeks ago I won a contest sponsored by Patagonia and Garden of Life, just by using coupons on the Sprouts app while grocery shopping. I’ve yet to receive my Patagonia backpack full of Garden of Life products, but I filled out the necessary paperwork and am very excited about it.

And then yesterday I received an email informing me that I won the opportunity to write to the Listserve!

The Listserve is an email subscription list that sends everyone on it one email per day. The email is from another subscriber, chosen by a computer at random, who can write about anything, knowing that it will be sent to tens of hundreds of thousands (over a million? I can’t find the current number) of people across the globe. I have been a subscriber since the first email on April 18, 2012. I’ve read almost every single email I’ve received. It’s been so interesting to read other people’s stories, learn about their lives and passions, or learn something new, or be lectured on any number of things, or gain insightful advice.

Never did I expect to receive an email with the subject heading “You’ve won The Listserve!” I sat and stared at that email for a moment, checked to see if it was legit or possibly spam, realized it was valid and true, pulled up a new document and wrote “Hello world.” And then I sat staring at those two words for the better part of a half hour, and mulled over them the rest of the day. I had no idea what to say.

Last night I sat on the couch with the same document open, and I started free writing about my passions. There are many things that I care about and I decided I want other people to learn about them, and maybe through this I can connect with some of those who are like-minded or at least people who want to further the conversation.

My submission is almost complete and it’s pretty simple. A few small paragraphs about a few of my biggest passions. No life-changing information or ground-breaking advice, just a small sliver of who I am in this world. It’ll be sent out in a few days; if you’re interested in reading it go over to The Listserve website and subscribe. (They’re for real about only one email per day and no spam.) And if you’re reading this post a few days from now because you found this blog through my Listserve email, thank you for taking the steps to find me and please feel free to let me know you’re here!

Harrison's Acting Career

Back in early July, I got an email for Harrison’s third ever audition. And not only that, it was a "straight to callback" audition, so he had already made it through one round of cuts without being present. It was my second week at my new job and really poor timing because I didn’t yet feel like I had enough time invested in the job to ask for a few hours off to take him. Jer had an important meeting at work that day and couldn’t get away either. Against my hopes and “what ifs,” we almost cancelled the audition. But Jer’s meeting was rescheduled last minute and he was able to pick Harrison up in the middle of the workday. I dressed Harrison in a onesie, per the casting agency's request, combed his hair out of his eyes, and told him to break a leg but to not dislocate a toe like Daddy. And off they went, driving an hour to Glendale for a five minute audition.

What does an audition look like for a one-year-old? Since it was a callback, there were quite a few people in the room, likely some that were involved in the filming, some from the casting agency, some from the company he was auditioning for. They made it clear when Jeremy walked in to the room with Harrison that they already very much liked Harrison and his look, so that was a win. Jer held him face out to the camera and they looked at him and shot some video. They wanted him to be squirmy, and he delivered (clearly understanding and taking direction, haha), and then they were done.

The next day I received a call from his agent that he was “on avail” for the role. Industry speak for “keep these specific shoot dates available because he is one of the two or three we’ve narrowed it down to.” Cool! Excitement mounted, but I also kept it in check. Harrison and Jer(!) had been on avail together after a previous audition and nothing amounted from it. But third time ended up being the charm- I got a call the next day saying he had booked the job!

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A quick interlude- If you know me the way I know myself, you may wonder why my child is signed with an agency and going out for auditions. It’s not necessarily my style, for sure, BUT, we are in Los Angeles, and a good friend of ours is an agent and she loves what she does so much that it is infectious. We had an in with her, so why not take it? And it’s been fun. And interesting to see this part of the entertainment industry firsthand on a few levels. Don’t misunderstand- we barely have our toes in it- Harrison has been on only three total auditions. But they are fond memories now, ones we can laugh about (like his first one, when he was asked to be held by a complete stranger in front of the camera and all he did was cry and try to get back to me), ones we can smile and reminisce about (like the second one that asked for a “real father and son,” so he was with Jer on camera, and as previously mentioned they got thisclose to booking it together), or simultaneously be excited about and let down by (like this third one, spoiler alert- he booked it and shot it but is nowhere to be seen in the actual promo.) So we are both taking it seriously and doing it for fun, and we will continue to do so until it doesn't work for any of us involved.

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So Harrison booked a job! His first ever role- “Baby” in a Fox Sports Promo called “Complicated.” And you know, I take back everything I said I that little interlude above. We’re not doing this for any reason other than the TOTAL VALIDATION that our child is ADORABLE. In an industry where you mostly need to have the right look in the right place at the right time, the right look for any baby role is “cute,” right?? And booking it is only the first round of validation that you have a cute child. Then you get on set and everyone who has a role in getting your child on film is just glowing over how adorable he is. Total validation, right there.

The shoot date and time were in the middle of Jer’s and my workday, so Jer planned for half a day off and I planned to stay out of it all because I had no other choice. But I ended up with an unexpected half day of work the day of the shoot, and we were able to make it a family affair. 

We drove up to a college in Monterey Park and met with the 2nd Assistant Director to fill out all the paperwork. I had to put a star next to every line that asked for Harrison’s SSN because I forgot to bring his social security card (newbie alert), and I have yet to memorize his number. We called the 2nd AD later during the day to fill in those blanks. (I did remember to bring every other form of identification!)

Harrison’s outfit was a red onesie and white socks with red details. The Costumer had emailed me a few days previous for his size, rather than having him go in on one of the days they were doing fittings. (Go figure- the location for the fittings was literally next door to Jeremy’s work, while every other location involved in this process was at minimum 45 minutes away.)

His onesie said “I have a Michigan in my diaper.” That clued us in to the content of the promo. Well, that and the fact that we were at a football stadium and all the actors we were surrounded by were very large men in Ohio State gear. 

Harrison’s role was to look cute in his onesie for a closeup photo. We sat out in the stadium and since it was a closeup, Harrison sat in Jeremy’s lap for the pictures. This made it tremendously easier than I anticipated; I had some bad visions of him not cooperating if he couldn’t be right with one of us. The photographer spent about 10 minutes taking pictures of Harrison, under the direction of Production Designer, while those of us standing to the side did everything we could to make Harrison smile and laugh. He did exactly what they needed without much effort, and soon we went back inside to wait for the photos to be approved.

A half hour later we were given the go ahead to leave, and that was that.

(While we were there they were also shooting two other promos- “Spartans,” and “Wolverine.”)

So what happened next? Nothing, really. Except trying for months to find the promo with the information we had: a Fox Sports promo called "Complicated," and the deduction that it was for an Ohio State vs Michigan football game based on what we saw on set. So ... lots of waiting since the promo was shot in July and the game is on November 25th. I searched around here and there for the it over the past few months, but figured it wouldn’t air until the week of the game. And what do you know- my deduction skills were on point! I searched for the promo on Monday night and easily found it, shortly after it had been posted. I got so outwardly excited that Jer knew what I was looking at without asking me.

We sat on the couch together and excitedly watched the 29 second promo ... and ... no Harrison. And that was that.

What a surge of emotions- we’d been waiting since July to see this promo, to be able to share it and say “There’s my cute baby!” But, no cute baby. Excitement —> Letdown. It was clearly the correct promo, and they just clearly decided that their original intent with his picture didn’t work with the final product. I naively hoped that maybe there was going to be another promo, or some print ads, or SOMETHING with his picture on it, and that I would find it later. But upon watching the it a few more times, I think it looks like his picture would have fit somewhere in the 5-7 seconds portion, and they just went with different pictures.

Without further ado ... here is the promo Harrison booked, sans Harrison.

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So today we have some more fond family memories, and one picture from set that shows a bit of how cute Harrison was that day (and every day). It is too bad we don't have access to the pictures they took that day, because I'm sure they were even cuter.

And now maybe I might be on a mission. Maybe fourth time will be the charm. I will (finally) change out Harrison's headshot to make it more current, and his adorable toddler self will shine through in that photo and he will have another audition and make it through to booking another job ... and he will actually be in the final product. Stay tuned!

I'd be remiss to not give a shout out and huge thanks to Bri and Laura at DDO Kids for making this experience happen due to the hard work they put in for all of their clients- from the ones who are on Nickelodeon daily to the ones who have had three auditions in the span of 16 months. We're proud to be part of DDO!

PSA: Instant Pot (you should get one)

One afternoon in May, Jer came home from work with a large Amazon package in his arms. 

This was not too long after we had a conversation in which I lamented to him that I was tired of using my play money on household gadgets that I wanted, or asking for kitchen supplies for my birthday, or using Christmas as an excuse to upgrade our apartment furniture. I wanted to be gifted things that had a bit more frivolity, but I was torn because I still wanted these household items that we were getting along fine without. Where do these pseudo-necessities fit in a budget that is based around paying off tens of thousands of dollars of student loans? It was a conundrum and I was annoyed about it.

Leave it to Jeremy to hear my conundrum complaining and take selfless action. He came home with an Instant Pot that day, purchased with his meager play money budget.

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So, our crockpot, which I had taken from my parent's house years before where it had been well used and well loved, finally died last January. And for six months, I debated how I wanted to replace it. Which means for six months we didn't have a crockpot, and we were fine without it, and so little by little I stopped trying to figure out how to replace it. But not before I learned about the Instant Pot and became intrigued. I had never used a pressure cooker before, but I liked the idea that by getting an Instant Pot I could use it on the slow cooker setting to replace the broken crockpot, AND I had a whole new set of cooking possibilities at the same time. But the idea of spending the money on it brought forth the conundrum outlined above. So of course I was ecstatic when Jer brought me home this new kitchen toy, not for my birthday or Christmas, and not because I specifically asked for it, but "just because." I didn't realize at the time, but bringing that Instant Pot home opened up a brand new realm of seemingly endless possibilities of meals to cook and delicious food to eat, all with simple ease.

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Having never used a pressure cooker before, and having never even seen one used, there was a small learning curve to get through initially, along with getting over my uncertainty about "Am I doing this right?" I started with cooking chickpeas, and accidentally blocked up the venting valve by manually releasing the pressure. And I only know I did that thanks to hindsight. After two months of cooking only chickpeas and whole chickens, and starting to become confident in at least those two foods, I started to branch out to new foods and full recipes. When I mealplanned, I tried to include one new Instant Pot recipe each week. Using it more frequently and for new recipes allowed me to gain more confidence, and I have recently surpassed the learning curve enough that I have started to cook food in the IP without following exact recipes.

I love that with the Instant Pot I can sauté vegetables in it before dumping in everything else. I love that I can cook dried beans without having them on the stovetop for three hours, and I can avoid simmering bone broth for 24 hours. My favorite lentil soup takes less than an hour start to finish, and it tastes like it's been on the stove half the day. Los Angeles summers are long and we don't have air conditioning, so leaving the oven off is quite the benefit. I can buy a whole frozen chicken and have it on the table in about one and a half hours, so tender and juicy. I can make hardboiled eggs that come out exactly how I want them to every single time, and they are ridiculously easy to peel. Active cooking time for me has been drastically cut down; once I've chopped veggies or seasoned chicken or rinsed beans and pressed a few buttons on the IP, I'm free to leave it alone until it tells me the food is done, just in time for dinner after a few dance parties with Jeremy and Harrison. I'm still in the early stages of using the Instant Pot to its full potential, but its helpfulness already cannot be understated.

Of course, of course, of course I still love to cook on the stovetop, tasting as I go, adjusting this or that, letting the smell waft through our apartment, or roast vegetables in the oven, watching them get slightly charred with the perfect tenderness on the inside, and I will never let my new kitchen toy take the place of some of that. But having the Instant Pot in my arsenal of kitchen tools has only added to my joyful cooking experience.

Black Friday is coming up, and you only need one thing on your list. Do yourself a favor and use that day to buy the Instant Pot at the lowest mark-down price it reaches all year. Do it!

(We have the 6 quart 7-in-1 IP and it has served our purposes well. It is not the newest model available, but I have found that we don't need any more than what this one does.)

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Some of my favorite tried and true ways to use the Instant Pot

-Soak one pound of dried beans overnight, rinse, cover with fresh water. Cook on high pressure and let the pressure release naturally before opening. 8 minute cooking time for black beans, 12 minutes for garbanzo beans. Additionally, I will often add chopped onion and garlic, with tomato paste and chili powder and cumin to the black beans, covering them with only just enough water before cooking. After cooking I take off the lid and use the sauté function to cook off a bit more water and use the seasoned beans for tacos and the like.

-Wash a spaghetti squash, cut it in half crosswise, scoop out the seeds. Put one cup of water in the IP, put the steamer insert in, and put the spaghetti squash halves on top. Cook on high pressure for 7 minutes, then manually release the pressure and open. Once the squash is cool enough you can scoop out the flesh and use however you'd like.

-Rinse one cup of white rice and put it in the pot with 1 1/4 cups of water, a swirl of oil, and some salt. Cook on high pressure for three minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 7 minutes, then manually release the rest of the pressure before opening. Brown rice takes a bit longer.

-Put one cup of water and the steamer insert in the pot. Place seven or eight eggs on the insert, cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Immediately release the pressure manually, open the pot and carefully put the eggs in ice cold water and into the fridge. Drain the water when the eggs have cooled off. Eat whenever! The yolks are still slightly soft, adjust the cooking time for your preference.

-Put oil, chopped onion, and chopped celery in the pot. Sauté until translucent, adding salt, cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika to taste, add chopped garlic towards the end. Add chopped carrots, 28oz of diced tomatoes, 1 cup of dried lentils (rinsed), and chopped sweet potato. Fill with stock or water up to the 7 or 8 cup line. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes and let the pressure release naturally for a little while before you manually release the rest of it. Adding chopped greens or cooked rice after it's done is also delicious. I'm sure you could add uncooked rice before closing the pot, I just don't know how much. Eat this soup with goat cheese, it's the best!

-Take some onion, celery, and carrot scraps and put them in the bottom of the pot, parsley too if you have any. Add one cup of water and the steamer insert. Put a whole chicken on the insert and rub on some salt, black pepper, and whatever other seasonings you'd like. Add a few whole garlic cloves on top of or inside the chicken. Cook on high pressure- about 25 minutes for a fresh chicken and 50 minutes for frozen. Let the pressure release naturally to seal in the moisture. Use a meat thermometer and properly check the internal temperature of the chicken, cooking times obvioulsy vary with the size of the chicken. Leave the liquid and veggies and drippings in the pot for making broth, as outlined below.

-Carve the above chicken, and put whatever you would have thrown into the trash back into the pot with the cooking liquid and vegetables. (Take out the steamer insert.) All the bones, cartilage, whatever you consider inedible can all go back in. You can add chicken necks, gizzards, feet, racks if you have them on hand (things I never expected I'd be storing in my freezer, but here I am today.) Add a swirl or two of raw apple cider vinegar. Throw in more salt, parsley, and/or garlic cloves to preference. Fill with water to between 8-10 cups. Cook on high pressure for 3-4 hours, then allow the pressure to release naturally. Strain the broth out and store in the fridge or freezer. This usually yields me about 3 quarts of broth, I store in mason jars and initially freeze 2 quarts, taking them out as needed.

-This butter chicken is delicious. I halve the butter (not because I'm afraid of butter, it just feels excessive) and use all the sauce with my meal rather than saving half as suggested.

-I LOVE this Dal so much. I use green lentils and have never soaked them as the recipe suggests, and it always turns out delicious (with a bit more salt to my taste.) I think the ghee is of utmost importance in this recipe.

-This recipe for quinoa burrito bowls has always turned out great, especially when topping it with cheese, salsa, and the like and eating with my favorite tortilla chips. 

-I love this Moroccan sweet potato lentil stew. I use green lentils.

-And when I'm feeling indulgent and spontaneous and want to use refined sugar for something more than brewing kombucha, this recipe is totally on my radar and someday I will try it.

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Happy Instant Potting!