Best Damn Chicken Dish I've Ever Had

A couple weeks ago I bought the most recent copy of the Food Network Magazine (which I buy on a regular basis) to get some new food ideas. Let me just say that this time it really paid off. As I was flipping through the pages I can across a section entitled The Coconut Handbook. This handbook explained how to tap the coconut for water, crack it open, and harvest the flesh. It also included a few recipes showing you what you could use the different parts of the coconut for. One such recipe was Coconut Rice which really sparked my interest, I mean something other than boring ole white rice that's just as simple to make, how could you go wrong.

Coconut Rice
2 cups coconut water/milk
1 cup rice
1 tbs butter
salt & pepper to taste

This is made exactly the same way as regular white rice.

So a day or two after I found this recipe I went out to Meijer to go grocery shopping and made sure I picked up a coconut to try my hand at making the rice. That night I made the rice and thought it was extremely good but all I had to go with it was boring ole chicken (grilled) and that just wouldn't do. So I spent the next couple days surfing the web for something to go with the rice. Most of what I found were recipes from Thai or Indian dishes and that wasn't really what I was looking for so I kept surfing. Eventually I  stumbled across the blog Heidikins.com which had a recipe called Aloha Chicken with Coconut Rice (here is the link to the recipe http://heidikins.com/2008/08/23/whippin-it-again-aloha-chicken-with-coconut-rice/). Like the coconut rice this dish really caught my attention, so once again it was back to Meijer to pick up the few missing ingredients that I needed to try this recipe. The only change that I made was I used a fresh pineapple instead of canned and I used a fresh coconut instead of canned. Once I got home from work that day I washed up some dishes then immediately began marking this dish. It was extremely simple to do and the only trouble I had was cutting up the fresh pineapple because it was the first time I had ever worked with one. About an hour later (mine didn't take as long as the recipe said because I only made 1 piece of chicken) I popped in a movie and sat down to enjoy my dinner. The anticipation of trying this was killing me so I quickly took my first bite and realized that I had just found my new favorite meal (sorry steak). Needless to say I finished the rest of it way to fast and was left wanting more. I strongly recommend that you try this recipe yourself and if you are trying to save time when making this you can buy the canned coconut milk and canned pineapple instead of using fresh and it should taste just as good. I made this a second time a few days latter and used canned coconut milk instead of fresh and the rice tasted just as delicious (I haven't used canned pineapple at all though).

If you do try this I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and as always, May the force be with you.
Dylan

Delicious Lettuce Cups

(Before I get started I want to apologize for the low image quality, I just snapped a quick pic with my Iphone before I ate) 

Okay, this is the first recipe that I'm adding on here for everyone to see and try out. This recipe was featured in the May issue of Food Magazine. The lettuce wraps are technically called Spicy Turkey Lettuce Cups, but I didn't think they were that spicy. I've made these lettuce wraps a couple times so far and after I made and tried them them the first time my Aunt Dee and I altered the recipe a little bit because we thought it was lacking something. So I will list the original recipe and them afterwords ill let you know what we changed so you have both ways it you would like to alter it yourself.

Spicy Turkey Lettuce Cups
Ingredients

4 oz Thin Rice Noodles
2 Tbs Roasted Peanut Oil or Vegetable oil
Juice of 3 Limes, plus wedges for serving
4 tsp Teriyaki Sauce
1 small Red or Green Jalapeno pepper
1 2-inch piece of Ginger
Finely grated zest of 1 Lime
1 medium Yellow Pepper thinly sliced
1 medium Red Pepper thinly sliced
1 medium Red Onion thinly sliced
1 Pound Ground Turkey
1/4 cup Roasted Unsalted Cashews, roughly chopped
1/2 cup roughly chopped Fresh Cilantro and/or Mint
2 Romaine Lettuce Hearts seperated

Directions

1. Cook the noodles as the label directs, then drain and toss with 1 Tbs of the oil.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the lime juice and 2 tsp of the teriyaki sauce in a small bowl.
3. Combine the ginger, jalapeno, and lime zest in a processor and pulse until finely chopped (or use a knife to finely chop if you don't have a processor)
4. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once its heated add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft(~5 min).
5. Add the ginger mixture and cook, stirring, until toasted (~1 min).
6. Add the red and yellow peppers and cook, stirring for about 3 more minutes.
7. Add the turkey and remaining 2 tsp of teriyaki sauce, and then cook until the turkey is cooked through (~5 min).
8. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice mixture, cashews, and herbs.
9. Pile the rice noodles and turkey mixture and enjoy.

Now For The Changes
-You may want to add another jalapeno if you actually want this to be spicy.
-In step 7 I added an additional 1-2 tsp of teriyaki sauce.
-At step 8 instead of removing it from the heat I turned the heat to a simmer because it looks way to runny at this point. I also mix in the noodles at this point instead of placing the noodles in the lettuce then adding the turkey mixture. I found when you do it as the recipe states the noodles taste bland and seem out of place. If you mix the noodles in with the turkey mixture they absorb some of the flavors and it brings the dish together.

Side Notes
-It is a lot easier to cook this dish if you prepare everything before you actually start cooking (i.e. slice everything and make the lime mixture...)/
-If you don't feel like dealing with the lettuce (like I have on occasion) you can just add more noodles and it makes a pasta dish of sorts.
-I can't remember exactly what they are called but you can also sprinkle some of those crunchy noodles that you can find in the international food aisle in your locale supermarket.
-Another thing that I'm going to try when I make this again this weekend i am going to try and add some water chestnuts and see how that turns out.

May the force be with you
Dylan

Bottle Lamp Tutorial

This is a fun little project to do that doesn't take a lot of time and adds a little character and uniqueness to you room, home, or apartment. Now for my lamp that I made as the example I am still trying to find a lamp shade to match it so it doesn't really look complete but you should get the idea. (Also that is my second comic book table that this lamp is sitting on)


1. What You Will Need
    1-Bottle (it can be glass or aluminum)
    1-Bottle Lamp Kit
    1-1/2 in Diamond Tip Drill Press
    1-Drill Press or Power Drill
    1-Light bulb
    1-Lamp shade to match/fit your bottle
     Some Modeling clay

2. Drill The Bottle
    Following the same directions in steps 1-5 in my Wine Bottle Lamps Tutorial, drill a hole in your chosen bottle (if you are using an aluminum bottle you could probably just punch a hole in the bottle with a screw driver or something similar)

   

3. Lets Get Started
    You will want to thread the cord from your lamp kit through the hole you drilled in the bottle and out through the bottle.

4. Plugging The Bottle
    I don't know if all kits are the same or not but the kit I had came with 3 short rubber cylinders/plugs. You want to choose the plug that fits snugly inside the mouth of your chosen bottle (The monster bottle I used had such a wide opening that i had to wrap tape around the plug until it fit in the bottle). Also i forgot to take a picture of this step but my kit came with this threaded insert which i had to push through the plug. Once you find the right plug put the threaded insert in the plug and then slide it over your cord and push it into the opening of the bottle.

5. Secure The Cord
    Following the instructions provided with the kit put on the next couple of pieces and then tie a simple knot in the cord to prevent it from being pulled out of the bottle.

6. Almost There

    Again following the instructions provided with the kit you will want to attach each strand of the cord to the proper terminal and tighten them up.

7. That's All There Is To It

    Once you have the cords attached to the proper terminals you just have to snap the outside casing back on and your ready to add a light bulb and a lamp shade.

All that's left to say is have fun and good luck with your lamps.

May the force be with you

Dylan

P.S. I will add a finished picture to this post as soon as i find a lamp shade to match my bottle.

Return of the Blogger (A.K.A Comic Book Table Tutorial)

Hello again everyone, it has been quite some time since I have posted anything on my blog (a couple months at least) and I'm not going to make any excuses for my sudden lack of blog post because when it comes right down to it I was probably just being lazy. Now I know not many people know of my blog and even less were probably following it but I want to thank those of you who were. Also I'm really going to try to keep posting things on a regular basis mostly because this is something I enjoy doing and I really like sharing all of the projects that I do with everyone who follows my blog. While I was ignoring my blog over the last couple months I really started to enjoy cooking a lot more and have been trying out a lot of new recipes that I intend to share on here, as well as, sharing new ones with everyone when I find them. Another thing that I have been working on is my guitar playing. I've been working hard to get my chops up and have also been trying to write my own songs which I might decide to post on here when I  get them finished and can figure out how to record videos of myself playing guitar that don't have horrible sound quality and as soon as I figure that out I would really like to put up some videos of the covers that I've been working on as well. One more thing I'd like to say before I start this tutorial (and this actually relates to the tutorial) is that The Avengers is probably one of the best movies that I have ever seen and if you have not seen it and you are a fan of Marvel, comics, or awesome movies you really need to go see this movie.

Okay without further ado, I give you the
 
Comic Book Table Tutorial
Disclaimer: This is not something I came up with all credit for this project go to MrDic at instructables.com (http://www.instructables.com/id/DC-Comic-Coffee-Table/).

I am just taking his idea and expanding it into an actual tutorial and explaining things a little bit more.

1. Gather Your Materials

    1-Table (I used a Lack Side Table from Ikea that cost about $8)

    1-Can of RUST-Oleum clear gloss spray paint

    1-Can of Polyurethane (I used Minwax Clear Gloss Polyurethane) 

    1-220 grit piece of sandpaper or a sanding block
    1 or 2-Glue Sticks
    1-Credit Card
    Couple of comic books (the number of pages you use will vary based on the size of your table)

2. Dismantle The Comic Books
     To do this I just opened the comic to the center page and using a flat head screwdriver or pair of pliers I  unfolded the staples that hold the pages together and removed them. After that I very carefully tore the pages down the center crease, but you could use a paper cutter if you wanted. Also it's entirely up to you as to whether you want to stick with one character on your tables (as I did in both of the ones I've made so far) or do a couple different characters on your table.

3. Measure Twice...
    You will need to measure your table top and measure your comic pages and then crunch some numbers to figure out how many pages will fit on your table. After you get all that figured out mark out your area using masking tape.

4. Time To Glue
    Lay your comic pages out on the table and figure out how you want them arranged. Once you have them where you want them I recommend that you take a picture of the arrangement so you don't forget where they go. After you take the picture remove the comic pages from the table and grab your glue stick. Starting with a corner you will want to rub glue onto enough of the table to fit one comic page. When you get the glue down carefully place your page on the table and smooth it out with the edge of a credit card and then repeat this process with the rest of your pages.

5. Defend The Comics
    After all of your pages are glued down you will want to grab the clear gloss spary and following the instructions on the can spray a couple coats over the top of your table.

6. It's All Starting To Come Together
     Once the gloss spray paint has dried you ready to lacquer the crap out of your table. Again follow the instructions on the can of polyurethane and put a couple coats over the table. I would recommend that you use at least three coats of polyurethane. After each coat dries, which takes about three hours, you need to vary lightly sand the table using the 220 grit sandpaper (though I don' think you need to sand after the final coat dries).


If anyone decides to do this I would really like to see how yours turns out so feel free to leave a response with your comic table in it.

May the force be with you.
Dylan

Harry Potter Wand Tutorial

I apologize for not getting this posted yesterday  but I ended up helping a friend move for the better part of the day and didn't get a chance to put this up, but without further ado...


This is another really simple tutorial (I'm hoping to have more elaborate ones on here in the next couple weeks). This one is actually so simple that there are only 3 steps and, depending on how much effort you put into shaping your wand, should only take 60 - 90 minutes.

1. Gather your materials.
           -1 Chop Stick
           -Sculpting clay (Do not use the air dry crayola brand)
           - Acrylic paint
           - Paint Brush

2. Soften your clay and then work it onto the chop stick making whatever design your Harry Potter loving soul desires. You can model yours after a characters in the movie (Dumbledore/the Elder Wand for mine) or you can get creative and come up with an all new design. After you have your wand the way you want it, bake it following the directions provided with the clay you purchased.

3. Take your wand out of the oven and allow it to cool down. Once it has cooled paint it and your ready to have your very own duel.


May the force be with....errrr bloody hell!
Dylan

Great Idea

Hey everyone, sorry its been quite a while since I've posted anything. The last week or two have been extremely hectic for me and I haven't had much time to post anything. I should have another tutorial up for you guys tomorrow but until then I came across what is arguably the best invention ever...Seat Savers. With these you will never have to worry about someone stealing your seat again (unless of course they catch on to your evil scheme).

May the force be with you.

Dylan

Quote of the Week

Harry Potter Vs. Twilight. This is so true.

May the force be with you.
Dylan

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis (Review)

Okay I'm going to keep this short and to the point as well as not giving away too many details so I don't spoil this book for any of you who haven't read it yet.

Review
I thought this was a very well written book by James Luceno. It is obviously about Darth Plagueis (his rise to power and time as a Sith Lord) but it also explains how and why Darth Sidious turned to the dark side, and in turn, his rise to Sith Lord. And to top it all of it briefly mentions the finding and apprenticing of Darth Maul. For a Star Wars fan like me, who is an advocate for the dark side, this is a very cool book that gives you a look into how the Sith really operate. This book doesn't have as much action as one might expect from a Star Wars novel but instead focuses more on the political manipulations within the Republic which are almost always set into motion by the Sith in hopes of achieving their revenge against the Jedi.  This book is the perfect prequel to the Star Wars movies and my only complaint with it was that in the last couple chapters it seemed to rush to a conclusion. All in all, I would recommend that any Star Wars fan who is interested in knowing more about the Sith go and pick it up.

Code Name: Project Geek (Part 1)

This is the tutorial your're looking for (waves hand discretely).

In this series of tutorials, which I hope will be 3 parts, spread out over a couple weeks I'm going to embrace my inner geek and do a few Star Wars related tutorials. So check back often to ensure that you dont miss one.

Part 1

Simple Lightsaber Hilt

This was extremely easy to do, and if I do say so myself, turned out really good and looks a lot like an actual lightsaber. All the parts required for this project can be found at Home Depot in the plumbing section and are fairly inexpensive to pick up.

  

What You Will Need

1 - 1 1/4 Sink Drain (~ $8)

1 - 1 1/2 slip joint extension that's 6 inches long (~ $7)

A couple packs of #17 0-Rings, I used 4 packs (~ $2 each)

    OPTIONAL

Hack Saw

Misc Hardware

Wooden Dowel

1. First things first, You will want to remove the drain plug from the top of the drain. After you do that slid a few of your O-Rings onto the bottom of the drain like I have done in the picture above.

2. Once you have the O-Rings in place you need to wrap quite a bit of tape around the bottom of the pipe (this thicken the pipe so if will fit snugly into the 6 inch slip joint extension.

3. Before you slid the 2 parts together you will want to slid some O-Rings onto the slip joint extension. You can decorate this part however you want, just make sure it looks good to you. After you have your O-Rings on the extension slid the sink drain into the extension.

4. This is an optional step. I did not like how the T-Joint area stuck out so far, so using a hack saw I cut it down to a length that felt more comfortable to me.

5. On my lightsaber this step is yet to be completed. Here is where you want to glue or screw on all the decorative pieces such as your on/off button and/or adjustment knobs. This can be done with miscellaneous hardware (bolts and screws) or pretty much anything you find laying around that you think will work. This part isn't completed on mine yet because I have yet to find the pieces that look just right, but when I do I will update this with the completely finished product.

I haven't tried this yet, but when I was surfing the internet trying to find inspiration for this project some people said that you can slid a wooden dowel down into your saber (make sure its a tight fit) and have mock duels. If you do want to try this part, the standard lightsaber blade is 3 feet long so be sure to get a dowel that is long enough to slide into your saber and still have 3 feet of it showing.

May the force be with you.
Dylan

Funny Golf Commercials

This video is a compilation of 10 of the funniest golf commercials around. You'll definitely get a good laugh out of these; and if your a Star Wars fan be sure to watch the second clip to see Darth Vader golfing.




May the force be with you.
Dylan

Movie Trailers 2012

These are what I think will be some of the coolest movies of the year and/or the movies I'm looking forward to seeing the most.


John Carter - March 9



This Movie Looks very interesting and reminded me a bit of Dune when I first saw the trailer.

The Avengers - May 4



I know this movie is going to be good and as a huge Marvel fan I have waiting for this ever since they started hinting at it in some of the most recent Marvel movies.

The Hobbit - December 14




To me this looks like a very good movie and i really can't wait to see it. If its anything like the Lord of the Rings movies (which it should be) it will definitely  be worth going to the theater for.


May the force be with you.
Dylan

Quote of the Week

I think this is a great quote and something that a lot of people need to think about before they decide to open their mouths.

Real Steel Review

Summary (by Amazon.com)


Sometime in the not-too-distant future, boxing has been outlawed and replaced by fighting matches with robots. Big robots. Hulking, rock 'em, sock 'em mechanical robots. But if those machines are cutting edge, Real Steel sticks to an old-fashioned style of storytelling, with a tale of a down-and-out fight manager (Hugh Jackman) looking for a good 'bot to get back in the game, and get back out of debt. Hearts are further tugged by the arrival of this guy's 11-year-old son (Dakota Goyo), who hasn't seen his dad in many years but now needs tending. There's something endearing about the way nobody ever pauses to remark on the fact that they are in the presence of giant remote-controlled prizefighting robots; it's taken for granted in this cockeyed universe. Loosely inspired by a Richard Matheson-penned episode of The Twilight Zone, Shawn Levy's film is lavishly mounted and fairly ridiculous--although in this case, the human interactions are more preposterous and formulaic than the fun robot action.



What I Thought

I know this movie has been out for a while but I didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters and I finally got around to renting it the other day. After repeatedly being told that this was a really good movie, I was looking forward to watching it. This movie was a lot better than I expected and I’m glad that there’s finally a movie out that breaks away from the standard clichés constantly coming out now. I’m sure I’m not the only who thinks this but when I watch this movie I think of Rock’em Sock’em Robots. But anyway back to the point. Two of my favorite parts in this movie are, of course, boxing scenes but they are very cool none-the-less. The first scene was the fight between Atom and Twin Cities. I don’t want to give too much away but I thought this was a very cool scene where the underdog is on his way to the top. Though this may be a cliché in itself, my other favorite scene was the last part of the movie which was the fight between Atom and Zeus. I thought it was very interesting to see Hugh Jackman’s character Charlie Kenton shadow box Zeus. I was a little disappointed with how it ended but overall it was still a very good movie. I would recommend that you take the time to rent and watch this movie assuming you haven’t already…and if you have already seen it just watch it again. 

Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics: Review

I want to start this off by saying that I am not a huge fan of the Wii. I used to own one myself and was extremely disappointed with the game selection and how most games made use of the motion sense technology. In my opinion two of the best games for this counsel were Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. These games were amazing to  play and made pretty good use of the motion sense technology.  Though I sold my Wii (I replaced it with the much better Xbox 360 Slim) my grandparents still have one because they enjoy playing Mario games and Mario based games like Mario Kart. While I was at my grandparents this last weekend my Aunt Dee and I decided to rent the Mario and Sonic Olympics game from Redbox. After playing the game for 30-45 minutes we were both extremely disappointed with it.

Now For the Review

I should mention that I'm not writing an extremely comprehensive review here like you might find on ign.com, just my basic opinion of the game and how I felt about it overall.

Mario and Sonic at the 2012 London Olympics is a game made up of a ton of mini games. As you might expect these mini games are all based of events that will be taking place during the 2012 London Olympics. In addition to the standard events there is also Dream Events. The Dream Events are mostly based off of real events but they have a Sega spin to them. By this I just mean they look like they belong in a Mario or Sonic game. The graphics on this game are decent and have the expected cartoon-like graphics that you might find on games such as Mario Kart or Mario Party. Though there is a very wide variety of mini games on this game, most of my disappointment with it came from the motion based controls. A bunch of the mini games had the exact same control scheme: To start the event: shake the remote, to do the event: shake the remote, During the home stretch: shake the remote faster. After 2 or 3 mini games you can see how this would become very boring. I will give the game some credit, a couple of the mini games mixed up the controls by making you time when you flicked the remote. Sounds fun right? Not really. Now if you have younger children they may find this game enjoyable but I would strongly recommend that you rent it for as cheap as humanly possible (Redbox) before you make the decision to buy this game.

May the force be with you.
Dylan

Photo Transfer Project

This is another project that is pretty easy to do, it does require a little more time to complete just because you need to let things set for a while and wait for things to dry.

What you will need
An image of your own or one found on the internet like mine. It will need to be printed on standard printer paper.
1-Bottle of Gel Medium
1-Bottle of Mod Podge
1-Piece of wood cut to the size of your image
1-Foam Brushes

1. The first thing you want to do is brush a few layers of the gel medium onto your board. You need to be fairly quick with this part and you want to ensure the the gel medium is applied evenly across the board.

2. After you've applied the gel medium you will want to center your image on the board. I should mention that this is another project where you need to reverse the image before printing it out and doing this step.

3. Once you have your image centered on the board, starting in the middle, firmly press down on the image working your ways towards the edges. Then you will want to let this set overnight (I would recommend leaving it for at least 12 hours).

4. If you look online at projects similar to this one there are a few different methods for doing this step, but I found it easier to just run the board under very hot water to peel the paper off. You will need to rub some of the paper off with your fingers in this step as well but you want to be careful when doing this because if you rub to hard it will smear some of your image off. I had that problem on my first attempt which is why this picture doesn't fit my board. After I messed up the first one I had to flip it over and use a different image. If you have the same problem you can just re-cut the board to fit your new image or just paint a border around the image.

5. After you get the paper washed off let it dry, then apply an even layer of mod podge, and then leave that to dry. Once its dried your finished.


Side Notes
I've noticed that the images seem faded compared to the original image, but my sister did this project and accidentally used a thicker paper to print her image off and the transferred image was just as crisp as the original one. I'm not sure if that is actually the reason for the image being crisp but feel free to experiment with it. The only problem she had with that paper was that it was a lot harder to get it off the wood.

May the force be with you.
Dylan

Glass Etching Tutorial

This is an extremely easy project that can be done in less than an hour (assuming you already have a stencil or know what you plan on using).

What You Will Need:
1-Glass object (this works on mirrors as well)
A bottle of Armour Etch Etching Cream
1-Foam Brush
Contact Paper (if you are making your own stencil) or you can by pre-made stencils at hobby stores such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby
1-Roll of masking tape
Latex or Vinyl gloves (if you don't want to live dangerously on the edge.lol)
  

1. Trace the image for your stencil onto the contact paper and cut it out with an x-acto knife. You will want to reverse the image before tracing or cutting it out otherwise your etching will turn out backwards.

2. Once your stencil has been cut out you'll want to trim it down. Make sure you leave a bit of an edge so the tape can overlap onto the stencil.

3. Peel the backing off of the contact paper a place it on your glass object.

4. Put tape around the stencil being sure to have a slight overlap with the stencil so the etching cream won't leak out onto the other areas of the glass. You will then want to tape off a large enough portion of the glass so if the cream runs off the designated area it wont start etching other parts of the glass.

6. Apply the etching cream. Using the foam brush apply a thin layer of etching cream and then go back and blob it on so there is an even layer covering your stencil.

7. Wait. The bottle says that you only have to wait 60 seconds for the image to be etched into the glass but this leaves a very poor image. It will look much better if you let it set for 30 minutes.

8. After the 30 minutes have passed you will want to wash of the cream using hot water, then peel off the tape and the stencil and your done.



Side Notes:
-If you are cutting out a detailed stencil it might be easier to put the stencil on the glass before you start cutting it out.
-It is recommended on the etching cream bottle that you wear gloves when using the cream to prevent getting it on your skin (it claims that this is very dangerous). Now I'm not the best at following directions so I never wear gloves when doing this. I have gotten the cream on my hands a few times and after immediately wiping and washing them off I have noticed no problems.

Monday's Funnies

I have decided that in light of Monday being the most hated, feared, and generally depressing day of the week that I am going to post a few funny things (or what I find funny) on Monday's to help start your week off on the right foot. So without further ado here are today's funnies.

Saving Benjamin

Okay, I realize this is something that gets posted on a lot of blogs and websites but I’m deciding to share it again because I think there are some very helpful tips in here. And lets face it we all are trying to save up for certain things; in my case, to list a few things, a new laptop, and a trip overseas. Though your goals probably are not the same as mine and might not be as expensive as mine, it's always nice to have that little bit of money set aside for whatever it is your trying to save up for.

Since this isn't a new topic there are plenty of websites where you can find money saving tips, but the one i liked can be found here www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/02/06/little-steps-100-great-tips-for-saving-money-for-those-just-getting-started. This website contains 100 simple money saving techniques. Of course not all of them are gold and not all of them will apply to everyone so just read through the list and see which ones apply to your life and which ones you feel like trying.

These are just a couple of the ones that I liked from this article.

1. Make your own gifts instead of buying them.

2. The 30 Day Rule - If you are thinking about getting something rather expensive write it down, then wait 30 days and ask yourself if you still want it (obviously you shouldn't do this with really important things like car or house repairs).

3. Always make a list before shopping and stick to it. This is usually down when shopping for food but could be useful for shopping in general.

4. Don't eat out as much or at all.

5. Don't be afraid to buy generic. All of us have certain things that we prefer to buy the brand name version of, but in reality generic is almost always cheaper and the quality is usually comparable to the name brand. You do have to be careful when buying generic, because as my mom always says "You get what you pay for." So if you see a product that is ridiculously under priced you may want to think twice before you get.

Since I've started to be more mindful of my spending I've noticed that you can't expect to be perfect at it at first. It takes a little time to gain control of your spending but you just need to remember your goals and work towards saving for them. I should add that you don't want to become frugal with your money; you just want to cut back some unnecessary spending so you can afford the things you really want.

May the force be with you.

Dylan 

Quote of the Week

This is one of my favorite quotes from the Harry Potter movies. It is spoken by Albus Dumbledore after the sorting ceremony in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. 
 

A Little Bit of Randomness

In addition to all the other things I like and try to do, I also enjoy photography (i.e taking random photos and messing with them in Photoshop or Lightroom). Unfortunately for the longest time the only cameras I've had have been the ones on my Ipod Touch and my Iphone. Though these are decent cameras and can take some nice pictures it's just not the same as having an actually camera that has the potential to take some amazing photos. So i was visiting my parents this last weekend and asked my mom (justshortofcrazy.com),  who is a professional photographer, if I could borrow one of her spare cameras for a while. And just so you all know what the pictures I take are coming from the camera i'm using is a Canon EOS 30D. So now that I finally had a real camera to use I decided to go for a walk around Depot Town to try and get some cool photos. As it turns out there's not a whole lot of photo opportunities in the town itself so my walk was rather unsuccessful, but I did get a photo of, what i thought was, some interesting graffiti. I should point out that this is not what the graffiti actually looked like. After taking the picture I decided to play with it in Lightroom a little bit and really liked how it turned so I thought i would share it with all of you.

May the force be with you.

Dylan

What Can You Do

I thought for today's post I would talk about what I am currently doing for a living. As I briefly mention in the about me section I am a cook and, for the time being, the Assistant Kitchen Manager at Cafe Ollie in Ypsilanti, Mi. Cafe Ollie is a small coffee shop located in Depot Town, which is a small neighborhood of Ypsilanti. The menu is made up mostly of sandwiches and salad for meals and miscellaneous baked goods, coffee drinks, and ice cream desserts for all your other needs. I was offered a position at Cafe Ollie almost 1 year ago. When I took the job it was to start off as a dishwasher and since then I have been working my way up to where I am now. Before I started working at Cafe Ollie the extent of my cooking knowledge was Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and scrambled eggs, but since then I have learned quite a bit about cooking and have gained a passion for it as well. Of course no one really likes their 9 to 5 jobs so there are times during my day when i'm thinking to myself  "are you serious, another freaking order", but I really do enjoy cooking especially on my own time when i'm free to take however long I want and am able to cook (or try to cook) whatever I want. I probably should point out that I am not a great cook but I enjoy working towards becoming a better cook by trying new ideas for the Cafe or by learning what I can from my family.

Since i'm talking about the Cafe at which I cook I thought it would only be fair to show you all some of my handywork, so here you go.
 

This is one of our most popular sandwich's, The Dusty Spectacle.

Sounds fun and exciting right? All it really is, is cheddar cheese and chicken salad topped with balsamic onions, lettuce and tomatoes (or in the case of my lunch, pictured above, avocados) served on toasted ciabatta.

So If you are ever in the Ypsi/Ann Arbor area feel free to stop in for a late lunch or dinner and experience some of my awesome cooking.

May the force be with you.

Dylan 

Internet On Strike!

If you haven't noticed yet the internet has gone on strike. Websites like Wikipedia have shut down for the day and others are opening petition forms when you first access their website. They are doing this in protest to the SOPA and PIPA acts which claim they are to prevent copyright infringement  but may eventually be used to block what we see and what we can do on the internet. If you would like to sign a petition that will go before congress before they vote on these bills and show how many people are against these bills just go to google.com and click on their image of the day which will take you to the petition.

If you would like to read more about SOPA and PIPA go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more

Please contact your State Representatives to further encourage them to Vote No one these bills.
For more information on how to contact your State Representatives go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and enter your zip code.

May the force be with you!
Dylan

Wine Bottle Lamps Tutorial {DIY}

Making wine bottle lamps is a pretty easy process is you have the right tools.

Here's what you'll need:

1-empty wine or liquor bottle
1-35 or 50 strand of white christmas tree lights
some modeling clay
1-1/2" diamond tip drill bit
1-drill press or hand drill
sandpaper
An unfolded coat hanger with the end folded to have a hook


Here's what you'll need to do:

1. Drink the wine/liquor ;) or find empty bottles like I do

2. Take your modeling clay and form a ring near the bottom of the bottle where you want the hole to be (usually on the back side).
 

3. Fill the ring with water.
 

4. Align the drill with where you want the hole to be before you begin the drilling process. Once you have it aligned, using a high speed, begin drilling the hole. If you are using a hand drill you need to begin drilling at a 45 degree angle then once the hole is started change to a 90 degree angle. Also you may need another person to help you out with this step so they can hold the bottle still why you are doing the drilling. Don't forget to wear protective gear (gloves and safety glasses).
 

5. Once you drill the hole, tip the bottle upside down to get the water and the glass slug out of the bottle. After you drain the bottle you will want to take a piece of sandpaper and carefully sand the edge of the hole. Then rinse the bottle off, but be very careful when doing this if you wish to save the label. If any water does get on the label dry it off immediately to prevent it from bubbling or falling off.

6. Taking your strand of lights feed the first light through the hole and hook onto it with the unfolded coat hanger which you have inserted from the top of the bottle, you will use this to pull the lights through the top of the bottle.

7. Feed the remaining lights into the bottle and continue to pull them through the top. Once all the lights have been strung through the bottle push them back into the bottle you may need a small blunt object to help with this part (i.e the eraser end of a pencil). Once all the lights have been pushed back into the bottle reinsert the cork, plug it in and enjoy.



A few side notes:

1. If your strands of lights have a plug on each end you need to remove the female plug using wire cutters. Keeping the two wires separate tape each end off and then tape the wires together.

2. If you are using a strand of 50 lights the bottle will become very hot with extended use so be careful when handling. However, this does not seem to be a problem with strands of 35.

3. The color of the strands of lights does not matter too much and really just comes down to personal preference. Though, if you are using a clear bottle you may want to use lights that have a white strand. I used green strands in this clear bottle because it had a green/lime theme to it.

May the force be with you!
Dylan

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3

Hey! How does this blogging thing work?