so excited!

The guy is getting out of jail tomorrow and coming to see me! I'm so excited! He sent me the sappiest card (late valentines day thing, ugh) and said he's coming over around noon.

Jasmyne put on one of my chef hats and ran around the house. I got pics, but my pic uploader is being silly so when I get em uploaded I'll post. Also some new pics of me, looking sexy and slim at 130 pounds :) I can even fit into my pre-baby size 6 jeans which is awesome.

mine are, well, MINE

So, I finished my report about cilantro and coriander. I just finished it half an hour ago in fact, which is pretty funny because it's due tomorrow and I've had 4 weeks to do it. I find I work better under pressure. Part of the report is an original recipe using our chosen herb or spice, and we get bonus points for bringing in a sample of said recipe. Since this is a culinary school for cooking enthusiasts who want to go pro, it's not really bonus points for bringing in the food. It's actually just points taken off if you decide to be an idiot. I made some bomb-ass chicken and black bean enchiladas, and shall post the recipe at the end of this post. I realize that chicken and black bean enchiladas have been done before, but mine are, well, MINE. I can't wait for school tomorrow, to try all the different foods that are being brought in.

I think I'm finally kicking this cold! Or bronchitis, or whatever it is. I have an asthma inhaler (prescribed) that really, really, REALLY helps especially now that I'm out of the cough syrup. I'm probably going to go over to my neighbor's house (not the one who lies all the time, but another neighbor who is awesome) to see her first tattoo that she just got. I love tats. My next one will be Jasmyne's name, right above a rose I have on my right ankle.

To address a comment I received: why should I "settle" for a guy with a criminal record? First off, why should a guy without a criminal record "settle" for a girl with 3 felony convictions and countless misdemeanors? Also, a relationship is better if the people involved in it have something in common. This dude and I have tons in common, and he's someone I can just sit with and talk to for hours without either one of us getting bored. The sex is also good. What do I want a square dude for anyways? Not my style at all. And btw, I am going to school. Maybe not general ed college, but a school that will actually teach me something I can use to get a job. A good job, that pays money. I'd rather be a chef and making money all the time (no matter how bad the economy gets, folks still hafta eat) than a writer and starving to death my whole life.

Chicken and black bean enchiladas
Yield: 5 enchiladas
½ pound dry black beans
2 tsp onion powder
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
½ large onion, diced
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
taco seasoning*
1 tomato, diced and seeded
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 large slices red bell pepper, diced
2 scallions, diced
4-5 cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped and divided
3 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
1-3 drops Tabasco sauce
5 flat, round, whole-grain tortillas
3c freshly grated colby jack cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

*for taco seasoning, ½ packet of commercial seasoning can be used, or the following can be combined in a small bowl:

1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp white sugar
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp parsley
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)

1)Sort and soak the dry beans according to package directions (quick soak or overnight). Drain beans and refill pot with water, salt, onion powder, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and simmer until tender, about 1-2 hours. Drain beans and set aside, reserving about 3/4c of the cooking liquid.
2)Line a cookie sheet with foil and preheat oven to 350F.
3)Heat a sautoir with olive oil and saute the diced onion until translucent. Add chicken strips and saute until fully cooked, then set aside and allow to cool.
4)While chicken is cooling, combine tomato, jalapeno, red bell pepper, scallions, 2 cilantro leaves, 1 tsbp lime juice, Tabasco, and kosher salt (to taste) to make fresh salsa.
5)Shred chicken with fingers and return to sautoir, setting the heat to low.
6)Add taco seasoning and ¼c water to the chicken, stirring until liquid is mostly absorbed. Add cooked beans, fresh salsa, 2 tbsp lime juice, and enough of the reserved bean-cooking liquid to moisten mixture. Heat through, then remove from heat.
7)Lay a tortilla down on the prepared cookie sheet and spoon chicken-bean-salsa mixture into the center in a straight line. Roll up the tortilla into a tube and place on one side of cookie sheet. Repeat this process with the other 4 tortillas.
8)Using a pastry brush, lightly coat each enchilada with olive oil.
9)Top with shredded cheese and 2-3 cilantro leaves. Bake at 350F until cheese is melted and golden, serve immediately.

anyone can lie and cops are pricks

So, they switched our groups at school and I am now working with someone who doesn't know his asshole from his elbow. He couldn't even wash the dishes, just stacked em under the table and stood there while we attempted to make food. Lame. He's gonna drag down my average, and I'm almost at an A (89% at the moment). Tomorrow's quiz and my cilantro report/recipe should bring my score up to an A no question.

And yeah, I was catching a buzz off the hydromet. So? I'm out of it, and I'm still taking care of my business instead of going out to the hood to cop one more fix. All of that "addicts are addicts forever and can never use anything because one is too many and the drug causes all the compulsion to come back" crap is just crap. I can get high without acting like an asshole about it, I'm not some sort of diseased cripple. And btw I don't care what anyone was arrested for, anyone can lie and cops are pricks. I only care what people actually did. For example, if someone shot someone and then got arrested for pot, I'd avoid them way more than the person who got arrested for domestic violence without actually doing the crime. Living next door to an oxy addict? She's not an oxy addict, she's a liar who doesn't even do pills. It's just another layer of the facade.

Naomi- congrats to your sister for the new baby. They are so loud and obnoxious when they are born, no?

I miss my kid so much during the week, I only get to see her in the mornings and then I get home at 6pm and she goes to bed an hour and a half later. Fri-Sat-Sun is the only real quality time I get to spend with her, can't wait until the weekend.

finally, right? wtf?

Been busy, not really too busy to update. Just too lazy. Whatever, not like I'm getting paid for this or anything. Plus I have shit to do all weekend.

So, I started culinary school. I go 4 days a week in the afternoons, and Jazzie goes to daycare. She picks up every cold and every flu and every virus and gives it to me. I then can't even attend class without hydromet cough syrup so I end up with a bottle of that a month (and I might need another for Monday) because I will get thrown out of class for coughing. Lame. It works really well though. School is awesome. I love to play around with recipes in that enormous well-stocked kitchen, with their Meyer lemons and Hungarian paprika and 5000-year-old pink Himalayan mountain salt. Everyone at my entire school smokes pot, which I think is hilarious. I think my chef does, and he's a Chinese man in his 60s. My chef (my teacher) is awesome, we make tons of delicious food and I love everything about school except the bus.

I don't always have to take the bus, but since I don't get my stupid govt-issued driving permission slip until March (and even then, just the hardship license since it's been over a year since my non-driving felony conviction and I am almost eligible) I have to take it home from school often. It took me a while to figure out the best route from the school to my house. At first I was waiting 25 minutes for a connection, which was lame. Also that bus was just filled with smelly Haitians. Before anyone says "racism!" you gotta understand that I live in South Florida, filled with Haitians, and that no amount of sensitivity training in the world is gonna change the fact that these people constantly reek of fish, vinegar, and fetid garbage. I was waiting for my bus at [whatever] sitting on a divided bench, and an older Haitian man comes and sits right next to me. Not on the other side of the divider, not on one of the 3 empty nearby benches, but rubbing up against me so that his vinegar stank was touching my school clothes. Barf. He asked me what my name was, I said Leslie or Lola or something with an L. Then he asked if I was single. DOUBLE BARF! I told him I was married with three kids, which I figured was four problems too many to overcome. Then I got up and got the hell away from him. The smell was really bad. But other than Haitians, I don't mind the bus much. I don't really have to focus on anything like I do during the rest of my life, I can smoke at the bus stops, and now that I've figured out the proper route I don't have to smell any stinky people on my whole ride.

My daughter is awesome. She's almost 17 months now and not as chunky as she used to be. She walks by herself (kind of a penguin waddle, but fast), she goes to the potty every morning, she says sentences (example: "I drink it all"), she loves Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go but hates Ni-Hao Kai-Lan (which is a pretty annoying show), she eats so many different delicious healthful foods, she puts her toys away when she's done, she loves to empty cabinets and drawers, she has tantrums all over the floor, she giggles when you touch her, she's afraid of guys and doctors, she loves to play with blocks, her favorite food is a cracker, she's still allergic to soy, and she's finally growing a little bit of hair!

Words that Jazzie can say include, but are not limited to: mama, grandpa, abuela, ball, block, cracker, hi, hello, bye, no, mine, yeah, yum, dora, map, backpack, orange, color, walk, park, shoes, dog, woof, meow, bird, up, oh no, uh oh, cheese, bread, drink, juice, panda, want, shit, poop, boob, now, more, and tickle.

Being clean is awesome. I got 2 years this month, by my rules of course. :) I don't do any of those bullshit meetings, but instead when I want to get high I man the fuck up and don't do it. That disease crap is all crap anyway.

I met a dude. He's actually in jail at the moment, but he's awesome. I met him when he was dating my neighbor, and she called the cops on him and said that he was beating her. I don't believe for a second that he was beating her. My neighbor also said that a friend of ours stole $300 from her and held her daughters head underwater, and that someone broke in and took a safe containing $700, and that someone else got arrested for having dirty needles all over the apartment, and that she got in a car accident and told the cop she was on roxys and the paramedics did a scoliosis test to determine whether or not she needed to be prescribed roxys, and a host of other fantastic stories which throw her trustworthiness into question. So yeah, he didn't beat her. But he is really sexy and a lot like me (scary huh).

Yesterday I went to the zoo with baby brother (who is here for the weekend) and our friend Rick and Jazzie of course. Jazzie loves to walk around the zoo and mimic all the animal noises. We had lunch at the overpriced zoo cafeteria, where I discovered that my kid won't eat french fries or chicken nuggets. Won't even TRY french fries or chicken nuggets, or for that matter hot dogs either. She wanted her yogurt, raisins, blueberries and pieces of cheddar cheese. I guess I've done a good job feeding her healthy, but she wouldn't even taste a french fry. What kind of a weird toddler?

I wanted to do this sort of general update so that I could update my boring daily stuff more often.