Feiya – ImNotEd

Mexican Food- Sunday Meal

First Sunday meal in the new place

Well, that went ok. The kitchen performed flawlessly. The new gas range is a pure joy to cook with. I think it’s been since I lived in Rapid City, South Dakota since I had a kitchen with a gas stove. Cooking on that stove was a thrill in its self. Now that the thrift stores are open again, I’ll see if I can find some decent pots and pans. I was able to use my brand new Japanese chef knife that I paid $11.99 for on Amazon. It did pretty good. I have a genuine Ginsu knife arriving tomorrow. I’ll be able to slice through an aluminum can AND a tomato. I won’t take that kind of power lightly.

Enchiladas

The main dish today was enchiladas. We followed a recipe from allrecipes.com. We didn’t follow it to a tee, but we didn’t stray to far from it either. The seasoning on the chicken breasts was Feiya’s idea. We mixed paprika, salt, chili powder, and cumin together. It was pretty tasty, but in the end you really couldn’t taste it in the finished dish. The salsa verde was the highlight of the day! Very easy to make- chicken broth, flour, butter, onions, chilis, and some cumin. I followed the recipe and turned out pretty good. Could use a little kick from some jalapenos or such.

Cooking Mexican food for our Sunday meal. — These are the chicken breasts we tried to spice up with a little concoction. The spices were pretty good, however they were lost in the finished dish.

Over all the enchiladas turned out pretty good. It was a little bland, but had a lot of potential. Hopefully someday soon we’ll revisit it and try to spice it up a bit.

Chili Rellenos

Another recipre we tried from allrecipes.com was Chili Rellenos. This was a disaster in the making. I think what saved it was I talked to the produce guy at WinCo Foods and he told me that his grandmother soaks the chilis in saltwater for about 10 minutes before stuffing and cooking them. I did as he said the the ckilis turned out very favorable and sweet. Feiya made the batter and I think she went a little heavy with the milk making the batter a little runny. Not the end of the world. The recipe called for rolling them in flour and then dipping them into the batter. I did that on 3 of them. On the fourth chili I dipped it in an egg was and the batter stuck a little better when I fried it. Still not the greatest, but would like to try battering and frying something again soon. So I can get it grip on it.

Feiya wasn’t on her game today. We started at 11:00am and she had just woken up at 10:30am. I think there was too much coming at her too early in the day. Getting up for school this fall is going to be a real treat. She did prep the chilis and make the batter before she checked out. She accidentally rubbed her nose with a finger tip that had pepper on it. I think that was a lesson she needed to learn for herself.

Presentation

The final presentation could have been better. I’ll have to work on that. Overall I would give today’s meal 7.5 out of 10. It was a success overall, but we can improve. Which, for me, is the best part. Progressing. I used to think of myself as a pretty good cook. However, over the years my nomadic lifestyle has moved me away from cooking. I’m so glad Feiya has a such an interest in the kitchen. I’m hoping her passion can ignite my passion for cooking once again. I don’t think that’s a long shot.

Next week we’re going Mediterranean. Feiya and I would go to this restaurant in San Mateo a lot- Cobani Gyro and Kebab. It was a Californian twist on the gyro. Very fresh and flavorful. Not like you get in the Midwest, which are good in their own rights. We’re going to try to miic the chicken gyro and greek salads we used to order there. Wish us luck!

Tonight’s music, an oldie but goody- Midnight Movies.

I used my trusty Sony A6000 with a 16-70mm lens from Sony Vario-Tessar. Like a doofus I had the butterfly lens hood on wrong and the wings showed up in some of the wide shots.

Pine Glen Condo Part I | Summerlin

Here we are smack dab in the middle of pandemic. I’ve never experienced a crisis this directly before. The weird thing is, EVERYBODY is experiencing it. This is not one of those “That only happens somewhere else.” situations. This is happening worldwide simultaneously. Never before has the world been so connected by a common effort, to defeat the coronavirus, or COVID-19.

I’m staying optimistic throughout this ordeal as long as I possibly can. We all know the economic hardships that are coming down the pipe. Will the worse case scenarios come to fruition? Sure, there’s a very real possibility that my job is on the line. Vegas doesn’t do well in downturns. And, man do we have a downturn coming! Right now every casino in Las Vegas is closed! The bigger casinos are taking care of their people, for now. The smaller one’s, not so much. This will take awhile to dig out of this hole.

The last recession Las Vegas had was in 2008. Home prices finally reached their pre-recession prices in the last two years. That’s nearly ten years of recovery! So, what did we do? We bought a f*****g condo, in FEBRUARY! I’m not sitting here shitting the proverbial brick, yet. Besides, there’s no toilet paper anyway.

I’m cautiously optimistic, however. I have some skills to offer in the digital world. I’m not going to create the next Twitter. But, I can compete graphically and I have my real estate photography thing. I also believe this downturn is going to rebound much faster than previous recessions. This isn’t an isolated dip where another market or economy can step in and fill the gap. This is a lowering of all markets on the same level, more or less. Sure, some markets will gain faster than others, but everyone is in the same bucket on this one. Every market will have demands and surpluses once the coronavirus clouds part ways.

Instead of a time looking outward into the darkness, it’s time to take a look at the light within. We have nothing in this world except the love of those within our little bubbles. I’m loving every single moment of this home buying journey with Dana and Feiya. I’m being real conscious of how we, as a family, make decisions and contribute to our new home. We do pretty damn well together. I’m so fortunate.

It’s not always sunshine and unicorns. We have our moments. But we’re always aware we’re three individuals working together for one common goal. Living in peace and happiness. We except each other for who we are and we elevate each other with our little quirks and nuances. Always seeking calm waters.

If these times have shone me anything, it’s to pause, breath, and enjoy the moment. I am so grateful for having these two humans in my bubble.

This is a song Feiya and I listen to in the car. It just seams to be a good song for a day like today.

The camera I used today was my Ricoh GRII. I should have used my A6000. Next time.

Makino | Las Vegas, NV

This is an exciting time for us. This week our offer for a small condo in Summerlin was accepted and now we are going through the buying process. I’ve worked in real estate for 8 years now and I’ve never felt more like an idiot. :0 I saw hundreds of transactions take place when I worked for Green Banker in Burlingame, CA. but, all from the sidelines. We do have a very smart agent here in Vegas and we’re grateful for that. She’s been guiding us through the process very well and I consider her my friend, so it’s been a lot of fun, to boot.

Our condo was used as a rental for the past 14 years. It has never been updated since the complex was built in 2002. So, we visited a flooring and kitchen/bath supplier today. I was knocked on my butt again! I’ve always rented and have only bothered with a few minor household repairs. Talk about a fish out of water! We did consult with a contractor prior to going there. That helped, but not a lot. We do have YouTube, however. Dana is very gung ho about doing a lot of the repairs/upgrades ourselves. I’ll be sure to write about our adventures here.

So, today we celebrated a tiny bit by going to Makino Sushi and Seafood Buffet a little ways from the strip. As usual the food and service didn’t disappoint. I really like their sushi and ramen bar. It’s a real treat to have both great sushi and delicious ramen on the same buffet. A little pricey for the offerings, but still affordable on an occasion. Like today!

I took some photos of Feiya while we ate our celebratory lunch. She was a good sport today. So, she received boba and sushi! I took these using my go-to Ricoh GRII.