Julia Rachel Barrett's Blog, page 20

Dead(line)-Free Zone.

No Dead (limes) I mean (lines)

What I like about self-pubbing: No deadlimes. Wait… I typed limes because of my stupid finger.

If you break your right index finger, no sweat because no deadlimes… I mean deadlines. I should find out tomorrow whether or not I need surgery. In the meantime, well, oh well. We do the best we can. Talk later loves! Julia

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Making Chili and Working on a Collection of Short Stories…

while I do a bunch of laundry.

Nothing provides more foodie comfort than a hot bowl of chili on a cold winter’s night.

Chili (with beans) and accoutrements.

Julia’s Chili

2 large yellow onions, diced

4-5 jalapenos, seeded and diced

4 stalks celery, diced

12 cloves garlic, minced

Saute in a large Dutch oven or stew pot in 3 Tbs. canola or olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

When veggies are beginning to brown add 2 lbs. ground beef, turkey or chicken. Cook through, stirring frequently.

Stir in:

6 Tbs. c...

Baby it’s cold outside.

Every morning we wake up to find the fountain frozen solid. Jake and I have been hiking in icy weather for the past five days. We love it. He’s a cold weather boy. But my poor daughter is up in Montana where it’s been 25 below 0. 20′ in Northern California seems balmy in comparison. Although my lemon tree, my dinosaur-type ferns and my philodendrons beg to differ.

Did you see the recent snow bowl in Philadelphia? I haven’t watched a football game like that since I was a kid! 1968- 54″ of snow...

It’s the moment when she realizes…

“Kevin!”

Merry Christmas!

(I know… I’m really boring these days!)

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Hashtag #MobCity

I hate #hashtags but I find myself in an odd position. I feel the need to mention a few–

Jon Bernthal in Mob City.

#MobCity a three-part noir par excellence.

#JonBernthal thank god my #Shane of #TheWalkingDead is back among the living and in a role that lets him strut his stuff.

Jamie Fraser, Outlander.

#Outlander Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Coming to a #Starz near you in 2014! Now I have to get #Starz. Do you know how long I’ve waited for this? Well, you probably do if you’re a #JamieFraser fan. I...

Levon Helm was a most interesting man.

This post is for my husband and fans of The Band. The Weight, written by Levon Helm, is one of my all time favorite songs. I don’t even mind the earworm.

I knew he was a singer/song writer. I knew he lost his voice to cancer but regained it and even released a new album– won a Grammy before he passed away on April 19th, 2012.

But I never realized he was an actor. A damn good one.

He played Loretta Lynn’s father in Coal Miner’s Daughter.

He played test pilot Jack Ridley in The Right Stuff.

General...

In the Wilderness of Sin.

Julia comes face to face with the drug dealers…

Once upon a time, when very few people hiked the wilderness park, it was common to encounter drug dealers. And people having sex but this is not a post about sex. It was common because very few regular people hiked up there– which is why, when I did sneak in with my German shepherd, Louie, (had to sneak in because dogs were not allowed back then and there was no way in hell I’d risk hiking up there alone) I’d often run into the huge female mounta...

The Ten Points Challenge.

It’s always ten, isn’t it?

So my daughter challenged my husband to come up with ten things he does in his own life to maintain and enhance his health and well-being. Ten activities, ten habits, ten whatevers.

He, in turn, challenged me.

There’s a philosophical component to this challenge and I suspect one needs to be a little on the OCD side, but there are things each of us does everyday, personal rituals, that contribute to our health and well-being or, maybe just maybe, detract from our health...

Penis Jokes Rule the World, or end it, not sure which.

We watched This Is the End with Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera (OMG!), Emma Watson, Mindy Kaling, Paul Rudd (in a brief squishy part)… well, it featured pretty much every geek comedian of that generation. Not that Emma Watson is a comedian but she was very convincing as the straight girl goes all zombie slayer on your ass. Even Rhianna had a cameo. Before she went to hell. Literally.

The movie was written and directed by Seth Rog...

Transcendent sexiness.

I checked out People’s sexiest man alive cover and boy oh boy was I disappointed. It was like… Yaaaaaaaaawn.

There are certain people who transcend sexiness, or possess a transcendent sexiness. Adam Levine, while attractive enough in a skinny metro-sexual kind of way, ain’t one of them.

For example, if People put Brad Pitt on the cover every single year I’d be content. They’d get no argument from me and I’m not generally attracted to blonds. Brad Pitt. Every damn year. He’s like Sean Connery, w...