I've been neglecting the site for awhile. Although, I did update the penguin of the month picture for this month and I also decided to take down the kill counts graph. I haven't had problems with killing my car much lately so the graph would be rather boring. That, and I stopped keeping track of it.

Anyway, today we're going to pretend that we're in grade school and tell about what I did with my tax refund. Well, part of it. Some of it will be going toward the car loan. Anyway, on to the fun stuff.

When I started college, my parents took me out to Bed Bath and Beyond in Lincoln and we bought the cheapest set of pots and pans we could find. They worked while I was in school (not that they were used all that often) and they're still a decent set of pans. They do the job, but shortly after I moved into my apartment, I had a hankering for pancakes and made the mistake of thinking I could make good pancakes in my non-stick skillet. The sad half-burnt, half yummy pancakes (and when I say half, I don't mean half of them sucked, I mean half of each pancake was burnt) made me think about getting new pots and pans. So, I found a set that I liked and bought those this month. After the tax refund was deposited, of course.

I purchased the new Calphalon CS Non-stick dishwasher-safe set. They were pretty expensive, but totally worth it! They distribute heat evenly. Each pan is non-stick on the inside, steel on the outside and every single one goes in the dishwasher with no issues. I can even wash them with either gel or powdered soap. Below is a picture from an online catalog of the set I purchased. It came with two skillets (omelette pans), two sauce pans with lids, a stock pot with lid and a sauté pan with a lid. I'm debating on whether to order a mid-sized sauce pan and a larger sauté pan. We'll see how the cooking goes for now. Below is a picture from an online catalog of the set:

I also purchased a new set of knives. I had purchased a set of Chicago Cutlery knives when I moved and had problems with them from the start. I was shocked to find out that every single knife in the set was serrated. I found out later (after it was too late to return them) that it was a "feature" of the set. Although not prominently displayed on the packaging. After avoiding purchases of chicken and steak and basically any other meat I'd have to cut for months, I finally decided it was time to get a better set of knives so I didn't have to avoid cooking yummy things. So, I bought a set of Wüsthof Classic knives. Consumer Reports rated them as one of their "best buys" so I went with them. Plus I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg and these were plenty expensive from my viewpoint. Anyway, I can't even begin to explain how much better it feels to slice smoothly through a piece of raw meat before cooking rather than having to saw through it. It's like a breath of fresh air and now I can cook a wider variety of things without having the annoyance of a serrated chef's knife.

Bravo has been one of the kings of crap reality TV in my opinion. They keep making more and more crap reality shows. Specifically, reality contest shows. And I would pretty much watch them all...even some of the non-contest reality shows. But, I have finally drawn the line and found a reality contest show I can't stand to watch on Bravo, which is quite a feat for me. I've watched everything from Project Runway to Make Me a Supermodel. The shows are generally pretty formulaic in the way they're presented. There are typically around 10 contestants for each show. They bring in "industry experts" to be the judges and then they have a mini-challenge early in each episode followed by an "elimination challenge" at the end of the episode. The judges say what they think about the results and one person is eliminated till someone wins. Anyway, I watch a lot of these crap shows. And trust me, I know they're crap. Most days I don't want to have to think or actually pay attention to the TV while it's on, I just like the noise and it's pretty easy to keep track of what's going on when they're playing in the other room or across the room while I'm cooking or something. Anyway, on to the list of reality contest shows I've actually watched on Bravo:

• Top Chef: This one's a classic. Probably the one that started the rest (besides Project Runway). It is actually interesting to see what the chefs come up with each week. The drama gets annoying sometimes. All I really care about is the ingredients, how it looks and how it tasted. Then I get to wish I could cook something like it.


• Project Runway: Another classic. Designers make all sorts of weird clothing for various occasions and various people ranging from prom dresses, WWF women's outfits, men's suits, etc. It's always a good time to make fun of the weird stuff people like to pretend are clothes coming down the runway.


• Shear Genius: Modeled after the first two. They gathered a bunch of hair stylists and made them cut hair! Novel idea.


• Top Design: Again, modeled after the first two. A bunch of interior designers have to design various rooms/spaces.


• Make Me a Supermodel: sort of a cross between Top Chef and Tyra Banks' 'America's Next Top Model'. There's guys and girls all living in the same house. Guess what, they all want to be models!

One of the similarities between all the shows is that there's always one judge that you wonder why they're on the panel because they haven't actually worked in the industry, they just judge the industry. The shows also have the habit of replaying the same theme music over and over again.

I've also been known to watch some random reality shows on Bravo as well like Tim Gunn's guide to style. You know, those style shows are kind of mean. Essentially your friends think you dress so crappy they have to contact a TV network to do something about it and then they show up and tell you how crappy your clothes are, make you throw them all away and spend way too much money on new clothes and you end up with 1/2 as many clothes as you started with. I'm not sure I'd necessarily view that as a good thing. Anyway, I also watch (and by "watch" I mean not change the channel and tune out about 70% of the show like the rest of anything else on Bravo) Workout and pretend it's helping me exercise. It hasn't worked yet, but I have hope that someday it will.

Anyway, as I was saying, I "watch" a LOT of crap TV on Bravo, but I've finally found a show I can't leave on the TV for more than 30 seconds without having that feeling that someone has just scraped their nails on a chalkboard. That show would be "Step It Up and Dance" with Elizabeth Berkely. I can go on about reasons why I can't stand the show, but I'd almost suggest you flip past it yourself. Maybe even see how long you can stand to leave it on the channel. I can't stand those "Real Housewive's" shows, but I can last longer on those than I can if "Step It Up and Dance" is on.

Anyway, if you want crap TV you don't have to, or don't want to pay attention to, generally Bravo's not a horrible choice. I wouldn't suggest trying to devote your full attention to most, if not all the shows on Bravo though. But they are generally good filler/background noise. Except "Step It Up and Dance".

I realized that I have more video games for the Wii than I ever owned for any other system I had. I think I had two or three original Nintendo games and three Nintendo 64 games. I have three 64 controllers while technically I have 12 Wii controllers (4 nunchucks, 4 wii-motes, 4 gamecube controllers). I already have 9 games for the system after only owning it for almost four months. Granted, 4 of them are Gamecube games, but they're still games I can play on the system and I never owned a Gamecube. I also plan to buy Mario Kart for the Wii towards the end of this month and Wii Fit next month. So, basically, having an income of my own allows me to act like a kid and play all the video games I want. Hmm...I didn't even count the games I have for my DS and I was even able to replace my original DS for a DS lite.

This weekend was Greek Easter (much further apart from traditional Easter than last year). John and I went to the Greek Orthodox church for midnight service on Saturday. The service was about 2 1/2 hours and this year. Fortunately for me, I remembered the correct response when I got my egg after the service this time.

John's mother was telling me about past Greek Easters, before John's grandmother passed away when they would go to midnight church, then to his grandma's for food and wouldn't get home until 5am. The Greeks do know how to celebrate.

Sunday, we met his extended family (and other church members) for lots of Greek food. I tried the lamb again this year. I wasn't a huge fan last year because it was a bit dry, but it was very tender and moist so I'd have to say I like lamb.