Something old.

Did you have a blogspot.com?

Way back in the early 2000s, I started a blogspot. Did you have one? I posted on there pretty regularly, writing about concerts, jeans, food. I did write about my kids occasionally, but I wasn’t about to turn it into a “mommy blog”, I wanted to keep it cool. It was called “The Only South Bay Mom without a Bugaboo”. Bugaboos were the “it” stroller at the time, and way too expensive for us. Give me that affordable Evenflo shit. I did eventually spring for a BOB jogging stroller when I was ready to get back into shape.

All this to say… enjoy an old post from this South Bay mom, who exchanged wanting Bugaboos for Hammitt handbags. Let me know if you used to (or still do!) have a blog or Tumblr in the comments.

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2005

No Rival

I am sad to report that on Thursday, June 28, 2005, at approximately 6:25 p.m. PST on Thursday, my Rival 5-cup rice cooker/steamer died, possibly from repeated trauma to the "ON" switch, inflicted by a crazed 19-month old. He died in mid-steam, while I sat at the table with my Chinese food, waiting patiently for that "pop", telling me the rice was done. I decided that since I had a 20 lb. bag of rice from Costco, I might as well make my own when I order Chinese or Thai food. I made poor O run back out to the restaurant to pick up a couple of orders of the steamed stuff - I can't possibly eat Chinese food without it.

My rice cooker, or "Old Reliable" as I called him, has been a part of my life since my 18th birthday. My good friends in high school presented him to me with a laugh, for what young girl in her right mind would want a rice cooker for one of their biggest milestone birthdays? The answer: me. I'm a rice fiend. Can't get enough of it. It's the ultimate comfort food for me.

My Rival has seen its share of ups and downs. Many a time Mom & I would make a pot of rice and down bowl after bowl, topped with soy sauce and red pepper flakes, while watching English sap movies. There were several dents on the lid that I am pretty sure Dad had something to do with. When I got married, of course the rice cooker came with me. Mom went through at least two or three cookers after that, settling on a teeny one that bubbles and gurgles happily as the white grains puff and steam up. Recently Lennon decided that the inner cooking pot made a good hat, and then a good noisemaker, when properly banged against the oven door.

Even though he killed my rice cooker, we still hugged it out.

I cried buckets of tears when, while 4 months pregnant, I found that the smell of steamed rice repulsed me. "Why rice? My favorite food! This is so AWFUL!" I wailed. Luckily that only lasted about a month, and I was right back on the rice wagon.

So today I went out and bought me a new cooker. It was so hard to choose. I was really close to going to Cookin' Stuff to look for one of those fancy cookers you see on Channel 18, that wash and rinse the rice for you. They probably cost a pretty penny, and I would hate to spend that much and have it break down. Instead I went to Macy's because I have a gift card dying to be spent. I settled for a Salton 7-cup cooker, at the bargain basement price of $15. Actually, I think it's the same as Mom's.

My Rival 5-cup cooker was 11 years old.