Vegan Sushi 101

Fish and I are not friends. It's a very sad state of affairs, but I trudge along. Sushi is probably my number two envy food, hearing the stories of folks laughing and enjoying their deliciously light sushi for lunch or how excited they are to try a new place. It makes me cry a little inside.

Thankfully for me, I have amazing friends who brought amazing vegan sushi to my house. And then offered to teach me how to make it!

We used nori, aka sushi seaweed wraps, brown rice, and a smattering of vegetables and sauces like yellow peppers, avocado, fennel, carrots, kale, tahini and Ume plum vinegar. Then we really got the creative juices flowing and decided to make "Mediterranean" sushi using olives.  

Making the rolls were a snap. Using simple bamboo mats you roll the ingredients into the nori, let it sit for a few minutes and the slice. Voila! 

Even though it's "sushi" and "vegan" it doesn't mean it's hard or scary. It was super easy and fun to make using many ingredients you probably already have. I've already purveyed my bamboo mats (they were under $10) and am concocting ideas on how to make an Ume vinegar substitute using local plums. 

Now it's your turn to get out there and taste something new. 

Project management in every day life

Have you ever thought, "My city would be great if [fill in the blank]"? Or how about "I'd love to learn how to do [y]." What stops you? Sure it might be fear or nervousness, but, be honest, a lot of the time, it's how daunting a new project can seem. 

By day, I work as a Product Owner for a technology company, but by night I organize a handful of meet-ups and projects aimed at making my city a more interesting place. The good news is that many of the principles I use at my day job help keep me sane when I'm working and starting new community projects. 

Here are three quick tips to help you get started on your shiny new in 2014! 

Value doesn't not have to mean huge investment

This summer, I visited a friend who lives right outside of Washington D.C. We were chatting over dinner and started discussing how I'm part of a Makers meet-up in Manchester. It's a small once-a-month meet-up at a friendly local coffee shop, but in her eyes there was value in having such a group as none exist around her.  

Make it measurable 

We all want to succeed, so set yourself up for celebration by making sure you know the criteria that you want to accomplish. Generally, this can be accomplished by adding a number. I want to write 5 blog posts this month. 

Scope creep is not your friend

Ah scope creep. It's easy to get excited about a project. And it's just as easy to discuss a project down all the rabbit holes until you're not sure if you're in Wonderland or a Beatrix Potter story. 

Scope creep is what happens when you start adding on to your initial project. The real and present danger is that your great idea, your valuable project, may not get done because you added in so much extra stuff it will never be measured a success. Sniff. Don't let good projects die a sad lonely death because it can never meet your high expectations. That's just not nice and you're a better person than that.

That's it! Now go off and try something new in 2014! Feel free to come back and share what you're working on.

Women in tech for the win!

Something amazing happened December.

Fresh from the excitement of BarCamp Manchester, I met with two lovely ladies, Kelley Muir and Bethany Ross, for coffee at Cafe la Reine to discuss how we can support current and future women in tech right here in Manchester. 

Bethany had already kicked off a group, Future Tech Women, that is mentoring college women at UNH. Kelley and I chatted at BarCamp, as she was interested in fostering interest in younger students and I was hopeful to get a regular meeting for women currently working in technology. 

We decided to join forces (and resources) to work on making it all happen. 

Our working mission statement is that we're aimed at creating and supporting an inclusive community that encourages women and girls in STEM-related fields. Boo-ya! Well, all but that last bit. 

I'm happy to report that the Women in Tech Hangout had its inaugural meeting on Tuesday December 10. Dyn was gracious enough to provide space as approximately 12-15 of us chatted about what technology means to us. 

So, it's official! The Women in Tech Hangout now meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 6:30-8pm at Dyn in Manchester, NH. Hope to see you there!


Join us for the January meeting on Tuesday January 29th at 6:30pm. 

Yet another TARDIS

Can one really have too many? Probably not. For those who don't know, my husband built a full-size TARDIS, in front of which we pledged our love.

Then it was smushed by the tree that fell on our house with the Snowicane of 2010. No worries. We'll rebuild one of these days. 

So it should be no surprise that I decided our kitchen needed its own Van Gogh-esque exploding TARDIS painting. I mean really, as a Whovian, how can you not have one? 

So armed with a day off, I created one. As an accent wall. 

The wall was already a pale yellow, so I reversed engineered it to take advantage. I free-handed the outlines onto the wall first using an image in the web as a reference. I did use wall paint by using those nifty wall paint samples you can buy. All told the project was about $20. 

I am not an artist. But I did this and so can you. Start eyeing your own walls and go create your own amazing.

Special thanks to my friend, Bobby, for reminding me that I originally had this idea back in the spring when I was painting the cabinets that beautiful blue. I had completely forgotten I wanted to do this. 

They're here!

Wednesday night, I came home late from day 1 of a two-day off-site work meeting.

I can home with my masterpiece from a fun bonding activity at Muse Paintbar

and this is what I found waiting for me

added bonus from my husband!

A Tech Conference in Manchester? Of course!

• 9:30 am - the board was full of ideas
• 1 pm - the great airplane challenge had found a winner 
• 4 pm - we were full of ideas, a bit tired but wished everyday could be Barcamp 

On Saturday November 9, Barcamp Manchester hosted its 7th annual conference. The folks at Dyn HQ were gracious enough to let the conference use its beatiful space so local technology folks could come and share ideas, unconference-style. 

It was my second Barcamp and feeling more comfortable I chatted with lots of folks: developers, makers, product owners, designers, gamers, etc. I attended sessions on Arduino/Raspberry Pi (for my upcoming Makers in Manchester project), Easter Eggs, Women in Tech (local edition) and Sketchnote. Not surprisingly, I've come away excited about potential projects.

Thanks so much to the Barcamp volunteers, sponsors and attendees for a great conference.

The last word

The Hippo's cover story this week was about the NH comics scene; local artists, local shops, cosplay and the like. While it was being researched, I was contacted as I organize the local women's comic discussion group, the League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen.

Thursday morning, I picked up a copy to check it out. It was great to see Double Midnight Comics sharing their thoughts, along with local featured artists, Jerry Fleming and League member, Emily Drouin.

And yes, not one but two shout-outs for the League monthly meeting. That's the second Thursday of the month for those of you who might be interested.

But the thing that tickled me most? A quote from me ends the story. Silly, I know, but as the mom of a teenager, getting the last word doesn't happen often.

So, be kind and let me revel in it for a teensy bit.