catching up...

So life has been a bit nuts lately due to all the traveling, but I am finally caught up. I will write this week about our New England trip and post some pictures - it was beautiful!


Tomorrow is election day. Luckily I have already voted. Here's hoping your line is not too long, but longer than the iPhone line a few months ago. :)



Colorado...I urge you...this is not just pro-choice/pro-life issue...this goes so much further than that. PLEASE do your research and know what Amendment 48 truly stands for. NO on 48.

Dia de los Muertos 2008

To all who have gone before me. In remembrance and honor. Always missed, never forgotten.

time...

It's been a year. I don't have a lot to say, other than I miss him every day.

gmo & tmo, 1981

not-so-windy city + cheese-o-rama

This past weekend we spent a few days in Chicago and the Madison area of Wisconsin. I have never been to either of these places, so it was a new experience for me. First, though, in a hilarious twist of fate we got a Mustang instead of the piece o’ crap we reserved. This is humorous because we are 1) not Mustang people and 2) it was bright.ass.blue (at least it wasn’t red). Still, the Mustang was probably cooler than the other would have been, so I guess it’s a plus. But can I just take a moment to say? American cars suck ass. My 14 year old Toyota Avalon is wicked better.

Chicago is a lovely city; we stayed with my friend Katie on the north side. I love her neighborhood! It is what my neighborhood in Denver COULD be if this city would get its act together. We spent our first evening at a delicious Cuban place called Café 28. I definitely recommend this place and if you go, get the pork chops. My lands! The next morning we went to a great breakfast place, Orange. Katie was disgusted by the cucumber water (irrational fear of the great fruit – I kid, I kid!) but I thought it was a nice touch. The food was great and deserves all the accolades it receives. Watching the juicing machine was neat, the waitstaff was great, and they also had sweet décor - check out the light fixtures.

Following breakfast we walked to Grant Park and Millennium Park, where we went to an interesting high-tech preview show and tickled the bean.

Before Katie had to depart for work we ventured into the largest Macy’s I have ever been in. Quite impressive! The toy area was fun and the Walnut Room was beautiful (also, not terribly expensive for lunch and looked tasty).

Later that afternoon, we took our sweeeeeeet car for a drive. We made our way up the coast of Lake Michigan and saw some amazing houses and the beautiful campus of Northwestern University. On the way back we stopped at a hot dog place for a delicious Maxwell Street Polish – my official favorite food of the trip.

Later that evening we met up with Alexander’s childhood friend John Lacombe and his girlfriend, Carly. We went to Blue Bayou and I had a crab cake po’boy and delicious Abita Purple Haze. If you go here I completely do NOT recommend the peach cobbler. This southern girl with a major sweet tooth couldn’t choke down more than a few bites. FYI: PEACH COBBLER SHOULD NOT LOOK LIKE PIE NOR SHOULD IT BE SERVED COLD. Anyhoo. Next, Alexander’s friends from law school, Cindy and Cyrus, met us and we went to a Mexican place and had margaritas.

Saturday we made our way to Wisconsin for a wedding (one of Alexander’s college friends). I just have to say…the Illinois toll system is awesome and the GENIUS MIND who thought up the Oasis? I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy! For those not in the know, the Oasis is, essentially, a rest stop. But this is not any old rest stop. It extends over the highway (like an overpass) and has the CLEANEST restrooms and all kinds of food choices. I’m probably irrationally excited about this, but it’s the little things, right?

So we arrived at the hotel at 1:15, checked in, went to the room and I started CASUALLY ironing. Somehow I thought the wedding started at 4, and obviously we left the invitation in DENVER, where it was very helpful. Alexander texted friends to be sure. So it’s about 1:38 and we get a text…the wedding starts at 2. HOLY EFF. So he JUMPS in the shower and out at light speed, I throw on my clothes, slap on the minimum amount of makeup, twist my hair up in a bobby pin and we fly out the door. It’s 1:56. The wedding is 15 minutes away. We SOMEHOW (thanks, Mustang!) make it to the wedding at 2:03, just as Sarah was walking down the aisle. *phew*

my "unbelievable" face as we sped down the road

The wedding was gorgeous, Sarah’s dress was awesome, and the reception was like nothing I have ever experienced. Apparently, according to someone at our table, all Wisconsin receptions are the same. They all serve “broasted” chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pasta salad, and corn, and it is always done family style. I’m sure it’s a SLIGHT overgeneralization. It was great, but my favorite part of all was the waitress with a tray of MILK. MILK! I have never seen milk served at weddings except to little kids, but everyone had some here. It was awesome (as you know, I am a milk LOVER! I had two glorious glasses). No tea, no sodas…just cocktails, beer, coffee, and milk. Only in America’s Dairyland! Other standouts at the reception included big screen Badger Football, Sarah’s grandpa’s toast, Irish car bombs, noodling for coy, and the late-night food selection (brilliant idea).

noodling for coy...crazy ladies :)

The next morning we went to breakfast with a bunch of Alexander’s college friends, then made our way to Madison to check out the campus (where Alexander went for undergrad) and go to the Big Ten Pub. The University of Wisconsin is awesome, I loved the buildings and the feel of the campus and town. The capitol building was really pretty, too. At the Big Ten Pub (TOTAL RECOMMENDATION!) I had my first experience with cheese curds. One word: incredible. Big hunks of squeaky fried cheese? MMMMM. I also had a cup of mushroom soup and a greyhound. This was a magical hangover cure.

After Madison, we headed back to Chicago. That evening John, Cyrus and Katie met us for pizza at Gino’s East. I will say it once: I totally prefer NY style pizza and I am NOT afraid to admit it. Our pizza was really good, though, but I like the chewy goodness of NY rather than the extreme heaviness of Chicago pizza. Afterward, Cyrus, Alexander and I went to Jake’s Pub (great neighborhood bar) and had a few beers.

Monday was our last day in town and we were SO worn out, so we mostly took it easy. On our way out, we went to the tourist trap known as Navy Pier, and it was sillygood fun. The ferris wheel was nice and cheap (only 6 bucks each, could have been much worse) and it was a cool way to see the city. It’s a pretty cheesy place otherwise, I suppose if I had kids it would have been better.

In all, we had a great time. Next week we are going to New Hampshire to visit Alexander’s parents and chase some leaves.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Currents

Listening – cat meowing

Reading – ugh…Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective (why does forced reading

seem so much worse?)

Weather – nippy at night, GLORIOUS during the day

Gripes – FOX News: http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=10091952&ch=4226716&src=news

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hasta luego!

Alexander and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

I shall start by saying that my boyfriend, Alexander, started what should have been a great day. He woke before the sun to go throw some flies at fishies. He should have stayed on the river.


Clear Creek Canyon & I-70

First, his Badgers lost.



(I interrupt here to say HOOK 'EM and BAD BUFFS - get ready to get OWNED next week! Shout out OLE MISS & OREGON STATE - I love those upsets! ROLL TIDE!)

Back on track...then we decided to go camping. One of our friends wants to go fishing for Kokanee salmon tomorrow, and he invited us to go along. Awesome!



That plan quickly went to pot. Why? Because Alexander's girlfriend (yours truly) managed to do this:


As my wet, naked body was attempting to open the shower door, the entire thing exploded on me. Alexander just heard a giant crash and me screaming HELP! HELP! while I laughed at the sheer absurdity of what just happened and cried at the pain. Bwahahahaha. Then he was running around like a crazy man looking for my flip flops so that I wouldn't destroy my feet even further. Said flip flops turned out to be under the pile of glass, convenient. The whole scene was out of this world.

I was really lucky that nothing much happened other than a TON of scratches and a couple of deep chunks of skin missing. Most is on my right arm, right leg, and left foot (yay! it missed the new tattoos). No face lacerations, no accidental feet amputations, no major head wounds. I'm pretty lucky, I'd say.




The glass is kind of pretty, though...


Now he is sleeping on the couch. My whole arm is throbbing and I am afraid to go to sleep. We are NOT going camping. *sigh*

Is this whole Palin thing a joke?

Am I, and the rest of the American Public, being punked? I said I wouldn't say much about politics, but seriously...this just seems so surreal.

Get me to Mobile!

I got these fortunes within three days of each other:




Which leads me to believe that I need to be on the lookout for a leprechaun. Perhaps the leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama:






Back to your regularly scheduled day...

*thanks for the leprechaun tip, Ashley N.*

permanent + couldn't resist

I got my tribute tattoos today. Two for dad, one for pets.


My dad had this same tattoo on his big toe.



Four pets that have gone before me: Willie, Lizard, Bean, Belle



My dad's dates. I like that they don't necessarily look like dates.


Suggest:
I don't really care to make this blog an explosion of politics, I'm too cynical, too jaded, and I just don't feel like ranting all over the place in this blog. BUT...the Charlie Gibson interview with Sarah Palin was just painful. She is an embarrassment to women, and I fear the very idea that she could possibly be VP...or PRESIDENT. This whole thing is appalling and insulting.

I think everyone should read this blog: Women Against Sarah Palin

I'm just sayin'.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Currents

Mood: Remembering + Sleepy
Listening to: The Cranes + Daphne, rain
Weather: Cold + Rainy

deeeeelicious!

My Amish Friendship Bread starter finished bubbling yesterday, so guess who has plenty of delicious bread to share? Each starter makes two loaves of bread, and I have four starters. I cannot think of a single friend in the Denver area who would be interested in this, but if you are reading and you want, let me know.

Chocolate Zucchini

I made one Banana Chocolate Chunk and one Chocolate Zucchini. I based my recipes on THIS recipe (from allrecipes.com) but made adjustments for altitude and taste. This was my MOST successful altitude baking experience, it is amazing how much the altitude truly does screw up a perfectly good batch of brownies or cookies (or any other baked good). I was a little nervous about this bread falling and being disgusting, but it is WONDERFUL!! So wonderful that we've almost eaten half of it in a day's time.

Banana Chocolate Chunk

The modifications that I made were quite simple. For the banana bread, I simply added two over-ripe bananas (large) and 1/4 of a bag of chocolate chunk chips. For the zucchini, I food processed (finely chopped) one whole zucchini (large) and added about 2 tbsp of cocoa. I think it could have used a little more cocoa. The altitude adjustments were a decrease in baking powder by 1/4 tsp, decrease sugar by approximately 1/8 c, more banana/zucchini than I would have used at sea level (to increase the moisture content), and lowered the temperature by 10 degrees. I've seen altitude tips that suggest raising the temp, but this has never had a positive outcome for me. I baked it the same amount of time the recipe called for and it is perfectly moist and, most importantly, DID NOT FALL! YAY! Another tip for altitude cooking is to make SURE to HEAVILY grease the pan because for some crazy reason things REALLY stick above 5000 feet.

I think my next batches will be pumpkin bread (add one whole can of pumpkin + spices) and maybe a peach bread or something. I am not sure.

Porky

I also made a Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin last night (marinade made from soy sauce, minced garlic, brown sugar, Jamaican Allspice, olive oil, black pepper) and it was just OK. The flavor was delicious, but I think that the pork itself was a bad cut or something. I make tenderloin quite often and this one just didn't have the right consistency...it was kind of spongey. Gross and totally unappetizing, I could not finish it. That is SO annoying after marinading and cooking all day. The sides were good, though...basil steamed green beans and long grain and wild rice. I will probably make the pork again because despite the texture, the flavor was good.

Here, Ikey Ikey

Other than my food obsession, I must mention Hurricane Ike. I am glad this little bugger turned a bit and is now most likely not going to directly hit my family and friends in Corpus Christi. I LOVE crazy weather, and I know my mom and brother do too, but it still makes me a little nervous when a possible Category 4 is heading their way. I am still keeping an eye on this guy, but my prediction is that he will hit Galveston.



Finally, today we must reflect. Seeing Ground Zero a few months ago really drove home how huge the magnitude of this tragedy really was in a way that I hadn't felt before. I don't think there is a whole lot to say that hasn't already been said, so I will just take this day to observe, respect and remember. I also hope, with all my might, that the politicians and news media don't use this day in an effort to gain votes and viewership, because that is just tacky.

Love to all.

tissues may be necessary...

This is pretty much my favorite thing on the entire internet. It's old and I've seen it a hundred times, but I could watch it over and over again.





And the Whitney Houston version...ridiculous...





I just love animals.

happy little clusters

I really love fiber (an odd thing to love), so when I saw this FREE SAMPLE OFFER I had to sign up.

Yesterday I got my free sample of Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal in the mail, along with coupons and a free sample of their fiber bar.

This cereal is LOADED with fiber (13g per serving!) and you can definitely taste it. But, I think it actually tastes pretty good. Somewhat branny, but the clusters help to offset the hardcore taste of the flakes. Now, if you are used to eating Cheetos for breakfast you may not like this cereal, but I think most people will like it. Plus, with 13g of fiber (about 1/2 your daily recommended amount) I think anyone should be able to choke it down.

In my opinion, fiber is one of the most important things you can add to your diet. It helps with digestion, makes you feel fuller, is amazing for your heart, helps with weight loss/diet, and gives you very healthy poops. Some other great sources of fiber include whole grains, ALL vegetables, most fruits, beans/legumes, and nuts.

Eat more fiber! Your ass will thank you, in more ways than one.

you can't you won't and you don't stop!

Random observation:

I walk everywhere. I see strange things all the time. Today...well...I don't know how STRANGE it was, but this little situation struck me.

I was walking on 13th Street near the Logan intersection and this guy was JAMMING out in his car. I mean...his radio was sooooo loud. Not just "hey this is a great song I'm going to pump it!" but ear-breaking, heart throbbing, so-loud-you-could-hear-it-two-streets-away type of noise. In some sort of Lexusyuppiemobile.

I love Beastie Boys so I was pleased to hear this dude jamming out to this. But when I looked over...the guy was like TOTALLY STONE FACED. No emotion. Not even bobbing his head ever-so-slightly. No finger tapping. NOT EVEN A PINKY!! It was like he was a statue. A statue in a fancy suit. No tattoos, no piercings, no emotion, no nothin'!

Now...I don't know about you, but I just cannot help but flail my arms around, wiggle, headbang, pull out my invisible microphone...whatever...when the music is blasting in my car. And I NEVER blast music as loud as this dude...and I don't wear fancy suits.

So...hey guy! Think you could maybe move around, just a teeeeeeensy weeeetle bit, next time?? Thanks.

I am so stuffed...

Good lawd.

I ate too much...and this is why:

farmer's market loot

rustic bread...we couldn't wait to eat some

So I had a full afternoon to make something, and thought I had enough fresh tomatoes outside to make homemade marinara. Unfortunately squirrels REALLY like tomatoes, and I only had 6 tomatoes to work with. Back to the drawing board...

pomodori

I decided to make "semi-homemade-not-so-marinara-sauce". Luckily I had a jar of sauce lying around (*tip: always keep emergency jar of marinara). Basically 1 jar of Newman's Own (or whatever brand you wish, though I totally recommend N.O.) Marinara Sauce + lots of fresh veggies. Dump entire jar into large pot, then add fresh chopped onion (1/2), chopped whole green bell pepper, tons of minced garlic (used 5 cloves), and peeled/seeded chopped tomatoes. TONS of chopped basil (around a cup or so) goes in once the sauce is done cooking and removed from heat.

I love naturally occuring shapes (this is not a worm!) - inside seed area of bell pepper

Yes, peeling and seeding fresh tomatoes is as fun as it sounds. (*tip - do not blanch tomatoes to peel, it will cause them to be mushy and tasteless). I also added about 3/4 c water, you may need more or less depending on what type of tomatoes you used (yellow tomatoes are not super watery, but red are).

naked tomatoes

Next I simmered this concoction for about 4 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so. The process:

pre-simmer

2 hours in...bubbly (I really wish I could have bottled the aroma)

final product...with steam. mmmmmm.

Once the sauce is done simmering, all basil goes in (basil flavor is much more intense this way than if it had been simmering the whole time).

organic chicken breasts are little! yay for little breasts!

Next, I started on protein and veggies...Free-range organic chicken, the other 1/2 of the onion - chopped, 4 more cloves of chopped garlic (I really like garlic), 1 zucchini chopped, and fresh green beans. I decided to simply steam the beans. For the chicken, I sliced it into thin strips and cooked it in a cast-iron skillet, along with the onions and garlic. Once the chicken was almost finished cooking, I added the zucchini and basically stir-fried it all while the pasta boiled.

tons of chopped basil and handmade pasta

thar she cooks!

And this, kids, is why I am so full....

deeeeeelicious!

And the best part? Leftovers tomorrow. No cooking for me!

On a completely unrelated note, I am also making an Amish Friendship Bread Starter...this is day 7 (of 10):

Notice the bubbles...hopefully the time-effort will be worth it. This is something from my childhood and I just remember it tasting SOOOO delicious, so I decided I needed to make some and pass it around.

So that was my day, with laundry and other boring stuff thrown in. Why are weekends so short?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Currents:
Mood = full & content
Listening to = That 70's Show
Weather = the wind, she is a blowing
Desires = sleep