Pumpkin time!

So Sunday night we had zero trick-or-treaters. Probably because we live in an apartment complex. Oh well. At about 8:30, Maren, Nate and I decided we needed to carve pumpkins. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. We went to Wally World and they had zero (the box labeled FREE was empty). We went to HyVee and they had them for $5.00/pumpkin. Maren talked the guy down and we got them for $2.00/pumpkin. (ps. I went to HyVee tonight to grocery shop and all the pumpkins were free. Damn.) We didn't have a pumpkin carving kit so we used steak knives. We don't have a printer so we free hand drew our designs on and rocked them!!

Maren started out with a autumnally labeled wine. Yes I did make that word up. But autumnal is a word, so there! (ps. Mar- the pouring pics didn't work. My camera focused on the AFA mug. Oh well)








Clean 'em out!


Nate drawing on his design.


Maren drawing on her design.


Nate's off to a good start.


I couldn't decide on a design for awhile, but then I just went with the theme.


Nate's making progress now.


Nate and I finished first.


A little cinnamon to make things smell delightful (Nate's suggestion, believe it or not)


Finished!

Halloween 2010 - Part 1 NSFW

How was your Halloween? I had a splendid time at a party on Saturday night at my friends' Aaron & Georgie's. Many good costumes including a peacock, Brett Favre, bumble bee, lady bug, Mr. Toad & Princess Peach, a fairy. Not many of the photos I took are appropriate for this family-friendly (ha! yeah right) blog. Still, NSFW. These photos are in no particular order :0

I went as Dr. Acula!


A nice photo of Dr. Acula and Princess Peach


Uh, thanks for creeping Kyle while I try to get my teeth in order.


Arrgh!


Bret and Mr. Toad having a little chat.


Kyle is afraid. Very afraid.


Kyle wearing Aaron's hat


Armana shaking her tail feathers.


When Aaron put on the beard, it completed his outfit.


Aaron shaking his leg like Jack does when you rub his belly.


A bunch of teachers (Alan with Carlos, a witch, The Situation, and Mr. Toad) taking shots. Of vodka. Barf.


Next up, carving pumpkins with MarMar and Nate on Sunday!

My first food blog...braaaaainnnss

So, I decided I was going to bring brains cupcakes to this Halloween party I am going to tomorrow. Little did I know, doubling a recipe that calls for 12 will actually create 48. Shit. Anyhoo, this recipe is Anne Thornton's and can be found here.


Here's a lovely shot of my kitchen with all of the ingredients out on the counter.


I like to measure out my dry goods before mixing them all together. Alton Brown taught me that.


Eggs first - 4 of them. Good thing I had 7 left. I didn't exactly figure out if I had the ingredients to double the recipe before deciding to.


Now, the veg oil.


Next, is buttermilk. I don't keep that on hand but always have plenty of milk. My mom taught me how to make buttermilk by adding 1 T lemon juice to 1 C milk. Voila!


So one time awhile back, I put hot liquids in my plastic liquid measuring cup. Then rinsed it with cold water. It cracked. I didn't realize it was cracked all the way through until now. Oops. Buttermilk down!


Okay, added the "buttermilk" to the oil & eggs.


Next comes the last three wet ingredients, vinegar, vanilla & red food coloring. I bought gel food coloring last time. It colors frosting well, but I wish I had the liquid stuff for the actual batter. Oh well.


All the liquids together! Pre-mixed.


...and mixed! Red velvet here we come!


Hello dry goods, sifted and mixed together lovingly in another mixing bowl.


Jeez, good thing I used my biggest mixing bowl... It is at this point in my baking enterprise, I realize that I have forgotten to preheat the oven. Shit (again).


Do not judge my sweet old-school kitchen.


Zoey is bored and wants to play with the laser toy, but I don't have time now Zoey! Must finish braaaaainnns cupcakes!


Anne suggested using an ice cream scoop to put the batter in the baking cups. Mine isn't the same kind, but what the hell.


She also said it would be messy...


I got some really cute cups, but they were kind of cheap so they did that foldy thing which annoys me.


But they were so damn cute I couldn't resist!


Time to crack open #firstbeer - @Lakefront Brewery's IPA. YUM! I also listened to Getting Tanked with Frank throughout the baking process. Love those fools.


Ooh, looking good in the oven!


And out! Lovely!


Time to make some frosting!

Dry goods!


Wet goods (and my lovely written down grad school note taking style recipe copied down whilst watching her show)!


Butter + powdered sugar. Cream together.


There was a point where I was wondering if it was ever going to "cream." Then I remembered to add the milk:


Added vanilla and food coloring to make the gray brains color. I added a few drops of red, green and blue gel food coloring. It was pretty before it became brainy.


swirls!


Close up!


And it all comes together to form a delightful brain gray.


I may have messed up the frosting a little and am nearing delirium at this point. I am sad because the decorating is only beginning. Not to mention the fact that I had only baked like 1 dozen at this point. *yawn*


Guess it's time for a second beer!


These are the best ones I did. I have a ton of bad ones to go with these. Not like I care. People are just going to eat them, right? And I hope they taste good!



So there you have it: my first food blog. I know this is nothing compared to some of the girls' blogs I read (Megan at The Runner's Kitchen, Monica at Run Eat Repeat, and Skinny Runner) but it was fun. And it took forever! It is now nearly 1 AM, I've been up since 6 AM and I'm exhausted. Enjoy!

Gotta run!

zoom zoom!

My mom's is called "The Tribby". I like the star tribune and pretty much all things Minnesota, so for now, mine shall be called "The Stribby":









V6, 4WD, towing capabilities, great warranty, iPod cord jack (waaay better quality sound than the iTrip), the ability to have auto-start installed...ahh the capabilities.

This my friends, is my big girl car. Big girl, big car, big payment. Time to grow up I suppose. It'll be a bit of a struggle the first year while I finish school, but it won't be that bad once I graduate and get a job. A real job. With real, live patients. Eek!

Speaking of, today Maren and I were talking about how I was going to have so many bills to pay all by myself. And new bills that I never paid previously (like life insurance and car insurance & registration - my dad promised to pay car ins/reg until I graduated). I'm so effed!

So anyway, if anyone has a better suggestion for a name, I'm open! Comment!

x-posted to LJ

Saint Paddy's 2009

My first Saint Paddy's! Yes, I am 24, but all of my other chances, I was in a van on my way to/from New Orleans doing Katrina relief. So my day started at 10:30 when I woke up for Boondock Saints, Killian's and Fruit Loops. After lunch, Kylie and I headed downtown to meet Jess and Peter at the Dubliner.


The Irish Band!


Kylie, myself, and Jess. I'd say this is at least 3 beers in.

We drank there (they ran OUT OF KILLIAN'S!! I was going to punch someone in the neck!!! (Thank's Jen Lancaster) I had to switch to Harp b/c I was too drunk and it was the first beer I saw) and then met up with a bunch of guys from school (that was a lot of parentheses). One of the bartenders asked me about my tattoo. Turns out she's good friends with the artist and she recognized it. Creepy/Cool! From there, we all headed to O'Connor's where I switched to gross, totally non-celebrational (not a word) Miller Lite. I had to drive to west Omaha at 7:00 so I needed to switch and taper. We went to Barry O's to finish our tour of downtown. At 7, I headed west. Had dinner at the Melting Pot with Keri, Sean and Maddy and then finished the night watching Australia, which I thought was going to end about 15 times. However, I did enjoy all the Hugh Jackman man-candy. That is one delicious body/accent/face/man.

How was everyone's holiday?

I found this site, Dear Old Love, through a friend on Twitter. It's amazing, description direct from the site:

About this

"Dear Old Love" is short notes to people we've loved (or at least liked). Requited or unrequited.

The ex-husband in Grace Paley's short story "Wants" says to his ex-wife, "I attribute the dissolution of our marriage to the fact that you never invited the Bertrams to dinner." If you're bitter, that's the way to express it here.

Please email pithy, specific "Dear Old Love" notes to dearoldlove(at)gmail.com. Posted submissions will be anonymous, and all submissions will be held in confidence. I would never sell or give away your email. (I wouldn't even know how.) If privacy is a concern, use an account with a pseudonym.

By emailing me, you're granting a permanent, royalty-free license to edit and use your "Dear Old Love" note in any way, but your note will remain anonymous. I'll admit: it has long been a dream of mine to do a Point of Purchase novelty book. My name is Andy Selsberg. Thanks. Enjoy.

My submission rings true to me, to how I feel about him (my first true love) and to who we are. Can you guess which one it was? (a clue: it was posted within the past week)

:)

Damn you Lorenzo

So I am posting this on here instead of as a facebook note (where I saw it in its original form) because I stole it from a certain person who I don't want to know I stole it from.

Yeah I'm that insecure. Anyway, something to let you all get to know me a little better :D

LAST
1. Beverage: diet coke. duh.
2. Phone call: Jess
3. Text message: Jess [it would seem like i need some more friends]
4. Song you listened to: Disco - The Music
5. Time you cried: uh..Sunday night. Watched P.S. I Love You

HAVE YOU EVER
6. Dated someone twice: yes.
7. Been cheated on: sadly yes. often. what the hell?
8. Kissed someone & regretted it: hm...hard to say. i hate regrets so i guess no.
9. Lost someone special: yes. multiple special people
10. Been depressed: yes. clinically and everything. fantasmic.
11. Been drunk and threw up: not in awhile...ok New Year's

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS
12. Blue
13. Yellow
14. Green

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU
15. Made new friends: yes
16. Fallen out of love: no, but it's only Feb so there's time!
17. Laughed until you cried: yes. WADs!!
18. Met someone who changed you: mmm, not yet. but i will be attending a national convention next week. hopefully i will re-meet don neumann, who is my hero.
19. Found out who your true friends were: yes, well some of them. jury's still out on a couple of those hosers
20. Found out someone was talking about you: yeah, i guess
21. Kissed anyone on your friends list: no. but i did kiss someone who isn't on it :)
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: nearly all of them, except a couple political figures (the Minnesotans) from back before the Fan Page application
23. How many kids do you want to have: 2 or 4. Probably 4.
24. Do you have any pets : yes. they're turds
25. Do you want to change your name: no.
27. What did you do for your last birthday: did a power hour, went to Nomad and had champagne on the house and Patrick poured a bottle of Ketel One down my throat. It was a wonderful morning the next day.
28. What time did you wake up today: 6:50
29. What were you doing at midnight last night: watching Last 10 Yards and doing laundry
30. Name something you CANNOT wait for: graduation
31. Last time you saw your father: 2 weeks ago
32. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: i kind of wish i could afford to live alone.
33. What are you listening to right now: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (cover) - Eddie Vedder. great song, excellent version
34. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yes. multiple people named tom
35. What's getting on your nerves right now: my ex
36. Most visited webpage: lately, www.justfinish.com
37. Whats your real name: Megan Roxanne Ring
38. Nicknames: Meg (but don't call me meg if we ain't friends), Megger, Meggie, many variations of Meg
39. Relationship Status: married to PT school
40. Zodiac sign: Capricorn. [why can't he let that damn GK thing go...]
41. Male or female? female
42. Elementary: Garden City
43. Middle School: Cedar Hollow
44. High school: Northwest High School
45. Hair color: auburny brown currently. natural blond tho [hair color only. cognitive status is that of an intelligent person]
46. Long or short: long, as always
47. Height: 5'6"
48. Do you have a crush on someone: not currently
49. What do you like about yourself: I'm stubborn and determined
50. Piercing: (s) - ears, naval. former piercings: tongue, eye brow
51. Tattoos: yes
52. Righty or lefty: right

FIRSTS
53. Surgery: tubes in my ears
54. Piercing: other than ears, tongue
55. Best friend: Andrea Larson (now Boyle)
56. Sport you joined: t-ball
57. Pet: turtle
58. Vacation: the cabin
59. Concert: something at MN state fair, i'm sure
60. Crush: oh bloody hell, matt? maybe someone else before him? i probably had a crush on one of my best friends when i was little, but i just thought we were zelda playing buddies.

RIGHT NOW
61. Eating: nothing
62. Drinking: nothing
63. I'm about to: go to bed, or at least attempt to
64. Listening to: k this is the third time you've asked what i'm listening to. thankfully my iTunes is on. Collide - Howie Day
65. Waiting for: Somnolence

YOUR FUTURE
66. Want kids: someday. i went to a baby shower today, but managed to resist the baby fever
67. Get married: yes
68. Careers in mind: physical therapist. spending enough time/energy/money on it, so i better damn well like it.

WHICH IS BETTER
69. Lips or eyes: eyes for sure. i could stare into my friend Dave's eyes forever. the rest of him ain't bad either
70. Hugs or kisses: hugs
71. Shorter or taller: taller, much taller
72. Older or Younger: older
73. Romantic or spontaneous: both, definitely
74. Nice stomach or nice arms: can't i have both?
75. Sensitive or loud: jeeze i don't know. a healthy mix i suppose
76. Hook-up or relationship: unfortunately, i'm only in it for relationships. and my standards are extremely high, although a dirtbag skeezball snuck under my radar once.
77. Trouble maker or hesitant: trouble maker

HAVE YOU EVER
78. Kissed a stranger: yes. NYE last year in Breck
79. Drank hard liquor: yes, though i prefer beer
80. Lost glasses/contacts: yes. i've also faked losing my contacts to go home in high school. i forgot something at home and didn't want to take a tardy. i was a nerd in high school
81: Dated? yes
82. Broken someone's heart: yes. the dirtbag skeezball's
83. Had your own heart broken: yes. twice.
84. Been drunk: yes
85. Been arrested: no, but i have ridden in the back of a cop's car and gone to court twice.
86. Turned someone down: yes
87. Cried when someone died: yes
88. Liked a friend that is a girl: well i'm a girl and i like all my friends. but if you mean like-like then no. i like boys.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN
89. Yourself: some days
90. Miracles: yes
91. Love at first sight: lust at
92. Heaven: yes
93. Santa Claus: of course. he brought me the best burt's bees gift set last year!
94. Karma: yes
95. Kiss on the first date: yes
96. Angels: i don't know.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY
97. Is there one person you want to be with right now: no one in particular. i'd like to be asleep.
98. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time: no
99. Told someone you loved them when you didn't: no
100. Posting this as 100 truths: no... its DAMN YOU LORENZO!!! except not with all that emphasis. and only because i copied it from that guy.