The end of winter that is, thank all that is holy! We're heading into one of my fave times of year, that short period of time when you feel very "is it or isn't it" about the season change! There will be an electricity in the air and things really start to happen. I'm looking very much forward to it! Especially because life keeps getting better...I can feel it! Or perhaps it's the Vitamin D pills talking ;)
To get on these updates here...
#2 - My website!!! I've it a bit of a lull at work and so I decided, in my sudden "spare" time, I'd start my portfolio site for the hell of it. Lo and behold, I'm actually getting somewhere! The hardest part has been organizing my work to showcase...so far I've set up my CK print stuff, as well as my freelance logos, but I've got a long way to go. I have to set up my CK web stuff, some photography, including Tazinos, some misc freelance, as well as some examples of my greeting cards/invites.
Anyway, my mom came over today to help me set up the site itself...I purchased a domain and set up the web hosting and all that fun stuff (nearly $100 later yikes). I can't wait to actually finish it...what a trip that will be, it's been such a long time coming. And who do I have to thank? CK for leading me into this web design biz! And who knew I'd like it so much?!! It's sort of like math in HS...it can be frustrating as hell, but exercising those brain muscles can be fun in a sick sick way ;)
#17 - You could say I was a little selfish on the evening of Valentine's Day ;)
#36 - Freaking out that I wouldn't be able to fulfill the Opera task because of scheduling...I think I'm going to be able to see the Florentine Opera's The Magic Flute in April!
#45 - Recipes
2. Broccoli Cashew Slaw
3. Parsnip, Turnip, Carrot Quinoa Soup
4. Butternut Squash Soup
#50 - I totally did NOT get to try my atypical veggie broccoli rabe...I checked the store a couple times and they never had it, so it's probably out of season. So I'll have to do two this month. I really am running out of options, so I think I'll just go in and choose a couple weird things they've got lying around.
#51 - Well I only ended up cheating twice on "no buying anything for myself"...the Ray LaMontagne tix as well as a ticket for Wynton Marsalis at the MSO next Sunday. Both cultural though...and I'm supporting the arts in these harsh economic times, so I don't feel too bad (thanks Monica!)
This month I'm not officially giving anything up since I've already given up both coffee and Facebook (the horror) for Lent!
#64 - I already crossed this off my list, but turns out I'm going to Vegas too! We bought our tickets for Aug 20-23, non stop flight and three day stay at the Flamingo for $360!!! Not. Bad. Atall.
#68 - Yesterday Z and I stopped at Leon's Custard for some delicious sweet treats! I got the Tin Roof (like a peanut buster parfait at DQ) and it was glorious. I could feel the fat coursing through my veins and I didn't care!
#85 - Still working on a ton of stuff for work including a new landing page that I did from home when I had the flu earlier this month!
#87 - I like the sound of the electronic neo "new wave" (big surprise) band Plushgun and also discovered the show Spring Awakening through a friend/coworker. It's Rent and a little Sondheim.
#95 - I'm about to begin How to Meditate by Lawrence LeShan, and like I said last month, should be perfect for Lent.
Perusing this list just now, I'm starting to think I'm really not going to accomplish everything. For example, due to the afore-mentioned harsh economic times, it would be kinda lame to increase my 401k. Sure I'd be saving, and saving is very important in times like these. But I need to save for a more proximate future for the time being. So in that case, I might in fact change that one to reflect this...perhaps throw an extra $20 into the savings account (in addition to the $1/day I already save). Another example...I obviously can't donate my blood 8 times in the next 8 months, so I'm considering changing that task to donating my time instead. Something like 8 hours as a volunteer. In any case, one of these days, I'm going to have to sit down and revamp these types of tasks before it gets too late.
That's all I got! I have a feeling my life is about to get way way busy, so any organizational skills I've gained over the last ~2.5 years really needs to come in handy right about now. Wish me luck!
Showing posts with label Trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trip. Show all posts
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Monday, August 4, 2008
just because I'm losing, doesn't mean I've lost
ed. note: added #95
August. It's a new month. You know that old saying: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all? That's what this post is going to be.
Updates because I have to:
#22 - State Fair is happening Thursday, so I'll get to cross off that bad boy.
#45 - Recipes (two more):
1. While I didn't come up with them or cook them entirely on my own, I'll combine the following delicious meals we made at camp this year:
-Bourbon Chicken, Blue Cheese Burgers, and Pear Gorgonzola and Prosciutto on French Bread drizzled with a Balsamic Syrup
2. Fried Plantains (#50)
#50 - My atypical produce this month can be arugula, why not?
#95 - I finished Of Human Bondage, which most definitely made my top five books. I honestly didn't want it to end, it's such a great story! I told Mandsi that it was like an old friend who I'll really miss...
#66 - Iowa!
Mandsi and I reunited with the cornfields and rolling hills (there are hills!) and it was a blast. Road trip hilarity, best patty melt and corned beef hash ever, YeCoCo, not crashing into a plane, "leave them ducks alone boys", Sugar Shack malts, pool and hot tub sans thugs, steak and crab stuffed shrimp with wine that tasted like Heath Ledger, Steve and Jay shenanigans, Prairie Meadows Casino and "when in Rome" Bud Light, hangovers at the Farmer's Market, tooling around the Skywalk for hours and chillin in the Marriott, "what's he gonna do", $4 big beers and an abundance of hot air balloons including The Big Idea, an ecstasy rave in the streets of downtown, scuzziness of Des Moines night life, waiting an hour for food at Drake Diner, and a big soda and snick snacks at the I-80 truckstop....as well as many many more amusing memories and moments.
Ah, well reliving that trip cheered me up a touch. Good times. Well the summer is nearing an end and I'm relieved. I look forward to brighter times ahead...despite the fact that daylight is waning? Hm.
August. It's a new month. You know that old saying: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all? That's what this post is going to be.
Updates because I have to:
#22 - State Fair is happening Thursday, so I'll get to cross off that bad boy.
#45 - Recipes (two more):
1. While I didn't come up with them or cook them entirely on my own, I'll combine the following delicious meals we made at camp this year:
-Bourbon Chicken, Blue Cheese Burgers, and Pear Gorgonzola and Prosciutto on French Bread drizzled with a Balsamic Syrup
2. Fried Plantains (#50)
#50 - My atypical produce this month can be arugula, why not?
#95 - I finished Of Human Bondage, which most definitely made my top five books. I honestly didn't want it to end, it's such a great story! I told Mandsi that it was like an old friend who I'll really miss...
#66 - Iowa!
Mandsi and I reunited with the cornfields and rolling hills (there are hills!) and it was a blast. Road trip hilarity, best patty melt and corned beef hash ever, YeCoCo, not crashing into a plane, "leave them ducks alone boys", Sugar Shack malts, pool and hot tub sans thugs, steak and crab stuffed shrimp with wine that tasted like Heath Ledger, Steve and Jay shenanigans, Prairie Meadows Casino and "when in Rome" Bud Light, hangovers at the Farmer's Market, tooling around the Skywalk for hours and chillin in the Marriott, "what's he gonna do", $4 big beers and an abundance of hot air balloons including The Big Idea, an ecstasy rave in the streets of downtown, scuzziness of Des Moines night life, waiting an hour for food at Drake Diner, and a big soda and snick snacks at the I-80 truckstop....as well as many many more amusing memories and moments.
Ah, well reliving that trip cheered me up a touch. Good times. Well the summer is nearing an end and I'm relieved. I look forward to brighter times ahead...despite the fact that daylight is waning? Hm.
Monday, March 24, 2008
listy updates mmmm....
I'm back from my trip and I enjoyed an Easter weekend full of church, 19 inches of snow, and my first cup of coffee in six weeks!! Now I have some updates to attend to...
#15 - Last night I started organizing INKYTNMO stuff for the big scrapbook! I could stand to go to town on this thing with fun little popouts and booklets and stuff, so I'm real stoked!!
#49 - Two new recipes:
1. I made mashed cauliflower which rocked my world. Seriously a REAL good alternative to mashed tatos. You just boil them in chicken stock until they're mashable, then add S&P and cheese...it's just that easy!
2. For our Easter Brunch, I literally made up a recipe. So in my mind, I had this idea for a "root hash"...hashbrowns, but made with regular shredded tatos, but also shredded sweet tatos, parsnips, and turnips. (I wanted rutabagas, but apparently Metro Market doesn't have rutabagas right now...blah) Anyway, in my mind, I imagined these hashbrowns with some sort of gravy or au jus just like on the east coast where you have "wet fries" or fries with gravy. So you'd get the crispiness of the hash, but some moisture with the gravy/au jus. Well it was quite an endeavor, but the recipe was a relative success!! I added some rosemary to the hashbrowns, as well as sauteed onions of course. And the sauce did turn out to be more of a gravy than au jus (beef stock, Worchester, and a little apple cider vinegar added to a roux)...but it was good. It was SOOOO much more flavorful than the typical hashbrowns you get. Much more depth because of the different root veggies. And the onions made it sweet! I think I'm going to experiment a bit with it...make the hashbrowns even more crispy (you really gotta stop those starches from exploding all over the place!), and try to make more of an au jus. In any case, the entire Easter Brunch as a whole was amazing. My mom made a spinach soufflé that was absolutely delicious. I don't know if I could make a soufflé! My sister made corn bread muffins from scratch (!) with maple butter...as well as a quick fruit salad (bananas, mango, honeydew). And of course brunch isn't brunch without bacon :) Later in the afternoon we had this outstanding orange cake my mom made for my grandpa for his birthday. It's got triple sec in it I think? Totally soaked in it!! Just to die for...I think I want to start requesting it for MY birthday ;)
#50 - See #49, I switched 'er up to the Turnip which I, of course, added to the hash. Yum stuff!
#54 - I have to make an appt...my hair is getting way too long!
#64 - I made it to the Grand Canyon YIPPIE!!!!!! I will post some AZ pix tomorrow if I get some time :) as well as a nice discussion...
#69 - Well, I completely forgot to donate blood during winter. I was supposed to on Dec 27th but that got pushed back. Then I got the flu and didn't want to endanger anyone? Well, I feel like if I at least get the donation in before March ends, that's fair enough, so I'm donating tonight. Hopefully my arm doesn't suck and I succeed!
#95 - On a Pale Horse is reading real quick! I love it!
Alright more tomorrow...
#15 - Last night I started organizing INKYTNMO stuff for the big scrapbook! I could stand to go to town on this thing with fun little popouts and booklets and stuff, so I'm real stoked!!
#49 - Two new recipes:
1. I made mashed cauliflower which rocked my world. Seriously a REAL good alternative to mashed tatos. You just boil them in chicken stock until they're mashable, then add S&P and cheese...it's just that easy!
2. For our Easter Brunch, I literally made up a recipe. So in my mind, I had this idea for a "root hash"...hashbrowns, but made with regular shredded tatos, but also shredded sweet tatos, parsnips, and turnips. (I wanted rutabagas, but apparently Metro Market doesn't have rutabagas right now...blah) Anyway, in my mind, I imagined these hashbrowns with some sort of gravy or au jus just like on the east coast where you have "wet fries" or fries with gravy. So you'd get the crispiness of the hash, but some moisture with the gravy/au jus. Well it was quite an endeavor, but the recipe was a relative success!! I added some rosemary to the hashbrowns, as well as sauteed onions of course. And the sauce did turn out to be more of a gravy than au jus (beef stock, Worchester, and a little apple cider vinegar added to a roux)...but it was good. It was SOOOO much more flavorful than the typical hashbrowns you get. Much more depth because of the different root veggies. And the onions made it sweet! I think I'm going to experiment a bit with it...make the hashbrowns even more crispy (you really gotta stop those starches from exploding all over the place!), and try to make more of an au jus. In any case, the entire Easter Brunch as a whole was amazing. My mom made a spinach soufflé that was absolutely delicious. I don't know if I could make a soufflé! My sister made corn bread muffins from scratch (!) with maple butter...as well as a quick fruit salad (bananas, mango, honeydew). And of course brunch isn't brunch without bacon :) Later in the afternoon we had this outstanding orange cake my mom made for my grandpa for his birthday. It's got triple sec in it I think? Totally soaked in it!! Just to die for...I think I want to start requesting it for MY birthday ;)
#50 - See #49, I switched 'er up to the Turnip which I, of course, added to the hash. Yum stuff!
#54 - I have to make an appt...my hair is getting way too long!
#64 - I made it to the Grand Canyon YIPPIE!!!!!! I will post some AZ pix tomorrow if I get some time :) as well as a nice discussion...
#69 - Well, I completely forgot to donate blood during winter. I was supposed to on Dec 27th but that got pushed back. Then I got the flu and didn't want to endanger anyone? Well, I feel like if I at least get the donation in before March ends, that's fair enough, so I'm donating tonight. Hopefully my arm doesn't suck and I succeed!
#95 - On a Pale Horse is reading real quick! I love it!
Alright more tomorrow...
Monday, June 4, 2007
sunshine on my shoulders
It isn't shining today, but it's semi-officially summertime (post Memorial Day), and time to get crackin on some 101 list items. To begin: This month's atypical food of choice is papaya. As for the give-up food, I'm really struggling with this one...I was still on vacay for two days of June and, aside from candy, ate every kind of food I possibly could...so do I give up candy for a second month in a row? And if so, does Watermelon Bubblicious count as candy? Cuz I just had some of that. I could do 'no eating after 7:00pm'...unless it's my actual dinner. See last night I ate some wheat thins and had a bowl of cereal around 9:00pm, but that was my dinner...so we'll just go that route. I like it!
Now, things to cross off: not much. But I DID take trip! First off, I know I said a "surprise" trip, but this was along the lines of a surprise as I didn't know I'd be tagging along until John and I broke up and I was no longer going to Arizona. THUS, we'll call it a surprise. Here is a quick list of everything I did because I know you wanna know:
Indiana:
-Lunch and shopping in Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis
Kentucky:
Louisville-
-4th St. Live and dinner Makers Mark Lounge in Louisville, KY
-Louisville Slugger factory tour (free mini bat included!)
-Tour of the Ohio River on the Belle of Louisville steamboat (classic country lunch of fried chicken and all the fixins included!)
-Stop at the Jim Beam distillery
Horse Cave/Cave City-
-Kentucky Down Under (Australian zoo where you get to pet kangaroos, emu, and sheep of various kinds!)
-Tour of Mammoth Cave with dinner at the most excellent Mammoth Cave Hotel restaurant: the Travertine...HIGHLY recommend)
Tennessee:
Nashville-
-Tour of the Belle Meade Plantation
-Very short tour of the Cheekwood Gardens
-Dinner at Sunset Grill with drinks at Dan McGuinness's
-The Parthenon! Or rather a replica of the Parthenon to scale and everything!
-Breakfast at the famous Loveless Cafe
Memphis-
-Lunch at the Commissary: real Tennessee BBQ!
-Drinks at Flying Saucer (where you drink 200 different beers in order to get your name engraved on a plate and put up on the wall)
-Dinner at Blues City Cafe on Beale St. complete with free show: Gary Hardy and the Memphis Two
-Tour of both Stax and Sun Studios
-Shopping on Beale St. with lunch at Rum Boogie Cafe, the best restaurant in Memphis in my opinion. Two words: Gator Gumbo.
-Mud Island: a mini replica of the southern half of the Mississippi River (I believe from about the Ohio River area down to the Gulf of Mexico)
Missouri:
St. Louis-
-Custard at Ted Drewes
-The fact that our hotel room was on the 9th floor and we had a balcony facing the Mississippi, and more importantly the GIANT ARCH
-Dinner at Charlie Gitto's
-Arch tour
-Courthouse tour: Dred Scott trial
-St. Louis Zoo (free!!!)
-Dinner at Chuy Arzola's: the best fajitas and margaritas in the world
-Drinks at Laclede's Landing (Morgan Street Brewery)
Voila! It was a truly amazing road trip...I haven't packed that much into a trip ever...not even on my road trip out east back in 2001! Plus it was nice to spend some quality time with the fam ;) We all cracked each other up like you wouldn't believe. I probably haven't laughed that hard and often in quite some time :D
Alright, so one giant item is now crossed off the list.....with still many more to go.
Things in the works:
-INKYTNMO scrapbook
-Pilates 30 Day Challenge: 19 more sessions to go!
-Organize linen closet
-Jazz in the Park and the East Town Market open this week!
-along with the old 'to-do' items like soundtracks/hipster geocache, box purse sitch, donating blood and finishing up He's Scared...(and starting my Floyd Collins bio). So I've got quite a bit on my plate! Hopefully now that I'm back, I can stop wasting all my time. Ok not wasting, just spend it more efficiently?
Now, things to cross off: not much. But I DID take trip! First off, I know I said a "surprise" trip, but this was along the lines of a surprise as I didn't know I'd be tagging along until John and I broke up and I was no longer going to Arizona. THUS, we'll call it a surprise. Here is a quick list of everything I did because I know you wanna know:
Indiana:
-Lunch and shopping in Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis
Kentucky:
Louisville-
-4th St. Live and dinner Makers Mark Lounge in Louisville, KY
-Louisville Slugger factory tour (free mini bat included!)
-Tour of the Ohio River on the Belle of Louisville steamboat (classic country lunch of fried chicken and all the fixins included!)
-Stop at the Jim Beam distillery
Horse Cave/Cave City-
-Kentucky Down Under (Australian zoo where you get to pet kangaroos, emu, and sheep of various kinds!)
-Tour of Mammoth Cave with dinner at the most excellent Mammoth Cave Hotel restaurant: the Travertine...HIGHLY recommend)
Tennessee:
Nashville-
-Tour of the Belle Meade Plantation
-Very short tour of the Cheekwood Gardens
-Dinner at Sunset Grill with drinks at Dan McGuinness's
-The Parthenon! Or rather a replica of the Parthenon to scale and everything!
-Breakfast at the famous Loveless Cafe
Memphis-
-Lunch at the Commissary: real Tennessee BBQ!
-Drinks at Flying Saucer (where you drink 200 different beers in order to get your name engraved on a plate and put up on the wall)
-Dinner at Blues City Cafe on Beale St. complete with free show: Gary Hardy and the Memphis Two
-Tour of both Stax and Sun Studios
-Shopping on Beale St. with lunch at Rum Boogie Cafe, the best restaurant in Memphis in my opinion. Two words: Gator Gumbo.
-Mud Island: a mini replica of the southern half of the Mississippi River (I believe from about the Ohio River area down to the Gulf of Mexico)
Missouri:
St. Louis-
-Custard at Ted Drewes
-The fact that our hotel room was on the 9th floor and we had a balcony facing the Mississippi, and more importantly the GIANT ARCH
-Dinner at Charlie Gitto's
-Arch tour
-Courthouse tour: Dred Scott trial
-St. Louis Zoo (free!!!)
-Dinner at Chuy Arzola's: the best fajitas and margaritas in the world
-Drinks at Laclede's Landing (Morgan Street Brewery)
Voila! It was a truly amazing road trip...I haven't packed that much into a trip ever...not even on my road trip out east back in 2001! Plus it was nice to spend some quality time with the fam ;) We all cracked each other up like you wouldn't believe. I probably haven't laughed that hard and often in quite some time :D
Alright, so one giant item is now crossed off the list.....with still many more to go.
Things in the works:
-INKYTNMO scrapbook
-Pilates 30 Day Challenge: 19 more sessions to go!
-Organize linen closet
-Jazz in the Park and the East Town Market open this week!
-along with the old 'to-do' items like soundtracks/hipster geocache, box purse sitch, donating blood and finishing up He's Scared...(and starting my Floyd Collins bio). So I've got quite a bit on my plate! Hopefully now that I'm back, I can stop wasting all my time. Ok not wasting, just spend it more efficiently?
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