You know, people talk about how women are confusing. We're not confusing. Just do it our way and it's all good. Simple, right?
Last year after the wedding, I chopped off my hair. I had been growing it out for the wedding because I knew I wanted to wear it up. My hair was beautiful that day, but a few weeks after, the hair had driven me to the brink of insanity and I chopped it all and had a very cute, very professional hairdo.
Of course all those scrunchies in my top dresser drawer had become superfluous, but I felt free of the scraggly, frizzy hair. My hair has JUST enough wave in it to frizz out and kink when there is a touch of humidity in the air. Alternatively, it's flat and lifeless.
However, several months after the wedding Jason and I were looking through honeymoon pictures and he said, "Oh, your hair was so long and pretty there."
Oh.
Not that I am a slave to my husband's preferences, but I had been thinking about growing my hair out again (because I'm a glutton for punishment apparently) and besides, who doesn't want her husband to think she's pretty? And Jason so rarely expresses a preference for anything I do regarding my appearance that when he does*, I want to indulge him.
So a couple of days ago I had reached that point where my hair was driving me nuts and felt flat and blah and when I looked at the pictures of my short hair again I thought, That was super cute! I should do that again.
Last night I casually mentioned to Jason that I was thinking about cutting my hair short again like I did right after we got married.
He nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yeah, your hair looked really good like that."
...
Oooookay.
So I'll be making an appointment to get my hair cut because, as usual, Jason doesn't really have a preference. He just likes me no matter how I come I guess.
Anyone want a scrunchie?
* Don't get me wrong, I know he's attracted to me and he says I'm pretty and all that, but he never really points out specific things he likes.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Knitting
Question for crafty people out there. I'm knitting a baby blanket and it's coming along nicely except the sides are curling. Is there any way to make that stop? Am I doing my end of the row stitches too tight or something?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Items of Note
Item 1: The forecast is calling for mixed rain and snow tomorrow. Seriously? Can't we at least wait until November for those kind of shenanigans?
(So I'm kind of secretly excited because I do love the snow, despite my 8 hour commute in the December Debacle of '07. However, by March I will be wanting to punch my excited self in the face.)
Item 2: Although I kind of like having longer hair, I'm taking a poll as to whether I should chop my hair again. Because it was pretty cute.
(So I'm kind of secretly excited because I do love the snow, despite my 8 hour commute in the December Debacle of '07. However, by March I will be wanting to punch my excited self in the face.)
Item 2: Although I kind of like having longer hair, I'm taking a poll as to whether I should chop my hair again. Because it was pretty cute.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Yesterday Was Also My Anniversary
Thank you, everyone, for your congratulations! I'm so glad everyone else was so confident for me. As the results day got closer I felt more and more convinced that I didn't pass. I mean, I literally MADE UP the law on 2 1/2 essays. Apparently that's A-OK in Rhode Island.
Yesterday morning I couldn't find my keys and was frantic because I wanted to leave earlier so I could stop by the Courthouse and see if the results were posted yet. While I was searching for my keys, I heard both the 8:02 and the 8:03 buses* go by. Jason very sweetly pulled himself out of bed and drove me over to the Courthouse and then to work.
I went to the Clerk's office and one of the ladies there said the results would be posted outside at around 1. To which I thought, "Come ooooon! I know you have the list right there behind that counter with you."
I had lunch with a friend and went to the Courthouse afterward. When I saw my name on the list, I realized just how stressed I had been because I almost started crying right there. Then I called Jason and my parents and sent emails to a bunch of other people. Who also said that they had never doubted me.
Also of note: yesterday was Jason's and my first anniversary. I'm so glad I passed the Bar and didn't have any reason to rain on the anniversary parade. We're going out of town this weekend, so we focused more on the Bar yesterday and went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with Brandon and Sarah. Then we bought Rock Band 2, which has more songs with women singers**, and went home and rocked out. I'm getting better on the drums. Rock Band 2 actually had a couple of songs that almost stumped Jason on Expert guitar***.
Jason and I confirmed with each other that we are still glad we got married. We still deal with issues that when boiled down turn out to be mainly roommate issues. We've both made concessions in that regard, although I'm still pretty insistent that the house needs to be sanitary and the litter box needs to be changed on a regular basis. Call me anal.
We've always known that in many ways we're very different from one another. He's not really that romantic hero I used to dream about when I watched way too many romantic comedies, but then, who is? I'm not so much the logical science-type girl. I think our differences help to balance each other in the areas where we as individuals tend to be extreme. And he surprises me all the time with how sweet and attentive he is in ways that I didn't even realize I needed. This whole marriage thing is turning out to be pretty nice.
* Yet there's not another one until 8:25. What's the logic behind that one, RIPTA?
** Though not my favorite rockin' out song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", which apparently has already been snatched up by Guitar Hero. Lame. You can't even sing along with Guitar Hero. What's the point of having awesome singing along songs when there's no singing?
***Yes, he is a super overachiever in pretty much every way you can think of. Yes, it gets annoying.
Yesterday morning I couldn't find my keys and was frantic because I wanted to leave earlier so I could stop by the Courthouse and see if the results were posted yet. While I was searching for my keys, I heard both the 8:02 and the 8:03 buses* go by. Jason very sweetly pulled himself out of bed and drove me over to the Courthouse and then to work.
I went to the Clerk's office and one of the ladies there said the results would be posted outside at around 1. To which I thought, "Come ooooon! I know you have the list right there behind that counter with you."
I had lunch with a friend and went to the Courthouse afterward. When I saw my name on the list, I realized just how stressed I had been because I almost started crying right there. Then I called Jason and my parents and sent emails to a bunch of other people. Who also said that they had never doubted me.
Also of note: yesterday was Jason's and my first anniversary. I'm so glad I passed the Bar and didn't have any reason to rain on the anniversary parade. We're going out of town this weekend, so we focused more on the Bar yesterday and went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with Brandon and Sarah. Then we bought Rock Band 2, which has more songs with women singers**, and went home and rocked out. I'm getting better on the drums. Rock Band 2 actually had a couple of songs that almost stumped Jason on Expert guitar***.
Jason and I confirmed with each other that we are still glad we got married. We still deal with issues that when boiled down turn out to be mainly roommate issues. We've both made concessions in that regard, although I'm still pretty insistent that the house needs to be sanitary and the litter box needs to be changed on a regular basis. Call me anal.
We've always known that in many ways we're very different from one another. He's not really that romantic hero I used to dream about when I watched way too many romantic comedies, but then, who is? I'm not so much the logical science-type girl. I think our differences help to balance each other in the areas where we as individuals tend to be extreme. And he surprises me all the time with how sweet and attentive he is in ways that I didn't even realize I needed. This whole marriage thing is turning out to be pretty nice.
* Yet there's not another one until 8:25. What's the logic behind that one, RIPTA?
** Though not my favorite rockin' out song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", which apparently has already been snatched up by Guitar Hero. Lame. You can't even sing along with Guitar Hero. What's the point of having awesome singing along songs when there's no singing?
***Yes, he is a super overachiever in pretty much every way you can think of. Yes, it gets annoying.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Suggestions?
Question: Where is a good place to drive to from Providence for a short trip?
Here's the situation. Our first anniversary is Monday. We planned to go up to Maine for 4 or 5 days in a reprise of our honeymoon. However, last year the leaves changed a bit late and we hit Maine when it was still gorgeous. This year, the leaves are at their peak right now, according to Maine foliage sites. By next week a storm could come through and blow them all away. You never know in New England.
We're still fine with going there, but are considering our options. We have flexibility because we haven't made reservations anywhere since last year we had no problem finding rooms because we were up there late in the season.
So starting in Providence, and spreading out to, say, a 250-mile radius, where would be good places to go?
Here's the situation. Our first anniversary is Monday. We planned to go up to Maine for 4 or 5 days in a reprise of our honeymoon. However, last year the leaves changed a bit late and we hit Maine when it was still gorgeous. This year, the leaves are at their peak right now, according to Maine foliage sites. By next week a storm could come through and blow them all away. You never know in New England.
We're still fine with going there, but are considering our options. We have flexibility because we haven't made reservations anywhere since last year we had no problem finding rooms because we were up there late in the season.
So starting in Providence, and spreading out to, say, a 250-mile radius, where would be good places to go?
Lame to the O
I somehow managed to take 27 pictures of my cooking and the various stages of such this past weekend, but did we whip out a camera to take any pictures of my birthday party? That would be no. Darn it! It was such an awesome conglomeration of old friends and new friends. The fact that new friends came make me feel like I am actually settling into Providence.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Bus People
So here's the thing. Providence is a city of contrasts. They have done up the downtown area and built a big mall and have Waterfire every couple of weeks during the summer. The neighborhood we live in is really pretty and full of large Victorian homes*.
However, we live just barely on the "right" side of Hope Street, meaning we're about 3 or 4 blocks from the park where all the drug deals go down. Jason's cousin used to live on the wrong side of Hope Street and someone was murdered just down the street from him. He moved. It's weird because Hope Street really is a dividing line. I have been for many walks around my neighborhood, enjoying the big homes and nice gardens, and never felt unsafe. But all sorts of crazy stuff happens once you cross that street.
In Providence and surrounding areas you have neighborhoods like ours and then you have really, really depressed areas with old broken-down factories and mills. My boss lives in a really ritzy town. My church is located in a town that is, shall we say, not so ritzy. There are a lot of extremes.
Those extremes come together at Kennedy Plaza downtown. That's the big bus depot where I take the bus to and from every day. There are those of us who actually work downtown and then there are the people who just don't have anything better to do with their time so they hang out at the bus depot. Around normal morning and evening rush hours, it's pretty calm. However, sometimes I take the 7:00 PM bus and since most people leave work at 5:00 that means there aren't very many commuters on the 7:00 bus. So there are some interesting folks.
Also, I go over once a month in the middle of the day to get my bus pass and that's when I run into the people who really just hang out at the bus station. As in, "What are you gonna do today?" "Oh, you know, hang around the bus station."
I have stories.
A couple of months ago a man and a woman who, to use a friend's phrase, looked like they had been rode hard and put away wet**, got off one of the buses and started yelling at each other as they walked along the platform about 10 feet away from one another.
Woman: "You almost got me arrested!"
Man: "What?!"
Woman: "You almost got me arrested!"
Man: "What?!"
Woman: "You almost got me arrested!"
Man: "What are you talking about?"
Woman: "You made me so mad! I was gonna hit you and the bus driver saw me."
Man: "Yeah."
Woman: "He was gonna call the cops. You almost got me arrested! I was gonna hit you."
This conversation continued until they reached a bench and sat down next to each other, talking more quietly. But their conversation was occasionally punctuated by the woman exclaiming, "You almost got me arrested!"
Then last week I came out of my building and heard yelling. I thought someone was performing spoken word or something in the park across from the bus station because sometimes they set up microphones and speakers and people perform. As I got closer to the station I realized that, no, it wasn't someone on a microphone, it was a man yelling really, really loudly. REALLY loudly. My office building is a couple blocks away.
He wasn't really yelling at anyone, just kind of yelling towards the street. Loudly. I couldn't understand him at all, but he was upset about something. At one point he stopped for a minute, but then started up again. This continued for the entire 10 minutes I was waiting for my bus. All I could think was, I bet his throat is really raw at night.
I have to give kudos to the woman who was sharing the bench with him, calmly reading her book. Everyone else was standing at least 20 feet away.
One day I was on the bus and a teenager with a baby recognized another teenager with a baby and they started talking. Loudly enough that I could hear them halfway down the bus. One of them started explaining who her baby father was. Not "baby daddy"; "baby father". Did she think that classed it up?
Then we have last night, which is what got me thinking about all of this. I was standing on the platform, waiting for the 6:30, which is always late, reading, when this man walked straight up to me and, standing uncomfortably close, asked "What's she reading?"
I assumed by "she" he meant me.
I was kind of flustered at the close-talking and just said, "Dracula***."
He said, "Ah...Dracula. Okay then."
Then he squeezed my arm and said, "You have a nice day," as he walked away.
I said, "You too" because I never really know what to say in those situations, but what I really thought was, Hi, Stranger Man. Don't touch me.
So, yeah. Bus People.
* But rent is cheap. Woo hoo!
**I don't think the woman had any teeth.
***Really good book, but I'm at this point in the story where the rampant misogynism in the guise of chivalry is getting out of control. Makes it hard to concentrate on the story.
However, we live just barely on the "right" side of Hope Street, meaning we're about 3 or 4 blocks from the park where all the drug deals go down. Jason's cousin used to live on the wrong side of Hope Street and someone was murdered just down the street from him. He moved. It's weird because Hope Street really is a dividing line. I have been for many walks around my neighborhood, enjoying the big homes and nice gardens, and never felt unsafe. But all sorts of crazy stuff happens once you cross that street.
In Providence and surrounding areas you have neighborhoods like ours and then you have really, really depressed areas with old broken-down factories and mills. My boss lives in a really ritzy town. My church is located in a town that is, shall we say, not so ritzy. There are a lot of extremes.
Those extremes come together at Kennedy Plaza downtown. That's the big bus depot where I take the bus to and from every day. There are those of us who actually work downtown and then there are the people who just don't have anything better to do with their time so they hang out at the bus depot. Around normal morning and evening rush hours, it's pretty calm. However, sometimes I take the 7:00 PM bus and since most people leave work at 5:00 that means there aren't very many commuters on the 7:00 bus. So there are some interesting folks.
Also, I go over once a month in the middle of the day to get my bus pass and that's when I run into the people who really just hang out at the bus station. As in, "What are you gonna do today?" "Oh, you know, hang around the bus station."
I have stories.
A couple of months ago a man and a woman who, to use a friend's phrase, looked like they had been rode hard and put away wet**, got off one of the buses and started yelling at each other as they walked along the platform about 10 feet away from one another.
Woman: "You almost got me arrested!"
Man: "What?!"
Woman: "You almost got me arrested!"
Man: "What?!"
Woman: "You almost got me arrested!"
Man: "What are you talking about?"
Woman: "You made me so mad! I was gonna hit you and the bus driver saw me."
Man: "Yeah."
Woman: "He was gonna call the cops. You almost got me arrested! I was gonna hit you."
This conversation continued until they reached a bench and sat down next to each other, talking more quietly. But their conversation was occasionally punctuated by the woman exclaiming, "You almost got me arrested!"
Then last week I came out of my building and heard yelling. I thought someone was performing spoken word or something in the park across from the bus station because sometimes they set up microphones and speakers and people perform. As I got closer to the station I realized that, no, it wasn't someone on a microphone, it was a man yelling really, really loudly. REALLY loudly. My office building is a couple blocks away.
He wasn't really yelling at anyone, just kind of yelling towards the street. Loudly. I couldn't understand him at all, but he was upset about something. At one point he stopped for a minute, but then started up again. This continued for the entire 10 minutes I was waiting for my bus. All I could think was, I bet his throat is really raw at night.
I have to give kudos to the woman who was sharing the bench with him, calmly reading her book. Everyone else was standing at least 20 feet away.
One day I was on the bus and a teenager with a baby recognized another teenager with a baby and they started talking. Loudly enough that I could hear them halfway down the bus. One of them started explaining who her baby father was. Not "baby daddy"; "baby father". Did she think that classed it up?
Then we have last night, which is what got me thinking about all of this. I was standing on the platform, waiting for the 6:30, which is always late, reading, when this man walked straight up to me and, standing uncomfortably close, asked "What's she reading?"
I assumed by "she" he meant me.
I was kind of flustered at the close-talking and just said, "Dracula***."
He said, "Ah...Dracula. Okay then."
Then he squeezed my arm and said, "You have a nice day," as he walked away.
I said, "You too" because I never really know what to say in those situations, but what I really thought was, Hi, Stranger Man. Don't touch me.
So, yeah. Bus People.
* But rent is cheap. Woo hoo!
**I don't think the woman had any teeth.
***Really good book, but I'm at this point in the story where the rampant misogynism in the guise of chivalry is getting out of control. Makes it hard to concentrate on the story.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sunday Night Dinner and More Apples Than You Can Shake a Stick At
Sunday's dinner:
Mustard-Glazed Pork Chops*
1/2 T. olive oil
1/4 small onion, minced
1/4 C. agave nectar
1 T. Dijon mustard**
1/8 C. cider vinegar
Pinch salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
4 pork chops (or about 10 oz. boneless pork loin, whatever you have on hand)
Directions:
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute minced onion for about 5 minutes, or until caramelized. Stir in agave nectar, mustard, and vinegar. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Cook pork chops in a pan over medium heat, brushing mustard glaze on each side when you turn. Continue cooking until pork is cooked through - about 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness of pork.
The next recipe was inspired by us having picked about 10 pears at the apple orchard, some of which were starting to get mushy. I also had half a butternut squash left from my reprise of the Apple, Leek and Butternut Squash Gratin that I made last Wednesday.
Whipped Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash and Pears***
2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
5 pears - peeled, cored and chopped
1 C. fat-free evaporated milk
2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 C. turbinado (raw) sugar
4 T. butter
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cloves
1/8 t. ground ginger
1/4 C. apple cider
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake the sweet potato and butternut squash slices either in the oven or in the microwave until soft. ( I put all the slices in a microwave-safe bowl, put a few tablespoons of water in the bowl, covered with a wet paper towel, and microwaved for about 10 minutes.) Whip sweet potatoes and butternut squash until smooth.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, gently cook the pears 10 minutes, or until tender. They should be tender enough to mash with a wooden spoon or potato masher.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix the evaporated milk, vanilla, turbinado sugar and butter. Heat until scalded. Blend into the sweet potatoes.
Mix in the pear puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and apple cider.
(I know, it looks kind of gross, but trust me)
Transfer to a large baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven about 25 minutes, until bubbly around the edges. Remove from oven and let set for 5-10 minutes.
Yum!
On Sunday night/Monday morning, I canned applesauce.
Applesauce
24 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 T. lemon juice
3 t. cinnamon
2 t. vanilla
1/4 C. apple cider
1/4 C. water
Cook in crock pot on low for 9-10 hours, stirring occasionally to mix the ingredients and to mush up the apples. Uncover and cook for 2 more hours to get rid of some of the liquid. Can. I got 5 pints out of this recipe.
The applesauce actually turned out pretty tart, which may just be a result of the fact that we like tart apples so that's what we picked. I didn't add any white grape juice concentrate to sweeten this, but I probably should have. Even so, Brandon liked it, so I'll be packing a couple of pints off with him and Sarah when they leave for California. Next time I'll use sweeter apples.
The canning bug has hit everyone. A friend gave me a little jar of raspberry jam at my birthday party yesterday. I can't wait to try it.
* Adapted from this recipe.
**If you have access to Blue Cheese Herb Mustard from Stonewall Kitchen or similar, I would highly recommend it. We got the mustard at a little shop in Camden, Maine on our honeymoon almost a year ago and I used the very last of it for this recipe, then supplemented with regular Dijon. I need to pick up some more Blue Cheese Mustard because it's kind of amazing.
*** Adapted from this recipe.
Mustard-Glazed Pork Chops*
1/2 T. olive oil
1/4 small onion, minced
1/4 C. agave nectar
1 T. Dijon mustard**
1/8 C. cider vinegar
Pinch salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
4 pork chops (or about 10 oz. boneless pork loin, whatever you have on hand)
Directions:
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute minced onion for about 5 minutes, or until caramelized. Stir in agave nectar, mustard, and vinegar. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Cook pork chops in a pan over medium heat, brushing mustard glaze on each side when you turn. Continue cooking until pork is cooked through - about 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness of pork.
The next recipe was inspired by us having picked about 10 pears at the apple orchard, some of which were starting to get mushy. I also had half a butternut squash left from my reprise of the Apple, Leek and Butternut Squash Gratin that I made last Wednesday.
Whipped Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash and Pears***
2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
5 pears - peeled, cored and chopped
1 C. fat-free evaporated milk
2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 C. turbinado (raw) sugar
4 T. butter
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cloves
1/8 t. ground ginger
1/4 C. apple cider
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake the sweet potato and butternut squash slices either in the oven or in the microwave until soft. ( I put all the slices in a microwave-safe bowl, put a few tablespoons of water in the bowl, covered with a wet paper towel, and microwaved for about 10 minutes.) Whip sweet potatoes and butternut squash until smooth.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, gently cook the pears 10 minutes, or until tender. They should be tender enough to mash with a wooden spoon or potato masher.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix the evaporated milk, vanilla, turbinado sugar and butter. Heat until scalded. Blend into the sweet potatoes.
Mix in the pear puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and apple cider.
(I know, it looks kind of gross, but trust me)Transfer to a large baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven about 25 minutes, until bubbly around the edges. Remove from oven and let set for 5-10 minutes.
Yum!On Sunday night/Monday morning, I canned applesauce.
Applesauce
24 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 T. lemon juice
3 t. cinnamon
2 t. vanilla
1/4 C. apple cider
1/4 C. water
Cook in crock pot on low for 9-10 hours, stirring occasionally to mix the ingredients and to mush up the apples. Uncover and cook for 2 more hours to get rid of some of the liquid. Can. I got 5 pints out of this recipe.
The applesauce actually turned out pretty tart, which may just be a result of the fact that we like tart apples so that's what we picked. I didn't add any white grape juice concentrate to sweeten this, but I probably should have. Even so, Brandon liked it, so I'll be packing a couple of pints off with him and Sarah when they leave for California. Next time I'll use sweeter apples.
The canning bug has hit everyone. A friend gave me a little jar of raspberry jam at my birthday party yesterday. I can't wait to try it.
* Adapted from this recipe.
**If you have access to Blue Cheese Herb Mustard from Stonewall Kitchen or similar, I would highly recommend it. We got the mustard at a little shop in Camden, Maine on our honeymoon almost a year ago and I used the very last of it for this recipe, then supplemented with regular Dijon. I need to pick up some more Blue Cheese Mustard because it's kind of amazing.
*** Adapted from this recipe.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Birthday Weekend Extravaganza!
Friday I turned 32, which just feels strange. I am now solidly in my 30's.
My grandmas have always been inspirations to me when it comes to feeling or acting your age. When Nana was in her 70's she always told me she felt about 25. I'm starting to understand what she meant, and I hope that I still understand when I'm 70. I love that my 70+ year-old grandparents would stay up until midnight or 1 AM playing wild card games with their best friends, who were 20 years younger than them.
My other grandma, Mamaw, always had a convertible when I was young throughout her 50's and was totally bummed when she realized it just wasn't practical to get the convertible Firebird several years ago. So she got a Camaro.
I figure I have the genetic predisposition for a young attitude even as the years go by.
So Friday was the big day, but there was a surprise 30th birthday party up in Boston for our friend Deborah that we went to instead of doing anything for my birthday. I didn't mind because obviously she was celebrating a milestone. Jason said we would have a birthday weekend for me instead. When we got home Friday night there was a bouquet of pretty Autumn flowers to kick off the weekend.
Saturday we just had a nice day at home, watching our backlog of Netflix movies, while I canned some apple butter. Saturday night Jason took me to our favorite fancy French restaurant and then we went down to Waterfire and came home smelling like campfires, which I love.
Sunday morning we went to church and then Sunday afternoon we took a nap because we stayed up much too late Saturday night and apparently we can't rock like we used to. I made us a great dinner on Sunday night (recipes coming tomorrow).
Today, Jason, Brandon and Sarah banded together to throw me a great birthday party. Old friends from Boston and new friends from Providence all came to celebrate with me. Once it got down to the last few people, we played some Rock Band, which Kristen really got into. Then Jason's aunt and uncle who were in town came by for a bit. Now it's just me, Jason, Brandon and Sarah left. They're playing some Rock Band and I'm writing.
Good birthday weekend.
And guess what? Jason got me the towels!
My grandmas have always been inspirations to me when it comes to feeling or acting your age. When Nana was in her 70's she always told me she felt about 25. I'm starting to understand what she meant, and I hope that I still understand when I'm 70. I love that my 70+ year-old grandparents would stay up until midnight or 1 AM playing wild card games with their best friends, who were 20 years younger than them.
My other grandma, Mamaw, always had a convertible when I was young throughout her 50's and was totally bummed when she realized it just wasn't practical to get the convertible Firebird several years ago. So she got a Camaro.
I figure I have the genetic predisposition for a young attitude even as the years go by.
So Friday was the big day, but there was a surprise 30th birthday party up in Boston for our friend Deborah that we went to instead of doing anything for my birthday. I didn't mind because obviously she was celebrating a milestone. Jason said we would have a birthday weekend for me instead. When we got home Friday night there was a bouquet of pretty Autumn flowers to kick off the weekend.
Saturday we just had a nice day at home, watching our backlog of Netflix movies, while I canned some apple butter. Saturday night Jason took me to our favorite fancy French restaurant and then we went down to Waterfire and came home smelling like campfires, which I love.
Sunday morning we went to church and then Sunday afternoon we took a nap because we stayed up much too late Saturday night and apparently we can't rock like we used to. I made us a great dinner on Sunday night (recipes coming tomorrow).
Today, Jason, Brandon and Sarah banded together to throw me a great birthday party. Old friends from Boston and new friends from Providence all came to celebrate with me. Once it got down to the last few people, we played some Rock Band, which Kristen really got into. Then Jason's aunt and uncle who were in town came by for a bit. Now it's just me, Jason, Brandon and Sarah left. They're playing some Rock Band and I'm writing.
Good birthday weekend.
And guess what? Jason got me the towels!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Apples, Part 3
Yesterday's adventures included making apple butter AND canning it.
As you may or may not know, I'm trying to eat healthy (overlooking the Death By Chocolate cake I ate for my birthday) and probably half of my extended family has Type 2 Diabetes or is in some level of pre-diabetes. So my goal was to make apple butter that was, relatively speaking, healthy, and that didn't have a lot of - or any - refined sugar in it.
This was not easy. Most apple butter recipes call for 3 to 5 cups of sugar dumped on top of the apples. I'm sure the apple butters taste great, but apples are kind of sweet anyway, right? Whenever I buy applesauce, I only buy applesauce with apples and nothing else in it and it's perfectly sweet.
I found one recipe that mentioned substituting some type of fruit juice concentrate for sugar and I thought, of course! When I was in junior high my family stopped eating refined carbohydrates and we ate and made lots of things sweetened with fruit juice. This was before no-sugar stuff was so easy to find and before Splenda took over the world.
So this is my apple butter recipe, cobbled together from several recipes I found online and containing no refined sugar.
Kelly's Apple Butter
15 or so apples*, cored and chopped. I used a mix of McIntosh, Cortland, Empire and Liberty because that was what was all jumbled together in our bags from the orchard.
1 1/2 C. white grape juice concentrate
1 C. apple cider
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1 t. allspice
Apples in the crock pot
Mix all the ingredients together in the crock pot.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove lid and continue cooking for an hour or two - long enough to cook away some of the liquid. I stirred the apples every couple of hours to make sure everything was blended together and to mash up the apples as they cooked.
Can the apple butter. I got 4 pints out of this batch because the apples cooked down a lot.
(1 pint is in the fridge. We ate some on toast this morning. Jason is a new apple butter fan)
This was my first experience with canning and I used directions from Southern Plate.** I really liked her directions because they were practical and didn't assume that I had all this fancy canning equipment (which I don't). I also liked them because she said you could get that fancy stuff if you want, but this is the way her mother did it. Good enough for me.
I'm going to put in a plug for one of my favorite kitchen accessories (probably number 3 behind the crock pot and the Whirley Pop): the apple corer, peeler, slicer.
This is a bit dark, but we wanted to show you the magic:
And on another note, Jason got me some lovely Autumn flowers for my birthday.
* Other recipes called for pounds of apples and I just thought, really, how much is a pound of apples? All of my apples are different sizes so there's no continuity. Basically I cored and chopped until my crock pot was almost full.
** Warning: this site contains a lot of amazing-sounding Southern recipes. I kind of want to just hunker down and make some buttermilk biscuits and slather them up with my apple butter on one side of the plate, and sausage gravy on the other. Because when you used to have a Southern accent, saying things like "hunker" and "biscuits" and "sausage gravy" all in the same breath comes naturally.
As you may or may not know, I'm trying to eat healthy (overlooking the Death By Chocolate cake I ate for my birthday) and probably half of my extended family has Type 2 Diabetes or is in some level of pre-diabetes. So my goal was to make apple butter that was, relatively speaking, healthy, and that didn't have a lot of - or any - refined sugar in it.
This was not easy. Most apple butter recipes call for 3 to 5 cups of sugar dumped on top of the apples. I'm sure the apple butters taste great, but apples are kind of sweet anyway, right? Whenever I buy applesauce, I only buy applesauce with apples and nothing else in it and it's perfectly sweet.
I found one recipe that mentioned substituting some type of fruit juice concentrate for sugar and I thought, of course! When I was in junior high my family stopped eating refined carbohydrates and we ate and made lots of things sweetened with fruit juice. This was before no-sugar stuff was so easy to find and before Splenda took over the world.
So this is my apple butter recipe, cobbled together from several recipes I found online and containing no refined sugar.
Kelly's Apple Butter
15 or so apples*, cored and chopped. I used a mix of McIntosh, Cortland, Empire and Liberty because that was what was all jumbled together in our bags from the orchard.
1 1/2 C. white grape juice concentrate
1 C. apple cider
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1 t. allspice
Apples in the crock pot
Mix all the ingredients together in the crock pot.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove lid and continue cooking for an hour or two - long enough to cook away some of the liquid. I stirred the apples every couple of hours to make sure everything was blended together and to mash up the apples as they cooked.Can the apple butter. I got 4 pints out of this batch because the apples cooked down a lot.
(1 pint is in the fridge. We ate some on toast this morning. Jason is a new apple butter fan)This was my first experience with canning and I used directions from Southern Plate.** I really liked her directions because they were practical and didn't assume that I had all this fancy canning equipment (which I don't). I also liked them because she said you could get that fancy stuff if you want, but this is the way her mother did it. Good enough for me.
I'm going to put in a plug for one of my favorite kitchen accessories (probably number 3 behind the crock pot and the Whirley Pop): the apple corer, peeler, slicer.
This is a bit dark, but we wanted to show you the magic:
And on another note, Jason got me some lovely Autumn flowers for my birthday.
* Other recipes called for pounds of apples and I just thought, really, how much is a pound of apples? All of my apples are different sizes so there's no continuity. Basically I cored and chopped until my crock pot was almost full.** Warning: this site contains a lot of amazing-sounding Southern recipes. I kind of want to just hunker down and make some buttermilk biscuits and slather them up with my apple butter on one side of the plate, and sausage gravy on the other. Because when you used to have a Southern accent, saying things like "hunker" and "biscuits" and "sausage gravy" all in the same breath comes naturally.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
???
Why does Jason think I'm kidding when I tell him I want Calvin Klein towels for my birthday? Seriously, have you felt those things? It would be like wrapping ourselves up in clouds.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Small World
Dateline: Fall 1994
I am a college freshman at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. I have probably mentioned this before. I loved Vermont and hated Middlebury. I was not prepared for dorm life - particularly dorm life with no rules. I visited friends at other schools that year and they all had secure dorms with quiet hours. I lived in a dorm where people wandered in at all hours and the partying never stopped and my neighbors regularly played their electric guitars at 3 AM. Plus, I was this uptight little Mormon girl. Then there was the fact that the school was really remote and I had no car. Oh, and my roommate was literally a little crazy and her boyfriend (who the neighbors nicknamed "Scar") moved into our dorm room about a month after school started and wouldn't leave. Basically, I was miserable and sleep-deprived.
The one bright spot was the group of friends I made early on and who kept me from throwing myself off the roof of my dorm during that first semester. Mark, Rachel and Kirsten kept me sane, mostly because even though they weren't Mormon, they weren't into partying either. So while everyone else was drunk, we would hang out. Also, Kirsten and Rachel let me sleep on their floor when Scar moved in.
For Thanksgiving, Kirsten invited Rachel and me to her family's house in Massachusetts. That weekend she took us on excursions to Harvard Square in Cambridge and Thayer Street in Providence. That was the first time I had ever been to either city.
At the end of fall semester, Kirsten transfered. I transfered at the end of the year.
Now fast forward 14 years to today. Guess who I just ran into at a downtown Providence lunch spot? Kirsten. Turns out she's an attorney too and we work across the street from each other. We're having lunch next week. Can you say random?
I am a college freshman at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. I have probably mentioned this before. I loved Vermont and hated Middlebury. I was not prepared for dorm life - particularly dorm life with no rules. I visited friends at other schools that year and they all had secure dorms with quiet hours. I lived in a dorm where people wandered in at all hours and the partying never stopped and my neighbors regularly played their electric guitars at 3 AM. Plus, I was this uptight little Mormon girl. Then there was the fact that the school was really remote and I had no car. Oh, and my roommate was literally a little crazy and her boyfriend (who the neighbors nicknamed "Scar") moved into our dorm room about a month after school started and wouldn't leave. Basically, I was miserable and sleep-deprived.
The one bright spot was the group of friends I made early on and who kept me from throwing myself off the roof of my dorm during that first semester. Mark, Rachel and Kirsten kept me sane, mostly because even though they weren't Mormon, they weren't into partying either. So while everyone else was drunk, we would hang out. Also, Kirsten and Rachel let me sleep on their floor when Scar moved in.
For Thanksgiving, Kirsten invited Rachel and me to her family's house in Massachusetts. That weekend she took us on excursions to Harvard Square in Cambridge and Thayer Street in Providence. That was the first time I had ever been to either city.
At the end of fall semester, Kirsten transfered. I transfered at the end of the year.
Now fast forward 14 years to today. Guess who I just ran into at a downtown Providence lunch spot? Kirsten. Turns out she's an attorney too and we work across the street from each other. We're having lunch next week. Can you say random?
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Apples, Part 2
In my continuing effort to use all of our apples, I made the following for Sunday night dinner:
Apple Pork Tenderloin
2 1/2 to 3 pound tenderloin
1 onion, halved and then quartered
4 medium parsnips, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
4 apples, peeled and chopped
6 large sage leaves, chopped
1/2 C. apple cider
3/4 C. water
1 T. apple cider vinegar
A little salt and pepper
Brown the sides of the tenderloin in a skillet. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 7-9 hours.
Before cooking:
Ready to eat:
Not to be all happy homemaker, but I really do think the crock pot is a brilliant invention. We had to be up in Boston for the day so I just turned on the crock pot and left it to simmer away while we were gone.
Also in the happy homemaker vein, I got the tenderloin for a steal. They opened a new grocery store kind of near us and had Cokes on sale, so of course we had to go by and restock. Here's a picture of our soda tower:
Jason is very dedicated to the entire Coca Cola catalog. I am dedicated to organizing the sodas by flavor and making sure our soda runs include a few 12 packs of Diet Dr. Pepper.
Anyway, on our way there I flipped through the store's weekly ad and discovered they had tenderloin for $1.77 a pound. They meant serious tenderloin. The one we bought weighed ten pounds and was longer than my arm. However, we paid $18 for it, while the regular price was something like $54. Let's hear it for bargain shopping. And we have 3 more 2 1/2 to 3 pound tenderloins sitting in the freezer.
Next up for the apples: apple butter. After some searching and some asking around, I got a call yesterday from a friend, who informed me that she spied a ton of canning jars at Benny's*. We didn't get a chance to stop by there yesterday, but I plan to go tomorrow and pick up a bunch.
* Benny's is kind of like Pic 'n' Save or The Christmas Tree Shop, only more ghetto. They have a little bit of everything in the world, but if you poke around, you can find some good stuff. It's where I got my tomato plant stakes for $1. Benny's is Jason's favorite store. Piles of crap on shelves for cheap prices. It's his Shangri-La.
Apple Pork Tenderloin
2 1/2 to 3 pound tenderloin
1 onion, halved and then quartered
4 medium parsnips, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
4 apples, peeled and chopped
6 large sage leaves, chopped
1/2 C. apple cider
3/4 C. water
1 T. apple cider vinegar
A little salt and pepper
Brown the sides of the tenderloin in a skillet. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 7-9 hours.
Before cooking:
Ready to eat:
Not to be all happy homemaker, but I really do think the crock pot is a brilliant invention. We had to be up in Boston for the day so I just turned on the crock pot and left it to simmer away while we were gone.
Also in the happy homemaker vein, I got the tenderloin for a steal. They opened a new grocery store kind of near us and had Cokes on sale, so of course we had to go by and restock. Here's a picture of our soda tower:
Jason is very dedicated to the entire Coca Cola catalog. I am dedicated to organizing the sodas by flavor and making sure our soda runs include a few 12 packs of Diet Dr. Pepper.
Anyway, on our way there I flipped through the store's weekly ad and discovered they had tenderloin for $1.77 a pound. They meant serious tenderloin. The one we bought weighed ten pounds and was longer than my arm. However, we paid $18 for it, while the regular price was something like $54. Let's hear it for bargain shopping. And we have 3 more 2 1/2 to 3 pound tenderloins sitting in the freezer.
Next up for the apples: apple butter. After some searching and some asking around, I got a call yesterday from a friend, who informed me that she spied a ton of canning jars at Benny's*. We didn't get a chance to stop by there yesterday, but I plan to go tomorrow and pick up a bunch.
* Benny's is kind of like Pic 'n' Save or The Christmas Tree Shop, only more ghetto. They have a little bit of everything in the world, but if you poke around, you can find some good stuff. It's where I got my tomato plant stakes for $1. Benny's is Jason's favorite store. Piles of crap on shelves for cheap prices. It's his Shangri-La.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Apples, Part 1
What do you do with two giant bags of apples?
Tonight I did this:
Apple, Leek and Butternut Squash Gratin
Recipe from Whole Living.
We also had shrimp cocktail and Prince Edward Island mussels made using this recipe. Also yummy.
Tonight I did this:
Apple, Leek and Butternut Squash Gratin
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium leeks, white part only, trimmed of roots and tough outer leaves, thinly sliced crosswise, well washed and dried
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, plus leaves for garnish
- 1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and sliced 1/8-inch thick
- 1 pound apples, such as Gala, Cortland, Baldwin, or Macoun, peeled, halved, cored, and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 10-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add leeks and 2 tablespoons water; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add sherry and sage and cook until liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 3 minutes; set aside.
- In a 2-quart shallow baking dish, arrange squash in overlapping layers; season with salt and pepper. Spread leeks evenly over the squash.
- Arrange apples in an overlapping layer over the leeks. Brush apples with remaining tablespoon oil. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 45 minutes.
- Uncover and sprinkle cheese over the top. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is golden brown. The tip of a paring knife should easily pierce the gratin. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe from Whole Living.
We also had shrimp cocktail and Prince Edward Island mussels made using this recipe. Also yummy.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Debatable
I thought both Biden and Palin did fine last night. Palin much more so than I thought she would.
However, I found myself getting really annoyed by her relentless "folksiness" and cutesy-pie moves (winking, "Say it ain't so, Joe."). As a woman, honestly, that kind of stuff annoys me in real life too. The cute girl who makes men melt by tilting her head to the side while looking wide-eyed. I'm hoping the American public is too smart to simply melt, but sometimes I'm not so sure.
I was also annoyed by the fact that I don't think she ever really answered one question that was actually asked. She got close with some of the energy questions. I think one of the reasons she did "well" is because she stuck to her talking points and said the same things over and over again, whether or not those talking points happened to answer the question. Biden also obviously had his own agenda to get through to people, but I thought he did a much better job of framing his points in the context of answers to the questions the moderator asked.
I know people love folksy, and want someone to lead who they can go have a beer with. I don't understand that rationale. When I think of who I want leading the country, I want someone who I think has a brain and knows something about diplomacy and what is going on in the world. Thus, I have never understood the appeal of George W., a complete buffoon on his best days. But, hey, you can go hang out on his ranch and shoot the sh** with him any day. At least that's the perception.
So if we're talking about the person who I want "a heartbeat away" from the presidency, I'm going to have to go with Biden.
Interesting fact-checking article.
However, I found myself getting really annoyed by her relentless "folksiness" and cutesy-pie moves (winking, "Say it ain't so, Joe."). As a woman, honestly, that kind of stuff annoys me in real life too. The cute girl who makes men melt by tilting her head to the side while looking wide-eyed. I'm hoping the American public is too smart to simply melt, but sometimes I'm not so sure.
I was also annoyed by the fact that I don't think she ever really answered one question that was actually asked. She got close with some of the energy questions. I think one of the reasons she did "well" is because she stuck to her talking points and said the same things over and over again, whether or not those talking points happened to answer the question. Biden also obviously had his own agenda to get through to people, but I thought he did a much better job of framing his points in the context of answers to the questions the moderator asked.
I know people love folksy, and want someone to lead who they can go have a beer with. I don't understand that rationale. When I think of who I want leading the country, I want someone who I think has a brain and knows something about diplomacy and what is going on in the world. Thus, I have never understood the appeal of George W., a complete buffoon on his best days. But, hey, you can go hang out on his ranch and shoot the sh** with him any day. At least that's the perception.
So if we're talking about the person who I want "a heartbeat away" from the presidency, I'm going to have to go with Biden.
Interesting fact-checking article.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
V. Important
I finished the 3rd (and last) season of Veronica Mars last night while eating Chinese food with Sarah and Brandon (Jason had choir rehearsal). Sarah warned me about 2 episodes ago that the ending was kind of unsatisfying. She is the queen of the understatement.
The episode ended and Sarah said, "Yeah, so that's it."
I said, "No, there's another disc."
Turns out Disc 6 was just special features.
Okay, I understand the producers/directors/writers hoped that it would be renewed for a 4th season, but they must have had some inkling that it might not be and would resolve a couple of things for their loyal fans who had stuck with them through 3 seasons. But they resolved NOTHING! EVERY main character and plot point was left completely open. Up in the air. Forever.
And even though I enjoyed the show, I am a little miffed that I just spent, um, a LOT of time watching 3 seasons of it for such dissatisfaction. I'm going to pretend that everything resolves nicely and that she ends up with the boy I want her to be with and THAT's how it ended.
The episode ended and Sarah said, "Yeah, so that's it."
I said, "No, there's another disc."
Turns out Disc 6 was just special features.
Okay, I understand the producers/directors/writers hoped that it would be renewed for a 4th season, but they must have had some inkling that it might not be and would resolve a couple of things for their loyal fans who had stuck with them through 3 seasons. But they resolved NOTHING! EVERY main character and plot point was left completely open. Up in the air. Forever.
And even though I enjoyed the show, I am a little miffed that I just spent, um, a LOT of time watching 3 seasons of it for such dissatisfaction. I'm going to pretend that everything resolves nicely and that she ends up with the boy I want her to be with and THAT's how it ended.
Happy October!
It's my favorite month. I kicked it off last night by having some pumpkin and molasses ice cream from Kimball Farm.
I'm hoping for a great month. The 10th is my 32nd birthday (holy crap. 32.). The 18th is my parents' 33rd anniversary. The 20th is Jason and my 1st anniversary AND the day I find out if I passed the Bar AND the day my mom will hopefully* be having shoulder replacement surgery.
The leaves are starting to change a little around here. We went up to Massachusetts to pick apples a couple of days ago and just a little bit north of us the trees are bursting into color. I love it.
I'm so in the spirit that I let a saleslady talk me into buying a dark orange sweater. I have never liked orange, but it is a pretty shade and when I tried it on to get Sarah's opinion as to whether I should take it back, Jason saw it and told me, completely unsolicited, that I looked awesome. Then he followed that up with saying how all my other clothes are such boring colors**, but the orange was interesting. I've found I need to take the compliment and overlook the foot in mouth that sometimes follows with Jason.
* I say hopefully because this surgery has been put off and put off and put off for almost a full year now. So amazingly frustrating!
**Um, I'm wearing a bright turquoise sweater today. Monday I wore a bright green top. My clothes are so not boring colors.
I'm hoping for a great month. The 10th is my 32nd birthday (holy crap. 32.). The 18th is my parents' 33rd anniversary. The 20th is Jason and my 1st anniversary AND the day I find out if I passed the Bar AND the day my mom will hopefully* be having shoulder replacement surgery.
The leaves are starting to change a little around here. We went up to Massachusetts to pick apples a couple of days ago and just a little bit north of us the trees are bursting into color. I love it.
I'm so in the spirit that I let a saleslady talk me into buying a dark orange sweater. I have never liked orange, but it is a pretty shade and when I tried it on to get Sarah's opinion as to whether I should take it back, Jason saw it and told me, completely unsolicited, that I looked awesome. Then he followed that up with saying how all my other clothes are such boring colors**, but the orange was interesting. I've found I need to take the compliment and overlook the foot in mouth that sometimes follows with Jason.
* I say hopefully because this surgery has been put off and put off and put off for almost a full year now. So amazingly frustrating!
**Um, I'm wearing a bright turquoise sweater today. Monday I wore a bright green top. My clothes are so not boring colors.
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