12.28.2008

NYE

Our final opportunity to demonstrate poor behavior in 2008.

Cocktails at 5:30 p.m.
1375 Kenyon Street
Apartment 320

Table Reserved for 7:00 p.m.
Mie n Yu
Georgetown

Let's get crunked.




Becca and Nicky we will miss you!!  I'm posting this because my email confirmation didn't load properly and this picture reminds me of that dinner we had once at the olive garden where we made many drunken scenes.  


Also, can Quinn read the blog?

 

Becca said





Becca said to post our holiday pictures too...
I can't wait to see everyone (except Nicky :( whom I will miss, but as Erin says, we will toast to you) on New Years. This year will be extra special because we have grad schools and an engagement to celebrate. Also, my cousin (pictured above) is ALIVE! I am so thankful that she has been able to overcome so much!

12.27.2008

because the last time i posted was when i lost my virginity...

seriously. i think it was.

so, first of all, i want to congratulate erica on all the wonderful things that have happened to her this month slash month and a half. i am so happy for you and matt. and i am so proud and happy for law school success :)
i look forward to hearing about your very own successful office coup in the near(ish) future.

becca, i got your message and jumped in joy about erica's engagement with you :) i miss you so much.

also, i hope both you and abby had excellent birthdays.

abby and liz, i'm so excited to see you soon :) yay new years :)

gwyn, i looked in my room and couldn't find your scarf :( have you heard from b and p? i also look forward to seeing you again soon :)

nicky, we will miss you for new years and drink at least 4 in your honor ;)

i, currently, am trying very hard to get my mom wasted on margaritas :) otherwise, i don't have too much new to report. nick is still undecided about going back to school or not. and it's driving me crazy because i really like slash possibly love him and i don't know whether to tell him or not because i don't want it to seem like i'm telling him just because he's leaving and i don't know if he wants to stay together after he leaves....argh. boys suck. similarly, i just found out that my uncle's best friend from college lives in costa rica, and i might possibly be able to get a job down there through him. so i don't know how long i'll be around either...sigh. i need another margarita... :) but. my job still sucks and has actually gotten worse because i've noticed recent ethically questionable decisions made by my company...

wow. i should really stop. i didn't mean to turn this post into a venting session about my life :) i blame it on tequila. i'm actually doing alright :) but miss those of you whom i don't regularly see excrutiatingly. i hope this email made sense :)

love you all,
erin

12.26.2008

Because there's a blog...

I will make an additional announcement in this public (I use this term loosely) forum.

Engaged!  To my favorite person in the world.  I couldn't be happier.

Matt proposed on Christmas Eve before my parents' annual holiday event.  

The faintest flurries dotted the wooded landscape where we were hiking behind my parents' house when he popped the question.  We returned to celebrate with 30 alcoholics (my mom's side) at my family's party, where I was told by my teary eyed uncle that "I got my christmas wish because I really love that guy... no really...love.. him..." and I wonder whether he's swinging both ways these days.  Uncle JC later revealed himself to be equal opportunity when he told dirty stories and nearly followed home my jewish co-worker who I had, acting on a grievous error in judgement, invited to seek refuge from the holiday at my family's gathering.  Overall it was a great celebration, and hangover-worthy for sure.  

I'm very excited for Matt's and my brilliant future filled with matching pajamas, stoner movies and adventures.




And bonus:  Matt has a really sweet ass.












another one bites the dust... ;)

12.23.2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!! I love you all very very much!

It's Christmas eve and the crazy students and teachers are still at school. They were shocked when I told them even the school office workers don't come into school during Christmas holidays. Tomorrow I will be taking a vacation day and celebrating the Christmas holiday on the ski slopes in a santa hat. MWAH!!!! I miss you all very very much. I hope my secret santa receiver received their present and i think i sent a card or two as well?

That was a pic of me around Christmas time last year, hugging the bad out of the bad spirit in Korea.

And that is a pic of our Christmas day hike last year.
Will post this years christmas pictures, but my camera batter is dead and i lost the charger :(. Please post your pictures too!!!!

12.16.2008

Happy Birthday Abby!

Just pretend I posted this on Saturday... ;)



A gluten free veggie garden cake for Abby. Happy birthday, Abstigale! Yay 26! Your grandma is hilarious. What awesome ladies!


And going further back in time to Friday...



Pretty dogwood cake for Becca. I wish I could really make these for you guys!

12.11.2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECCA!!!

BECCA IS 25!!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!
We all love you very much and are sad that you are not with us (not that the rest of us are hanging out right now or anything) on this joyous occasion. I am speaking for everyone, and I assume this is cool. Actually, Liz is not sad that you are away. She is glad. J/K!
On a related note, funny/bizarre birthday card from my grandmother:

"Dearest Abby,
Many many happy returns of the season.
I hope your birthday will be a joyous one in spite of the recent events in your life.
I'm surprised I'm still alive but I guess God has plans for me!
I wonder how I knew instantly that Barack is a special person and that war is the very last thing that we need.
Much love,
We are very proud of you,
Grandma"

I think I see where I get my idiosyncratic way of writing emails/letters...

12.05.2008

Juris Doctorate


I will be attending the Washington College of Law at American University in Fall 2009.  I was admitted early decision this morning, and received an email from Dean Grossman.

I also applied to Georgetown, the University of Miami and Boalt.  I will withdraw my applications though as AU is binding.

I LOVE AU's law school.  They do progressive incredible work and are opening an immigrants rights center that I hope to become involved in.  The Dean is a Chilean refugee who is the Chairperson of the UN committee against torture.  He takes several students each year to trips abroad to meet with various foreign officials on good will missions.

I'm waiting to hear about Fulbright in January.

12.01.2008

December!







Hello friends!
ha, I'm listening to the Cure and wrote, "Hello Friday" at first. Not that "Friday I'm in Love" is even the song that's on, but I imagine that's from where the mistake came.
Thanksgiving in Abby Ithaca: Andrew and I broke up (again, this time for real) and he took the pie that I had baked his family with him to NJ for their dinner. I went up to ABC and a bunch of us had a potluck. I baked another pumpkin pie for that. From scratch (including baking my own pumpkin) and gluten-free crust! Yum.
The day before Thanksgiving (the 26th) was the day I finished all of my application materials, printed them on the resume paper left over from senior year's "From Book bag to Briefcase"-inspired professional period, and mailed it all in. The GRE scores came in the mail that day, too (don't ask), so everything got in (phew!) and I should know pretty soon if I am going to be in school in the Spring! Oh, I guess I need an interview first. Dang. Well, that'll be cool, though, since I can check out the campus and see if I jive with the faculty. For anyone I haven't talked to much about this, it's a Masters of Science in Teaching program at SUNY Cortland, and I'm planning to do a concentration in special ed. Yeah, I'm thinking about being a special ed. teacher. Well, obviously, right, since I'm applying for this program.... Anyway, once I've gotten a teaching certificate I can pursue being a School Psychologist. And that's still the end goal.
Jack's doing well. He's out of food so we're about to go to the pet store to get some fresh chow. I made him some scrambled eggs earlier, after he finished his last bowl of dog nuggets.
Secret Santas:
Let's post our addresses, if we're doing it through mail!

Abigail and Jack Rotholz
410 Madison St.
Ithaca, NY 14850

And, I've included some photos... descriptions probably are not in the correct order...
One is the day we got a new washing machine (Liz on left, Laura in foreground, friend Suzie on right). One is Laura kissing me at the Ultimate Frisbee championship after she and I each won the "Spirit Award" from our respective teams. Then sunset over Cayuga Lake, Jack being held by friend Vanessa, Liz helping me carry flowers from the garden up to ABC to decorate (back in August).
Okay, love to you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Just-Gone Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a fabulous time and that you had good food and time to relax.

Thanksgiving down here was good. We had my parents, Mik's parents and my sister here in Florida with us and it couldn't have gone better! Everyone got along, had fun and was surprisingly relaxed. I am so glad that we got that out of the way before the wedding! We catered most of the Thanksgiving meal (thank god, given our TINY kitchen) but made roasted onions and potatoes, sweet potato casserole and Mik and his Dad made a slow-roasted lamb. All very good (apologies for those of you offended by the lamb). Friday, we went and toured Vizcaya, which is just gorgeous any way you slice it. After that we headed to the newly reopened Fontainebleau for drinks and then out to Christabelle's Quarter for Mik's birthday. The next day, after eating most of our leftovers whew!, everybody headed home. That left us with Sunday to relax and we even found time to put up our (fake) xmas tree. A good weekend!

What about you all? How were the Thankgiving festivities?

In Xmas/Holiday news, you should all have gotten your Secret Santa draw, let me know if you didn't! Can't wait, love you all!

11.16.2008

Upcycling for Xmas

Thought this might appeal to you, my environmentally minded friends :)

http://en.espritcabane.com/celebrations/christmas-stars.php
PS Becca, I got your post card!!!

11.11.2008

Inauguration?

Who wants to get together on January 20th (Tuesday) to tromp around downtown and celebrate Obama being sworn in???

11.03.2008

I heart Halloween.

Matt was Willy Wonka!  I was the green absinthe fairy.  Erin was Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (but she was trapped at Lush working all night, which blew).  On Friday we went to Rock and Roll Hotel which was decorated fantabulously.  Becca Z came too and she was a can can dancer.  We were very surreal moulin rougish.  I didn't take pictures :-(  but I think my friend Andrea (Sarah Palin) did.  This one was taken by one of Matt's co-workers.



10.31.2008

Dressing up?

Are you guys getting snazzy for the big H?
Why was Erin in Las Vegas??

10.24.2008

Vegas?



Erin, how was Vegas? (Aside from there not being enough Elvis impersonators...)

10.21.2008

Vegan Orange Spice Cake

I tweaked this cake that I found in Joy of Cooking and just tasted it - soo yummy. Its also cool that I have all these vegetarian cook books, but I found the recipe in Joy of Cooking!

Here is the recipe from the book:

Ultra-Orange Cake (Vegan)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour 8" cake pan or line bottom with parchment/wax paper

Whisk together in large bowl:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add and stir until smooth:

1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour batter in pan, bake for 30-35 minutes, cool for 10 min, remove from pan and peel off paper (if used), cool on rack.

I made it a spice cake and added about 1/3 - 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, alspice, ground cloves, and nutmeg. (I didn't have any ginger.)

I sprinkled powdered sugar over one and I made a glaze with powdered sugar and orange juice for the other. The glaze was really good but made it super sweet. If you don't want it to be as sweet, the recipe says you can reduce the amount of sugar by 2 tablespoons.

Also, I got a job pouring wine and serving cheese at a farm shop that is part of Kluge winery and vineyards out near Monticello. I don't have to know much about wine and it in a gorgeous area. I start Thurs so cheers to me not embarassing myself!

Erica

10.20.2008

Yummy yum yum!


This is a recipe I found online that looks SO GOOD!  I think I'm gonna make it tonight, but I figured you guys might like to see it too.

~Gwyn


Borlotti Bean Mole with Roast Winter Squash

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe, primarily to communicate amounts in a way that is a bit more approachable to American cooks. If you don't have fresh beans on hand, cook up a pot of dried ones. If you can't find borlotti beans feel free to substitute pinto beans or another bean of that nature. Chiles can vary in heat, so if you are sensitive, start with less, you can always add more later on in the cooking process if you like. Dennis recommends serving this mole with tortillas, polenta, mashed potatoes, or potato cakes.

~1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) fresh borlotti beans
~1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) winter squash
olive oil
4 - 5 big leaves of kale (3 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 - 4 red jalapeno chiles, halved, seeded, and chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound of fresh plum tomatoes, chopped or 14-ounce can
2 teaspoons paprika
1 ounce of almonds, dark roasted and finely ground
2 ounces dark 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
salt

Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas mark 4. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, add the borlotti beans and cook for about 10-15 minute until they are just cooked or even slightly undercooked. Drain and cool under cold running water, and set aside.

Cut the squash flesh into good-sized chunks, about 2 cm or 3/4-inch squares, place them in a roasting pan and toss with olive oil. Roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes until caramelized on the outside but still firm. Reduce the oven temperature to 130C/ 250F / Gas mark 1/2. (hs note: alternately, you can brown the squash in a skillet.)

Without removing the central stem, cut the kale across the leaf into 2cm / 3/4-inch slices. Melt the butter into an oven-proof casserole dish (pot) and fry the onion and chilies gently over a low to medium heat for 20-30 minutes, until caramelized. Add the garlic and fry for three minutes more. Add the tomatoes and paprika, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the ground almonds, chocolate, squash, borlotti beans, kale, and a teaspoon of salt. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Cover the casserole and put it in the oven to cook gently for 2 hours.

Serves 4.

Hope you guys are having a good fall so far!  I just got back to Ithaca from a visit to Queens University up in Canada for a math conference, and the leaves up there were all bright red and gold and yellow, so I'm in such an autumn mood.

On the note of fall, you guys have any plans to celebrate the last of fall?  Thanksgiving-y stuff?

~Gwyn

10.19.2008

Jack

Pumpkin courtesy of Comus Farmer's Market.
Candles courtesy of Sunbeam.
Extreme dorkiness resulting in halloween tableau photography courtesy of Nicky Tilley's influence.

10.14.2008

I got a job!

Woo hoo! I am now a marketing associate at a circulation company called ProCirc. Basically, they do the marketing for magazines all over the country. I'll be working on 4 specific pubs with my boss, Lee. She seems pretty laid back and like she could be a good mentor. So excited! They gave me the salary I wanted with benefits and 401K after 90 days. More info as it comes!

10.05.2008

Nicky and Liz drive this bus to blue town!



Hey Florida, North Carolina and Virginia residents-- get out there!!  We NEED you!!!

Liz or Nicky- if either of you is volunteering for the Obama camp and needs help going door to door or whatever let me know and I can try to come help.

Also Abbers, I'm sorry to hear what you're going through right now with Andrew... If you want to come take refuge in DC and get drunk and eat ice cream, get on a bus gus!  I can imagine it might be hard to be around him right now, perhaps you should encourage him to move to Ohio and register to vote as soon as possible.

10.03.2008

Abby update

Hola Fellas (it has a feminine ending, I swear),
Happy birthdays!! We've got us, what, two more 25s?
Erica, how old are you now, 21? HAHAHAHAHHA. I love you.
Here's a nice picture Andrew took of me this past weekend in the garden.

Notice that the carrot I harvested is white. They are all coming up albino. What the heck?
In related news, he and I broke up shortly after it was taken. Well, a few days after. On Tuesday night. We just kept having the same fights and neither of us felt willing to modify who we are to accommodate the other. I still want to be with him, and there are no hard feelings, but I'm just not willing to be in a position where I don't feel the same level of appreciation and respect that I put out there. And to him, I'm too hard to trust/too much of a flirt and unapologetic about it. I mean, I'm not saying that those things aren't true, but to him they fall near "dealbreaker" on the spectrum of relationship annoyances. Anyway, I don't think he's very happy right now, and that, I believe, is really the biggest factor underlying the discontent.
Speaking of ex-boyfriends, Jiban contacted me! Strange. I'm glad, though. It's nice to talk to him when he's not saying crazy things at 4 am, drunk on my parent's doorstep. I guess he and Doria were living together but broke up and moved apart. She has a different guy in her facebook picture now, anyway.
What else? I just ate a ton of ABC homefries left over from earlier today at the cafe. I hope I don't feel sick to my stomach in about five minutes.

9.30.2008

More Birthdays!

2 birthday cakes today, one incredibly belated (So sorry Gwyn!) and one early because I didn't want to be late again!

So here they are:

Happy Belated Birthday Gwyn! (Cake by megpi on Flickr)

and...


Happy Birthday Lizzy! (Cake by cakejournal.com)

We love you both!

9.29.2008

interesting article


read this and look at dumb bush's face. haha. 34 more days! yikes....its getting close and I:m scared for the future of America. Where did we go wrong? Corporations?
Anyways I haven:t gotten a chance to see all of the presidential debate...I think I:m going to try to watch the rest of it at work now since I have no classes. From what I did see of it I thought Obama was too focused on presenting McCain as another Bush and not as focused on immediate things which he could do for out country. It made me sad when McCain wanted to cut "wasteful" spending on things like studying bears. Maybe those bears are important to study! I hope a bear eats you McCain! I am afraid McCain is going to cut the budget on things we actually should be spending money on. The war in Iraq is so incredibly wasteful it makes me want to cry. Businesses operating in Iraq blow up vehicles that cannot be used for some inane reason or another just so they can get a new one. Why is our country so wasteful ACK!!!!!
I do enjoy the McCain turtle analogy...haha! I am pretty worried about Obama being able to handle the Iraq pullout. I think I:m too idealist because I just want people to be at peace with themselves and thus America and there to be no hatred in the world so then the President wouldn:t have to deal with terrorists or war in the first place. But there is no global bandaid to fix that problem...people have to change from within. Ignorance breeds hatred. Perhaps even my hatred of George W is ignorant.
PS. Lizzy, Sarah Palin youtube videos were funny
Trying to get my absentee ballot now! I agree that Obama is the man, but it scares me because I actually did think about voting for McCain for a hot minute. I used to like Obama alot more, I remember the first article I read about him a few years ago and I thought "wouldn:t it be cool if this guy made it" and now here we are. The President...it has got to be such a hard job, I:m glad someone wants to do it!

P.S. Book reccomendations for anyone interested in local food projects: "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbra Kingslover.

9.28.2008

Election...

So ladies...As you are all intelligent, political, socially-conscious women of today, I'm curious to know what you all are thinking as the real countdown to the election starts?

9.22.2008

Happy Birthday Erin!



With this completely inappropriate cake (which I would totally get you and I found on cakewrecks.blogspot.com which means at some point it has really existed), I wish you a happy day of birth Erin McSpadden! May you drink too much and have sloppy sex :)

9.20.2008

Pumpkin Soup yum yum yum and 2009 goodness

Hello, quadbloggers. PS. Nicky, I love the fall blog colors and leaves! yay seasonal themes.
Here is my addition to the fall recipe collection.
I made this soup last night for 3 people but it was the first time I made it and i didn't follow recipe so it ended up being enough soup to feed a small orphanage.
Anyways, here ya go:

Buy a Pumpkin ( I used a 1 and 3/4 of 2 Japanese pumpkings which are on the small side, so maybe a just a regular cooking pumpking or butternut squash would do)
then buy a potato or 2
saute an onion in oil or butter in a large soup pot
cut it up first though
I'm watching reality bites as I write this so it may be confusing
add some chopped cloves of garlic, Add peppercorns or cracked pepper
then cut up some carrots into large chunks of orangey goodness, add them to the saute for a minute while you finish chopping up the pumpkin, get out all the seeds and rinse them
add water to the pot (enough to cover the vegetables that you will soon add)
add the chopped up potato and chopped up pumpkin, let it boil
Peel and apple and cut it into chunks and throw those in
add some bouillion cubes. (Or, even better, if soup stock is available, use that instead of water)
let it boil. (Also add 1-2 bay leaves to the pot)
add some spices that you think would made it taste good. I added marjoman, a tad of basil, oregano, rosemary, nutmeg, thyme, maybe some parsley or corriander)
if you are drinking wine or beer, throw some of that in (I added white wine)
add a bit of sea salt
check the pumpkins, carrots, and potatos, when they are done, turn the stove off
Then comes the blender!
blend blend blend and make sure the you hold down the lid or it will explode all over your kitchen like it did to me.
you can leave some chunks of veggies in if you want it to be a little chunky. i accidentaly blended the bay leaves too, but you should take those out before blending.
Then add one chocolate chip
also, to thicken the soup, you can blend in some cornstarch in the blender.
Add the soup back to the pot (I had to blend it in at least 4 batches because I had so much soup)
Then add some milk or cream or half and half or whatever you have on hand to make it a little creamy. The potatos help with the creamy texture too. So you don't need very much cream.
If you are going to freeze some soup, freeze it before you add the milk
I served this with cous cous, toasty bread, and sausages
yogurt might also make an interesting addition swirled on top with some parsely although the sourness of the yogurt might detract from the creamyness of the soup.
but it was way too much food,
then i got indegestion because I inhaled the soup too fast

Ah, so please tell me if you try this recipe,
I'm curious.

Also, I am 60% likely going to go to Nepal to teach monks in Monastaries or hang out with Kids come August 2009, for 1 or 2 months, then I am interested in taking a road trip across the states, beginning Sept-oct, possibly working at some organic farms along the way. Is anyone interested in joining me for the road trip or Nepal? I won't do the road trip alone, so I was banking on Abby or going to wait. http://www.volunteer-nepal.org/volunteer-nepal_monastries.html
Theres the Nepal deal. I'd love for any/all of you to join me
And there is always time for South America, Erin :).

9.19.2008

I got a packet of Chocolate Fudge Sugar-Free, Fat-Free Pudding tonight. 

A)It tastes like eating brownie mix raw.
B)It is possible to eat an entire box in one sitting.

You're welcome.


9.14.2008

Pesto Spaghetti Squash

Hello! This is something that I made with the spaghetti squash that I grew in my backyard and basil from Andrew's garden. :)

Bake your spaghetti squash at 350 for an hour. (Slice it in half, put pieces face down in baking pan with a little bit of EVOO spread over the pan.) When it is cooked, scoop out the seeds, insides. Compost these. Scoop out the "flesh", put in a nice big bowl.
Make some pesto! Toast 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts in a toaster oven/oven. Set aside to cool. Put 3 cups fresh, washed basil in a food processor. Coarsely chop 3-4 cloves garlic, add these to basil, food process them. Add a pinch of nice sea salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, pine nuts to processor. When homogenized, scrape it all out into a bowl, mix in romano cheese to taste. 1/2 cup? I don't remember the recipe I used, so I just made this one up, based on the actual one as much as possible. When pesto is well mixed, pour it over the spaghetti squash and stir it all up! Sprinkle a bit more romano over top to make it look sexy and garnish with a sprig of basil.
Ta-da!

I want to marry rice noodles



I effing love them.




I will post pad thai, but Becca makes it better than me. She uses authentic ingredients like palm sugar. I also don't actually have a recipe. When I unpack my cook books, I will find one of my favs and post it for you guys.






And what goes better with pad thai than thai iced tea?
When you all come to visit us in Cville, I want to bring you to Monsoon, this little thai restaurant downtown that is in an old house. Its so yummy and has a really nice atmosphere.

9.13.2008

So Today Our Car Got Stolen...

...and then retrieved!

Last night, we decided to go out to a bar and then a restaurant with some new friends here in Miami. We parked the car in my FH's work parking garage. It's underground, and we thought, safer (and more free) than street parking. I grabbed my license out of my bag and threw my purse and sunglasses in the trunk of the car.

We had a few drinks and thought to be responsible we thought we'd walk home and leave our car and fellow pedestrians safe and sound.

Fast forward to this morning. We walk back to the parking garage only to discover...NO CAR! No car, no purse, no credit cards, no keys.

Fast forward again, the jokers who stole our car have been using my credit cards to buy liquor and fast food all over town. Fortunately, I'm not liable for any of the charges...but geez!!!! I'm pretty mad, mainly at myself for being dumb enough to leave my purse in my car. I thought at the time that leaving it in the trunk was better than having it in a crowded bar, but I was wrong. Boooooooooo to car thieves.

I have to say though, I'm super impressed with how the police, Bank of America, CHASE and various other authorities have helped us out so far. But man, this sucked the big ol' hairy balls.

You are never going to believe what happened a few hours later. The security company from the parking garage called. They had the car on camera driving up to the gate. You could see the shadows of the people in the car moving around, seeming to look for something. Then they pull a u-turn and drive out of camera range. The team let us know that was the last time that they were on camera. In other words, they couldn't find footage of them ever actually leaving with the car.

We decided to go check it out with the security team one last time, and after a long, sweaty search... We found the car! The thieves had stashed it behind a wall going the wrong way down an entrance ramp. It wasn't in the main garage, but kind of off in a tiny space reserved for the valet parking attendants. Crazy right? My purse was there with my empty wallet, the only things missing were: a road flare (seriously???), my credit cards, my car keys and our GPS system. Huge sigh of relief!!!! I can breathe again! We went to the police station and let them know. And now we're celebrating with sundaes.

Also, if you're in town, you should come to this:






I'm bringing drinks!



I'm bringing drinks, including this delightful seasonal cocktail: Autumn Sunset 

Ingredients:
1 tsp minced pumpkin puree, 1 oz brandy, ½ oz Calvados, 2 oz apple juice, ¼ oz grenadine, splash soda garnish and le cinnamon stick.

Put all ingredients except grenadine and cinnamon stick into cocktail shaker, shake vigorously and pour into a tall marti
ni glass. After pouring, drizzle grenadine on top so it falls to the bottom of the glass to create the effect of an “autumn sunset.” If you wish to drink this beverage hot, omit the splash of soda. Pour ingredients into 8 oz glass coffee mug, add 6 oz hot water, stir vigorously to blend. Add grenadine as above. Garnish with cinnamon stick plus three whole cloves.


I hope that each of you ladies is having a delightful end of summer. All is well in our nation's capital.


9.09.2008

Eggplant Parmesan Lasangna


OK, so I'll be honest, this is not the picture of the eggplants I used. Totally forgot to take a picture and this one is prettier! I'm lazy, but my amalgamation of recipes actually ended up being super good. Enjoy!

You will need:
1 eggplant (I like the shiny, dark purple variety)
Italian Bread crumbs
Eggs or Egg Substitute
A handful or two of shredded mozzarella
A handful or two of shredded parmesan
Pick one: ricotta (a couple cups) or some fresh mozzarella
1 jar of tomato sauce (We had a basil/tomato one which was good)

Start by preheating the oven to 350 F. Slice the eggplant into 1/2" slices. Sprinkle a little salt over the slices on both sides. Break the 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk them together or pour some egg substitute into a bowl. In a separate bowl, pour the bread crumbs. Dip the eggplant into the egg (both sides) and then the bread crumbs (both sides). Place in the oven on the wire rack (with aluminum or a cookie sheet underneath the rack) for 15 mins. (Leave the oven on when done.)

When the eggplant pieces are done, get out a casserole dish. Pour in some tomato sauce, then eggplant pieces, then cheese and repeat. Top with sauce and cheese. Make sure to cover all the eggplant pieces with sauce as they can dry out/burn. Put back in the oven for 30 mins.

Yummmmm...eggplant...

Here's a link to the gluten-free recipe I found:
http://tinyurl.com/6yaho7

9.02.2008

Hurricane Season

Did you guys know that this season lasts until NOVEMBER??? I just found out yesterday. Check out this picture of what's coming towards us now:

Craziness!

9.01.2008

Happy Labor Day

Is it too early to be excited about fall? I know its still summer and I don't want the days to get shorter, but Fall is my favorite. I am already liking how it gets cooler at night. I can't wait for the leaves to change and the air to get crisp. Thats all I have to say today. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the late summer sun.

8.19.2008

Tropical Storm Fay

Hi girls! So, I guess you all have probably heard about the storm, which is apparently hitting my house while I'm typing, but don't worry- it's really making landfall on the west coast of of florida. We're just getting a bad storm- lots of wind, rain, etc. Mik is fine (although sleeping downstairs on the coach away from windows) and the kitties are freaking out but fine also. :) Let's hope for not too much damage.

8.02.2008

And here are the photos!






here's my arm after being hit by the car, and some photos from your visit!

7.27.2008

Events unaccompanied by photos

Hey folks (to borrow Gwyn's signature term of endearment),
As some of you may have read in my response to Nicky's last post... my computer is being too slow and retarded to upload any photos! I have taken many photos recently, providing ample documentation of both the mundane and the eventful. I will try to get to Andrew's so I can use his computer to upload and supplement the update that follows:
Last week I was hit by a car. I was riding my bike to softball and it accelerated from a stop sign while I was crossing the road, apparently unaware of my biwheeled presence. It threw me from the bike and into the pavement. It was worse than any hit I had ever experienced in rugby (surprise). The wind was knocked out of me and I was in so much pain. I was lying in the roadway, unable to move, bleeding, with gravel forced under my skin from the abrupt impact. The dudes got out of the minivan with which they had wrecked me and talked calmly to me til the police and ambulance arrived. I didn't want to go to the hospital so I signed a release of liability/refusal of medical treatment form. The people that hit me had a first aid kit in their van and I used the alcohol wipes to wash the blood from my arm. As I had been on the way to softball, my friend Lisa (scorekeeper) soon appeared, also riding her bike to the fields. She was pretty freaked out by the situation. I gave her my uniform, cleats, glove and asked her to fill in for me. I asked the negligent drivers for a ride home. there was a lot of swelling and a bit of pain for a while, but now, a week later, I'm feeling almost back to normal. A friend who is trained in chiropractics (but not yet certified in NY) gave me some aligning free of charge and ABC and Sunbeam both offered me time off. I made myself go in and just worked in a limited capacity (other people had to lift things for me and I couldn't carry a lot of plates to a table at once, for instance) but I survived. Andrew was helpful and did dishes for me when I couldn't bend my right elbow. He also gave me back/neck massages to help ease the knots/spasms. Sweet sweet man.
Okay, what else!
My ultimate frisbee team (Ithaca Rec League) is the top seeded team in our league! Playoffs start this week. Wish us ("Thundercats" sponsered by "Sunnywood," now calling ourselves the "Sunnycats") the best! Andrew and Laura--my really great roommate you never got the meet!--are also playing in this league, so wish them second and third best, your choice.
Andrew and I went camping this past weekend. There were SO MANY mushrooms in the woods!!!! I took tons of pictures of this amazing fungi and hope to make an online album exclusively of these terrific mycocelia. Um... yeah... nerd talk, but hey! I am fascinated by mushrooms! Okay, peace out, quadly people.

7.23.2008

Post-Ithaca Glowiness




Hi there girls! Still basking in the post-trip glow (or possibly it's the Florida sun). Lizzy- we missed you more than any of us could say. I loved being in Ithaca with you all! The festival was very cool, and Ithaca is "gorges." Thank you Gwyn and Abby for being such amazing hostesses and tour guides!



As per the trip wackiness, the trip home was not smooth! My plane was delayed about an hour and a half due to a "ground stop" in Atlanta because of a wicked storm. Then they rushed us (as in, "10 minutes to board people!") onto the plane during a gap in the storm, and we made it all the way to Atlanta, circled a few times and then ran out of fuel. So, they diverted us to Charlotte, NC, along with about 14-20 other planes. Because of the crowing at Charlotte, they didn't have a gate for us, so we ended up on the runway (with everyone else). As we waited to get to a gate and refuel, ANOTHER storm moved in! Think lightning, wind rushing over the plane and rain that made it look like we were sitting in the middle of a pond. About 1/2 hour after it ended, we got a gate and refueled and managed to make it to Atlanta at 1:30. Since all of the planes into and out of Atlanta had been delayed, it was a madhouse! Customer Service had my connecting flight re-set for the next morning at 8:10, and I was all for sleeping (or rather, dozing while fitfully being woken by crying babies, pissed-off customers and loudspeakers) in the terminal, but Mik and my Mom convinced me to go to a motel. So glad I did! Today seemed normal because I actually got some sleep.



So there you go, I made it back. Whew! Much, much love!!!!!