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Sunday, October 9, 2011

Monday Mingle!

Back at it again with Jen @ Eighty MPH Mom!  Link it up or just stop by and visit!
Password is: misadventure
Enjoy!  :)
PS - I have one chunk of hair that will not stay put through this whole thing, and it kinda drove me crazy lol.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

iSad


I felt like I needed to change the post I had originally had scheduled for today, which will still be coming later, no worries.  In light of the passing of Steve Jobs yesterday, I thought I would do a little post in honor of him.
Now, I’m not an “Apple Fangirl” per se, though I do tend to love everything that gets put out by the company.  I will also say that since I “made the switch” 2 years ago and bought a MacBook Pro, I have never had ONE computer issue.  Not one.  And I adore my computer and won’t ever go back (sorry Bill!).
You know the thing that I like best about Apple though?  It’s not the sleek, simplistic look of their products.  It’s not that I’m trying to be a hipster.  (Lord knows that is NOT the case…lol).  It’s the fact that they don’t just sell products, they sell a lifestyle.  There is a cartoon that illustrates this point perfectly:

For some reason, Apple products make want to be better.  They make me feel like I can achieve things I wouldn’t have achieved otherwise.  They make me want to go out and DO things.  Is that a lot to be taking away from an electronics company?  Probably.  Is it too much to ask that the products you buy inspire you?  Steve Jobs didn’t think so.
I will admit that while I followed the news about product releases as much as the average Joe, I didn’t really read a lot about Steve Jobs himself until yesterday.  And you guys, it kind of did a number on me.  It made me sad, much sadder than I really anticipated, that the world lost such a brilliant mind so young.  He was a man with a vision.  He wanted to inspire, to create, to leave the world making an impact. 
And even though it made me sad, it also inspired me.  It reminded me that I wanted to do the same thing.  I wanted to go out into the world and create things and make the world a little better than it was when I got here.  I’ve been in my own little Cave of Doubt for so long now that I lost sight of where I wanted to go.  I want to make a dent in theUniverse.
Most of all, I will always remember and follow this advice:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.  Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking.  Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary."
"Stay hungry.  Stay foolish."

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

A little intro

So....yeah.  Here we are again.  Not posting on your blog in a while is like having a ridiculously long silence with a person you've just met.  It's all awkward and you don't really know what to say.
"So, nice weather we're having..."
*looks at cloudy sky"
"Yeah, great...."
*cough*
Anyway.

Things are going really well, better than they have in a long time actually.  I'm loving my job, I'm starting to get myself in a more stable place financially, and I'm staying busy.  Everything is still going in baby steps, but I'm at least *making* baby steps, and quite honestly, that feels awesome.
I'm having the most struggle with my finances...still...because whenever I get money, I immediately find things to spend it on, oops!  Seriously, it's a problem.  I think that if I kept up with my checkbook instead of putting in all my receipts from 3 weeks at a time it would probably help.  Somehow I've worked it into my head that if I don't subtract the money it just won't go away.  Makes sense right?  Unfortunately, the bank doesn't really agree with my logic there.  BUT, I am managing to pay all my bills completely and on time, and that's a big improvement, so YAY.  I will take the little wins where I can get them.
My goal this month is to post 2 to 3 times a week....I think I should have enough stories I can make that happen.  And my stories, I mean random bits of thoughts that go through my head every day.  I'm trying to wrangle them all up to make something cohesive, but it takes some time.  My mind is quite random lol.
This month is also when 2 of my charity events happen, so that will be exciting!  I'll let you all know how those go.  :)

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Monday Mingle!

It's time for Monday Mingle again!  To join in or if you just want to say hi, head on over and see Jen @Eighty MPH Mom!
Password for the video is: misadventure.
Enjoy!


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Monday Mingle

I'm late but still here!  Go over and see Jen @ Eighty MPH Mom for more mingles!
Password is: misadventure
Enjoy!


Untitled from Lauren on Vimeo.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Monday Mingle!

It's Monday Mingle time again!  Look at me go!  If you want to join in the fun, go on over to Eighty MPH Mom and link up!
Password is: misadventure
Enjoy!

I wanted to ask you guys too, I'm trying to come up with a good, geeky derby name.  I wanted something along the lines of these things:
Harry Potter
Star Wars
Lord of the Rings
Pirates
Currently, I may default to Death Starlet if I can't think of anything else.  Any other sort of good geek theme is of course welcome.  If you have any ideas, please leave them in the comments!

****Also, I would like to direct your attention over to the sidebar where it says "Support Lauren - Extra Life 2011."  I am raising money for the Children's Miracle Network and would LOVE your support!  Any donation is welcome and it's all tax-deductable!  PLEASE stop by if you have a moment.  Thank you!****



Untitled from Lauren on Vimeo.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Monday Mingle!

I have become the worst at remembering about this.  I happened to be in front of my computer when I remembered today though, so yay!  Go on over to see Jennifer @ Eighty MPH Mom and say hello to her and the other Minglers!  My password is: misadventure.  Enjoy!


Untitled from Lauren on Vimeo.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Variation of MadLibs

I got this meme from @subWOW on Twitter, her blog can be found here.  And the original link to the text is found here.  It looked really neat, so...without further ado, here is where I'm from.



I am from a ship, from Legos and morning sun.
I am from the South, warm, inviting, and full of sweet tea.
I am from the honeysuckle, the sweet fragrant blossoms.
I am from Scattagories on Christmas Eve and stubbornness, from Mom and Dad and my two siblings.
I am from the leaving ridiculously early and somehow still being behind.
From always say please and thank you, and you are perfect the way you are.
I am from what goes around comes around. Of kindness and acceptance and no judgement.
I'm from Poland, and peirogies and BBQ.
From the traveling cousin who called from Hawaii to surprise us, the random visits, and the many postcards.
I am from photo albums and storage sheds, boxes of things forgotten, but when looked at spark so many memories.  I am from making memories and keeping them safe with me always.


Friday, August 5, 2011

More stuff to come

I have a few good posts in the wings, but I haven't really had time to sit down and get anything to paper. Or screen, as it were. But I do have stories coming. Promise. And as soon as I get a good night sleep and an hour to myself I will let you in on what I've been up to.

Have a good weekend everybody.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Things I'm Looking Forward To

Now that I have a job, these are some of the things I'm looking forward to:

*The occasional cup of morning coffee from the roaster down the street.
*NOT having to work on a ever-changing schedule, holidays, or weekends.  F YES.
*Going to have dinner and a beer with friends.
*Sushi.  OMG.
*Joining a gym/fitness club/workout class/something to make me less fat.
*Getting back into crafting.  Which is a surprisingly expensive hobby.
*Getting a desk that I so badly need.
*Having my own desk/cube that is MINE and I can do with what I please. (It's stupid, but cubicles hold a special little place in my heart.)
*Not wondering where the money for my next bill is coming from.
*Another tattoo perhaps.
*Can we say....health insurance?  F YES.
*A professional cut and dye job for my hairs.  Maybe even a mani/pedi, I've never had one of those.
*New contacts.  The ones I have right now are such little troopers....they're about 4 months old.
*New Chucks!  Yeah!  I'm thinking a neon color of high tops.
*Affording to travel occasionally.

There are a lot of other things I'm looking forward to about having a job, but this is just a quick list from the top of my head.  I got the official word today, I start next Wednesday.  I'm currently out of town and I'll get back a couple days before I have to start.  Ahhhhhh.......you don't know how excited I am.  SO so excited.  Finally, something to do with myself during the week.  Finally, I don't have to worry about bills.

Finally.

Happy Birthday to me!

:)

Friday, July 29, 2011

It's like riding a bike....right?


I feel like I've forgotten how to blog.  Seriously.  I used to be so good at updating on a regular basis and now I pretty much suck....sorry about that.  It just seems like I haven't really done anything exciting or noteworthy lately that's worth posting about.  That's what happens when you're broke though, can't go anywhere.

I actually think I might start having things to post about again because.....

...are you ready?....

I finally GOT A JOB!

*confetti*

This is a big stinkin' deal, I've been unemployed for about 3 and a half months now, and I am down to my last penny.  But I've made it.  I don't know how, but I've made it.  And I'm SO excited.  Not gonna lie, when the gal called and offered me the job I almost cried I was so happy.  I get to start in a couple weeks on the 8th.  

Today's lesson:  Persistance and faith both have HUGE payoffs.  And they kind of go together, you need one to help the other along.

Sorry for such a quick, lame update.  More to come in the pretty immediate future!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

The Smoke Out

Well, I had quite an exciting evening yesterday.  It didn't start out exciting, nor did I ever really intend on it being exciting.  But here's what happened.

First of all, I should preface that the kitchen in our apartment is currently a giant disaster, most all of which is my fault.  I feel that I should also mention I had every intention of doing the dishes tonight as well.  However, that not being done yet, among other things, there was an empty pot on the stove that had one of those black plastic serving spoons in it.  This is very important.

Being hungry, I decided I was going to make some dinner and then tackle the mess that was (is) the kitchen.  So I get out a little pot, put it on the small burner behind said pot with spoon, and turn it on to boil some water for pasta.  You may already see where this is going.

Having done that, I went to the other side of the counter and sat at the table.  I figured I'd make a new playlist for my drive this week while I was waiting for the water to boil.  I should note that I do this all the time, because I hear when the water boils and then I just get up and tend to it.

So I'm sitting there, debating on happy, upbeat songs to go on my new playlist (Deer in the Headlights is my new fave by Owl City.  You should go HERE and watch it.), and all of sudden I sort of look up and think, "Huh, it smells like something is burning."  I figure that it's a crumb of something that had fallen under the heating coil, being something that also tends to happen often.  I get up to check it out.

Actually, before I even get up, I just turned my head toward the kitchen……and see a GIANT plume of smoke.  I shot out of my chair and into the kitchen where I see that the burner I thought I had turned on is still sitting there with a pot full of still cold, salted water.  The burner in front of it though - the one with the empty pot and aforementioned spoon - is emanating an alarming amount of smoke.  I quickly grab it and set it off of the burner, but it's far too hot for me to do anything else with it at the moment, and as I looked around I realized that the apartment was literally FULL of smoke.

I'm running around opening windows and turning on fans.  It should be noted here that neither our smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detectors went off, so that's safe.  (Side Note: I Googled "burning plastic" and it turns out it can emit toxic fumes, one of which is carbon monoxide.  So, you know, nothing like trying to gas myself in my own apartment.  Go me.)  Not being my most intelligent moment, I FINISHED COOKING MY PASTA (What? I was hungry…), and then sat in my camp chair outside the door to my apartment while I waited for the smoke to clear inside.

I did wind up finally meeting out next door neighbor, he's quite nice.  After I finished eating I checked inside and the smoke has mostly dissipated so I wandered back inside to do some more damage control.  Although the smoke was gone the apartment still smelled like a toxic wasteland, and I didn't really feel like staying there.  So I called up some friends of mine and asked if I could stay at their house for the night.  As it turns out, they were camping 30 miles away for the weekend, but told me I could come stay with them in their RV.
After quadruple checking that the stove was off, I packed a bag and left to meet them, leaving all the windows open to hopefully air the place out while I was away.  And so that's where I still am now, enjoying nature and friends and whatnot, and waiting for my apartment to air out.

Yep.  Just another normal day.  *sigh*

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Mythbusters!

I've discovered that there are a few seasons of Mythbusters on Netflix, so I've been doing a lot of watching the last couple days.  And although most of what they do on the show is not reproducible, I did see one thing that was fairly easy to do and works.  So here is my brief, silly video!  Password is: misadventure.  Enjoy!


Super Strong Phonebooks from Lauren on Vimeo.
 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Caffeinated and Waiting Redux

Like I promised, here is the link to the Hyperbole and a Half post that I've had in my head all day.  Besides being scarily accurate to my life, it makes me laugh for a good long while.  If you've never been to her blog, oh my goodness GO NOW.  I'll wait.

As for the rest of my life, well, it's doing well, but not a whole lot has been going on on a grand scale.  Mostly I've been sitting around my apartment looking for work and sending out resumes.  If there is anyone out there who would like to hire a pleasant, good-natured individual, drop me a line in the comments would ya?  I'm really quite handy.  Like a Swiss Army knife.  That sounds like it should be it's own post actually, which I might keep and use since blog fodder for me these days is running a little low.  I did make a week-long trip up to the summer theatre I usually work at (but decided not to this year), which of course lead to some mild adventures as well.  Not the least of which is how I managed to poke a hole in the bumper of my less-than-a-year-old car.  C'est la vie.  I'm also trying to start up a crafty business (for reals this time), since I continue to say that I'm going to and never *actually* get around to doing it.  Kind of like blogging...heh...*cough*  I actually sent off some coffee cozies to a cafe that said they would love to sell them in their store, so it is actually official, I'm in business.  *cue confetti*  Next step is to work on my sad, little, empty Etsy store.  The only problem I seem to find is that, like in my day to day life, I tend to be a little ADD in my crafting.  I can make a lot of things, but what do I make to sell?  A little of everything?  Start with one thing and add?  WHAT DO I DO?!?  Life is hard.

So in a nutshell, that's what I've been up to.  Bumming around, looking for work, and making coffee cozies.  Fun times in the life of the unemployed.  Oh, and being a roller derby official.  But that's another post.

Caffeinated and Waiting

I'm not even going to pretend anymore that I'm going to blog regularly. They're all empty promises, and I'm not going to be that way to you guys (if there's even anyone still reading reading out there in the blogosphere). Right now I've just finished a latte that I got from the local coffe roasters a block from my house, and I'm waiting for my car's oil to get changed. When I get back to my computer I'll link to a particular post by Hyperbole and a Half that keeps running through my head today, but for the moment I just have to tell you its awesome because I'm on my phone and trying to link that right now might make my head explode. Did I mention I've had coffee? Maybe that's the secret to blogging...I should just have a double shot espresso before I plan to write. Apparently it makes me very chatty. Anywho, I'm hoping my car will be done soon so I'mma wrap this up. I *will* post again with said promised link and maybe even a more substantial update. Stay tuned!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Little Victory (or The Day I Took on the Treadmill)

Oh my goodness.  So, if you guys have never been on a manual treadmill, well, you're very lucky.  This machine is the devil incarnite as an exercise equipment.  I'm pretty sure the reason it's so difficult is because ours isn't oiled real well, and being totally powered by human-power, there is probably more friction than there really should be.  Regardless, I have grown to loathe this treadmill since the day I bought it.  Yeah yeah, I know, it's that very reason that makes it that much better of a workout.  But come on, it's HARD.

Anyway, Friday, in lieu of doing my usual 2 mile walk/run (which usually takes me just over 30 mins…this is important for later), I looked at the treadmill and decided I was going to take it on.  You guys, I had no idea what I was in for.

So I start out strong, nice brisk pace.  My original plan was to walk a 5k on it, since I'm trying to build up endurance for my next 5k in May (more about all that later).  So I set the display to only show the distance, and just keep on truckin'.  What follows is the rundown of what happened at different points of my workout.

Mile 0.1 - Feeling good, still going strong, brisk pace.  Breathing is picking up.  Dreams of 5k grandeur floating around in my head.

Mile 0.3 - Starting to work up a sweat, breathing has settled into steady huffing and puffing (I'm really out of shape, no delusions there for sure).  Still determined to walk a 5k, but considering settling for just 2 miles instead.

Mile 0.5 - Really sweating now, still a steady rhythm of panting.  Beginning to feel sore muscles in my butt and thighs (the treadmill has a slight incline, so it's like walking up a really gentle hill).  Thinking to myself "Are you kidding me?  I'm only halfway?  Crap…."  Quickly deciding that 2 miles is a better goal.

Mile 0.85 - Am now literally blinded by sweat running into my eyes and can't look up, sweat is pudding in the lenses of my glasses.  Try to frantically wipe away the sweat from my now burning eyes so I can see, all the while continuing to plug along…have settled on doing 1 mile and 1 mile only today and CRIPES WHY CAN'T I GET THERE ANY FASTER?!?

Mile 0.95 - Again blinded by rivulets of sweat running into my eyes and try frantically to wipe them away before I walk myself off the side of the treadmill.  SO FREAKING CLOSE.

Mile 1.0 - Stop immediately, wobble to sofa, fall down.  Proud to have pushed through, but HOLY CRAP.  Am completely drenched in sweat and desperately need a shower.  Eyes still burning.

You guys, I think I sweated out half my body weight onto the treadmill (gross, I know, but whatever).

Approximate amount of sweat on the treadmill after my workout.*
(*No dolphins were harmed in the duration of my walk)

You'd think that I just ran a marathon with the shape I was in afterwards, but no, just one measly little mile.  ONE!  Might I refer you to my previous statement of doing (on an almost daily basis now) 2 miles, outside in the real world, in just over half an hour.  Want to know how long this mile took me?  32 minutes.  That is SAD ladies and gents.  One mile in 32 minutes and I almost pass out, WTF?

Me before walk. (note happy, excited, go-get-em attitude)

Me after walk. (note lack of enthusiasm and lots of sweat)

Know what though?  I did it again the next day and beat my time by 5 minutes.  Still huffed and puffed, still sweat up a storm (but was prepared with a headband…I learn!), and my butt and thighs were still sore from the first attempt, but I did it.  I have now taken on this machine as a challenge.  I looked it square in the handlebars (no face you know…being a treadmill and all) and I said, "You are not going to beat me!"  I probably have issues, lol.  But anyway, I am continuing to take on the treadmill and by the end of the week I plan to do at least a 2 mile walk.  If nothing else I'll sweat all my weight off, and that can't be too bad.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Fire Alarm Hates Me

Yes, you read that correctly.

The fire alarm hates me.

For about the last 3 or 4 days (they're all starting to run together...), the fire alarm has been chirruping.  Just change the battery you say?  One would think that would be an easy solution.  The fact of the matter is, the battery HAS been changed.  TWICE.  In TWO DIFFERENT fire alarms.  Also noteworthy, it only starts beeping somewhere between midnight and 2 a.m. and continues to 6 a.m., when it then decides that it's tired and needs to take a rest.  Is is just me or is that fairly bizarre fire alarm behavior?

I think this is also why I've had a twitch in my left eye for approximately the same amount of time.

*sigh*

After checking every other fire alarm in the house, the issue has been resolved....for the time being anyway.  I'm not sure I trust it anymore.  *sideways look*

In other bizarre news of my life, I seem to have done something to my wrist.....while jogging.  Jogging!  I can only assume I did it while jogging because I was fine when I left, and when I came back, as soon as I got some water and sat down I got a shooting pain through my wrist and it's been there ever since.  I'm pretty sure I'm the only person on the planet that can torque a wrist going for a jog.  This also proves that exercise is dangerous and should be approached (if at all) with caution.  (Jillian or Bob, if you ever see this...I'm totally just kidding.  I'll be back outside tomorrow AND doing your dvd workouts and pleasedon'tmakemedo1000pushupsImaydie.)

In not so bizarre news, I'm officially unemployed for the time being, with a couple job prospects in the wings, neither of which will have any conclusive decisions/interviews until the first week in May.  Oi.  Well...on the positive side, that *in theory* gives me way more time to blog.  Right?  Right.  I'll try to maybe get some stories up of some of the craziness I've been dealing with the past few months, but I promise nothing.  :)

Anyway, it's getting on really late and I'm going to try to get to bed before the fire alarm starts its antics again.

*eye twitch*

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Monday Mingle!


Hi guys!
It just dawned on me this afternoon that I should record a Monday Mingle for the week!  This meme is brought to you by Jen @ EightyMPHmom, so you should go check her out!  I apologize for the quality of this video, its pretty terrible and I'm not sure why.  I guess my camera was just having none if it today, and I was too lazy to try and do it over for a better video.  The password is: misadventure.  Enjoy!


Monday Mingle April 11 from Lauren on Vimeo.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Oh hey

I remembered I can actually blog from my phone. I suppose that means I don't really have an excuse not to post doesn't it? Crap. Well we're winding down here anyway, not sure how much longer I'll actually have work, which is kinda scary. After this I'm kind of in limbo until July...I potentailly have a really cool job that starts at that time, but I'm awaiting confirmation. When I get something varified for sure I'll tell you all about it. Untill then, these are a couple phrases I look forward to not hearing on a daily basis:
"As the good Representative from <i></i>__ stated..."
"Well I have heartburn about this..."
"This is really a simple bill..."

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Pound for Pound

I would like you all to notice that little button over there on the top right of my sidebar.  For the second year in a row I am participating in the Pound for Pound Challenge.  For those that are unaware, the Pound for Pound Challenge is sponsored by NBC and The Biggest Loser.  For every pound of weight loss you pledge to lose, they'll donate a pound of food to YOUR local food bank.  That's right.  Your local food bank.  When you sign up they match you with food banks in your zip code, and you can pick the one (if you have more than one) that you would like your donations to go to.  It's completely on the honor system, and if you have no weight to lose but would still like to make a difference, you can pledge to maintain your current weight, which is equivalent to a 5 pound donation.  So there isn't any reason someone can't help out.  Help your community by helping yourself.  It's so easy and makes such a difference.
Cheers!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Pizza Pizza!

Hello all!
I had put out a call for suggestions on Twitter, and got back a couple good answers.  Daffy (go visit her blog.  No seriously, go.  I'll wait.) suggested basil.  Hmm...interesting.  I don't often use basil in my cooking, which is odd cause I do really like it.  Ok, so that was one good suggestion.  Then I got another suggestion for homemade pizza.  Ooo....I like.  As an added bonus, I would be able to combine the two suggestions when I finally did embark on my kitchen adventures.

As I usually do, I went to foodnetwork.com to start my search for a basic pizza dough recipe.  I settled on a recipe by Mr. Bobby Flay this time, which you can find here.  This dough came together really easily, and made enough for two 12" pizzas.  The dough I didn't plan to use right away I put in the fridge and just used the next day.  The first time I made the dough, I used white whole wheat flour, which gave a chewier texture than the all-purpose flour I used the next time.  Both were delish, it just depends on what your preference is for crusts.

The first pizza I made was, what one might call, a "gourmet" pizza.  But I call a crazy pizza.  I made a quick alfredo sauce (cream, bay leaf, little bit of flour) for the base, then sauteed some apples and onions in a pan before adding them on top.  On that, a thin layer of sliced ham.  Last, some crumbled bacon, then the topping of mozzarella cheese. It tasted awesome, but was kind of a mess because it was so tall.
After this pizza, I learned some lessons in proper pizza layering, which I fixed for my future experiments.
The next of which was just a simple margarita pizza.  Margarita meaning tomato, mozzarella, and basil.  Which turned out superbly.
Yum.

I have made a couple more since this first time, as I mentioned.  One I don't have a picture of, was a delicious veggie pizza with sauteed zucchini, onions, and broccoli.  The other one that you'll see below, is a BBQ chicken pizza.  BBQ sauce for the base (obviously), chunks of chicken, tomato, bacon, onion, and a mix of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.
Soooo good.

And with that my friends, I leave you with my pizza-inspired post.  Until next time!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Little Update

This job has been a total whirlwind from the get-go!  The days are flying by, and by the time I get home and eat, it's almost time to go to bed again.  I had plans to catch up on my blogging this last weekend, but I wound up having to go into work one day, and then needed to go grocery shopping the next.  Always an excuse.  How can I stop making excuses?  I am the queen of having a reason to NOT do something until "later"and that has. to. stop.  Anyone have suggestions on how I can kick my butt into gear?  To start I will say that my one goal this weekend is to finish the uncompleted posts I have in my queue.  I mean seriously, how lazy can I get, they're already started!  Thanks for sticking with me.  :)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Cop Out

I'm so tired you guys.  I'm sorry.  I actually have like three posts started and not finished.  I'll have one of them up tomorrow.  Swearz.

Have a good night.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Mushroom Ravioli

My cooking adventure for the weekend: Mushroom Ravioli.  This is an adventure for two reasons.  One, I hate mushrooms.  Hate them.  Two, I've not ever made my own pasta before.  Bring it on!

I used Tyler Florence's pasta dough for ravioli recipe, which can be found here, at the Food Network website.  It was pretty simple to put together, but it was a little more crumbly than I think it should have been.  Also, I don't think I let it relax enough because it was SUPER elastic-y.  Overall though, it tasted good as a dough, even if it was a little heavy.

The filling I made up on my own.  I started by frying some diced bacon (about 4 slices) in my dutch oven (I love that thing!), and when it was crisp, removed it and set it aside.  Then, I got a couple packages of fresh crimini mushrooms diced them up, and added them to the bacon fat.  With the mushrooms I diced up about half a large onion and threw that in.  While the mushrooms and onion was sauteing, I put in a splash of Marsala wine, then let it cook down until there was no liquid left.  After that, I took it off the heat and let it cool a bit before I added about cup-ish of mozzarella and parmesan, both shredded.


After rolling out my dough, I used a circle cutter to cut the dough and then put a little spoonful of the filling inside each one.  I had some leftover filling, but I had enough dough to make 19 raviolis.  I plopped them in a pot of salted, boiling water, in batches of 5 or 6, for 4 to 5 minutes.  Ta-da!
(And yes, that is a bite out of the top one...I tasted it.)



We had some leftover tomato basil sauce that I put on them, along with some of the leftover parmesan cheese.



The best part?  They.  Were.  AWESOME.  Both my parents like them a lot, and they like mushrooms as it is.  But I think the most triumphant thing for me was getting MYSELF to eat them.  I liked them.  Like, they were actually super tasty.  Score!

This weeks challenge, complete success.  I haven't decided what my Iron Chef ingredient is for next week, so if any of you have a suggestion, I'm totally open.  :)

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Routine

I love routines.  I really do.  I love them almost as much as I love spontaneity.  This week I think I finally figured out my routine and I'm really happy.  We started having our "real" meetings this week, which means doing official business-type stuff that I have to keep straight for both committees.  I'm basically in charge of scheduling meetings and then sitting in and keeping an official set of minutes.  Sounds easy, but I assure you it's much more work than you'd think.  I do really like it though, so that's really the best part of the whole thing.

I'm trying to work some other things into my new routine, and I'm doing better with some than with others. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm going to do my cooking projects on Sundays (or Saturdays...just the weekend in general), and this week is mushrooms.  I'm going back and forth between raviolis and soup.  I think raviolis are going to win though, I love me some pasta.  My plan at the moment is just to pick up the ingredients and then see what happens.  Whoo!

Let's see....oh!  So I had talked to a friend of mine and we agreed that we should run a 5k in June.  I was all excited and like, "Yeah, this will be awesome!"  Yesterday, this friend of mine says, "I think instead we should do the half marathon!"  I of course agreed, cause how awesome is that, right?  Neither of us have signed up yet (money and all you know), but registration just started and goes through May.  The race is in July, so that gives me a lot of time to train so, you know, I won't die.  Plus we don't have to RUN the whole thing, a run/walk combo is accepted and encouraged.  But still I'm like, "That's a long way..."  If this actually comes to fruition, this will be one of my major life goals as well.  I've never been good at running, mostly because I've always been the chubby kid and didn't like to.  Plus, being out of shape and trying to run is probably one of the most difficult things ever.  But I shall overcome.  I will make myself into a lean, mean, running machine.  Oh yeah.
That's about all I got for now folks.  Stay tuned to see how my food endeavors turn out!

Monday, January 10, 2011

A Lot of Random

Wow, my first week of real work has come and gone and on to week two!  This week will start my regular schedule, and I'm SO happy.  This last week I've had meetings at 8 a.m., which I had to set up for at 7 a.m., and to get up and get there in time I got up at 5 a.m.  Let me just tell you that me and 5 a.m. don't get along very well.  I know, I know.  Whine whine whine.  People do it everyday and don't think twice about it.  No offense if you happen to be one of those people, but I think they're crazy.  No one should be up that early.  It's just mean.  And for me what basically happens is I can't get to bed on time no matter how hard I try, so I get like 4 hours of sleep.  Then I drink about half a pot of coffee in 2 hours, get cracked out on caffeine for most of the day, and by 2 or 3 when the coffee wears off I'm a walking zombie.  Well I guess most zombies are walking so that's a bit redundant, but you get my point.  I just wasn't made for mornings. And I am totally willing to accept this fact and move on.  Not to say I won't make every effort possible to be up and get things done when I need to, but I can't promise I won't be napping by 3 in the afternoon.

Anyway.  My regular meeting schedule is from 3 to 5 in the afternoon, with me setting up around 2.  Heck yeah.  That means I can actually be a productive person because I won't be sleep deprived and then cracked out on coffee.  And let me tell you, I was pretty freaking productive last week, so I should be ON IT from here on out.

My grand plan is to get up early enough to work out before I leave for work, and at some point look into joining a gym that I can go to after my meetings are over.  At this point I'm really looking for a place to run more than anything.  Why don't I run outside you say?  I don't know if you guys know this, but it's winter here.  Winter = snow.  Melty snow = ice.  Ice = broken face.  I am quite partial to my face and would like to keep it from being broken.  Yeah, I know there are people who run in this weather, and they're probably also the people who get up at 5 every day.  I have managed to find a pair of Yak Traks, so I might give the outside running a try....but if I slip and break my face I am not going to be pleased.  We'll see.  I have a deal with a friend of mine that we'll run a 5k in June, and right now I can barely run a block, so I have some conditioning to do.  And I would consider this a pretty big accomplishment, so I want to find a way to make sure my lazy butt does it.

Another thing I thought would be kind of interesting - particularly when my reader base gets built back up (please come back to me...I'm sorry I suck at updating) - is having you, my wonderful readers, give me an ingredient/theme/type of food to cook for the week.  I have my weekends off, and one of my resolutions is to cook more, so I want to make something a little more complex or different every Sunday.  I will of course post pictures and link/post the recipe to whatever it is I made.  I think this would be really fun and a great way to challenge myself.  As a personal goal, this week's challenge is mushrooms....cause I can't stand them.  But, for anyone out there reading this, I am totally open to suggestion for next weeks dinner.  Think Iron Chef with you choosing the secret ingredient.

Well, that's all my random musings for the moment.  I hope you all had a great weekend, and Happy Monday!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Well Fine

So while I was in the middle of a blog post, my father decided it was a good time to reboot the router and no tell me. Seeing as I am currently internet-less and also trying to make good on my resolution to blog more, I thought I would just do a quick post from my phone. If I'm feeling feisty and have some time tomorrow morning I'll do my original post. Until then, have a good Thursday!

Monday, January 3, 2011

House-sitting: OR Why My Neighbors are Awesome

So my next door neighbors went to go visit family over Christmas and asked me if I would house/dog-sit for them.  I've done this on occasions before and of course I said yes.  Aside from getting to stay in their awesome house and play with their dog, they were paying me well.  Bonus.

My goals here are simple: keep the dog alive and the house standing.  Easy peesy.

And it was easy peesy.  Until 2 days before they came home.  It was that morning that I was going down to the laundry room to get the dog's water bowl to fill up, and then this happened:


Image borrowed from http://www.explodingdog.com/ via Google search

Except imagine that instead of another person, it's the dog looking at me from the top of the staircase.  And really, it wasn't TOO big a deal because I was fine, just a rug burn, and it was only like 5 steps that I fell down (its a short staircase), but then THIS happened:


On my totally graceful fall down the stairs I managed to smack into the picture on the wall, which brought it down with me.  Awesome.  I was supposed to make sure everything was ok while they were out of town, and so what do I do?  I break their stuff.  I mean it was an accident, but still.  So yeah, I freaked out and was in a panic about getting it out of the way and fixed before they got home.

I take the cracked picture to our hardware store, since they do glass replacement, and I'm all, "Can you fix this?"  And the guy says, "Yup!  No problem."  "Cool, well can I get it by Wednesday morning?"  "Oh sure, we'll have it done tomorrow.  We'll give you a call when it's ready."  "Yay!  Ok thank you!"  And I leave happy that this should be all repaired and no one will be the wiser.  This on Monday.
Tuesday, I don't hear anything from them.  So Wednesday morning at like 11, I go in to pick it up.  My neighbors are currently in the air very quickly approaching and I've got about 2 hours before they come in the door.  So I walk in and.....I see the still broken picture laying on the counter where it was left on Monday.  I ask about it.  The guy who was there who happened to be the owner tells me, "Oh I'm really sorry about that, my son (whom I spoke with on Monday) just told me about this this morning.  I'll have it done for you within the hour and give you a call."  Ok ok...so I leave again and wait.  And wait.  And wait.  Nothing.  My neighbors call and say they should be home in half an hour and I just realized I'm going to be forced to tell them that I'm a dork and broke their stuff.

Lo and behold, they arrive and I'm all "Welcome home!.....you may notice something missing...." and proceed to tell them what happened.  Being the awesome people that they are, they laughed and said not to worry about it, and that they'd pay for it just let them know.  I didn't even get a call that it was done until the NEXT DAY....and they didn't even replace the wire that had broken on the back.  So when I took it over to return it (which I totally picked up and paid for regardless of what they told me...it's not their fault I'm clumsy), I'm like, "Here's your picture that I broke and the wire is still broken so it's not even really fixed and I fail don't hate me."  It pretty much came out like that too, only more as one word instead of a run-on sentence.  They still laughed and said it was totally fine and not to worry.  I'm very lucky I have forgiving neighbors.

And that my friends, is the story of my house-sitting adventure.