Thursday, October 28, 2010

Apple Florets

These are a perfect dessert for a dinner party.  1) They are adorable and 2) You can make them ahead of time and they will heat while you are eating your meal!  I adapted this recipe from a few different recipes to come up with this individual apple pie/tart.


Crust
2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ sticks cold butter and cubed
1 tbsp vinegar
1 egg
½ c ice cold water

Filling
5 granny smith apples
¼ c lemon juice
1 c water
3 tbsp Penzeys baking spice 
1/3 c sugar
1 tbsp flour

butter for greasing pan

6 tbsp butter, softened
1 egg
splash of milk

Sift flour salt and sugar together in a medium bowl.  Add cold, cubed butter and combine with a pastry blender or fork.





Blend until the mixture becomes course crumbs.  Wisk vinegar, egg, and cold water.  Add to butter mixture.  Knead until it becomes a dough, and form it into a ball.




Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Mix the lemon juice and water in a medium bowl.  Peal the apples and place in lemon water immediately after they are pealed.  Slice the apples and put them back in the lemon water. 





Strain the lemon water out, rinse out the bowl, and put the apple slices back in the bowl.  Toss with baking spice, sugar, and flour.




Quarter the dough and roll out a 3 foot section of plastic wrap.  Flatten the dough in the middle of one ½ of the plastic wrap.  Fold the plastic wrap over and roll out an 8 inch circle of dough.  Repeat for each quarter of dough.



Place the rolled out pieces of dough in the freezer for 3 minutes.  Butter individual dishes, tart pans, or a baking sheet…depending on what you want to use.


Form the rolled out dough into the dishes/tart pans or lay on a baking sheet.  Add the filling.



Fold the dough over the filling.  Divide the remaining butter into four and spread over the filling.  Wisk the egg and splash of milk, and brush over the dough.


Once you serve dinner, pop these in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until the dough is nicely browned.  Serve with vanilla bean or cinnamon ice cream and enjoy!!




***The amazing photos are courtesy of my friend Beth.  For more information about Beth's photography, you can contact her at beth.ellen.23@gmail.com.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Bye Bye Hair!

My hair was getting SUPER long, so I decided to donate it to Locks of Love.  This was the third time I was able to donate.  It isn't that I am overly generous or anything. Basically I am too lazy/cheap to get frequent hair cuts, and next thing I know it is over a foot long.  When it is that long, it is hot and annoying and not convenient...so I was thrilled to chop it off.  Here's the new look...




Thursday, September 9, 2010

I’m spending more time with the fax machine than my husband...AKA we’re buying a house…


We have an accepted offer, a completed inspection, and boxes ready to move.  There’s just one last pesky little thing…the loan.  We’ve been preapproved and have filled out all of the paperwork, but I am still spending almost every day faxing.  I think I’ve faxed our full filing cabinet in triplicate.  They keep asking for more bank statements and pay stubs…next they’ll want me to fax them a kidney!
I have a strong desire to do this to the fax machine at work…



Hopefully the faxing will be over soon, and we should be homeowners by the end of the month!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

A Window to the World

My new job is very busy but super great.  One of the best things about it is that I have a HUGE window in my cube.  At my last job, I was in such a large cube farm that I was no where near an exterior wall never-the-less a window.  I used a background on my gmail account to alert me to when it was raining/snowing/dark out...depressing huh?

Now I have a glorious GLORIOUS window!!!  Here is a picture...


I have a little African violet that I am currently killing.  I don't do well with flowering plants...by not well, I mean I slowly kill them.  I'm surprised that there isn't a picture of me at Wal-Mart with the caption, "do not sell flowering plants to this woman...she is a murderer."

Anyway, I have a great view of this empty field which you think would be boring...but you would be wrong.  Here is a list of the things that have happened in the field.

1) The grass was really long (over a foot).  They mowed it one day, raked it around another day, then raked it into rows the next day, and finally baled it...with a tractor!  I don't know how anybody did work that day.  Unfortunately I wasn't around when they collected the bales...knew I shouldn't have left that night.

2) The day after the long grass was mowed, a hawk came by and snatched up all of the confused critters in the field...score for me and the hawk...not so much for the critters.

3) Many people in cars stop while they talk on their cell phones (people here actually stop driving for a phone call here...weird).

4) And today...TODAY!...a guy came and flew his remote controlled helicopter.  He had come by once before, but the helicopter crashed in the middle of the field and he carried it away all sad.  Today he flew that thing for a full 1/2 hour.  Not only that, but he had to change his shirt in order to operate the helicopter and then changed it back when he was done.  He has a special shirt for operating a remote controlled helicopter...who does that??...that guy I guess.

I'll keep you updated...cause this is bound to only get better from here...

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Background Change

As you can see I've updated the background a bit.  Let me know if you love it or hate it!  So far I'm liking it...but like everything in life, it is bound to piss me off eventually.

Love,
AM

Top 10 Reasons You Know You Live in Wisconsin

10 - When you put on your turn signal, people let you in the lane.

9 - When the cable guy speaks English and calls if he is going to be late.

8 - When you ride a motorcycle, drivers give you extra room as opposed to joining you in your lane.

7 - When the high temp for the day is in the upper 80s, it is considered a heat wave.

6 - When there are fields of corn growing within the city limits.

5 - When you get a hand written note from the woman at the bank who signed you up for your new accounts.




4 - When rush hour actually only lasts an hour.

3 - When you can go to the DMV, be told with a smile that you are missing a piece of documentation, go home, and get back to the front of the line in a 1/2 hour.

2 - When drinking, eating fried foods, and laying around aren't vices, they are hobbies fit for competition.

and the number 1 way you know you live in Wisconsin...

1 - When you buy a 6-pack of beer, the grocery store gives you a brick of cheese for free.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Three Men and a Tool Box...and other new apartment woes

So far we are really enjoying Madison, our new apartment, and the cool, Wisconsin summer.  However, there are a few things about our apartment that have been getting on our nerves...

1) We're not quite sure what the kids upstairs are doing, but we think it is some variant on sumo wrestling combined with American Gladiators combined with some plyometrics training combined with practicing for next year's running of the bulls festivities.  They run and jump around all day and into the night.  We're trying to figure out a neighborly way to tell them to shut the hell up, but as you can see, that's not going well.

2) Although all of the children that we've met in the complex (and there are a lot of them) are very nice, they play outside all day (not a bad thing)...and bounce balls into cars...ugh.  We've already noticed a couple of dents.  The complex is working on getting the parents to...I don't know...parent them, but until then...dents...ugh.

3) BUZZ...so in our old place, we had a key pad to enter a password to get into the building...now there's a buzzer.  We're getting buzzed...a lot...and not by friends stopping by to say hi...just random people trying to get in the building.  Last night there was almost an hour of buzzing...at 3am...brilliant.  It finally stopped, but when I left for work this morning there were three men and a tool box sleeping in the hallway...WTF?!?!


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Adventures of Moving Half-Way Across The United States of America

Our stuff arrived…sort of.  We received our belongings last week Friday, which although sooner than the original estimated arrival of July 9-13…was still later than Monday June 28th.  The delivery drivers in their infinite wisdom packed the truck wrong and had to go to Minnesota first…ugh.  Oh well, I’m sleeping in my own bed again and not an air mattress/guest bed/hotel bed, so all is right in the world again.

We do have a small list of items in the damaged/missing category...desk chair—missing a wheel; dresser—a wood strip broke off en route; pint glass—chipped; tall bookcase—missing (though the shelves made it…go figure); and last but not least, the dining room chair—a leg is broken off (but don’t worry, they tried to glue it and failed…double ugh).

We’re doing a great job of putting everything away…by “we” I mean Al because I have started my new job already and am in training from 7:30am to 4:30pm each day minus one hour for lunch/frantic shopping for stuff we need at home.  Al has been mostly amazing and each day impresses me more and more.  He is the best house-husband EVER!  (Seriously--what am I going to do in September when he starts grad school??...Wanted: house-husband/maid/organizer/reader of my every thought…pay=0…benefits=me yelling at them…any applicants?...no??)

On the bright side, I scored a great piece of furniture for the apartment this week.  It was discontinued from World Market…so we got it for 1/2 price thanks to Al.  Here’s a picture of it…





1 – the new buffet table/table linens storage/”quick…stuff all of our crap in here before the company arrives device”
2 – pretty things from Grammy
3 – Avenue Q autographed poster!!!...no big deal
4 – Guinness…”is there a picture going on??...I must be involved”
5 – vase of wine corks…don’t worry there are more in a zip lock bag…didn’t want you thinking I was getting behind from all of the unpacking  :)
We’re soooo getting used to the relaxed, Midwest lifestyle, seeing old friends, and spending time with family.  We miss our DC family so much…but don’t miss the heat/traffic/insanity…so all of you need to move to WISCONSIN!!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Crying at the Hotel Breakfast


So we made it to Wisconsin mostly in one piece.  We left Virginia on Thursday a little after noon.  We had reserved a room at a Super8 in Ohio since they allow our little monsters to stay there.  All was fine and good: checked into the hotel, had a gourmet dinner at Applebee’s (10% off with room key—score!), and we tucked ourselves into bed.  2:15am—I woke up to the dogs sleeping on the floor and panting.  Apparently the “AC low” setting is secretly the “AC off” setting.  So I got up, put it on high, checked out Facebook for a while, and went back to bed.  4:15am—I woke up to both dogs glued to my side under the covers and me freezing because apparently “AC high” is secretly “let’s see if they really want to move back to Wisconsin temperatures.”  Ugh.  So needless to say, nobody slept well.
Off to breakfast we went.  Coffee (I thought) would be my savior.  After we were done, I was going to fill up the coffee and put a lid on it for the car.  I wanted to get the lid on tight so that it wouldn’t spill in the car…because that would really suck.  When I pushed down, the Styrofoam gave way, and the freshly hot coffee exploded all over me.  So there I was sleepless, tired, startled, and burned crying at the hotel breakfast.  Al brought me some ice that slowly melted into my sundress, and I held an ice pack from the cooler on my tummy for the next two hours in the car…while stinking of coffee.  What’s worse than coffee spilling all over the car??—coffee exploding all over you.  I have a lovely burn to show for it.  Luckily it didn’t blister.
Wisconsin is great, our apartment is massive, and we are really happy to be home.  I don’t think it has set in yet that we don’t have to drive back.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Lamest Camping Ever!!


So the moving company came this past weekend…I know what you’re thinking, “…but you’re not moving until the end of the week??”  Yes, I realize this, but the FREE moving service provided by my new company only had two days available in June…the 18th and the 29th.  Since we are both done with work on the 23rd, we didn’t want to hang out much more in the land of non-stop traffic…plus the sooner we move our stuff from DC, the sooner it will arrive in Madison...in theory…but then they changed the date from the 18th to the 19th without really letting me know…ugh. 
They also keep telling me different dates for when our stuff will arrive at our apartment in Madison.  Basically we need to be ready for it anytime between June 28th and July 13th…ummm.  Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful that we don’t have to pay for or physically move our stuff, but scheduling a last minute move has been a bit hairy.
So we are currently living on an air mattress with suitcases.  We both forgot to leave behind any lamps…but I found a flashlight last night.  So we are basically camping in our apartment…without s’mores…lamest camping EVER!
There are worse things to be in the world than stuff-less…like home-less or food-less…but it is inconvenient none-the-less.  I will be happy when we are reunited with our (hopefully undamaged) belongings.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Announcement!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Al and I are officially moving back to Wisconsin.  I have accepted a job offer, and we will return to the dairy state in two weeks.  We are both thrilled to be moving to Madison for the career opportunities, close proximity to family, and LESS TRAFFIC!!!...and really…the most important reason…THE CHEESE!!!


 
We will miss the DC area, the museums, the events, and mostly our many friends that became our DC family.  When you live so far away from your biological family, you form a close bond with your friends.  We’ve celebrated holidays together, been pet sitters for each other, cheered each other on at ½ and full marathons, thrown each other graduation parties, and even taken care of each other when we were sick or hospitalized.  We couldn’t have made it out here without our DC family, and we will miss you tremendously.  We hope you can visit us in Wisconsin, and we look forward to visiting DC (like in January when it is negative 3,000 degrees outside in Wisconsin and the snow is higher than the trees…expect a knock at your door).
We also want to thank our Wisconsin friends who have kept in touch with us through phone calls, emails, FB messages, and even visits out east.  It is very easy to get home sick being 1,000 miles away from home, but your words and laughter would always bring our spirits up!  The friends that stick with you even with half a country in between you are friends for life.
Finally we have to thank our families.  Thank you for supporting our decision to move so far away, supporting us while we were here, and supporting us through the move back.  We are so thankful for your patience and understanding.  We look forward to spending more time with you now that we will be living in Wisconsin.
Now, someone get me some curds...STAT!!


mmmm...curds...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Why I Am A Road Runner


The road doesn’t care if I wear makeup.
The road doesn’t care if my outfit matches.
The road doesn’t care if I blow my nose in my sleeve or sweat so profusely that my clothes are full of salt.
The road doesn’t care if I bombed my exam or ruined last night’s dinner.
The road doesn’t care if my house is clean or if the laundry is done.

The road doesn’t care if I’m tired.
The road doesn’t care if my shins/feet/knees hurt.
The road reminds me of that Krispy Kreme donut sitting in my belly.
The road has made me throw up.
The road has made me trip.
The road has made me cry.
The road has kicked my ass.

The road teaches me to listen to my body.
The road teaches me to think positively.
The road teaches me to ignore feelings of self-doubt, anger, and negativity.
The road challenges me.
The road is therapeutic.
The road is my escape.
The road gives me strength.
The road allows me to do things I never thought possible.

The road gives me so much.  Some days it kicks my ass…but most days, I kick its ass!


Monday, May 17, 2010

Purse Update…


So I told y’all about my totally lame purse and its reputation for hiding things in the DOOM.  Well, I didn’t even know the half of it.  All of last week, without my knowledge, my purse was harboring a little “treat” leftover from Al’s birthday the weekend before.  All week, going in and out of federal buildings no less, was me, my purse, and a flask of whiskey.  I am now officially a card carrying member of  white trash.  O. M. G.  A whole flask!!!...for a week!!!...without me noticing?!?!  Ugh.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

HATE!!!


People say that you shouldn’t hate…it consumes you…it makes you a bad person…yada, yada, yada, but I hate.  I HATE----my purse.  HATE IT!!!! 
When the trends started going towards a bigger and bigger purse, I was elated…I need lots of stuff to make this look good.  I mean, how can you go about your day without five different kinds of lip gloss at your disposal??…you can’t.  Anyway, I bought myself one of those big ole purses stuffing every last thing I owned into it…stop fighting Guinness; get in there!!   What I did not realize when I bought the purse was that it is a vacuumous black hole of doom…yes, DOOM!!!  I can never find ANYTHING in that thing when I need it.  I even bought one of those organizers that Oprah recommends…well Oprah was wrong, so now I hate her too…eat it Oprah!! 
Luckily my wallet is the size of the Hoover Dam, so I can usually find that, but definitely not my cell phone, gum, one of the many pharmaceuticals that I keep handy, or the exact lip gloss I am looking for.  I have had several public outbursts of, “I HATE MY PURSE” while rummaging through it.  I hate my purse so much that Al hates it too.  And do you know the worst part???  It is cute and I got it on sale…both give me intrinsic reasons to hold onto the damn thing.  Nine West, 50% off of the sale price!!!!!...and I get compliments on it all of the time…how can I give that up?!?!
I am looking, though, for a replacement, but unfortunately all of the purses out there have no pockets, no organization, and look like they would also be a vacuumous hole of doom.  The purses in the stores look at me and say, “hey lady, buy me so you can never find your stuff ever again!”  They taunt me…which leads me to more hate…ugh.
The other day I found three packs of gum in it…THREE!!!  I kept putting gum in there thinking I was out…nope, not out…just lost in the DOOM.
Let’s take a look at this monstrocity…


 
Looks pretty cute from the outside…tame even.  Let’s get a better look inside…watch your hands people, lest the doom get you!!!


 
All right people, now we see the DOOM that is the inside of my purse.  I can honestly tell you that I did not arrange anything, just set it down, took a pic, and prayed there wasn’t a feminine hygiene product showing.  Anyway…here’s what’s inside…
1)      Pen and pencil…the student/waitress in me always has several spares.  I guarantee there are 5 more in there…SOMEWHERE.
2)      Drugs…CVS ain’t got nothing on me.
3)      Lip gloss…though I think one is a concealer.
4)      Gum…who knows how many more packs are in there….3?...5?...7??
5)      BIG WALLET…told ya it was big. 
6)      Kleenex…not that I cry.  As I told Ashley and Jen in the days before I got married, “crying is NOT productive!”
7)      Compact…for helping to apply one of the 70 lip glosses.
8)      More drugs.
9)      Keys…KEYS?!?!  Now the purse is just showing off, I can never find these guys.
10)   Hand sanitizer…helllooo homeless guy on the metro.
11)   Contact rewetting drops…the key to working full time and going to school at night.
12)   Mini emery boards…heaven forbid I break a nail!!
There’s probably more in there than that…like: my badge for work (***insert “we don’t need no stinkin’ badges” joke here***), lotion, Zicam, more keys (in case I can’t find the first set--seriously), roughly 8,000 coupons (all expired), Jimmy Hoffa, the complete Mozart Requiem, and a first aid kit.  This thing really should be checkout by the FBI and NASA.
To end on a light/mostly adorable note.  The instant I pulled out my camera, Guinness came over for the photo shoot.  (He thinks it is all about him…must have learned that from his mama.)  




Thursday, April 22, 2010

Best Week Ever!


So even though I’m in the last stretch of the semester, which is always the worst, and I’m not able to run as much because I’m so busy with school work, this week has been GREAT!
Sunday we went to the Brewers-Nationals game with friends for my birthday.  The Brew Crew scored 10 runs in the first inning!!  It was a great time even if it was a little cold.
Tuesday we got word that Al has been accepted to grad school and has been awarded an assistantship!  We’re looking forward to living in Wisconsin again and being close to family.  Now all I need is a job…so if anybody needs an economist, I bring baked goods to work!
And lastly, I received an awesome necklace for my birthday from Moni.  Naturally I created an outfit around it for work today…

Ok, back to reading and writing econ…only a few more weeks left!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Not a good day for my face...


A lot of people hate the dentist, but I’ve never really had a problem.  I’ve always had good teeth (thanks Dad), never had a cavity, and when you’re little, they give you a prize…score!!  Then I moved to DC.  The actual dentist that we go to is fine…the teeth cleaning lady apparently wants to remove all of the gum tissue in my mouth.  She takes out more and more every time I go.  I have super clean teeth…brush at least three times a day and floss every day…so I really don’t understand what she is attempting to remove besides chunks of gum tissue that I spit out continuously throughout the cleaning.  They tricked me the first time I went by having the dentist do the cleaning…”to get to know his new patients”…ugh.  Really it is just a scam to get you to sign up for another appointment in 6 months…then you are stuck with the gum Nazi--forever!!!
So I get there, and she starts making small talk about buying patio furniture.  I don’t mind the talking so much as the asking questions.  She spent a solid 5 minutes asking me questions…here’s a hint, when I’m talking, you can’t be cleaning my teeth, and that means I have to spend even more time here.  This is actually one time where I don’t want to talk…the faster you get done lady, the faster I can leave.  I have important things to do like procrastinating school work and spending time not cleaning my apartment. 
Then she says that I haven’t had x-rays in two years and should get a “full set” every 5-7 years.  I say “yes” thinking that it would be faster to take a couple of x-rays than to try to explain that I’ve never had teeth problems and don’t think it is necessary.  Usually they just take a couple of shots in the room…not this time.  She has me walk to a back room, and there is this little woman waiting for me.  Apparently they were going to do 18 different x-rays…18?!?!  Do I even have that many teeth??  I try to get out of it, but she’s all, “I can get the doctor to talk it over with you”…but I realize that that will just take more time, and I will end up being conned into the x-rays anyway.  (I’ve noticed that since the economy is down and doctors are seeing fewer patients, they are insisting that the patients that do show up go through unnecessary tests.)  I sit through the 18 freaking x-rays where they attempt to put film the size of a road sign in your mouth…”open wider!”…”relax your cheek!”…how about you make film that fits inside a human’s mouth and not something that has the surface area of Texas??  Near the end she is all…”only a few more left”…”I hope you’re not mad at me”…”I hope we can still be friends”…all in this cutsie little voice.  Let’s get this straight lady…you nor the gum Nazi are my friends.  (I’m currently working on inventing a way to publically “de-friend” people who you don’t even know…not even on Facebook.)
As soon as the x-rays were done and I got the approval from the dentist, I got the hell out of there.  Luckily the receptionist was looking for a file and didn’t see me leave, so I wasn’t coerced into scheduling another appointment in 6 months.  I’ll have to screen my phone calls for the next two weeks (so if you are calling me from a VA area code, make sure to leave a message…because I won’t be picking up any 703 numbers until this thing blows over).
So I drive home with my bleeding, sore mouth and a pissed off attitude (definitely to 11).  My nose has been running lately because VA in April is like walking through a sand storm of pollen.  I don’t even have official allergies, and it even gets to me.  People with real allergies turn into red, scratchy, snot buckets…Virginia is for Lovers—just not during seasonal allergies!  So I grab the neti pot to flush out some of the nasty.  The first side goes smoothly…then I go for the other side.  I don’t know if a chunk of the neti pot salt didn’t dissolve or if there was a chunk of old salt in there already or if God just really hated my facial region that day, but a chunk of salt went through the neti pot, into my sinuses, swirled around a bit, then out the nose, burning all of the way and dripping nasty salt snot onto the back of my tongue…O. M. G.!!!  The inside of my face was ON FIRE!!!!  After the crying on the bathroom floor was mostly over (I may or may not be writing this from the bathroom floor), I was able to clean out my sinuses with fresh water.  Let’s just say I will never use the neti pot salt again…it is evil…almost as bad as the gum and x-ray Nazis at the dentist.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Dedication of a Boston Terrier


Boston Terriers are a special breed…by special I mean crazy.  We have two: Penny Lane and Guinness Stout.  You can read their personal bios here.  They are a very determined breed that can sometimes be too smart for their own good.
A couple weeks ago I was sitting at the computer applying for jobs  working on my paper  dinking around on the internets.  Penny had lost her brand new ball that Al’s mom gave her in her crate.  She likes to take her favorite toys with her when she sleeps so her little brother can’t get them…she’s a whore like that.  Penny decided that she needed that toy NOW and couldn’t get it out.  So she’s digging and generally acting like a bigger moron than usual while Guinness is giving me this look like, “I think she’s officially lost it.”  I continue on with my imperative quest to find the biggest waste of time on the internet…results so far are impressive.  (I mean how many times can one really watch Lady Gaga on YouTube?  The answer…waaaay more than originally thought.)  After a few minutes, Penny has stopped digging.  I turn around to see the sheet from her crate all of the way across the living room.  Here is the scene…


A – The infamous crate that stole her toy.  It will get dirty looks for at least a week.
B – The sheet that is usually (like unless it is being washed) inside of the crate.
C – The new favorite toy in question.  It is the best…almost as good as steak and peanut butter.
D – Pillow from the sofa.  I’m not really sure how or why this was moved from the couch…but I’m sure it gave Penny a dirty look, so she put it in its place.
E – Penny’s ass…she knew she was in trouble, so she was hoping that by not being near the sheet, that I would blame it on Guinness.
F – Guinness, “Ummm…Penny went insane, and now I want to take the toy…but you look pissed.”
Here’s another picture showing the layout and Penny’s shame…



So in conclusion…don’t be the sheet that stands between a Boston Terrier and her new toy…because you.will.get.owned.