When the hell did I get older? Just the other day I was in my early twentties and my only concerns were about partying and my social life. Now I'm 30, working full time, griping about bills and preferring to stay home versus getting dolled up to "be seen" out at a bar. Whaaaaaaat?
My friends that I thought would never mature are now wives and mothers. Granted, children don't bring maturity, but most of my friends seem to have found it along the way. It is hard to reconcile the girl I knew that danced on tables to the woman who now attends PTA! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad a mother isn't out shaking her rear cheeks anymore, but when did we all change?
What the heck have I been doing that I've missed this? Isn't 30 a little too young to be this creeped out by nostalgia?
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday = Food Day
Most Fridays at work, our office orders in a lunch to share or brings in snacks. Sometimes we invent occasions, sometimes there are actual ones to celebrate. One co-worker completed her tenth year with the state, so we had to eat in honor of this milestone!
I opted for a giant chocolate chip cookie. This is one of my favorite desserts and probably the reason I porked up every summer. Mom's friend used to bring this everywhere and now I've stolen it as my own. It's gotten popular with other friends and have been asked to share the recipe. I thought I would post it here, so my sister has it to make when I come home to visit! Assuming she still reads this...
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie
1 box French vanilla cake mix
2 eggs
½ cup oil
½ tsp vanilla
½ bag chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease (a spray like Pam) round pizza pan (the disposable pans are great) and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together cake mix, eggs, oil and vanilla. Once mixed, add chocolate chips. With your hands, press dough into the greased pan until evenly spread. Bake for 15-17 minutes until top turns golden. Remove and let cool before eating.
Enjoy!! And remember, I love this and you should all invite me over next time you make it. :)
I opted for a giant chocolate chip cookie. This is one of my favorite desserts and probably the reason I porked up every summer. Mom's friend used to bring this everywhere and now I've stolen it as my own. It's gotten popular with other friends and have been asked to share the recipe. I thought I would post it here, so my sister has it to make when I come home to visit! Assuming she still reads this...
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie
1 box French vanilla cake mix
2 eggs
½ cup oil
½ tsp vanilla
½ bag chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease (a spray like Pam) round pizza pan (the disposable pans are great) and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together cake mix, eggs, oil and vanilla. Once mixed, add chocolate chips. With your hands, press dough into the greased pan until evenly spread. Bake for 15-17 minutes until top turns golden. Remove and let cool before eating.
Enjoy!! And remember, I love this and you should all invite me over next time you make it. :)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Life vs TV
I have a passion for HGTV and the Food Network. Give me a carpenter and I could have a room re-done and looking fantastic. I have a decent talent for cooking and don't often jack up a dish I'm working on. My problem is - I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming and life is not a television episode. There are no giant stores with discount furniture and furnishings. There are no specialty food markets here. Sometimes you can't even find fresh regular produce! Sure, I could travel an hour or two to find these things. But unless you are majorly overhauling a home or planning a super special dinner party, you can't jet off for a 45 minute drive to the next closest city.
I'd like to see HGTV or a Dinner Impossible show make magic happen with local buys in a more rural area. Get out of Ontario Canada or New York City and focus on the regular folks that don't live in a giant urban area. Try Cheyenne! Sure, you can find the random cute vintage chair or lamp at one of our few antique or junk stores. Yes, sometimes King Soopers carries seafood that doesn't smell like 10 day old trout.
I realize that with the right checking account, you can have whatever you want. But with limited funds, you have to get pretty clever with your purchases if you still want the wow factor.
Maybe this is justification for my mediocre surroundings. Maybe it is. Maybe I still have a point.
I'd like to see HGTV or a Dinner Impossible show make magic happen with local buys in a more rural area. Get out of Ontario Canada or New York City and focus on the regular folks that don't live in a giant urban area. Try Cheyenne! Sure, you can find the random cute vintage chair or lamp at one of our few antique or junk stores. Yes, sometimes King Soopers carries seafood that doesn't smell like 10 day old trout.
I realize that with the right checking account, you can have whatever you want. But with limited funds, you have to get pretty clever with your purchases if you still want the wow factor.
Maybe this is justification for my mediocre surroundings. Maybe it is. Maybe I still have a point.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Cleanse
We're a supportive group. Or maybe we are easily persuaded. Either way, we are all doing The Cleanse. It may have a more official name, but I don't know it. Adam decided it was time to bring this bad boy back out and we all jumped on the Cleanse wagon. Today is my day one (of fourteen). I can suffer through no carbs and no sugar. Giving up cheese will be a trial. But no caffeine just may kill me. I'm not a huge soda drinker, but I do love my winter time Earl Grey and my daily coffee. I'm not a giant coffee snob, but when you get used to kick starting your day with 8+ ounces of hot, dark and smooth mouth magic, it's hard to give up. I'm trying non-fruity herbal tea as a substitute, because that is all I am allowed. Additional posts on this subject may be interesting.
Preparedness is key to The Cleanse. You have to prep everything. You can't just nuke a quick meal...you have to cook and plan it all. And unless you include protein and fat in your meals, YOU WILL STARVE. Or at least feel as if you are starving. Mix that with the caffeine withdrawal and the intense craving for carbs and sugar and you've hit the "snap point". Last time I tried this cleanse I hit my snap point around day two or three and couldn't push through. Adam, a pillar of extreme will power, can pretty easily change his diet and stick with it. So he finds the snap point of others amusing, if not downright comical. Cocky bastard.
So here's hoping the caffeine withdrawal doesn't kill me and the snap point is easily overcome!
Preparedness is key to The Cleanse. You have to prep everything. You can't just nuke a quick meal...you have to cook and plan it all. And unless you include protein and fat in your meals, YOU WILL STARVE. Or at least feel as if you are starving. Mix that with the caffeine withdrawal and the intense craving for carbs and sugar and you've hit the "snap point". Last time I tried this cleanse I hit my snap point around day two or three and couldn't push through. Adam, a pillar of extreme will power, can pretty easily change his diet and stick with it. So he finds the snap point of others amusing, if not downright comical. Cocky bastard.
So here's hoping the caffeine withdrawal doesn't kill me and the snap point is easily overcome!
Monday, January 10, 2011
My friends, my champions
"It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us."
- Epicurus
I have some pretty fantastic friends. I know I usually go through my week frustrated or even annoyed by one or more of them, but they constantly surprise me.
I probably rag on my roommates the most. A is singularly gifted at making me angry in no time at all.& We are complete opposites and how we stay friends is such a mystery to me. But this is the same guy that picked me up after oral surgery. He bought me tea last time I got sick. He picks me up when my car is in the shop. He bought tickets to a concert I wanted to go to. He talks me into things I want to do, but am too scared or self-concious to try. He is one of the first people I seek for advice. When I put all this down, I feel like a jackass for being annoyed with him. But let's be real, the man has his flaws. He forgot his wallet at home today so I bought him lunch and gave him my debit card to get gas. This means I have no money this evening and I had no inclination to cook. So My other roommate, D, fishes out his credit card and buys us pizza for dinner. So they are pretty great guys, even though I know I will spend the rest of my evening cleaning up after them...
- Epicurus
I have some pretty fantastic friends. I know I usually go through my week frustrated or even annoyed by one or more of them, but they constantly surprise me.
I probably rag on my roommates the most. A is singularly gifted at making me angry in no time at all.& We are complete opposites and how we stay friends is such a mystery to me. But this is the same guy that picked me up after oral surgery. He bought me tea last time I got sick. He picks me up when my car is in the shop. He bought tickets to a concert I wanted to go to. He talks me into things I want to do, but am too scared or self-concious to try. He is one of the first people I seek for advice. When I put all this down, I feel like a jackass for being annoyed with him. But let's be real, the man has his flaws. He forgot his wallet at home today so I bought him lunch and gave him my debit card to get gas. This means I have no money this evening and I had no inclination to cook. So My other roommate, D, fishes out his credit card and buys us pizza for dinner. So they are pretty great guys, even though I know I will spend the rest of my evening cleaning up after them...
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Erg! Today sucks.
Sometimes I have one of those days where everything comes together just right and I feel so great about myself and my place in the universe. I think, THIS is why I'm alive...THIS is why life is worth it. But generally, I have the kind of day where little things stress me out, I'm unhappy with relationships in my life and I question what I'm doing and where I am. That's when I think, life is the most pointless drag. I'm not about to end it or anything, but sometimes I just don't get what the intent is.
Imagine, generations down the road...people will still be dicks, people will probably be more selfish than they are today (if that's possible) and people will just get worse. Ever notice most apocalyptical movies portray the general masses as weak and greedy? The special characters are always the rare few that still fight for good.
I read a quote today that said, "Living is a continuous learning process. The world is a fascinating place and the more you find out the more you want to find out." - Patricia Wennerstrom. What's the freaking point of learning things for the rest of your life? To die and take those answers underground to share with no one?
No wonder so many religions are big on the afterlife. How else can you make sense of life? I'm not trying to get into a religious debate with myself here, but shit son. If there is no heaven, what's the point?
Imagine, generations down the road...people will still be dicks, people will probably be more selfish than they are today (if that's possible) and people will just get worse. Ever notice most apocalyptical movies portray the general masses as weak and greedy? The special characters are always the rare few that still fight for good.
I read a quote today that said, "Living is a continuous learning process. The world is a fascinating place and the more you find out the more you want to find out." - Patricia Wennerstrom. What's the freaking point of learning things for the rest of your life? To die and take those answers underground to share with no one?
No wonder so many religions are big on the afterlife. How else can you make sense of life? I'm not trying to get into a religious debate with myself here, but shit son. If there is no heaven, what's the point?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Avett!!!!
The Avett Brothers put on two AMAZING concerts this week. They changed up the set list for the second night and still completely rocked my world. The energy there was fantastic...I can't even describe how great it was. Definitely an experience everyone should have. If you don't listen to them, START NOW!!
My brother saw them in Oakland on the 17th and sent me this pic.
The rest of these are pics from my phone. Not great quality, but still amazing!
"Murder in the City" A blurry pic, but I kinda like how it turned out!
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