Yay! Another snow day - this time with actual SNOW! And now I am officially on Winter Break for two weeks! I love teaching :-) Who's up for skiing? Heeheehee!

Have fun in the SNOW!!!

So, I'm back in Seattle. Yep, here I am. Ahem. So, what am I supposed to be doing here? Oh yeah, I've got to get a job. Right. Where are those private high schools? ? ????

The wedding was amazing, even if I do say so myself, but the reality of my life has hit me this week. I know that if I were still living in Atlanta everyday/weekend would not be so awesome, but it still is hard to absorb the reality that I now live in Seattle. The streets outside are not familiar to me. I don't know the sneaky backroads to avoid traffic. I don't know where the nearest damn Target is off the top of my head (thankfully I have an iPhone). Mostly, I have no idea what/where to go to get that job I should be able to find so easily. Don't tell me - I'll just flip out. I'll get there - somehow.

It's just that the busy summer of Burning Man is over. The hectic wedding in Atlanta planning is over. The weekend of debauchery with all the very familiar and awesome folks in Atlanta is over. Now I'm in Seattle. Not to say that the people I have met in Seattle are not the bomb diggety (b/c they are quite awesome, too), it's just that they aren't the I've-known-you-for-so-many-years familiar.

For me it is so easy to cut myself off here. I don't have to go outside at all (as evidenced by today). I have no obligations to keep except once a week to my chiropractor. I need structure people. I need a job to get structure. I need to stop whining and get on with it.

Ok - I'm getting on with it. Later!

So, I haven't been posting about the wedding in Atlanta planning b/c it stresses me out to no end, and, quite frankly, I didn't want to post like a broken record.

Thus, I am posting to say "Invitations are on the way!" Finally. I am about 3 weeks late, but the first round has been sent! Yay! There will be more to go out as I am waiting on several addresses. However, this is a real load off.

Now, I must deal with the caterer....

Here ye, Here ye - all in Seattle, wA, that is....I am once again sellng things. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!

1. A beautiful and BARELY USED Refrigerator - Samsung 25.8 cu. ft. french door stainless steel variety w/ bottom drawer freezer for $1200 OBO. Please see Craigs List for details: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/hsh/782985730.html

2&3. A fabulous Washer Dryer Set matching Pearl Gray - LG 4.2 cu.ft. front-loading washer and LG 7.3 cu.ft. electric dryer for $1400 OBO. Please see Craigs List for details:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/hsh/783174107.html

Thank you for your time and attention. Be on the lookout for an update including pictures (I think) and maps of ye old road trip cross country :-)

We have several items being left behind. Let me know if you are interested as I will be trying to sell them for little of nothing.

4 - bookshelves. They are 5 shelf bookshelves, birch/light wood color. $10 each.

1 - microwave. It works great! $10.

1 - fax machine. Works great! $10.

1 - 5 disk DVD changer w/ surround sound. This guy plays DVD/CD's fine, and the speakers work fantastically. However, the tray no longer ejects the entire way, and the display has issues. Will sell for $10.

1 - awesome cabinet w/ glass doors. It stands about 3.5 feet high. Blonde wood color w/ 3 shelves inside. Great for displaying dishes or other items. $20.

1 - set of dishes. We have 8 blue dinner plates, 7 small red plates, 8 yellow bowls. They have chips, but work fabulously. FREE!!!

I - set of 8 each forks, butter knives, salad forks, spoons, soup spoons, etc. $5.

1 - complete set of Cuisinart Stainless Steel cookware. It has never been used. It contains the small saucepan w/ lid, med. saucepan w/ lid, large saucepan w/ lid, small frying pan, large frying pan, and a few other things that I cannot remember at present. Starting bid $100 - try me, I will negotiate on this one.

1 - set of black cannisters - $1.

That is all I can think of at present.

Let me know if you want any of this stuff!!!

First, thank you so much for the notes and thoughts through the tough time last week. It really helped to know that you guys cared. Otherwise, it was a good week for family healing in more ways than one as my mom's family has always had weirdness between them that seemed to start to vanish over the course of those few days. I am glad, and I feel like I'm leaving with everyone in a fairly good place.

Second, the move. I'm feeling a bit like a chicken with my head cut off. I'm off to purchase a refrigerator today to leave for the renters as stnuke and I will be taking our super fridge w/ us.

We've also got a place to live!!! It's the penthouse of an 11 story building w/ a huge private roof-top deck :-) Only thing is we'll have to use their stackable w/d as ours will most likely not fit :-( I'm still taking them with me!

So, I'm going running for the first time today! At present I am waiting for my iPod to recharge. It has been a while since my last run, and I'm afraid it had lost its charge since the last one....

During this time of iPod charging I thought I would update a little on the goings on of me:
1. It is Spring Break! I had no plans/goals for this time off, and thusly, I have not felt the need to run around like a chicken with my head cut off to get things done. IT IS GREAT!!!

2. I got a fabulous hair cut and color. I am back to brunette!!! It is so good to look in the mirror and see dark brown hair. I was trying to grow my hair out for the wedding, but alas, the hair color was so good that I told my stylist (who is the best by the way - and AFFORDABLE!) to cut it off again so that I could have a hair style as great as my color :-)

3. I'm going to physical therapy for my ailing shoulder. It's been hurting since fall, and I figured it was time to do something about it.

4. We bought the wine for the wedding! We'll be making that today - perhaps ;-)

5. We're planning a wedding. Enough Said.

6. I got to see a good friend over the weekend who lives far away (Florida - not that far, but far enough to make visiting a little more difficult).

7. SPADES!!!

8. Did I mention we're planning a wedding?

That's about it. I'm going to go and pound the pavement w/ my fabulous running shoes.

Have a great day!!!

WOOHOO!!!!!

So, it's been a HUGE month. September brought me a proposal that took me an hour to get :-) and a house! I have become a fiancee and a home owner. How weird. And I still cannot find my keys....I'm not sure I can handle this responsibility!

In other news, Merry Wives of Windsor opened this past weekend, and I have never been so glad for a play to open in my life! I have my evenings back, of course they are already booked - I have an ongoing date w/ my apartment and a large stack of boxes.

OK, back to the play go to www.northfultondramaclub.org. The play is free (we like donations, though) and in Roswell, GA. It runs two more weekends - Oct. 5, 6, 12, 13 at 8pm. Come on out and cheer stnuke and I on! He's got tons of lines in this one, and my character speaks nothing but nonsense - I think I might have been type cast. Not to mention, I'm funny! No really, and I'm in a wig - imagine, that, me in a wig ;-)

Alrighty folks, get back to work! and come and see the play when you are not working!

a little tidbit

:-)

So, I just arrived home from the Skin Two party at Wet Bar....it was fantastic! I had a blast - danced my ass off, loved the club, and really enjoyed the shows!!! Woohoo!

Good night

So, I'm officially on vacation, and I'm starting it off w/ a trip to Peoria, IL. I'll be there until Tuesday. Then I have approx. 8 weeks until school starts again!!! YIPPEE!!! I have not had this much time off w/o any work obligations since undergrad - woohoo! Not that I'm excited or anything.

So, when I get back, anyone want to get together and do stuff? Or is anything going on?

"School's Out for SUMMER"

Stolen from lovelylotus:



How did they know?!?!

I'm
a Hufflepuff!


So, this is how one spends the morning when one should be frantically packing for frolicon....

I spent the morning communing with my kids - oh, you didn't know about my children? Well, let me ( introduce you )

Yes, indeed, there is work to be done, but I just wanted to drop a small update on the LJ world. All is well at present. I cannot speak for the future, but for today, it is good. I have two carved pumpkins - one is small and one is large-r. I have baked pumpkin seeds, and I'm sitting in a fairly clean apartment with my plants, who are all lookin' good!

stnuke and I had a lazy morning filled w/ the BEST omelet ever (and no captainstekimal he was still NOT wearing pants). Then we discovered a rotting pumpkin and decided that we had to carve the remaining two before it was too late! We'll have to purchase more pumpkins for darthbecca and troyisburning (because theirs was the one with the rotten bottom) so that they might use their pumpking carving tool, which totally rocks!!! Thanks for ours!!!

I found that blowing bubbles off of the balcony is really fun! They rarely make it to the ground due to the wind sweeping them away.

I also found out that a friend from high school has gained a much needed independence for the first time in her adult life. YOU GO GIRL!!! Stay strong!

It was fabulous seeing burners last night! And the beer festival was fantastic!!! However, after hour two, I was toast - basically.

OK, off to continue the work that must be done.

You gotta love it when out of the billions of people in this country, only 58 have your first and last name together, at the same time, that is. I never actually thought about original names....hmmmm.....

Hey!

So, I have recovered from the nasty strep throat that held me in its grasp. I have managed to semi-control my Sims habit (stnuke got the Complete Collection for me - I'm doomed). And, I turned in my two-week notice at Wolf! Yes, my last day is July 21st. Come by if you'd like a camera sold to you by yours truly, but don't wait!

I start my new career as a shaper of young minds on August 2nd.

I think I'll check out how the decorations are coming for Sexxxy Halloween.

Every Christmas for about 5 years starting at the age of 5, I had strep throat. Of course, all of my friends had their tonsils removed shortly after birth, but for some reason, I still to this day have both of mine perfectly intact and awaiting those little puss filled pustules to attack. And attack they did, Tuesday late afternoon. I should have known at the first signs of headache and swollen lymph nodes, but it's been about 15 years since my last attack. The mind is rusty.

So, I go to work all day Wednesday (I guarantee that I gave it to at least one person b/c I was definitely contagious that day) with my condition steadily worsening. Wednesday night, I finally relented and looked at the back of my throat. There they were - the nasty little spots on my tonsils. The sign that has always meant one thing: I have strep throat. Thus, I call my doctor as soon as they open on Thursday morning and manage to wrangle an appointment.

Now, when I was getting this every year, my doctor, a wonderful, yet very old man, Dr. Gray, began prescribing a 24 hour penicillin shot. This thing hurt like crazy, but it worked and meant that my poor, swollen throat didn't have to swallow cow-sized penicillin pills. So, I loved that shot, and actually looked forward to it b/c it meant that I'd be relatively pain free in about 2 days.

Yesterday - Doctor's office:
Me: So, can I get the 24 hour penicillin shot?
Dr: (looks at me as though I'm missing an eyeball)
Me: Well, you see, I had strep throat for about 5 years in a row as a child, and I was given a 24 hour penicillin shot more than once.
Dr: (still looking like I'm completely off my rocker) Well, you only get something like that with certain blood levels (what the hell does that mean???)
Me: So, you don't give those to people anymore?
Dr: (Now looking at me as though I am a 5 year old) I'll prescribe amoxicillin.

Thus, instead of the wonderful thing that I received in the 80's I got the stupid pills that I have to take for 10 days or the streptococci will develop resistance to amoxicillin, thus becoming the super killer of today. Sigh.

However, I am feeling much better after only 3 doses of those pills, which are not as large as I remember. I was five, mind you. Things look much larger at that age.

I shall probably return to work tomorrow. As for today I'm going to play my new SIMS game (old version - I'm not a big fan of the new SIMS 2, way too complicated, in my humble opinion. I also prefer original NES games to the really tripped out new ones.).

Also, the new flagship for Wolf Camera has the GRAND OPENING tomorrow at 3141 Piedmont road, which is located in Buckhead at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont across from the restaurant Bones. The 14th Street location is now CLOSED. Please come and see me tomorrow (I will not be contagious - I SWEAR) at the new location! It's pretty and it's small. So, that makes it pretty small ;-)

What does one do w/ the EIGHT or so sweet potatoes generously bequeathed upon one by one's grandmother? Well, I decided to go where no one I knew had gone in sweet potato cooking. I made three scrumptious delights, which pleased even the pickiest of pickies stnuke! If you, too, would like to make such pallet pleasing delights, please follow the following simple recipes:

Sweet Potato and Lemongrass Soup from the Avoca Cafe Cookbook (Avoca Cafe in Ireland - now they know potatoes)

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs onions, peeled and chopped
8 oz. potatoes, peeled and chopped (that's the Irish variety)
2 oz. butter
1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 pints vegetable stock (I picked up the vegan, organic stuff, but it's not necessary)
6-8 lemongrass stalks (I'd go w/ the 8)

Sweat the onions and potatoes in butter over very low heat (in a stock pot of at least 3 quarts) for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat them in butter. Pour in stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. In the mean time, remove the outer dry layers of the lemongrass (just look for more tender pieces) and finely chop the moist interior. Cover chopped lemongrass with boiling water and leave for 10 minutes, then add the lemongrass and its soaking water to the soup. Puree in a blender, then reheat (if necessary) and season to taste.


Sweet Potato Puffs from the Joy of Cooking

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Have ready:
2 cups of riced (I boiled whole w/ skins on) cooked sweet potatoes.
Peel, mash and add:
1 cup of ripe mashed banana
Combine and add, stirring well:
1.5 tablespoons melted butter
1 beaten egg yolk
1.5 teaspoons salt
3 to 4 tablespoons (used 4) hot milk or cream (used cream)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg or ginger (optional - I chose ginger)
Beat until stiff:
1 egg white
Fold stiff egg white lightly into potato mixture. Drop the batter from a tablespoon in mounds - well apart - on a greased tin, or place the mixture in buttered ramekins (I used ramekins, and it worked wonderfully. It also makes for easy reheating). Bake about 12 minutes (might take a bit longer as the recipe makes 4 servings. I divided it into 6 servings to make cooking time shorter, but ended up cooking 12 minutes. I think the 4 serving size would be better b/c you'll want to eat a good size portion of this stuff. So, maybe a little extra cooking time for 4 servings?).


Sweet Potato Pie from Easy Cooking from the Cove (I have no idea where this book came from)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk (I know, heresy, but it's an "Easy" cookbook)
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring (I used about 1/2 stick of real vanilla)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I cannot stand this stuff, so I put in a little nutmeg, cinnamon and paprika - really small amount of paprika)
3 cups sweet potatoes - cooked and mashed (once again boiled whole and peeled after)
1.5 cups sugar
3 eggs beaten

Cook potatoes, drain. Add sugar and butter. Cover and let set until sugar and butter melt. Add other ingredients and mix w/ electric mixer (duh) until smooth. Pour into 2 deep crust or 3 regular crust pie pans. Bake for about 30 minutes (I did the deep crusts and found it took 45 minutes in the steel pan and a little less than one hour in the glass pan).


Plain Pastry for a Two Crust Pie from the James Beard Cookbook (yes, I made a crust)

I just used the recipe to line the bottom of the two deep dish pie plates. I suppose the pie could have a top crust, but I'd never be able to get it to stick together enough.

Ingredients:
2.5 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons of butter (shortening or lard if you prefer)
3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water (not kidding on the "ice cold")

Hints from James Beard: "I feel that pastry is best made w/ butter." "Handle the pastry as little as possible [he is not kidding on this one]. Make it in a cool spot using ice cold water and cold butter and be sure your fingers are as cool as possible." [The cool is big as my butter sat out of a while and my fingers, for once, were very warm. I think it made my job much harder.]

"Into a large bowl....sift the flour and salt. Add the butter or shortening (see above). Put shortening in a hollow in the center of the flour and blend it w/ your fingertips until it is distributed through the flour and has a mealy consistency. Don't press it or knead; just flake it gently. When it is mealy add about 3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water and work the mixture into a ball.If you need a little more water, add it, but be very careful not to add too much. The less water used, the better. The pastry should stick together but not be doughy. Roll the ball of pastry up in wax paper and put it in the refrigerator to chill for 20-30 minutes.
"To roll out: Divide the dough in half and put one half on a lightly floured board. Flour a rolling pin lightly and press it down into the center of the dough. Roll gently out toward the edge, turning the dough around to shape it evenly into a circle. When it is rolled out large enough to fill the bottom of the pie tin, roll it over the rolling pin and transfer it to the pie tin, unrolling it evenly over the bottom [IF ANYONE GETS THE DOUGH TO THIS POINT, YOU ROCK! I just transferred my pathetic looking semi-shaped and falling apart dough w/ my two hands to the pie tin and then proceeded to shape it to the bottom of the pan. Yes, it was ugly, but tasty!!]. Pat it down to fit the pan and trim off the edges, leaving a slight overhang to seal w/ the top crust. [So, no overhang for me as this is where my story ends.]"

This crust is tedious and do not roll it too many times as it will start to stick to the rolling pin and become a pain. However, it is so good w/ the pie that I could not include the pie recipe w/o the crust recipe.

No pictures of my delights, but I assure you they are pretty as well as pleasing.

Bon appetit!