Ghosts of Halloween Past

My earliest memory of Halloween goes back to the age of 3 and my obsession with Wonder Woman. It was 1974, and we didn’t have a lot of money, so my dad threw a costume together for me consisting of an old white pillow case as a cape, and hand drawn blue W's on a piece of paper on my front. These are great photos of my dad, getting me ready to go trick or treating. I love them because they show him at the age of 25, loving me. He was so young, and yet and so my daddy and so convincing me that I was Wonder Woman. I may look like a girl in a sheet, blue eyeshadow and a pumpkin flashlight, but I WAS Wonder Woman, and I was happy.

I have had many years to improve this costume, and have jumped into my invisible jet, bullet proof bracelets, and golden lasso no less than 6 times, but of all of them, this one is my favorite memory.

BK: Have It Your Way!

And the winner for best costume of the night, goes to (drum roll) Bert as the Burger King, followed by a close second, his wife Lora as Isaac from the Love Boat. Isaac served up cocktails all night long on their ice luge on the lido deck. This along with the living room cleared of all furniture to host the disco ball and dance party made for a great all night event. Lora and Bert sure know how to host a party! Dave and I recycled last years outfit for a new crowd. The ever popular plug and socket were reunited with such hits as "socket to me", "it's electric", "plug it in", "shocking", and "you light up my life". The costume is just an excuse to "connect" to each other all night long. That is until half way through the night when we switch it up and I become the plug. To view the entire album from the night, click here Helloween 2005

We can't wait to give candy to all the kids this year. I promised Seni and Shay extra candy because of the dog peeing episode, though they have no grudges. Oh to be a kid again. Happy Hallowiener to everyone.

Fake teeth+Pumpkin = FUN

The Padrick’s and our neighbors across the alley came over last night for a pumpkin carving party. I made Michelle’s pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for everyone. They were a big hit. I think Clare ate like 5. Gibson even managed to snatch one up and get a nibble, though it wasn’t nearly as bad as the Pate incident of XMAS 2004.

I also made hot spiced apple cider (apple cider, lemon and orange rind, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and maple syrup, heated for 10 minutes on the stove), and pumpkin seeds (olive oil, salt) Can you guess the pumpkin I carved? It was one of the two we harvested from our garden. Here are the fruits of our labor. BOO!

Everything is coming up Pumpkin

For those of you who do not know me, I love making pancakes. I have a pancake recipe for every day of the week. Some of my favorites include spicy ginger, oatmeal bran (for extra kick), and banana walnut. Along with fall, come all of the great foods and scents associated with it, pumpkin of course being the major one. Starbucks has a pumpkin latte, Dairy Queen has a pumpkin Blizzard, Dave buys cases of pumpkin beer, we burn pumpkin candles at home, and I usually make my pumpkin pancakes on the week-end. The only road block this year is that for the past 10 weeks I have not eaten anything except fresh fruit, vegetables, lean proteins and lots of water. All sugar, oil, preservatives, and most carbs were limited. In the next two weeks, I will have foods reintroduced into my diet. The first thing I will do at the end of November, will be to make my pumpkin pancakes. For those who are ready for them now, here is the recipe: (I think it originally came from Bon Appetit)
1 1/4C flour
3TBL sugar
2tsp. baking powder
3/4tsp. salt
1/2tsp. cinnamon
1/2tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/3C milk
3/4C canned pumpkin
4 eggs (separated)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4C butter (melted)

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Separately, mix the milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, melted butter and vanilla. Mix wet with dry. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into the batter. Heat the pan to about medium.

NOTE: For those of you that have never made pancakes, it is not necessary to oil, grease or spray your pan. There is enough butter in this recipe so that they should not stick. When the pancakes bubble across the top, it is time to flip. Also, you can use skim milk, whole milk or buttermilk, whatever you have in the fridge. And if you have a sweet tooth, sprinkling a couple of chocolate chips across the top before you flip is totally ok. And finally, only real maple syrup please.

P.S. Click on the link to the right, Michelle's Blog, to see her recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins that we used to love when living in Muncie, IN.

Beauty secrets of the lazy and hungry

Since I have started the blog, some people have commented that I look youthful, and to you I say, *blush* thanks, you’re the best. And though I no longer get carded at the bar, (and notice you’ll never see any close-ups of me) I think one of the good genes I got from my parents is the ability to be old and look young. Hmmm, that came out wrong. Look young and act younger? Suffice it to say, I never plan on going grey. Aside from my parents, my recent 20lb weight loss, 80oz of water a day, and no sugar or dairy in 2+ months has no doubt helped my skin too. Before I met David, I thought I had a good skin care regimen, but he is a bit skin obsessed. We use moisturizer with 15SPF every day and at night use moisturizer and vitamin C on our faces. We love this stuff by Paula Begoun, author of Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me. I have a friend in Pittsburgh who works in a skin care clinic. Perhaps we can get her to write in with new product recommendations?

The players

Get to know the people who make fodder for the blog.
David – the boyfriend. I love watching him mow the yard and take out the trash. He’s the best roommate a girl could ever ask for.
Mr. Gibson – 5 year old daschund, smart and neurotic. David’s dog originally, but now a mama’s boy.
Miss Tica – 3 year old daschund, ex show girl, don’t let the black hair fool you, she’s a blond underneath it all.
Judy and Steve – My young parents who just moved to CT after living in Indiana for 13 years. Feels good to have them home.

Stitch and Bitch

David signed himself up for a craft fair at work and got my mom and I involved making things for it. I had some extra yarn and decided to crochet ipod socks. I have become a one woman sweat shop making ipod socks and flowers every night. I haven't had any projects in awhile, so I am enjoying it immensely. However, there is a new struggle with the needy dog factor. They insist on being in my lap when I am on the couch. I’ve tried propping up pillows and blankets next to me as a fortress, but Tica always manages to burrow her way through.

I am making the ipod holders in several colors, as you see the green with a blue flower, there will be blue with green, pink, dark green and rust suede ones, and if I get really crazy chenille. Want one for Christmas? Place your order now!

It won't be long, before I'm going to need somebody to pee on

When we get home everyday the dogs are v. excited and sometimes a little too much to take. It was extremely frantic yesterday with Gibson barking, Tica practically strangling herself caught in her blanket, and the doorbell ringing. Seni and Shay (age 13) two kids from the neighborhood wanted to meet our new dog, so I brought them into the back yard. Tica at this point is barking, loud and deep like a male dog, an odd sound b/c we have not really heard her bark. In the meantime, the girls sit down to pet her and Gibson comes up around the back of Shay and lifts his leg on her, and pees DOWN HER BACK. We are not talking dribbles, we are talking full on I haven’t peed in 10 hours, hydrant worthy peeing. Seni was laughing and I was trying not to as I offered to wash her tshirt (which was holey and dirty) but she was speechless so I urged her to go home and change. Priceless. In Gibson's defense, they were sitting in his toilet.

*Names have not been changed to protect the peed on.

Inventor of the Year

Heather is a woman in my book club who quit her job for a big tech company, invented a new product (that we all need) and is building her company full time. It started off when she was younger and her dad would use Tupperware, a plastic tube, and physics to keep their Christmas tree watered. This has now turned into the Evergreen Watering System. Go buy one, for you, your mom, your neighbor, your neightbor's mom, anyone who gets a real tree. Also, look for Heather on QVC soon.

A first for bookclub

For the last 5 years, I have been in a bookclub of 13+ women. We take turns picking books, meeting once a month, and having a potluck based on food themes in the book. Sometimes we’ll even dress up. (crazy ladies) Over the duration, we have often been caught up in a lot of the “Oprah picks”, but from the beginning I have made it my mission to deviate from the norm and pick edgy current literature. Last summer, I read one of the best books I have found in awhile. How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater, by Marc Acito is clever and laugh out loud, people seeing your fillings funny. I was finally able to choose this book last month. The day of bookclub, as I was perusing the internet researching fun discussion topics, I found Marc’s website, with an open invitation to join in on book club discussions. Due to the last minute nature of the request, I knew I could not ask him to call our bookclub, but I emailed him anyway. Holy crap he wrote back AND offered to join us via phone. Let the sweating begin. Suddenly I was reduced to a nervous giggling school girl with sweat marks the size of …saucers, NO dinner plates. That night, 11 30+ year old women sat around my speaker phone like it was a religious icon. A Buddha perhaps? He graciously spoke to us for about 30 minutes answering all of our questions very thoroughly. It was a first for book club, and made me the coolest bookclub book picker ever.

How cute is my boyfriend?

Here's me experimenting with my first picture uploads. Dave and I went to a wedding on Sunday up in the mountains. Check out that sunset. It's real not photoshop. Ok, take a vote, would we have cute kids, ugly rugrats, or Nerdy McNerdersons?

Creative utensils

Ever seen someone eat cottage cheese with a coffee stirrer? Good thing this isn't a webcast blog. Yesterday it was eating scrambled eggs with a plastic knife. You would think I would remember to bring in some plasticware from home. Living life one curd at a time.

This JUST in

Jon Hegel of Denver, CO found out you can run iPod headphones through the washer and dryer in a shirt pocket, and they will still work fine. (the cord just gets really really tangled.)

p.s. Do not try this at home.
p.p.s. This post was manipulation to get Jon Hegel to come view my blog.

Technology Rules

Apparently you aren't somebody unless you have a blog. At last a space to ramble on and on about what goes on in my head, and no one can tune me out. Try as you may, I know you'll come back for more. Some things to look forward to:

My emails with Marc Acito, author of "How I Paid for College, A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship, & Musical Theater. http://marcacito.com/index.html.

How I went from lushy tart to smoke free, carefree, and lighter in the loafers: my life living with a boy and two dogs.

Book of the month, check out what we're reading now!

Love to cook, but can't eat sugar, oil, carbs, fat, processed food or anything with flavor? I've got cooking tips for you.

See you soon. ~Christy