feastsoffonder

[feastsoffonder]

So Long Melbourne

Even though it was raining and I didn't feel too inspired I made myself walk around for a bit to get out of the hostel. I found this really great umbrella display in the mall. From this view I hoped the umbrellas would rise up and a bunch of Mary Poppins would appear!

Free pasta night in the hostel was amazing! The roasted pepper sauce was really delicious and I loved the addition of fruit cups!

I wandered into a building where I found a one day only button sale, what were the odds of that?! It made me wish Amanda was with me because she would have been in button heaven! The buttons were organized by color no less!

If my grandmother were to take a trip to Melbourne, I would expect her reaction to the art museum would be something along the lines of, “What a monstrosity!” And I imagine few people would argue with her on that one!

The museum did have some really lovely aboriginal artwork though. This painting in particular attracted me because as anyone who knows me might imagine, it would make for a fantastic puzzle! 

This is one of the best lamps I have ever seen. I only hope that in my journey I do not some across any jelly fish of this size, at least not if I’m also in the water! 

I gave the footy another try and was pleased to be in good company this go around. It was also a much closer game, thus making it far more exciting! This picture is terrible but my happy face is in there somewhere, with a stocking hat that is unmistakable! 

In an effort to not post so many of the same things, with little to nothing exciting or different to add to them, I would usually cut this one but this one has a story too good not to share! On a leisurely morning in the hostel I was approached by one of my roommates, asking if I wanted to clean the hostel in exchange for 2 free nights. Initially I wasn’t really interested and then I realized the foolishness of passing up the opportunity to save some money!

Little did I know what was ahead of me! I was making good process until I made it to a room where upon entering sat Brad, who turned out to be from Nebraska. Are you kidding me?! Iowans and Nebraskans are not known for being big travelers. Apparently, he was able to get sponsored to live and work in New Zealand, which worked out perfectly since he apparently finds Omaha boring. I must admit that he had the strangest accent I have ever heard, never would have guessed he’s from the homeland!

After this exciting happening I got back to my cleaning. One of the next rooms I entered had a girl in it that asked if I could clean under one of the guy’s beds as it had been quite some time. Little did I know that I would have the misfortune of finding multiple used condoms, how disgusting! Do what you please but clean up after yourself! Luckily it was free pancake day or I’m not sure I would have made it! Could someone explain to me what Australian’s idea to put sugar and syrup on pancakes is about? Seems a bit redundant, though I feel compelled to do it anyway!

Lunch at Om with Helima also helped with the trauma! There is nothing quite like an unlimited vegetarian buffet. No concern of meat byproducts getting into your chickpeas is sometimes a really nice change of pace. We shared wonderful conversation and at least two rounds of food. A highly successful meal in my opinion!

On our way back to the hostel we popped into the casino, where an extravagant display of ceiling lights entertained us for longer than it should have. We also made some money but didn’t spend any, work that one out!

In my job searching I came across an ad for a German girl, Lydia, looking to meet people around Melbourne. I don’t know what inspired me to respond, I suppose reaching out to someone who felt somewhat lost and alone in distant land, wishing for someone to talk to. I had all sorts of people in the hostel concerned that I was going to end up tied to a chair in the basement of some psychopath’s house but I went for it anyway.

We struggled to set up a time and even further to actually find each other when we were actually trying to find each other. She told me to meet her under the big clock in the mall, what were the odds there would be more than one big clock in the mall?! It all came together and we walked around until we found a Pancake Parlour where we got drinks and had a lovely chat. All the fears everyone had were put to rest and she turned out to not be a dirty old man after all! Success on finding a new friend!

Helima and I went for lunch at Crossroads, the Hare Krishna restaurant in Melbourne, and once again were stuffed to the brim! The peach halava and custard turned out to be surprisingly tasty even though I find custard to be somewhat of a strange thing.

I made the trek earlier in the week to check out the Queen Victoria Market after hearing only good things about it only to find that I of course picked one of the days it is closed. I was smarter the second time around and made sure I picked a day where I could view the beauty of seemingly endless produce. The main problem with waiting so long to go to the market was that I accepted a job in a small town, which required me to travel the following day. 

Roaming the streets of Melbourne I kept seeing a place called Hungry Jack’s, exhibiting a logo remarkably similar to that of Burger King. I discovered that there was already a restaurant called Burger King in Adelaide when the Burger King that I am familiar with tried to move into Australia. So, a list of suitable names was given and Hungry Jack’s was the choice. At least after uncovering the reasoning for the similar logo I turned out not to be so crazy after all!

The last meal before going into the unknown of living and working in a pub in a town called Rainbow. Who calls a town Rainbow? I had no idea what I was in for when I accepted the job but I was certainly happy to not have to job search anymore! 

One of my two purchases at the market was this delightful juice. I certainly wished I had made better use of the market before going to live in the middle of nowhere! Oh well, better late than never!

After walking past a bakery on nearly a daily basis Sapphire and I finally had to see if the Cupcake Bakery was as good as it looked before I rolled out of town the next day. I wasn't overly happy with mine but Sapphire was delighted with her so I suppose it is up to you do make the decision for yourself!

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Melbourne Walking Tour, Take 2

I really enjoyed the first walking tour and was perhaps looking for something to do more than anything so I decided to give another tour and another tour guide a try. This tour actually proved to be much more successful because I met some really lovely people and since it was a rainy and dreary day it took slightly more dedicated people to not only make it through the tour but also to enjoy it. 

One of the first stops was Melbourne's smallest art gallery, consisting of this small enclosed space no larger than a medium sized ottoman (Does this even make sense?). I believe the exhibit changes regularly so you never know what you may find but you also have to know where to find it because it is certainly tucked away, just waiting to be discovered by the observant eye.

Naturally there was another visit to Suga, this time was much shorter though and not nearly as detailed. How many people really need the start to finish version of making rock candy when I'm pretty sure it was nearly an hour process? It was a bit exciting to watch a girl throw this stuff around though!

I'm sure that the guests at the wedding of Debra and her man will be delighted with such personalized treats though!

I believe these are called Golliwog dolls and a visit by Oprah a couple years ago conjured up some issues and a store in the Block Arcade decided to remove a particular version of the doll that is apparently offensive to Americans. http://www.news.com.au/national-news/melbourne-store-removes-golliwog-to-avoid-offending-oprah-winfrey/story-e6frfkvr-1225967966376 

The specific doll is reminiscent of Aunt Jemima in my mind and I feel a google search sort of agrees. And the only way Aunt Jemima could be offensive is that no one will ever make a pancake brand exhibiting more enthusiasm than her!

It is possible I went on the tour again solely for more free chocolate samples though this guy certainly didn't have as much pull as the girl on the first tour did!

And in the same fashion we also went to get cheap and greasy Chinese food, though at a price that didn't make me feel like the tour guide was running a scam to make some extra money! A dodgy description that could be described with further enquiry!

After an exciting tour during the day, the night took on a light of its own with a pub crawl. It was great to have met Sapphire and James earlier in the day and to be able to hang out with them that night. A friendly boys versus girls game of pool resulted in my extreme skill getting 2 balls in in one shot. Of course the rest of my team was in the bathroom during this amazing feat but the fellas certainly saw their victory quickly come to an end. 

I wonder if the boys had a poster like this in their bathroom though? If so, I suppose a question like this could end in a much greater victory for the night!

For a country who is not particular ambitious in world usage, I would expect trash to be the preference since it is only one syllable! 

[feastsoffonder]

First Tim Tam Experience!

After being informed as to how delicious Tim Tam's are it was time to see for myself. The hype proved to be true, they are a delightful treat :).

[feastsoffonder]

Power

Australia, you couldn't have just left the prongs straight? Do you really have to change everything just enough that it makes you feel different? :P

[feastsoffonder]

Melbourne Walking Tour

I went with Ester so she could close her bank account and I could open one. I had a limited amount of time before the hostel walking tour and I of course found the absolute slowest person to set up my account, his finger pecking and wandering eyes made me edgy. Thankfully, he got everything done just in time for me to make it back for the start of the tour.

There's quite a bit of legal street art in Melbourne and it changes on a regular basis so you may never see the same twice. This was by far one of the best I saw, it really is quite amazing!

A collection of sayings, the one in the bottom left corner is my favorite :).

I think I remember seeing one of these somewhere in Europe and that was over 5 years ago so 'near' must be a pretty loose term :P.

These strange car/truck things are everywhere! Apparently this is what nearly every labor oriented worker gets because trucks are not common in Australia, or so the tour leader says. I think that perhaps heading outside of Melbourne may prove this theory untrue :P.

Love this!

Switchboard Cafe apparently has the best coffee in the world which almost tempted me to try it but I instead opted for hot chocolate which I'm sure I enjoyed far more. Switchboard used to be a coat closet and has since been converted into a coffee shop and cafe. It really is quite adorable!

The biggest portion of the tour was spent at Suga where we saw how rock candy is made. We saw from the point where the colors were mixed to the picture below where the stuff was being stretched to make it nearly white in color.

We then saw how they formed the letters and shaped the candy. I was really confused as to how that big mass was going to become small bits of candy but I waited in anticipation!

It was then revealed! All it took was stretching it out, what a marvel!

<3 Melbourne, they ran out of time before the candy was starting to harden so the 'I' didn't make the cut :P.

Ahhhh! The final product! And was it ever delicious!

We then went to Haigh's Chocolate, where we had these exceptionally delicious samples. I don't usually like fruit and chocolate together but I was throughly impressed with the white chocolate variety.

Chinese food is one of the only reasonably priced food varieties found in Melbourne so we headed to Dumpling House for lunch. I was not that thrilled with any of it but I was hungry and wanted to improve my chopstick skills further so I ate my fair share :P.

We were told to wander down a street that had many signs with entertaining, strange and profound sayings. 

I can't believe how many Ford's I've seen! I'm happy that Victorian's aren't afraid to let everyone know how they view their state :P.

I cannot believe that not only is are these warnings all over the streets but there's a fine for pouring oil down the drains. How did this even become a problem?!

Indeed, TV is not life!

We went on a secret mission to see this view of Melbourne and were successful without getting thrown out :D. The tour was finished shortly after this and after quite a bit of walking I was happy to head back to the hostel knowing far more about the city :).

[feastsoffonder]

First Footy Game!

The hostel I stayed in had a $15 AFL deal so I decided to see what footy was all about. Before we headed for the MCG a VHS tape from the 90s was shown to give us an idea of the rules and such. I learned 3 things from this video, I mostly figured out how points are scored, the 90s looked far more retro than I anticipated and the AFL of today is not nearly as aggressive or violent as it was back in the day!

The sadness I felt over the lack of violence was compensated for with this beautiful mullet that was in front of me. It had been a long time since I'd seen a solid business in the front and party in the back combination!

I was pleased to have figured out how the scoring worked so I at least had a vague idea as to what was going on. Aside from the scoring, I was informed that footy pretty much is just a bunch of men running around all over the place without any real organization to it so overall I feel I have a pretty good grasp of the sport :).

On our way to the game we stopped for snacks because at the MCG you can bring in food and any drinks other than alcohol. I love this concept, if only America could also grasp this idea!

I found this quite hilarious. So I can send a text that says, "Jon is giving me the cold shoulder."? :D

After the game I was hanging out in the lounge area of the hostel and met Ester and found out she was heading back to Spain the following day so we went out for dinner. After walking around for a while trying to find something cheap, other than Chinese food, we were unsuccessful and settled on a nicer looking Chinese restaurant. This was a load of food and yet at the end of the meal I did not feel anymore satisfied! Rice and vegetables just don't cut it when you're hungry! I did improve my chopstick skills though :).

We had a lovely dinner and chat, it's too bad I always seem to meet people at the end of their journey!

[feastsoffonder]

Starting Things Off In Melbourne

After getting organized at the airport it was time to figure out how to get into Melbourne and where to stay. Since I hadn't gotten good sleep for over a day I thought I would get a hotel for a night just to have some privacy and recover. After paying $6 for 30 minutes of internet I discovered that it would cost a minimum of $100 to stay in a hotel and at that rate I decided a hostel would suit me just fine! 

I got on the SkyBus and was on my way to the YHA I found before I left. After the confusion created by every 2 streets sharing roughly the same name, I found free internet access at a Krispy Kreme and rerouted myself to Flinders St. instead of Flinders Ln. I got myself a room and a membership for YHA, expecting to stay in YHA's often throughout my journey. I got to my room and discovered what seemed to be an antisocial girl and decided I probably wouldn't be meeting any life long friends on this night :P.

My feelings toward the YHA quickly changed after I discovered I would have to pay $8/day for internet! Blasphemy! I used the $8 internet to search for a different place to stay in the upcoming days. After reaching another point of weakness due to hunger it was time to find dinner. I was going to eat in the cafe downstairs but soon discovered that it was only open for breakfast and lunch. Onward and upward! I walked around and found an event center that has fire shooting out every hour, though I wasn't aware of this until later.

A kebab seemed like the simplest, cheapest, fastest thing to have for dinner so I sat and ate by the water, waiting for the fire, which of course didn't come.

After the kebab I headed back for the hostel because I was more than ready to go to bed! I think it was about 8.30 or 9 and I slept straight through until morning. I woke up the following morning, packed up my belongings and checked out. I went to breakfast just downstairs in Five66 with one of my roommates, a Welsh girl named Kat. I was pleasantly surprised with my choice of granola, apples and yogurt, since I'm not much a fan of yogurt I didn't expect much but it was quite tasty! After we ate she told me a great deal about her travels in Australia and informed me of her must see recommendations.

After breakfast we parted ways and I went back to the hostel to use the rest of my internet time to look for jobs. Kat told me about the free tram around Melbourne, so I hopped on and enjoyed the opportunity to not walk around with my belongs for a bit. One of the only things I remember from the overhead information on the tram was that there are 170 languages spoken in Melbourne, which seems to me to be an exceptionally large number of languages!

I found my next hostel and happily unloaded my belongings again before setting out to find some groceries.

My first Australian grocery shopping experience was successful, though food here is so very expensive!

I was really pleased with the Australian cheese I found but a cheese sandwich without butter is quite depressing. Thins salt and vinegar chips are possibly the best chips I've ever had so they made up for the lack of butter :).

I was thrilled to have free breakfast the next morning in the hostel. My body doesn't necessarily like the whole milk after not really having milk for years but I don't let that stop me :).

For anyone who's interested, the outlets are only slightly different than the ones used in the States. Really Australians, you found it necessary to slant them enough just to make it a pain in the rump? :P

I hadn't heard of Vegemite until Dan brought it to my attention and I was pleased to see it at breakfast so I could give it a taste. I didn't expect it to look quite as disgusting as it did but it did not look very appealing.

I tried it the following day and was not all that impressed by it and I was very happy that I was instructed to use only a small amount of I would have been quite sad to have such an overwhelming taste in such a large quantity. I don't think I'll be adding Vegemite to my diet anytime soon!

Free pancakes occur each Sunday as well and considering I try to remind myself not to eat pancakes because they make me feel sick, I was really happy with how good this one was!

[feastsoffonder]

En Route to Australia

After a leisurely day preparing for my trip it was finally time for it to commence! Mom and dad took me to the airport, where I got hung up on the seatbelt as I was trying to get out of the car and fell on the cement, lovely way to start a 24-hour travel day! After that I went to check-in and it wasn't registering my passport as having any flight information attached to it. Perfect! Luckily, a somewhat unpleasant gentleman at the counter helped me out and I was on my way. I had the final farewells with the parents and I was on my way. 

I get made fun of for thinking I need to be at the airport 2 hours in advance but I am not one to chance something going wrong after I spent nearly $2,000 on a ticket :). Eppley is the only airport I have been that has free internet and for that it is my favorite, yes it really is that simple :D. It is also an easy going, low stress airport to maneuver around. Everything went well and I was to my gate well in advance. It was the usual snacks and beverages offered by Delta from Omaha to Minneapolis.

I had a short layover in Minneapolis and then it was on to LA. I was not feeling particularly well and in a rare decision got Sprite in the hope that I would not need to use the vomit bag :).

I ended up being particularly happy that I found a man who was also on his way to Australia to help me find my way to the next gate. LAX is a nightmare! If I can avoid flying there in the future I most certainly will! Once I found the gate and knew I was within arms reach of where I needed to be it was time to find food. I hadn't had anything that resembled a meal in 10 hours so I was feeling pretty desperate but no thanks to the food court which only had Starbucks and Burger King! In a moment of weakness I must admit that I almost broke down and had BK, and even considered a hamburger, yes I was THAT hungry! Fortunately, I kept my self-control and just ate the raisins and almonds I had with me. 

The Virgin Australia accommodations were the best I've ever seen on a flight! The seats were spacious, as were the aisles. There were headphones, ear plugs, a blanket and a pillow on every seat and everyone had their own TV with remote! All of the movies, music, etc. on the TV were free! We boarded the plane and sat for quite some time as it was being refueled and I used my final minutes on American ground to text the only person awake at 2 am since my phone would soon be out of service range for the next 6 months!

I tried to sleep for a while but it was difficult since I was quite hungry so I was thankful when dinner arrived! I have no idea what it was but I ate it and told myself it was delicious! It was some sort of curry dish I believe and I have no idea where a rice cake comes into play but I didn't let that stop me from eating every last bite!

After dinner, I slept off and on for 8 hours or so. Sleeping in an upright position does not work well for me but I got by. When I decided it was no longer worth my time to shut my eyes in the hope of sleep I watched My Week With Marilyn. I wasn't overly impressed but I am a fan of Michelle Williams so I at least enjoyed her acting. 

Breakfast came early due to potential turbulence and yet another rice cake! There are plenty of breads that do not have animal byproducts in them for vegans if that is the concern! I enjoyed the potato cake things and following breakfast watched an Australian movie called Wish You Were Here. I liked it better than My Week With Marilyn but it wasn't necessarily something I would recommend. 

To end my 15 hour nonstop flight experience I watched 50/50, knowing full well that it would not let me down! I cannot tell you how uncomfortable sitting for 15 hours is and thinking about it now it amazes me that I made it through it as well as I did. I had a lovely couple from Australia in the seats next to me who gave me tidbits about Australia and it's history. The most interesting thing I remember was that if you import a car you have to have it reconfigured so you can drive on the right side but if it is a vintage car (I don't remember the specific year) this is not necessary. How in the world does that make any sense, Australia?!

We safely arrived in Melbourne and it was then time to search out my checked bag which amazingly arrived! For some reason I had a feeling it wouldn't make it and was thrilled to see it come down the shoot! I made it through customs and was surprised I was allowed to keep all of my food as I had been warned on the plane that you have to throw all food away before leaving the airport. Thank you sniffing dog for not finding anything that needed to be thrown away :).

[feastsoffonder]

The Final Days Stateside!

After being stressed out to break the news to grandma about my trip and the fact that it went better than expected a stop at Dairy Queen was a necessary reward!

And over Subway I broke the news to dad, who really didn't have a lot to say about it and I think may have been so shocked by the news that he was speechless :P.

After dad went downstairs it was time to break out the Breyer's and this time the crushed mint Oreos were an excellent addition!

Our big final night before my flight celebration was a healthy serving of ice cream :).

Dan visited before we left for the airport and even though I cried right before I took the picture it's not too noticeable :). 

[feastsoffonder]

Mynabirds Record Release Show!

I met Kelly and Jon at Goodnights for dinner before the show. The Apple Walnut Pizza was delicious but wasn't very filling as one slice! The servers seemed weird and we weren't impressed with our plastic cups but at least the food was good! 

After a stop in American Appareal only to realize that the hipster scene doesn't suit us we headed to Slowdown and with a nearly empty room got supreme seats! Honeybee and Hers started the show, the lead singers voice was really nice but the instrumentals had room for improvement.

I love Jake Bellows voice and I don't think he needs a band to back him! 

I was quite pleased that I delayed my trip by a bit so I could make it to the Mynabirds release show since I've loved them for so long and since their first show!

The new album has a totally different vibe than the first album and while I don't think I could ever love an album as much I love "What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood" but I believe this one will grow on me!

They closed the show with a stellar rendition of the Beatles "Birthday" and ended the night on the best note possible. 

I really must give Jon props for taking such a good picture! He even made 2 quite pale girls look like they have color :D! While they didn't have to they treated me to a great night out on the town before my upcoming adventure! I look forward to many more adventures when I get back :)! 

Since dinner didn't last long I headed to Hy-Vee and while I looked around for suitable snacks I knew my heart was set on Chili Cheese Fritos :P. It still amazes me that they're that much better than the originals!

[feastsoffonder]

June 2012

Another family graduation party, though this time we were 2 family members down and only had to travel to Shelby! The edible arrangement was the food highlight for me!

I can't pretend that the cake was good, especially not after the last party but I scraped off the red and blue parts and ate the rest! Overall, it was another nice afternoon socializing with the family :).

I finally got inspired to cook something and with carrots and eggs to use Ricotta Carrot Quiche was the answer! The recipe is for crustless but what's quiche without crust?! It turned out well and I'm sure with a little fresher ingredients it would have been than much better :). http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2057708

I set out for a new travel bag for my upcoming adventure so Canfield's was where I hoped I would find something to meet all my needs. I walked in and eyed the one I wanted immediately but thankfully the employers are super helpful there and I straightened me out on the things I would want for what I will be using it for. An extra $100 later and my mission was accomplished!

I was also in search of new running shoes but after the lofty purchase I made right before I got to Scheel's I was completely overwhelmed and couldn't make a decision so I saved that for another day :P. Thankfully Whole Foods had an amazing array of samples to make me feel better about life, including cherries!

It was then to Nick's to make pizza! We got the crust going and headed to Hy-Vee for the rest of the ingredients. We made many errors though, poor sauce selection, could have used fresher cheese, overcooked the crust and the oregano was bad! So, pretty much everything went wrong, though the crust would have been fine if we hadn't cooked it so long. Even with all the disappointments we still managed to eat it all :)!

After dinner it was time to head for the Waiting Room for the KLB! 

They did not play nearly long enough but it was a fun show anyway!

Spoonfed Tribe was interesting but not really my style so I watched for a bit then headed home!

I wasn't really looking forward to another trip to West Omaha but I decided it'd be good to get most of my errands done so I wouldn't be stressed out about them later in the week! I got some new kicks at DSW and only had to pay $6 thanks to leftover funds from painting at church! We did some bike research for Austin, though it seemed unnecessary since we didn't really expect him to come to Omaha to buy a bike. The girl at Greenstreet brightened my dream of not having a car in Omaha when she said that none of the employs there own one! 

M's Pub provided lunch, starting with the house salad. The sun-dried tomatoes were really a nice touch!

We shared the Vegetarian Lahvosh, which was absolutely delicious!

And to finish things off we had rhubarb cobbler and were totally satisfied, though I am not a fan of dried ginger!

Since I had a feeling it would be my last Taco Ride for a while I pushed for a stop at Tastee Treat for a malt! Mom decided to get a head start on the way back so dad and I shared a malt and surprisingly I didn't feel bad while I was riding at all!

The tacos were super filling and the chips were sadly not very flavorful but we had a nice time talking to Diane and posse, what a lady! Dad was fully absorbed in his chat with mark so he wasn't being grumpy about leaving :).

Dad got donuts the night before so I made some maple frosting to doctor mine up! It was really more delicious than I even imagined!

The last Saturday night dinner at the Minden Bowl for a while!

I had Breyer's ice cream that I didn't want to leave around so I got carried away with it for 3 days but I did share with mom :).

[feastsoffonder]

May 2012

It was good to get back in the swing of things with Zumba on Wednesday and Taco Ride on Thursday. Ember and Rob learned the beauty of parking in Mineola and getting the whole ride done before eating and drinking so they got done shortly after we finished eating. As she talked about Coach purses and mom pointed out that the free bag I got for ordering a magazine was the equivalent to my Coach purse I realized that the fact no man has snatched me up is ridiculous :)!We had a nice chat while dad got weird and quiet, as he usually does when he decides he wants to leave. Men only get more strange as they get older! :P

2 tacos definitely wasn't enough so a stop at Casey's was definitely welcomed.

Mom and I were recruited to help dad sow grass seeds out on one of the farms so after work we all piled in the truck and headed for Neola. While it went fairly fast, we didn't realize what a project it would be and the wind made it that much more difficult. Mom got to be the truck driver and picked us up when we got to the end of a terrace. I must admit that I do enjoy family projects though! And they're even better when there's a snack break in the middle :).

He was going to pay us $20 each for helping but I told him that was ridiculous and he could just take us to dinner instead. We had a big chat with Betty about gardening and the downfall of the Postal Service. It was then home for What Would You Do? and Undercover Boss!

I had an unexpected late night but was happy to wake up to dad making waffles!

We all then went to visit grandma since it was Mother's Day and stopped in Shelby for and afternoon treat.

We went to Famous Dave's for dinner and I was pleasantly surprised with the macaroni and cheese, though it was just a side dish. Fries, macaroni, apples and a cornbread, balanced :P!

After hearing about it for months, I finally decided to clean out grandma's freezer. These are all tubs of fruit she prepared and froze, so sad that they all went to waste but when I saw '96 on one of the lids I wasn't going to take any chances :P.

I had some tofu I needed to use up so I made a tofu burger and mom made a new potato recipe plus asparagus from Betty's garden! If only asparagus has a longer growing season!

Apparently, Kelly had been missing seeing me at the Market so she sent dad home with a rhubarb muffin for me!

No Taco Ride made for a trip to town with mom for groceries and Jimmy John's for lunch.

TCBY was out of white chocolate mousse, which I was initially disappointed by but ended up really happy with the plain chocolate!

She was ambitious again and made a potato casserole that turned out really well!

On Friday, I found a blowout sale at Hancock Fabrics but thankfully I didn't get too carried away. I had a heyday at Goodwill where I found all sorts of new treasures! I grabbed a couple things at Whole Foods, including this oversized cupcake and I decided it wasn't really as good as I remembered or hoped. We'll see if I remember that the next time I'm wanting something sweet :P.

It was then time to head to the Waiting Room where Funk Trek welcomed me onto the dance floor. Where they found there clothes I do not know but I was impressed!

Kris had an intimate moment with the crowd.

Before getting wild!

I loved Brandon's flag vest plus the addition of a saxophone for the evening.

The KLB knows how to provide a night filled with dance and good vibes!

Lexi and Austin made it home for Daylon's graduation party and mom had a cooking extravaganza in preparation for their arrival. She hasn't made Four Layer Dessert in a long time, we were all thrilled with this one.

We ate downtown before heading to the Phoenix for the The Five-Year Engagement, which was better than expected and made me have a meltdown, though I wasn't surprised. I secluded myself in the kitchen for some Pinteresting to recover and then shortly went to bed :P.

Mom didn't really plan this very well and made 3 bread centered items, including cinnamon rolls, Creme Brulee French Toast and an egg casserole. The casserole wasn't as good as we hoped but the French toast was delicious, though it is very sweet! The best part of the French toast was that she sent dad to the bowling alley to get a tablespoon of Brandy, what an event this breakfast was! http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Creme-Brulee-French-Toast-Katie-Schleicher

We visited grandma on our way to Carroll, which was a disappointing experience because she did a great deal of complaining. We happily left the nursing home and met the parents to continue on our journey. Lexi didn't have an emergency need to stop for a bathroom break on the side of the road as she did the last time we made the trip but we did understand why it would be difficult for a 5 year old to make it through the whole trip without a stop. 

Everything went fairly smooth until we got near our final destination and dad got confused. Austin took over and with Lexi's aid successfully got us to the party. We had a great time talking to the family and on the subject of men and marriage Gloria informed us that it's about figuring out how much you can deal with, which I think is true. It's easy to love someone and be happy to be around them when they're at their best but that's not what relationships are all about. Relationships are about the whole range of emotions and feelings! Without fighting, arguments and confrontation, and I don't mean big wars and such just the day-to-day stuff, there's never any challenge or test of what the relationship is made of. 

We finally found the cake and mints we had been waiting for, the best cake we've had in a long time! I suppose if all cakes were this good I wouldn't appreciate them as much :P.

I did take the largest corner pice imaginable to take home for later and some mints :).

Lexi and I stayed up talking after we got back for a while about all things related to life. We then were getting ready to go to bed and she came down to tell me that she saw a large shadow and thought to herself, "That's a large bug," but decided it was a bat. I really wanted her to be making this up because I don't deal well with such things. As we walked upstairs she told me not to yell, which I knew better, because as I was about to turn the corner up to our room the bat came flying at me. I yelled and mom and dad surely thought someone was in the house putting my life in danger :P. 

Dad was able to trap the bat in our room and considered how he would trap it. He opened the door and bit only for the bat to come flying at his head which made him promptly slam the door. He said, "I need a hat, I don't want it to get in my hair." I don't know how he decided that was his biggest concern but he went to his room and came back with a cowboy had he hadn't worn for a good 20 years. He then rounded up a bucket, sheet and dust mop as his bat trapping equipment. We went down and sat on the couch as we listened to him moving stuff around because he couldn't find it. He apparently found it as we heard him hitting it with a dust pan.

He came down with the bucket, covered with the sheet, pleased with himself. Mom mentioned something about how she saw on the news someone had a bat and they called Pest Control to have it taken care of, "Ha, we don't do that out in the country," perfect response! After the bat was released outside, since I wasn't dead, we all retired to bed. I'm glad Lexi was home for this because you just can't buy that kind of entertainment!

After watching a Sex and the City marathon all day with mom, dad drug us away to go downtown to eat. We got back and I found Pretty Woman and spent the night blogging away!

I needed to use some wheat flour so I decided it was time for some more waffles. The strawberry, blueberry and cranberry topping was delicious, though I went a little overboard with the cranberries :P. http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/pancakes-waffles/whole-wheat-buttermilk-pancakes-with-fruit/

This week's trip to grandma's was completely different from the one before because she was super hyper! She had a list of jobs for me to take care of. We knew she was really feeling better because she was losing sleep over someone breaking into her house and stealing her valuables. Regular gummy worms are not nearly as good as the sour ones!

Sunday night trip to DQ and I must say that is a really nice curl on top of that cone!

I spent Memorial Day and Cassie's house, hanging out and feasting all day. I feel as though fruit salad is a must at any party! I was really excited that the place mats had hidden pictures, like in Highlights! I literally did all of them! 

Cassie and James made ice cream, though it was just a mix from Bass Pro so it wasn't quite like made from scratch homemade ice cream :P.

I called Danielle on my way to town and stopped by Goodwill once I got to Council Bluffs, where I found a great small Pyrex casserole that I had a bad feeling I'd drop as I was walking around. Should have listened to my gut! I dropped the lid and it shattered all over the floor :\. After I cleaned up the mess I bought the bottom and headed to Hy-Vee for pizza. A dad and his two kids got in front of me and of course took the last 3 pieces of cheese, boo! So, I got this ghetto egg salad sandwich and went on my way. 

I made it to Ozone for another Kris Lager solo show. Since I was alone this time I did some knitting to keep myself company, I wonder how many projects I'd get done if I knit during all the concerts I go to!

I invited Nick to meet me but he got back to me after it was nearly over so I proposed I come to his apartment so I could inform him as to what I was doing with my life. He offered me a chicken breast shortly after my arrival. This was apparently a huge gesture on his part, though it had been long enough that he forgot my dietary habits :P. I took him up on a Blue Sky and later a Mojo bar. We sat on his deck and chatted until 1 am, whew! It was nice to put and end to the separation of the last 2 years :).

I didn't have my usual snacks along and with a drive home from 180th I needed a stop at Hy-Vee to refuel myself :P. Another time I opted for savory over sweet :).

Another intense day of blogging rewarded with a donut :). I have been listening to the Mountain Stage podcasts in my iTunes and Red Molly's cover of "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" caught my attention. I have listened to it more times than is probably healthy :P. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9toNcV8EtE

Another trip to First Fridays in the rain and I found some of the most outstanding snacks ever! Mini muffins from Wheatfields are so good and a strawberry stuffed with cheesecake filling is a great idea!

The Artists' Cooperative had scotcheroos, chips and cream cheese with crackers, all delicious finds. I was really excited by the mint brownie but found it had a horrible taste! I threw the other half away so you know it was bad :P! I should point out that I do go to these events in the hope of finding art I like or find inspiring, it usually just turns out that the snacks are much more satisfying :P.

I hoped to find some new vinyl at Homer's but Kelly and crew were done eating so I headed to her house. We spent pretty much the whole night yacking away, doing so late night Creepbooking. I stayed until 2.15 am, why does West Omaha keep me awake so late?! Jon tempted me while he ate a bag of Cheetos so I stopped at a gas station on the way home for a bag of my own! Between roughly 102nd and 14th St. I killed this 4 serving bag! I was hungry and tired, don't judge :P.

On Saturday, mom and I went to grandma's to take pictures of everything we wanted to know the origin of and decided we'd take them to her that afternoon and get our answers! It's amazing that a 95 year old women can remember so much! A cone from DQ was a great reward after all of that!

[feastsoffonder]

Pacific Northwest 2012

I had a terrible night of sleep, maybe wasn't He's Just Not That Into You wasn't the best idea before I went to bed, so when it was time to get ready for my flight I was not too thrilled. Mom dropped me off at the airport and I was happy everything went easy once I got there. I had a layover in Minneapolis before my final destination in Seattle. I feel like airplanes could do a little better than the really measly bags of peanuts :P.

I landed at the Sea-Tac Airport and began maneuvering my way across town. Advice: Don't put a $20 bill in the ticket machine for the Light Rail, unless you really like $1 coins :P. The Light Rail was awesome and I loved being able to sit and see the scenery. I made it downtown and tried to figure out how to find the bus and in my obviously confused state a nice fella tried to help me out and told me to go check out the fish market.

Since the directions Amanda mentioned waterfront I thought, forget the bus I'm pretty sure I can just walk this one out. I took the advice to see the fish and made my way to the Public Market. I was tired, hungry, irritable and ready to no longer be carrying my bags around so I don't really think I was really able to fully take this in with any appreciation. From there I found a bench by the water and took a seat and enjoyed the view.

After sitting for a while I decided it was time to figure out the ferry situation. I got my ticket and boarded the ferry just before it was about to leave, perfect! On the ferry I sat and listened as a grandfather explained the sights to his grandchildren as they asked numerous questions, it was quite adorable I must say. We arrived at our destination and I walked to find the yarn store Amanda suggested but realized I had gone in the wrong direction so I found a bench and listened to some tunes while doing a crossword until Amanda found me. 

We were finally together again after more than 3 years! YAY! We went to Town & Country for some groceries and headed to her living quarters. She made me a delicious salad for dinner!

And spinach quiche! I was definitely ready for something more than snack food by the time we got to her place and I was happy to be fed so well. My mood definitely improved after this :P. We stayed up chatting for a while, catching up on the current events of our lives. I was definitely ready to sleep so we retired for the evening.

She also made me some really delicious oatmeal the following morning for breakfast which brought a whole new light to my world on the topic of oatmeal! Add some freshly canned peaches, nuts and honey and you've got something much better than oatmeal! After breakfast I helped bag and get things ready for the farmer's market. It turns out that I am a really good fluffer of bags, I am aware as to what these means in other lines of business :P.

I also helped plant and had a chat with Anne about jobs and such. With my view on jobs these days I think I made her feel better about having her own business :P.

After having a discussion about how we wish people would have more dinner parties Amanda got a text from some interns at another farm for a potluck, how wonderful! We weren't quite prepared for a potluck but she grabbed some bread and wine and we were on our way! It was a night filled with conversation, stories and delicious food!

The owner of the farm is a lively gal, full all of sorts of stories. Even as a non-meat eater, she told us a story about a class she took in college where she learned how to butcher animals and they were required to try everything they cut up. If I were to eat meat again, this is exactly the kind of class I would want to take! We tired out and headed home with full stomachs and happy spirits :).

Saturday was weed mat laying day on the farm, which Amanda was not fond of and I quickly learned why! Oh my, that is not a fun project! I was happy to give her some company though and I felt I really overcame something when I was able to pick up animal bones without hesitation, though I didn't think much about it beforehand :P. 

We called it a day and were ready for lunch. She introduced me to spring rolls which was also another life changing opportunity. Oh my goodness, I love them! I learned that you definitely want to get good quality spring roll sheets though, otherwise you will be dealing with more splits than you'd wish for. The peanut sauce was unbelievably good. I envy her ability to season things :P.

After lunch we set out for the Point No Point Lighthouse. It was a cool and gloomy day, no necessarily something new for the Pacific Northwest but we weren't in the mood to be uncomfortable all day so we strolled on the beach a bit and I picked up some shells. We then decided we had had enough and happily went back to the car.

We headed back to Poulsbo and stopped at the Mora Iced Creamery for a treat. She heard that the ice cream was supposed to be really good but we were sadly disappointed. The ice cream was icy and I much prefer mine to be creamy!

We leisurely strolled around for a bit and soon decided we were ready to be inside so we headed back to the farmhouse.

I had mentioned Mexican Lasagna so while we were out we got the ingredients to make it happen. The best part was cooking it in cast iron! I definitely need to get one! We indulged in our creation and discovered that one of our long lost housemates in AmeriCorps had a baby. Say what?! If you knew her, you would understand why this is a little scary :P.

I woke up early on Sunday and rather than sitting around debating it, put my tennis shoes on and hit the pavement for a run. When we later drove over the hills I decided that I really accomplished something because some of those things were quite steep! I got back and Amanda made breakfast again! Scrambled eggs over arugula was a great idea and I got to try some of her canned jams!

We hung out for a while and I finally finished my first strawberry hat, a real success since it only took 2 months! We got ready and went to catch the ferry. We took the second pan of lasagna so we could feed her boyfriend, Michael, that evening. I wasn't aware that we would be taking her car on the ferry so I thought I would be carrying a cast iron skillet filled with lasagna all over the place. I was delighted to find that was in fact not the case :).

We exited the ferry and headed to Michael's, where I was of course greeted with dogs exited to get all up in my business :P. We talked to Michael for a bit and decided it was time to get to the antique store! What a huge place this was! We got peanut M&Ms just to keep us going :P.

She debated it for a while but finally decided she would get this cookbook, to accompany her new meat grinder! I was mostly on a mission for recipe cards which I have not been able to find anywhere! I asked the guy at the counter if he knew where I could find some and he recommended a stationary store. Now, I could have figured that out on my own, I want vintage cards! I know they are available online but I enjoy the hunt through antique and secondhand stores so I will continue my search!

Reese's Pieces also called my name as we made our way through the store. We finally made our way around the whole store and were ready for lunch!

We went to Northwest Tofu after she raved about how good her last experience was. The 2 of us definitely did not need 4 dishes but I can assure you that we made sure to get it all down, even when it started to hurt! I relearned how to use chopsticks and by the end was pretty comfortable with them. My favorite was the fried tofu dipped in soy sauce, mmm! 

After lunch we weren't feeling much like walking around so we went to El Diablo Coffee to knit and digest. I followed Amanda's lead and got a limonada which was utterly amazing. I was happy they were out of lemon so I had to try lime instead, which was better than I ever would have imagined! We found a table and go to work. We sat and did some people watching with conversation overhearing :P. We heard a really ridiculous conversation about men and a really intense conversation about life so both ends of the spectrum were examined. 

When we finally felt like moving again we went to Goodwill. I found a really great pair of jeans, proudly my only purchase though if I lived there I would have gotten myself in trouble! I loved that the book section was organized in categories, much like in a bookstore. Overall, I could definitely tell I wasn't in Council Bluffs anymore where white washed jeans and Wranglers make up most of the jeans section :P.

At the start of our day out, Amanda saw a car on the side of a street that she liked and wanted to talk to Michael about. We got back to his house and the search began with a lot of close calls but nothing that was an exact match. The only way to know for sure was to go back and find it so Amanda and I set out filled with excitement, not knowing whether or not we'd find it. As we drove along we were starting to get further than she remembered it being so are hopes were fading. Then, suddenly there it was! What threw off being able to search for it on the internet was that it said Ford on the back but the body is European. Regardless, we were thrilled to find it and drove back in a state of sheer bliss.

It also helped that we had dinner waiting for us when we got back, dinner that originated in the farmhouse, took a car ride to the ferry, floated with the ferry, and took another car ride to Michael's house, which made it that much more exciting! Our night definitely ended on a high note!

After Michael, Amanda made breakfast, she has a way with eggs!

Oatmeal was also involved, in the hope that it would stick with for a while, but we knew better :P.

After breakfast we loaded up and headed to see the Ballard Locks. I understand that the water rises and somehow the boats go through to the other side but we were looking at the fish ladder so I'm still a bit confused :P. 

Breakfast didn't last long and we were ready for lunch after we left the Locks. A light lunch of soup and salad overlooking the water sounded ideal so we went to Ray's Boathouse. The tomato basil soup was ridiculously good and due to the creaminess, really filling.

We shared the Cherry Apricot Salad which definitely took me by surprise. It was the perfect blend of flavors and textures.

We tried to kill some time while digesting so we could clear some room for ice cream. It was cloudy, cool, a bit rainy and windy so we didn't feel much like outdoor activities so we went to a used bookstore. It was a good thing that I had no room for anything else in my luggage or I would have gotten carried away on this trip! After we were done there, we decided to go knit for a while in the Seattle Center, located by the Space Needle.

We decided we had ample room for ice cream and headed back to the car. On the way to Maggie Moon's she showed me where she use to live and her favorite park in the city. Who wouldn't love living in an apartment with a view of the water?! We arrived at Maggie Moon's where the smell of freshly made waffle cones welcomed us. I was taught that the kid's size is the way to go plus chocolate topping so I had the "Scout" Mint with chocolate. I was more than delighted with my choice. Ice cream with thin mint cookies? I'm in! This wasn't even in the same ballpark as the ice cream we had the day before!

We headed downtown and roamed the Public Market for a bit.

You would think they would sell local fish though! Sadly, a number of things at the market didn't appear to be local :\.

We stopped in at Beecher's where they make cheese in the store! Samples were galore and happily tasted away, especially me :). Soooo incredibly delicious! Could we really look any happier? :P

Amanda was in search of some unmentionables so I got to experience Nordstrom, which is reminiscent of Van Mour in my world. While she shopped around, I found a comfy chair and got some knitting in. A couple came in and the male seemed really thrilled to be spending the day shopping. We somehow managed to come up with a business plan where we would create a club where you rent underwear, just the upper portion, and there's no dressing rooms because the fog machines make it so you can just change in the middle of the room. It was also decided this would have to be on Capital Hill, it seemed like the only logical location. Well, as our plans were finalized Amanda was finished and we had to part ways. Look for this outstanding opportunity in years to come :P.

After a near meltdown, Amanda found her parking ticket exactly where she initially looked and we found the car. From there she dropped me off at the library to meet Matt. I didn't expect he'd be there on time so I headed for the knitting section as recommended by Amanda. I no sooner got to the section and he sent me a text saying he was there. I headed back down and saw that face I hadn't seen for so long! We roamed around for a bit then headed for the bus. We got to his apartment, which was like a Pinterest-aholics dream come true :), and I happily dropped my bags.

I had the lucky fortune of seeing the neighborhood hoarder out the window. He was rummaging through the dumpster, as would be expected, before we headed to dinner. I decided a veggie burger sounded good so he took me to Uneeda Burger. The burger was good and the hand-cut fries were great! Get your own next time, Matt!

After dinner, we went back to the apartment and watched the Voice. He was kind enough to give me Goldie, the treasured house blanket, to keep me warm for the evening. We both fell asleep on the couch, just like the old days! 

I was treated to some really fancy oatmeal for breakfast the following morning :P. After some half-hearted studying on his part and knitting on mine, it was definitely time for lunch so we went to Homegrown, a sustainable sandwich shop! The sandwich was hearty and the homemade chips were crispy! A record store was the next stop, where I could have gotten myself into a world of new vinyl additions to my collection but resisted.

We headed for a different neighborhood and cruised through some stores while waiting for Full Tilt Ice Cream to open. 2 scoops in a waffle cone is a steal and the ice cream was so rich and creamy! 

With our cones in hand we went to Gasworks Park, where a scene in 10 Things I Hate About You was filmed. As I saw others run by, I felt like a heifer as I walked up a hill with ice cream in hand but I soon got over it :). We were humored as we walked past this guy as his kite crashed into the ground :P.

We were on a schedule so on the way to our next destination I got to see the Fremont Troll, quite the art piece :P.

We were early for the big event of the day so we checked out the Fremont Antique Mall. The highlight was this beautiful selection of vintage Pyrex! Good thing I didn't allow myself to consider purchasing any :P. 

This lunchbox is priceless!

Time for the main event! Matt scheduled a tour of the Theo Chocolate Factory!

 We had the peppiest tour guide I have ever seen but she knew her chocolate! She informed us that she was theater major, as though we couldn't figure that one out :P. The most memorable fact was that most chocolate found in stores, gas stations, etc. contain less than 10% chocolate. Lame! I excites me to know that Theo Chocolate can be found in Whole Foods and though it isn't local at home, at least it is fair trade, processed in America and contains at least 40% chocolate!

We had a multitude of samples throughout the tour, the were the fancy truffles at the end. 

Here are the happy samplers themselves! Matt had a little stubble and had to wear a beard mask, which made my day :D. After the tour we were taken to the gift shop, where nearly ever chocolate was on sample and between the tour and gift shop I definitely sampled $6 worth of chocolate :P.

I had to guy some of the delicious goods after all that sampling :P.

We resided back to the apartment where he got busy preparing dinner. I finally got to meet Kevin and due to my love of Lady Gaga we formed an instant bond. The quinoa bowls were fantastic! Kevin left for dog sitting so Matt and I hit the couch for some more of the Voice and I even got a special serenade of Britney's "Sometimes." It was as though she was there in the room! We dozed off on the couch again until woke up and got ready for bed.

Wednesday was an early morning so we could make it to the studio by 8! In his frugalness, we had quite the trek so he didn't have to pay for parking, luckily he bought me a hot chocolate to make up for it.

We had the best time! It was so much fun! I let as many people as I could know that they should listen in and we were getting requests all over the place. Making digs at Dave throughout most of the show as he secretly listened at his desk was amazing. I am so happy he asked me to be a part of the final In the Basement broadcast!

We didn't have breakfast before we left in preparation for Eltana's wood-fired bagels! Oh my goodness, I love all things wood-fired! And they made it look like a happy face, amazing!

After breakfast we sadly had to part ways so he dropped me back off at the library, where I sat for a couple hours to limit the amount of time I had to haul my belongs around Seattle. I looked up a couple places of interest and set out in search of them. A woodworking shop was by far my greatest find, though the things that interested me were pricey! After my browsing it was time to make my way toward the ferry. So I didn't get cranky due to hunger, I stopped by Beecher's to get some macaroni and cheese. They aren't lying when they claim "world's best!"

I found a used bookstore on my way through the Public Market and was serenaded by the shop keeper, what a schmoozer :P. This book brings to light what I've been trying to tell people for years! It's a real disorder folks!

After a long ferry ride with the most talkative group imaginable next to me, I finally arrived in Bainbridge and waited for Amanda. We got potstickers from the store which turned out to be utterly disappointing.

The tempura vegetables were amazing though! A Fry Daddy is definitely not necessary! The sweet potatoes and broccoli were my favorites while the green beans didn't do much for me. This is the kind of meal you eat if you want a good nights sleep!

I love fresh brewed tea!

It was rainy out so I spent the day inside. I danced to some online Zumba videos, hoping no one could see me through the windows :P. I did find a really amazing dance to Lady Gaga's "You and I" that made my day.

We were preparing to make cookies when Amanda got a call to help process a chicken from the farm. This was a somewhat traumatic experience for me, I really didn't need to see chicken testicles or the eggs that were growing inside it :P. While she was doing that I made some red wine vinaigrette for my salad and threw a frozen veggie burger in the oven for dinner.

While she was tending the chicken I was busy in the kitchen making cookies. Her supply of all-purpose flour was limited so I used what was available and added buckwheat and soy flour to make up the difference. Our hopes were not high that the would turn out but you never know until you try! I wanted to be able to eat the dough without fear of salmonella so I used watered down yogurt in place of the eggs. The dough was better than I anticipated so I raised my hopes for the cookies! They turned out great! Never let limited supplies stand in your way!

It was raining out but I was able to help Amanda pick kale under plastic cover and then we bagged greens for the market. I started taking the backs off her fabric samples so we could do a small sewing project. This turned out to not be nearly as fun as I'd hoped but I am a glutton for punishment :P. The tempura vegetables were more of an ordeal as the oil got to hot and her thermometer broke, nearly causing a grease fire. Luckily, not flames were spotted at any point! Once we got things under control we were on a roll and everything turned out just as well as we hoped.

We had a mellow evening and I was really tired but decided to make a late night grocery store run due to hunger. Surprisingly, I got an egg salad sandwich which was vaguely satisfying. Nothing quite like eating right before you are ready for bed :P.

Saturday was market day! Selling at a market has been somewhat a dream of mine for a while now so I was pumped! We set everything up and waited for the bell to indicate it was officially time to start selling! A real highlight of the day for me was when I met a girl who looked like a real life version of Pippi Longstocking, this is totally a compliment because I love Pippi! After a sample of a pesto pastry Amanda found, I had to get my own! I've been noticing that I have been choosing savory over sweet more recently, hmmmm. 

I got some dried mangoes on our late night grocery run to share while we were hard at work. I talked to some girls selling ceramics and after a good, long chat ended up spilling salsa all over their table cloths. I felt like such a fool! Luckily, I got a free massage later in the day which made me feel slightly better :P

We ended up selling all of the sorrel, a goal for the day, and we didn't have to discount very many things! 

Having the cupcake lady right next to us only ended in me getting 2 cupcakes, which is impressive since I wanted to try most all of them! They were some of the best cupcakes I have ever had and for only $2 a piece, I felt like I was ripping them off! We had a long wait for Peter to pick up the supplies so when he finally arrived we were ready to get everything loaded as fast as possible and hit the road! 

After everything was unloaded, I tried to be vaguely productive for a while but decided it was in my best interest to take an hour and a half nap instead! I felt much better following that and was happy when it was chocolate milk time! I have not been a milk drinker for over 4 years but I threw that out the window to partake not only in milk, but chocolate whole milk. I literally tastes like a melted milkshake!

I was in charge of spring rolls for dinner and I finally got better with the wraps.

After we at the spring rolls we realized that curry was unnecessary but we had to at least sample a little. The girl knows how to use her spices and flavors!

We both woke up far too early for a Sunday morning so I decided to make some buckwheat crepes filled with cooked apples. I was actually quite surprised with how well these turned out. I love the handmade ceramic plate under these beauties! http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/02/basic_buckwheat_crepes

We spent the morning cleaning and due to a bedbug scare Amanda finally had the inspiration to get the rest of her belongings put away and organized. After a previous debate as to whether or not we would go to a rainforest 3+ hours away, we decided a trip to Port Townsend sounded much less stressful and daunting. That was until we headed out with a near empty tank of gas. To be honest, I was somewhat looking forward to running out and seeing how things would play out, just for the adventure of it.

The picture below was taken while listening to the Elizabethtown soundtrack, another mutual love we share, specifically during Elton John's "My Father's Gun," because in my opinion this is the perfect road trip song. 

We made it to Chimacum before stalled out and filled that baby up! The Chimacum Corner Farmstand is filled with wonderful, locally made goods! I loved that a number of people road their bikes to the farmstand!

We made it to Port Townsend, where we found a knitting shop and from there wandered into a store filled with boots and came to find it was a one day only sale. Perfect! The lady knew so much about boots it was incredible. Initially, I don't think Amanda allowed herself to be as excited about this as she was in the end. She had a ball! I was impressed she only came out with one pair! 

We had a debate about lunch and in the end I decided we should go to the Dogs-A-Foot because I have never been able to get a veggie hot dog from a stand before. I must admit that this was probably more exciting for me than it should have been :P. I even went for spicy toppings, just to really have the full experience of trying something new. Delicious and so very filling.

We walked out by this large sailboat.

Where we had this lovely picture taken!

We sat for a while and Amanda ended up taking a nap so I walked around a bit. I love seeing sailboats everywhere!

It was then time to head back, Amanda hadn't noticed before I pointed out that the road signs have George Washington's profile on them! You don't see that in Iowa! We stopped at a quilting store on our way home to pick up batting for our sewing project!

Shortly upon arrival, we started our sewing journey. The pattern definitely threw us from some loops, and by us I mean it confused Amanda because I didn't even try to read it :P. She sorted them out and we got everything cut out. We both sewed our first zippers! Michael and I couldn't figure out how to rethread my machine so I called it a night shortly after :P. This was the pile of samples we had to choose from, of course I had to organize them in a logical fashion :).

We got right to it the following morning, that's what you call ladies on a mission! Amanda finished hers well before I ever dreamed about it and the excitement of seeing her flip it right side out was wonderful! My OCD got in the way of a quick finish but I finished, and that's what counts!

Ahhhh, here they are! We were so proud of ourselves for having completed such amazing bags and it took us less than a day!

It was time to hit the streets with our new creations so we went to the Post Office so I could get some postcard stamps. Then, to a liquor store so she could get the necessary supplies for her chicken. Our final destination was to the grocery store where this pesto pizza found its way into my stomach and I enjoyed every second of it. When we got back, I finished packing and we listened to some tunes and talked about relationships, a subject we frequently found ourselves discussing throughout our time together. It was then time for me to go to bed because 6 am was just around the corner!

This was my sleeping space during my stay. I loved cranking the heater and wrapping myself in all those blankets! She took me to the ferry station, where we sadly had to say our goodbyes before I needed to make my way to the ferry and she needed to head back for work. 

By some miracle, I had no trouble maneuvering my way to the airport, which made me feel like I really knew what I was doing! That was until I got to the airport and tried to check into the wrong airline :P. See you later mountains! Hopefully next time I can see you up close and personal.

The didn't come up with something better than a measly bag of peanuts in the 2 weeks since my previous flight :P.

Hello, Utah!

I didn't have a lot of time after I landed in Salt Lake City before my next flight but I needed something to eat. A pretzel was the most reasonably priced thing I could find, and by reasonably I mean less than $7. Of course I was stuck behind a bunch of people who didn't understand the idea of hustle. I was quite pleased with my almond pretzel though!

This was my last chance to find Elizabethtown style love on my trip and of course it didn't work out but it was for the best :). What a great 2 weeks I had, I am thankful for having 2 such wonderful hosts!

I landed and when mom picked me up reality set back in. While a trip away was needed and made me feel better, it didn't magically erase all the things that made me need a getaway. Just have to take it day-by-day! We went to Blanc for dinner and once I get home I headed straight for the shower in the event that bedbugs really were in Amanda's apartment and made their way into my life. All my clothes went immediately into the washing machine and everything started getting back to normal.

[feastsoffonder]

April 2012

I slept in until 10.30! West Omaha must really make me tired :P. We visited grandma and though she had pneumonia was still in a pretty good mood. We met dad in Shelby again for a bike ride.

It was time to try out the cupcake from Whole Foods! Buttery and delicious!

The rain barrel in all her glory :).

Dan came over before work and I finally made Lexi's recommended Pasta with Spicy Sun-Dried-Tomato Cream Sauce. It was delicious and he also thought it was really good! YAY! She said the leftovers wouldn't be good but I had no complaints! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pasta-with-Spicy-Sun-Dried-Tomato-Cream-Sauce-104054

Donut time!

The Phoenix had a ladies night showing of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and we initially were for sure going but then watched a trailer and second guessed it. In the end we decided to go and were we ever happy we did! There was a bit of a struggle to get the movie playing but once we got some free popcorn and it started rolling we were wide awake for the whole show. I definitely recommend this one!

I surprised mom with eggless chocolate mousse for an after dinner treat while dad was out mowing one night. Oh my goodness, the easiest and most delicious dessert ever! This is a MUST try! http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/08/4249245/recipe-eggless-chocolate-mousse.html

I found this shirt to be quite disturbing.

What is going on?!

I didn't want to invest in a whole bunch of shirts I may never wear so I took a picture of some of my favorites. The one of the right reminds me of Brad and all his "nom nom nom"ing :). I did come out with a couple quality 'bad' shirts though!

I found 2 outstanding snacks at First Fridays, a cucumber sandwich and a peanut butter cupcake!

Also, a little lemonade and some trail mix.

This is what I found when I came home. Austin sleeps a lot when he's home, it makes me wonder what he's always so tired from :P.

Mom made Austin's favorite, apple pancakes!

Mom and I had a full day in the kitchen, preparing for Easter! Mini French Silk pies! Oh my gosh, they are so good! I just made a pie crust and filled it with the Eggless Chocolate Mousse recipe.

Homemade goldfish with a homemade goldfish cutter! These were quite the task but they did taste as I hoped! This would be really fun to do with little kids, I think they would really like doing the cutting! http://www.missanthropistskitchen.com/2011/06/22/homemade-goldfish-crackers-with-a-homemade-goldfish-cookie-cutter/

I was inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest for this one, though I used the Sourdough Recipe from a previous post instead of buying bread!

This was another Pinterest inspired item but mom was in charge of this one! Good job, ma!

That night we went to the Legion to celebrate Don and Betty's 30th Wedding Anniversary.

I think cake is the next thing I should work on controlling, especially since it's rarely worth more than a piece these days!

The Easter bonnet this year shrunk! 

I helped serve breakfast at church again. Next year I think I am just going to not show up for the sunrise service if I'm on the list to usher again, though I don't think they'll get the hint :P.

A real feast at the family Easter! Our efforts were mostly noticed, though the mini pies were not given the attention they deserved :P.

Yep, that is a full plate of dessert! The one of the right was so rich and so good! We had a really good time this year because we were more social than usual! It's always good to talk to Gloria and her hatred for weddings is so entertaining! This year we even played a game which everyone seemed to get into and I thought for sure one of the Beebe's was for sure to win, especially since Austin was the only male at an all-female table!

Sugared up donut!

I went with Dan to Harlan so we could have breakfast together before his meeting, if I had known how this trip was going to end, I would have just stayed home! That is probably all I really need or want to say on here :).

I didn't feel much like going anywhere but I made Kelly some dressing to go along with the salad I hoped she would grow and headed for her party.

It was nice to get out of the house and socialize a bit. I had to take a sneak picture of the food because I wasn't in the mood to be asked any questions :P. There was a threat of storms most of the night but nothing really seemed to be happening so I figured I would just head home. Almost immediately after I started driving it started pouring like crazy and I could hear small pebbles of hail, just my luck! It was a really crazy drive home and once I got near Underwood, Bill told me there was a tornado warning for the area, great! When you get so far there's only so much you can do so I figured I'd just keep going and hope for the best. I made it home safely and was very happy to make it to my bed :).

I had no desire to visit grandma and have a million questions asked of me but I sucked it up and went anyway. I gave mom most of the candy to eat on the way home :P.

The Staley's Chicken Dinner for the Fire Department happened and once we got home I had a chat with Amanda. Shortly after I got off the phone with her I booked a flight to Seattle for almost 2 weeks!

I decided I should get out of the house so I rode my bike to Avoca and met mom in Shelby to ride the trail. I planned on riding home but with Zumba only a few hours away I decided it was in my best interest not to overdo it.

Lexi sent me a belated birthday present! Apparently she didn't like the fact that I had been cleaning the dust of records with a Magic Eraser so she send me record cleaner!

I found out about the blood drive the night before so I didn't think there would be any way for me to get my iron up enough to donate. I ate Cocoa Wheats for breakfast and lunch and loaded up on the raisins and somehow managed to have enough to give!

Since it was rainy out we opted not to go to Taco Ride so instead we went to check out the Twisted Tail. The building is really nice and as far as a grilled cheese and fries go I didn't think it was too bad. 

I spent a decent number of days cleaning things off my computer which probably sounds ridiculous to many people but it is very therapeutic for this girl! I tried to keep the donuts to a minimum during this process :P.

Mom and I made another batch of pizza for dinner.

And some more mini pies for dessert! I didn't get all fancy with the shaved chocolate though :P.

Mom and I went to M's Pub for lunch that Saturday and the mushroom soup totally surprised me. Delicious!

I didn't love the edamame burger but I also didn't waste a lot of time eating :P.

I had my first Record Store Day experience and got the special Mynabirds vinyl I set out for. I cut myself off from other options since I had an upcoming trip!

We then went to Earth Day Omaha to see Kris play. It was great that Brandon showed up and did some hooping while Kris jammed.

Get your hands in the air!

This little girl with her hula hoop was so adorable!

Brad and the kids met us and hung out for a while. The Icky Blossoms surprised all of us.

And I like Satchel Grande but I was pretty tired by the time they came onstage so we rolled out shortly into their set. 

It was scrap night for me at the bowling alley.

Talk about a balanced meal! The chicken was not mine :P.

I rode to Avoca again and met mom in Shelby. Dairy Queen was finally open so we got a cone on our way home. I have not felt so admired, shall we say, in a long time. Immediately when I walked in I felt this guys eyes on me and they didn't leave for long! I was riding my bike home and as we were leaving he suddenly came out to smoke. I have never hopped and my bike and ridden so fast in all my life :P. I was a little worried he may find me down the road but thankfully I made it home safely!

Mom and I made pizza yet again and she came in to let us know it was done. Dad was totally unaware of what was going on so we ate without him and went back to the living room as though nothing had happened. We ended up having to tell him to eat because he was so lost in his own world. Men and their one track minds :P.

Mom, dad and I ate downtown for lunch before I got ready to go to town for an appointment and various other errands.

I went to the Target in Crossroads and ended up with more than I had originally anticipated. Oops!

Kelly and Jon met me at Ozone for Kris Lager solo acoustic! Kelly went to the bathroom and encountered an elderly lady who informed her that she was inebriated. Kelly made a joke about her falling and having to pick her up. Yep, she nailed it! The lady got out on the floor to dance and went down pretty fast. On top of that, there was also a girl who really cut a rug and did not care what anyone though about her dancing, especially not her sister who seemed to watch in embarrassment. 

I always question seeing the musicians I really enjoy as part of a band in a solo performance but Kris was just as good by himself!

One more Casey's donut before I hit the skyways! 

[feastsoffonder]

March 2012

Farm fresh eggs! They are pretty!

Eww, not a fan of sprinkles!

I decided to make pie for Staley's Chicken Dinner as I could find ingredients on sale :). So raspberry apple pie was the answer!

After the topping was added and they were cooked! They turned out absolutely delicious!

Mom wanted to make my grandma's bread pudding but came to find she transposed the recipe improperly and it ended up a little runny, though that didn't stop us from eating it :P.

I was all amped up to make a pasta recipe Lexi highly recommended until I realized I forgot to get sun-dried tomatoes which are key for success so Dan and I ended up eating downtown. 

He didn't come over until at least 7.30 so it was probably better to not cook so late. We watched Girl, Interrupted which wasn't nearly as good as I remembered and he certainly wasn't impressed.

Staley's Chicken dinner at church was more interesting than some years since I was in the kitchen washing dishes with my former art teacher and she said, "I wish I had more students like you." WHOA! Never expected to hear something like that from her but at the same time I put a lot of time into all of my projects and I believe it was reflected in the end result.

I was filled up so I saved my pie for later!

Dad didn't think that Minden Grocery would have creamed corn so we made a soda bet on it and naturally mom and I won. Root beer for the win!

Another trip to Harlan for gardening class ended in a combination of health and another donut :P.

Mom was determined to make the bread pudding work so she tried again and it turned out much better!

The donut selection was really lacking so dad got me an apple fritter, also not one of my favorite things.

Animals have just been wandering around a lot lately!

We had a free Redbox thing so we got snacks and Courageous. What a terrible movie! Ick! I do not recommend this at all, hopefully no one is offended by this :P.

Mom and I got some snacks on our way into town to go to Hy-Vee and run a couple other errands. Chili cheese Fritos are in fact better than the originals!

I went to the Market for First Fridays and since I really had to go to the bathroom, stopped in at Patrick's and felt obligated to buy something so pasta salad was my choice. 

While I was looking for a spot I looked out my window and thought, "That looks like Kelly." Then, I did a double take and thought, "That looks like her man." I sent her a text and it was in fact her! This was where our reuniting began :). 

I hit up a couple of galleries and perused Homer's before heading to CAMP for Design Night. It was a lively bunch this time and the discussions ranged from the end of the world to weddings to businesses and so on. Good snacks and a good time :). I listened to my new Otis Redding record while putting groceries away once I got home, a wonderful ending to a wonderful night :).

I had to work the booth in Minden for the Meat Market's sampling event which was mostly uninteresting. Thankfully, Dan and Steve stop in for a visit and mom kept me company for most of the event. Sampling definitely didn't hurt either!

Mom was told that this cake is better than Jones Bros. and I was HIGHLY disappointed. Keep tweaking the recipe babe!

Dan and I were going to get dinner so I just hung out with the fam as they ate downtown. When he finally came over he met me at the bowling alley and we decided it was just as easy to eat there, easy decision!

Dad made Sunday brunch, consisting of toast and eggs!

Grandma was super chatty this particular day and even brought a little humor to the table when she said, "The ceiling fell through at lunch, I ate pizza!" Thata girl grams!

Granny's Chocolate Baked Pudding was a hit, even with the boys!

We got Subway on our way home from Avoca, this time cookies weren't necessary!

Since Chiles Rellenos are rarely vegetarian when I look I decided to make my own to see what I think. I definitely got the wrong size poblanos because the amount of stuffing the recipe called for didn't even begin to fill them up but they turned out pretty well otherwise! http://www.more.com/meatless-mondays-vegetarian-recipes?page=2

Dad finally got the Village Inn pie he had been talking about since Christmas, much as he did the year before. He even got carried away and in addition to the French silk got apple. I had to sadly admit that the apple was better than I expected but I still always prefer homemade!

The last night of gardening class involved making a salad bowl! Sadly, it has already died :\. The green thumb didn't come out this year, that's for sure!

After a long day at work and a visit to see Dave and Dan over lunch for a little stress release, mom and I decided to make pizza for dinner. We're really starting to get the hang out of!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day I made Spicy Irish Cheddar Corn Muffins and boy were they spicy! They definitely are a great addition to soup! http://www.relish.com/recipes/spicy-irish-cheddar-corn-muffins/

Mom, dad and I decided to go to town and Austin surprisingly came along. The first stop was at Mulhall's so I could get my gardening supplies. Then, it was to the Bike Rack to see if I could find myself a new ride! Apparently none of them thought I would make a purchase that evening but little did they know that I was on a mission! Here's my new baby! I'm really excited to finally have a nice bike!

Mom decided we needed TCBY while we were in the area, before dinner :P.

It was then to Scheel's where I was mostly stressed out that someone was going to steal my purchase off the back of the car so I went out to keep and eye on it! Dan recommended Granite City for my dietary needs and I was impressed with the mushroom burger! Thanks for the suggestion :).

There was a St. Patrick's Day 5K at Arrowhead to raise money for the Minden summer ball league so I tied up my shoes and headed out. I did far better than I had anticipated since my training was pretty lacking. I love the Sweet and Salty Nut Nature Valley bars!

And there's just nothing wrong with fruit snacks every now and then :).

Since Austin was home for spring break mom made vegetable pizza.

I didn't feel well but I told mom I would go with her to Neola so she could have corned beef and cabbage. I ran into Cassie there which got the ball rolling on another long lost connection. YAY!

Since the meal was fairly lacking for me, I made myself some scrambled eggs and cracked a bottle of cream soda!

While dad snuck downtown, mom, Austin and I had a secret ice cream eating session. Dan came over at 10.30 so I showed him my new bike, that I had lettuce starting to grow and then fell asleep shortly after. Day shift and night shift after difficult to adapt to!

Grandma was talkative and made jokes again. I was quite tired once we got home so I took a 2 hour nap, I think that's what Sundays are made for, right?

We had leftover dough so we made some more pizza.

And I made Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes for dessert! The cake for this recipe is really delicious, while the frosting is a little too dense. Since the cake is rich I think the frosting needs to be a little lighter and I think something a little more airy would be good, similar to whipped cream frosting. http://recipes.prevention.com/Recipe/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes-ii.aspx

Let's add some ice cream to the mix!

I saw this at the chiropractor's office, it seemed as though the world was trying to tell me something :D.

No work and a chiropractor appointment to start the week. I stopped at Hy-Vee for lunch and to pick up my dry cleaning, which is really expensive! I will now be washing such items myself or not having any :P.

It was getting to the end of soup season and with a mild winter I didn't feel too inspired to make many soups but a recipe called Raise-the-Dead Chili inspired me to give it one last go before I tucked the soup pot away for another 9 or so months. It turned out really well and was great paired with the spicy corn muffins! http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/soup-recipes/raise-the-dead-chili

No work again so I went to the chiropractor again and had an interview in the Old Market. I was able to meet up with Holly for lunch at Upstream. The tomato basil parmesan soup and spinach artichoke dip are amazing! I nearly licked the bowls!

No work, again! I found an event at Sweet Gatherings for lunch so I signed up and spent the noon hour with some quality old broads. The sandwich was definitely nothing special but the soup wasn't too bad!

The turtle cheesecake was rich and just the right proportion, especially compared to the gigantic pieces of cherry crisp!

These cupcakes stuck around for a long time.

Doctored up donut.

Dad was inspired by the Chew this time and made Carla Hall's Waffles, though her version includes chicken. The cornmeal added a nice flavor and texture to the waffles and of course my apple cranberry topping didn't hurt either :P. http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Chicken-Waffles-Carla-Hall

I spent part of the day planting my seeds and finishing some cleaning before heading into town. I hit up First Fridays and was excited to see Jim Leedy's work at Anderson O'Brien. 

I was blown away with Big Harp, who opened for the Mynabirds, and definitely hope to see them again!

The Mynabirds had a totally different vibe from the last album. I liked being able to dance around to the new tunes but wasn't sure until I got home and listened again. I once again fell in love and had "Generals" on repeat for many, many times. 

My bike had a malfunction so mom and I headed for the Bike Rack to get it checked out. It turned out that the wheel just wasn't pushed all the way down which made me feel like a fool but I was happy it was an easy fix! We then went to TCBY for a mid-day treat.

Mom called up my cousin Brad to see what he was up to and he called back and told her we should meet for lunch at the Dundee Dell. We had a delicious lunch, a nice chat and then headed to the Keystone Trail for a ride. 

Mom had a couple things to get at Hy-Vee so I thought a vitamin C boost sounded good after a bike ride.

We had dinner downtown and I wasn't really hungry so I got whatever mom and dad didn't want.

I think I ended up with as much as I would have had I ordered my own food :P.

We visited grandma and met dad at the trail in Shelby on our way home for a ride.

I had another day off work (Do you see a pattern here?) and was inspired to make something new for lunch. Quinoa Corn Edamame Salad it was! I didn't have the exact ingredients but I made it work. It was the dressing that really made it tasty anyway! http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/could-it-look-more-healthy/

I'm not really sure the origin or reasoning for this one :P.

I met mom and ad at the Bucksnort after work. It's true, I finally got to work!

Plain donuts are just sad!

I signed up for a Ladies Gear Class at Canfield's so to make the trip multi-purpose I scheduled a chiropractor appointment as well. I waited for half an hour from my scheduled time and finally had to leave. My time is valuable too folks! The class was super informative as far as recommendations for clothing, bags, cooking supplies, etc. when going on hiking expeditions. I did find that doing multi-day hiking is quite the investment though! 

I went to Jimmy John's after since I was delayed before the class, not a good idea to mess with my eating :P.

Dad did errands in town so mom suggested he bring home Pizza Hut!

I decided that instead of sitting around reading a bunch of stuff on the internet I would take a rain barrel class and let an expert show me the ropes. The materials were really cheap and I came out of the class with my very own barrel! I stopped at Hy-Vee and scored a free cupcake!

I called Kelly to see if she was still free to hang out and headed her way, Naked in hand!

I love that after not seeing each other for nearly 10 years, I showed up at her house with my rain barrel in the front seat!

I finally got to meet Jon and the 3 of us hung out in their house, chatting it up. Kelly and I then headed to Ingredient where we continued our conversation and got up-to-date on the past 10 years! We wandered around Village Point for a while and surprisingly only came out with a basket for under her coffee table. We stopped at the house for some water and then went to Goodwill just before it was about to close. It was there that she decided after finding a Miley Cyrus shirt that her birthday party should involve bad T-shirts. Love it!

I stuck around long enough to go to Old Chicago for dinner. I usually don't promote Old Chicago but I did very much enjoy the calzone. I was a little disgusted with myself for eating the whole thing when I looked over at the couple next to us and realized I essentially ate a whole pizza. Oh well, work it off tomorrow :P. We chatted at the house for a while longer and then I headed home. I love reconnecting with people I haven't seen in a long time and having it feel as though we were never apart. That's when you know you're good friends :).

[feastsoffonder]

February 2012

I went with the rents to town to get dinner and groceries. We had a lively dinner at Pizza King with Mr. Roane and some other chatty folks. This dish is WAY too much for this girl, especially after all the bread :P. At Hy-Vee the young cashier was fishing around to figure out how old I was and thought I was in college or possibly high school, I'll take it :).

Mom and I went to Neola for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close which was a bit confusing to us but definitely thought provoking. We then made it just barely in time for the Bucksnort!

A decrepit looking donut!

Since Dan was super stressed I looked up natural cures to relieve stress and made him a package. I didn't have a lot of faith that these would make him more relaxed but I thought it was worth a try :).

We visited grandma and she was super crazy so a stop at Casey's was needed!

I had an appointment and stopped by Green Acres to get some probiotics and got myself an Izze, though I will not get this flavor again. Ick! 

I went to get my taxes done and a variety of other errands with a stop at Jimmy John's for a late lunch/early dinner.

I decided to make Paula Deen's Georgia Cookie Candy for Valentine's Day and my was it ever rich and delicious! A great sweet for your sweetie :). http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/georgia-cookie-candy-recipe/index.html

I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter so they could be more fancy for Dan's Valentine's Day treat :).

With a day off I made it a full day of cooking! Next up was Curried Lentil Soup and since it was a vegan recipe I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did! I also didn't think I'd like the kale in it but it really brought another dimension to it! http://www.familycircle.com/recipes/healthy-eating/family-dinners/cooking-with-superfoods/?page=3

I can't say that soup and baked bean aren't something you would really think to eat together but I didn't let that stop me! I made Molasses Baked Beans because I have had to miss out on a lot of baked beans due to pork products being in them. The recipe does call for bacon but I just omitted it, it was slightly more bland I'd imagine but in the future I will experiment with more spices to see if I can add a little oomph. http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1045423

After I got home from Zumba and ate dinner, mom and I had an ice cream indulgence! 

Thursday night was met with Restaurant Impossible and ice cream!

After doing some research and debating, Dan and I decided to try out Vivace in the Old Market. Our waiter was not very nice to us which made Dan overall unimpressed to begin with. I rather enjoyed the bread and while I appreciated that they use homemade pasta, the dish was definitely lacking something.

Dan was more excited about the sauce over his steak than the actual steak! We made out way back to the car in the freezing cold and he showed me where he would want to live if he lived in Council Bluffs which was definitely in a part I had never been and never would have guessed that I was in Council Bluffs :P.

His brakes started going crazy so he stopped at the gas station to see what was going on. Everything was apparently fine enough for us to make it home so we grabbed some snacks and headed home to watch Pickers and inevitably fall asleep on the couch :).

Mom and I went downtown for my birthday breakfast.

Dad picked up a donut for me in Avoca the night before.

After Dan got done dealing with his car it was already 8.30 so we decided to go downtown for dinner.

Another wild birthday :P.

I even made my own cupcakes, though they weren't that good :\. The recipe was for sweet potato cupcakes but they tasted more like muffins with frosting. Needless to say, mom and I ended up having to eat them all.

I was surprised that grandma remembered to tell me Happy Birthday since she gave dad an unsigned card for me but overall she was fairly quiet. We got Subway for dinner and watched the Grammy's.

With ice cream for dessert!

Holly invited me at the last minute to her house for a Valentine's Day soup get together. Since my only other option was to sit at home alone and watch the Doctor's I figured I better get off my butt and go! The soup and salad were delicious!

And her friend sent her gluten free cupcakes from Bliss and I definitely did not miss the gluten at all!

I may not have gotten anything else while I was in town but I did find some donut holes :P.

Dad found a pancake recipe in one of his magazines that he was super amped to try. He made sure he read the recipe all the way through, obviously not something I inherited, and mixed the batter so it could sit and the oats could soften. He had all the plates out and the flowers he got for mom were in the center of the counter, it was pretty great!

The chef at work!

The pancakes turned out great and are much more hearty than regular pancakes. He also made his favorite scrambled eggs with whipping cream. Thank you Successful Farming for getting dad inspired to cook! http://www.agriculture.com/family/recipes/breakfast/oat-pcakes_358-ar22670

Mom went to get her oil changed and the first 2 seasons of Gilmore Girls was a huge deal at Target so I went along and we grabbed dinner at Michael's.

I went to Neola to get a movie and mom got us these gummy worms which ended up being even better than the name brand kind!

Cinnamon sugar donut dad brought the day before.

I needed to get out of the house so I went to Dan's so we could go to Harlan for Pizza Hut. 

More thick crust pizza that I couldn't eat very much of :P. We then went to Hy-Vee and back to his place to watch a movie and fall asleep.

Lemonade and mint Oreos are not the best combination but are delicious on their own!

More work in the cold.

In the Essential Vegetarian Cookbook I found a recipe for Mushroom Lasagne. With the amount of greens in this I didn't know whether or not I'd like it but I was happy with the final product. I found this cookbook in a used bookstore in the Old Market and fell in love. I like the format of the book, the pictures are beautiful and I've yet to try a recipe I didn't like out of it!

Another night of errands and while at Whole Foods I decided to try this crazy drink. All I can say is that I do not plan on purchasing any more of these :P. I also found out that you can no longer reuse bulk bin bags. That makes me angry and sad! The girl even had to throw out the food I put in bags I had used before. Great idea on this one FDA.

It was then to the Waiting Room for the Kris Lager Mardi Gras Masquerade/Polyester Ball. I did acquire some pretty awesome leggings while cleaning mom's room that seemed perfect for a funky night! It was also Matt Cox's birthday and he made a guest appearance on the harmonica!

I don't know who this guy was but her really got down!

A little saxophone to jazz things up and a nice mask!

Brandon didn't feel well so Seth who regularly plays with Matt took over so he could go home and get some rest. I love the community of musicians in Omaha!

Sesame sticks and dried cherries are a strange combination :P.

Wednesday night ice cream! This may be a good idea for tonight! :)

Caitlin sent me a recipe for black bean burgers that totally blew me away. I think the corn is a great addition and the avocado is a great condiment replacement. http://www.eatliverun.com/boyfriend-approved-spicy-black-bean-burgers/

I also found a recipe in the Omaha World Herald for Pecan Balls that was savory and delicious. It was hard to believe how little sugar was in the recipe and yet how strong it came through. It takes a lot of pecans for this one but it is definitely worth it for a special occasion or just to treat yourself :). http://www.momaha.com/article/20111223/MOMS0703/111229851/-1

Mom, dad and I went to Neola to see the Descendants and surprisingly everyone enjoyed it! The Bucksnort was closed by the time it was over so it was back to Minden for dinner. I then watched a disturbing episode of 20/20 where I learned about a guy who was stretching his legs so he can be taller and other crazy plastic surgery happenings. Yikes!

Dan came over for sushi before he was off to something else. I even bought him fancy shrimp!

I was really proud of mom for her room cleaning efforts this time around. This is all the stuff she got rid of! So Lexi could feel apart of the experience we Skyped with her so she could tell us if she wanted anything while we were getting it ready for Goodwil. This was quite the experience, especially since Mike made an appearance, our first encounter with him. He probably was a little concerned about what he had gotten himself into after this :P.

Our Skype-ing was even more exciting than we anticipated and ended up getting to the nursing home with little time before dinner. This worked out well since grandma didn't really talk anyway. We went to Avoca Super Foods to get supplies for our Oscar viewing party and then headed home to get to work!

The first task was making Mini Mushroom and Sausage Quiche. They turned out great! Even without the sausage I didn't feel mine were lacking anything. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/mini_mushroom_sausage_quiches.html

I have seen the Giada episode with the Baby Strawberry and Honey Pies numerous times and had to make it happen! I used my mom's crust recipe since Giada is a fan of the store-bought pie crust and I'm not so much. I followed her filling recipe though and than the orange zest being a little overpowering they were great! We knew little about the Oscar nominees but throughly enjoyed our festive foods :). http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/baby-strawberry-and-honey-pies-recipe/index.html

I had a make a trip to Avoca building and Supply so I made a stop at the grocery store and found a donut! I also wanted to get more of the cheap and delicious soda I found the night before!

Mom and I made tacos for dinner and finished sorting through the Goodwill pile.

This extravagant ice cream for dessert happened more times than I realized :P.

We decided to send Lexi a package so I made these brownies, as found in Ladies Home Journal, which are supposed to be healthier since winter squash and whole wheat flour are used. You would never know that these weren't a regular, fatty, unhealthy brownie recipe! Lexi also seemed impressed which is great since there was a couple days between making them and having them arrive at her door! http://www.lhj.com/recipes/the-dish/brownies-made-healthier/

I also made more mini pies since we had the strawberries on hand. These were even better because I completely cut out the orange zest and put on the upper crust!

Annelle was back so we went to Ember's to meet her for dinner. I then had to rush to Harlan so I could make it to my first gardening class! I learned a lot but still wasn't sure of my gardening capabilities :P. I drove home in a ridiculous lightening and rain storm which was awesome! I love storms and they never seem to make it to Minden!

And when I got home I had mini pies and ice cream waiting for me :).

[feastsoffonder]

Crafting

Here's a bit of the things I've made in the last year or so, I was on a real knitting kick for a while! I made these hats for a friend's nieces and realized that kids heads are huge!

Baby blankets for Dan's twin nephews.

Place mats for Amy's wedding.

I finally decided making a blanket out of my shirts from high school was more useful than them sitting in the attic, never to be used or really looked at again.

Double sided even!

My first pair of mittens!

Total 60s style hat :P. I was excited that the yarn made the flame in the center on its own!

I made a tea towel for Lexi with a crossword full of her favorite Josh Ritter songs!

I was pretty excited with how these turned out!

Strawberry baby hats!

The pieced together material for my mini bag!

This is by far the best souvenir I have ever had! While in Seattle, Amanda and I spent a couple days working on this and we were both exceptionally proud of ourselves! The pattern can be found in Patchwork Style by Suzuko Koseki! The book has a lot of other great patterns for using scraps and small pieces of fabric! http://www.amazon.com/Patchwork-Style-Simple-Projects-Colorful/dp/159030649X