Please Respect the Meat

I bet you wonder what I do during my hour long lunch breaks... Well, I go home, make a sandwich and watch the TV shows I missed during the week. This is from My Name is Earl. This show makes me miss Johnson City, TN.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everybody! Hope you all have tons of adorable trick or treaters. I however, will be at the library working. I'm not sure why we're still open as it will be completely dead in there. (No puns intended.) But whatever - I gotta pay my bills.

Speaking of things that died, did you hear that the hyphen is dead?!? This is bad news for me because I use them all the time for dramatic pauses. (I used one in this post even!) Anyway, you will always be alive to me hyphen.

Well, as a special Halloween treat to my adoring readers, I stayed up very late last night to finish working on my pictures from our Salem trip. They are finally all loaded up on Flickr if you want to see them. So check them out - there are some funny ones. (See hyphen, I still love you. And you too, comma.)

Mr. Body & Ms. Scarlett

Murder She Wrote

Tonight is the night. Yes siree, tonight is the annual Halloween party! It's been so long since my last Halloween party, so I'm pretty nervous about this one. I can't help it - I channel Martha Stewart with these kind of things. (Have you been wondering where I've been, dear reader? I've been party planning!) This year is going to be a murder mystery dinner party, "Clue" themed, which is perfect for the number of people who are coming. Everyone has a suspect role and an appropriate "Clue" inspired name.

The invitations are smooth this year. Here is a snapshot of what they look like. (Now, if I have party crasher because I'm posting this... well...)

Anyway, I should have some cute pictures coming your way soon, blogosphere. I promise.

Monday's Mosaic

Oh yeah. This was an entertaining weekend. Tim and I drove up to Salem, Massachusetts - home of the famous 1692 Witch Trials - for a Halloween adventure. I have to say, this town knows how to do Halloween! I'll post the pictures onto Flikr soon, I've just been so busy with work and planning our own Halloween party that I've not had much extra time. We had a blast, though.

Salem was beautiful. We had an amazing weekend as far as weather goes; it was downright warm but everything was covered in fall colors. Window boxes were full of beautiful mums and pumpkins adorned every doorstep. And there was witch stuff literally EVERYWHERE! Everything had some witchy connection... It was like visiting Harry Potter's Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley or something, with restaurants called "The Witch's Brew" and shops called "The Broom Closet." It was incredible. And touristy. I loved it.

One of our favorite things we did this weekend was visit Nathaniel Hawthorne's "House of the Seven Gables." They had an incredible October night time event called "The Legacy of the Hanging Judge" where the great great grandfather of Hawthorne, magistrate John Hathorne, interrogates you. (It was a walk through the house, with actors in each room telling his story and why he was called "the hanging judge.") Lucky me, I was the one the scary judge chose to interrogate! Yeah, I'm really glad I didn't live during those times because they totally would have found me guilty of "writing in the devil's book." Not that I'm a witch or anything, it's just that I have a serious problem with reacting inappropriately. When the judge interrogated / screamed at me, I had a fit of giggles. Wha?!? I have no clue as to why my body reacted like that, but it was completely uncontrollable! I felt like such a dang spaz. But it was a really great show.

Salem

Oh yeah, and I'll be off the radar for a couple of days. This weekend, hubby is taking me to Salem, Massachusetts!!! I've wanted to go ever since Daniel Day Lewis (growl) was in The Crucible. (In which he was seriously NOT hot. But a great actor, non-the-less.) Anyway, Halloween is HUGE in Salem. We had serious difficulty finding a place to stay! I'll let you know if i see any witches...

The Quilting Queen

Yesterday I had my very first quilting class. I’ve always wanted to learn quilting, so this is my kick in the pants motivational tactic. Makes sense, if I purchase an actual classroom experience, then I am forced to put up or shut up, right? I think so. And I would have asked my mother-in-law or grandma-in-law to teach me (who are amazing quilters), but they live ages away. Alas!

Sunday afternoon, I went in to get my materials for the project at the only fabric store worth visiting in a thirty mile radius. It’s a “quilt your own project” class instead of a “beginners quilting” class (because the teach said as long as I can stitch straight, she’d let me in), so basically I’m not real sure of what all I need for it and what I’m even doing. I got myself a real SIMPLE pattern called “Turning Twenty” or something bizarre like that and started gathering my materials. The crazy thing about this pattern though is that I have to get twenty different pieces (or “fat quarters” which just sounds gross) for it. Do you know what a daunting task it is to find twenty coordinating fabrics that you wouldn’t be embarrassed to have all put together that you could put somewhere in your house?!? Because, at this point, with the class and the book and the fabric, this is gonna be one expensive quilt! It will have to have a place of honor. So I picked out about five different browns, tans, and deep reds and thought I did good (I planned on using the same material at least twice each).

I got to class early Thursday to make sure I got at least half the things I needed, hoping that the teach would be there to chat with me. She, of course, didn’t think I had enough fabric versatility and took it upon herself to help me choose more. Forty-five dollars and a few more gray hairs later, I was all set up with some crazy oranges and greens and funky patterned reds to add to my fabric collage. And believe me, I used my veto power as much as I could here. At one point, my instructor looked at me (as I eyed one of her selections in utter horror) and said “The first lesson you are going to learn tonight is a free one. It is not the quilter who picks the fabric for her quilt, it’s the quilt itself.” Ah yeah. I don’t know if she really believes that existential bologna or if she was just pissed at me or what, but I sure thought it was blog worthy.

Anyway, I survived the class. I’ve got a whole lot of cutting to do for my “Turning Twenty” before my next visit with the quilting dojo. But I have a few of her wisdom gems she enlightened us all with to hold me. This one I’ll share: I asked her what color thread I should use to piece my quilt together. Thinking of my array of colors, I thought maybe a brown or a red. Unfortunately, I voiced my idea and she looked at me like I had just slapped her child. She said “In quilting, there are only 2 kinds of thread: gray and beige.” Dissed and dismissed.

Black Snake Moan

Have you seen the movie "Black Snake Moan" yet? Well, it's not one of those feel-good movies, but I have to say that it was really well written. Honestly, this is not a movie I would be comfortable watching with ANYONE else. Be warned. It has some crazy scenes in it that caused me much discomfort. But really worth seeing. This flick is absolutely pregnant with messages. I loved this quote from the good Reverend R.L. (It's not misspelled, btw.)

I'ma tell you something and it's just gonna be between you and me. I think folks carry on about heaven too much, like it's some kind of all you can eat buffet up in the clouds and folks just do as they told so they can eat what they want behind some pearly gates. There's sinning in my heart, there's evil in the world but when I got no one, I talk to God. I ask for strength, I ask for forgiveness, not peace at the end of my days when I got no more life to live or no more good to do but today, right now... What's your heaven?

Monday Mosaic

So here is my week in review (shortened because I am gonna watch Chuck).

My week (last Sunday) started out with a visit from my incredible father-in-law. I hope everyone has such an incredible person in their lives. (He is pictured at the top right - the one with the googly eyes.) Anyway, he was up here for a business trip, so I got to spend some time with him Sunday and Monday morning, since Monday was a holiday for me - Columbus Day. I never used to have Columbus Day off before. Maybe it is because I live in a highly Italian populated area? No complaints here, but it is an odd day to celebrate.

Tuesday afternoon was a blast. Tim and I met up in the city to go to the Colbert Report. I've been itching to go for ages now, so it was a great adventure. We had to get there early to get in because they purposely over-book every show and we were determined to get in this time (yes, we tried unsuccessfully before). It was an amazing show and we even got Colbert's new book. Then we went out for yummy cheese steaks. I tell ya, Tim and I are hooked on those now, ever since our visit to Philly.

I've been decorating for Halloween lately. Tim and I are gonna have a Halloween Murder Mystery party this year. I'm really excited about it. I just finished decorating in the hallway, hence the loads of googly eyed pictures. More on that later...

Saturday was a mention worthy day as well. I went to Book Expo at the New York Public Library again this year. This time, Lois Lowry was the keynote speaker (last year was M.T. Anderson - he was AMAZING). Well, Lois kinda sucked compared to him, even though she is the more literarily prolific author. She is the author of gems such as The Giver, Number the Stars, the Gooney Bird Green series, and countless other classics. As a librarian, I was thrilled at the opportunity to go see her. But I have to say that I was pretty disappointed in her author talk and in meeting her. She was totally arrogant and basically kind of bitchy! Her whole talk was about banned books and her reading old fan letters from kids and showing old pictures of herself. I was really expecting more. And what really chaffed my hide was when I was having her sign my book, I asked her about her new series that I love, the Gooney Bird books, which are totally Punky Brewsterish. And chick blows me off! And it wasn't even because there was much of a line of people to have books signed. So, she can be her own biggest fan cause that wasn't cool.

Other than her though, I had a good time. And afterward, Tim and I went to the Mars 2112 Bar. Totally cheesy and totally fun. I'll write more about it later. Chuck is on!

I wish I had an umbrella...

You know that song "I'm only happy when it rains?" Well, I am the total opposite of that. It just seems that whenever it rains, nothing goes right. Fuses (in my crappily wired apartment)blow and I end up getting ready for work in the dark, because I used the last bus fuse whenever it rained last time... It takes twice the amount of time to get to work because the parkways are flooded so everyone decides to drive in MY direction... The new landlord is a smoker, I guess, because lately when it rains the apartment smells like a dang ash tray... My hair is frizzy... And finally, to even START my car these past couple of days is a trial in patience (something is seriously wrong with it and my husband has been too busy at his work to get it fixed - hint hint if you're reading this, Tim)...

So yeah. Here's hoping that this day goes by quickly, because I'm off to a real rough start.

Speaking of Pie Holes...

I just love Kristen Chenoweth. This is a musical snippet from yesterdays Pushing Daisies.

TV Grrrl

Yup, so I am the loser who watches a lot of TV. I totally blame it on my circumstances. And yes, I do need some extra-curriculars. (Hopefully, I'll be taking a beginners quilting class soon - yes, really.) Anyway, I wanted to mention something about two new TV shows that I am really enjoying; Chuck and Pushing Daisies. If you haven't seen either of these, you are seriously missing out!

Chuck is an average joe who works at a "Buy More" in the "Nerd Herd" as a computer techy guy. He gets this (completely unbelievable but cheesy-cute enough to make you want to go along with the plot) email download from an old college friend/adversary who now works for the government. When Chuck opens the download, he is bombarded with a database of government secrets that all get programed into his head. So now, he has to help two agents who are assigned to him to fight crime and whatnot. It's like a really cute version of Alias plus Ed. I love it. And I love the fact that they don't try so hard to make something believable that clearly isn't.

The other amazing new show is Pushing Daisies. This one is so dang cute that it is actually physically painful for me. It's like watching Ewan McGregor give his sheepish grin while standing in a field of daffodils to impress his lady in the movie Big Fish. (I love that part.) It is a visual masterpiece - it is like Suzy Land if I could ever put it into film. And it is funny in that Amelie way. If you haven't seen this, you really ought to. Shame on you if you haven't.

It's about another seemingly average guy named Ned who owns a pie shop (called the "Pie Hole") and has this secret ability of being able to touch something dead and bring it back to life. In the first episode, he finds out that the love of his life, the only girl he'd ever kissed, who moved away when he was 10, has passed away. He goes to see her before her funeral and revives her, but he can never touch her again or else she'll die again. And of course this seems so very morbid, but it is incredibly adorable because they'll do things like hold their own hands behind their back, imagining that they are holding each others hands. Ned has also revived his old dog and can never pet him. He uses a back-scratcher to give his dog attention. And I know I am butchering the show by even speaking about it. It is just something that you have to watch. So go watch it! (You can watch full episodes on ABC online.)

Wordless Wednesday - Pumpkin Patch

Colbert Report

Colbert Report
Originally uploaded by peachicken.

Oh snap. We finally got in. We tried once before and got denied. This time, not only did we get in, we got free books. And Timmy got one of these - Stephen shot it right to him! What could be better?!? So everybody - watch the Colbert Report tonight!!! You may see me. (Probably not, but watch anyway.) We had S.O. M.U.C.H. F.U.N.

Fling

This is hilarious. And check out their commercial, too...

Farm Fun

This past Saturday we did something we've never done before, we went apple picking. (And it isn't that I've never picked apples before - I used to have an apple tree - but I've never been to a farm to pick a specific fruit or vegetable.) It was a whole lot of fun! We went with our friends Emily and Brandon and picked a basket full. (What is this called? A peck?) Go here to see apple pickin' pictures.

So anyway, I've got a WHOLE LOT OF APPLES now and I don't quite know what to do with all of these. So far, I've made an apple cake with my sister's great recipe (that didn't tell me how much flour to use - sheer panic for me - but it still turned out pretty yummy). But I've still got plenty of apples. Any ideas? Here is the apple cake recipe for any of you adventurous bakers.

Apple Cake:
1 cup corn oil
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs well beaten
1 1/2 cups flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2 heaping tablespoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups chopped tart apples
1 cup chopped pecans

Blend oil and sugar in a large bowl; add well-beaten eggs and beat until
creamy, using medium speed or by hand. Add flour, salt and cinnamon into
creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in vanilla and apples. Fold in nuts.
Spread batter evenly into greased and floured 13x 9 x 2 inch pan.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven on middle shelf for about 1 hour or until
cake tests done. Cool on rack.

Well, I'm not real sure what "fold in nuts" meant, but I just mixed them in. It tasted okay to me.

We really had a nice Saturday with Emily and Brandon. It's been hard to find fun couples to hang out with up here, people who we're compatible with (that have the same kind of humor as us). And so it was nice to have someone to play with. Emily and I began the Saturday by going to get pedicures (something that was completely unfamiliar territory for me, as is baking obviously) and then we met up with the boys for a picnic by the Mamaroneck harbor. Afterwards we went apple (and pumpkin) picking, came back home to hang out a bit, and then back out for dinner and to the Great Blaze. We had a good ole time.

Most Delicious

Today for lunch I am having the most amazing concoction: I call it "Golden Butter Crunch." It is a mixture of Golden Grahams and Captain Crunch Peanut Butter Cereal. I can't take the creds for this mix, however (just for that great name). My brilliant hubby came up with this delicacy a couple of weeks ago at this cool restaurant called Cereality, where you can combine cereals and candy to make a seriously fattening but yummy meal (Tennessee Celeste calls it "food porn"). Well, mine isn't quite what Tim's was - his included Grapenuts, Malt Balls, and something else - but boy I tell ya it is good. Try a bowl of it - you won't regret it. I should totally trademark that jive.

Wordless Wednesday - Shhh...

Straight Up.

I feel ya, Dewey... I feel ya.