TEN THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY RIGHT NOW

1) Shortbread cookies, with the tops dipped in chocolate
also they are in acorn shapes, and i dipped the top part in chocolate so it looks like the little acorn hat, and it's very Martha and cute and I am kind of proud of how cute they look.  And they taste pretty good, but not as good as the ones at Panera.
2) Coffee.
I realize that coffee makes me happy on a lot of these lists, but it isn't ever any less true. Coffee. Is. Awesome.
3) Planning all of the things I am going to cook this week:
Right now on the list: Navy bean soup,  Honeycomb,  and penne alla vodka for Glee Tuesday
4) Although it is hot today, Fall weather is coming.
I already have my sweaters out for this week. GET COLDER.
5)  I like my new hair color (added bonus: no more terrible roots!)
6) I am thinking up ideas for the baking contest at work (this does not count for my 29/29th list) 
There are two categories: best theme (Halloween) and best tasting. Last year I did the white cupcakes, filled with raspberry jam, and they looked like mummies on the outside for the best theme category, and for best tasting, I did my banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting center, and chocolate ganache on top. (for best tasting)  I also piped on things that are scary: "the dentist"  "the IRS"  "spiders" .
7) Today is National Coming Out Day!  Happy day!
8) Am making positive, forward moving choices.
I think for a long time I've been stuck in a rut, and I am now beginning to get out of it.  Sometimes the first thing to do is the hardest, and once you do it, it makes everything more manageable.  So woo!
9) Glee Tuesday tomorrow!
10) Am going to re-arrange my bedroom tonight. I am feeling the need for change.

Birthday at the Beach

Portrait of the birthday girl on her 29th birthday

So my original plan for my birthday this year, was to be hanging out with my cousins Kelly and Eric, and their awesome kid Evan, but they couldn't come down to Baltimore, and have re-scheduled their trip for November (which is going to be awesome)  So I was somewhat at a loose end, trying to figure out something to do for my birthday, when my mom suggested that I come down to Chincoteague, because she, my Auntie Ange, and cousin Pauline had rented a house for the weekend.  Far be it for me to turn down a weekend at the beach, (one of the best beaches ever)  So I packed my things and drove down to the beach on Saturday morning, making the best time I've ever made- I was there in less than three hours!

 

So I got to the house, which was right on main street. put down my stuff, and just relaxed- I think it happens somewhere around Salisbury, on my way down to Chinc, I begin to  get happy  and then once I'm over the bridge, and onto the Island, it's just... peaceful.   We hung out for a while at the house, and then packed up and when to the beach- which was a little windy, but nice.  I re-read the end of Mockingjay, because I read it really fast the first time, and drank tea on the beach (which is a very my mom thing to do)  and read, and dozed  a little, and then, because I am somewhat crazy, went into the ocean with my Auntie Ange.  the water wasn't that cold, actually, but it was really rough, so we were just in for a couple of minutes.  I was about 2 seconds from getting OWNED by a wave as I was getting out of the water, but managed to stay upright and get out of the water relatively unscathed.  Auntie Ange was not so lucky- she took a little tumble and ended up with sand... all over. heh

We went back to the house and changed, and went for a walk downtown, where I managed to procure two blue Ball Jars, which are amazing!  I love ball jars, and any kind of canning jars, really- I love the way the look- they are all my drinking and juice glasses, they are my favorite system for storing leftovers, and keeping excess dry goods in.  I really like the way that candy looks in a ball jar,  or a bunch of nails and screws, or buttons.  So. Anyway. the blue ones are pretty rare, and I snagged two of them for three bucks.  If i can remember, I'll take a picture of them with my phone to put on here.  We hit the bookstore, where I got one of my favorite Babysitter's club books (I sadly, and stupidly, donated all of my BSC collection to the library when I was about 18)  and have slowly been re-collecting my favorites.  (oddly, most of my favorites are Claudia centric. I think I liked her arty style. And her junk food hidden in her room)

 We got back from our walk, hungry, and had guacamole that I made (see bottom of post for recipe)-  Guacamole is one of those things that just speaks "chincoteague"  to me-  I've made it tons of times, Year after year in Chincoteague- whenever I make it and it's not there, it just doesn't seem quite right. So we had the guac, with my aunt's nachos, and the enchiladas that my mom made.  It was quite an excellent birthday dinner,  and was topped off with some Irish Candy that Pauline brought.

 

Then on Sunday, we woke up and it was raining, and gross, so we bumbled around the house, and watched a lot of Say Yes to the Dress, which I may or may not have developed a bit of an addiction to. (don't judge. it's good) 

 

We hit a couple of stores, and then went to one of my favorite places on the Island: Woody's Beach BBQ

Auntie ange  at woody's

I love this place because it's great bbq, and it's fun.  Even though it was cold and rainy out, It was still delicious.

Mom and Pauline ordering

I got the pulled pork sandwich with the onion ring on it, and coleslaw and a side of fries. mmmmm. I wish I could be eating that right now.

And then I had banana pudding with Nilla wafers in it, and all was right with the world.

I had a really good time at the beach- It has been one of my best birthdays- relaxed, and fun.  I think it is really a great thing that as I get older, I really have realized that I have a great family- that I enjoy as people, and friends, besides the fact that fate has thrown us together. My mom and Auntie Ange and Pauline are hilarious, and awesome.

Guac Recipe (shamelessly stolen from the ingredients inside a Trader joe's Guac Kit)

 

Two avocados (make sure they are ripe)

two plum tomatoes seeded and diced

one small onion diced fine

two cloves of garlic diced fine

one jalapeno (seeded and diced fine- if you like things spicier, leave the seeds and ribs in- I prefer my guac to have just a little bite)

1/2 a lime

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Instructions: in a medium sized bowl, put diced onion, Garlic, and jalapeno and mix with a fork.  ad avocado and mash in with fork, but leaving some chunks- you don't want the avocado to be totally smooth.  mix in the tomatoes, lime juice, and stir.

 

Eat with chips.

 

(this recipe can be very easily doubled or tripled. I would suggest if you have any more than four people eating it, you make a double batch. otherwise people get a little sad at you.

29/29th # 21

21) Set one weekly excersise goal every week and then meet it. (even if it's small: i.e. 3 days of wii fit a week, two long walks around the ten hills neighborhood,  walking up the giant hill in front of my house)

So I'm reviving the Val Gets Fit blog, where I will blog about various fitness things.  If you feel so inclined, go ahead and read it, but be advised: it will be me talking about excersise, and possibly eating healthier. Read at your own risk of boredom.

29 in the 29th

Okay.  So I have been thinking a lot, and I think next year, I'm going to transition into a Mighty Life List, as opposed to yearly lists, in an effort to think a little bit longer term about where I want to be and what I want to do with my life.  But I couldn't resist coming up with one last yearly list, because this is the big one. The last year before I'm thirty. The last year of my mid to late twenties. Oh, all right, my late twenties. I have purposely made this list a lot more accessible, I want to complete EVERYTHING on it this year.

1) Go see a taping of Wait Wait Don't tell me. 


2) Take advantage of a Southwest sale and go somewhere with Julie that we've both never been.


3) Redesign my website. Buy a domain name and move the blog there.


4) Enter a cooking contest. (a real one. not one at work. With real judges and everything) 


5) Buy a video camera and make and edit more videos (even if it's just a flipcam)


6) Update my blog at least once a week


7) Plan fun things to do to show Jackie Baltimore, now that she is living here.

8) Go to a resturant for resturant week.


9) Go tubing down the river (I don't know which river. Any river. Preferably with Paul, who suggested this list item)


10) Take more pictures, post more pictures


11) Taste 20 types of beer.


12) Continue my tradition of Top Chef Wednesdays and Glee Tuesdays.


13) Donate money to causes I believe in.


14) Go to NYC for a weekend


15) Go somewhere where there is not much ambient light, and look at the stars.


16) Learn how to identify more constellations than just Orion.


17) Master bread baking (this guy is also going to be baking bread this year, and I want to bake some with him!)


18) Help somone else complete a List item on their list that isn't on my list.


19)  Go on a picnic.


20)  Figure out what I'm doing with my life professionally.


21) Set one weekly excersise goal every week and then meet it. (even if it's small: i.e. 3 days of wii fit a week, two long walks around the ten hills neighborhood,  walking up the giant hill in front of my house)


22) Move to a new apartment when my lease is up, with the following requirements: decent size kitchen. hardwood floors, fun area of Baltimore. (optional but would be nice: washer/dryer combo)


23) Go to one of the City Year Events in DCn (or philly, or NYC, or RI- Just do one event with them)


24) Decorate a cake with fondant.


25)  Learn how to can things.  Seriously. Making this happen. For real this time.


26)  Go to see a drive in movie.


27) Do one social activity that is outside my comfort zone per month


28) Go down to Florida to visit G; make it home to visit my Grandad more often.


29) Go to some kind of food festival. Whether it is barbeuce, or Garlic, or a Pickle festival.

Ten things Tuesday!

1) It is GLEE Tuesday! Pumpkin chili is made (though it is spicy, for real- I'm glad I bought sour cream). It is now resting in my fridge, waiting for Julie to come over and eat it up.

2) I am knocking off what I think will probably be the last of the 28 in the 28th list that I'll get done this year- Watching Amelie with Julie before GLEE

3)  Had a great weekend with Kate and Potter and Jack! There was some good and tasty food made, There was lots of Community watched, and there was quite a bit had to drink. It was great.

4)  My car is fixed!  I had been driving around with my car being loud for.... awhile, and I think I just kind of kept thinking that it wasn't that bad, and then it also developed a rattle. So I brought it into the shop, and they fixed it, And now it's a completely different car. So awesome. I hadn't realized how terrible it was- now that it is fixed, I feel so much better.  Which leads to my next ten thing:

5) Found a great mechanic down the road from me!  Friends of mine have a mechanic, Mike Tyre, who is really good, but is all the way up in Timonium, which is a 35 minute drive for me. I looked up mechanics on the Car Talk website, and they had good ratings for the one down the street from me, and the guys treated me really well, and fixed my car super fast.  It was great!  The guys really remind me of the mechanics at home, at Dom's Getty and Paul's.  Sense of humor, give good advice, and are honest.

6) Good new music!  Go check out Florence and the Machine. Do it.

7)  I had time to read! And I read!  Kate lent me Catching Fire and Mockingjay, and after they left on Sunday, I read straight through from 3 until 11, pausing only for dinner and a leftover brownie. it was great- both books, and if you're in the market for something good and engaging to read, I really recommend all of the books in the Hunger Games Trilogy.  (I would advise having Mockingjay when you read Catching Fire, because you are going to want to start it right away.) I think I am going to spend some time this weekend re-reading them, because i was reading so fast to find out what happened, I may have missed things.

8) Finalizing my 29/29th list!  This is the last one for my 20's, so I want to make sure it is awesome. I also want to accomplish everything on the list this year, so I am going to make it more manageable.

9) Good things are just happening in general.  The fog and funk that I've been in lately seem to have lifted, somewhat.

10) I have an awesome family.

Family Weekend!

So I am still without my camera cord, (and also I didn't take any pictures this weekend) but I'm just going to write about what I cooked this weekend, when my cousins Kate and Potter were visiting, and my sister was hanging out too. The purpose of the weekend was to watch copious hours of the TV show Community, which just came out on DVD, and we all love. (Well, Kate and Potter and I loved it. Jackie hadn't watched it at all. But that would all change....)  So I made a weekend's worth of College- themed things.  (well, and also tasty things- i don't know if corn chowder and pumpkin pancakes are college themed)


Dinner on Friday Night: (pizza and beer night!)
Roasted butternut squash and chicken apple sausage Pizza.  with mozzarella, tomatoes, and chopped rosemary.  After it was out of the oven, I drizzled it with some balsamic vinegar reduction.

I also made garlic cheesy bread, in the style like you would get from a Papa John's or Domino's,   We washed that down with the beer that Kate and Potter brought.

Saturday Morning:
Pumpkin Pancakes!  These were dense and moist pancakes that were pretty good- with lots of nutmeg and cinnamon.  (Woo, Fall flavors!)

Saturday Lunch: Corn chowder
My standard corn chowder recipe, this time supplemented with the Prosciutto that I had left over from Glee Tuesday, for some extra porky goodness.

Saturday Dinner: 
Sweet potato oven fries- which, got a little on the mush side, but were still very tasty.
Panko and Parmesan chicken fingers, with a variety of dipping sauces- curry ketchup,  Siracha, honey mustard, homemade barbecue sauce,  and regular ketchup.
Spinach- you know, for being nominally healthy and to cut the protein and carbs that were entering our system.

This was washed down with PAN, an invention of Kate and Potter's college friends, which includes mixing vodka with lemons and sugar, and letting it sit in a pan for a while with ice.  mmmmmm, college-y.

Saturday Dessert:
Salted Caramel Brownies with ice cream and Salted Caramel Sauce.  I made brownies, and there was a layer of salted caramel sauce in the center.   Right before serving, I heated them up, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, and poured some hot caramel sauce over the whole thing.  It was the most delicious sugar bomb ever.

Sunday breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with parmesan cheese,  and potato hash.  salty potatoes,  creamy cheesy eggs,  some siracha on top. I could have that breakfast every morning.

After that, we headed down to the Baltimore Book Festival, and meandered around for awhile. When we came back to my apartment, Kate and Potter peaced out to drive home, and  Jack left too, with the vegetarian chilli I made for her for Sunday dinner, and the breakfast burritos that I had frozen for her.

It was an awesome weekend! I can't wait until they all come back again.

Find your spot

So there's this website called find your spot that you plug in a ton of different variables for places you could live, and they spit out your top areas to live.  My friend Katie did it on her blog, so I'm copycatting and doing mine.

Not a huge suprise, seeing as I love the Northeast, and I've already lived in Rhode Island, but it obviously knows me a little, seeing as it didn't pick anyplace dumb for me to live. (like it picked for Katie to live in Utah. On purpose)

Meanwhile, I have three posts on deck, but I can't find my dag camera cord! this is annoying. Hopefully i'll find it soon and be able to get those up.