It's the most wonderful time...

Sunday, August 31, 2008

*singing*

...of the year!!

*clears throat*

Sorry about that. I just get excited for apple season.

Michael and I got a head start on the fall season today. We went apple picking for the first time. Tessa was excited, too. This is her in mid-air, jumping.

We didn't take her with us, but she certainly benefits from all of the apple picking that goes on. She looooves apples.


The apple farm that we like to frequent is about 25 minutes from our house. I've been checking their website, waiting for the early season varieties to be ready for picking. They were technically ready last weekend, but it was like 90 degrees. No thanks. Today, it was a comfortable 80 degrees, plus they had four different varieties ready for picking. So we decided to go for it.

As it turned out, 80 degrees was still a little warm for apple picking. We were HOT. But it was worth it. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather for picking, though.


We came away with Paula Red, Ginger Gold, Zestar, and Sansa apples. Almost 40 lbs. of them. Yes, that's right. 40 lbs. We're big apple eaters. Love everything apple. Fresh eating, applesauce (homemade is SO. GOOD.), pies, crisps, baked apples, etc. etc. The funny thing is that we'll probably be ready to go out and pick another 40 lbs. in a couple of weeks.


We proceeded to almost get ripped off $11 (we're obviously not that great at math). Apples were $0.65 per pound, and we somehow got charged over $35. I was a little bit shocked because we went there regularly last year and I never remembered paying more than $25. We brushed it off and got into the car.

We were a little ways down the road before Michael was like, "but wait..." We started talking through the numbers, and I pulled out my Blackberry to do a little math. Um, yeah. It was definitely wrong. Michael turned around and we went back to have the guy weigh the apples again and figure out the total again.

As it turned out, the employee was wrong, and we were right (I guess he wasn't so great at math, either). We were refunded our $11 and change. Jeez. That was a pretty big mistake! Needless to say, we'll be watching more closely on our future trips to the farm.

Tonight, we got together with our friends Theresa and Greg. They are currently enjoying their last weekend of freedom (see: as non-parents), and decided they'd like to spend part of it with us (we're flattered!). Theresa is 9 months pregnant--due on Thursday--and will be induced on Friday if the baby does not come before then.

We enjoyed dinner at a local bar/grill type place (so good!), and then went back to their house to let our dogs run around in the backyard, and to sit around their fire pit. Michael and I enjoyed a few drinks (no drinks for the parents-to-be), and we all had s'mores. A great way to spend a night over Labor Day weekend.

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Baby's First Taste of Cake

Saturday, August 30, 2008

So many great pics from our Saturday with Brendan.


Opening gifts


When I first showed him the cake with the candle on top, he said "Oooooh!"

With his mommy


He wasn't too sure what to do at first. I don't think he realized it was food.

Melissa had to give him a taste to get him started.

Still cautiously checking it out.

He likes it! He kept going "Mmmmm!!"


So serious.

Bigger destruction of the cake, and bigger fistfuls making it into the mouth.


Ha! Too cute.

Mommy took the cake away.

Brendan with his parents, after getting cleaned up.


Later on the day, he was having fun in his high chair.

Trying to get the camera.

Tired boy.

Uncle Michael is funny.

Ticklish.

Posted by Picasa

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Look what I did! Part 2

Friday, August 29, 2008

Cake #2 of 2 for our nephew's birthday. This one is for him to have a ball with. A cake all to himself. Can't wait for everyone to see them tomorrow!


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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Look what I did!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Cake #1 of 2 for our nephew's birthday.


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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Happy Birthday, Little Man

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Our nephew, Brendan, is 1 year old today. We'll be making the drive to visit him for his birthday party this weekend.

I am making him his birthday cake(s). One for all of his guests to enjoy, the other for him to enjoy all on his own. I love watching a 1-year-old kid have the freedom to dig in and enjoy cake for the first time. He'll likely need a bath immediately following. :)

We have pretty vivid memories of his birth last year. It's weird to think that so much time has passed already. He has grown entirely too big, entirely too fast. But that's just the way it goes, right?

Happy 1st Birthday, Buddy.

Just a few hours old

Earlier this month

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Hillary and McCain -- Not the Same

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

While we're on the subject...

Last night, on my local news, there was an elderly gentleman who was a Hillary supporter. He was all about Hillary. He was wearing a Hillary hat, an "I *heart* Hillary" t-shirt, etc. He claims he has never voted Republican in his entire life (he looked to be in his 80s); always Democrat. You may be asking yourself, why was this man on the news? Well, it's because he's now voting for John McCain. Why? Because he wants Hillary to be able to run again in 2012.

Talk about getting my blood boiling. Holy crap. What kind of ass backwards thinking is this?!

(Not to mention: I'm not sure that particular gentleman will be alive in 2012. Just sayin'.)

I absolutely cannot understand the Hillary supporters who are switching over and voting for McCain. I know Barack Obama is not every Democrat's candidate of choice. I'll even say that there is probably a Democrat out there who would be better suited for the job. But the fact of the matter is, this is our Democratic nominee. He is who we have to work with this time around. I understand the concerns about his experience, I do. But to vote McCain?

I just don't get how people get from Point A (Hillary) to Point B (McCain?!?). Maybe I am blind and deaf here, but during the Democratic primary debates, I was struck by the similarities between Obama and Clinton. They seemingly wanted very similar things, just had different ways of getting there. I live in New York and as you know, Hillary is one of our senators. I have never been a big fan of hers, but I sure as hell would have voted for her if she had been chosen as the Democratic nominee.

Truthfully, I find all of this to be pretty scary.

For the Hillary supporters who are now voting McCain, I have to ask why they were voting for Hillary in the first place. If it was based on the fact that her beliefs were in line with their beliefs, it seems like a no-brainer that Obama would now be the candidate of choice.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I love debating politics. I enjoy talking to people who have different outlooks on things than I do, and I never bash anyone for their beliefs. So please don't be offended by what I write if you don't agree with me. I put all of this out there for the sake of discussion. Go ahead and comment and tell me what you think.

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Interesting tactic, McCain

First it was Joe Biden. Now it's Hillary Clinton.

Basically, John McCain's camp has utilized them to do his dirty work for him.

I will admit, it is pretty smart. McCain can take a break from bashing Obama (we'll see how long that lasts) by instead using the words of Obama's former rivals against him.

The ad with Biden shows a clip of Senator Biden saying he will stand behind his statement that Barack Obama is not ready to be President of the United States.



The "Passed Over" ad that features Hillary tries to accomplish three things, as far as I can tell:
1) To imply that Obama betrayed Democrats by not picking Hillary as VP.
2) Further question Obama's ability to be President, using Hillary's words.
3) Try to turn Hillary supporters against Obama, and therefore gain more votes for himself.



Again, I say... smart.

But out of all the (probably) thousands of political ads I have seen in my time, these ones really bother me. I know that a main reason is because I am an Obama supporter. I just can't help but be annoyed by it.

All of these statements by Biden and HRC are taken out of context. Little snippets from here and there, all things that were said during the primary season. They were all competing against each other for the same job. Of course they were all doing their best to point out the potential flaws of each of their competitors, and Obama was one of them. Of course they were going to nitpick Obama's policies, lack of experience, etc. They were trying to win primary elections! They were on the road to trying to win the job as President of the United States!

There was a widely distributed and frequently played clip of HRC yesterday telling a crowd of her supporters (about McCain's ad), "I am Hillary Clinton, and I DO NOT approve this message." It must be extremely frustrating for someone to take your words and try to use them against the person you are now supporting. I'm glad she spoke out about it... especially to the supporters who McCain is trying so hard to recruit over to his side.

I think what I find most frustrating is that this tactic could EASILY be used against McCain as well. Having fellow Democrats speak out against Barack in the primary season is not unique. Republicans spoke out against Republicans. You think Romney, Huckabee, and the like weren't nitpicking McCain as well? Of course they were; it's what they had to do to try to win votes.

It sounds like Romney is on the very short list of running mates for McCain. Go back to the Republican primary debates and listen to all Romney had to say about John McCain. I think Romney actually said that McCain will destroy America. Well jeez, as long as we're talking about votes of confidence in the candidates...

Honestly, I hate political ads altogether. Especially the negative ones. I know they come with the territory, but I'd rather concentrate on debating the issues than listen to politicians sling mud back and forth.

I post stuff like this not to force my political beliefs onto others. I just need an outlet to vent about the things going on in my head, and I also really enjoy discussing politics (with both Democrats and Republicans! Shocking, I know!). If you have a different view, certainly let me know in the comments!

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Low-Fat Zucchini Bread

Monday, August 25, 2008

I spent the evening in the kitchen.

When I got home, I immediately started working on a cookie cake for a potluck lunch at work tomorrow. I used the excellent Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but spread it into a pizza pan. I baked it until it looked done and took it out. It came out pretty well, but I'd probably bake it for a little less time next time I make it.

Later on, once it cooled, I actually decorated it with buttercream frosting, using my new cake decorating skills. I would love to show a photo of it (it came out so awesome!) but I decorated it with a company logo, and I don't want the whole blogging world to know where I work. So you'll just have to imagine an extremely well decorated cookie cake in your heads! :)

On Saturday, we went to a local farm market and bought an absolutely HUGE (seriously, it's about the size of our dog) zucchini for only $0.50. I decided I should start using it, so I shredded some to use in zucchini bread. The recipe is below. The three cups needed for the recipe barely made a dent in this thing. We'll definitely be eating more zucchini this week.

Before tonight, I had never actually made zucchini bread before. I didn't have a tried and true recipe, so I adapted one I found on recipezaar.com. I made note of what I changed in the recipe below. It came out really well! It's moist and delicious, and best of all, low fat! I'm all about decreasing the guilt without decreasing the taste (when possible). Try it out!


Low-Fat Zucchini Bread
(Adapted from RecipeZaar)

Ingredients:

- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cups all purpose, and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat)
- 2-3 cups zucchini, grated or finely diced
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients.
2. Pour into 2 loaf pans.
3. Bake for 45-55 minutes (until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean).

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Bourbon Chicken

Sunday, August 24, 2008

This is a recipe that came from Amber over at Amber's Delectable Delights.

We first tried this more than a month ago, shortly after we returned from our honeymoon. We made it again this weekend and we decided that it is seriously one of our favorite recipes ever!

It is the perfect combination of spicy and sweet. It has quite a bit of kick to it, so you should lessen the red pepper flakes if you don't like much spice.

The first time we made it, we made it exactly according to the recipe... just chicken and rice. It felt weird to us to just be eating meat and rice, so we said then that the next time we made it, we would add broccoli into the dish. We added it right into the chicken and sauce mixture, and it was delicious!

Bourbon Chicken
(Source: RecipeZaar.com)

Ingredients:
-2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (we only used 1 lb., but made the same amount of sauce so that there would be enough to cover our broccoli)
-1-2 tablespoon olive oil
-1 garlic clove, crushed
-1/4 teaspoon ginger
-3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
-1/4 cup apple juice
-1/3 cup light brown sugar
-2 tablespoons ketchup
-1 tablespoon cider vinegar
-1/2 cup water
-1/3 cup soy sauce
-3-4 cups cooked broccoli florets (my addition)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove Chicken.

2. Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well mixed and dissolved.

3. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer, about 20 minutes. Add cooked broccoli during last 5 minutes of simmering time to coat evenly with sauce and to reheat the broccoli. Serve over hot rice.

(NOTE: Like Amber, I used a slurry (cornstarch and water) to thicken the sauce.)

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Watermelon Mojitos

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Saw this drink recipe late last week over on Good Things Catered.

This weekend, being hot and summery like it was, seemed to be the perfect opportunity to try it. I will admit that I have never had a regular mojito. I'm not much into club soda-based drinks, so I never had a reason to like it. But with watermelon? Sounded good.

Overall, we liked it. I had a little bit of a "consistency" problem with it, though. Muddling the limes and the mint together gives you a little bit of pulp, which I hate. Also, dumping the limes and leaves right into the drink... I don't know, I felt like I was constantly trying not to eat a whole mint leaf. But who knows, I may have done something wrong. And again, I've never had an actual mojito, so I've never experienced anything quite like this! But it was a refreshing drink and had good flavor.

Watermelon Mojitos

Ingredients:

-2 ripe large limes, washed and cut into 8 slices each
-4 sprigs mint, washed and leaves removed
-1/4 c. sugar
-3 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
-1 ample c. clear rumice

Directions:

1. In bottom of cocktail shaker, muddle limes, mint leaves and sugar until completely dissolved and combined.

2. Add lime mixture to pitcher with ample amount of ice.

3. In bowl of blender, add watermelon and blend until liquefied, about 30 seconds.

4. Add watermelon juice to pitcher.

5. Add rum to pitcher and stir to combine well.

6. Adjust taste to liking and serve over ice. (We ended up blending about 2 cups more watermelon and adding it into the drink for a little more melon flavor.)

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Gwen Stefani: Also killing me

Friday, August 22, 2008

Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale?

Are you freaking kidding me with this stuff?

Why?

WHY?
WHY?

...would you do that to a child?

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You're killing me, Obama

Just do it already.

The suspense is too much to handle!

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Boring Week

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Wow, this week has been rather boring. I haven't done anything.

I've been extremely exhausted all week, so I've barely had enough energy to get through work and then get my ass home and parked on the couch.

Monday night? Jeez, I'm even having a hard time remembering Monday night.

Oh yeahhh. Frozen pizza and then up late to complete our Fantasy Football draft (which is what set the week off on a bad foot in terms of sleep and tiredness).

Tuesday night? Well, this was the one night I was actually a little productive. I made chocolate chip cookies to bring over for a neighbor who just had a baby a couple of weeks ago. And of course, sampled one of them. You know those things weren't getting out the door completely unscathed. I also brought in a couple for my coworkers on Wednesday morning. These coworkers in my new office space? They love me and my baked goods. Everyone downstairs is always on a diet so no one appreciated when I brought in stuff, so I never did. Therefore, I never made anything because I couldn't leave that stuff lying around the house! Up here? They eat. Boy, do they eat! I love it.

Last night? Seriously... nothing.

Tonight? Nothing planned, but I don't think I can sit around and do nothing again. Too boring. Must do something. I just have to figure out what that is.

We also have absolutely nothing planned for the weekend. I think we have to fix that and make some plans to do something. I can't handle all of this nothingness!

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Changes on the Horizon

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Life changes... they are a-coming.

I don't want to share any additional details until things are more concrete. But it's exciting and scary all at the same time. And it's a lot to think about.

I'm not a big fan of change, but this one could be good.

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Fantasy Football Goddess

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Last night marked the beginning of the season for fantasy football.

We had our draft.

It's always been a big night in our house. In years past, we've gone out, picked up some food, come back to the house and sat down to sign into Yahoo to begin the process. Me on a laptop, Michael on the desktop, both picking our teams. Last year, we even had our friend Justin over with his laptop, and three of us sat there, frantically doing internet research, and racing the clock to make our picks.

This year? Not so much. Our draft didn't start until 9:30 p.m.! Ugh, so late.

Michael and I ate a frozen pizza that's been hanging out in our freezer for four months. We bought it for when I had a bunch of my college friends back to our house to spend the night after my bridal shower back in April. We had purchased two pizzas, and we only ended up having one the night of the shower. Michael and I so rarely actually indulge that we didn't get around to eating it until now. Pathetic!

Then we took the dog for a walk (we've had beautiful weather lately!) and waited around for a few hours for the draft to start.

I came in first place in our league last year. That's right, I won the championship in a league full of guys. Michael's friends? They just loooove getting their asses kicked by me. There is actually one guy in the league that I am seriously rivals with. I know, it's sad. It's fantasy football. But I love me some football.

In the draft, I had pick #3. L.T. and Adrian Peterson were taken #1 and #2. I ended up going with Brian Westbrook.

I think my team is pretty solid. Toward the end, I had to draft some scrubs (no one left and we have to draft so many players!), but my starting line-up is--at the very least--good on paper.

We'll see how things go. I can't wait for the first matchup on September 7!

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