Happy Birthday Ellen!

Fabulous Ellen, aka, Elle-beau, Nellen, Elle.... Happy Birthday to you!!!!

My favorite things about Ellen:
~She is beautiful, brilliant and completely hilarious!
~She will listen to all your silly stories about your boyfriends\ex-boyfriends\crushes!
~She has the kindest heart!
~She is always up for an adventure!

Much Love,
Love Love...

Sabro

Not meant to be...

I had this big plan to walk around today and take pictures of what i do during my day. You know as a librarian girl.
Then i come to find out that i took the battery pack out of my camera to charge. UGH. And on top of that... Since there is no school tomorrow, some teachers decided to dress up today for Halloween. There were two killer costumes that i so desperately wanted a picture of. It wasn't meant to be I guess.
I myself am having a Halloween party, but not until Saturday. I am going as Fire. Like H.O.T. fire, not hot fire. Like SIZZLE fire, not sizzle fire. Like SMOKIN' Fire, not smoking fire. Are you feeling me? Better yet don't... you might get burned.

TWD~Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

So here they are..Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes. These were just delivered to the teachers\staff that have to stay late for those silly little conferences. I dropped them off, hoping to make a quick drop and dash, but teachers were actually waiting for me to arrive. Can we say embarrassing! I don't know why, but i didn't want a big to-do about this. I was making cupcakes anyway, so why not bring them over to the school?

I had one on my way over and i thought they were super rich and dense. I didn't really like them. I like light and moist cupcakes (she said Moist!) and these were so thick, and a bit dry. I even added oil and sour cream. But whatevs, the teachers can eat themselves into a chocolate induced coma and I will be sitting on my couch watching The Office re-runs on TBS. Thanks everyone for all the tips, I think next time i would reduce the flour and add more sour cream, milk and oil. Or not make them at all, and just make cupcakes from a box mix. gasp! I hope that doesn't get me kicked out of TWD for saying "box mix"!!!!!

Snowy Sunday

Oh Sven, you were so right about the snow. It really is snowing today. I can handle it though. Yesterday I raked my whole yard! 11 Bags worth of dead rotting leaves that were leaving death spots on my lush greenery. So now my whole yard is leaf free! So before you jump up and down and say OOH I won the leaf contest!, I kinda left out this minor detail and that is I raked the majority of the leaves off my grass and onto the patio.

A fortress of leaves around my patio. I'm hoping this works as a deterrent from those pesky rabbits that keep falling in my egress windows. I saved one the other day, and lets not mention what happened to the other one. :(

Today is a quintessential autumnal day to just be inside and watch crap tv, clean my gross bathroom and make soup! Inspired by the trucker-sounding, lip-smacking, often annoying, bad pun and joke telling Rachael Ray. She was making pumpkin penne and she mentioned making pumpkin soup and I thought, HEY RACH, You are either onto something or on something. So thus I created probably one of the best soups ever to land in my belly (get in the belly). Black Bean Pumpkin soup. Made with the left over pumpkin puree from my pumpkin muffins.

And before i gobbled this down, I thought why not put some chives on top of it. I have a whole mess of chives in my backyard. But first i had to stop and laugh at my ensemble I was wearing. I had my favorite pajama pants, with my favorite socks,

and then i slipped on my favorite giraffe print shoes (see Mary, i really do heart me some giraffes).

Sometimes it is better not to wear all your favorite things at once, or you may end up looking like this. I was such a hot tranny mess, Marius the cat said, I have to be this photo op too!

The soup was great! I had 3 bowl fulls! And then i opened my fridge and said, I am going to take a picture of the inside. And then a picture all my condiments. Then i was inspired to take a picture of my medicine cabinet.

Well the thing is I'm just really procrastinating. I don't want to clean. And i have to go out and buy a new muffin tin for my TWD Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes. And the thought of cleaning and\or leaving my house just makes me want to sit here and ramble on and on. But before i go here is my Black Bean Pumpkin Soup Recipe:

1 tbsp evoo (i had to write it, racheal made me)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 can black beans drained, 15 ounces

2 cups chicken stock

1 can pumpkin puree 15 ounces (i used half the can because that is all i had)

1 can diced tomatoes in juice 14 1/2 ounces

chopped cooked chicken chunks (added last minute from a can)

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt\pepper to taste

fresh chopped chives for garnish

Directions: Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Saute onions 5 minutes. Add garlic, saute until soft. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in chicken, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt\pepper, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, and serve garnished with chopped chives.

Not a Clue

If you look to the right of the screen you will see a picture of Sabrina from Charlie's Angel's circa 1977 (a great year to be born BTW). It says, Sabrina gets a clue.
That is a farce. I do not have a clue. Sometimes i think i have things figured out, but then there are weeks when i have no idea about anything. Life baffles me sometimes, so do people, politics, religion, and leaves. Lately I have not been inspired to write, not even about the silly fun things.
I've just had a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head. Many moments of questions and coming up with no answers.
What is up with this week? It seems like a lot of people this week are having a rough go at it. It makes me sad to hear that people close to me are not doing well.

I sometimes wish i could soothe other people's pain, like a Balm of Gilead. But i don't always know the right words to say, or if i should say anything at all. Or is it just a simple, I'm there for you. Do people sense kindness? Do they know that there are people out there that love and care for them? I wonder if people forget that? I do. Sometimes i feel like I'm walking this road all alone. But then there are simple moments of kindness from others that come trickling down upon me. Kindness and Grace are beautiful.

I have no clues, no answers. My door and heart are always open. I'm here if you need me.

"The love we give away is the only love we keep."
— Elbert Hubbard

TWD~Pumpkin Muffins

I know, I know, its not Tuesday, but since i will busy both Monday and Tuesday nights I had to do my baking on a Sunday. I was really happy about making pumpkin muffins, so very autumnal. Did I make that word up? Sometimes I think I make words up. Acknowledgement is the first step to enlightenment.

When it was time to make the muffins, I was once again faced with the fact that my muffin tin that made 12 muffins grew legs and walked off. Where would a muffin tin wander off to? I mean sometimes I used to find my muffin tin making out with the cookie cutters in a dark corner in the pantry, but to up and run away on me is just plain cruel. So i had two choices, use my silicon heart shaped muffin molds or my JUMBO muffin tin (well not mine, hey Kelly, BTW, I still have your jumbo muffin tin).

I chose to make 6 Jumbo muffins.

Because:

A) I work at a Middle School

B) My co-workers act like middle schoolers

5) giving a heart shaped muffin to a boy co-worker would = rumors

x) Jumbo muffins have Just Friends written all over them.

I pretty much followed the recipe, but instead of Buttermilk I used vanilla soy milk. I don't have dairy products in my house, except butter of course. Because lets face it, soy butter is grody.

I also am not a big fan of raisins, nuts or seeds on\in my muffins, so I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top. The results are these ginormous, yummy smelling treats. I think they would rock my face off even more with some pumpkin cream cheese spread all over them. Yummariffic! (i so just made that word up!)

Do you have trees? and a Contest!

Do you have trees? I was asked that question yesterday at work.

This was a question asked by a new homeowner, someone who shares almost the same predicaments i do when it comes to being a first time homeowner. My co-worker and I swap stories about the perils of being a homeowner. We shake our heads, laugh, kinda cry, and point and each other and say, You too? I KNEW you would be the only one who understands my leaf hell!

At least i am not in this alone.

Do I have trees? Yes, I do. One big giant maple tree that loves to shed its leaves creating the most monstrous display of leaves one has ever seen. Although I try and keep up, there is no end in sight!

This is the public enemy number 1:

This is the first bag of leaves:

This is what i will be doing for the next 10 years:

I have now raked 2 bags of leaves. If you can guess how many bags it will take to rake up my whole yard, You will win a prize. A really good prize... like your own leaf collage that i will be making and you can proudly display on your wall in remembrance of me and my former life of a girl who once had a life.

Actually there will be a prize.. Like a gift card to Target, or something similar. I'm serious about this. I dare you to guess how many bags it will take me to do the job!

TWD~Lenox Almond Biscotti

Oh Biscotti you are so very Naughty.

Today for Tuesday's with Dorie, I was to make Lenox Almond Biscotti.

I followed the recipe to a the "t" and so far so good. The biscotti were easy to make, smelled wonderful and I even got to use my jar of cornmeal that had been sitting, sulking on the shelf since 1985. I think these would go great with some coffee. But as a lot of you know, I can't drink coffee or hair sprouts from my chest and I howl at the moon. Maybe if I'm feeling spunky tomorrow morning i will stop in at Starbucks and get a DECAF (oh i am so my mother right now) and then drink that with my naughty biscotti. ciao

Orchards

If you live in a state that doesn't have apples I don't know if you do this autumn ritual called, Going to the Orchard. Well us Minne-soh-tans go ga-ga for apple orchards. So every weekend in the fall you can find scores of people running through orchards, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, going on hay rides, chasing after their kids, yelling, and threatening to put them in the car and going home. I do not have children so I get my Baby Bjorn out and put my cat Marius into it and go for a frolicking good time at ye ol' orchard. I don't really do this, but the thought sounded so ludicrous i just had to write it. I went with my pal Shannon and we spent a lovely day at the orchard. Mostly stuffing our faces with apple brats (bratwurst sausage, i didn't want you to think we are eating the bad little children in the apple fields) apple doughnuts, caramel apples, apple cider, apple butter, apple salsa, apples. Just call me Bubba.

Shannon, the apple of my one good eye.

Operation Baking GALS update

Operation Baking GALS Round 3 was a success! Team Superfluous went crazy and sent one deserving soldier some fantastic goodies! Thank you to everyone who participated, your kindness and generosity was amazing!!!

Last Monday I sent out some Snicker doodles and Chocolate Crinkles... and to be festive some Candy Corn!

Here is Team Superfluous:

Theresa Evans-Wooten

Christine Busby of Please don't call me a Foodie

Carrie of Carrie's Sweet Life

Mary K of Alpine Berry

Randy & Val Monday

Morgan Cartusciello owner Four Corner Catering and Dessert in San Diego

Amanda Jagla-Onstott

Elizabeth de Saint-Aignan who made chocolate brownies, choc chip cookie bars, molasses gingersnaps and peanut butter cookies.

Kim Onstott of Your Place Gourmet

Jennifer Grimes of An Intern's Insanity

Nanette Taho

Barbara Cohen

Dolores Ferrero

Giraffes It is...

Because I really like this girl named Mary and I totally want to impress her, I will write about giraffes. This is how it will work: I will type whatever comes into my head about the subject of giraffes. Ready... Go!

Giraffes

Giraffes are my favorite animal. They are graceful and friendly. I once watched a documentary about a giraffe preservation in Africa. They would roam around freely. The house on the preservation had big windows and while you ate your biscuits and drank your tea a giraffe would stick its head in the window and you could feed it. Giraffe's have long necks. They like to neck. Their coat is colorfully brown and tan and it is cooler than wearing zebra stripes. I don't like zebra stripes as much as i like giraffe squares. How cool is it that they are so mod they get squares. God is Mod. Be careful when you are around giraffes. They might not see you and trample you. They are really strong so they could potentially kick the crap out of you. I once had a frou frou drink and they put a plastic giraffe on my glass. I kept it. And now I have it in my animal menagerie. I always feel like Laura in The Glass Menagerie. Because my mom is desperate to marry me off, and my mom has lots of animals and I am weird. When boys come to my house to meet my parents I think they get scared. Or they call my family Hobbits. My ex boyfriend said that about my family once and they were all offended. My dad said when we broke up that he thought my ex bf was a know it all! and not in a good way. My ex bf was tall too like a giraffe. But he would never stick his head through a window to get fed. Although he did like fast food drive throughs. So actually he would stick his head out the window to get his food. I think that counts.

The end.

Reader's Choice!!!!!!

I've been meaning to post something, but I also need to post my Operation Baking Gals Team Update. And since I do not have my pictures at work to post, I will write about that tonight.

I have a great idea, since I always blog about what I like, I decided to stop being Selfish Sabrina and ask YOU to tell ME what to write. Just throw out a topic and I'm going to free style write ala Mr. O'Brien circa 7th grade. No subject is off limits. So throw something at me and watch the magic unravel.

The fabulous life of....

Friday after work i went to a funeral. I got really dressed up. My co-workers were shocked. I even got a 'hubba-hubba'... i guess its better than getting a 'tubba-tubba'. Actually I didn't feel that dressed up, because in real life i dress up, i just don't try very hard at work, because who do i need to impress? no one.
The funeral was sad. I mean how do you talk about a funeral? It was very sad.
I saw a lot of people i hadn't seen in years...
For some reason a lot of people were under the impression that i had gotten married. Um no. Someone even said I was a fussy girl for not just sticking with one guy and settling down. Really? I felt like i was in a movie. Small town girl goes back home for a funeral and everyone questions why she is 31 and not married. So i compensate by saying, Well i just bought a house and I have a good job.... does that count? egads!


Shannon Tweaker had a party that night, and all my BFF's from high school were there. We talked about all the guys we used to date and how it was like kissing each other because we had all kissed the same guys. gross.


Saturday I met Ellen for a little flea market action. But this flea market was like a glorified garage sale. Although i did fill up 2 bags for $6 of totally awesome junk.


Saturday night i went out by request with Heather of the EO, you may have heard of her and Female K of K and\or K. Plus a bunch of other really rad ladies. Like one named Katie who i liked a lot and she doesn't know this but I'm kinda stalking her now via facebook. And there was Lana who is cool and Ellen of the flea market and McKenzie. We drank margaritas on the rocks and pointed at each other with our middle fingers.


Sunday i woke up feeling not so hot... and totally bailed on my cousins birthday brunch. sorry k.
So i laid on my couch, watched Super Troopers, read my book club book, got bored, made a 'jewelry area' in my bedroom, watched the leaves fall, decided not to rake them, cleaned up cat puke, did a load of laundry, made tilapia, talked to Shannon, baked cookies, watched Crazy\Beautiful, wondered why Kirsten Dunst never once wears a bra in that movie, baked more cookies, talked to my dad on the phone, laughed to be nice when he told me this joke:
Chelsea Clinton asked Bill, Dad what are your 3 biggest fears?
Bill said: Osama, Obama and Yo Momma.
Then i baked more cookies, packaged them up for the troops, clipped my cats nails, (but not near the cookies), got into bed, tried to read, fell asleep with the lights on, turned the lights off, decided i needed to check my email one last time, went back to bed.

TMI, but i learned from the best.

As fate would have it...

Never give the ONLY key to open something important to the girl who habitually loses her own keys. When I first started working at my job, I was given a set of keys. On that ring of keys was one small tiny key to the petty cash lock box.
They said to me, "You are the ONLY one with this key, no one else in the building has it. So it is up to you to guard it with your life."

All I could think was, Oh what joyous rapture to be the sole master of the "key".

Actually, all I could think of was:

a) I'm so going to lose this key

b) remember what happened to Enron

Let me just jump ahead, spare you the sordid details just to say that on the last day of school, I lost my keys. No where to be found. Kinda like John Mayer in his song Dreaming with a Broken Heart when he sings gone gone gone gone gone like 100x over and over and that is when you realize:

a) he really isn't that great of a song writer

b) I am so screwed!!!!

But as fate would have it, all was not lost. Apparently the desk that held the lock box, and the lock box that was bolted to the desk, went the way of the dumpster when they remodeled the Media Center. And thus no need for the "key".

And now the only important key that i need to keep track of is that ever elusive one to my heart.

That was so horrible, did i just write that?

Overheard in Media Center de Superfluous

Student: Library Lady, can you help me find a book?

Me: Sure, what book are you looking for?

Student: I'm looking for a book series about girls.

Me: Have you ever heard of the Baby Sitter's Club?

Student: No, what's it about?

Me: Oh are you in for treat! It's about these really cool girls who start a babysitting club and have all sorts of adventures and lots of cute boyfriends.

Student: Cool!

Next book series recommendation: Sweet Valley High!

Overheard at Casa de Superfluous:

Shannon: I swear when it's cold outside, ice cream melts faster!

Last night Shannon came over to hang out with me. This has been a bit of sad week. I got some news that a friend of mine\my family suddenly passed away on Monday. He was so young and it is always so sad to think about those left behind and the grief they now carry. I always wish there was more I could do. But it just shows you how fragile life is, and how very short. Embrace those that you love.

But last night was good for so many happy reasons:
a) I made dinner for the both of us, tilapia and peanut noodles
b) we went for a very lovely walk and got kinda lost
c) we went to DQ (hence the ice cream comment)
d) then we watched our favorite movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. We heart Dracula!

It's nice to have good friends...

Can't say no....

Last night a bunch of the girls met up for laughs and birthdays and catching up. Kelly, Megan (yes sensible of shoe was in the house) and Ellen. We went to this new place in St. Paul called Mango Thai. I love my Thai food! And since i make it a rule to always try the Pad Thai at new restaurants, thus i did. It was pretty good, but not the best I've ever had and NOT spicy at all.

Overall the food was good, but the company was better. cheers.