Dracula's Lament

GNI

Girls Night In. Jaime, Cindy, Shannon and yours truly. We gathered to celebrate both Jaime and Cindy's birthdays before Cindy left for Europe. Again! There were sparklers, Gorging, garage door installments, 2 second margaritas, goggles, Jason Mraz, Jangles, Giant Ears, WHAT? Puss o Kram, Love Love.

Food & Birdhouses

Last night i was invited over to Heather's for some dinner and housewarming gift(s).
What a treat! They gave me a gardening magazine, seeds and a birdhouse. Heather whipped up a most delicious mexican meal and fantastico margaritas. We chatted happily for a nice bit of time. I'm so happy she is my friend. I also was supposed to meet Jeanelle for dessert... but it didnt work out. so Hi Jeanelle.

Kyle sent me a poem that i am going to share.

The plow has savaged this sweet field
Misshapen clods of earth kicked up
Rocks and twisted roots exposed to view
Last year's growth demolished by the blade.
I have plowed my life this way
Turned over a whole history
Looking for the roots of what went wrong
Until my face is ravaged, furrowed, scarred.

Enough. The job is done.
Whatever's been uprooted, let it be
Seedbed for the growing that's to come.I plowed to unearth last year's reasons--

The farmer plows to plant a greening season

~Parker Palmer

Packing 101

First of all, just so you all know. I do not eat gourmet every day. I rarely have time for breakfast, lunch is a granola bar and sometimes dinner is anything that is fast. I think you out there in blogger world think i whip up fancy meals all the time, when in reality my food choices border on boring or random or whatever i scrounge from my cupboards. Yes, sometimes i get inspired and make some tasty treats... and i do like to experiment with recipes, but some nights i just get lazy. It is never fun just cooking for yourself. If i cook i like to do it up right and make nice meals for others. When I'm alone, i don't care as much. Case in point, last night for dinner i had potato chips and wine. The chips were baked so they were so healthy (ok eating half the bag is not healthy, but healthier) and the wine was cheap, but good so who cares right? That was me eating dinner sitting on my couch procrastinating and NOT packing. Then I made muffins to share at work, but i didn't make them from scratch. Pillsbury in a pouch, just add water. Why am i confessing to so much slacking!?!
Speaking of packing (and slacking)... I have to start! It is my worst nightmare...
I have moved so many times in the past 5 years that I should be a pro, but needless to say, I suck! I just tend to throw it all in boxes. And the last 4 of my moves my ex-boyfriend did most of the packing. But I am going to make a new resolution to do it:
a) myself
b) purging and not hoarding
c) happy (no panic attacks allowed)
d) and all finished by the end of the month.

Dinner Party Delight

Last night I was treated to yet again another fabulous dinner party hosted by my cousin Kelly. What a great mix of women and conversation and amazing dishes. We laughed and talked for hours, sharing all sorts of random bits of information. There is always harmony with good conversation and food... as if they were just meant to go together. I think meals with friends with laughter and heartfelt words are what makes life so sweet, and Kelly knows how to pair the two so well. Bravo.

Kelly has all the delicious details\recipes posted here. Definitely make the soup sometime. My new favorite!

Re-Cap

I don't know what is happening but i have majorly been slacking on the blog-ola. The last 3 days I have hardly even looked at my blog... even at work when i get bored. I guess I'm just busy at work, or I have other things on my mind. Nevertheless, This is what i have been up to:

Wednesday night, Shannon, Ellen, Kelly and I went to a Shecky's Girl's Night Out event at the MPLS Depot. There we were treated to complimentary cocktails sponsored by various companies including Midori or as Kelly called them McDorky's. There were tons of jewelry, clothes, purses, shoes... a girly girls heaven. We even got some SWAG with a goodie bag full of fun things.

I took Thursday off and my plans were to go to the Russian Museum of Art to see the Impressionist exhibit, but it didn't work out. Instead I had the inspection for my house. Which lasted a whopping four hours! But the inspector was very thorough and showed me every little detail of my home. And despite a few minor things to repair\look into, he declared it a very nice house! To which I then said to him, "Are you sure there is nothing MAJORLY wrong with it???" translation: Please tell me there is something horribly wrong so i can back out now!

But he assured me that it was all good. SO i guess I'm really going to be a homeowner. I found myself getting panicky thinking, what have i got myself into??? But then i just thought of having a place of my own and having a place where people could come over anytime and i could entertain to my little heart's content. Because really that is what i want my home to be, a place where everyone feels welcomed, loved and well fed!

Friday was really sweet because my supervisor gave me a beautiful Azalea plant and balloon for Secretary's Day. Because although i just tell people that i am a Librarian for a living, my true title is Media Center Clerk. nerd.

Once work was done i was planning to go home and relax but decided to bring my favorite Shrimp and Scallop stew with Israeli Cous Cous over to Kyle and Kelly's. Kyle said earlier, Oh wow, the Cous Cous is bringing some cous cous. get it?

Kelly was in full prep mode for her dinner party tonight (can't wait, yumyumyum) so i was happy to bring a meal over. Serendipity struck when Kelly overcooked the pie, because then we HAD to eat it and it was goood. Well Kyle and i thought it was pretty good since we almost ate the whole thing! Kelly and I set the table and decided to invite a special guest to dine with us... Dwight Schrute.

Nerd Fleurs

Part of the reason of wanting to own a house is for the gardening. I am a lover of flowers and plants... and i so desperately miss have a garden of my own. I do like growing vegetables but there is something about flowers that bring me complete happiness. Kelly asked me to blog about the types of flowers i am going to grow. Now this totally opens up a can of worms... where to begin? I have had a vision for the most amazing garden for years... but that would be a huge project and this back yard I'm obtaining is not that large. Although the backyard is already beautifully landscaped with many perennials and rose bushes. There is a fountain and a trellis gazebo that i am so excited to grow vines and morning glories around it and create a little hidden oasis for al fresco lunches in the summer. I am going to mostly focus my energy on planting annuals... although I really want to grow my 2 favorite flowers... dahlias and hollyhocks.

Dahlias are tubers and I hope that it will not be too late to plant by the time i move in and hollyhocks are bi-annuals and they are tricky.

For annuals i am thinking a mix of sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, petunias, snapdragons, pansies and others as i make my final decisions.

Im sure i will grow some gladiolas too. I will have to wait and see what comes up as far as perennials, so perennials might come later in the fall. Plus i will have a delish herb garden for all my cooking needs... mmmm fresh basil, thyme and cilantro! I have theories about growing flowers and plants that i will not get into, which would most certainly add to my nerdiness. Growing something isn't just sticking a seed in the ground and hoping it will grow... no no no, there are methods and techniques that are crucial for proper gardening.

Sometimes i wonder if i just have uber-nerd written all over me? I like all genres of literature, but i am a closet science fiction geek. I have my own theories on parallel universes and time travel and if i were better at math i just might be a quantum physicists. I work in a library, I am in love with literature. And plants are exciting and i almost went to school for botany. NERD!

And yet i play flaky really well as not to scare people with my nerdiness. Maybe i should just learn to embrace it! HOWEVER! you will never see me at a Star Trek convention! ew.