Awards make me feel warm

Baby it's so mother flippin' cold outside. Tonight a low of NEGATIVE 24 degrees. Wind chills are supposed to be in the NEGATIVE 30-50 below ZERO degrees tomorrow. Not right. Just not right.

I am thankful for a cozy house.

And a warm bed.

And a garage to park my car in.

and a blog award to put on my blogger side bar mantle.

A lovely gal named Heather that I think is the bomb and seriously we are separated at birth gave me two really special awards!!! This Heather is not EO, but Heather of the many blogs. Check her out, she is all knowing in everything from books, movies, fashion, television, twilight and every day radness. Plus she is wicked smart!

Start HERE and then go to her profile when you are done there and read all her other cool blogs!

Thanks friend!

These are the awards:

Heather says they stand for this:

"the Prémio Dardos Award for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing, and the Butterfly Award, for all-around coolness."

I am going to pass these along to the January birthday girls:
Megan of SoS (Nori can share with you)
and
Julie of A Spot on the Sopha.
Happy Birthday!

NO TWD TODAY

I wasn't able to make the Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins that we were supposed to make this week. Partly because I'm not a big corn muffin fan and there was a snow storm here yesterday and I didn't feel like making an unnecessary stop at the grocery store.

However, I would like to make these at some point, because unlike sweet corn muffins these corn muffins reduce the sugar and you get to add chili powder and jalapenos! That is my kind of corn muffin, sweet and savory. Although I could probably do without the whole kernels of corn in the muffin... that kind of frightens me. But I would be willing to give it a shot.

I now have to get back to work, hoping that they are kind and turn up the heat at the school... since there will be a high of NEGATIVE 2 degrees today. barf.

Q & A

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? 5:55am
2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Garnets, Including Kevin.
3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT A THEATER? The Curious Case of Benjamin Button & SlumDog Millionaire
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE T. V. SHOW? LOST
5. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Fried egg on an english muffin
6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? Marie
7. FAVORITE CUISINE? Thai
8. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? Cottage Cheese and Peas
9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Pink
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD AT THE MOMENT? Pandora.com Station: Jaymay
11. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? Toyota Camry
12. FAVORITE LUNCH? Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl, Extra spicy
13. WHAT CHARACTERISTICS IN PEOPLE DO YOU DISLIKE? Lurking
14. MY FAVORITE PAST-TIME IS: Making up Tap Dances
15. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Montevedio, Uruguay
16. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE SINGER(S)? Feist, Jaymay, Cat Power, Jason Mraz
17. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? Anything Anthropologie Sells
18. TO WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE? New Hampshire
19. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY? The one that is happening this Saturday.
20. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Baseball
21. FAVORITE BOOK? We the Living, Ayn Rand
22. FAVORITE PERFUME\COLOGNE? Spring Fever by Origins
23. FAVORITE MOVIE TRILOGY? Rambo, until they made #4, Actually, hands down it's The Lord of the Rings
4. GOAL YOU HAVE FOR YOURSELF? flushing the toilet
25. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? January 17
25a. ANY FAMOUS PEOPLE SHARE YOUR BIRTHDAY? Benjamin Franklin, Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey.
26. HOW MANY WEDDINGS HAVE YOU BEEN IN, INCLUDING YOUR OWN? 4?
27. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? Both!
28. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE? 8.5
29. PETS: Not anymore.
30. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? I get to shovel tonight.
31. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? Your mom, I mean A mom.
32. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? Bursting with fruit flavors.
33. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? Gummies
34. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLANT OR FLOWER? Dahlias and Hollyhocks
35. WHAT DAY ON THE CALENDAR ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO? July 1
36. WHERE IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE EVER BEEN FROM HOME? Beijing, China
37. A SMALL THING YOU REALLY ENJOY? gift cards
38. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? It's a Wonderful Life
39. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? Surviving.
40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ALBUM? Coldplay, Parachutes
41. WHAT MAKES YOU CRINGE? Violence
42. IF YOU COULD DO ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Eat
43. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THAT YOU WILL VISIT AGAIN? Paris
44. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THAT YOU WILL NEVER VISIT AGAIN? The Wisdom Teeth Dentist!
44. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICECREAM? Pink Peppermint or Coffee
45. WHICH CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG? To get to the other side. Wrong punch-line.
46. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU MADE SMILE TODAY? 6 billion.
47. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WORLD, WHAT DO YOU SEE? Bologna
48. CATS OR DOGS? Both are fine
49 GOOD OR BAD? Ugly
50. SOMETHING PEOPLE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU? I am not a real person. I'm a blog persona Kelly made up.

Soup anyone?

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Our local paper Star Tribune had an article today on soups.
They listed four soup names.
Cousin K said, Hey go grab the Strib Taste section and tell me which soup name makes you LOL...

Thai Hot-And-Sour Soup

Beef Stroganoff Soup

Chicken Chipotle Soup

Cock-A-Leekie Soup

Yep, you read that right.

I think I just might start saying that in my everyday lexicon.

"I was driving to work today and some Cock-A-Leekie pulled out in front of me!"

"That movie was really good, but what a Cock-A-Leekie ending!"

See how fun that is!

TWD~French Pear Tart

I'm Back! It feels good to be posting a TWD recipe after my two week hiatus. And this week's recipe is special because it was picked by none other than Dorie Greenspan herself. For those of you joining me for the first time, (prolly not, anyone, anyone?) Tuesday with Dorie is an online baking club I belong to where we (lots and lots of people) bake from a cookbook called Baking by Dorie Greenspan. Anyway, I love Dorie, I think she is an amazing baker and I love to bake alongside (blogside?) my fellow TWD Bakers.

Honestly, this French Pear Tart smells divine and tastes like Heaven! But putting it together was Hell! I don't know what my problem was, but I just felt like I was not doing anything right. My tart dough seemed too crumbly, my almond cream seemed to grainy and my pears where not so great. (I used canned to save time, Hey Dorie said it was OKAY!) I wasn't sure how to fan them out, so I just put them on there the best I could.

This was also really time consuming... lots of little steps. Plus I did not have a tart pan, so I used a springform pan, but it seemed to do the trick. I heard it would give the tart a more "rustic" look. Rustic indeed, RUSTIC CHIC!

Anyway, like i said, this tart was wonderful!!! I can't wait to share it with my co-workers! I wish I could share it with all of you though.

Winner Winner

I have chosen a winner for the Deceptively Delicious Book Give-Away. Natalie from What's For Supper is the lucky girl... which she said on the comments that she hates veggies, so here you go Natalie!
This is my last day of freedom before I go back to work tomorrow. Last year at this time I was dreading the BIG RETURN to work... This year, I don't mind it so much. Hopefully, everyone will be rested and less crabby and I'm not talking about just the kids. I heart teachers.
So yes, this is my last day... I was able to watch my favorite Sunday Morning show, titled appropriately, Sunday Morning. You know the one with Charles "I'll see you on the radio" Osgood. Does anyone watch that? I lurve it!
I was going to post some photos of some things I knitted over break, but I'm too lazy to go find my spare camera.
And im finally getting back to TWD with a French Pear Tart for Tuesday... mmmmmm.
Those will all be great blog posts awaiting your viewing pleasure in the next few weeks...
For now, I will enjoy these fleeting moments of peace and solitude.

White Christmas Spectacular!

Last night i was able to escape go see Irving Berlin's White Christmas Musical. I have been wanting to see this for years and so when the opportunity arose to go.. I goed. Plus it gave me a chance to get dressed up and out of my barn clothes.
Shannon, Cindy, Jaime & Ellen and I saw it at the Ordway Theatre and it was delightful! I mean that sounds cheesy, but the show was so amazing. I loved the singing and especially the dancing. It made me want to get up out of my seat and start dancing along.
Back in the day I used to be in musicals and golly gee did I have fun! Sometimes I think about heading back to the stage, but now I think I just enjoy watching instead.

Tap dancing my way out of the room, strait into your heart...

SabRo