24 June 2010

Borrowed from Apartment Therapy

As a semi-avid blog reader, I sometimes see something that profoundly inspires me to write something here.  Today, it was Apartment Therapy's Summer Interview series.  The questions are pretty insightful and quick, and I thought I'd give you all a summer update!


SUN OR SHADE?:
I like laying in the sun to relax, but if I'm working on something, there's nothing worse than having the sun beating down on you.

THE COLOR OF SUMMER 2010:
I've been really attached to turquoise lately.  I have an upcycled dress in the works!

ALL TIME FAVORITE VACATION LOCATION:
The cabin.  It's simple.  My family has access to 2 cabins, and I've been going to both since I was a kid.  It's always been a great place to escape to.

MOST REFRESHING SUMMERTIME DRINK:
Holy Land lemonade from the International Market at the Minnesota State Fair.  It's blended lemonade with mint leaves in it.  I need to figure out a way to make it at home!

PLANTED IN THE GARDEN THIS YEAR:
Living in an apartment with no yard, a baby and a cat, planting space is limited.  However, on top of my stereo component tower, I have 7 basil plants just about thriving!  They're still babies, but they've moved from egg carton to milk carton and are growing fast.

ESSENTIAL SUMMER SONG FOR PARTY PLAYLIST:
"Cold Beverages" by G-Love and the Special Sauce

BEST BOOK IN THE BEACHBAG:
Jimmy Buffet's A Salty Piece of Land.

01 June 2010

Post Memorial Day Catch-up Post!

You read right.  Sorry about the absence, folks!  My laptop screen went out last week, and before that, I've been swamped with projects (some of which pertain to future entries, so stay tuned!), busy at work, and ran out of energy to update.

So here's the docket for today's entry:
- Friday 5 Catch-up from May 14th: Cooookieeee!
- Memorial Day Round-up: What I intended to do, and what I actually did
- Friday 5 Catch-up from May 28th: Oops!
- and Coming Attractions on the BodiceGoddess blog!


COOOKIEEEE!
What is absolutely the best cookie you’ve ever had?
I made a batch of cookies last fall, the week before my Tiny Roommate was born.  I called them "harvest" cookies, and they were a monster cookie mix of pumpkin, oatmeal, craisins, white chocolate and pecans.  And man, were they good.

What is a cookie you really don’t care for?
I'll go with the obvious here: oatmeal raisin.  I like oatmeal; I like raisins.  But somehow, in the traditional recipe, the cookie comes out kind of dry and icky.  There are better things you could have done with those ingredients.

What are some other cookies you are rather fond of?
I like cookies with oatmeal (for texture), pumpkin (for moistness) and chocolate (for deliciousness).

Grocery-store cookies are, of course, never as good as anything that comes out of someone’s kitchen, but what’s a packaged cookie that’s still pretty good?
Pepperidge Farm Milanos.

In general, do you think cookies should be chewy and gooey, or should they be crispy and crunchy?
I'm a chewy cookie girl.  I'm not a fan of the ones you have to float in milk in order to render them edible.  Or ones that leave too many crumbs.  I've taken to eating dessert cookies while reading in bed and crumblies are not conducive to good sleeping.


Memorial Day Round-Up
Memorial Day is traditionally a day to celebrate the sacrifices of veterans and those Americans who died in wartime.  It's come to represent the unofficial start of summer, and a welcome 3-day weekend just as spring heats up.
Over the past couple of years, in my life, it's meant that the ice is out, the lakes have turned, and the temperatures are warm enough at night for dive camp - SCUBA diving during the day; beers, bonfire and barbecue in the evening, and camping overnight.  It's also a cursed weekend, as something bad always happens to someones' car while diving (two years ago, I lost the keys; this year, a friend hit a big rock and broke an axle).  This year, however, with my sister's wedding and brother's graduation, Memorial Day means everyone is in town and can help clean my parents' house.
Here was my original plan:
- clean my living room
- reorganize all of my sewing/crafting stuff into a cohesive and accessible series of units
- go swimming with my Tiny Roommate
- help out with cleaning my parents' house
- oversleep
- finish the present for my brand-new SCUBA nephew
- get a sunburn (yeah, yeah, yeah, skin cancer, etc.  At least I'm playing outside to do it.)

Here's what actually happened:
Friday: got home from work early and cleaned my living room, and moved all of my sewing stuff into my bedroom.  Washed the kitchen floor and did some dishes.  Took a long nap, and had rum margaritas and played Trauma Center: New Blood until the margaritas started affecting my dexterity.
Saturday: Went to Mom and Dad's and helped reorg the garage; washed the screens and windows; planted annuals in a series of nice pots; sanded down, shored up and repainted a pair of adirondack chairs for the front porch.  Hit a bonfire, had some of that new Grain Belt Premium Nordeast, liked it, and played Rock Band until I passed out at about 3 in the morning.  Turns out you can be a rock star, but not a trauma surgeon, with the assistance of alcohol.  Went home and got to bed around 5:30 AM.
Sunday: Didn't get up until 3 in the afternoon.  I seem to have completely lost track of Sunday, because all I can remember is the delicious pork ribs my Dad made for dinner, and the abnormally packed house at the Chatterbox for karaoke.  I guess Sunday must've been my day off.
Monday: Didn't get up until noon, though my cat woke me up at 7 AM.  While she understands the concept of weekends, I guess she doesn't get Mondays off.  So I read in bed for a bit, and dozed back off.  Spent the mid-afternoon at Fort Snelling State Park's swimming beach with my roommates, Mama Bear and Bean (the mother-and-daughter iteration of my 3 roommates).  Bean may only be 7 months old, but she's a natural-born swimmer!  Loves splashing, doesn't mind getting her face wet, and kicks behind her with minimal coaxing.  She'll be a fun student.  After swimming, Mama Bear dropped me off at IKEA to meet Mom and my sister, where we picked up a metric f***-ton of supplies for the wedding.  Then it was back to Mom and Dad's for spaghetti, working - briefly - on the rehab of my sister's old room, and trying to fix the grill.  Got the whole thing taken apart and the crossfire ignition cut to size before finding out that the whole thing was too big for the  manifold. x_x  Headed back home and worked on my present for my SCUBA nephew for a while, and watched Hulu on my new computer monitor, AKA my TV.  By the time I went to bed, I was shocked that it was Monday night already!
So I got a lot done, unfortunately, nothing that involved lowering the teetering piles of craft supplies in my bedroom that my cat has taken to knocking over when I'm not home.  Still a victory of a weekend.


OOPS!
In the past month, what was your biggest OOPS?
Leaving the vacuum filter in the parking lot behind my car after painstakingly cleaning it.

In the past month, what inspired you to let out your most heartfelt WHEW?
Don't know, but I probably said something stupid, hoped no one heard it, and no one did.

In the past month, what caused you to say, “HUH?”
One thing, just about every day at work.

In the past month, what influenced the most ZZZZZZZZs?
Memorial Day weekend, and having 3 days off.

In the past month, what was most GRRRRRRRRR-worthy?
General family troubles, but who doesn't have those?


Coming Attractions
Bridesmaid Survival Kit 2: This Time it's Personal.
Apartment Garden progress (We moved the basil on Sunday!  That's what I did!)
And other pretty things, like: