Stuffed Pumpkins.

A little bored one day at work, I found my self minlessly browsing the internet at work. Clicking my way through an endless string of foodspirations on my favorite site, Epicurious, I stumbled upon something so fabulous that I gasped aloud.

The 3 people I work in a tiny office have learned to ignore my random exclamations, giggles, and self-mutterings. My animated self cannot be contained.

Anyhow, this recipie for "Pumpkins Stuffed with Everything Good" had that WOW factor. I immediately began scheming about the "Everything Good" that would make a great dinner.

I grabbed two pie pumpkins from Trader Joes. Here in Chicago, at least, that store is much cheaper than Jewel, or, of course, Whole Foods. Pie pumpkins run 1.99 at TJs, but Jewel attempts to scam you with a 4.99 price tag. Nice try, store.

Anyways, you can basically doctor this recipe to make any kind of pumpkin you want. So far, I have made:

1. Spinach & Mushroom Pumpkin - Spinach, Mushroom, Chicken, Garlic, Swiss and Gruyere, and rice with italian seasonings
2. Mexican Pumpkin - Chorizo, Bacon, Jalapeno, onions, cheddar, and pepperjack, rice, and sour cream
3. Taco Pumpkin - ground beef and onions with taco seasoning, refried beans, cheddar and pepperjack, and sour cream
4. Thai Green Curry Pumpkin - chicken, bamboo shoots, carrot, onion, and rice in a thai green curry sauce.

This recipe is AWESOME. Time consuming, yet simple. And most of all, totally adorable!

Cheesecake Stuffed Pumpkin Cupcakes. Yes, Please.

Hosting a dinner party is a ton of fun. Especially when  you are trying out an promising new cupcake recipie on your guests.

I dont' usually go for Rachel Ray recipies, but this one looked too good to pass up. And my intuition was right, as usual!

Click here for the recipie. 

Using a cute turqoise cupcake liners to contrast the orangey brown of the cupcakes, these cupcakes christened my newly purchased cupcake tree. I don't have the tip to make the whipped cream look as good as in the picture, and, to be honest, I had had a glass too much of wine at that point and was impatient to put all that good stuff in my mouth.

The key to great whipped cream? Freeze the bowl and the whisks before hand. And add a little cinnamon and nutmeg after you dollop the cakes. Nom!

Car rides.

With the commute down to school, it feels like I spend a lot of my days in cars.

Idle conversation.
Unwinding from the day.
Recovering from the previous night.
Good music.
Dance parties.
Rain or shine.
Gotta love this passenger seat.

Yikes. And Mustaches.

It's been awhile.

I am making a really late New-Years Resolution (or early, depending on how you look at it) to get back into blogging. Not to toot my own horn, but I have an incredibly colorful life that needs to be shared with the world. And the world will love it.

Returning to my school this year was great. This is the first time in a very long time that I have actually put down roots and stuck to a place. The second time around, teaching is much easier. I know all the kids already, and they know what I expect. I can be much more creative with my instruction, and have a little more fun.

One major contribution I have made to the school culture this year is the introduction of the Mustache. Giant, stick on mustaches of different varieties are worn by students while presenting on TV (a daily activity that we do) and handed out as table prizes for good behavior. I have inspired students to wear them in the evenings, prompting amused and laughter ridden comments from parents. Students' smiley faces are sporting a new look: facial hair. One student has even started a mustache collection, claiming that she even has "red and blonde ones!".

I have also incorporated hip hop into my teaching. I had a blast teaching hip-hop-ocabulary to the fourth grade. "Cosas en la Clase" never was so fun.

Red Velvet & Creamy Cheese

A perfect end to a lip-smacking meal. Even the prep was picturesque, thanks to the lovely (literally) cutting board given to me by one of my besties.

Baked wontons stuffed with spinach, artichoke, cream cheese and parmesean and a touch of cayenne.

Homemade red wine marinara with red pepper flakes abound, spinach-garlic linguini, with a mezcla of seafood. I let the sauce simmer and cook for about an hour and a half, giving it a rich flavor and bringing out that pepper flake kick.

And of course, cupcakes.

Pumpkin Picking & Carving.

@patch

@Carving Party

Voila. Another successful year!

The Six Legged Stuff of Dreams

I regularly dream. My dreams are not of the wishy-washy, semi- forgotton, rather vague variety. My dreams are suspense filled, clearly plotted, crystal clear mind films that my brain puts on to entertain me while I am sleeping. That's right. Mind films.


I remember these dreams like I remember actual events, with imaginary emotions carrying over into real ones in the waking hours. I will feel angry at, fall in love with, or grieve over the people in my dreams, questioning whether events actually happened or not. Such is the intensity of my nightly mental forays. Interestingly, this seems to correlate often with the food I eat. Intensely spicy cuisine, or too much sugar, lend the most fantastic results, as I have learned from years of investigation.

Dreaming also seems to go in waves, from a series of weeks containing vivid scenes to month-long spells of intensly invloved hallucinations. I have recently been on a kick of the later, and have been immensely enjoying interpreting these dreams with friends. 


I find most dream interpretation websites to be a bit "wack-a-doodle", a phrase my mom has begun using with alarming frequency. I am skeptical of general symbols and meanings, as the individual mind percieves things so differently, and associates different emotions and memories with different objects. However, I do love to look through these guides, aiding me in broadening my analysis, and getting me to think more critically about aspects of my dreams that might seem insignificant.


One common theme the past few weeks has been insects. I don't like bugs, but by no means am I a entomophobe . Yes, I did just copy and paste that word from wikipedia into this text, and thusly into my vocabulary. Boom.


I have had dreams where dead bugs are scattered along the floor, where I lift something, or look closely, and see writhing centipedes, where I find dead moths latched into my furniture, or am pushed up against a wall and discover it is covered in bees, as I am.


It is fascinating the different opinions available on Insects in dreams. See below a few.

"Insect -To see insects in your dream, signify minor obstacles that you must overcome. There are small problems and annoyances that need to be dealt with. You feel that you are under attack. Or something or someone may be "bugging" or pestering you. Alternatively, insects are also said to be symbolic of precision, alertness, and sensitivity. You may need to organize your thoughts and sort out your values. Sometimes they are seen as divine messengers"

"The ancient Egyptians worshiped the scarab beetle as a symbol of creation. In dreams, it can represent the soul. In some fairytales, insects are called in when things have become impossibly muddled. For example, they may be asked to separate grain mixed with sand or to remove gold dust from the grain. In dreams, they can represent precision and meticulous thinking."

"Centipedes - To see a centipede in your dream, suggests that you are letting your fears and doubts hinder you from making progress and achieving your goals. You need to stop thinking negative thoughts." 

"Bumblebees - To see a bumblebee in your dream, is symbolic of distress and coming problems."

"Bee Sting - If you dream of being stung, it could represent stinging feelings in waking life or in your unconscious. You may feel as though something--a relationship or, since the bee is oftentimes symbolic of industry, a work situation has left you feeling 'stung'. Sometimes people dream of bees stinging them on the hand. This could represent an act (hands being symbolic of action) that might end in hurt feelings."  

"Bees - Bees in dreams indicate a buzzing network of communication. They may also point our attention to ideas that are pollinating successfully in our lives."

"Moth - Moths live in darkness but are attracted to light. An answer to a condition, situation, or problems that you have kept in the dark may be revealed and brought into the light."

"Moth -Feeling drawn to something or someone, or someone who feels drawn to something or someone. If the moth is dead, this attraction has come to an end.

Though some of these in no way apply to my life, some are dead on with what's been happening in my life these past few weeks. This being a public forum, I am bound my prudence to omit the reasons and events behind this. Anyhow, if you also have insects in your dreams, I hope this shed some light on the hidden meanings of creepy crawlers! And if you ever need a dream interpreted and/ or admired, you know who to call.

What do I have going on? Why, let me check my awesomely bizarre wall calendar.

So, rather belated, yes, but recently I have decided that I was in dire need of a calendar. Honestly, I am not sure I have juggled my rather intense social calendar and increasingly suffocating work schedule; I must have the mind of a machine. Which explains quite a lot, actually.

Anyhow, one day last week I had had enough. Dates jumbled in my mind as my arduous brain-cogs lost their inertia, and my mind-machine ran out of memory-battery-juice.

Analogy terminated. You are welcome.

I decided then and there that I would hop on Amazon.com, my new addiction (thank you mother for adding me to your Super Saver list!). The calendar search began. The first few were exactly what I had expected. Common themes included Zen, Flowers, "Emotional Freedom", Georgia O'Keefe, and nature-scapes. Then, things got a little odd.

Ok, I said. That's meant to be funny. I chuckled a little at the thought of having a Bunny Suicide Calendar. As I continued, however, things kept getting better.

Huh? I can see having a calendar of favorite Fairies from our childhood, such as the three loveable helpers from Sleeping Beauty, or the Ferngully crew. But random drawings of Woodland Faries? I continued...

Just... odd. But it got better.

Now, there were a myriad of Cat Calendars. Most were cute pictures of cats in darling places. This one though, was a cartoon of an agitated looking cat who looks like it's about to get molested by another. Freaky.

Cats I understood, being a common pet and subject of much (undeserved, in my opinion... DOGS RULE!) admiration. Mooses (Meese? ... meese.), though? And odd choice for eye candy for 12 months. Not as odd as the next one I saw.

YES. Purchased this one for myself. Haha - not only is it a monkey, but the most awkward looking monkey EVER. I love him. I also love...

 

ALSO YES. Bought this calendar, chalk full of glamour shots of chickens, for Sarah.

Another noteworthy one:

NO THANKS. Hahaha. But I considered buying it. Sarah suggested putting it about the toilets so men see it when they use out bathroom. Genius. Work that mind-machine, girlfriend!

"There's nothing more dangerous than a resourceful idiot" - S. Adams

I am a very laid back person, yes. I have a high tolerance for human error, and usually let the little things slide with a laugh and a friendly smile. It's silly to get huffy over this minor details; because, as stated in the latter clause, they are minor. I pride myself in this quality, the ability to forgive and forget on a daily basis. It keeps me happier and emotionally healthy.

Yet, every once in awhile, this things just build up, one on top of the other, like the Jenga game that won't end. The little things morph and mold, slowly expanding vertically to tower over my head and cast heavy shadow of dark, dangerous anger over my disposition. Because I don't usually get mad, the rare occasion that this shadow actually overlaps into my real-world actions yields powerful and frightening results. Coupled with my stubbornness, it can be quite the spectacle to behold.

I feel clarity is needed. My anger does not consist of random acts of rage, screaming fits, or violent actions (thoughts, perhaps, but no follow through!) of any sort. My anger is that of a perfectly justified, carefully calculated, you-know-you-have-done-me-wrong-and-you-will-feel-the-burn type vengence.

What set me over this time? First, it was the long-awaited delivery of a coat that I had ordered. White, puffy down, with beautiful rabbit's fur running around the hood. Being the girl I am, I had waited in heightened anticipation for this marvelous piece of cozy outerwear, all but guarunteed to bring raised eye-brows and suggestive winks my way. I had ordered it months ago, and had since then recieved a few emails notifying me that it was still being held hostage in a warehouse in an undisclosed location. Last week, an email appeared in my inbox, informing me of it's immenent arrival into my life - needless to say, I was distraught with emotion. The next days seemed like eons, people revolving like gnats around my lethargic, stand-still state of mind.

When I arrived home one day and, like everyday, inquired at the office as to whether I had recieved a certain something, the woman at the office returned a mischevious smile. She knew all about my coat conundrum, and told me with a quiver in her voice that she had been refraining from calling my cell phone all afternoon and giving me the big news. Packages are usually kept in a closet, but, as I made a move towards the door, her smile broadened even more. From under her desk, she unearthed a broad box, fresh from the truck, frangrant with that musty, cold, stale odor that accompanies new packages. We embraced, first the manager and I, and then myself and the package.

 I, unable to contain myself, tore it open in the elevator (with the help of my fellow very-large-male passenger, who seemed to greatly sympathize with the uncontrollable excitement I was experiencing). The sound of angels vocalizing filled the small compartment as,  out from the tissues, emerged... a completely different coat than what I ordered! An oversized, beige, mesh and shiny something, matronly thing! My heart broke into little pieces... and I proceeded to glue them back with 2 parts forgiveness, 1 part red-hot anger.

The company apologizes profusely for the error and subsequent emotional damage, giving me a full refund. I forgave, but the residual anger started to eat away at me.

This happened right before New Years, on which  night I was attending a Roaring 20s themed bash. Not owning anything flapper-esque, I ordered four items from a reputable online costume shop; three accessories and a dress. A couple days before the event, my items finally arrived - all minus the dress! The reciept in the package was correct, but the notification email was not. Though this was irritating, I made due with what I had, concocting a rather marvelous ensemble that was quite the hit during that celebrated bridge of time between years.

I proceeded to attempt to call this company to get a refund for the dress I never recieved. Calling during business hours, I got a voice mail the first time. I left a detailed message, and waited for a couple days for a return contact. Nada. I called a couple days later, during the day, just to get picked up by voice mail again. I left another, more preturbed, message explaining my dilemma. I waited again, for another two days, and, again, nothing. I decided that I would begin to call three times a day, each time leaving messages that explained my dilemma, noted which number call this was, and expressed my growing frustration. I've called three time today. Thier incompetence makes me insanely stubborn and persistant. I WILL get my 30 dollars back!*

These two issues coupled together had greatly decreased my tolerance for idiotic mistakes, and idiots as well.
The little things became burdensome and ennerving.

• My graduate professor holding us to ridiculously high standards. It's supposed to be 10-15hrs a week, not 30.
• The hearing aid office only open 8-4.30 on weekdays. How does that help anyone with a 9-5?!
• The clerk at Starbucks SCREWED me over. I get star rewards (of ever increasing value, like free syrups and even a free refill!) everytime I buy a drink with my rechargeable Starbucks card. Instead of recharging my Starbucks card and then using that to buy the coffee (resulting in another star accumulated, score!), she charged my coffee to my credit card and THEN recharged the card. She cost me a star!! WTF!
• I had a massive pizza craving, and trekked to Walgreens in the snow to satisfy it.bought a box of two personal pizzas, and, when I finally arrived, freezing, exhausted, and hungry at home, I ripped open the box. Each pizza was covered in green mold! WHY?!?!
• The weather is pissing me off. Make up your mind - warm? cold? PICK ONE!

This went on for a week, at which point I decided to reduce my madness (both, the anger and the insanity), by toiling an ungodly amount of time on the treadmill, and then drinking a precarious amount of wine.

Back to square one. For now!

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*I finally got a hold of them on the second day. They hadn't even listened to their messages, but the woman did inform me that my card had not been charged initially for the dress since it was out of stock. Oops. But still.