Happy Halloween

I'm pretty bummed that Dave and Sarah aren't having their Halloween Costume Party. I can't believe they would ruin my fun for some wedding in Chicago. We won 1st place for best costume last year.

We may have won the year before, too, but that was a long time and a lot of Jaegerbombs ago:

(Did you see this? Beyotch is always copying me....)

This third costume, from '04, is one of my favorites. I had so much fun watching John try on women's clothes at the Goodwill. He had fun, too; maybe a little too much fun, now that I think about it.

So...no dressing up this year. Instead, my sister and I are going to do the Ghosts & Infamous Places of Historic Irvington Tour. I'm a little bit scared already!

Cake Decorating

Okay....I lied when I said it was The End of an Era. I'm not going to say I've exactly got my cake decorating mojo back, but I can't seem to tell people "no".

I did this tonight for a party tomorrow for two 11-year-olds. The specific request was "Anything scary would rock...Hands, fingers, eyeballs..." As you can see, I tossed a foot in there. I hope they like it.

I did this cake a couple of weeks ago for a co-worker's daughter. Mainly because Kylie is so darn cute, but also because her mom (Julie) is really practical and doesn't go all out for birthdays. However, she planned games, prizes, crafts, decorations - all the stuff Julie is normally not into. I think her sister and I are finally wearing her down. Next, I'm gonna lure her into the scrapbooking cult.

Colts 21, Titans 31

I am so despondent over this loss, I can't even come up with a post.

Ball State Family Weekend

We spent the weekend in Muncie for Ball State's Family Weekend. Of course, no sooner do we get there and are questioned as to how much time we really need to spend with Robin Friday night because there's a new boy she wants to hang out with. She did eat dinner with us at The Atrium. I had a delicious hamburger that decided to rebel against me at 1:00 a.m. Interestingly enough, it was prepared by a seemingly nice woman named Lola. I think that was some cosmic payback by the canine Lola for making her stay in a kennel all weekend. Fortunately, I recuperated in time for the big game against Eastern Michigan. No tailgating as planned, but it was a good game, and the Cardinals won 38-16.

Ashley doesn't even like football, but we promised her a date with Charlie Cardinal if she went to the game.

Charlie Cardinal

BHS Women's Choir

I apologize to you, my legion of readers, for the dearth in posts this week. (Webster's defines a legion as between 3,000 and 6,000, but I'm sure it also pertains to 5, right...?)

We attended the high school's Fall concert on Tuesday. Lily is in the Women's Choir this year, and was very excited when she found out they would be performing one of my favorite songs, Lullaby. Of course, I had a perfect view of Lily during their first song which I did not record. The minute I positioned the camera for the second song, they all moved and Lily disappeared behind another singer and the microphone. Sigh.... So, please ignore the crappy camera work, because they still sound lovely.

Here's the Billy Joel version:

Life on Mars

I have started watching Life on Mars on Thursday nights. It's about a New York police detective who is hit by a car while investigating a case and wakes up in 1973. Now, I didn't live in NYC in 1973, but the characters and costumes almost seem more like a caricature to me...if anyone reading this has first-hand knowledge of NYC circa 1973, please let me know. Regardless, the first two episodes have been interesting, Jason O'Mara is NOT ugly, and I'm going to stick with it.

One of the cool things about the show is the music. So far, I've heard two songs that I had completely forgotten about but have loved rediscovering:




(I've been singing this one to Ringo.)

I really need to learn how to use my iPod, because these two would definitely be on there.

Colts 14, Packers 34

I don't know what else to say.

Adobo Grill

To celebrate the 50th birthdays of two friends, we went to Adobo Grill in downtown Indy for dinner. It's a bit more upscale than your standard Mexican restaurant, and they stuck us in one of the private dining rooms. I'm trying not to take that personally... Saturdays at 10 pm, they clear out the dining room and have salsa dancing. I'm going to try and get John to do this for our anniversary; see if I can channel his inner Latino.

Our waitress, Griselle, made some KILLER guacamole.

Pam and Theresa thought the margaritas were too tart; I didn't think they had enough tequila. Oh...and I don't want to say 50 is old, but when the evening starts out with someone concerned about the salt on their margarita rim because they just found out they have high blood pressure....


Chocolate Tamal...

Yes, I had an entree but wolfed it down before I thought to take a picture. Pechuga Rellena de Huitlacoche - chicken breast stuffed wtih mushroom and cheese in poblano cream salsa. It was excellent.


Left to Right: Birthday Girls Janet and Pam, Theresa and Me. (Note to self: You aren't going to lose 30 pounds drinking margaritas and eating chocolate cake.)




"Older women are like aging strudels -
the crust may not be so lovely,
but the filling has come at last into its own."
~ Robert Farrar Capon




Happy Birthday to two ladies who have BOTH
a beautiful crust and a sweet filling!
(That may not sound like a compliment, but it really is!!!)

Stir Crazy on a Friday Night

I had dinner last night with some friends from high school where the highlight of the evening was trying on each other's reading glasses. Just kidding. Well, we really did do that, but it wasn't the highlight. I'm not at liberty to say exactly what the highlight was, but we did have fun and closed the joint down.

Left to right: Me, Pauletta (Hot Legs), Kim, Kathy, Karen


We ate at Stir Crazy at Castleton Square Mall. No complaints about the food. Karen did get a little testy when her tea wasn't delivered in a timely fashion, but that's nothing a little B complex and Dave returning home won't cure.

Colts 31, Ravens 3

Yippee ki ya!! Colts first victory in Lucas Oil Stadium!!

I bought one of the thimble-sized, $8 stadium margaritas before the game. Being fairly superstitious when it comes to the Colts, that will be my new pre-game ritual.

It was nice to see everyone operating on all cylinders. Of course, we couldn't get through a game without injury: Addai and Hart. Wonder what will happen there???

Have I mentioned I like our seats???

Marvin, coming out onto the field

Reggie always comes down to our end zone to fire up the crowd!

Kick off!

Flacco gets sacco-d by Robert Mathis.

Very nice of Marvin to score a TD in front of us!

Dallas is always the first one down to offer Congratulations!

Nice to see Pey Pey get his mojo back.

hmmmm...

Never saw this from inside the Dome....

Gotta give props to the defense.

LOVE it!

Now...on to Green Bay!

World's Best Carrot Cake

I was doing the grocery shopping last week and stopped in the baking aisle to get walnuts. There was an elderly lady there, hem-hawing over which size bag of walnuts to buy, complaining about the cost. Most of you know I’m not a fan of old people. However, I find myself becoming more tolerant of them lately; maybe because I am joining their ranks. Regardless, I stood there chatting with her for several minutes and found out the following:

• She’s been told she makes the best carrot cake in the world.
• She has to settle for English walnuts now, because you just can’t find black walnuts anymore. Personally, I hate black walnuts, but played along in the hopes of finding out the world's best carrot cake recipe.
• She was raised on a farm in Michigan (which we all know is the greatest place on earth) where they had an abundance of black walnut and butternut trees.
• You have to give up a lot when your husband dies.

I was plotting how to sweet talk the cake recipe out of her, when that last tidbit stopped me in my tracks…Realllly? If my husband died I’d have to cut back on my walnut purchases?? That's it?? As you can imagine, that sent my imagination whirling in a different direction…





RELAX, PEOPLE. I AM JUST KIDDING. I LIKE WALNUTS TOO MUCH TO WISH HARM ON THE MAN...

Anyhoo, I didn’t get the recipe…but I did buy a magazine with a carrot cake recipe it claims is delicious and good for you. It is “bursting with iron-packed apricots and antioxidant-rich carrots, a delicious way to turn back the clock." I don’t buy that, but I’m willing to experiment for the sake of baking science. If you try it, let me know what you think.



½ cup dried apricots, finely chopped

1 pkg. (1 lb) poundcake mix

1 cup olive oil

3 eggs

1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice

1 lb. carrots, grated; 3 ½ cups

2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temp

½ cup unsalted butter, room temp

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup sliced almonds, toasted



Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 8” cake pans with cooking spray; sprinkle with flour. In microwave-safe bowl, microwave apricots and ¼ cup water on High for 1 minute; let stand. On medium speed, beat cake mix, oil, eggs, 1/3 cup water and spice until combined, one minute. Stir in carrots and apricot mixture. Divide batter between pans. Bake 28 minutes or until pick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes. Transfer from pans to racks; cool completely.


Beat cream cheese and butter until blended on medium speed. Gradually beat in sugar. Add vanilla; beat until fluffy, two minutes. Place one cake layer on plate; spread with 1 ½ cups frosting. Top with remaining layer. Spread cake with remaining frosting. Press almonds onto side.

Reading Level of this Here Blog...

SHAZAM!

(I'm positive the generator for this is

100% accurate.)

Election Hair Extravaganza!!

Instyle Magazine has a fun makeover gallery where you can upload a picture of yourself and try on different celebrity hairstyles. They are now offering the hairstyles of four women prominent in this year's election. Can you guess who each one is?




This is the hairstyle of a maverick, for darn sure!


For the first time, I'm proud of my hairstyle!

It takes a village to create my hairstyle!


For the record, I've always been proud of my hairstyle!

Go check it out yourself: Election Hair Extravaganza

Ain't it the Truth?

I made John put down the sports page to read this comic:
(click to enlarge)


He actually laughed.

Colts 31, Texans 27

I have a confession to make...I fell asleep before halftime and didn't wake up until midway through the third quarter. To my surprise, Peyton and Marvin were having an "animated discussion" as to whose fault a botched play was. That's never good, and I was not expecting a victory at this point; but win we did, thanks to last-minute heroics by Robert Mathis, Gary Brackett, Reggie Wayne, and Melvin Bullitt (oh, and Sage Rosenfels). Don't get me wrong: I feel bad for Sage, the Texans and their fans. However, I would feel worse if we were heading into the next five weeks (Ravens, Packers, Titans, Patriots and Steelers) at 1-3.

Ringo & Lola Update

I thought you might like to see how things are progressing with the two chihuahuas:

On another chihuahua-related note, we went and saw Beverly Hills Chihuahua on Friday night. Yes, I am embarrassed to admit that. While it certainly wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy the DVD. Oh, sure...it had all the ingredients of a hit movie: drama, romance, comedy, action...but I can only seriously recommend it to chi lovers and small children.

Whatever it Takes

No Friday during football season is complete until I hear this song; it never ceases to make me laugh. For your listening "pleasure." Be patient; it doesn't get good until about 1:07.

No pill's gonna cure my ill...

Thanks to Jenelope, I have been singing the following song all day today:

Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) @ Yahoo! Video

I wouldn't call it an earworm, because that term suggests an annoyance, and I like this song. Unfortunately, I was so busy swooning over Andy Gibb and Shaun Cassidy in 1979, I never really appreciated how cool Robert Palmer was until much later.