the drunken waffle

a late night... and... uh a few libations later... autumn and i feasted on what i like to call "drunken strawberry waffles." we started with hot belgian waffles schmeered with a pat of butter then topped with 'rum and sugar' drunken strawberries. a hefty helping of whipped cream, sprinkle of cinnamon and an appropriate drizzle of hot maple syrup. yummy!

this became the signature dish for what will one day be my own bistro. or should i say waffelrie? hehe. we continued to expand on that idea with other menu items... some more like meals... some more like dessert. all, of course, delicious.

adventures of the 12 watt

as a faint smell of burnt popcorn permeated our work area, i overheard the most ridiculous statement... "it smells like it burned but it didn't!" WHAT??? since when does popcorn smell burnt when in reality it isn't? and if it's not burnt, then WTF is it doing in the trash...uneaten!

my first mobile blog post!

'Wait till she tells you what happened!'

i love you blogger...but you're not atop my priorities...

as i attempt recovery over a dizzying last two and a half weeks, may i direct your attention to an amazing john mayer live performance of "slow dancing in a burning room." i've been stuck on this song for the past week or so, and while autumn and i spent an evening on "redneck tivo" (a condensed nickname she has for youtube) we came across this gem.

cross my heart, hope to die...blahblahblah

being that lovely lil' sis left a comment on my last post that i'm in dire need of an update...i swear...it's gonna happen tonight. i've tried to avoid the inevitable...installing kodak photo share on my lappy. but. looks like i'm gonna have to do it and just suffer the consequences. argh.

my life has been hit hard by a devastating event that will no doubt be an emotional wrecking ball for the next year (or more) of my life. as many can tell by now, i don't discuss the intimate details of my home life...out of respect for those nearest and dearest to me. love, if you are reading this, know that my life will be empty without you here. i love you so very much. i miss you something fierce already...i greatly anticipate that day in the not so distant future that you'll be back and we can continue where we left off.

and before i lose all composure...i received another absolutely fantabulous (yes, that's a word. geez. don't bother looking it up. just take my word for it!) package from my sp9! of course, details and pics are drafted...just hafta do what i don't wanna. stay tuned. now that sis is hot on my trail, i'm definitely getting my rear in gear.

brief interruption due to technical difficulties

first off...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

so...i have failed to resuscitate my desktop. aka photo holding house. as i think i've said before, i upload all my pics onto the kodak program there and then upload them via picasa from that pc. now. i need to break down. and add that program to the laptop. argh. don'twanna!

wanna know the crazy thing i did this weekend? a whirlwind trip to chicago. the suburbs actually. schaumburg. we went to sal y carvao churrascaria for dinner. if anyone is unfamiliar with this restaurant...it's a brazilian steakhouse. a meat lover's fantasy! i avoided filling up on any of the delicious foods along the "salad" bar or any of the goodies left tableside for nibbling. after all...why fill up on bread and potatoes at a steakhouse? we stayed at the radisson down the road. i know. woohoo. the radisson. but. it gets better! we had a sleep number bed. i never thought much for a mattress that you can adjust to your comfort...until i slept overnight on one. wow. very nice. i want one now. talk about product placement! after passing out into a meat coma, we awoke the next day just in time for quick showers and on the dot check out. lunch was at potbelly. oh. my. god. i wish we had them here! then again. maybe not. i would prolly be there on a very frequent basis. if not for the sandwiches, for the hand dipped shakes. de. lic. ious. a quick stop at caribou on the way out. i love me some caribou...especially for the drive home. especially since i'm driving. nothing better than a delicious coffee beverage paired with an amazing music selection for the ride home. the best part was the breathtaking sunset. if you time it right...driving south on 55 around midday to evening makes for a beautiful view of the western horizon.

there were a few other bits of entertainment that occured in the short amount of time there. but then again...it wouldn't be my life if there were none!

and in case you're wondering...

i've made the switch. there's a new look in town! well. same template. minor tweaks.

coming soon to a blog near you!

check back late tonight or sometime tomorrow! i will have pics of my wonderful gifts i received for christmas! i can't wait to share!!!

update to above post: my pc that i use for picture uploading and etc. is not cooperating with my internet connection. guess i need to put my personal computer tech to work! hehe! in my honest opinion, i think the cable has disconnected. but. i'm not gonna investigate any further. calling it a night!

last minute gift???

i didn't get to watch this "live" but with a little persistence, my sister found this video on youtube. for 3 minutes we were crying. laughing tears. check it out before it gets blocked by NBC...the other versions named by the skit have already been pulled. grab some kleenex...hell...why not the whole box??? warning: explicit lyrics...well...if you're offended by the word dick. hehe.

crack is whack!

thanks to ms.maitai, i have now developed a nasty habit that has consumed my entire evening thus far. it is now 0135hrs...and i am finally putting my crack habit to rest...only because my eyes are stinging so horribly due to exhaustion. what is this crack i am speaking of???

weffriddles.

one evening.

level 20.

officially stuck.

officially insane.

ARGH!!!

i love my sp9 squared!!!

again...what better end of day surprise than a package from my wordly sp9! i checked the post office box. same ol' same ol' tuesday junk mail. a bill. a catalogue. a correspondence from my attorney. and as i'm walking toward the exit...klink...a key falls to the floor. every now and then, if i'm lucky...i get one of these keys in my po box. if i'm not so lucky, i get a yellow postcard directing me to the counter so one of the staff can retrieve my package from the shelves in the sorting room. the key is labeled to a corresponding locker. locker #9 today. i put the key in. turn the lock. open the door. what i find is a colorful box. a customs label. oh yay! a package from my secret pal!

again...my excitement to open the box is overwhelming. but with forced patience, i drive the 5 or so miles home. i proceed to photograph the process of finding out what sp9 sent my way. and earlier i mentioned my sp9 to be wordly. why? well. the first package was from china. this package? the netherlands! trying to throw me off!!! hehe! i was amazed at all the wonderful gifts!






so...an inventory. and oh with glee and childish excitement did i react to one (actually, two) item in particular. my sp included a wonderful explanation for the gifts included. the main theme being "2." being that this was package number 2, everything included would be in quantities of 2! great thinking...i truly love the creative thinking of my sp!!!

• 2 packages haribo sauer pomme frites! omg! was i excited? my mouth is watering just thinking about eating those deliciously sour candies!
• 2 packages of coffee/tea cookies...specifically one package with 'karamel stroopwafels' and the other with 'brosse stroopkoeken.'
• 2 skeins blue/gray variegated sock yarn 75%wool/25%polyester
• a yarn guide...for the time i decide to learn fair isle!
• a chocolate letter R...based on a dutch tradition which is...on december 5th (ha! that's today! perfect timing!) you give someone a chocolate letter.
• a storage tube! perfect for on the needle sock work to protect dpns and knitted work!
• an assortment (in pairs, of course!) of asian candies...
• 3 types of teas...also in pairs! 1) blooming jasmine tea balls, 2) pu'er tea balls, and 3) a roasted rice and baekdu mountain tea (from north korea)...yum-eeeeee! (i forgot to tell my secret pal that one of my favorite teas is a roasted rice/green tea. they serve it at one of my favorite japanese restaurants. the flavor is out of this world exquisite!)

so...that's the whole sha-bang! what an amazing secret pal! one could only be so lucky! most noteable was the extra effort put into obtaining two bags of sauer pomme frites! i was close to tears when i pulled those out of the box!

my secret pal continues to amaze me! thankyouthankyou!!! (that was twice...if anyone was counting! hehe!) now. off to peruse my knitting books for ideas as to what the above yarn will become. but first thing's first. let me finish my sock! argh! i know. slacker. right here!

playing a tourist in the stl

while my friend bev was here visiting, we decided to make the most of each gorgeous day. that meant a hella lotta trips to stl. forest park, the art museum, my shopping circuit, pho grand (twice!), i could go on. but. you get the idea. here's a gorgeous picture of one of the bridges in forest park. admit it...you, too, love st.louis.





a very famous statue in st.louis...sits in front of the art museum overlooking art hill down to the lakey kinda sorta area. it doesn't matter how many times i go, i am always overwhelmed by the majestic beauty of the saint louis art museum's architecture.

and strictly for your viewing pleasure...is a picture of me getting my butt snapped at by one of the turtles in turtle park! i couldn't help it!!! gotta love the hot mess state of my hair. one word. wind.