Monday, April 11, 2011

The Perfect Cereal Bowl

OMG. Who likes soggy cereal? I don't. No. I really don't.

The Obol solves the whole problem. It keeps your cereal and your milk separate! Hello!!!! The answer to my prayers! Check it out. This thing keeps your cereal all tucked away, perfectly dry. Then just when you think all you have is dry cereal, you can dunk your spoonful o'cereal in the milk! LOVE!


Sunday, April 10, 2011

Taking Pictures and Playing with Color

I took some pictures at Grammy's house this weekend. Her star magnolia was in bloom and I couldn't pass up snapping a couple o' shots. I don't like the shots as they originally came out, so I threw them in my photo editing software, cropped them down and livened them up a little.

Original #1

Retouched and Recolored


Original #2

Retouched and Recolored


Original #3

Retouched and Recolored

Original #4


Retouched and Recolored Version 1


Retouched and Recolored Version #2


So the point of this whole post is, you can be an ok photographer, but learn your favorite photo editing software. You can turn mediocre shots into something a little more special!

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Updated Links

I updated my Read, Shop, Cook & Enjoy links in the right hand menu. Be sure to check them out. They're all quite fabulous and will contribute to hours of wasted time. You don't have to thank me. :)

Friday, April 01, 2011

How to Make the Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I'm so excited. April is National Grilled Cheese Month. OH! You don't believe me? Well then Google it! Don't worry about it. I thought it was too good to be true, too!

So, I'm a real lover and connoisseur of a good grilled cheese sandwich.

I don't require exotic cheeses like Gruyere, Fontina or Gouda. I'm Kraft American Singles all the way! Sure I know it's "cheese food" and contains less than NO nutritional value, but what does that really matter? I like it. My mom made them for me. It's good. It's melty. And it's yellow.

Good enough for me!

I've been on a grilled cheese kick for a while now (I didn't really need this holiday to celebrate the deliciousness of a grilled cheese samich). I'm not usually that hungry at night and a heavy meal never sounds good. So I just whip up a grilled cheesy and plop down on the couch to enjoy it while I watch E! News or whatever is on at the time.

I have to say. I'm very meticulous about how "grilled" it gets. I butter (with real butter) the bread. I put a light scraping of butter on the bread. I don't like it too greasy or buttery so a light little scraping of butter is all it requires. I pre-heat my favorite stainless steel skillet on around medium-high heat while I butter the bread. Oh and even though I just scrape butter across the outside of each slice, I cover every. square. inch. of the bread. I want a nice golden, brown crunch on the outside of the sandwich (as shown below).

Then, I put the first piece of bread in the skillet, butter side down (duh but some people need explicit directions).

You'll hear a little sizzle. You don't want it to sizzle too much, or you'll get too much browning and not enough melting of the cheese. Might need to dial back the burner.

Then I tear the cheese into strips and place them on the slice of bread in the skillet. I'm convinced it melts quicker and better than a solid slice. I am sure to cover every. square. inch. of the bread with not one and not three pieces, but 2 slices of Kraft American Singles. Then I cover the cheese with the other slice of bread, paying close attention to making sure the bread slices match up. Butter side up of course.

Time to let the bread, the heat and the even cooking of my trusty skillet to marry into each other. Be patient. You don't need to cook this on overdrive, even though I know you're dying to sink your teeth into it. Don't rush this excellence. It's worth the wait.

Check for your favorite level of browning frequently. It's important not to flip the "wich" too soon. You've got one chance to get the first slice just right. This is it. Let side one do it's thang. Get it to the level of perfect brown that you want, then and only then, is it ok to flip it.

There's no reason to flip and flip and flip your cheesy bread. This is a one flip sammy. When slice number one is perfect. Flip it. Then slowly grill slice 2 to perfection.

Keep your eye on this one, my friend.

By now, your skillet is a little hotter and slice 2 will brown quicker than slice #1 did. (You may need to dial down the heat ever so slightly) There's no time to pour a glass of milk. I hope you planned ahead and got your plate out cause perfection happens pretty quick on slice 2. Check, check and recheck.

Now I do one last thing before I dive into this scrumptious little delicacy. I gently remove my sammy from the skillet and place it on a paper towel. If you take it straight from the fryin' pan to the plate, you'll create steam from the heat and guess what steam does to bread. Yes, it makes it wet. Do I really need to tell you this?

So place your perfect grilled cheese on a paper towel for a minute or two, to let it rest. Then do just exactly what your mommy did, cut it diagonally, while still on the paper towel. Remove your sammy and place it on your plate. Walk to the couch, turn on your favorite show. Sit back.

Look at that perfection you just created. Then sink your teeth into it!


ENJOY!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Gnome Life

Check out this tumblr, it documents the life of a Gnome who just moved to New York City. While humorous at first glance, it's really quite interesting and sometimes may even pull at your heartstrings. Just click the image below to follow this little gnome's story.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Acme Stiletto Twiggy Pen

So my birthday is coming up and you need to buy me a present. GOOD NEWS!! I've done your shopping for you!

I want this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Snowpocalypse 2011 - A Report from Indiana

Did you survive Snowpocalypse 2011? I did and I loved every minute of it.

Weather is so interesting to me - all kinds of weather. I love it when the wind howls, snow flies, torrential rain falls and lightning bounces off storm clouds over my head. I've always said I want to ride out a little cat 2 or 3 hurricane and one day I'm gonna do it, people, I'm warnin' ya now.

So Snowpocalypse had been hyped for days and days. Honestly, I didn't think it was going to amount to much. You know how weather people are. They get us weather junkies all excited about inclement weather, then it fizzles out and nothing happens. I was happy to see Snowpocalypse taking shape and moving our way. By Monday morning, it looked like a sure thing! How fun!!!

So Monday evening, around 5pm, it starts raining and the temps dropped. In about 30 minutes my car was completely covered in ice - time to bring the baby in the garage for the great thaw.

Sleet fell all night long! No I mean ALL night long. By 11pm, there was at least 3, maybe 4 inches of sleet balls piled up everywhere. Walking down the driveway and into the street was like walking on sand. You could kick it up in the air, move it around with your foot, slide through it but in no way could you pack it into a tight little snowball.

Of course, I took pictures!

Tuesday, or day 2, started out pretty uneventful. No precip in the air. However by early afternoon, the sleet had started again and it went on and on and on!! I've never seen so much sleet. We got another 3 or 4 inches of the little iceballs from Heaven. By Tuesday night, the sleet hurt your face pretty bad when you stood out in it for any length of time.

The scene from the front porch looked like this! It was really pretty!!

Then day 3, well everything was encased in ice! Literally. Cars had several inches of ice built up on them, driveways were impassable, and yet, my beloved Westfield Street Crew was out clearing the streets. They worked tirelessly, even coming through this little ol neighborhood.

The solar light I have hanging on the back porch shows you just what the poor thing had to endure from this beast of a storm!

Of course, you can't keep a weather junkie in the house ... this ol gal had to venture out and see what the world looked like! Here are some of the scenes around Carmel, Indiana.

Carmel Policeman Statue, almost as if he's frozen in time.
I tried to tell this ballerina to get some clothes on but she was just way too into her dance to listen!
Snowy, wintery scene from Main Street, Carmel Indiana
The Monon Trail, pretty much deserted!
A tent at the new Carmel Palladium collapsed under the weight of all the sleet.
Not sure the cardboard & Target bags accomplished what this person was going for, but I applaud their effort.
The Carmel boys in blue were out protecting and serving.
So now we're back to normal Indiana winter weather. Boring!!!! Bring on the next blizzard!!!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Monon Trail & Central Midland Trace Trails in Westfield, Indiana

Everyone has heard of the Monon Trail, which is a multi-use trail system running from Westfield through Carmel and all the way to downtown Indianapolis. It's an awesome trail for biking, walking, running and general enjoyment. I like riding my bike from Westfield south through Carmel then on down to Broad Ripple. It's a long ride but easy with very few hills. I'm happy to report, the Monon is expanding north from 161st St up to St Rd 32 as we speak!

Also, soon to open, is the first completed leg of the Central Midland Trace Trial. This new trail system is opening from downtown Westfield east to Hazel Dell Parkway. Once completed, the 7+ mile Midland Trace Trail will run from Sheridan to Westfield to Noblesville! Some are calling this the East/West version of the Monon. :)

This trail system follows the old path of the Central Indiana Railway, dubbed the Midland in the 1920's. The trail will link up with the Monon and head east. Its plans show it crossing over two old iron truss bridges, which are not in operation today.

Possibly the best part? It's going to run right through my neighborhood! No more hauling the bike to the trail. I can just hop on it from my house and go anywhere I want! How awesome is that? Wanna see a map of the proposed trails in Hamilton County? Ok!



Friday, December 31, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2011



I'm pretty proud of the fact that I've been actively blogging since 2005! It's 2011, I still have things to say & from the looks of my google stats, people still read what I'm saying (or look at the wacky things I find online). Though you don't all comment much, I see you out there stalking my blog. It's OK. Not everyone wants to have a voice online.

I enjoy posting things about my life & the interesting & useless stuff I find online. Even if no one was reading my blog, I'd still have it & I'd still maintain it. So if you were hoping I'd move on, try to find something to do with my life, other than ramble here - we'll sorry bout ya! I'm gonna keep this bad boy going!

In fact, I'm going to try to keep this baby more up to date in the new year. Enjoy your New Year's Eve & here's to a GREAT new year!!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Hysterectomy Update

So here we are, Wednesday evening, 2 days after my surgery. I have to say, this surgery wasn't nearly as bad as my gallbladder. I was so sore after that surgery, I was expecting the same or worse with this hysterectomy. Fortunately, I went to the BEST doctor (Sara Murphy - Women's Health Alliance @ Clarian North Hospital) and she proved herself to be just that.

So I went in at 8am to get registered & complete some paperwork. They called me back to my "pre-op" room around 9:00 where they had me strip down, put on a beautiful hospital gown, and some compression hose (which are used to prevent blood clots) and an IV. I laid in there until around 10. Just before they wheeled me off for surgery, Jill & Mom thought it would be funny to snap a couple of pics of me. Aren't they thoughtful! hahahahahaha!!!!



Just before 10 am, Mom & Jill came up. I was glad to see them before surgery. Of course Monday was one of the worst travel days of the year so far. We had a bunch of snow the night before and strong winds, so I wasn't sure Mom would be able to make it down south. Aunt Jill drove down separately but at the same time as Mom. That made us all feel better.

So they wheel me back into the surgery area, which was at least 20 degrees colder than the rest of the hospital. The anesthesiologist was there waiting for me. He talked to me for a minute, then Dr Murphy came in. She practically laid on top of me while they put me to sleep. She was talking to me and holding my hand, but laying across my chest. Not sure what that was all about but I was only awake about 5 minutes from the time they put me in that room so who cares what she did.

Next thing I know, I'm trying to wake up in the recovery room. I could NOT get awake. They kept talking to me and I kept asking, "do I have to wake up?" They would say no but then talk to me some more. I remember trying to open my eyes and I just couldn't do it. Finally they wheeled me up to my room.

Once in my room, they asked me if I could move from the bed I rode up on to my hospital room bed. I told them I thought I could and hurled myself into that other bed. I think I surprised them that I could do it without any help. The man who brought me up to my room said, "Wow! OK I guess you can!" hahaha!! Hey they had me on some goooood drugs, that's all I can say!

I don't know what time it was but I woke up sometime in the afternoon. Long enough to tell Mom to go home.

I slept most of the day Monday. The nurse came in around 2 and asked me to get up and go pee. They didn't bother me too much in the night, about every 2 hours they were in to do vitals and check on me. Around 6 they had me get up and walk the halls. I didn't have any trouble doing that at all. I took a few laps, talked to some of the nurses and then went back to bed.

My doc came in around 8 and said I was good to go home that day! YAY!!!!!

So I'm at home, enjoying my drug induced haze and sleep. I've felt pretty good though, I have to say. This wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. AND to top it off, my stomach is WAY smaller than it was a couple of days ago. Little Uma had to come out - we couldn't be together anymore, it was her time to go. I'll miss her (not!) and I'm sure gonna miss having periods every month (NOT!).

I'm happy to report all is well and I'm on the mend!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Hysterectomy

Well the verdict is in: the uterus must come out! Finally got the call today. December 13th. That's the day. Leading up to this I've been through a very, *cough cough*, very thorough physical exam and a even more thorough ultrasound, not only of the gut but also the left breast.

In the above mentioned physical exam, my doctor found "something" in my left breast. I was over due for a mammogram anyway, so of course, off I went to the mammogram place. They squished and squeezed both girls nice and flat, and of course as expected, did an ultrasound on the left breast to see what the Doc felt. Only a couple of little cysts which are are microscopic, I'm not even sure how the Doc felt them, but she did. The ultrasound tech said, "those doctors have magic fingers." So the mammo turned out all clear - a relief.

Now onto the stomach. When I had my gallbladder out, the doc took pics of my uterus and showed me some fibroids that were hiding in there. She said, then - 2 years ago - that I would need a hysterectomy. To me it sounded like, "would you like fries with that gallbladder removal?" but hey I'm sure she was telling the truth.

Since then I changed job, my insurance changed 3 times and I've been packing away moolah in my health savings account. Thankfully so, because here we are today....staring a hysterectomy in the face.

As mentioned already, my doc did a quite thorough exam on me and determined my uterus is currently the equivalent of a woman 5 months pregnant. No wonder my pants aren't fitting so great! And good news, the doc said I will see a significant difference in the size of my stomach! I knew I wasn't this fat!!!! Rock on! So I'm anxious to get this whole thing over with and only have to wait a couple of weeks - or few days - depends on how you wanna look at it. I'm ready to "feel good again" even though I didn't realize I felt bad. I bet I do feel different with this thing out.

Please keep me in your prayers on the 13th - that all can come out laproscopically and that I'll be a new woman and back to work in no time flat.

Thanks in advance!!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Prettymaps by Aaron Straup Cope

Wow, check out the maps that Aaron Straup Cope turned into Prettymaps! Awesome!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Peanut Butter Bacon Cups

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!

These really need no explanation! Peanut Butter Bacon Cups. Get me some.

Monday, November 01, 2010

Free November Desktop Wallpaper

Who wants some free desktop wallpaper....YOU DO, YOU DO! On the first day of every month (rabbit, rabbit, rabbit), Smashing Magazine publishes user submitted desktop wallpaper, free for your personal use! Get you some & freshen up that desktop!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Refillable Air Horn

Well, it's something I've thought of a million times.....yeah, no.

Air horns damage the environment!!!! Dang it!!!!!! C'mon jump on this bandwagon with me! I'm ticked OFF about it. ;-)

I have to honestly say, the two thoughts have never intersected in my mind. Well obviously, I shoulda thought of this! What's wrong with me???? Of course air horns are environmentally unfriendly. Duh!

Well...GOOD NEWS!!!! Now they aren't! Here's a refillable air horn! Yep, fill it up with air (does that mean you simply remove the cap? Heck I don't know!), pump the pumper and blow the horn. Wanna do it again? Rinse & Repeat (hahahaha)!!

Click on the pic below to learn more....

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Well. I can die now. Or, maybe this stuff'll kill me, either way I'm ok with it.

Finally someone has combined my 2 loves: chocolate & bacon. My address is (ahhhh, you know it) I'll be waiting for the package!