Boober and Mommy's last photobooth of 2008

I managed to engage Hibou is one last photoshoot of 2008 before I go gussy myself up for the wolves of 2009. Sorry for the greasy hair in these pictures, I am getting to the shower I promise.

So for this first one I told her to smile. She didn't seem to be too enthused by my smile so this was all I got from her.



Ok at this point CJ has come in the room and she is getting embarrassed. I told her to look cutely innocent..she just looks pissed that CJ is in our room.



"Ok now show some 'tude Boober..but not too much, we still want people to love us"




Happy New Years my dear readers. Don't shame yourselves and I will try not to too.

Chairlift - Bruises

Why is the guys section in this so creepy? Anyone? I had this song stuck in my head today. Perhaps because i bruise so easily I feel like I should be singing it.

Domestic Tendencies

Christmas has come and gone just as fast as it snuck up on me. This was a very different kind of Christmas for me. For one, there was no major breakdown on my dad's side of the family, no mentally scarring event. Second, this was the first year I really felt like Christmas, the whole getting up in the morning for presents deal, didn't belong to me. I live in Shepherdstown now and that feels like home, my little slave quarters with Hibou, not mom's house or dad's. So getting up in the morning and opening my stocking was an awkward experience. It felt more natural doing it with my room-mates (which we did the day before Christmas, we had a nice little Christmas morning complete with biscuits and gravy). Third, I was bad on Christmas...again (there I got to say it Pang :) I went to a Texas Hold Em game Christmas eve after all the presents and that and ended up just pulling an all nighter. Shameful I know. I got home before the girls woke up though but there was no fooling Rick (mom's fiance).

Here are the presents I geeked out about the most. I can't seem to deny this domestic urge inside of me that fuels me to hold kitchen utensils as some of my most favorite and most desired of objects. Few girls get the fuzzies for a zester or some tart tins. Few girls but this girl. Im going to put them in a hope chest so that one day some handsome man will take me to his mother for approval and she will say " you're the daughter in law of my dreams!" Sike! (you all remember that word? I don't know where I pulled that out of) Im using these here new kitchen utensils pronto!



And here is what I got from Pang and JR. That sweet cookbook in the back is a giant book of traditional French cuisine. Look out, im moving into gourmet territory! Pang also got me that corduroy purse...corduroy is not for hippies, despite what Brian may say.



P.S. I got that food processor I have been talking about for like the past year. Soon to come: humus, salsa, soups and more :)

Garfield Minus Garfield

Its very possible that I am like the last person that has heard of these but here you go anyhow. Jon Gobeil just showed these to me the other day. I used to read Garfield when I was a kid, but I never noticed just how depressing Jon was in these. These kinda make me want to laugh and sympathetically say "aww" at the same time. His depression, especially with the absence of Garfield is so sadly comical. Jon Gobeil made me promise that if he turns out like this I will shoot him. Oh my. Im so glad I have my little Boober to keep me company :)

The surprising kindness of girls

I have never had a lot of female friends growing up. I seem to relate better to guys, to enjoy their company more. I would grow tired of the gossiping or petty cat fighting involved with female friendships and seek solace in the uncomplicated male friendships that allowed me to be sarcastic and sometimes crude without them passing judgment on me. But, lately, although I have been getting my fair share of Bug and Jon time (friends from way back) I have also come to realize that I have some really cool female friends. I have seen over the past month, that when girls are called upon to support their female friends they can do quite an amazing job. Whether it is Pang going for walks with me or Erika scratching my back and kissing my head as I laze about at work or Chels telling me how much she admires me - even looks up to me - or Tess remembering me in her prayers. Its kinda cool. It's the feeling I had in middle school and high school of having girls I could talk to, hang out with, or shake it on the dance floor with, but without all that silly teenager stuff I remember. And sometimes there is the surprising kindness of girls you don't even know - like the girl at the bar the other night who when I introduced myself replied with "wow you're beautiful." Just something I thought of.

Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens

Another contribution from Jeremy. It took me a long time to digest all the music he exposed me to. I tend to grab onto certain songs and then just stick with them, not exploring more until I feel like I need to. This song, on the Illinois album was one of those songs that just clicked with me right away. Do you know what I mean? There are just certain things that will strike you a certain way the first time you hear it or the first time you see it and it feels like you were waiting for it to find you or you had been searching for it but you didn't even know it. I listened to it over and over. I took it with me to France to remind me of home and listened to it when I got homesick. This was the best video I could find, it's not awesome but it will do. Enjoy.

November Book Club: Interview with the Vampire

Sorry this is so late..got a little distracted

So this book was pretty interesting, right guys? It was right up my alley - old style writing and vampires of course. But there were some things I did want to talk about. I will ask some question, let you all answer, and then give my opinions.

Personally I was most intrigued with Claudia, the beautiful child vampire that Louis has a very interesting relationship with. She, as she matures intellectually, realizes that she is a woman, with all the lusts and needs of one, but she is stuck forever in the body of a child. A body that she pampers and drapes in silks and laces and that Louis describes with the conflicting minds of a lover and father figure. What do you think Rice is saying with Claudia? What is she saying about women of the time, and what is she saying about the status of a child and her aspirations to be grown.

Louis is the main character and throughout the novel he struggles with his existence as a vampire which he equates with his loss of a soul and his humanity. Armand observes that everytime Louis kills, emotionally he dies too. Why is Louis not able to come to grips with being a vampire when everyone around him can embrace their new nature? Louis says that he doesn't feel that he truly appreciated anything until his transformation, so why is he so disillusioned?

Why do you think that the vampires that Claudia and Louis first come across in Europe are mindless zombie-like vampires?

Something that Pang and I kinda talked about was the role of sexuality in this book. Louis' feelings for Claudia and Armand. A question I saw online asked if Louis' character transcends sexuality altogether. What do you think?

So...answer whatever you want or just write stuff and ask your own question.

Becky, would you do us the honor of choosing our next book? I figure we can take a break December for the holidays and pick up again in January. What would you like to read?

The drawings Im not too embarrassed to show you

No more drawing class. Woot woot! I did improve this year though and I think I enjoyed the figure stuff even more than the still-life, so all in all not so bad. Here is some stuff I did over the semester.


This is a self portrait I did of myself (obviously when I was a kid) and little Hibou...creepy I know, but I love it still



This was a figure study I had to do. Im getting better at doing the forms but I still hate shading things.



This was a little 20 min sketch we did in class that I am quite proud of, I think it's the fastest I have drawn and still had correct proportions. Yay!



As may be obvious, we were working on muscles. Bug kindly modeled for me when I had no one else to turn to :) He will want me to point out the nipple rings :shudders:



Also notice the santa hat

This could be habit forming

Me and my new best buddy...we are a package deal. We danced so much it hurt..what a night

this looks confusing I know...have you seen the sarah palin snl interview? this is them doing "pew pew pew"

Thriller- Indian Version

Thank you JR :)

Ruby over Diamonds- Kashmir

This song is so sensual and the notes pull me down into a soft pile of blankets to listen to it over and over again until I don't hear anymore

Moving Day

oh boy...what have I gotten myself into. Welcome to my new kitchen. Welcome Pang and Jr :)



oh herro CJ



Stay tuned... apparently there is a party in Pang's room tonight and Im invited.

Swooning music: Midlake, Young Bride

This song, when you first hear it, may not strike you, but listen to it a few times and the next day you will find yourself craving it. That violin that plays though it seems hypnotic and my heart immediately feels at ease when I do finally hear it. And plus! The furniture...that gorgeous bed in the video and all those books...swoon swoon, thank you Jeremy for showing me this.

The Fight Test

My existence right now lives in music and writing and reading old writing. Sorry Im not being more entertaining. I always loved this song from the first time I heard it 4 years ago. My favorite line is "Im a man, not a boy and there are things you can't avoid you have to face them, when you're not prepared to face them." That line struck me the first time I heard it for some reason. Plus, his voice is just so cool and the whole cd has a funky sound to it. I just love it.

The Week You Missed

I didn't take many pictures over the break- just didn't feel like it I guess. Most nights were spent at the bars, so what I do have looks a lot like this. This is from Brewer's Art in Baltimore, a swanky dungeon vampire bar that we went to for Rex's birthday, I would recommend it. Jon and Erik spent a lot of time in Frederick and we had a "sing-along" last night until the wee hours of the morning which is what I have been waiting for all week. We played all the old songs we love, Bright Eyes (You Will You Will You Will) some Socco Amaretto Lime, Get Up Kids, Weezer (Jamie, Say it Aint So), all the old ones I used to sing. It had been a really different kind of break this year,everyone comes home and everyone has problems to one extent or another, and now we all go back. Dinner with Trey, bar hopping with Brittney, movies with Bug, being dragged home by Jon, it has been a long week

You Will, You Will, You Will, You Will

Jon and Rex played this song to death when we were in high school and I found myself disenchanted with it because of that. This has been playing in my head for I don't know how long now. You know how a song will come on you spontaneously and you just can't shake it? This is the only song in the soundtrack in my head right now.

Duchess and self indulgence

Yesterday was perhaps one of the loneliest days I have had in quite some time. Dad came in the morning to help move some furniture home to make room for the new roomies, but he was here all of half and hour. The rest of the day I spent lazing around the house. I decided to go see The Duchess at the Opera House. Is this the first time I saw a movie in a theatre by myself? It just might be. What a movie to pick to go alone. This movie was not at all what I expected (do most people know her story already and Im just an idiot?). Girls, prepare for some empathy heartbreak when you see this movie. Her husband is the only man in London who doesn't love her, despite her beauty and influence, she is constantly put in her place as a woman, constantly slighted and basically is forced to live a life of repressed depression. Oh my. There was a woman in front of me, and you know the type, who talked to herself throughout the entire film, ohing and ahing and tsking the husband and at the end she burst into tears and I felt bad that she too was there alone. Maybe she needed a good cry? Well done movie, very beautifully filmed, but sheesh is it a downer.

So afterwards as you can imagine I was feeling glum so I decided to raise my spirits with some carefree spending. There is a little Indian jewlery shop in town here so I bought myself some Lapis earrings



Then I went over to the coffee and candlery and got some polenta and these sweet little bake dishes that I plan to make sweet little cupcakes with.

Happy Home Day to Boober!

I don't know when your birthday is little Hibou, I'm sorry, but this is around the time I took you in as a little stunted ketten so we can celebrate this day instead.



You were such a wee little crack baby :) Im sorry I let you get fat. Happy Hibou Day

All Mixed Up

Miss Pang hosted an art show that was sponsored by Mountaineer Beer at the Mens Club friday night. The show was a super success and Pang is now a highly sought after curator! For those of you pretty people who couldn't go here is what I put in the show.



Strawberry Field, Hyeres France, 2008



Centre Ville, Hyeres, France, 2008



Through the Window, Hyeres, France, 2008

AND PLUS! In other news...I am not leaving Shepherdstown as soon as I had planned. Instead Pang and Jr and moving into my place....and I am staying! Roomies! You will see much more fun Pang and Lacey adventures soon! Now we are bff for reals

Book Club Update: Interview with the Vampire : November

May I present the November book: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Of course most people are familiar with this book but I have yet to read it, and since I am still quite taken with Vampire stories (is anyone else watching True Blood?!) I thought I would give this one a try. So far it is written in an antique literature style so of course, I'm all for it. The book club is open to all. Happy reading.

This is...my favorite recipe

This is a recipe I found in my Crock Pot book a while back and it had been a hit ever since. I can't wait to make it in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. Enjoy


picture from book

modified from Crock Pot book
Deluxe Potato Casserole

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I use cream of potato when vegetarians are present)
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp melted butter, divided
1 tsp salt
2 pounds red potatoes, chopped
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups corn bread stuffing

1.In a small bowl combine soup, sour cream, onion, 1/4 cup butter, and salt
2. In a large bowl combine potatoes and cheese. Pour soup mix over potatoes and mix well. Put in Crock Pot.
3. Sprinkle stuffing mix over potato mixture, drizzle with remaining 3 tbsp butter
4. Cover, cook low 8 to 10 hours or high 5 to 6 or until potatoes are tender

Pasta, Sweet Potato and Leek Dish

I had this recipe from a while back that I had been wanting to try so one night I just said, that's it! Im buying some leeks and trying this baby out. I will be honest, the taste of the leeks is very powerful in this dish and at first Jon and I were like...yeah this dish is good, but perhaps not a favorite. I swear though, this dish, every time I ate it got better, and Jon agreed. It grew on us quite quickly and now I am happy to pass it on to you all.



Leek and Sweet Potato Pasta

12 ounces multigrain penne
4 tsp olive oil
3 leeks (white and light green parts) cut into half moons
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 small sweet potatoes (1 lb about) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

1. Cook pasta acourding to package, reserve 1/2 cup cooking water
2. Heat oil in large skillet to medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring until soft, 4 min
3. Stir in garlic cook 2 min. Add sweet potatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, cook covered, stirring twice, until tender, 6- 8 min
4. Stir in 1/2 cup Parm and cooking water, simmer, stirring until potatoes are fully tender, 2-4 min.
5. Add pasta and nutmeg and toss.
6. Serve with Parm on top

PS that super sweet little bowl is a purchase from Philly :)

Book Club Update: The Big Over Easy, October

Pangs pick for October turned out to be a very nice read. While I will say it was a little slow to start, once it got into the investigation the book went in directions I had not even imagined. There were some stories and characters that I had a little trouble with as far as placing them.

One of these was Georgia Porgia, the ruthless gang mobster who splits the tongues of his victims. I found the little rhyme that goes with it. Something I was not familiar with and perhaps Pang wasn't either.

Tell tale tit
Your tongue shall be slit
And every little dog in the town
Shall have a little bit.

Both of us were a bit miffed by the Jellyman. As far as I can find, Fforde made up the Jellyman. There is no actual story to go behind this character. Should anyone be able to prove me wrong please do so.

Also, the Sacred Gonga seems to also be made up. I dont know if this was supposed to be funny? A weed joke? If so kinda out of place.

But look what I found! the nursery crime website!.

What did you think of the book Pang?

A Little Taste of Philly

So the weekend before last Jon and I went to Philly to celebrate being together for 4 years- i know, right. Neither of us had ever been there and we really like going to cities.

We started our trip there with a ghost tour. We had been on a ghost tour in St. Augustine that was pretty cool. No ghosts of course but some cool stories and history.

This tour ended up being a total drag. The stories were lame. But we did get to see some parts of the city we might have missed otherwise. We stopped here at a graveyard and the tour guide urged us to take pictures and catch a ghost....no ghost.




Going to the city always means shopping. Surprise it's me in the dressing room!



Cities also mean mannequins :) I don't know that this one makes the cut though. Not as impressive as the rest of the group


Philly has some lovely parks and squares, all the more alluring because of the fall foliage



Here is a charming picture of Jon eating some super greasy fries at Monks. This place was known for their selection of beer. We met a guy there that was in Philly working for the Obama campaign for college credit. He recommended we try Flying Dog. Silly boy, that beer is made in Frederick! That's our beer. Pretty cool though. About a third of the way through these fries I started to get some gut giggles and I knew I was done for. We speculate that those fries were just pulled out of the bottom of the fryer and had been there all day.



And what trip to Philly would be complete without a cheesesteak? I was being snobby and got provolone on mine but Jon was smart and got the cheese wiz topping, and I must say, his did have more flavor, and once you started eating it you kinda forgot that the "cheese" came out of a sloppy can of goo.

All in all Philly was great. Expensive drinks though!

This is...something I'm surprised I like

Isn't this cute little jersey dress from Urban Outfitters cute?! But I am surprised I like it because its only been more recently that I have been embracing the potato sack dress look. When the pregnant style clothing first came into fashion I hated it. I felt like I was swimming in fabric whenever I would try on a little babydoll tee and would always end up not buying it and being disappointed that it looked so much cuter on the hanger than on my body. At some point I just got over it I suppose and now I really like them - they are super comfy and versatile.

Cheesy Beany Casserole

So I am a little short on money these days...like I haven't gone to the grocery store in weeks because I just can't face that ever growing total at the checkout, so I have been getting a little crafty with my dinners. Here is a little something I concocted with what I had in my pantry and fridge at the time.




1/3 box wheat pasta
1 can sweet peas
1 can vegetarian baked beans ( I think the veggie ones taste way better than the "bacon" ones but I would eat either)
cheese ( I used gouda and cheddar mixed up in the casserole and then sprinkled parm on top)

Basically just cook the pasta according to the box then stick the drained noodles into a oven proof casserole. Top with baked bean and peas (or hey, use corn) and mix well, crumble the cheese over it and mix it in a little. Set the oven at 375 and let it bake for 30-40 min or until the cheese looks melted and everything is hot. Sprinkle with parm and eat.

Now, had I been grocery shopping I would have put a whole lot more cheese in this than I did. I only had little nubs left, so go crazy with the cheese if you have it.

New Fings

So here are a few things I picked up at Crafty Bastards a few weeks back



I got these earrings from the Broken Plate lady, and as I said before, all her stuff is made out of shards of broken plates



I got this cute little hat :) the cheesy grin I made all by myself

And Plus! I got a haircut again



I was hoping for something a little more edgy but whatev, next time I will be more specific, but it's nice to have it off my shoulders and out of the way

I got some other stuff too, which I will post here eventually...im really slacking on the photo taking so sorry

This Is...My current reading material

So I just joined the This is... group started by Three Buttons. Each week she asks someone to pick a This is...topic and then we all post our responses on our blog. Im supper late this week but what the who!



So this is what I am currently reading. The Egypt book I am reading for reference material for the novel I am writing, its well written though so its a good read. Also trying to keep my french up so Im reading the Prisoner of in French Azkaban. Lastly I am reading my bookclub book - The Big Over Easy - which I am almost done with, its getting exciting so I should finish it soon

Curry Chicken Salad in an Avocado

I guess I just never get tired of curry because as much as I have it at work, I still use it at home. This little dish is something I picked up this summer in France, but I brightened it up a bit with the curry. This makes a great lunch, but the first time I had it my host "mom" made it for dinner and we each had a half avocado with tuna salad.



So basically what you need is

one ripe avocado
cooked chicken or tuna ( i had some roti chicken to use)
1 to 2 tbsp mayo
1-2 tsp curry powder
little dash of lemon juice

and hey if you have a carrot or a cucumber laying around, chop that son up and put it in there too!

Corn Chowder in a Pretty New Bowl

So here I have a chance to show off one of my new purchases from Crafty Bastards the other week. This is some of Tasha Mckelvy's functional pottery. I got it for soups and ice cream and stuff like that, and I love the little dip where I can rest the spoon.



Anywho, Jon and I made this a little while back, but I forgot to post it, but it is a definite keeper, and we will be making this again in the cold winter to come. I got this from Real Simple ages ago. The recipe says is feeds 4 to 6, but if you are like me and have only two to feed, just know that the rest will be leftover, and dont make all the bacon at one time, make it fresh whenever you want to reheat the leftover.

Corn Chowder
8 ounces sliced bacon
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 10 ounce packages frozen corn (I used 2 12 ounces...i likey the corn)
3 cups chicken or veggie broth
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper
a nice fat bunch of fresh cilantro

1. Cook your bacon however you like it then cut it into half inch chunks, set aside
2. Reserve 2 tbsp of the bacon drippings and add to a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat to medium.
3. Cook onion, stir occasionally until soft. Add garlic, paprika, and red pepper, cook stirring for 2 min
4. Stir in broth, corn, and half and half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 15 min.
5. Transfer half the broth to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to pot and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stir all.
6. Divide soup into bowls, top with bacon and cilantro

My Prize! I Wiin!

A while back Pang posted her 100th post and she had a little giveaway and I was one of the winners. Well last week at Crafty Bastards Pang surprised me with a little Fing, all for me.



Isn't he/she cute :) Pang knows Im a weenie dog lover, so she knew I would be happy with anything that included a ween...oh how silly us daschund enthusiasts are. And the little handmade card is a nice touch too

Book Club Update: The Big Over Easy, October

Pang has chosen the book for our October read. I dare say she has picked a better book than I did. Here is the back cover:

Welcome to the seedy underbelly of nursery crime... Meet Inspector Jack Spratt, family man and head of the Reading's Nursery Crime Division. He's investigating the murder of ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Dumpty, ex convict and lover of women, found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. Yes, the big egg is down, and all those brittle pieces sitting in the morgue point to foul play. Spratt and his new partner, Sergeant Mary Mary, search though Humpty's sordid past in hopes of finding the key to his death. Before long, Jack and Mary find themselves immersed in a bizarre case that reaches into the highest echelons of Reading society and business.

Happy Reading!