Ghoulish Dinner

Last weekend I had a Ladies-Only Ghoulish Dinner. We had a great time with some of my concoctions.
The carrot hand. What more can I say, other than looking at it now, next time I think that I will make the fingers shorter.
The extra scary apple mouths. The lurking shadow from above makes it even that much more frightening. The were ultra tasty.
Natalie was displaying the pot of eyeballs. Yikes!
The eyeballs were the scariest part. I have only cooked casseroles and lasagna in my 24 inch stove and did not realize that it bakes unevenly and different than other ovens. Some of the every large eyes were not baked all of the way through. Therefore, your life was in your own hands if you ate one. I let Carrie get a different eyeball, her eyeball was definitely sketchy.

Afterward the dinner was the best part. I made some homemade bread with Natalie and found out that if I bake bread the smoke detector will go off. It was not burnt, slightly over browned on the bottom (a stove problem again). Hhhmmm. I am not sure how to fix that problem.

They all still left with smiles on their faces, so I think we will all still be friends.

Meeting A Friend

This weekend I had a great time meeting up with a friend. It is unusual for friends to visit the great state of Minnesota, so this was especially fun. My friend, Cherie Call, came to Minneapolis for Time Out for Women. I was great! She did an amazing job. It was fun to reminisce about prior times in SLC. It is interesting the people that you meet when you do your visiting teaching. I have always done it faithfully because it has always meant a lot to me that people would come and visit me. I find it gives me the opportunity to get to know women that I never would have gotten to know. She reminded me of the Michael Jackson CD I gave her for her birthday and the fact that I called all of her amazing outfits, "numbers." For example, "That is an amazing sparkly number you've got on." Sound so much better than I like that shirt. I think I am going to incorporate this word into my vocabulary again.

It was also nice to listen to some great speaker while Cherie sang fabulous music. Plus, I got to each lunch with the presenters because I was Cherie's guest. It was a fun opportunity. I have to admit that many of these people I had never heard of before, but they had amazing stories. I ate with Mary Ellen Edmunds, Kim Nelson, Deanne Flynn, and Brent Top. I mostly just listened to them talk, but it was super fun. It also made me think about re-prioritizing my life.

Art Crawl

Contemplative Cindy.

10 Cheese Puffs! Look ma' no hands.

This past weekend I went on a last minute crawl through St. Paul. Many people may have heard of art walks, but here in the Twin Cities it is called a crawl....perhaps it is because it rhymes with St. Paul? I may never know, but will reconsider this every time a crawl comes around. It was fabulous. I did not get to see all of the art. I went with a friend and ran into two other friends while wandering around. It was fun to see the studios as well as look at some of the living spaces.

I was especially excited when I got to hear a local band (with a banjo) called "Pistol Whipping Party Penguins." Who wouldn't want that name? I had a great time wearing three layers of clothing, in addition sporting a hat and gloves. It is cold out there already. Yikes!

Frozen

I woke up to a scraping noise outside this morning and thought who would be outside making such a loud noise on a Saturday. Crazy people. After 40 minutes I finally got out of my warm bed and felt the chill in the outside air. I peered out the window to visualize the culprit when it saw it...frozen cars with snow on the ground. Even the ivy was carrying the white fluffy stuff. I am so unprepared. Winter can't be here yet. I have not had enough time to enjoy fall!

Minnesota Pride

I thought that Texas had the corner on pride until I moved to Minnesota. Wow! I haver heard so many people brag so much about their home state. Most Utahns complained about their beautiful state, but secretly loved it! Who wouldn't love the beautiful mountains, red rock, desert flowers, and crazy mormon neighbor stories. They are especially great when you are the crazy neighbor.

Here I have been instructed daily on all of the things that a resident of Minnesota needs to be proud of:

1. Honey Crisp Apples- Yes, created here in this great state...a hybrid apple from the University of Minnesota. I have not thought this much about the creations I consume until now.

2. The State Fair-It was talked up all year. I had to attend just to see what it was all about. There was more food than should every be eaten. I was definitely a must for those that need some people watching time. Anything could be found cooked and fried on a stick including pickles.

3. Beverly Hill 90210-I never really cared where the twins moved from on that show. I was promptly schooled that they moved from Minneapolis...Wayzata to be exact and that is was mispronounced. What were the creators of the show thinking.

4. Lutherans- I hate to break the news to may of the people here, but it seems that Lutherans and don't have the corner on the green jello with carrots. I thought it was a mormon thing, but I have come to the conclusion that it was really just a popular food from the time period. We celebrate things similarly. I wonder if they have "funeral potatoes?"

The list goes on and on. I like Minnesota so far, but I am not sure that they have the corner on everything good. I do love to here them brag about it though. Today it was..."We" have Michelle Tafoya. Alright! Who?

101

My last post was number 100 and I was not even aware. Wow! I have had a whole lot to say about nothing. Today I just wanted to celebrate number 101. I nice uneven number.

Breathing is a Luxury Not a Necessity

Tonight I have come to the realization that breathing is a luxury not a necessity. Why you ask? Well, once again I have caught some Minnesota bug. This time it has taken residence in my nasal passages and is making breathing an impossibility. I went to the store and bought a decongestant with a hope of draining some crud out and improving aeration through though my canals. Nope. All that it did was create a combination of free flowing fluids which was flowing around that dam within. Sometime I wonder what Heavenly Father was thinking when he created this secret weapon against mankind. All I can say is that he has some sense of humor...he must laugh all night while I I toss and turn with my plugged nose and sore throat.