Posts Tagged ‘pictures’

The Great Pumpkin Hunt

Sorry for the late update; it’s November again and you know what that means. But more about that later.

Last weekend was Halloween! I was pretty excited because I love carving pumpkins. My favorite part is scraping out the insides, but I also like roasting pumpkin seeds and finishing lightyears ahead of Steven because he is artistic and I like to stick with things I know won’t look like a stabby four-year-old got a hold of them.

Until Saturday, I hardly had time to think about it being Halloween, I was so busy with school and work and things. Also, it was so hot outside I kept forgetting it was October. But then it was Saturday, time to finally buy a pumpkin and carve it!

The only problem was, there were no pumpkins left in all of Carrboro. I’m not joking. There were gigantic bins of pumpkins outside Harris Teeter all month but they were suddenly gone on October 30th. I went to two Harris Teeters, the Whole Foods, and the Boy scouts in front of that church on Estes, all of which had happy rows of pumpkins before, all empty the day before Halloween. Is it really required that you buy your pumpkin a week in advance? I was not aware of this rule. People sell Christmas trees up till Christmas eve! And fireworks the day of July 4th! If special Halloween candy was still mad overpriced at Harris Teeter the day before Halloween, pumpkins should have been too. Alas.

So, I gave up. This year would be the year I did not carve a pumpkin. Sadness.

Then on Sunday I woke up with renewed energy for the wild pumpkin chase. So what if I would get approximately no school work done this weekend? Some things are important, and carving pumpkins is one of them. After returning from another abortive grocery store trip, I happened to notice a woman in a parking lot with a truck and some pumpkins spread out on the ground. Success!!! Kind of sketchy success!!!

She also had three less than a month old kittens in a bird cage. Scientific discovery of the day: they were the most adorable thing ever. I’m almost positive I’ve never seen a kitten in real life before, not one that young and that cute. It’s probably because I’m moderately to deathly allergic to them, so my parents pretty much put a moratorium on me going anywhere near cats from a young age. I was okay with this, because the few I accidentally encountered at friends’ houses were pretty mean. I did not really get the deal with having a pet that seemed to either ignore or hate you. I have half of humanity for that. Also, I associate them with itchy eyes, not being able to breathe, and hives. So, you know, there’s that.

ANYWAY, these kittens were ADORABLE. They were making this pathetic little mewing noise like “Why are we in a cage? Why are we so cute? Take us home with you!” The woman selling the pumpkins was like “Do you want a free kitten?” And I said, “No, I’m allergic” but while looking longingly at them, so she made me hold one. Second, lesser scientific discovery of the day: kittens are the softest things EVER. They were some kind of Siamese/lynx mix, so they were gray and white and kind of stripey. The one she handed me tried to crawl up my sweater. But then all the places its claws touched my skin became all red and raised like mosquito bites that still haven’t fully gone away, so in the end, I think not taking home the adorable creature of death was a good decision.

Still, just so you know, kittens are way cute. Still not big on cats.

Then we carved pumpkins! As usual, I was done in record time! Mostly because mine always involve only carving five or six shapes. This year I decided to make use of some skewers we had left over from the dip party to give mine hair/a strange hat. It’s unclear which: Read the rest of this entry »

Corn Maze Win!

This will only be my second autumn in North Carolina, arguably my second autumn EVER since neither Florida nor Houston really have these crazy things like colored leaves or cold weather. Also, both are sort of short on corn, which North Carolina seems to have in abundance, at least around here. I remember driving to my apartment the first time, my GPS had my exit the interstate just over the Carolina border and travel a series of winding country highways the back way into Carrboro. I remember looking down at the Garmin screen proclaiming that I would arrive at my new home in just a few minutes, and then looking out the window at the corn fields and cows. “WHERE am I moving to?” I thought, little knowing that I was moving to the greatest place ever, and I’m not just talking about Weiner Dog Day.

All summer when driving to and from work I’ve seen signs for corn mazes along the side of the road that are “Coming Soon!” Saturday was the first day for most of them, and I pretty much just put jeans on over my pajamas and dragged Steven out of the house in excitement.

I’ve been to one corn maze before, in Albuquerque with THE 434 plus Josh Langsfeld. This mostly involved wandering around in the mostly dead corn trying to decide what parts were path and what parts were corn that had just fallen down:

October 2007: A corn maze that's not trying very hard

This corn maze was totally different! At the beginning, they gave us a piece of paper with various multiple choice questions on it. When we got to certain forks in the path marked with numbered posts, we would answer the question and go left or right depending on our answer. We chose American History (the other categories were Scripture, 4-H, and Corn), and my job as a 5th grade tutor totally came through for us on this one. It was always a small triumph any time we made it to the next signpost with the knowledge that at least with this decision we’d probably be making the right choice. It also helped to keep us from accidentally wandering too far back when retracing our steps. It still took us about an hour to make it out, but it probably would have been at least twice that otherwise.

September 2010: Notice how the corn behind me is still alive

Also how my sunglasses have only improved in awesomeness over time. That orange tie-dye thing is a flag they gave us to wave if we got too lost so that they could come and get us. There was a guy sitting on a platform watching us the entire time, probably laughing at us for constantly taking the wrong turn and getting super lost. Here is my super lost face:

Not even my cursory knowledge of Revolutionary War trivia could save us

Luckily, we finally made it out alive: Read the rest of this entry »

Last School Year Ever: The Pregame

So, if all goes as planned, this should be my last school year ever. I am super excited. 18 years straight is too long to spend writing papers, dealing with group project drama, and researching things I don’t care about and will never use. I’m looking at you, ENGL 326. Is it hard to go back? Yes. Luckily, I’ve got the drill down and know just how to get pumped for Last School Year Ever.

Step 1: Supplies
Clearly school supplies are a major factor into determining your daily mood, not to mention who in class is the coolest. Remember how long it took to pick out even one spiral notebook in elementary school? Especially if you were totally obsessive like me and had to make sure it coordinated with your trapper keeper. Too many grad students forget the importance of cheerful, exciting school supplies and go with cheap, plain composition notebooks, not realizing that it will make every day in class taking notes completely boring. Well, not me. Not this year. After a grueling 15-minute decision process at Target’s school supply aisle, I decided on this one:

I wanted one that was all glitter, but a 12-year-old beat me to the last one

I literally cannot wait for the first day of class to take JUICY GOSSIP library science notes. Meghan has suggested that I forget the whole notes thing and turn it into my very own Burn Book, but she clearly hasn’t realized the way I take notes.

Also, for holding copies of syllabi and important papers:

A sparkly cupcake folder. Only the best.

I am one sparkly feather pen away from being the best grad student ever.

Step 2: Fortify your strength
I suggest this recipe:

1. Buy some chicken and salsa.
2. Put them in a crockpot!
3. Cook for 3-4 hours.
4. Serve over rice!

I call it "Salsa Chicken". Super tasty!

Step 3: Celebrate!
Nothing puts you in a celebration mood like vaguely literary wine on clearance at Harris Teeter!

Turns out, there was a reason it was on clearance

Times I’ve Almost Died: FIRE!

I don’t know about you, but those fire safety lectures we had in elementary school scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. I was convinced that my house would burn to the ground and had a detailed plan for which of my belongings I would grab while fleeing from my collapsing inferno of a home. I had almost completely forgotten about this latent fear until yesterday when my Serenity movie night was interrupted by a strange orange glow seeping through the blinds. At first we thought it was just headlights, but headlights don’t flicker. Also usually don’t shine in to second floor windows.

FIRE!!

FIRE!!

So there are these dumpsters about a hundred paces from my front door, and next to them is a strange fenced off little enclosure where people dump old mattresses or furniture. There are plenty of overhanging trees too.

When we first walked outside, the wind was up and we were getting hit with sparks.

When we first walked outside, the wind was up and we were getting hit with sparks.

Luckily Rachel is quickest on the cellphone draw and called 911. We found out someone already had. People from the Business and Professional Women’s Club next door were already gathering to take pictures with their cellphones stupidly close. Some other apartment dwellers, slightly more freaked out because, you know, we live here, started gathering and trying to move their cars. Joe immediately accused the guy holding a cigarette of starting the whole thing and returning to the scene of the crime.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Secret Life of Planets: Redux

Over spring break I essentially went on a whirlwind author tour of Seminole’s schools. I visited the classes at the Seminole Middle School who read The Knight, the Wizard, and the Lady Pig and then went across the street to Seminole High School, where the musical theater class was doing dress rehearsals of my one act, “The Secret Life of Planets”. It’s been slightly tweaked from my original version, written for the Wiess Freshman One Acts, to accommodate more speaking parts, more singing, and an costumes made of things besides what you can steal from the Servery. Observe:

Another key difference: I was not eating pie while watching it

Another key difference: I was not eating pie while watching it

Also, no one turned up drunk. But I am totally digging the costumes: (image heavy)
Read the rest of this entry »

Things I’ve Made: Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes

Because I managed to buy two packs of Ferrero Rochers right after Valentine’s Day, I decided it was time to try one of the cupcake decorating ideas in my Hello, Cupcake! book.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of snipping the hole in the piping bag too large so the “noodles” ended up being gigantic.

They still taste good though

They still taste good though

The “sauce” is really just strawberry preserves.

Top Cocktail: Chocovine Edition

Oh, Chocovine. As its tagline claims, it mixes the taste of dutch chocolate and fine red wine. You can buy it at Harris Teeter for about $7, so I knew without even tasting it that it would be magical. So magical that it would need its own Servery Challenge.

Then I remembered I can’t do Servery Challenges anymore, so I waited to bring you a Very Special Valentine’s Day Top Cocktail Special.

Special thanks to James Fox for his MSPaint Skillz

Special thanks to James Fox for his MSPaint Skillz

Four Competitors! Ten minutes! … and one bottle of Chocovine!

See the entires and the results here:
Read the rest of this entry »

Winterpocalypse Notebook: IV

And as I walked through the woods
Behind the dumpster
Watching deer tracks and raccoon tracks
Dog tracks and squirrel tracks
I came upon a fallen herd
Of apples

Terrified
I looked around
For the Twilight photoshoot
But there was none

apples_in_the_snow

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