Hockey Weekend

I love hockey.

Last weekend I went to a game,

and as soon as I get those pictures from Katie the story will be told.

In the meantime let's just say I had a fantabulous time!

So much so that I made the 2 1/2 hour drive this past Friday

to catch another game with the girls.

It was cancer night at the K. B. Willet Arena so I,

along with a conglomeration of Pointers blacked out the Eau Claire Blugolds.

(Did you catch the irony?)

The Pointers were sporting a flashy pink lined jersey,

and let me tell you, they looked good.

Damn good.

Point beat Eau Claire with a final score of 6-1.

Did I mention:

You have a hole in your goalie

Eau Claire

Eau Claire

A hole in your goalie . . .

I digress.

(Full recap here if you feel the need-make sure to check out the pictures)

The rest of the weekend was ridiculous fun.

No really, I don't know how it happened,

and I don't remember what I did really,

I just remember laughing a lot.

Also, I made pizza.

And cookies.

Because really, what is life without cookies?

Oh, right.

Not as cool.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

I know I did.

I realized how lucky I am when I walked out of a friends house

just before 11 last night

and looked up past the street light to admire the snow fall.

This weekend was beautiful and I couldn't have asked for a better one.

Let's hope the week follows suit.

A True Nerdfighter

Today I received two T's from dftba.com.

I am now a true, full-fledged, nerdfighter!

Now on to reducing world suck . . .

Bake Week

I made things, and I forgot to tell you about them!

First, I made cookies!

Imagine that.

Second, I made scones.

They are lemon and crystalized ginger.

Finally, I made a chocolate chip cheesecake.

But I didn't have anymore chocolate chips so I had to cut up bars.

(I think it looks prettier that way.)

I made it back to school today.

I'll have to tell you about my adventures yesterday

when I get the picture proof.

An Experiment in Baguettes

This is the first meeting between myself and Artisan bread.

I used a King Arthur Flour recipe.

I loved it!

The recipe not only had detailed instructions but a step-by-step video.

Also, the bread rocked!

We had it tonight for supper to compliment Mr. David Hipschman's Caesar Salad.

YUM!

19 Things to do Before I'm 20

I got the inspiration from Elsie.

I have been sketching out this page for a while,

but I made the final design this morning

and started hammering it out this afternoon.

I'm proud of how it turned out.

I'm excited to do all 19 things,

and to see what I come up with next year!

Good Ol' Chocolate Chip Cookies

No matter what day (or what time for that matter) making a batch of chocolate chip cookies can make me feel better. By now I should have the recipe memorized, but it’s too easy to get lazy and just read it off the back of the package, also it's really easy to half make up after the ingredients are gathered.

There are a number of things I love about these cookies:

1. They don’t require extraneous ingredients, so you can make them almost all the time! (Just double check the status of the chocolate chips, they tend to run out fast.)
2. If I feel adventurous I can add nuts, or change up the type of chips, i.e. peanut butter or white chocolate rather than semi-sweet.
3. They are no brainers, (though I have been known to mess up a few batches in my time) so I can multitask. I can whip up a batch and gossip, or dance a little. They are perfect for when friends come over-expected or no.

There are two important stages to keep in mind when making this treat. There is the dough, then the finished cookie. Taste testing needs to occur on both stages. Take spoonfuls and munch while the cookies bake, and cool. Once the cookies sit for a few minutes try one. Make sure it’s not over baked though. They need to be a bit undercooked on the inside, still warm, with just a little crisp around the edges. The perfect cookie would fold in half if it was held straight up for too long, but can hold it’s shape for the several seconds (or less) it takes to get a cookie into a mouth.

So bake some cookies. For no real reason. It's a good idea, really.

Rum Cake

Today I tried my hand at a rum cake.

From Booze Cakes.

Judging from the small morsel that was still clutching to the pan,

this is one good cake.

A "do again" if you will.

But only with strict parental guidance for the next few years.

The whole process was pretty simple,

until the glaze

du

Du

DUN!

It wasn't really that bad.

Just a little messy.

But not to worry mom-the kitchen is al-

Oh, spoke too soon.

Dad's making supper.

I'll rephrase that:

The kitchen will be all clean in just a few minutes.

I promise!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

(Especially if it's snowing where you are too!)

Cake and a New Years Page

Sour cream and lemon cake.

From this book.

I haven't had a piece yet,

but judging from the smell,

this is going to be a delectable treat!

Another treat for you is my new years resolution page.

Resolutions being as follows:

1. Eliminate awkward.

2. Listen to more classical music.

3. Dream bigger.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

(And have your own piece of cake!)

Playing with Scraps

I have been playing with scraps of paper and making a lot of cards.

Here's a sample:

I really love the owl stamp!

This last one is my favorite.

I'll be back later with a sour cream and lemon cake

that's set to come out of the oven in 5 minutes.

Hello.

It's been a while.

But the time away was productively spent.

really . . .

I went to Florida!

That was productive.

Also to start 2011 off right I scrapbooked as soon as I got home.

(More on that later)

This morning we broke in mom's new waffle maker.

They were super good!

So . . . back to Florida.

The first night we were their Claire and I stayed with friends.

Then mom and dad moved us to the bed & breakfast they were staying at.

This was my first night at a b&b and I completely loved it!

Claire and I found a deck of cards on the first night and became pretty competitive at speed.

We made a day trip to St. Augustine

so Claire could meet with a friend she knew through exchange.

Katie, my parents, and I wondered around the historic district.

We found a fort and didn't go in.

We walked to the fountain of youth, but didn't go in.

And we walked up and down the touristy shops and didn't buy a thing.

We did have a good time though.

People watching and taking funny pictures next to monuments.

Later we found a beach.

It was a little chilly for swimming,

but we walked barefoot on the sand

It was a little chilly for that too,

but we're from Wisconsin and we managed.

(And by managed I mean

when we were done with the beach we ran back to Victor

the van

and stuck our feet back in our socks.)

The great adventure of the trip was the Kennedy Space Center.

I learned a lot and got to see were the shuttles take off and whatnot.

It was really interesting

and I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Florida in the near future.

And I almost forgot!

We saw Chihuly!

But we couldn't take pictures inside.

Take my word for it though,

it's was breathtaking.

Back on the home front.

I made cards.

A lot of cards.

Here are a few!

Then I made some pages.

I finally finished scrapbooking Colorado!

Happy New Year.

Have a great January!