Thanksgiving November 22, 2009

It may be a while before I write again, so the annual thanks list is a little early this year…

I am thankful for…

my tough blue-collar roots. They make me ambitious and they have taught me to drop f-bombs like I mean business. 

my two hysterical little brothers, who aren’t so little anymore.

learning to cook and for inheriting my grandma’s cookbooks full of her chicken-scratch advice.

my dad’s wit and the books he used to give me. He gave me my first book of poetry.

the sound of kids playing at the playground within earshot of my apartment windows (but not when they start a screaming contest during my naptime).

my mom’s down-to-earthedness and the face she passed onto me.

friends near and far. They are my counselors, my fitness trainers, my strength, and my surrogate family.

All Roads Lead to a Radio Flyer Filled with Booze and a “Meat Bundle” November 20, 2009

Behold the wagon and all its glory.

Last Friday night marked the latest Obscure Dubuque Pub Crawl. Our numbers were small, but our will was mighty and just like rockstars we found groupies. Part of the management staff from a local grocery store followed us to each pub like adoring fans. They even found us after we cleverly diverted them to the wrong pub.

In other words, they didn’t exactly take a hint.

Here are the places we stopped and the quotes we captured in time.

 

Denny’s Lux Club:

“Blue-collared men make me ooze pheremones”-CE

“Is that cheese for everyone?”-Me while eating a mouthful of cubed cheese off a tray at the bar.

“SMELL IT HARD”-MM remarking on the nice-smelling hand-soap in the bathroom.

“We’re going  non-retarded, otherwise we’ll feel really bad about ourselves.”-ML

 

On the walk to the Dog House Lounge:

“THAT’S A FLAMINGO!”-CE

 

The Dog House Lounge (next to Donut Boy):

“I want something fried”-Me

“NO!”-CE

“I”m getting something fried.”-Me getting up to order french-fries.

“This place reeks of doughnuts. I can’t focus”-CE

 

West Dubuque Tap (clearly where we were supposed to spend the majority of our time)

“IS THERE A K’NEX IN THAT WAGON?! HOW MANY RAFFLE TICKETS CAN I GET FOR $5.00?!”-MM

“Um, can I give you my number?”-Guy who followed us to West Dubuque Tap addressing me.

“Sure.”-Me, awkward.

“You don’t have to call if you don’t want to. It’s totally up to you.”-Guy

“Ok.”-Me, awkward.

Pub Crawl Team Accessing Our Futures!!

“

Why Debbie Sucks November 18, 2009

She shows up unnannounced with her oatmeal creme pies, flirts wih all my urges like Mae West at a frat party, and leaves me with nothing but a sharp pain in my gut and dark sugared rage in my mind.

It’s never worth it, but I always fall for her.

That’s why she sucks.

Debbie is a Heartless Wench November 16, 2009

Sweet, sweet thrifting November 10, 2009

When I was in high school there were two places I loved to hang out; my friend’s old Grand Am (with a sunroof woot!) cruising the Sioux City loop and perusing racks at the local Goodwill. 

Now over a decade later I rarely “cruise”, but I still thrift shop regularly. I love not knowing exactly what I’ll find. 

From the basement of the Mission Thrift Shop on Main Street, my big wooden spoon is friggin’ whimsical. I love it. Most of the time I use it as decoration, but it’s also fabulous for mock eating (after too many cocktails).

Another one my great finds at the Mission is what I like to call my ”Jehovah’s Witness Repellent”. 

It’s quite beautiful.

Works like a charm!

I also purchase practical things like work clothes and shoes. I found these great Steve Madden ballet flats at the Saint Vincent De Paul-West (aka swanky thrift store) for a mere $3.00…

and these sexy beasts at the Goodwill.

Hey guys, I'm single!

Of course, there are also a few duds…

Does anyone hear circus music?

Last Saturday was one of my proudest shopping ventures yet even though CE did most of the digging for me. Over the past couple months, I’ve managed to kick over and break every water-glass in my apartment (I blame the show Glee).  

Here they are…

And the best one of all…

Sweet "A" glass

Turkey & Dressing Sandwich Origins… November 7, 2009

Check out The Dubuquer for more on the subject!

Fall Poundage November 7, 2009

Autumn is always my favorite time in Dubuque. The leaves are changing, the air is brisk, and the city settles in for the season.  Meanwhile, I settle into my apartment with books and NetFlix while subsisting on a steady diet of melted cheese and red wine.

As a result, I’ve gained a few pounds.

Now, before I start whining too much, I realize this is a common problem for the native Dubuquer and Midwesterners at large. Cold weather usually means more time spent indoors, which usually means less activity and more time near the kitchen/refrigerator.

Bad combo.

What’s a girl to do?

Here are some of the strategies I will be resorting to in the coming months (please hold me to this).

1. MOVE! Even if it’s just a walk around the neighborhood, it’s better than sitting on the couch with a canister of parmesan cheese.

2. Keep a food journal: I love to eat and I believe my stomach has the personality of this guy…

 so writing everything down prevents me from bingeing on my favorite unhealthy things.

3. Resist the urge to buy craptastic food: When I’m being diligent about eating healthy, it means buying the least processed foods I can find. As the book In Defense of Food states, I’ll be shopping the store perimeters, avoiding anything my great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize, and carefully reading labels of anything with more than five ingredients.

Have you ever tried to read the ingredients in those 100 calorie packs and most Weight Watchers products? It’s like a damned chemistry final and I suck at chemistry. Scary.

4. Weigh-in once a week. No more (fluctuations will drive me crazy), no less.

5. Limit alcohol (1 or 2 drinks a week): I suddenly feel the urge to weep. This is a tough one. For me, the empty calories of alcohol alone doesn’t pose such a threat, it is the munchies that go along with the alcohol and the day-after cravings (grease, carbs, grease, carbs).

We’ll see how this goes!

2009 Halloween Costume: H1N1 November 1, 2009

Okay, I’m not postitive I had the H1N1 virus over the weekend, but I do know that the sickness I caught egged, toilet-papered, and pooed all over my Halloween.

Then, for good measure, it lit my precious Halloween on fire while laughing a deep sadistic belly laugh.

Normally, I wouldn’t be so dramatic about having my Halloween plans thwarted, but this year I was to be Julia Child, one of my culinary heroes.  For weeks, I have been scouring the racks at all the thrift stores in town including the Mission, St. Vincent de Paul’s, and the Goodwill. I checked out ”The French Chef” dvd’s from the library. Hell, I even bought a rolling pin!

All is not lost though. I now feel like I have a closer relationship with Julia. While feverishly curled up on my couch, I watched every episode of “The French Chef”. I drifted in and out of sleep while Julia’s voice warbled in the background, I laughed when she spilled her ingredients, and I identified with her every time she lost her train of thought mid-sentence. In short, I’ve grown to love her even more. 

I was also lucky to have my favorite soup conveniently frozen for me. Here’s the recipe, which is a slightly altered Weight Watchers recipe (Julia probably would’ve hated it since it’s part of one of those “dreadful diets”).

Butternut Squash Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion diced

1 small apple; cored and diced (leave the skin)

4 cups of vegetable broth (I like Kitchen Basics brand)

1 small butternut squash; peeled and cut into small pieces (12 ounces)

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a deep saucepan or stockpot. Saute apples and onions together for about three minutes or until onions are glossy and transparent. Pour vegetable broth and squash into the pan. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until squash is soft. Just before taking the soup off the heat, add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Let the soup cool for a few minutes and puree in a food processor.

 

Kreativ Blogger Award October 29, 2009

My dear friend over at Bustables nominated me for the following award!

Upon accepting this award, I am required to reveal facts about myself.

They are as follows:
1. My eyes are blue except for one splash of brown on my right iris.

2. Greatest fears: Heights, small closed spaces, the stench of failure.

3. As a child I refused to eat toast.

4. Now I eat almost anything.

5. I haven’t colored my hair in 3 years (yep, stole that one from you Bustie).

6. I am Polish.

7. My toes are almost freakishly identical in size and length, which causes all kinds of trouble when pointy-toed shoes are trendy.

And now for my nominees:

Check out the gorgeous scenery and poetic (sometimes snarky) prose at Nobody’s Starling.

You’ll want to buy Spider Poet’s new chapbook when you read her blog about Montana life.

Dinosaurs of Anarcia, two nominations for two lovely ladies who write about their journeys together. 

Visit the musings of famous poet and professor extraordinaire at Running Brush

Wake up with the chickens at Hayseed Ink!

Check out the brand spanking new blog called Church Scouts, which follows the journey of two agnostic women trying to understand faith and religion in Dubuque, Iowa.

Congrats all! And good job on being so darn Kreativ!

Small Town Stranger Hits the Road October 25, 2009

One of the great aspects of Dubuque living are the options for visiting larger cities. Since I lived in a Dubuque version of the show COPS during a previous weekend (thanks for visiting, Mom and little brother) , I decided it was time to unwind and take myself out-of-town.  Iowa City, the Quad Cities, and Chicago are all options; however, my choice for this weekend was Madison, Wisconsin, which is only a ninety-mile drive to the northeast.

Madison is a beautiful city, but I had another motive for visiting…the Great Lake Swimmers. I first encountered the Toronto-based Great Lake Swimmers a couple years ago while I was watching Weeds. Rocky Spine was featured on one of the episodes, and I was hooked immediately on the haunting folksy sound (for Weeds fans out there, the song plays when Nancy and Conrad make sweet, sweet forbidden love for the first time).  So, naturally, when I found out the Great Lake Swimmers were playing a free concert at the Memorial Union at UW-Madison, I was there quicker than you can say “Ma’am, is everything alright here?” (quote from the police at my door last weekend…really).

I’m not all that familiar with Madison, but here’s what I did while I was there. Next time, I’ll get a full tour. I’m holding you to that, RB.

Friday night I arrived at the Baymont Inn West (cheap, decent, about 12 miles west of downtown, smells like cigarettes and pot roast).

Shortly after getting back in my Taurus, I became happily lost in downtown Madison. With a few wrong turns and  parking illegally, I felt like I was off to a great start. I’m a big believer in getting lost as I think it’s the best way to find the things you love. Anyway, in my lost state, I snapped some photos of the capitol building and the surrounding streets.

After a fantastic sushi dinner at Muramoto Restaurant on King Street, I headed to the Memorial Union, bought a beer, and sat with a bunch of college kids in what appeared to be a cafeteria.

The opening folk band, The Wooden Birds from Austin, Texas, was really impressive although almost no one was listening. Damn kids (fist shaking in the air)! I really like the song Seven Seventeen.

The next couple photos bite. Sorry.

The Great Lake Swimmers put on a fantastic show despite the cafeteria venue. Their folksy sound and haunting lyrics are captivating.  I managed to weasel my way to the front row right at the feet of the band.   

A very blurry shot of GLS just before I moved to the front.

Simple and amazing.

Saturday morning rolled around too quickly. Before I left, I ate the best scone of my life at Lazy Jane’s Cafe on Williamson Street, and  took one last scenic drive around the city.

Here’s the view…

 

WHY CAN’T I PRONOUNCE ISTHMUS?!