This puts me at the half way point on my list, but unfortunately, with only 8 months left, I’m quite behind schedule. I still need to visit the DIA and the Science Center, get off my ass and run a 5K, and go rock climbing. Plus I have over 60 books to read. I’m hoping to get through a couple this weekend as I soak up the sun at my parent’s house.

Blueberry Boy Bait
from Brown Eyed Baker via Kirbie’s Cravings

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup blueberries

For the Topping:
½ cup blueberries
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. For the Cake: Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13×9-inch baking pan.

2. Whisk 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of the flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of the milk. Beat in half of the remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture. Toss the blueberries with remaining 1 teaspoon flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

3. For the Topping: Scatter the blueberries over top of the batter. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the batter.

4. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter (topping side up). Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Last night after work Mandy and I met at the Fly House for candle lit yin yoga. The room was dark when we got there, other students laying on their mats. Everyone was silent and Mandy and I whispered in the dark, feeling awkward for talking at all.

Class started by focusing on our breathing and I immediately had the urge to laugh – I just couldn’t deal with the silence and seriousness. I managed to contain myself until we moved into a series of floor poses, which were held for 5 or so minutes at a time.

Every time we changed positions one of the women would let out a long orgasmic moan and I would want to start laughing again.

I did my best to take deep breaths imagining waves washing over my muscles as they were screaming in pain. But it was a little hard to breathe regularly with farts and B.O. wafting around me. With the number of people and the size of the room it should not have been that smelly. But it was and I ended up holding my breath and trying to bend so my face was buried in my shirt, which is a pretty good technique if you ever find yourself surrounded by a fart.

The other thing that made me uncomfortable was the giant bare man feet pointing at me. I really, really hate feet. And though they were far enough away that there was no chance of contact I was still grossed out.

As we left the class someone mentioned that “the energy in the room was really different this week.” I wanted to say “Sorry, your B.O. was screwing up my chi.”

I definitely got a better stretch than when I do yoga at home, so I would probably go again. But I don’t think I’ll be able to deal with feet and farts every week.

Last night I decided to make my grandma’s tart recipe. She’s been baking these ever since I can remember – a tin of them always on the table when we’d stop by for lunch or dinner.

I put it on my 101 list and got the recipe from my mom a few days ago. I was thrilled when the buttery, brown sugary, delicious smell filled my house.

Ingredients
2 pie crusts (I used Pillsbury, but you can always make it from scratch)
1 cup raisins or currents
1 stick margarine or butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla

Cut the pastry in rounds (I tried different things till I found something to cut rounds that would fit about 3/4 of the way up a muffin tin.) Use your fingers to press it in and form it to the tin. (You can spray the tin with cooking spray – I didn’t and they popped out just fine)

Put raisins, currants or a combo in a dish and cover with hot tap water for a few minutes. Drain.

Add margarine and stir until melted. Add brown sugar and stir until melted. Add egg and vanilla and stir.

Fill shells half way – I used about 2 teaspoons of filling in each.

Bake 350 about 25 minutes.

Makes 18 shells.

My grandma made homemade pie crust because that’s what grandma’s do. I’ll probably give it a try next time. I found the Pillsbury crust was too buttery and crispy – Grandma’s is always soft and flakey.

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Two outfit pictures in two days – the lighting in my house has been much better lately!

Dress from Urban, boots from Alloy, cardigan from Nordstrom,
random red tights and leg warmers

I’m rocking my new Aromaleigh eyeshadow (as recommended by Mermaid). It’s Rocks! Sonic Eyes in Venom. I love the intensity of the color, but like the pink sparkly shadow I bought, the brightness fades a bit throughout the day. I like it but I don’t love it.

On a totally random note, last night I dreamed my house was robbed and the night before I dreamed I cut all my hair off. Luckily Lyle had her dream dictionary at work today and apparently I’m going to have a new endeavor, which will bring me increased wealth. Sweet!

I printed two copies of our tickets because it was Red Wings ornament night. We scooted by the table before the first period and got ornament number one. After the second period we went back to the other side of the table, carefully avoiding eye contact with the ticket takers, and each got ornament number two.

It was also dollar pretzel night and I’m wishing now that I had bought more than one! Walking all the way down the steep stairs and back up during 1/3 and 2/3 time (yes I call it that, intermission is for movies!) gave my legs quite a workout.

The game was awesome and the Wings won! I wish there had been a fight…maybe next time.

On our way out, slowly moving in a mass of fans, Jessica realized her car keys had disappeared. After searching her purse we headed back through the crowd with lots of people telling us we were going in the wrong direction and the game was over.

We slid through the exit and told the guard we were looking for lost keys. Apparently we picked the right door because someone had turned them in to him (YAY!!) and he took us to pick them up.

At the info booth, they also happened to be giving out ornaments, so Jessica, being the sneaky lady she is, asked if she could have an extra one for her dad. They said they couldn’t give out any extras, so we thanked Anthony The Key-Finder and headed back outside. Not a minute later one of the guys that was working the booth ran over to Jessica and handed her an ornament. SCORE!

When we finally made it through the crowd, up six flights to the top of the parking garage, I had to take a few pictures because the view was great. I could see the Ambassador Bridge, the river, Canada, and the RenCen.

I have to say I was impressed, Wings fans are really fantastic. Not only does almost everyone show up in red and white, they’re really paying attention to the game the entire time. At the Pistons game people would cheer for a basket, but at the Joe everyone cheers when the puck is turned over or boos when one of our players is sent to the penalty box. You can tell people love the Wings and are completely engaged.

Jessica and I also realized there was no need for dudes that night, we had an amazing lady date all by ourselves!

The Pistons ended up losing (7th game in a row dudes…what’s the deal?), but we still had fun!

You know all the kids who stand up, waving their arms around and dancing
every time the cameras hit the crowd? Yep, Aaron was one of them!

You know those dudes who coach the players from stands during the entire game
and yell at the refs for every call? Yep, Aaron was one of them!

Somebody loves basketball :)

I’ve made 5 recipes in two days, but I’m only posting the two that were actually good. I also made semi-disgusting soup, bleh Indian flat bread and kinda good hummus.

This mushroom bourguignon was very good!

Mushroom Bourguignon with Egg Noodles
From An Edible Symphony
Serves 2-4

2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp butter
1 lb portobello mushrooms, sliced about 1/4 of an inch thick
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 – 2 cups beef stock (I used veggie stock)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Egg noodles for serving
Sour cream and chopped parsley or chives for garnish

1. Heat half the oil and butter in a large, deep saucepan on medium high heat. Throw in the sliced mushrooms and stir till they are darkened, but do not give off any liquid (about 2 mins). Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Lower the heat to medium and add the rest of the oil. Saute the carrots and onions with thyme, salt and pepper, until the onions are golden. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Add a 1/2 cup of beef stock to the pan, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom. Turn the heat up and let the mixture reduce for 2 mins. Mix in the tomato paste, the rest of the broth and the browned mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and let the whole thing simmer for 10 mins.

4. Add remaining butter to the pan and sprinkle flour over the top, quickly stirring in. Simmer for another 3-4 mins. Taste, and season further with salt & pepper if needed. To serve, get yourself a bowl of warm, buttery egg noodles, spoon the mushroom bourguignon over the top, and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives or parsley.

Got any good vegetarian recipes I should try?

I no longer want to take piano lessons, go on trips with certain people, or organize events.

Instead I’d like to:

20. Go rock climbing

37. Be able to do 3 pull-ups

47. Bake bread from scratch

68. Host a potluck

80. Learn to knit

86. Volunteer 5 times

87. Get my wisdom teeth out (OK, I don’t really want to do this, but I should)

I scoured a few people’s 101 lists and came up with more than 101…

102. Watch a movie at a drive-in theatre

103. Paint guest bedroom

104. Paint and organize office

105. Visit the Science Center

106. Eat at Baker’s

107. Make pickles

108. Earn 100 followers on my blog

109. Spending a day leaving notes of positivity on parked cars

110. Teach Slayer to lay down and not bark when people come to the door

111.  Learn to make good hummus

112. See the Rocky Mountains in person

113. Re-read my favorite book as a kid, “The Giver”

Do you have a 101 list? What have you accomplished? Given up on?

Photo via Toshi69

After realizing how few books I’ve read in the past year I decided to add ‘not watch tv for a week’ to my 101 list.

As many of you know, I work in a tv station, so avoiding it there wasn’t going to happen and I was allowing movies as well. Mostly I just wanted to stay away from going home after work, hoping in bed and spend my night mindlessly channel surfing. If I was going to stay in, the plan was to either be productive (clean, bake, exercise…) or read. My resolution to accept all offers to hang kept me out of the house most nights anyway.

On Saturday I almost gave in. I couldn’t find a willing soul to be my date for the evening, so I unhappily stayed home. My tv was just staring at me, begging to be watched, but I picked up Kabul Beauty School instead and read until I fell asleep.

I did have one little slip-up during my Sunday movie date where the tv stayed on after Gran Torino was over, but we were not paying much attention to the show (wink, wink), so I’m allowing it.

Last night I had totally forgotten about my anti-tv campaign and didn’t even think to turn on the tv while I waited for Jenn to be ready for dinner. I took Slayer for a walk, gave him a bath, did laundry, and wrote in my journal.

And then today I realized I made it a whole week. As with my no shopping resolution, I’m going to continue to stay away from my poor lonely tv as long as possible.

Sam and I met up, took Slayer for a walk, and then headed down Woodward to the golf course. Sam obviously lied about his mini golf skills and shot a hole-in-one on the first hole. I did not lie about my skills and pretty much sucked the entire time, though I was able to make two hole-in-ones.

Post ass kicking we drove around looking for ice cream and ended up at Jim’s, a tiny shop that has frozen custard, vegan frozen yogurt, and a life-size Superman mannequin in a phone booth. I got mine with sprinkles because I’m 5 and we sat on a picnic bench while the heat sent custard dripping down our hands.

Speaking of the heat – I tried to make it another night without turning on the a/c, but Slayer was hot and kept moving around, so I caved and turned it on. At least I know it’s functional and can get ready for work today without sweating.

I decided to pull an Oprah and make a list of my favorite things I already own. I use most of this stuff every day or at least a few times a week.

NECKLACE HANGER Love, love, love this and it looks super cool hanging on my wall. I don’t know how I kept all those necklaces organized before I got it. It’s made of metal that is wrapped with copper wire to create little hooks. I received it as a gift a couple years ago and looked for the Etsy seller but could not find them. So you’re out of luck if you want to get one for yourself.

MAC PAINTS EYESHADOW I’ve been wearing them for years. They recently discontinued the bright colors, so I’m glad I still have plum and lime green left. The neutrals are great for a shimmery primer. No tools needed, just use your fingers. They are $16.50 and last forever. MacCosmetics.com

ALBA CHAPSTICK & LIP GLOSS Smells good and tastes good. Goes on smooth and never gets sticky. They cost between $4 and $6. http://albabotanica.com

BURT’S BEES CITRUS FACIAL SCRUB I use this every couple days and have been doing so for years. It smells good, feels good, and leaves my face super soft. It’s made with 99.94% natural ingredients and isn’t too pricey at $8. BurtsBees.com

GOOGLE TASK LIST I’m one of those people who is forever writing lists, so I love adding the task list into my email page. I mostly just enjoy checking things off. And think of all the trees I’m saving! (ok probably not, I still write lots of paper lists too)

RIVAL RICE COOKER My brother went on and on about his amazing, new rice cooker for months, so my sister and I both wanted one. And lucky us, we each got one for Christmas. You put the rice in, add spices, soy sauce, salsa, etc., throw a few veggies in the steamer basket and switch it on. No setting times, no watching for it to finish cooking. Just turn the thing on and when it’s done cooking it switches to a warming mode. Makes great sticky rice. My bro says he makes lentils in it too. $16.99 from Target

ECLIPSE BIGEPAK This is one of my favorite things I keep in my car. There’s never any cups in my cupholders, just trash and my BigEPak. It’s great when I’m driving and need something minty – much easier that rummaging through my bag. And I haven’t run out of gum yet!

What are some of your favorite things?