3 spooky foods and 1 wildly inappropriate pumpkin

Last weekend we attended a Halloween party at our friend Sleepy’s house. You’ve seen pictures of their house before, when there was a tortoise on the roof. Well, something you also should know is that Sleepy and his wife Mrs. Sleepy are expecting a baby. Like, any day now. And still felt motivated to host a Halloween party for all of their friends, bouncy castle and all.

Yes, there was a bouncy house. Because what Halloween party would be complete without full-grown adults dressed up as fictional characters jumping around in a pink and purple castle?

Well, the boys happened to see a photo of a pumpkin carved and modeled to look like a woman giving birth (also, I might have found this photo and happened to send it to them). They decided it would be a brilliant idea to replicate this pumpkin masterpiece and give it to Sleepy and the Mrs. to decorate their Halloween party. So they did.

Here is the original photo:

 Here is the boys’ completed masterpiece:

There may be a little tongue-in-cheek humor aimed at Sleepy insinuating that he is not the father of pumpkin Mrs. Sleepy’s baby, if you are wondering why the pumpkin “baby” is painted a different color. In case it wasn't inappropriate enough already.

While the boys were busy carving their pumpkin, I was busy baking. I saw so many great ideas for Halloween-themed treats that I couldn't pick just one and decided to go on a giant baking frenzy. I was quite proud of the results.

Cheese-ball monsters:

Candy Corn sugar cookies:

And “Guacamoldy” eyes:

 Happy Halloween!!!

Las Vegas is trying to tell me something

I spent the past weekend in Vegas with my husband and some of my good friends.  Although we had a fantastic time, I noticed a few changes from the Vegas of my early and mid twenties.

I present to you:
The top 5 signs that you are getting old(er).  Sin City edition.

1.  They stop having to verify your ID card with their supervisor.  In fact, they stop carding you all together.

2.  During the cab ride, you don't bother asking which casinos have the best mile-high margaritas and which after-hours clubs are the most happening, you instead discuss with your cabbie the merits of renting versus buying a home in the current economic market.

3.  You contemplate ordering "Water for Elephants" from the hotel TV on a Saturday night.

4.  After a whole weekend of gambling and pool partying, and dinner and drinks you only have 3 photos on your camera.  And they are all of Vanilla Ice.

5.  You come very, very, close to stomping over to your neighbor's hotel room door at 2:00 am on a Friday night, banging on it until the music and the screaming/drunken giggling pauses, and yelling, "WILL YOU KIDS KEEP IT DOWN OVER THERE?  SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!"

The Hidden Staircase

Some highlights from my 4th of July weekend.  And also, a bit of making fun of myself.

We played tourist with some of our good friends.  This included, basically, visting the four corners of the San Diego region.  It was awesome fun, with a few minor inconveniences.  As in, no one in their right mind should expect to find a parking spot for less than $50 on a holiday weekend in Mission Beach.  We drove around for a very stressful hour before we looked at eachother and said, "does it mean we're old if we give up now and just go back to the house?"  We decided that did mean we were getting old and lame and so we stuck it out long enough to find a parking spot that might cost us under $20.  Then we ducked into a bar on the beach and looked around us at the crowd of drunken, young, twentysomethings doing beer shooters out of a cut off whiffle ball bat and felt old anyway.

However, Karma came back to us when an impromptu drive to La Jolla resulted in a parking space within 0.2 seconds of arriving at our destination.


A vist to La Jolla's "shell beach."  Don't be fooled by the name, there aren't any shells.  Just a lot of rocks.  But it's still cool, and there's tidepools and such.

And we snagged a seat at one of the only rooftop bars in La Jolla (trust me, we looked... I mean, what is life if you can't sit on the beach and completely ignore the beautiful view while you scrunch your face at your smart phone and search through online reviews for a good dinner venue with a rooftop view?)



We had to wait a bit, but when we did get seated it was perfectly timed to watch the sunset

On the day of the 4th, we opted for the more laid-back Ocean Beach neighborhood.  Now we have arrived to the part of this blog where I have to admit to certain things that I am a bit embarassed to admit.

Exhibit #1: The Hanging Lantern

We ate breakfast at this cute little cafe on the end of the Ocean Beach Pier.  Although I use the term "cute" a bit loosely, as it has somewhat of a sea-crusty atmosphere and I am a bit dubious of the "A" rating that was displayed.  However the breakfast burrito was very delicious.  And there was no waiting for a table.  All bonus points in my book.

So as we're sitting at our table, admiring the ocean view and maritime decor, and Chris is staring aimlessly at some point behind my head. 

"What are you looking at?"  I asked, innocently.  To which I think he responds, "The lake."

I look at him in confusion and reply, "No, honey, that's the ocean." 

Chris gives me that it's-a-good-thing-you're-pretty look and points at an object anchored to the wall behind me.  "No," he says, "I'm looking at the light. I'm well aware that we're at the ocean." 



The light

And, finally, I saved the best for last...

Exhibit #2, The Hidden Staircase

We had a date to watch the fireworks from the bluffs on the south end of Ocean Beach.  The streets here are elevated above the water, and you walk to a staircase which leads you down on to the bluffs.  There's a section of the bluffs about halfway between the street and the water that, during low tide, have room for walking, sitting, laying down, etc.  They also have a great view of the fireworks on the Ocean Beach Pier:

Getting ready to watch the fireworks show on the bluffs

To get to our spot on the bluffs, we walked down the starcase and then across on the bluffs for a ways.  To exit, we had to take the same staircase back up, which involved walking away from our car and all the way back to the stairs.  We were hoping to find a closer staircase so we wouldn't have to backtrack so much.


So anyway, we watched the fireworks, they were super.

Upon leaving, we made the treck back towards the staircase.  As we were ascending the staircase, I happened to look back over to where we had come from.  And there, clearly illuminated on the cliff face, was a staircase full of people walking up it.

"Chris," I said, "how did we walk right past that staircase and not notice it?"

There is a very pregnant pause while Chris and my friends digest this comment.

"Um, Krista," my husband said gently, "that's not an actual staircase.  That's our shadow outlined on the cliff walls."

Because I have so much to be thankful for, and how awesome is the postal service

I'm going to take a pause for a moment to be totally serious.

Although I didn't get to spend this holiday season with family, I did get to spend it with some of my good friends.  And I am so thankful for how awesome they are.  (And to my friends that I didn't get to spend time with this holiday season -- you are also very awesome.)

I won't go on and on about how many things I have to be thankful for this holiday season, although friends and family are chief among them, but I will just say that I know I am very, very, lucky.

Now, on to the second part of this post: the post office.

I've gotten one of these "letters" before, and it never ceases to amuse me.

And here is what it says on the back:

In other words, oops, sorry we totally effed up your letter after accidentally running it over with a truck, sending it through a grinder, and then slapping it around a bit, but, hey, you still got it in your mailbox, right?!

Honestly, though, I respect the fact that they are still willing to send me the mail after they practically destroyed it.  I mean, they could've just made it "disappear" and I would have never been the wiser.

Happy Halloween

They were so pretty I almost didn't want to carve them up.

But I did.

Small Town Americana

As I mentioned earlier, Chris and I spent the Fourth of July weekend up near Flagstaff, Arizona.  We rented a cabin with some friends in the tiny, tiny, town of Parks.

And it turns out, we came just in time to see THE event of Parks... the 4th of July Parade.

I truly, honestly, don't think you could get more small-town cliche than this.  It was quaint.  It was fantastic.

They started the morning with a free pancake breakfast over at the school.  The parade was scheduled for 1pm, and by 11am people were setting up lawn chairs along old Route 66.  There was BBQing and loud country music playing.  There were politicians out campaigning in their fine flannels and cowboy boots and hats, kissing babies and passing out flyers.  There was a community yard sale at the Shell station and a bake sale down the street.  (They donated all the unsold food stuffs to the elderly gentleman that runs the 76 station). 

And yes, in case you caught that, there are two gas stations in town.  Only one of them actually sells gas, though.  The other is more of a mini-mart, selling ice cream bars and beer, canned goods and toiletries, including a bar of dove soap for 49 cents that looked like it had been there since the price of a bar of soap really was 49 cents.

My friend and I rode our bikes down the community yard sale/BBQ cookout/Shell station, and went inside for some water.  As we were paying for our drinks, the man running the cash register got a phone call.

"Yes, the parade starts at 1pm.... it's over about 1:15... no it does not go down any side streets, have you seen any side streets? Where do you think you are?"

He rolled his eyes and smiled as he hung up the phone.  "Tourists."

     THE PARADE

They probably spent hours decorating

Nearly everyone was wearing some kind of patriotic headband...


The parade is starting!  The parade is starting!


The local sheriff passes out candy to the kids


There were tractors...


And fancy decorated trucks...


And chickens...


And prize-winning llamas...


Old cars


And cowboys


Fire trucks, firemen, and dogs...



And then it was over. Happy Birthday, America. XOXO, Parks, Arizona.

Merry ChristmaVal 'O Easter

It's probably time to take down your Halloween decorations when you start putting up your Christmas ones...

P.S.  This photo was taken on Valentine's Day.

Time to head to the sacred caves

Er, I mean, it's Valentine's Day.  (If you want to make sense of my obscure reference, click the link here on Roman History).

Because I like having an excuse to dress up all pretty and have a candlelit dinner with my honey, Chris and I celebrated with a romantic Saturday night at one of our favorite local restaurants.  (Celebrating a day early because you know, the whole Monday-workday thing).  Our first choice was one of the valley's most popular romantic dinner destinations, and this is what they told me when I called:

ME: I know this is probably a silly question but, do you have any available reservations tonight?
HOST: (Once he stopped laughing hysterically) No, I'm sorry, we're all booked.
ME: That's pretty much what I expec--
HOST: Oh, wait, I shouldn't say that.  That's not true.  We could probably fit you in... 11?  11:30?
ME:  11:00 PM?
HOST:  Yes.
ME:  Okay, um, well... thanks anyway.

When I visited their website later I noticed that they started taking reservations January 7th.  Not really a surprise that they were booked.  But our second choice was just as delicious, and we were able to snag a reservation at the (comparatively) early hour of 9:00 PM.

Also, last Thursday I made some Red Velvet cupcakes for everyone at work.  I was so proud of how pretty they looked that I spent a good half an hour taking about twelve thousand pictures of them from all different angles.  I had to hold them up really high to get enough light from the overhead lamp.  Thankfully Chris was sleeping on the couch while I was doing this, so no one was around to look at me all weird as I performed the awkward ballet of balancing a plateful of cupcakes while simultaneously shoving a camera lens close enough to touch the frosting.



And, as these type of things go, it turns out the first picture I took was the best one.

Party like a college kid

After Christmas was the annual (although a first for Chris and I) Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Edward 40Hands Party. Here is how you play.

1. Find a safe venue with plenty of blankets and pillows so that no one has to drive home after the party.
2. Invite all your friends. Make sure they know that if they participate in the game they will be staying the night.
3. Beg, buy, or borrow an overly-festive sweater.
4. Purchase two 40-oz beers for yourself and any other players with whom you are supplying beverages.
5. Ignore the strange looks from the other people in line when you have to ask the gas station clerk to go in the back cooler for more 40's because you wiped out their selection in the front case.
6. Go to discount store and get duct tape, aspirin, and Gatorade.
7. Head to the party venue, put on your sweater, get out your 40's, and wait for the fun to begin.



You may notice from this photo that Chloe got to participate as well. She loved her sweater. Chris thought it robbed her of dignity, but I thought it was cute.  And festive.



See how much she loves it?



Yep, she just LOVED wearing that sweater.



About halfway through the night, her sweater mysteriously "disappeared." I did not think she looked any more dignified, though.

It's Snowy in Iowa

This:



Plus This:



Equals Christmas in Iowa.

Happy Holidays.

Christmas in Kansas

On Sunday, we flew in to Manhattan (Kansas).  This is Chris's first visit to the city where I grew up, so I have big plans to show him all the sights.  So far we have seen the Kansas River:



We also saw the mall, downtown (all 4 blocks of it), and some of the new developments (we've now got a Bed Bath and Beyond, and a Best Buy).  Mostly, we have been hanging out with family and relaxing.

We did some Christmas shopping at the mall:



And even got to see Santa while we were there.  What is it about Santa that seems to be universally intimidating to young kids?



I also took a trip to the local supermarket chain, Dillons.  Since we were buying a turkey, and having a Dillons card would save me about $8.00, I decided to sign myself up.  Even though I'll be here a total of 4 days and then never use it again.  Oh well, I'll just add it to my collection, I thought to myself.

As it turns out, the next day my sister-in-law and I had to run to the store again to get ingredients for Eggnog.  Actually, we had to run to three stores.  My sister-in-law was going all out, and she was making eggnog from scratch.  So we went to the Hy-Vee (Store #1).  The Hy-Vee had eggs, but they were out of heavy cream.  We stood there, looking sadly at the refrigerated display.  A lady standing next to us asked what we were making.  We told her, and her response was, "From scratch?  You know they sell that stuff pre-made?"

Pbbft.  Not as fun.  So we were off to Store #2, the Liquor Store (because FYI -- in Kansas you cannot buy liquor at the grocery store).  Liquor has its own special store, just to make sure you really have to go out of your way.

And then our eggnog-making trip was almost complete... we just needed some heavy cream.  So we went to the Dillons (Store #3).  As we were at the self-checkout paying for our heavy cream, I began digging around in my purse for the Dillons card.  The attendant approached us.

Attendant:  "Can I help you ladies?"
Me:  "Oh, I can't seem to find my Dillons card."
Attendant:  "Did you try putting in an alternate ID?  Your phone number?"
Me:  "Yeah, but it didn't recognize it.  I just got my card yesterday, so it's probably not in the system yet."
Attendant:  "Wait, you got your card yesterday, and you can't find it?"
Me:  "Um, yes."
Attendant:  "You're serious?  You just got it yesterday and you lost it already?"
Me:  "Yeah, what's your point?"

Halloween in Hollyweird

For Halloween this year, Chris and I stayed in California. I made plans with a co-worker to join her and some friends down in West Hollywood for the annual Halloween Carnival. And then I dragged my sweet, unsuspecting husband down to a party only slightly less flamboyant than the Gay Pride Parade. You think I'm joking. Oh, no, I am not. Thankfully, my co-worker's friends had been to Carnival before. They warned us ahead of time that we would probably see some bare butts. Well, more like they guaranteed it. And these would not be ladies' butts.

There were some very elaborate, beautiful costumes:


And some costumes that I did not take pictures of because there is no need to have a photographic record since you can't unsee them if you tried.  Also, they would probably be against Blogger's terms of service.  So we wandered around the street a while, admiring the creative costumes and just generally people-watching.  My favorite was the girl who was dressed in some sort of "sexy" costume and was suggestively posing for pictures.... right in front of the row of port-a-johns.  The blue rooms in the background took all the sexy out of that photo.  They also had a variety of stages set up along the street, some playing music, some having carnival-type shows:


I was surprised at the number of Lady Gaga costumes.  I counted at least 3, and there was a 4th woman who unwisely decided to be a platinum blonde in a hood and sunglasses and had to keep repeating, "For the last time, I am NOT Lady Gaga!"  Another popular costume was Balloon Boy -- the best ones had not only a large helium-filled balloon, but also carried signs reading, "Reality Show or Bust."  I also saw several Sookie Stackhouses, one of which was an actual waitress at the local bar/restaurant where we stopped for dinner.

And lest one forget that we are in California, we also saw this:



The business had their door open as we walked by, and I can verify -- that joint was authentic (no pun intended).

And last, but not least, our Celebrity Sighting.  I got to play a papparazzi!  Here are my very own photos:

Oooh look everyone here comes LaToya Jackson!  Make way says the three cops pushing their way through the crowd:


And then... wait for it... WAIT FOR IT... LaToya Jackson!