Humble Abode full of the Food

Holy Shiitake mushrooms and snakes alive!
It's be 45 years since I've written a blog post. I've also had it on my to do list (which is ever evolving and always very long) for that amount of time. It's even written on antique paper.

Let me catch you up in the short version. ie, incomplete sentences fashioned as bullet points.

• Forensics season 2012-2013 ended with a bang. GAC=8th in the country AFA style, 15 quarter finalists, 4 semi finalists, and Shelby as our first persuasion finalist. Boom shakalaka.
• Junior year is over. I said what?
• I have been home for 2 days, came back took a final, and moved into the new apartment a la College View for summer at GAC
• Class of 2013 graduated. I was at baccalaureate and cried more than most of the doting mothers there. It's embarrassing to be me.
• Coached 1 speech camp. Gonna have 3 more.
• Had a s'more. Wanted s'more. 
• Working at Summer Academic Programs again, this reprise with Karin. 
• Living with Karin.

Ok great! You now have the chapter titles to my auto biography.

Now for the interesting things... sort of....

We are going to be supreme chefs this summer. How? you ask? Easy. I'm a boss. 

Let me chronicle these cooking adventures thus far. 

Prior to Perham camp/graduation, I made bruschetta and pasta for those friends sick of the caf.  We're talking the kind with garlic and olives and the other kind with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. Was it good? It was so good I might make it again. 

Pasta? Red sauce, red wine, other things I found, and mushrooms. You want more details? I am a cook that mixes and matches, somethings can't be taught my son. 

Two nights ago: Grilled cheese with gouda, avocados, spinach, and feta. Karin thought it was so good she almost fell over.  Damn it feels good to be a chef-ster. Sort of. Ok, I'm not that cool. I tried?

Last night: Pasta with white sauce, asparagus, spinach, and pepper. Quite good, but took a 2 in the round compared to the grilled cheese extraordinare vibe I have. I also made some exquisite coffee cake muffins. So that's ideal. 

Karin may be a little paranoid about the air-germs, but over all I think it's a good set up. We're making it work for the best I believe. 

Tonight's menu is far more elaborate than ever before. Why? Because we never have Saturdays to ourselves and don't understand what else to do... so we're going to cook. Updates to follow.

First step: Buy a blender. 

Moved In Close

HOORAY!!!! I have survived my last trip through Iowa for the time being and managed to move into my dorm without too much trouble!  So far it looks pretty neat.  You know, stuff on the walls, stuff in the drawers, stuff in the closet. Maybe I should get a large picture of Chuck Norris just to make this place feel a little more Italian...

Unsurprisingly, half of my closet is made up of suits.  So that's the best thing about the room. Oh, and the fact that it's a single. that's pretty swell.

Anywho, work week officially starts tomorrow and I can't wait to be reunited with my soul mates.

I'd Give This Post a 8.1

Please welcome your JUDGES!!!!

Dats right. Mariecus, Ava, and I went to our first poetry slam. As judges.

Slam camp is swinging and these kids are already up and batting.  Well, sort of. They did some "Cover Slam" for us tonight. So basically they read someone else's poem with only 10 minutes of prep. Good, sure! Especially for some of them who haven't performed much. There are some who don't have any fear of audiences, but others are a little more cautious and they are bound to be learning all kinds of things here.

Just imagine what kind of environment this is fostering. A place where high schoolers can express themselves in their own words, then in a controlled, supportive place find their voice and get the encouragement and feedback that they crave. This is genius! And I've already bragged about the people working with them.  Holy smashed avocados (Get it?). It's going to be beyond epic. And I totally dig it.

One ring to rule them all

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."
--Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring


That's actually from the LOTR if you know.... Lord of the Rings for those of you who didn't follow that. 


So we had a little roomie bonding night by watching the rest of the Fellowship.  I say rest of because we watched the first half last night.  But leave no movie begun unfinished (at least fast forward through it if it's really that bad--right mom?) and we wrapped it all up tonight. 


This was Kate's first time watching any LOTR movies, so it was quite the adventure. Hannah will know what I'm talking about when various characters meet tragic ends, and there's so much panic and question coming from the Kate side of the room. But we all survived, with relatively few tears shed. So that's good. We might rent the next two just to make it a complete set. 


Speaking of complete set, I really want to re-read these books now.... They are just so wonderful, that I think they deserve to be read again. Maybe that'll be my summer project. Hmmmm, ponder ponder ponder.  I think JRR Tolkien is pretty awesome. Well done sir. And props to you too, Peter Jackson. (Although where the first movie ended compared to where the first book ended still makes me mad.)


And I thought this quotation strangely fitting to my blog name. So cheers to that! LOTR (including the Hobbit) has everything- short people and giants!


So that pretty much sums up the most exciting part of my day. I promise that tomorrow will be more exciting.