Perfect Fall Recipe!

A new take on regular salted pumpkin seeds.  It comes out salty like regular ones but its a tad different taste to it.  I doubled the amount of spices to seeds because I love my snacks a little salty-if you do this you will have to leave it in the oven longer to get crisp or you can turn the heat up and watch them.  I also suggest adding Parmesan-it works nicely with the spices.  You can find the original recipes and others at: 

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/roasted-pumpkin-seeds/Detail.aspx

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons margarine, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
2. Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.
3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Fall!

Fall is finally here.  We're getting some intermediate rain mingled with dry crisp days.  Its the beginning of my favorite time of year.  When everything outside smells kind of damp and like wood burning fires.  I have this tree right outside my balcony that is changing color, its all mixed with green, yellow leaves with splashes of red where its getting the most sun.  It absolutely gorgeous.  Adam and I are going to the pumpkin patch in a few minutes to get pumpkins and get some fresh produce from the farmers market.  Then scary maze time with friends! Look for pictures soon!

Dicks Sporting Good Job

So yay! I've got a job.  I've been unemployed quite some time now and Dicks Sporting Goods hired me :). I'm excited to start, my orientation is supposed to be tomorrow but I still haven't heard back from the HR people. Its making me kind of nervous because I got hired for a part time seasonal job with Ross a few years ago to pick up some extra $$.  So the manager said they'd call me in about 2-3 days with my training schedule.  So he didn't and a work week goes by so I call.  He isn't there or he is busy etc etc. This is the MO when I call every two days or so.  So after three weeks I gave up-figured something screwy happened with the manager or with my hiring.  Never heard from them again.

I really hope that isn't the case with Dicks Sporting.  I really need and want this job!

-B

Words

So as an English major, I don't know if I've said that or not, I have a love of words.  I've decided to start a word list.  These words may be short, long, in the dictionary or  words that have been made up-slang etc. I may have heard them in a poem or I may not know the definition of them and am learning the definition while I post, add, edit this blog (the definitions will most likely come from dictionary.com). These are in no particular order...It's kind of short now but it will grow as I think of more words :)!

-Superfluous-I just love the way this word sounds[soo-pur-floo-uhs]  Show IPA–adjective 1.being more than is sufficient or required; excessive.

2.unnecessary or needless.

3.Obsolete . possessing or spending more than enough or necessary; extravagant

 

-Blogetry-This is a word we made up in class.  The professor and another kid and I somehow started on blogs about poetry.  Then we mused about how ridiculous that could be and how it could get out of hand.  And I said you know you have a problem though when they push the two words together to form a whole new catchphrase like Plog and the other kid said or blogetry.  Made me smile!

 

-Surcease of Sorrow-This is from The Raven by Poe.  Ok so its cheating a little because its a phrase but this turn-a-phrase is just awesome...

/sɜrˈsis/ Show Spelled [sur-sees]  verb, -ceased, -ceas·ing. noun

–verb (used without object)

1.to cease from some action; desist.

2.to come to an end.

–verb (used with object)

3.Archaic . to cease from; leave off.

–noun

4.cessation; end.

 

Animals

So I have my three ferrets.  And two of them, Bella and Loki, have been having really bad sneezing fits. So bad in fact that Bella sometimes whines a little.  We don't know what to do. We thought it may be allergies, so we changed their food, started washing their hammock beds in detergent free of perfumes and dyes, changed the litter we were using to a dustless, and they've been to the vet for regular check ups and he saw the sneeze attacks and said it looked perfectly normal to him-that maybe they were passing a cold around which will 'run' its course.

 We even washed every inch of their cage in a very light bleach water last night.  It could take time before we start to see results.  Personally, and this could by psychosomatic, I think Loki is starting to sound better.  His sneeze attacks are much more mild starting last night.  Bella however had one just this morning and let out a whopper of whine that just broke my heart.  These sneeze attacks are violent but again the vet said its probably nothing...I hope something works because its so awful to see them that way.

Loki

Bella

Thoughts...

So I'm writing a response paper, only 2-3 pages, about this reading that we had for one of my classes.  I'm looking at whether the authors writing was unsympathetic to feminism.  It got me thinking a lot about how feminism has changed, evolved, and how it started.  You know, what it means and all that jazz.

It's really helping me to shape my paper and explain what I think feminism is.  It isn't women in a pair of leather shit kickers (aka leather combat style boots) who burn their bras-at least not anymore.  Its about choices.  Women have more choices now than ever before and that is such a huge win.  It isn't "us" against "them" anymore.  None of this women vs men or even women vs women...it saddens me to realize that so many women are at odds with each other...the professional women see women who stay at home with the kids as throwing away all the rights that our mothers and grandmothers fought for.  Housewives argue that professional women are abandoning their kids or their "hearth and home" in general. 

What they don't realize is that we have the choice to do one or the other or both and that is such a huge win.  We should be able to come together on that ground.

I'm not saying that women aren't still behind men on some levels (the wage gap and the second shift) but we have choices out parents or grandparents didn't have.  They're so common place and ingrained that we take them for granted.

New Apt pictures :)

Kitchen

 

Vaulted ceiling

View from kitchen

Loft

Kitchen

 

Washer/Dryer

 

Bedrm

Closet

 

bathroom

Front room from the entryway

View of the loft from down below

Stairs to loft, I like the small ledge you see on the right near the landing

More Loft

More Loft

Tea Pots

I think its the weather but it makes me think of tea.

 I can't help but think its too easy.  I put the water in a mug and in the microwave and in a minute and a half I have the perfect temperature water.  It's not quite boiling and has a nice steam coming off of it and I know that it won't lose its heat while I sit on the couch.

Then I pick out a tea bag.  Do I want something spicy? Apple cinnamon.  Something relaxing? Chamomile and lavender. Simple and caffeinated? English breakfast tea with a bit of milk.  I drop the bag into the water and let it steep, add some honey and maybe a little lemon juice for most of the teas I enjoy. 

See, now doesn't this sound lovely?  But I can't help but feel its almost too easy.  It makes me think of old tea pots and how much I would love one.  I even have a nice serving set too for milk, sugar, and even matching platters for pastries for tea time, how quaint.  [Please do not misunderstand my use of the word quaint which I use to convey old fashioned charm.]  I have never used it though because I have never had an occasion to stand on ceremony.

So I think I think a tea kettle and tea pot are in order.  Apparently there is a difference.  I have heard the term tea kettle and tea pot but never realized that they were not the same thing.  This either uncovers my personal ignorance toward the whole process and/or Americas lack of knowledge regarding tea service, and most likely these ideas are not mutually exclusive. 

So I should acquire a tea kettle (an electric one just won't do), tea pot, and some nice deep mugs to drink it out of.  I might even start collecting tea pots...when I'm old and my children are teenagers I have to have something to embarrass them with.  Now enjoy my pictures of fun unique tea kettles and tea pots :D!!

Favorite time of year aka the state I love

 Downtown in fall. Tom McCall Waterfront park

City view (Mt. Hood in the background) from Rose Garden










Oregon Coastline

Multnomah Falls first signs of frost

Playing with my webcam :)

Me trying out the webcam-like my hoodie?

 

Its me and Loki.

This is me and Bella...she loves my hoodie :)!

War is complicated, economics is complicated, people don't do complicated people do soundbites.

That was a spontaneous quote my honey came up with. It was hilarious-I cracked up and just had to share it.

This is just a "Brandie update".

This apartment almost looks normal-there is still some boxes of random crap everywhere but its coming along.  I'm starting to fee comfortable here finally, ya know-being able to walk around in the dark in your underwear kind of comfortable.  It's still a little tough because there are some boxes and things that need organization on the floor that I trip over from time to time but I'm no longer slamming into the walls during that middle of the night bathroom run. 

I just found out that my best friend is moving back to Oregon with her baby boy! I'll be so excited to have her back in my life...not just because I'm getting married and shes my MOH but because shes like my more exotic-like (she has the awesome gypsy like quality) and more quirky sister :).

Ta-ta for now!
B