What an exciting week! I don't really know where to start, so we will do this chronologically.
On Sunday morning, I was doing my normal groggy routine; wake up, stumble to the bathroom in the dark, do my bid-ness, hop in the shower. I got to the "hop in the shower" part, and my routine was severely thrown off track. When I reached down to turn on the water, something small and brown scuttled behind the curtain. "Oh, God!" I screamed and ran to the other side of the room. I inched back over to the tub and lifted the curtain ever so slightly. A small chipmunk shivered in the corner. I laughed, put on my robe, and went to ask Jamie what to do about him. She said to catch him with a blanket or towel. Armed with a fleece blanket and the desire to shower before work, I went to catch the chipmunk. He was just a little guy who couldn't even get back out of the tub. I chased him around and around with the blanket, trying to get him into a corner of a generally round tub. He skittled and scuttled, not wanting to be trapped. I finally got a firm hold on him and whisked him off to the back door. There are two cats living at my house, so I was very careful to close the door behind me. The second I released the little fella, Mr. Kitty appeared out of nowhere. I'm sure the neighbors think I am a crazy person, out on my deck in the early morning, wearing a robe, screaming at the cat and carrying on. Luckily, my chipmunk made it up a tree first. Mr. Kitty kept watch for ten minutes before getting bored and stalking after something else.
Don't know if I've said it before, but my roommate Hanna is on the Woman's National Rugby Team here at Penn State. Last Wednesday, she came home from practice with a swollen black eye. I hadn't seen her since, because she had the Big 10 Tournament over the weekend. She came home on crutches, but Penn State won so she is happy. The sprained ankle and black eye make her look like a battered girlfriend. Jacob likes to go out in public and tell people she talked back to him if they ask what happened.
Yesterday, Jacob came to my house with a giant pumpkin. Last year, we baked and pureed a pumpkin that gave us no less than 5 tupperware containers full of puree. It lasted us clear through December. I believe this gourd is larger than the last one. We got 5 and a quarter, but I don't think that is accurate. Once this pumpkin was out of the oven and semi-cool, my roommates, Jacob, and I started picking at it and eating with our fingers. Even with nothing on it or mixed in, it was the best tasting thing I have eaten in weeks. I snacked the entire time I pureed. Last year, we were using a blender and a spatula, in much the same way my dear mother used to do it. And in much the same way as my mother, I ended up getting the spatula caught in the blades and had to pick plastic chunks out of the puree. I am so happy to have my current roommate, Hanna, who came fully equipped with a food processor. Not only did it take a quarter of the time than with a blender, there was no need to push the pulp from the top to the bottom with a spatula. Between Hanna and me, we probably ate an entire container worth of pumpkin. After everything was pureed, we broke out her jar of raw honey and ate the quarter-container of pumpkin like it was our dessert after eating straight pumpkin for dinner. So delicious. Tonight, we feast on vegan pumpkin soup and pumpkin cake rolls. I feel like, with my roommates also cooking with this puree, this pumpkin will not last until December.
Special thanks to my crazy vegan sister, Leah, for helping me make more of my recipes vegan-friendly so I can feed my crazy vegan roommate, Hanna.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Labor Day Weekend
For Labor Day weekend, I was really hoping to go down to Pittsburgh to visit Chelcy and meet her new husband. Unfortunately, Chelcy has lost her cell phone telephone and did not check her internets until Saturday night. A bit too late to plan a weekend, I believe. Both of us are greatly disappointed. Jacob and James did their part to cheer up the whole event, though.
After I got off work on Saturday, the three of us made chili and watched the Penn State vs. who-cares-what-team-we're-playing game. Penn State totally dominated. I think our score was in the high 30's, and their score was 7.
Jacob has a great recipe, which he keeps to himself, for making chili. It's becoming sort of a game-day tradition for him to make. I help where I can, with the peeling or chopping.
James, for some reason, gets to watch the game while Jacob and I slave away in the kitchen. He kept flipping back and forth between the Penn State game and the Naval Academy game. Both his teams won, and he was happy.
It was rather odd to only have the three of us on a weekend. There was leftover food, there were things to drink, we could actually hear the game. I may be saddened if people start coming over to watch it at the boys' house.
On Sunday, Jacob decided we should drive the 40 miles down to Altoona to check out their shopping center. He wasn't quite sure what exit to take, as there are three exits. Needless to say, we ended up missing the one we wanted which happened to be the last one to Altoona. We took the next exit instead, but there ended up being nowhere to turn around and no other connection between the two highways. 20 minutes later, we found an exit that allowed us to turn around so we could get back to I-99, so we could take the exit to the mall. Quite an adventure.
After going through all the stores, I ended up with a belt and a new green sweater for the upcoming cold months. Jacob got a belt buckle, a jacket, and a new pair of shoes. On our way home, we decided to take the exit before our usual N. Atherton St exit, which is marked with a simple "Waddle." Assuming it meant Waddle Road, the road parallel to Atherton Street, we took the exit. 15 minutes and a winding road later, Jacob called James to figure out what road we were on and where we ended up. Turns out Waddle is also the name of a neighboring town. I had told Jacob at least three times that we should turn around and take the N. Atherton St exit. He was having a great time driving and was enjoying the road we were on, though. We ended up near Bellefonte, which is 15 miles away from State College. Another great adventure and a lot of fun.
On Monday, James decided to go to the Rothrock State Park. Neither of us has been, neither knew the way, but James knows the roads and the general directions. We were really hoping for a road sign to tell us where to turn to get there. Indeed, there was a sign, and we got onto a small gravel road which told us the picnic area and campgrounds were 6 miles away. 6 miles takes an awfully long time when the car is only traveling 15 mph. We eventually made it there, in one piece.
It was a lovely little spot, and we decided our friends need to go up and have an afternoon barbecue before the weather gets to cold. There was a sign for that, too. No alcohol. Maybe this isn't the place for all our friends.
We ended up near a small pond, and nowhere near the lake/reservoir on the map. It was cute and quiet and full of foresty charm. There was a beaten path that went a little way down the stream.
James and I walked down the little path along the little stream. The quiet of the forest was only broken by my childlike squeals of delight at finding an entire nest of water-skeeters with more little bugs than I have ever seen in my life. I love water-skeeters.
The sign told us there is no camping allowed in the picnic area, but this spot is too perfect! There is a mossy bank protected by trees that was super soft and rock/branch/root free. I shake my fist at that sign and declare that I will pitch my tent on that bank someday.
We tried to walk the whole way around the pond, but the north end proved to be the water source and therefore very muddy. Instead, we walked halfway around. It started raining a bit while we were on the other side of the pond. Not wanting to be caught in the rain on a winding gravel road, our little adventure was cut short. Totally worth it, though.
After I got off work on Saturday, the three of us made chili and watched the Penn State vs. who-cares-what-team-we're-playing game. Penn State totally dominated. I think our score was in the high 30's, and their score was 7.
Jacob has a great recipe, which he keeps to himself, for making chili. It's becoming sort of a game-day tradition for him to make. I help where I can, with the peeling or chopping.
James, for some reason, gets to watch the game while Jacob and I slave away in the kitchen. He kept flipping back and forth between the Penn State game and the Naval Academy game. Both his teams won, and he was happy.
It was rather odd to only have the three of us on a weekend. There was leftover food, there were things to drink, we could actually hear the game. I may be saddened if people start coming over to watch it at the boys' house.
On Sunday, Jacob decided we should drive the 40 miles down to Altoona to check out their shopping center. He wasn't quite sure what exit to take, as there are three exits. Needless to say, we ended up missing the one we wanted which happened to be the last one to Altoona. We took the next exit instead, but there ended up being nowhere to turn around and no other connection between the two highways. 20 minutes later, we found an exit that allowed us to turn around so we could get back to I-99, so we could take the exit to the mall. Quite an adventure.
After going through all the stores, I ended up with a belt and a new green sweater for the upcoming cold months. Jacob got a belt buckle, a jacket, and a new pair of shoes. On our way home, we decided to take the exit before our usual N. Atherton St exit, which is marked with a simple "Waddle." Assuming it meant Waddle Road, the road parallel to Atherton Street, we took the exit. 15 minutes and a winding road later, Jacob called James to figure out what road we were on and where we ended up. Turns out Waddle is also the name of a neighboring town. I had told Jacob at least three times that we should turn around and take the N. Atherton St exit. He was having a great time driving and was enjoying the road we were on, though. We ended up near Bellefonte, which is 15 miles away from State College. Another great adventure and a lot of fun.
On Monday, James decided to go to the Rothrock State Park. Neither of us has been, neither knew the way, but James knows the roads and the general directions. We were really hoping for a road sign to tell us where to turn to get there. Indeed, there was a sign, and we got onto a small gravel road which told us the picnic area and campgrounds were 6 miles away. 6 miles takes an awfully long time when the car is only traveling 15 mph. We eventually made it there, in one piece.
It was a lovely little spot, and we decided our friends need to go up and have an afternoon barbecue before the weather gets to cold. There was a sign for that, too. No alcohol. Maybe this isn't the place for all our friends.
We ended up near a small pond, and nowhere near the lake/reservoir on the map. It was cute and quiet and full of foresty charm. There was a beaten path that went a little way down the stream.
James and I walked down the little path along the little stream. The quiet of the forest was only broken by my childlike squeals of delight at finding an entire nest of water-skeeters with more little bugs than I have ever seen in my life. I love water-skeeters.
The sign told us there is no camping allowed in the picnic area, but this spot is too perfect! There is a mossy bank protected by trees that was super soft and rock/branch/root free. I shake my fist at that sign and declare that I will pitch my tent on that bank someday.
We tried to walk the whole way around the pond, but the north end proved to be the water source and therefore very muddy. Instead, we walked halfway around. It started raining a bit while we were on the other side of the pond. Not wanting to be caught in the rain on a winding gravel road, our little adventure was cut short. Totally worth it, though.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Bring Him Home
As many of you may have heard, I received a free piano from a lady who was moving and didn't want to take it with her if her son was no longer going to play. She had received it free from an elementary school, so she passed it on in much the same way. It's missing some keys, pretty dinged up, old as the dirt itself, and in desperate need of a good tune. But it's mine, and I'm happy to have a piano.
This is for my mom.
This is for my mom.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Progress of the New Bedroom
I finally was able to locate an affordable secondhand bed on Craigslist, so I am no longer sleeping on the floor. My sister wanted a picture of the wall color with the comforter, so here it is in all it's glory. That may be a lie, because it is quite wrinkled from the move. I bought a 2 inch pillowtop mattress topper and two new pillows. I didn't realize how old, flat, lumpy, and just plain shabby my old pillows were until I put the new ones on. Laying on this bed is like sleeping in a spoonful of mashed potatoes. As my mom says, "Life can be wonderful sometimes. Today, it is. Soon, I will have furniture and will take pictures of the rest of the house... when it is clean...
As for me, I am off to bed to nap for a few hours until I go to work.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Painting the New Bedroom
A week ago, I moved into my new "apartment." Really, I am renting the corner bedroom of a house with three other girls my age. I took a big hit on space and privacy for lower rent. Instead of a private bathroom, I share one with two of the roommates. Instead of a private den, I hang out in the small all-purpose living room. Instead of a kitchen that could host a Broadway production, I am cooking on less counter space than my mom has in her kitchen. I sacrificed a lot, but it may be worth it because my landlord allowed me to paint my bedroom. Actually, my landlord vaguely encouraged me to paint the bedroom.
These pictures do no justice to the atrocity of the pink color of the room. My camera is packed somewhere at the bottom of a box, so I had to settle with my poor quality cell phone telephone pictures. The original color, and I don't know who in their right mind would paint a living space this color, was a very obnoxious Barbie pink. There is no way I will spend even a year of my life in a bedroom that color.
I wish I would have gotten actual before and after pictures. These were taken after I had already scrubbed the carpet and walls sterile. Apparently, one of the old roommates kept two dogs in this room and left their smell behind. The carpet was dingy, stained, and had a funky odor that I can't quite describe. First thing I did was scrub the carpet and wash the walls/ windows. That took care of the smell and the dingy feeling. Next, I chose a color at the hardware store, picked up some primer, grabbed a pint of white, and bought a painting kit. I took a stack of free newspaper from the bin on campus, because I neither wanted to buy anything to put down nor pay for replacing the carpet lest I paint all over it as well.
Even having the primer on the wall felt a lot better than that deplorable pink color. The room instantly felt twice the size with a brighter color. Not to mention, it looked three times more clean. I swear, I scrubbed as hard as I could with Pinesol and it never felt like I was getting anything off the walls.
This whole painting process would have gone a lot more quickly had I done everything linearly. I didn't have a solid weekend to just get it all done. I had to work, which greatly limited the time I had to hunker down. Fortunately, my roommates were really great about me leaving my mess in the living room while I tried to finish this project. They understood that it took me two coats of primer and two coats of paint just to disguise all traces of the old room.
Normally I reserve all shades of yellow as a kitchen color only, but had to make an exception this time. I wanted to match the paint to my comforter set, but the room is far too small to put up a blue or green. Yellow is the only other color in the comforter, so rather than risk a bad accenting color, I took the easy way out and went with a bright yellow. "Sun Burst" is the actual name. All things done, I'm very pleased with the way things turned out.
The only problem I have now is how dingy the rest of the house looks now that my bedroom is fresh and clean. I know I'm going to end up scrubbing carpets later this week. The hallway is disgusting. OCD OCD OCD OCD.
My new roommates are great. Night and day personalities compared to my old roommates, who were great as well. So far I'm liking this place, and Mr. Kitty has not yet begun to randomly attack me like so many other cats tend to do. If I could just find some cheap/free furniture, I would be set.
These pictures do no justice to the atrocity of the pink color of the room. My camera is packed somewhere at the bottom of a box, so I had to settle with my poor quality cell phone telephone pictures. The original color, and I don't know who in their right mind would paint a living space this color, was a very obnoxious Barbie pink. There is no way I will spend even a year of my life in a bedroom that color.
I wish I would have gotten actual before and after pictures. These were taken after I had already scrubbed the carpet and walls sterile. Apparently, one of the old roommates kept two dogs in this room and left their smell behind. The carpet was dingy, stained, and had a funky odor that I can't quite describe. First thing I did was scrub the carpet and wash the walls/ windows. That took care of the smell and the dingy feeling. Next, I chose a color at the hardware store, picked up some primer, grabbed a pint of white, and bought a painting kit. I took a stack of free newspaper from the bin on campus, because I neither wanted to buy anything to put down nor pay for replacing the carpet lest I paint all over it as well.
Even having the primer on the wall felt a lot better than that deplorable pink color. The room instantly felt twice the size with a brighter color. Not to mention, it looked three times more clean. I swear, I scrubbed as hard as I could with Pinesol and it never felt like I was getting anything off the walls.
This whole painting process would have gone a lot more quickly had I done everything linearly. I didn't have a solid weekend to just get it all done. I had to work, which greatly limited the time I had to hunker down. Fortunately, my roommates were really great about me leaving my mess in the living room while I tried to finish this project. They understood that it took me two coats of primer and two coats of paint just to disguise all traces of the old room.
Normally I reserve all shades of yellow as a kitchen color only, but had to make an exception this time. I wanted to match the paint to my comforter set, but the room is far too small to put up a blue or green. Yellow is the only other color in the comforter, so rather than risk a bad accenting color, I took the easy way out and went with a bright yellow. "Sun Burst" is the actual name. All things done, I'm very pleased with the way things turned out.
The only problem I have now is how dingy the rest of the house looks now that my bedroom is fresh and clean. I know I'm going to end up scrubbing carpets later this week. The hallway is disgusting. OCD OCD OCD OCD.
My new roommates are great. Night and day personalities compared to my old roommates, who were great as well. So far I'm liking this place, and Mr. Kitty has not yet begun to randomly attack me like so many other cats tend to do. If I could just find some cheap/free furniture, I would be set.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
A haircut
As I was trying to sleep on Thursday night, my hair was tickling my back and shoulders and arms and neck and ears and face. I was going insane. Any time I brushed it off one area, it would start tickling another. When I woke up on Friday, I decided it was time to get rid of all the hair. After work, I walked over to Supercuts. I said to the lady, "I really don't know what I want, but cut it all off."
When I saw James, I didn't say anything. I wanted him to say something first. After an hour and increasingly obvious hints, he said, "I'd be an idiot if I didn't notice when you first walked in."
So frustrating.
But for some reason, I still love him.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Best Boyfriend Ever
James has taken a job for the rest of the summer in Philadelphia doing construction. When he weighed all the pros/cons, he decided it was better for him to leave town for another month this summer. Unfortunately, that means I have been once again abandoned in State College. All my friends have moved back with their parents or gone on internships, with the exception of very few. This time, James has also taken his car with him, leaving me confined to my bus route. It's not all bad, sometimes my bus stop on campus can be quite beautiful, case in point:
That's the bus stop on Shortlidge Road just south of the theatre I work at. Quite lovely on a sunny afternoon.
James was able to come home to visit me this past weekend, and it was beautiful. He at least feels badly about leaving me, as Philadelphia has it's own tribulations; an unpleasant roommate, long working hours, sleeping on a couch, etc. His puppy, Porter, went to visit him on Friday and made James very happy. Fortunately he still decided to drive down to see me on Saturday.
Like I said, James is feeling badly about leaving me again. He used his paycheck to take me on a sweet little date. We ate dinner at the Texas Roadhouse, which James loves due to the free rolls with cinnamon butter (unlimited, of course). Our waitress was very good and quite attentive. Our drinks were always filled, with one minor exception, rolls were always on our table, our food came to us hot and fresh, and our check and to-go boxes were given to us at the perfect time. We've had trouble with waitresses there before, including once when a girl forgot to take my order and I didn't see her again until she brought James his food. Positive experience this time, though. We talked a lot over dinner, laughed many times, and smiled always.
After dinner, we rented a couple movies. They went altogether unwatched, though, as James fell asleep on my couch not but five minutes into the first one. I had already seen it, and highly recommend the film to pretty much everyone. It's called "The Nines," and is an independent film made in 2007. It's three stories of an out of luck actor, a writer trying to launch a t.v. series, and a video game creator stuck in the forest with his wife and daughter. James ended up taking both movies with him so he can watch them in Philadelphia.
James had to leave rather early in the morning. He had to find a Radioshak that was open, because his dog chewed up his phone charger and ingested the specific adapter needed to plug his phone into it. No other place sells accessories for his obscure brand phone, so he had to rush up to his mom's house before the Radioshak there closed for the day.
It was a nice weekend while he was around. I miss my love, and can't wait for his next paycheck in two weeks so he can come visit me again. Exciting news, the rose plant he gave me has decided to stop trying to die on me and even has a beautiful yellow bud beginning to bloom. There are two other buds just starting, but they haven't opened yet. The herb garden he gave me is also taking off. Some of the herbs are finally big enough to start picking, and I ate like royalty today. Life is good.
That's the bus stop on Shortlidge Road just south of the theatre I work at. Quite lovely on a sunny afternoon.
James was able to come home to visit me this past weekend, and it was beautiful. He at least feels badly about leaving me, as Philadelphia has it's own tribulations; an unpleasant roommate, long working hours, sleeping on a couch, etc. His puppy, Porter, went to visit him on Friday and made James very happy. Fortunately he still decided to drive down to see me on Saturday.
Like I said, James is feeling badly about leaving me again. He used his paycheck to take me on a sweet little date. We ate dinner at the Texas Roadhouse, which James loves due to the free rolls with cinnamon butter (unlimited, of course). Our waitress was very good and quite attentive. Our drinks were always filled, with one minor exception, rolls were always on our table, our food came to us hot and fresh, and our check and to-go boxes were given to us at the perfect time. We've had trouble with waitresses there before, including once when a girl forgot to take my order and I didn't see her again until she brought James his food. Positive experience this time, though. We talked a lot over dinner, laughed many times, and smiled always.
After dinner, we rented a couple movies. They went altogether unwatched, though, as James fell asleep on my couch not but five minutes into the first one. I had already seen it, and highly recommend the film to pretty much everyone. It's called "The Nines," and is an independent film made in 2007. It's three stories of an out of luck actor, a writer trying to launch a t.v. series, and a video game creator stuck in the forest with his wife and daughter. James ended up taking both movies with him so he can watch them in Philadelphia.
James had to leave rather early in the morning. He had to find a Radioshak that was open, because his dog chewed up his phone charger and ingested the specific adapter needed to plug his phone into it. No other place sells accessories for his obscure brand phone, so he had to rush up to his mom's house before the Radioshak there closed for the day.
It was a nice weekend while he was around. I miss my love, and can't wait for his next paycheck in two weeks so he can come visit me again. Exciting news, the rose plant he gave me has decided to stop trying to die on me and even has a beautiful yellow bud beginning to bloom. There are two other buds just starting, but they haven't opened yet. The herb garden he gave me is also taking off. Some of the herbs are finally big enough to start picking, and I ate like royalty today. Life is good.
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