I guess you can tell from my radio silence for most of this month that I've been incredibly busy. October ended up being far busier and more stressful than anticipated. To be honest, I haven't really had a chance to catch my breath since my last blog post, and today, though I'm writing, isn't really an exception. But I finished my last paper for a little while, so.
Things I've Done:
Attended the Blackfriars Conference
Presented at the Blackfriars Conference
Watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"
Found a great crepe place to get lunch on my way to campus
Written a literacy narrative
Workshopped literacy narratives
Done all of my reading for my seminars
Written a short close reading exercise
Completed a massive midterm project
Completed the second paper for Brit Lit... even if it's not great...
And now I belong to Cabaret until November 10th.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
The 6th Annual Halloweentown Party
Once more, I held a Halloweentown party. I spent a bit longer than intended getting ready for the party-- I had a lot of work to finish this weekend, since I'm at a conference this week-- but because this is arguably my favorite night of the year, I decided to let myself be okay with that.
First, Zan and I visited our new Pier 1 Imports and took advantage of their Halloween clearance deals (already on clearance?!) and I got a spooky "top-hat" fascinator, little witches feet to put under doors to make it look like a house landed on her (or, a door, I guess), Halloween napkins, and an owl with a top-hat and a piercing gaze. Actually, Zan got the owl.
Then we went to the grocery store for mini-pumpkin pies, pumpkin cookies, sugar cookies with orange icing and black sprinkles, popcorn, and lots and LOTS of candy. We also got apple cider, which we heated up at the party, and let people choose whether or not to spike theirs with rum. This was one of our favorite autumn drinks in Seattle. One of the girls in my cohort is British, though, and she couldn't figure out why we were adding rum to cider-- she didn't realize that apple cider is a non-alcoholic beverage in the States. "Isn't it just apple juice, then?" she asked.
Once home we set up the food and decorations, and I dressed for the party, and then Zan and I realized we had no idea what to eat for dinner, so we decided to order a pizza, then thought, well, hey, the pizza place is running a good deal on pizzas let's just order for everyone! So we ended up with pizza at the party, as well.
Right on time, people began to show up. First, my friends Kelsey and Mike came-- Kelsey is a huge Halloweentown fan, too, and this was Mike's second Halloweentown party (he attended the first many, many moons ago). Then people from my cohort came bearing gifts of beer and wine and cookies, and we all talked and ate and drank and then the main event: the film! It's just as wonderful as ever to introduce a new group of people to this terrible, terrible, wonderful, amazing film. It's such a masterpiece of Disney Original Cinema. I love it.
All too soon the party ended, and now it's one more year 'til Halloweentown!
First, Zan and I visited our new Pier 1 Imports and took advantage of their Halloween clearance deals (already on clearance?!) and I got a spooky "top-hat" fascinator, little witches feet to put under doors to make it look like a house landed on her (or, a door, I guess), Halloween napkins, and an owl with a top-hat and a piercing gaze. Actually, Zan got the owl.
Then we went to the grocery store for mini-pumpkin pies, pumpkin cookies, sugar cookies with orange icing and black sprinkles, popcorn, and lots and LOTS of candy. We also got apple cider, which we heated up at the party, and let people choose whether or not to spike theirs with rum. This was one of our favorite autumn drinks in Seattle. One of the girls in my cohort is British, though, and she couldn't figure out why we were adding rum to cider-- she didn't realize that apple cider is a non-alcoholic beverage in the States. "Isn't it just apple juice, then?" she asked.
Once home we set up the food and decorations, and I dressed for the party, and then Zan and I realized we had no idea what to eat for dinner, so we decided to order a pizza, then thought, well, hey, the pizza place is running a good deal on pizzas let's just order for everyone! So we ended up with pizza at the party, as well.
Right on time, people began to show up. First, my friends Kelsey and Mike came-- Kelsey is a huge Halloweentown fan, too, and this was Mike's second Halloweentown party (he attended the first many, many moons ago). Then people from my cohort came bearing gifts of beer and wine and cookies, and we all talked and ate and drank and then the main event: the film! It's just as wonderful as ever to introduce a new group of people to this terrible, terrible, wonderful, amazing film. It's such a masterpiece of Disney Original Cinema. I love it.
All too soon the party ended, and now it's one more year 'til Halloweentown!
Thursday, October 17, 2013
A Little Advice from the Eighteenth Century
"Let the [liberals] be moderate in their demands, the [conservatives] not pertinacious in opposing every reform, and government, strengthened by the accession of both parties to it as a center of union, will present to the world a compact body, firmly united to preserve an improving constitution, and to promote the publick happiness."
"Whatever may be our fate with respect to foreign nations, peace and union are the greatest objects at home."
"[If a few reforms are] put immediately into execution... the people seeing, that the house of commons, instead of indulging in so much personal altercation and frivolous panegyrick, is seriously occupied in promoting and improving the welfare of the state, will thankfully receive these presages of better times, and contentedly wait till a longer period shall have put an end to all their grievances."
-- William Frend, excerpts from Peace and Union, 1793
Somehow, William Frend seems really relevant today, as we go forward from the government shutdown with the clock ticking as we try to hammer out our new economic plan. He's writing about England in the 1790s, but whether or not you agree with everything he says, or if you think any of it is relevant to the USA today (quite a bit isn't, actually, especially the bits about reforming rotten boroughs and game laws), the entire pamphlet is worth a read. We can learn a lot from the past.
Especially about how our government should strive to promote the common good.
"Whatever may be our fate with respect to foreign nations, peace and union are the greatest objects at home."
"[If a few reforms are] put immediately into execution... the people seeing, that the house of commons, instead of indulging in so much personal altercation and frivolous panegyrick, is seriously occupied in promoting and improving the welfare of the state, will thankfully receive these presages of better times, and contentedly wait till a longer period shall have put an end to all their grievances."
-- William Frend, excerpts from Peace and Union, 1793
Somehow, William Frend seems really relevant today, as we go forward from the government shutdown with the clock ticking as we try to hammer out our new economic plan. He's writing about England in the 1790s, but whether or not you agree with everything he says, or if you think any of it is relevant to the USA today (quite a bit isn't, actually, especially the bits about reforming rotten boroughs and game laws), the entire pamphlet is worth a read. We can learn a lot from the past.
Especially about how our government should strive to promote the common good.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Missouri Wedding
This past weekend Zan and I attended a wedding in my hometown. Since I moved in high school, I haven't revisited Jefferson City very often, so it was exciting to get to go and to take Zan. For two whole days I felt completely relaxed, delving back into memories of childhood, sharing part of my past with Zan, and enjoying the charm of Missouri in October.
But this was no ordinary trip; this was a Very Special Occasion-- my childhood best friend was getting married! I've known Maggie since we were in daycare at the Little Learner's Lodge. We quoted the Care Bears together as toddlers, and though we went to different elementary schools, we continued our friendship thanks to some wonderful parents who drove us across town for play dates. We played dress-up and dolls well into middle school, and growing up we spent every birthday and Halloween together. We went to Disney World together, and Cardinals games, and The City Museum in St. Louis. In high school, finally (!) we attended the same school and got to see each other every single day. We went to homecoming together. We were in The Wizard of Oz together, on the Speech and Debate team together, and we both worked on the freshman play-- Maggie choreographed and performed a beautiful solo dance. We wrote to each other every day while I was at French camp and the first Christmas after I moved away Maggie came to visit.
And on Saturday I watched her walk down the aisle. The weather was perfect: just the most beautiful October day Missouri has ever produced. Sunny and cool, and all the leaves changing colors. I've never cried at a wedding before, but when I saw Maggie in her wedding dress-- looking just like Belle, so absolutely gorgeous and radiant-- I suddenly couldn't help it. I've known Maggie so long that I literally do not remember life before I knew her, and there she was, getting married. I felt overwhelmed with love for her, and happiness for her, and a kind of sadness, too-- like Jo March or Anne Shirley, as Meg or Diana got married. Everything changes, and while this is a joyous change, it does mean that we'll never be two little girls together again hosting the M&M talk show in my living room. But that night at the reception I got to watch her dance a sweet, loving first dance with her new husband and a funny, lively dance with her father, and then later I danced with her and she led me in a swing-style dance and we laughed about our Dancer's Alley training, and she's still Maggie and I could not be more thrilled for her, or more grateful that I got to share a dance with her on her wedding day.
But this was no ordinary trip; this was a Very Special Occasion-- my childhood best friend was getting married! I've known Maggie since we were in daycare at the Little Learner's Lodge. We quoted the Care Bears together as toddlers, and though we went to different elementary schools, we continued our friendship thanks to some wonderful parents who drove us across town for play dates. We played dress-up and dolls well into middle school, and growing up we spent every birthday and Halloween together. We went to Disney World together, and Cardinals games, and The City Museum in St. Louis. In high school, finally (!) we attended the same school and got to see each other every single day. We went to homecoming together. We were in The Wizard of Oz together, on the Speech and Debate team together, and we both worked on the freshman play-- Maggie choreographed and performed a beautiful solo dance. We wrote to each other every day while I was at French camp and the first Christmas after I moved away Maggie came to visit.
And on Saturday I watched her walk down the aisle. The weather was perfect: just the most beautiful October day Missouri has ever produced. Sunny and cool, and all the leaves changing colors. I've never cried at a wedding before, but when I saw Maggie in her wedding dress-- looking just like Belle, so absolutely gorgeous and radiant-- I suddenly couldn't help it. I've known Maggie so long that I literally do not remember life before I knew her, and there she was, getting married. I felt overwhelmed with love for her, and happiness for her, and a kind of sadness, too-- like Jo March or Anne Shirley, as Meg or Diana got married. Everything changes, and while this is a joyous change, it does mean that we'll never be two little girls together again hosting the M&M talk show in my living room. But that night at the reception I got to watch her dance a sweet, loving first dance with her new husband and a funny, lively dance with her father, and then later I danced with her and she led me in a swing-style dance and we laughed about our Dancer's Alley training, and she's still Maggie and I could not be more thrilled for her, or more grateful that I got to share a dance with her on her wedding day.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
An October Pumpkin Pie
I have begun to check off my October Bucket List Items. Or, well, I've tackled ONE item: "Make a cream-cheese pumpkin pie." But that's one very important item, right?!
A few weeks ago I attempted a Harry Potter-style pumpkin pasty recipe. While mine tasted quite good and made a wonderfully unhealthy breakfast food, they kind of looked like one of those pictures on a Pinterest fail meme. Let's a take a look, shall we?
(Oh noooo!!! Compare to the beautiful ones linked above!)
Anyway, after making that recipe, I ended up having a lot of extra pumpkin that needed using up, so I decided to attempt my first ever pumpkin pie! After looking through several recipes, I decided to riff on this one. I used nearly all of a can of pumpkin (minus about 1/4th cup), probably 7 oz of cream cheese, and only two eggs instead of three. I liberally added in spices (especially the cinnamon, and I added allspice), but moderated the sugar, putting in slightly less than the recipe recommends. I also decided that for a fun visual Halloween-esque twist (black and orange!), and a nice flavor combination, I'd use a store-bought Oreo crust. I ended up having to bake for about an hour instead of the recommended forty-minutes, but it turned out beautifully!
This one both tastes amazing AND looks amazing! One bucket list item down, eleven to go!
Sunday, October 6, 2013
October Bucket List
We're nearly a week into October, my favorite month, and I've barely gotten to enjoy it. The pace at school and at rehearsal has amped up, so I find myself justifying not doing things that I might otherwise want to do this month. So, I'm making myself an October bucket list and I am going to try my best to do all of these things. Note: most of these are movies to watch or food to prepare.
1) Watch Hocus Pocus.
2) Throw my annual Halloweentown party.
3) Make apple-onion soup with cheese puff.
4) Watch Practical Magic.
5) Make a cream-cheese pumpkin pie.
6) Watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
7) Make chicken chili and apple-cheddar hand-pies.
8) Watch at least one horror movie, even though normally I wouldn't.
9) Get a pumpkin latte from a coffee shop.
10) Dress up in some kind of costume for Halloween.
11) Watch Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
12) Visit a pumpkin patch and make a Jack-O-Lantern!
I think all of this is essential and manageable. I'd also like to make it down to Williamsburg-- there's no prettier month than October in Williamsburg-- for hot apple cider on DoG Street, and I'd like to visit Busch Gardens for Howl-O-Scream, or go through a hay-bale maze somewhere... but I don't think I'll have time this year, what with rehearsals and, you know, papers and midterm projects. Nevertheless, I try not to forget that October comes but once a year, so I have to make the most of it now! Luckily, some of these things are still good come November... :)
1) Watch Hocus Pocus.
2) Throw my annual Halloweentown party.
3) Make apple-onion soup with cheese puff.
4) Watch Practical Magic.
5) Make a cream-cheese pumpkin pie.
6) Watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
7) Make chicken chili and apple-cheddar hand-pies.
8) Watch at least one horror movie, even though normally I wouldn't.
9) Get a pumpkin latte from a coffee shop.
10) Dress up in some kind of costume for Halloween.
11) Watch Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
12) Visit a pumpkin patch and make a Jack-O-Lantern!
I think all of this is essential and manageable. I'd also like to make it down to Williamsburg-- there's no prettier month than October in Williamsburg-- for hot apple cider on DoG Street, and I'd like to visit Busch Gardens for Howl-O-Scream, or go through a hay-bale maze somewhere... but I don't think I'll have time this year, what with rehearsals and, you know, papers and midterm projects. Nevertheless, I try not to forget that October comes but once a year, so I have to make the most of it now! Luckily, some of these things are still good come November... :)
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