Happy 100 Days

Today is the 100th day in office for President Obama. He's definitely had his hands full trying to juggle a major economic downturn, international summits, a possible pandemic, and a wiley new puppy, just to name a few. I mean, what have most of us accomplished for the greater good in a little over three months? It's kind of mind-blowing.

In honor of today I give you The Official Whitehouse Photostream. Looking through these pictures, I can't help but continue to feel excited and hopeful that talented and capable minds are at work for our nation, and that we're on the cusp of some major changes for the better, just as I did 100 days ago.

Happy 100 days, President Obama! Here's to another 1,300 and beyond.

(All photos courtesy The Official White House Photostream)

Dandelion Whine

Dandelions.

As a kid they were great. Hearty, bright, fluffy in their later days. I had no issue with them. My parents did, and this is when I scored my first job digging dandelions out of the yard with a screwdriver. I got paid $.25 per pound, and inevitably we'd never get around to weighing them until the next day when they were all shriveled. Needless to say, didn't get rich from this endeavor.

These days, I didn't think I particularly cared one way or another about dandelions. That is, until they started popping up all over during the recent rains.

I mowed the yard exactly one week ago, and today (even two days ago) you can't even tell. Literally the next day the whole thing was dotted with happy, yellow faces, and by the following (or so it seemed) the fluffy, white puffballs spewing their spawn all over the place. Today I've got more fresh ones, more puffballs, and literally hundreds of spent, spindly stalks looking totally trashy all over the yard. I have no desire to be the "Perfect Lawn" neighbor, but I also don't want to look like the only thing missing from my yard is a rusted car and a sectional couch.

I overexaggerate.

I really don't mind yardwork at all, but I have no desire to mow my yard (it takes 2 hours at least, not including weedeating) multiple times per week, though I know this could keep the problem in check better. The yard didn't get treated at the beginning of the season, and now I've got too many to spot treat. I know I could treat the whole thing now, but I have to keep the dog off of it for a few days, and I don't like the thought of what it does to the environment and our groundwater. I've heard of a few natural cures that sound a little looney (blowtorches and boiling vinegar). I've also heard that there's a corn by-product that can be applied with a spreader that I may look into.

Until then, I should just shut my trap, and enjoy this dandelion-producing Spring weather before it gets so hot that they bake off.

(Photo courtesy Marvin (PA) )

Dark Was The Night

Go check out Dark Was the Night Red Hot compilation. Good music, good people, good cause.

Not So Delightful

Got a free mini-sized Betty Crocker Warm Delights sample in the mail and was pretty stoked. I'm kind of a dessert fiend, and have yet to be dissapointed by anything called "Hot Fudge Brownie" in my life.

I opened the package and made it while I was on the phone with my friend Tyler tonight. Inside was a small, black plastic bowl; a tiny package of brown powder (brownie mix) and a foil packet of hot fudge. The instructions were easy enough. First, pour brownie powder in bowl and mix with one tablespoon water. I did this and noticed that it didn't make much, but assumed it would rise when cooking. Second, squeeze contents of hot fudge packet on top of brownie. Finally, microwave for 30 seconds, or until the top of the brownie looks dry. I followed the directions (which would have been pretty tough to mess up) and indeed the brownie did grow in the microwave to almost fill the bowl.

I took it out a few seconds early, and immediately started munching.

Apparently my idea of "dry" is not Betty's because, while the spoonfuls with lots of hot fudge were ok, the other bites tasted a little like chocolate flavored styrofoam. It was too dry with a bit too lightweight of a consistency to even start to resemble that of a chewy brownie. Still, it was free, and it was chocolate so I ate most of it.

In all, I would never actually buy one, and looking back, I'm kind of concerned as to how a tiny packed of powder and water somehow formed a puffy block of cake in less than a minute of microwaving. For real...what did I just eat. Oh Betty, stick to what you do best--delicious canned frostings and Bisquick pancakes.

How to Make a Baby

The Soft Sell-Dallas Clayton

Just fell in love with Dallas Clayton's blog full of poems complete with illustrations. Go check it out here.

I particularly loved this one:

THE SOFT SELL

“Hello sir,
We’ve noticed on your account that you have
Time Warner cable internet service but not Time Warner digital cable television.”

“Yes.”

“Have you considered upgrading?”

“No, I don’t have a TV.”

“You don’t have a TV?”

“No, I threw it in the ocean.”

“Why did you do that?”

“To mess with the dolphins.”

LONG PAUSE

“Well have you considered adding an additional cable phone line
for only 17.99 per month?”

The Urban Homestead Project

The BF and I have been on this projects kick as the weather starts to get warmer. Mainly we've focused on projects that fall into the realm of the recently hip Urban Homesteading craze. In general this movement involves growing more of your own food, keeping small livestock, finding creative ways to reduce waste, and adding back where civilization has done nothing but take for so long.

Like any movement there are the conservatives and the radicals when it comes to trying to make a change. There are more radical aspects of this that I'm not so interested in: Kombucha Mushroom Tea for health (may make you really sick if you do it wrong and reportedly tastes awful), and yes Humanure (No. Effing. Way. Ever.)

Still, there are quite a few things that I am willing to try. Container gardening , for instance. It's true, I was completely and utterly way too excited about buying plants in March, and some of them have not fared so well. I've been bringing them inside when the temperature dips below 50 degrees, and it's worked...somewhat. So far, lost the basil, then the dill, then thyme, and finally one of the lavender plants. The tomato, mint, sage, parsley, chives, and oregano are still kicking though.

I've also worked on sprouting some native wildflowers to plant as groundcover in some areas where the grass is thin on the edges of the yard to prevent soil erosion, and help out the birds and bugs. They're doing ok so far, the tiny green shoots reaching up toward the sunny window I've placed them next to.

The best, and craziest, so far though: vermicomposting. Simplified, you come up with a 2 cubic foot container (I'm using a rubbermaid bin), fill it about half way with damp bedding (plain newsprint, leaves, hay, peat moss, etc), create some ventilation (I drilled some 1/4" holes in the sides of my bin and added a drain to the bottom), toss in some Red Wigglers (yep, worms) and let them go to town on your kitchen scraps.

To keep the worms and the bin healthy and not smelly, you want to refrain from using fats, oils, bones, meats, citrus (too acidic) and cheese. The worms love veggie and fruit pieces and peelings, egg shells, coffee grounds, and tea bags. If kept up appropriately (using only plant based food, odor absorbing bedding, and not overfeeding) the bin can easily be kept indoors with no gross smells. In fact, this is ideal as the worms thrive between temperatures of 50 and 80 degrees F. The benefit of this is that you reduce the amount of waste you're sending to the landfill, and in just a couple of months when the worms have munched through your scraps, you've got nutrient rich compost for your plants.

So far my vermicomposting venture has gone well. I used dampened, shredded newspaper and dampened peat moss as bedding. The worms arrived in the mail and I poured them into the bin, letting them rest for the first evening. It was fairly creepy seeing this big pile of wiggling worms laying on top of all the bedding, but soon they'd made their way down into it, and I put the lid on for the night. The next day I added about a cup of old lettuce I had in the fridge, burying it under the bedding.

The thing I was not expecting: worm escapees. When I went to check on them the next morning I discovered worms hanging outside the bin, worms crawling out from under the carefully closed lid, worms on the ground around the bin, worms emerging from the carefully drilled ventilation holes. Umm...I stared dumfounded for a few seconds. Worms don't particularly gross me out, but the thought of scooping about twenty writhing, damp worms off the floor at 6:30am in my bathrobe wasn't exactly pleasant. Again, that night I checked, and more marauding worms. The next morning I decided to add some apple scraps, thinking that I wouldn't want to survive solely on wilted lettuce either. I brainstormed all kinds of ideas to keep the worms inside the bin: screen over the holes, weatherstripping around the lid of the bin, but magically the apples seemed to do the trick.

I'm one week in today. I've been checking every so often for the last few days and they seem to be pretty happy. No more runaways, no nasty smells, and I feel like I'm doing something good. I may even be better about eating my fruits and vegetables so I've got the leftovers for worm food.

Crazy? Possibly. Bored? Probably. Wanting to think that even in small ways I'm making my little corner of the city better? Definitely.

Pancake Luncheon

I missed tonight's episode of The Office. No one tell me anything that happened until after I've had a chance to watch it tomorrow or heads will roll.

Long live The Michael Scott Paper Company! Did you get your Evite?

Need a Distraction?

Try making yourself a custom pair of Vans, or Converse. Sweeeeeet!

Weekend Recap

Made it to the K on Saturday. The stadium updates are soooo nice. After growing up in KC and going to Royals games since I was tiny, it was weird to see people sitting IN the fountain...well not literally in, but the new fountain seats add more seating where there was previously just water.

The Yankees pretty much spanked us, though I don't think the BF noticed since he has a man crush on Derek Jeter, and we sat front row balcony right behind the dugout. I'm more of a Johnny Damon gal, but that's just me. Even though they didn't win, still had a great time.

P.S. I definitely ate an entire foot long hotdog by myself. Yikes!


Also made a wonderful Easter dinner with the BF on Sunday. We had the obligatory ham, the BF's fabulous deviled eggs, and mac with goat cheese, asparagus and chives. It was A-MAZING.

Best. Idea. Ever.

Don't judge, but I really like Peeps. I know, I know...they can set on a shelf for literally YEARS and not change consistency or color. Yes, that is gross. Do I care? No.

Imagine my excitement when I found out it is Peeps week over at Serious Eats. Imagine my further excitement when I saw this article on S'meeps.

S'mores + Peeps = delicious, Spring colored goodness. Two of my favorites combined. Why didn't I think of that?

Opening Day

Welcome back Royals, I've missed you.


Opening day is always exciting for me. You've got the newspaper guys decked out in blue on all the corners downtown, spring is here for real, and a hotdog with a handful of peanuts becomes an acceptable dinner once again, best eaten in the sweltering heat with your legs stuck to a blue, plastic seat.

I'm a Kansas City native, and will always be a Royals fan. I don't care that they haven't seen a world series in 24 years. I don't care at all. I love them, I love the stadium, I love the hot dog races and the shouting vendors. I love it all.


So dig out that royal blue gear, and make your way to the K (and yes, even pay the outrageous parking, because it's worth it). Cheer for the home team, and for goodness sakes, stop wearing your Chiefs jersey to the game. This is baseball, son...have a little respect.

(Photos courtesy cleverswine and jereandreagan)

When I Am An Old Woman, I Shall Send Texts

Jenny Joseph's poem "Warning, When I Am An Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple" might be a good enough descriptor for some ladies out there, but not my Grams.

She's pretty awesome. We usually call one another on Friday nights at some point to talk about life, President Obama (we both voted for him...and we don't think anyone else in the family did), friends, dream analysis, women's rights, and what we're having for dinner. She's extremely hip, and looks nowhere close to the 70-something she is. She attributes that to some Mary Kay potion that she swears by. Don't get me wrong, she always looks age appropriate and says that she doesn't want to look like one of those ladies that's "trying to do something but forgot how." Oh, Grams :)

Anyway, she recently traded her minivan in for a brand new, red Ford Fusion. Everyone had been trying to get her to trade the van in for some time, but she waited until she was good and ready. When she was, everyone had an opinion on what she should get (including me) but she ignored us all and got what she wanted. It has leather heated seats, a moon roof, and a spoiler. Grams...and a spoiler. Hehe.

It also has Sync, which means she can hook her cell up and chat in the car. That is, if she had a post 2005 phone, which she didn't. But now she does. Grams went out and bought a sweet new phone "with a bunch of stuff I don't need" she says. However there is one thing she's pretty excited about....TEXT MESSAGING! She hasn't figured it out yet, but we have plans to teach her next Tuesday, and then look out world (and probably my phone bill).

Sometimes I'm a little scared of getting older, and then I hang out with Grams, and I'm kind of not.

(photo courtesy r0sss)

Another Reason to Love Oregon: ...

...it's home to the band Blind Pilot. These guys are fresh, extremely talented, and most importantly--bike people. They've even done a couple of West Coast tours, hauling all of their gear on bikes. On the first go-round, they were headed from Vancouver, B.C. to Mexico, but the tour was cut short when their bikes were stolen outside San Francisco.

They've had a better streak of luck lately, and just got done playing at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX.

I think their sound is a little bit Old 97's with some Guster-ish instrumentation thrown in for good measure.

Morning Edition did a great story on the band today. Click here to listen to the guys talk about bikes, Oregon, song writing, and how they're just fine without drugs, groupies, or tour buses. Also, check out their sweet blog here.

(Photo courtesy andycarvin)

Weekend Fro-Yo Fix

Another thing I may have to add to my weekend lineup:

Mochi-Yo Yogurt Bar opens in Leawood at 4535 W 119th Street in the One Nineteen Shopping Center. To celebrate they're giving away free product all weekend!

Mochi-Yo is a Pinkberry-ish, Korean-style yogurt bar that serves four flavors with over a dozen toppings and smoothies.

Yummmm.

Happy Friday!

Good things on tap this weekend:

Tonight--stopping by Bad Seed to grab some potato seeds they couldn't use because of the storm, and possibly some other goodies at their Friday Market.

Tomorrow AM--A good possibility of breakfast out/City Market, especially since the Shatto Milk people will be there with samples (*mmmmm*)

Tomorrow PM--gluttony and good times with friends, movies and dessert.

Sunday--likely a fat lot of nothing with a possibility of napping/grilling/and Sunday night TV. Sounds good to me!

Hello, weekend. I've missed you.

What will they think of next..

From Whole Foods today...


Also: eco-friendly reusable pet waste bags, the grand opening of a new Antarctica store, and a recipe for toast.

Happy April Fool's Day to you too, Whole Foods. You big bunch of sillies..
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/