Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween - costumes, candy, and excited kids. I live on the third floor of an apartment complex though so I'm not anticipating many trick or treaters. I have some candy just in case. The rest will end up in the office tomorrow so they can give it away at the front counter. Every year I watch the original Halloween. AMC usually runs a Halloween marathon. Yes, I live alone and end up scaring myself silly and not sleeping well afterwards, but it's fun and it's one night a year. I started this tradition back when I was a senior in college. I was on duty in the townhouses. My roommates had all gone out to a party so while I was waiting to do rounds I started watching Halloween. I thought it was a pretty great idea until it was time to do rounds, alone, in the dark, through one of the remote parts of campus. Genius.

Sunday Day Book

Outside my window ...sunny and chilly, 46 degrees

I am thinking … about potential possibilities and it's making me crazy

I am thankful for ... feeling better. I haven't had a stomach bug in years. Still not a fan.

I am reading … Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (in my opinion one of her best)

I am hoping …that whatever the right thing is, happens

On my mind ...a lot on my plate at work this week, then it's off to San Antonio for TACRAO

I'm learning ... about the cyclical nature of education

Noticing that ... the beeping of the dying smoke detector is incredibly annoying, I hope the maintenance guy makes an appearance today

From the kitchen …crock pot Sunday - cheesy chicken

Around the house … it's a little chilly, but I refuse to turn on the heat, time to break out the sweatshirt and slipper socks

One of my favorite things … when Jack decides he's going to snuggle up against me to sleep, he can be stand offish unless it's on his terms; he's such a loner kitty sometimes

Finest Hour

Ah, Teen Witch. Another great 80s movie. One that my sister and I both love. In honor of Halloween, here's a clip from the movie. There are so many good parts to this movie, it was hard to choose, so I went with the "musical number" from the end of the movie.

Friday Fun

Thursday Recipe

How about something tasty and definitely adult for Halloween? I found this recipe for a Candy Corn Cordial on foodnetwork.com. It sounds delicious and I can't wait to try it out.

Ingredients

For the infused vodka:

• 1/2 cup candy corn
• 1 1/2 cups vodka

For the cordials:

• 2 ounces orange liqueur
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 large egg white
• Candy corn, for garnish

Directions

Infuse the vodka: Combine the candy corn and vodka in an airtight container; set aside for at least 3 hours, then strain.

Make the cordials: Add 4 ounces of the candy corn vodka, the orange liqueur, lemon juice and egg white to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Strain into 2 chilled martini glasses and garnish with candy corn.

It's Halloween

I post this every year for Halloween. If you've never seen The Worst Witch, you need to. It's a great Halloween movie with a particularly 80s cast - Tim Curry, Fairuza Balk, Charlotte Rae, and Diana Rigg.

Someday

I forgot how much I LOVE this song. Added it to my ipod this week.

Creature Stole My Twinkie

Today was the Monday-est of Mondays. Back to back meetings all day while trying to ignore a raging headache? Sign me up. Of course not. I made it through though and am eagerly counting the days until I head to sunny California to visit with my super awesome sister Melissa. I don't talk about her a lot on this blog. In a nutshell, she is my total opposite in almost every way except for our devotion to really bad 80s movies like Undercover Blues, Grease 2, the Pirate Movie, and the Monster Squad. She is one of the funniest people I know. We are way better to each other when we aren't living in the same house. If we have a few days together though, we have a blast. Hands down she is the most important person to me so I am excited to be heading west. I've never been to California. I've hit up the west coast via Vancouver, BC and Eugene, OR, but not Cali. I'll try to remember to take some pictures to share with you all.

Saturday Day Book

Outside my window ...dark and chilly, around 55 degrees - perfect sweater weather

I am thinking … about a wonderful Saturday - the fair, good friends, good food

I am thankful for ...the chance to take this trip to visit NC

I am reading … Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman)

I am hoping …that things turn out the way I want them to

On my mind ...that I have to head back to Texas tomorrow

I'm learning ...about Teaching and Learning this semester

Noticing that ... my throat is a little scratchy, I think I'm getting a cold

From the kitchen …nothing, but the hotel I'm staying in is gorgeous

Around the house …hoping the cats haven't torn the place apart while I've been gone

One of my favorite things …North Carolina (in case y'all haven't been paying attention...)

Duke

I've worked at a lot of places. Having had some type of job since the time I was 17, I have a pretty good basis for comparison. I had the good fortune to spend the last two days at my favorite - Duke University. I spent approximately three years at Duke and from the moment I stepped on campus for my interview, I knew it was a special place. I had the chance to work with some incredible people within my office and across campus. People that I was thrilled to be able to catch up with this weekend. I had supervisors that mentored me and helped shape me into the professional I am and the one I want to continue to become. I miss it very much. That's not to say that I don't like Texas. As I said in my previous post, I like Texas. I love North Carolina. Walking around campus today felt wonderful. It made my heart happy to see the students and the campus, not to mention spending time with some of my favorite people. I was very very lucky to have had the chance to work there.

A Dangerous Method

Viggo Mortensen + David Cronenberg = Gold

Viggo Mortensen + Michael Fassbender + David Cronenberg = Must See

Back in the RDU

I'm here! I'm so excited!!! I'M HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA! Sorry for the shouting y'all, but I can't tell you how tickled I am to be back in North Carolina. To all my family back in New England block your ears for this next part, hmm hmm hmm nothing to see here. Coming back to North Carolina feels like coming home. Apart from my home where all my family is, of all the places I've lived, North Carolina is home. I love it here and I miss it terribly. Now Texas friends, that's not to say I don't like Texas. I am thoroughly enjoying living in Texas - I have my favorite places and my dance class and school. It's not the same though. I can't explain to you why it feels so good to be here. It just does. I love all of the Triangle - from Chapel Hill to Raleigh. The people, the places, my friends. Knowing Charlotte, NC (and by extension Kelly, Korey, and Kennedy) is only a couple of hours away warms my heart. I've been here just over an hour and I'm already dreading flying back on Sunday.

The hotel I'm staying at for this conference is the one I stayed at for my interview with Duke 4 years ago. It's kind of eerie. In a good way. I still remember what I wore to dinner the night before my interview. I remember what I wore to my interview. I remember being sunburned as all get out because I had spent a few days before the interview in Charlotte visiting and went to a tennis tournament and got burned bad. It was a great icebreaker for all my interview sessions. Truly, I looked like a lobster, ha ha.

I am going to enjoy these next four days.

Sunday Day Book

Outside my window ...it's hot, 80+ degrees, but sunny and not a cloud in the sky

I am thinking … about my trip to North Carolina, I can't wait!

I am thankful for ...the opportunity to continue my education, even when I'm buried under work

I am reading … Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie

I am hoping …that things turn out the way I want them to.

On my mind ...school, work, travel, work, school...

I'm learning ...that I need to just let it go

Noticing that ... the cleaning lady really does a good job cleaning my apartment. Best decision ever.

From the kitchen …chicken and apple salad with cranberries and walnuts for lunches this week

Around the house …bought a pumpkin for the dining room and orange lilies for the mantel. It may not feel like autumn outside, but it looks like it in my apartment.

One of my favorite things …Pottermore. JKR really did a great job with that one.

My Favorite Times of the Week

There are two parts of the week that I look forward to, regardless of how my week is going - good, bad, or ugly. Wednesday nights I get to dance. I love to dance. Great big puffy heart love to dance. I used to take lessons and assistant teach up until the point I left for college. I did some dancing in college, but not much. I haven't actively taken lessons in about 14 years. For an hour and a half I get to assistant teach a class of 7-10 years olds. They are new to dance so we start simple - shuffle, plie, jazz square, etc. They are so earnest and try so hard; they are a joy to work with. After that class I have my own, an hour of tap lessons. Such bliss. And I push myself, hard. I am a competitive person by nature and when the teacher asks if I want to try that up to tempo, of course I say yes. Everytime. It's a great workout and definitely a highlight of my week.

My other favorite part of the week is Saturday morning. I don't sleep in, I don't lounge around. I am out of my bed and out the door in time to get to my Weight Watchers meeting by 8:30. I have an awesome, amazing, inspiring leader. She really energizes me and inspires me to make good food choices throughout the week. The other people in the meeting are great. It's only 45 minutes out of my Saturday but I look forward to it every week. I enjoy it so much it almost makes me want to stay in Texas.

Friday Fun

Thursday Recipe

This is another recipe courtesy of Pinterest. Chicken and Apple salad. How yummy does this sound? I'm thinking of making this on Sunday to take for lunches next week.

Ingredients

2 chicken breast halves
2 small apples
1/2 medium red onion (I'm including this in the recipe but since I don't like raw onion, will omit when I make it)
1/4 dried cranberries
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the chicken breast - however you want, in a Foreman grill, in the oven, on the stove. Cook all the way through. Allow to cool.

2. Wash and dice the apple and onion.

3. Dice the chicken and place in a bowl with apple, onion, and cranberries.

4. In a separate bowl combine mayonnaise, mustard, yogurt, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir, taste, add more salt & pepper if necessary. Stir dressing into bowl with chicken, apple, onion, and cranberries. Enjoy!

Sweet Escape

Three weeks ago I made a decision. I follow Alton Brown of Good Eats/Food Network on Twitter and he was talking about giving up soda. I haven't had regular sugared soda in years, but I was drinking a lot of diet soda. Diet Coke, specifically. Oh how I love Diet Coke, and Diet Sunkist, and Diet A&W. Tasty tasty tasty. But I also got to thinking, there are a lot of chemicals in diet soda. It's not cane sugar. It's chemical sweetener. No calories, which is good, but a lot of aspartame. So I made a decision that night. No more soda.

It's not like I kept a lot of it in the house. I don't, but if I was out to dinner or passing by a Sonic, then there was definitely soda involved. But I quit. I pretty much stick to water and maybe a glass of crystal light iced tea with dinner. 99% of the time though, it's water. The third day was the hardest. I really really wanted a soda from Sonic. I held on though and now I don't even think about it really. I just automatically go for the water. I feel better. I don't know that I've noticed anything else different, other than that I use the restroom ALL THE TIME. I feel good about my decision and I feel good and that my friends is what it's all about.

Single Ladies

I happened to catch this clip on the today show this morning. For the longest time - high school, college, grad school, I thought all I wanted was to get married and have babies. Then I fell in love with being single. (I can hear my grandmother weeping now). I travel when I want; I have a career that I love; I'm back in school working on my doctorate. It's not that I don't think I could do these things if I were in a relationship or married. The decisions are just easier when you're the only one you need to consider. I've moved all around - much to my family's chagrin. I've tried new places and made friends all over the country, all on my own time. It works for me. I'm not downplaying being married or having kids. Being married makes some people happy; having kids makes some people feel complete. I'm not those people. While I will admit to the occasional bout of homesickness for New England or wistful longing for a return to North Carolina, I never feel lonely. Here's the clip from Today:

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Kate on the Mend

Lo and behold when I woke up this morning she had eaten a little bit of kibble. She's still not to 100% and I need her to drink water but I think we're making progress.

Jack has also stopped hissing at Kate which probably helps her feel a little better too. It can't feel good to be hissed at every time you come within 10 feet of another cat.

It Feels Like Fall

Finally it feels like October. At the moment it's overcast and rainy and there's a chill in the air. Today is the perfect day for cooking. I've got a couple of things up my sleeve to cook for the week. I have a new blender, a vitamix, and I hear it's excellent at making soup in. I've never made soup from scratch before, just from a can or a box. I found a recipe for celery and buttermilk soup. Sounds yummy, right? I'm going to make that so I can have it for dinner this week. I'm also going to pull out the slow cooker and make a barbecue glazed turkey meatloaf. Another yummy recipe. This one will be for lunches this week. Since it's only me that I cook for, I like to find recipes that I can cook on a Sunday and then eat well into the following week. I don't waste food that way and I eat healthier that way. Knowing I already have dinner made at home keeps me from stopping and picking up dinner on the way.

Sick Kitty

My poor Katie, she's feeling a bit under the weather. We spent a hissy and growly hour at the vet's this morning to rule out an obstruction. By all appearances she's perfectly healthy. She's not eating though, or drinking. She's still her usual playful self. I've got to keep an eye on her the next few days though. I really hope she starts to at least start drinking water again soon. To top it off, Jack is a hissy grump any time she comes near him. Poor Katie, she doesn't feel well and the other kitty in the house makes it worse by hissing at her anytime she looks in his direction.

Friday Fun

Thursday Recipe

Thursday Recipe is back! I discovered this one on Pinterest. It looks so so yummy. Not very Weight Watchers friendly, but a delicious fall treat.

Bourbon Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

makes 2 shakes

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup cream or half and half

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup pureed pumpkin

1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

2-3 ounces of bourbon

frosting + sprinkles (or cinnamon sugar) for glasses

Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until combined. Rim glasses with a light coating of frosting then dip in sprinkles. Pour in shake and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Top with whipped cream if desired. Serve!

Harper

Such an amazing story - this will definitely make you smile this morning.

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Halfway Through

I am almost halfway through another semester - school for me, not work (but that semester is almost halfway through as well). I'm taking three classes this Fall. Fortunately two of them are online so I only have to drive up to Denton for class one night a week. And this week it was canceled. Boy that feeling never gets old. It's almost akin to hearing "Snow Day". I've been crunching numbers and looking at my degree plan. I was going to meet with my advisor tonight to turn in my NC State documentation so we can get the official transfer of courses done, but she's the one who canceled class. It'll have to be next week. I'm hoping to map out with her the rest of my coursework and file my degree plan. Last time she and I met we discussed my potential dissertation topic. Rather than a study, I asked if I could do a historical analysis of a topic in education for my dissertation and she said yes. Oh happy happy day. This means no IRB! No SPSS or SAS! Heavenly words to my ears. I'm very excited about the possibility of finally merging my love of history (and my undergraduate major) with my current field of study. If everything goes according to plan, I should finish coursework next December and then start writing after that. My own personal drop dead date for writing is for it to take no longer than a year. As a procrastinator this worries me. I do better on a deadline. My writing is better that way. But I also know I want to be finished so that may light a fire and hopefully I'll be done in summer. If I can start reviewing literature this summer, then I may be able to pull off finishing in Summer term. We'll see what happens.

That Magic Moment

Isn't that what everyone looks for? That spark, that something intangible that makes someone right for them? Well, the lovely gentleman I had dinner with tonight did not have it. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he looked about 10 years older than the picture on his match profile. I'm not being ageist, he just didn't look the way I thought he would. He looked my parents ages, which kind of weirded me out. I don't have hang ups about dating someone older, I just have an issue if they look like they went to high school with my dad. If the man I had dinner with tonight had that spark, I could have overlooked the age thing. Not to mention he had a terrible time reading me. We parted after dinner and already he was blowing up my cell phone with texts. Really? I didn't even kiss him good night and the man was already sending an endless stream. Don't get me wrong, I was flattered, but he obviously didn't read that situation well.

So what am I looking for, you may ask? I've only felt it one other time. I'm not going to quantify it with time, so those of you following along won't be able to pinpoint who it was. But talking with him, being with him, just seeing his name on paper gave my heart a thrill. You know, that pulse racing, catch in your breath moment. That's what I want. If I can't have that, I'd rather be single. And single isn't default for me. I love being on my own. I have friends, I travel, I like my life. So if I do find that magic moment, life will just be sweeter than it already is.

Discovering Dallas...and Fort Worth

I've been in Texas for over a year now. One year, three months, and two weeks, but who's counting? I like Texas (politics and government aside). I like my life here. Work is a zoo, but outside of 8-5, I really like my life. I've discovered a dance class I love, I'm taking three more classes toward my Ed.D., and I'm making friends. I mention all of this because my long term goal is not to stay in Texas forever. I'd love to go back to North Carolina someday or back to New England. It would have to be the right job at the right time to take me there, but who knows when that will happen.

I mention all of this because I've been in Texas over a year and there are still so many things to see and do and my goal is to try them all at least once before I leave the state someday. No use planning for where I'm going to end up next if I don't know when that's going to happen. In the meantime I'll miss out on all the fun things around me. I've been to a few Rangers games, ostensibly to cheer on the Red Sox, but I like the Ballpark at Arlington. I want to go to a Mavericks game and see the Dallas Stars play. There's theatre and music - too many venues to count from as small as House of Blues to the big ones like Cowboy Stadium. And that's just in Dallas. Fort Worth has lots to do as well. I like Texas, so I don't want to have regrets when I leave some day that I didn't make the most of my time here.

31 for 21

It's that time of year. This will be my third year participating in the 31 for 21 blogging challenge. I discovered the challenge when I started to follow Michelle's blog Big Blueberry Eyes, where she blogs about her life and the life of her daughter Kayla. Kayla, who does indeed have beautiful blue eyes, has Down Syndrome, aka Trisomy 21 (hence the name of the blog challenge). I think the third year will be my most challenging. I'm taking three classes this semester, plus work, and some travel this month as well. I'm determined though. If any of you want to join in the challenge, click on the 31 for 21 button on the right side of the blog. Happy October everyone!