Category Archives: MISC

On why you shouldn’t try making chili for the first time ever when you have a migraine.

Posted on December 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

I recently was invited to my first ever chili cookoff!

(most likely I haven’t been included in one before because everyone else knows I can’t cook and my Chicago friends have yet to find that out. Well. Had yet to find out).

Upon being invited, I expressed concerns about the whole “cooking” thing via Twitter and a friend emailed over a recipe. “It’s great,” he said. “It will totally win,” he said. So I went into the idea of this cookoff contest with total and utter confidence.

And then the night before I found myself wandering around the aisles of Jewel with my tattered shopping list, on day three of a migraine, squinting my eyes under the fluorescent lights just wanting to escape and start the stupid cooking process already.

So, honestly, can you blame me for buying actual cloves instead of “garlic cloves?” Or grabbing Chile Chipotle Pepper instead of “Chili Powder?” I mean, we’re lucky I remembered the lean ground turkey, for crying out loud.

When I got home, one of my roommates (hi mom!) expressed her frustration over the errors of my ways. But with my head feeling as though it were in a vice, I refused to head back to Jewel, made the executive decision to forgo cloves of any kind, and decided Chile Chipotle Pepper was a fine substitute for Chili Powder, thank you very much.

So we got to work (well, I got to work. My mother swooped in to try to salvage the process all while yelling that chili powder was probably something like baking powder, so without it the chili would not be able to cook normal, and how could I miss the word “garlic” in front of the word “cloves?”).

(by the way, mom, according to Mr. Google chili powder is just a spice. So there).

Pretty soon I was crying.

No, not because of my mother – I was soaked in tears from chopping the onions. No shit you guys, I always thought that was an old wives tale! Once the rest of the process was done, and the crock pot was full of wonder and goodness, I went to bed with visions of winning first place.

The next morning was like waking up on Christmas! I excitedly ran downstairs, anxious to see how it turned out. We all tasted it. And I know y’all are going to be shocked to hear this, but it was actually quite good! I loaded the chili into my car and made my way to the city of Chicago, where seven other crock pots awaited me in the competition. Game on.

My chili on the left, staring down the competition on the right.

My chili on the left, staring down the competition on the right.

Many bowls, toppings, and a full ranking system later, and it was time to tally the ballots. The chili was ranked on taste, texture, and appearance.

And I totally won first place!

I hope you didn’t actually believe that last sentence, you guys. Because the truth?

My chili came in dead last place.

And this is why you shouldn’t try making chili for the first time ever when you have a migraine.

At least, that’s my excuse for losing.

This is what dead-last-place-migraine-chili looks like.

This is what dead-last-place-migraine-chili looks like.

The good news? I actually really like my chili, so leftovers this week are going to be amazing. And I can only improve from here. 2013 is so going to be my year.

Game on.

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Posted in Chicago, Friendship, LOLZ, MISC

Silver Linings

Posted on September 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Sometimes in life, amidst wonderful news, we find ourselves having to making hard decisions. It’s during these times I’m grateful for those who make a tough situation easier to handle.

When I move back home, I’m living with my parents for a while. For a variety of (very legitimate) reasons, I can bring my dog Hunter home with me, but not my cat Sydney. After we exhausted all possible options, I realized this was something I was going to have to accept and deal with.

And so, sadly, I finally did.

And soon realized this was going to be an even tougher situation than initially thought. After emailing friends to see if someone could take her in, my mom emailing her friends to see if someone could take her in, my mom also posting pictures on her school bulletin, and me emailing and calling twelve different organizations, I found out having a cat who needs a new home is not exactly an easy task.

But then a wonderful person contacted me from Dane County Friends of Ferals. They couldn’t take Sydney in to foster, but had some suggestions on what to do, where to post about Sydney needing a home, and how to avoid scams. It was because of those suggestions that my ad on Craigslist was answered by another wonderful person, Alissa, who runs Paws Prints Ranch in Sauk City.

Paws Prints Ranch, an organization that helps with re-homing as well as pet boarding, doggy day care, and many other services, is taking Sydney in.

I will be so sad to say goodbye.

But because of these loving people who run loving organizations, I can breathe easier knowing Sydney is going to be more than ok.

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Posted in Love, MISC

Two girls walk into a bar on their way to see a psychic….

Posted on August 5, 2012 | 7 Comments

“OmigoshI’msonervous.” I tend to speak rapidly when I’m nervous.

“I wasn’t earlier, but now…me too.” To tell the truth, Jen did look a little pale.

“You know, after we down this beer, everyone sitting outside on State Street is totally going to watch us walk in to a psychic, right? They will probably talk about us. About those two single girls in their 30′s going to see a psychic on State Street.” This is when I really need to learn not to vocalize every thought I process.

“Yeah. Yeah, they totally are.” Great. Now Jen looked even more pale.

And the weird thing? This wasn’t even my first psychic visit this week. But to explain how I ended up going to two different psychics, in two different states, in one week, I need to back up.

It all started Monday night over dinner with an old friend during an out-of-state work trip. While talking, I happened to mention that Jen and I made an appointment for a psychic reading in Madison, just for fun, and were going as soon as I got back.

“I have always wanted to do that.” Sarah’s admission made me feel excited about my future plans. “I used to live in this area. There’s a tarot card reader in a house just a block up the street. We should totally go.”

…why not?

So we made our way down the street to my first occult experience of the week.

Entering a home with a neon Open sign glowing in the window, we situated ourselves in the living room as directed. The woman was warm and friendly, so I felt at ease. Or maybe it was the extra glasses of wine our server kept sneaking us at dinner. Either way, I was comfortable and ready to hear about whatever visions she saw.

For a tarot reading, you are handed a deck of cards and instructed to think of any issues you seek clarity on, while shuffling. The psychic then cuts the deck and you pick from which half you want your reading done. I chose the left.

According to a woman in Arlington, VA, I am going to lead a long and healthy life. As is everyone in my family. I will get married and it will be a happy marriage, with 1-3 kids.  I need to focus on being more open-minded, as this person will not fit my traditional “type.” In fact, if I am open-minded I can meet him as early as tomorrow. Most likely though, I will meet him at the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013. We won’t start dating right away, rather it will take about four months after meeting until our first date. I will be successful at whatever I do, and my book will become published. I will have a writing breakthrough mid-August.

Sarah  will be successful as a mother, wife, and career woman, balancing it all. She will stay at home with her daughter for another year, at which point she will become passionate about opening her own business and have many people reporting to her.

And we both have really great auras. I like it.

Fast-forward to sitting in a bar with Jen in Madison, WI, I took a deep breath and reminded myself how well everything went on Monday and that I had nothing to be nervous about.

We anxiously took one last sip of our beers and headed next door. And I quickly missed my warm and friendly Arlington, VA psychic.

In life, I have learned that if someone claims they “unapologetically tell it like it is,” they tend to have an abrasive personality. And this woman was no exception. We both chose a psychic reading vs. tarot cards, and handed over our phones as an object for her to touch and get a “read” off of us.

It started out ok. She definitely nailed some things on the head. Things that were so accurate it was almost scary. But then things got weird. She started responding to text messages on her phone, had our two phones switched around in her hands (we don’t know for how long, her hands were under the table), and said some entirely inaccurate things. I felt disconnected to her visions. The appointment ended with her letting us know our chakras were so messed up, it was some of the worst she had ever seen.

Oh, and by the way, for a hefty fee she can fix all of that.

…right.

So are psychic readings real? And if the whole thing is real, how do you know you are going to a legit psychic? The thing is, you don’t know. And you never will. Which is why we approached everything from a fun angle, vs. a truth-seeking angle. We had some laughs, had some drinks, and went outside of our comfort zones for a new experience.

But just in case, I’m going work on being more open-minded.

Just in case.

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Posted in Dating, Friendship, Love, MISC, Traveling

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“One Bar at a Time”

Posted on June 28, 2012 | 2 Comments

As a kid, I played the clarinet. Rumor has it I was a halfway decent band nerd, and heeding the advice of my band teacher, my parents signed me up to try out for a youth symphony orchestra. I made it in! And then I showed up and wanted to cry.

The music was ridiculously hard, the other kids were talented, and I was quickly lost and overwhelmed. The next evening, suffering through my required 30 minutes of daily practice, I nearly threw a temper tantrum. Luckily, I was rescued by my dad with advice I still turn to as recently as yesterday.

He took a look at the sheet music and asked me what the problem was. I held back tears of frustration and told him I just couldn’t do it. It was too complicated. I was in way over my head, I was embarrassed, and I wanted to quit.

“Just take it one bar at a time.”

How the heck was that supposed to help?

“Each bar only has a few notes. Learn it, then move on to the next. You already know how to play the notes. Get through the entire song, one bar at a time. That’s all you have to do”

He then grabbed paper and tape and covered up the rest of the sheet music so I only saw one bar and nothing else. Without an overwhelming and complex situation in front of me, I had a simple task to get through. I calmed down, learned the song, went back to the youth orchestra group the next week, and became an even better clarinet player because of it.

As adults, we still get in over our heads. Sheet music is replaced by a daily calendar. Work demands, social obligations, and family priorities take over as we over-schedule, overwhelm, and frustrate ourselves. Only as adults, were technically not supposed to throw temper tantrums and no one comes in to rescue us. So instead, I take a deep breath, and tell myself to take it “one bar at a time.” I break up my day by hours, or by appointments, or workouts, or whatever else is filling my schedule. I concentrate on segments of my day, instead of the entire 24 hour period at once, and it helps.

And hey, if that doesn’t work there is another option. As adults, we always have the option of taking it one bar at a time “grown-up style.”

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Posted in Family, Friendship, Marathons, MISC, Running, Work

#WIRecall, #WIVote, #WIElection

Posted on June 5, 2012 | 2 Comments

Wisconsin. June 5th, 2012. There’s a different energy in our state today. It’s a little bit exciting, a little bit hopeful, and a little bit tense – for both sides of the political fence.  Because today, something is taking place for only the third time in U.S. history. Something that makes things a lot of bit polarized.

The recall election.

It’s a final check-point in a process that started over a year ago. A process that started with protests, collecting signatures, and heated discussions. Early, many Wisconsin residents loudly declared on which side of the political fence they stood with yard signs, tweets, and Facebook posts. It’s become a divide, a wedge made deep by way of an “us vs. them” mentality. I’ve heard of people not going to garage sales, simply because of an opposing yard sign in the lawn. I’ve heard of people trying to argue their opinion onto others. I’ve even heard of friendships breaking up.  

Which brings me to wonder…what happens next? After the polls are closed and the votes have been counted and a decision has been reached, is it too much to hope we move forward peacefully, no matter the outcome? Or am I just being naive?

Wisconsin. June 5th, 2012. There’s a different energy in our state today. And I hope no matter the outcome, the people of Wisconsin can find a way to move forward tomorrow, together.

Photo used under Creative Commons from flickr user Meggrs, as found on the site http://www.atf.gov/field/stpaul/fo-wisconsin.html

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Posted in MISC

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