HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Have a great time tonight. Let me know how many creepy Sarah Palin's you see. I already saw one last night at a bar. Man, this Halloween is gonna be scary :)

Tonight, I Vote.

Tonight, I fill out my absente ballot and send it in. Cross your fingers :) only 6 more days.

My 50th Post

This is my 50Th post! Happy 50Th to me. This seems like a good time to say that I'm grateful for this blog and for a consistent way to communicate with you all. And it's also been a therapeutic release for me, a nice way to write about what I think, feel, and do. So, thanks for reading on this my 50Th blog entry.

Also, IT SNOWED TODAY! HOLY CRAP! I have never lived in a place where it snows in October. This is crazy (people have been telling me today that it doesn't snow here in the month of Oct and that this is abnormal) So, I understand this doesn't happen very often. Still I couldn't believe it when I drove to work in the snow today. By the way, it melted. That's fine, I will have many more months of snow very soon.

Lastly, I wanted to give a big shout out to my sister whom just finished the first day of a three day test for dental school. You can do it Becca! I believe in you! :)

We Are Coming Home (for the holidays)

Yes, it's true. We just got our plane tickets to come home for the holidays. I'm really excited to come back to Seattle and see my family and friends. It's been hard out here with out them, I'm just use to all the support and love, and I don't get to talk on the phone with everyone as much as I would like. So it will be really nice to have a good long visit. Things I look forward to: eating pho, having a girls night, a fondue party, spending time with my family, going to Moonpaper tent and saying hi to everyone, spending time with my bubby and papa, escaping the cold Wisconsin weather, Hanukkah with my fam, Christmas with Mark's family, Starbucks coffee, drinking on the hill, going to Gabi's new house, and more :)

We arrive in Seattle on December 21st, Sunday and leave for Wisconsin on January 2nd. We will be in town for about 2 weeks. Weeee!!! It's gonna be great.

OK, I gotta run. I have some phone calls to make and I need to finish some cleaning before bed. I love you all :)

Sarah

Pumpkin Carving Photos

Today Mark and I went over to a friends house and carved pumpkins for a few hours. It was a nice time, we carved in the basement on the floor and ate candy and chatted. I don't have a picture of the one Mark carved but I do have some of the two I carved. One is a pirate ship and the other, a spider. Enjoy :)

Yes We Carve

http://yeswecarve.com/ Check this out if you enjoy all things Obama :)

Friday, Yeah Friday!

I'm so glad it's Friday! Even though this week has been a good one, I'm ready for the weekend. However; I'm not excited about going to work today. Both of my co-teachers in my room are absent today. So I have one sub and a teacher from downstairs helping me out. I anticipate a challenging day, not because the people whom are helping me aren't great at what they do. It's just that anytime the consistency of the program is tampered with, the kids get very confused. My kids are very tough and when they don't have their regular teachers they act up. Anyway, I hope it goes OK today and that we can get to our programing. I will just have to go with the flow of the day. But, tonight after work, I'm going to a fondue party, which should be fun. One of the people from Mark's department is having it over at her house. I bet I will have some pictures to post later.

This weekend we are gonna go to a concert and do some cooking and cleaning. I'm also gonna do some classroom planning.

Sarah

My Cookin' Skills

Well, I'm pleased with my cooking skills these days. I have been really busy in the kitchen. I made pumpkin bars this weekend, that were to die for. I brought them to work and gave them away to my co-workers and Mark and I have been munching on them all week (If you want the recipe, look further down on my blog.) And tonight I made a potato, Cheddar, and leak casserole, I kinda followed a recipe, but made up the rest. I will post it on my blog so you can try it if you want. It's not done cooking yet, but I can't wait to eat it. I'm so hungry and it smells so good. Also, I still have like 20 pounds of apples that I collected from this weekend. I plan on making Heidi's amazing apple sauce and canning it and maybe a pie or two.

I think cooking has been a really good activity for me lately and I find that I'm always more interested in cooking when the weather is colder and have someone to cook for (not just myself) Further more; I enjoy being creative in the kitchen and having a direct outcome to my creative efforts. It's nice because I enjoy the process as well as the meal that I've created. I use to be an visual artist growing up, but haven't done much visual art since college. I got kinda discouraged from the visual art world when I applied to art programs for college but didn't get in. So, I feel somewhat discouraged from creating visual art, but not from cooking. Also, I haven't been doing much acting or teaching any theatre these days so it's nice to focus my creativity into an activity rather then just let it go dormant. In general I'm feeling better and more motivated, and I can tell because I'm excited about using my creative energy.

In other news, Obama was going to be coming to Madison on Thursday, but cancelled his trip so he could be with his sick grandmother. I wish he would have come so I could see him speak, but I'm glad that he chose his grandmother first. Also, I just talked to Rylin tonight and she said my absentee ballot arrived at my old apartment and she is going to send it to me. Yes, I haven't been this excited about voting in a long time.

Ok, I'm off :)

Sarah

Appleberry Farm Pictures

Today Mark and I met up with some friends from the AOS Department at Appleberry Farm for some apple picking and good times. Here are some pictures on my flicker account. Check um out :)

http://flickr.com/photos/16570504@N02/sets/72157608158520606/

Also, I got Uggs today at the Westown Mall. I'm so excited because I've been wanting them for a while and as it gets cold here I'm thankful my feet will be nice and warm.

Night night,

Sarah

We Finished the Puzzle!

We finished the first puzzle! Hurray! It took quite a long time towards the end. It was super tedious trying to find all the proper places for the black pieces, but we did it. I hope to start the next puzzle this weekend.

Tonight we are relaxing at home, it's been nice to just chill this evening. During the week we have both been busy hanging out with new friends and being social, so it's nice to finally have an evening that's just low key. This week I had a girls night with some of the girls from Mark's department and also went out to dinner with some co-workers of mine from the creative learning preschool. I'm glad that I'm being more social and getting out there. It feels nice to finally make some new friends. So, it was a social week, but tonight is just for chillin. Plus, I'm gonna make some pumpkin bars this evening. I hope they turn out well :)

This weekend we are gonna go apple picking with about 10 other grad students. We're going to a local orchard that's over on the west side of Madison. I haven't been there before but a few of the other students have and they say there are many different variety's of apples and other cool activities to do at the farm. Should be good times. I also plan on getting some Ugg type boots this weekend as it's really starting to cool off here. I'm also gonna do some lesson planning on Sunday with my co-teacher Erin. She is super nice and we get along great. Other then that, some sleeping, house cleaning, homework, and so on.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Sarah

Debates and Surprises

Hi All,

It's been a good day today. I got a care package from my family in Seattle. Mark and I were very surprised when we opened it up to find all sorts of goodies inside. Some include candy, Halloween stuff and cookies from my bubby. Thanks family! I love you! I appreciate you thinking of me and helping me cope with the home sickness. Also, Ba kitty thanks you for his bird, as soon as I took it out of the box his eyes got wide and he went after it. Aw :)

In other news, I just watched the last installment of the presidential debates. Man, was John McCain feisty tonight or what? He knows this was his last chance to pull out all the stops, however; I don't feel like Obama did a very good job defending himself. He still did a great job, always cool under pressure, but he didn't really fight. I guess that's his style, but it would have been nice if McCain didn't get away with all of those asinine statements. I still think Obama won though. Yeah Obama!

I was super happy that they finally talked about Roe vs. Wade. I was wondering when they were going to bring that up, if ever. For me, the candidates really showed their true colors in that portion of the debate. McCain= pro-life Obama= Pro-choice, need I say more? This is a hot button issue for me. I can't have someone in office that can't protect women's basic human rights to a safe and legal abortion. McCain would be more of the same, don't let his politics fool you. (Sorry to any of you readers whom are voting for McCain, I'm not trying to hurt feelings, just expressing what I believe.)

Deep Breath. Ok, I get heated about women's rights. I minored in women studies, my mother works in Perinatal care as a nurse, and my papa is an OBGYN. Theses issues effect me, my family, and my friends. So, that's all :)

Not too much else has been going on here these days. I have been fighting a cold that keeps coming back, which hasn't been much fun. Work is going well, still stressful, I think this job is just gonna be like that. But my health insurance kicks in in about two weeks so I'm very excited for that. It would be nice to be covered. Choir is going well, our concert is soon! We are totally not ready yet :) It's finally fall here and it's beautiful. I love that it's a little cooler outside now and love the color of the leaves.

Tonight I'm going to a girls night with some of the lady's from Mark's department. We are gonna eat pizza, drink wine, and watch a movie. Should be fun, it's a nice chance to be social anyway :)

Bye for now,

Sarah

Treinen Farm Photos and Ba Goes Outside

At the end of the corn maze! Julia, Mark, Marc, and Steve
Mark with the Haul
Me in the Corn Maze

Yesterday Mark, Steve, Julia, Marc, and I all went to the Treinen Farm for some pumpkin picking and good times. We were hoping more friends would join us on our adventure, however; there was a Bager game yesterday so everyone was in football mode.
I had a wonderful time and the weather was so great, it was the perfect day to be outside. Of course, it will never compare to the pumpkin patch we went to back in Seattle, that day was priceless :) But Treinen Farm was really fun and it was great to share that experience with new friends. If you want to see all the pictures I took, follow the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16570504@N02/sets/72157607962498400/

Today Mark is at school studying for a test and I'm hanging out at home and running a few errands. Tonight I'm going to make Elizabeth's pumpkin curry soup and I'm super excited to see how it tastes.

Also, I let Ba kitty out for the first time EVER today. I totally had the feeling a parent must have when their kids goes to the first day of school or off to college (well, maybe not that drastic) but, It was as if he were leaving the "nest". I know it's good for him. He has been feeling board and couped up in the new house and he is completely adjusted now so I feel it's OK if he ventures out a little bit. PLUS, it's 74 degrees today. It's still so warm here and as long as the weather is good, I will keep letting him out little by little. I think I draw the line at 30 degrees.

Love,

Sarah

I'm going to the Pumpkin Patch

Ok, as of late, my blog has been mostly about pumpkins. Um yeah, it's not stopping anytime soon :)
On Saturday Mark and I are going to take a bunch of new friends to Treinen Farm. They have a huge pumpkin patch and an even huger (don't worry, it's a word according to me) corn maze! I will post pictures and write more about it later. But I'm soooo excited! I love Fall!

A Very small picture of the farm

The ride to the pumpkin patch

This years maze

Julie's Pumpkin Bars

So, I don't know Julie, but damn! she make a mean pumpkin bar!

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 16 oz can (1 ¾ cup fresh) pumpkin
2 cups flour
2T baking powder
2T cinnamon
1T salt
1T baking soda

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2) Mix the eggs, sugar and oil and pumpkin
3) Mix and add: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking powder
4) Bake in jelly roll pan for 25 minutes
5) Mix frosting ingredients, smooth over baked pumpkin bars

Update from Madison (My Day)

Hey :) Just felt like giving you all an update on life here in Madison.

It's been a good week so far. Mark and I finally hooked up the new PlayStation I got him for his birthday this year. We have been sending our evenings playing Soul Calibur 4. It's such a great game we we are almost tighed in our wins. I have 17 wins and he has 16 wins. It's nice to be good at a video game:) And I'm excited to get a few more games, also to watch a blue ray movie (the PlayStation plays blue ray disks)

Most days are good. I wake up and do some homework for my class (it's kinda hard) and listen to NPR. I play on my computer and then off to work. Work is OK. It's a little stressful at the after school care program. Some days are good and then some days the kids just go nuts and have a very hard time listening. Ack! It sucks to go to work and get walked all over. Some times I have to remind myself that I can always go out and get another job where people actually respect me and listen to me and I don't have to fight for it. ah, that would be nice :) But, my favorite part of the day is still the evening when Mark and I can be home and relax. We enjoy making dinner together and chatting. Sometimes we will go to a lecture or an event on camps or hang out with a friend or two. But other then that evenings are slow and it's my fav part of the day.

I have been fighting a constant cold that wont go away. I am totally going to get the flu shot this year! I just know I will get it from the kids at the preschool or the elementary school. I'm taking lots of vitamin C, D-3, B complex and such. My therapist recommended I take 5-HTP to boost my serotonin (which makes you happy :) and boosts your immune system), but I'm kinda freaked out to take it because it has been taken off the market a few times for making people very ill. Anyways, I know I should it just kinda scares me.

Mark and I still haven't finished our first puzzle. The last little bit is really hard, its all black pieces so it's challenging to see where they connect. But we will finish it soon and start our new one, which has a very northwestie motif.

To keep with the topic of hobbies, I just started reading a good book called Marley and Me. It's about a family who gets a spunky yellow lab puppy and their life together. I think Hollywood has made the book into a movie and it's coming out in the winter. It has Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. I'm not too far along in the book yet, but I like it so far and it's just nice to read something that doesn't make me think about my life or all the crap going on in the world.

Tomorrow I have a weekly planning meeting where I meet with my two co-teachers and we plan the next two weeks after school curricula for our room. I enjoy the meetings, its always nice to have some adult time away from the kids. We can talk regularly and relax. Also, we are going to be working on the Halloween curricula and that will be super fun :) I have some great ideas about cool projects we can do.

Ok peeps, I'm off to bed, it's 12:38 here is Madison. I need to be better at going to bed early:) Thanks for all the great recipes! Keep sending them to me and I will post them! I'm also gonna post more of my own in the next few weeks :)

Love,

Sarah

Shannon's Chicken Noodle Soup

Here is a great chicken noddle soup recipe from Shannon Gates (a awesome girlfriend of mine from college) Also Congrats to Shan and her husband George! They are proud parents of a little baby girl! Their little girl Charlotte Frances was born 3 and 1/2 weeks ago!

"When the weather changes, there is nothing I crave more than chicken noodle soup from scratch. Make a chicken stock: I like to do mine in the crock pot over night. One whole chicken carcass and rough chopped onions carrots and celery. Water to cover. Add the fresh spices you like best, I always use thyme and a few bay leaves, lots of salt too. Now heres the fun part. Noodles are EASY but take a little time! no pre purchased noodles please.

3/4 C all purpose flour in bowl, make a "well" and add 1 egg that has been barely combined with 1T water 1/2t salt and 1t oil. mix with hands till dough can be balled and comes clean from your hands. Knead for 10 min, no cheating! let it rest, covered, for an hour.
While dough rests, make your soup. Strain broth and add fresh veggies and chicken pieces from strained carcass.roll out dough, stretch it till nearly paper thin and translucent! sprinkle flour on dough as needed let "dry' for 30 min then roll dough up like a scroll and cut noodle strips, as if cutting a sushi roll. Cook noodles in rapidly boiling salted water for ten min and then add to soup. YUM! Hope you enjoy trying this recipe!"

Recipes from Elizabeth Archer

These two great pumpkin themed recipes are from Mark and I's friend Elizabeth Archer. She is a great cook and a very knowledgeable "foodie". She's got street cred. I can't wait to try them out! Thanks Elizabeth! (check out her blog about traveling/living in Chile and Argentina, it's listed on the right hand side of the page.)

Curried Chicken Pumpkin Soup

1 lb chicken,
cubed1 3-5 lb sugar pumpkin
Chicken or vegetable broth
1 medium sized onion, diced
several cloves garlic
curry powder (Indian variety)
masala and/or turmeric
cumin
Cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine the cubed chicken with several tablespoons olive oil, a generous amount of curry powder, two teaspoons cumin and Cinnamon, a teaspoon each of garam masala and turmeric (optional, adds depth), and salt and pepper to taste. If you're into spicy foods, you can also add cayenne, your favorite hot sauce, or red pepper flakes (I always use the latter). Set aside to marinate.
Cut the pumpkin into wedges. Scoop out the seeds (reserve if you're into roasting them - incidentally, these same spices make for great roasted seeds). Arrange the slices flesh-up on a cookie sheet or in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with curry, cumin, cinnamon, and salt, then drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 375 for 25 minutes or until, you know, baked (i.e. a fork should go in easily). (Alternately, you can boil the pumpkin, spices and all.)
Let the pumpkin cool until you can touch it. If you're lucky, the skin will peel right off. If not, well, you'll just have to deal with it until you get it all. In a food processor, blender, or with a hand mixer, purée the pumpkin (you can add a little broth to make it easier).
When you add the garlic is up to you. It depends on how garlicky you like it. I often puré the raw garlic with the pumpkin. You can also chop and sautée it with the chicken, or add it at the very end for an extra kick. You can even do all three!
In a non-stick soup pot, sauté the onions on medium heat (in olive oil or butter) for a few minutes before adding the chicken. Once the chicken is halfway cooked, add the pumpkin mixture and one cup broth. Bring to a simmer, then add more broth until you're satisfied with the thickness. Let simmer for 20-30 more minutes so the flavors marry and the chicken cooks. Add fresh ground pepper at the very end. (Low-fat option: add a half cup of cream at the end, too.) Serve with crusty bread. Reheats nicely!

Perfect Pumpkin Dessert

This is super easy and incredibly delicious. Always a big hit at dinner parties.
1 3-4 lb sugar pumpkin
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups water
salt
vanilla ice cream

Directions:
Cut the pumpkin into 5-6 wedges and remove the seeds. In a large pot, arrange the wedges around each other like half-moons (so the flesh is touching the bottom of the pot). Add brown sugar, then water. Cover the pot and let simmer for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is cooked through. Remove pumpkin and reserve the syrup. If you're lucky, the skin will peel right off. Sprinkle pumpkin with sea salt* and serve warm over vanilla ice cream. Offer syrup on the side for drizzling pleasure. (Note: this pumpkin-flavored syrup will keep in the fridge and is GREAT on breakfast foods!)*The salt is not optional in this recipe. Trust me, it's much better this way.

My Favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake (I have made this three times and its AMAZING!)

Ingredients
Serves 12

FOR THE CRUST
1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs (from 10 whole crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING
4 packages (8 ounces each) bar cream cheese , very soft
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons pumpkin-pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Assemble a 9-inch nonstick springform pan, with the raised side of the bottom part facing up.
Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour (do not overmix). Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.
Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform, and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven; reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. (you can put the cake in a water bath to ensure its cooks evenly) Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more (without opening).
Remove from oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Unmold before serving.

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Here is a great chili resepie I found:

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Ingredients
2 pounds ground chicken, coarsely ground preferred (or turkey)
3 tablespoons chili powder, plus 2 teaspoons
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 (28-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 medium sweet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and shredded
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup instant tapioca (recommended: Minute tapioca)
1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with seeds, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Pinch ground cloves (optional)
1/2 to 3/4 cup lager-style beer, optional
Toppings: Sour cream, shredded Cheddar or Jack cheese, chopped scallions, and chopped pickled jalapenos
Directions
Put the chicken in the slow cooker. Add 3 tablespoons of the chili powder and all the rest of the ingredients, except the beer. Stir everything together, cover, and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
Just before serving, stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons of chili powder, the beer, if using, and season with more salt and pepper, to taste, if desired. Divide the chili among warm bowls. Serve with the topping of your choice.
Know-How: Stirring in chili powder right before serving brightens the flavor of the chili.
Copyright (c) 2007 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved.

Enjoy!

Ode to Fall

I love fall! It's my favorite time of year, hands down! And this year I get to do all kinds of cool fall/ Halloween themed projects with all the kiddos! Like make apple sauce and carving pumpkins. Also, there is no school here on the 30th and the 31st so I think we are going to take the kids on a field trip to a pumpkin patch, which should be fun :)

Another thing I like about fall is it's the perfect time to try out all those cold weather recipes I have stored up. I plan to make some yummy dishes in my crock pot and to try a few casserole recipes in the oven too. I'm getting more into cooking and find myself excited about trying new dishes. So here is what I propose: If you have a good fall recipe you would like to share, you can post it in a comment or e-mail it to me and I will post it on my blog (telling everyone it is from you of course) I thought it would be a nice way for us to share some good fall cookin with each other. So, post or email away, and I look forward to your fall recipes. Also, I will post some of my own ones too :)

Take care!

Sarah