liquid gooold.

am i the only person on the planet who has seen this commercial?:

i say 'liquid goooooooold' all the damn time and no one ever has any idea what i'm talking about.

rude.

anywho!

lets talk about some liquid gold that aint gunna clog yo damn arteries.

chicken stock.

bam.

so good.

we have roast chicken at least once a week in this house

and letting the bones go to waste is definitely not an option.

so stock i make. 

Chicken Stock:

1 organic, free range, no added anything chicken

(cooked and de-meated)

water to cover

**i had some carrots and onions that needed to be used, so i just tossed them in

-throw everything in the crockpot and turn that sucker on low.

-leave for at least 24 hours.

-strain out all bones and chunks

-let come to room temp

-stick the stock in the fridge (these pics are all pre-fridge)

-the fat will solidify on the top of the stock

-scrape off the fat and dispose

-at this point, i separate and freeze

voila!

perfect base for any soup, stew, sauce, etc.

i've actually got a chicken caracas in the fridge right now.

this time i'll take pics of the process :)

wile e. coyote.

THIS IS LIVING IN MY BACKYARD! 

coyotes are taking over in the woods behind our house and i'm not happy about it.

nevermind the fact that they are pushing out so much of the wildlife,

they're scary as all getup!

well... they actually look more like this than the above pic:

looks kinda friendly, eh?

yeah right. i've read that they stalk humans out on walks, eat livestock,

can jump fences, and will most definitely eat my dog.

plus, we hear this at around 3am far too often for me to think that they're cute and friendly:

oh, and i've had way too many dreams of mutant coyotes picking our locks at night and 

breaking into our house and grabbing kevan by the throat for the "kill bite".

(watching the ID channel at night and then having their howls wake you up at 3am aint a good combo).

how do we get rid of these scary beasts??

image image video image

October the 1st.

october has already been a very productive month for me and i hope it stays that way.

i've strained my chicken stock

frozen some meals that i made for the kevster and i

dusted a majority of the house

made iced coffee

read some of my book (marie antoinette: the journey. such an interesting life)

watched harry potter 7 (don't tell kevan)

did the dishes and put away the laundry

finally sat down to write this here blog post

and it's only 12:30.

holla!

now i just have to vacuum and start part 8 before leaving for work in a hour.

during these fabulously colorful 31 days i hope to:

organize mah home life.

get school set up for next semester.

finish some projects around here.

start decorating.

make a myriad of apple delicacies.

go to an oktoberfest celebration.

visit an apple orchard.

STAY FOCUSED.

any big plans in your present and future 31 days?

mr. sandman.

bring me a dream! make someone else do my sanding for me!

i honestly can say that sanding is my least favorite part of any house project.

i can't stand it. maybe it's because i'm a creature of immediate gratification and 

sanding just doesn't do it for me, or maybe it's all the dust getting into my whose its

and whatnots... it's both. yes. it's definitely both. 

anywho...

we have this bank of windows in the front of our house that is the same ugly wood

trim as the rest of our house. we've slowly (very slowly) been painting everything white, 

but it's taken a while (did i mention we've been doing this slowly?) to get to the dining room.

 so last week (or maybe the week before) i got it in me to start the process and today,

the window looks the exact same. in fact, i just looked over and noticed that the

sandpaper and sanding block are still sitting on the table just as they are in this picture... sad.

 now that i've aired my dirty procrastinators laundry, i'm determined

to use this post as a motivator for me to get 'er done. 

by this time next week, i will be posting pictures of the finished product!

and if i dont, i'll probably have some wicked excuse as to why it didn't 

happen, which will probably be just as cool.

well... i have to go take a nap start sanding!

wish me luck :(

thinking.

i've been thinking a lot lately. maybe too much.

sometimes i feel like there are so many thoughts, to do lists, remember

this' and remember that's that i can't find one clear thought.

like there are so many strings stuffed up there that it's hard

to pull a single, solitary one out.

on days like these, i need to force myself to pause, unplug, and write.

that always seems to help somehow. 

allowing myself to be undistracted and clear minded.

the jumbled mess of strings just seem to make more sense in those moments.

occupied.

have you seen Disney's Cinderella?

no... not that one. 

the one with Whitney Houston, Brandy, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander, Woopi Goldberg, etc.

it was a made for tv movie back in '97.

fabulous.

i loved it then and it's on BET now, so i'm busy for the next 2 hours.

impossible things are happening everyday! 

happy birthday to mrs. child.

happy 100th birthday to you, Mrs. Child!

you led an extraordinary life of adventure and accomplishment

and paved the way for female chefs alike. 

you were an amazing woman with amazing talents 

and today we celebrate YOU!

he's back!

wait. no. she's back. i'm back. yeah, that's it.

that's just one of my all time favorite scenes in one of my all time favorite sagas.

you know, when fudge steps out of the flue in the ministry of magic

at the end of the order of the phoenix and he sees voldemort standing over

harry potter and in that moment he realizes that he-who-must-not-be-named

is really back, as hp has been saying since that night in the graveyard when he 

witnessed cedric's death and the rebirth of the dark lord, but no one had believed him

until that very moment, when fudge says "he's back!"?

no? well then we can't be friends.

just kidding! i'll take what i can get ;)

anywho...

my man friend and i are back from a relaxing, rejuvenating week at the lake.

filled with sleeping in, naps on the dock, movies whenever we want, yummy food,

visiting family, swimming swimming swimming, and lots lots more.

man we love the lake.

our first night and an amazing sunset

more on that later this week.

for now, i have cleaning to do before... dundunduuuun... 

i have to leave for work.

is it sunday yet?

is it sunday yet??

ugh. i feel like i'm 9 and it's december 23rd.

when will i get to open my presents???

in this case, there are no presents. just yummy food,

good drinks, and the cabin all to our lonesome for a whole week.

a whole week! just me and my man friend and our girl and the lake

and NO INTERNET or TV and sunshine and books and card games and 

movies at night and campfires with jumbo marshmallows for s'mores.

is it sunday yet??????

"the DC"... as my dad calls it.

actually he doesn't call it that at all, but apparently

he got a tweet from my great aunt vicki who DOES call it "the DC".

a tweet...

anyways! 

the Dolan Classic is an amazing tradition that my dad's family has had

for the past 42 years. it's kind of amazing if you think about it. 

the family started with my great grandparents who, through struggle and hard times,

raised 13 amazing individuals. out of them came 72 (i think that's the correct number!)

including my dad. and from there we continue to multiply... like good irish catholics :)

during the last full weekend in july, we dolans migrate from where ever

we are in the world to the southwest quadrant of minnesota to spend a weekend

golfing, drinking, and catching up with our beloved extended family.

for us, it starts with the drive through the minnesota river valley:

past a few farms:

   

and down a country road or two:

after that, it's a blur of hugs and laughter and singing

and more laughter... possibly a beer or two... and more hugs.

every year, since i was able to go, we've stayed at the same motel.

it used to be called the cozy grove- not the wilder inn,

 but i guess it's one of the places that will always be the cozy grove, always.

guaranteed top 5 weekend every year. this time included a little

tongue lashing from the hells angels. as if i'm scared of some pansies on bikes.

ok... i may have shit my pants... twice.

next year i plan on being a pro photographer and coming back

with something other than iphone pics.

speaking of... i'm seeing a trend in the filter i've been choosing.

time for a change, tricia. time for a change. 

the other day.

the other day...

the girl had her sassy face on.

so i asked her if she wanted to play... and she said of course!

so she got ready...

i threw the ball high up into the trees...

and she took off.

she caught the ball in midair...

and came running back to me to play again.

winnie, you're my favorite girl <3

life in pics.

i can't believe how fast this summer has gone.

the older you get i guess :)

the dolan classic.

kevan and i spent a few days in southwestern mn over the weekend.

it's a guaranteed top 5 weekend of every year. 

i'm late for work! more on this later :)

the continuation.

as promised...

Strasbourg, France

Paris, France

and last but certainly not least:

a sexy picture of my sexy lover at versailles.

we spent a day wandering the palace and gardens

and it was wonderful.

best friend,

thank you for going on this adventure with me.

you made it magical.

love,

roo