Monday, December 28, 2009
2009 Xmas List Recap
I'm recording our lists here again with what I can remember was received. I've updated my list and mom's list. Feel free to edit the post if you notice something incorrect or missing.
Mom's Wish List
Copies of the Twilght saga books after the 1st one rec'd? (not sure)
Steven King's and Dean Koontz's new books rec'd (DK's but not SK's)
Doo Wop music.
Meat cutting board...one that doesnt leak meat juices all over the counter. (I'm thinking possible bday present)
Barnes and Noble Gift Card Restaurant Gift Certs (Appleby's, Chili's, Friendly's or others in N'ton/Springfield area) rec'd
Silver Earrings rec'd
Coffee (favs are "Caribou Morning Blend" and "Green Mountain Hazel Nut" but she is open to suggestions) rec'd (and she's gonna get more for her bday!)
Chelsea's Wish List
crochet pattern books rec'd
knitting stuff so i can learn (instructions and needles) rec'd
christmas movies (already have rudolph) rec'd
kitchen stuff (namely, cookie sheets, cooling racks, measuring cups/spoons, pie plate, heat proof spatula, wooden spoon, etc) rec'd
books that youve read and enjoyed (fiction preferably) rec'd (I think?)
gift certificates are good too. i would always use ones from barnes & noble/borders, old navy, michaels (for yarn)...
Sarah's Wish List
Walmart card - Don't judge me. I'm poor.
Giftcards to Kroger, Food Lion, Harris Teeter (Like the seasonal opposite of the wise ant, I need to stock up for the summer. Or was that the grasshopper....?)
Giftcards to Exxon, BP, Shell rec'd
Books by Laurell Hamilton: Specifically, books 6 and later in the Anita Blake vampire hunter series. rec'd (3 books)
A copy of the HogFather (DVD) rec'd
Baking stuff (namely, cookie sheets, cooling racks, spatulas, wooden spoons, rolling pin, etc) rec'd
Queer as Folk - The complete series (Chelsea already gave me a giftcard to amazon that covers some of it. So more amazon giftcards would be awesome.)
Head set for phone: Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-70 or similar for Sony Ericsson w810i
Jill's Wish List
Small kitchen gadgets (lemon zester, apple corer, etc) rec'd
Imogen Heap CD "Ellipse" rec'd
Sting's New CD rec'd
Lost - Season 2 (on BluRay) rec'd
Mini whisk
Steven King's new book (The Dome) rec'd
Knee Socks (any color) rec'd
Super Tough Dog Toys/Balls
Stuffed Animal for River (w/out stuffing)
Extra Present
This may or may not be a ploy to get you to play more Wii Fit with me.
And Sarah - are you gonna come out and visit us?! Hope so!
If not, I hope you have a safe drive home. Love you! *hug*
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Note to Chelsea
We should make cookies or something this weekend.
-jill
Friday, December 11, 2009
The Italian Christmas Donkey!
(the song gets stuck in your head like crazy. you have been warned)
cajones
Can't Think of a Title...
I stumbled upon a comment on a blog post today that totally cracked me up. #330 on this post.
The comment says:
"a chicken alarm clock from my grandmother that sang “Hey baby, wake up! come and dance with me! wow, yeah.” wish i could find another..."
Do you guys remember that clock?! It was in a shop at Port Jeff I think. Too funny :)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Additions
I also added Walmart cards to mine, since Dean reminded me that I would get more food/gas/toilet paper per dollar if I shop there.
Also, Chelsea, Dean was wondering if you could send knitting patterns home with me if you have any.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Love you both.
This is my new apartment. I move next week.
http://www.shadyoakranch.com/1323acolemilldurhamnc.html
Sarah
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Oh Christmas Tree....
so my tree fell over again. i set it up. decorated it. all was well. and then the cats laying on the tree skirt made it fall over. so i took it all apart and taped the bejeesus out of the little plastic feet and put it back up on the back of a framed poster so it was on level ground. that worked well. i put lights on it and left it for a few days. since it was still straight and all happy, i put ornaments on it and left it. then it got all wobbly or something because of the ornament weight and it fell over again. justin thinks the fact that octavian was sitting on the base/tree skirt and chewing on a branch didnt help things either. it broke a few ornaments, pissed me off...
so i took it apart AGAIN, used more tape... taped it to the poster backing. put it back up. i have lights on it. and my paper star up top. but im a little hesitant to put ornaments on it, even non breakable ones, since i dont want to undress the damn tree again when it falls over. i also dont want to put the tree skirt on it because octavian LOVES to lay on it and that cant help things. ....but this is what the base looks like:
and thats less than visually appealing. damn piece of shit christmas tree. once the holidays over, im throwing the damn thing away. one less piece of garbage to store until we move.
cajones
Sunday, November 29, 2009
since my tree is fake i think im gonna put it up today and decorate it... assuming i can get myself motivated to get dressed and do stuff here before 7pm. the cats seem less crazy than last year so hopefully they wont want to climb in the tree like before. i probably will keep it in a closed-off-able room just in case though.
<3
cajones
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Apple Crisp Recipe
-cajones
Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp
3lbs of apples, whatever type you want, peeled cored and cut into medium chunks
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup flour
2 cups oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix apple chunks with lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a 9x13inch baking dish until apples are evenly coated.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the honey. Stir in the flour, oats, almonds, coconut and another pinch of salt until clumps form. Sprinkle evenly over the apple mixture and bake in the oven for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the apples are softened and bubbly.
Should the granola brown before you wish it to, cover the baking dish carefully with foil for all but the last few minutes of baking time, when removing the foil will help the granola re-crisp. Cool at room temperature and then stash in the fridge to eat with your morning yogurt.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Apple Pie
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Recipe Update
but i did finally get around to making the pumpkin pudding recipe i posted last year.
it was retardedly easy to make. literally, just whisk vanilla pudding mix with a can of evaporated milk, chill for 5 minutes, add pumpkin and some spices, chill, and then eat the entire freaking thing
oh my god it so good. the only thing missing is the crust. im a little tempted to just put the damn pudding in a graham cracker crust and go to town. mmmmmmmmmm
try it!
cajones
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Best. Pie. Ever. (Seriously)
Make sure you use apples good for baking. Cortlands. Romes. You want something a little tart that won't break down while cooking.
Monday, September 14, 2009
failed chowder
first of all, i didnt have cream or half and half or anything higher fat content wise than 1% milk. i think this was a big ol' problem. i shouldve MADE justin go get me some, but i went "eh... this'll work". it didnt.
second, there was waaay too much potato and not nearly enough corn. if i left out a couple potatoes, or used smaller ones, i think it wouldve been fine.
third, the potatoes i did use were cut into pieces that were too big. it was on low for like 7ish hours and the potatoes were just barely cooked through.
fourth (god the mistakes keep coming), there was too much chowder in too little a space and i think that slowed the whole process down a lot. next time: make half a batch.
fifth (maybe?). i dont know if this is strictly true, but there wasnt enough liquid at the party. maybe if there was less potato, the liquid would be absorbed less and the chowder would be a little soupier...? but at first it seemed more like soup than chowder (TOO soupy) and then after i ate my bowl, it was like not soupy at all. it was just... potato corn pastiness. so not awesome.
so in general, the chowder sucked balls. i ate a bowl. justin had enough to fill him up. but i dont want to eat the leftovers we have. i know how awesome it COULD be so i will try again, im sure, but jesus i better remember what i did wrong, 'cause if i mess it up again im gonna be angry with myself.
cajones
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Recipes
6 ears of corn
2 Tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon flour
3 cups cream
6 small or 3 large potatoes (sarah uses yukon golds)
bacon (optional, but oh so tasty)
Scrape corn off cobs with a knife. Saute onion and potatoes in butter about 2-3 minutes. Add corn and flower, simmer until it thickens.
Put into crock pot. Add cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low all day.
Top with bacon. mmmmmmmm
Applesauce Pie
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 jar (15 oz) apple sauce, about 1 1/2 cups
1 stick of butter, softened
3 eggs
pie crust
Preaheat oven to 425
In medium mixing bowl combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, applesauce, butter and eggs. Blend thoroughly. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, reduce temperature to 350 and continue baking 20-30 more minutes, or until center of pie is set.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Happy Birthday, Sarah!
WE MISS AND LOVE YOU!
*hug*
*hug*
*hug*
*hug*
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Good Pics!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Happy Birthday, Chelsea!
I don't think we can fit 24 candles all on one cake...
So, I came up with a better idea. I sure hope the bakery does a good job!
I don't think Justin will want any though, do you? ;)
Have a nice time at dinner tonight! I can't wait for all three of us to celebrate this weekend!!
Love (stab) you!
jill
Monday, August 17, 2009
Whoa.
This is the most disturbing family portrait I've ever seen.
http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/08/15/saturday-night-special-the-skivees/
Seriously. At what point in a photo shoot do these outfits become acceptable? I can't even imagine.Friday, August 14, 2009
I feel like chicken tonight, like chicken tonight!
Ingredients
6 jumbo pasta shells (conchiglioni)
Filling:
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups arugula
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works well)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 cup grape tomato halved
Italian parsley for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil add the pasta shells and cook for approximately 9 minutes until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water being careful not to break the shells. Set aside.
Meanwhile prepare the filling. In a large bowl mix together the ricotta and Parmesan. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook 1 minute, being careful not to brown it. Stir in the arugula until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped chicken and stir well. Remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. Add chicken mixture to cheese mixture and stir carefully. Stuff each shell with approximately 1/2 cup of the cheese filling and place in prepared baking dish.
For sauce, heat the butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant but not brown. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the cream and milk and whisk until mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and add the chives, 1 cup Parmesan, cherry tomatoes and stir gently. Pour sauce over shells and sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and cheese is golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley.
FNK notes: recipe makes too much filling
~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~~
Just posting the recipe for the alfredo sauce because I'm makin chicken alfredo pizza tonight damnit! But this recipe looks good too so... there ya go.
-jill
p.s. ice cream and cake and cake, ice cream and cake and cake! ICE CREAM AND CAKE, DO THE ICE CREAM AND CAKE! ICE CREAM AND CAKE, DO THE ICE CREAM AND CAKE!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Almost Birthday Time!
p.s. check out the virtual turtles at the very bottom of the blog - you can feed them by clicking in their area. so cute.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Plant Updates!
this is my first tomato from the tomato plant i bought at home depot (too impatient to wait for my seedlings to produce anything). it was very tiny but it tasted good.
...and that wont be the only tomato i get. this is the plant and theres another tomato almost ready to be used. yey!
unfortunately, this is my jalapeno plant these days. i dont know what happened... i was watering it and giving it plenty of sun, but all the leaves fell off last month or so. im thinking i'll just get rid of them next week some time cause lets face it... its a lost cause. poor jalapenos, they served me well for a while, but now theyve got to go simply because they depress the hell out of me when i go water my other, more happy plants.
-cajones
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Recipe I need to try...

i dont want to forget this recipe exists before i can make it myself so im putting it here as a reminder.... -cajones
Nutmeg-Maple Cream Pie
Adapted from the New York Times
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 9-inch pie crust or tart shell.
1. Par-bake pie crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line pie refrigerated pie shell with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until beginning to set. Remove foil with weights and bake 15 to 18 minutes longer or until golden. If shell puffs during baking, press it down with back of spoon. Cool on wire rack. Lower temperature to 300 degrees.
2. Prepare filling: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce maple syrup by a quarter, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and egg. Whisking constantly, slowly add cream mixture to eggs. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a cup or bowl with pouring spout. Stir in salt, nutmeg and vanilla.
4. Pour filling into crust and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pie is firm to touch but jiggles slightly when moved, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature before serving.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Look What I Made!
learning to crochet... this is the first thing (besides little squares that are too small for anything) that i made! some of the stripe changing ends of yarn wont lay flat and are visible and pissing me off. but i made a scarf that actually looks like a scarf! hurray!
next on the list: blanket
cajones
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Does it really work...?
No-Knead Bread
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast1
¼ teaspoons salt
(some water...)
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
cajones
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Mother's Day
anyone have any ideas? or has anyone asked mom if she wants anything?
cajones
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Doggie Agility Class

He freakin loves climbing on top of things and running through tunnels so I always wanted to get him into agility. Sadly I had never been able to find any classes in this area. Late fall of last year I found a contact list of a bunch of agility people and sent out a bunch of emails. I got several responses but they were all an hour + away. I finally decided my want to do at least one class with him was greater than my un-want to drive that far so I commited to a class that's about an hour away from his daycare (Cody) and a little more than an hour away from our house. It's in NY but very close to the MA border.
We had a great time. The drive ended up being not too bad. I think he enjoyed the agility stuff, he got tons of yummy treats (to make him do what I wanted him to do haha), and he got to play with the other three dogs in the class.
Chelsea even went with us and sat through one of the classes :)
Here are the pics I took (and the teacher took) on the last night of class: http://infinite.darklight.com/agilclass1/
I have signed us up for "part 2" class which starts tomorrow. I am kind of dreading the drive but I'll be glad I went. River does really well with all the agility stuff. If we practiced enough I bet I could compete with him. I'd be really interested in doing that but I have no where close that I could practice and I highly doubt he could compete without multiple practices every week. I guess I'll see how this next class goes.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Plant Progression
strawberries, day 3:
strawberries, day 5:
strawberries, day 8 (with my hand for reference):
tomatoes (cant remember which are the cherry ones and which are the big ones), day 8:
Kitty Adventures
first off (sarah), we moved the turtle tank stand into position this past weekend and put the big glass tank on it to see how it would look. there are some adjustments that need to be made to the filter, so we didnt set it up completely. no water, no turtles. however, because the cats have had free range of the tank and stand since they were moved here, they decided it was just a new cat jungle-gym. even though i tried to show roland that the tank was on the stand, he DID jump up and whacked his head against the glass, then slowly slid off the stand, trying desperately to hold on. it was kinda sad. we moved a chair near by so this wouldnt happen again. unfortunately, the blanket on top of the tank (so they could see it from afar) did not deter them. they simply jumped onto the blanket and slowly sank in. once inside, they had a lot of fun:
before bed, justin and i had to take the tank down. we had moved the chair hoping it would stop play time. but octavian still managed to get inside and roland sat on the counter meowing loudly, staring at his brother because he couldnt get in too.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Kitty with abandonment issues drives Sarah nuts
Hence, any act of abandonment up to and including my leaving the house, is considered to be an act of betrayal and is to be met with extreme behavior, including but not limited to frantic crying, throwing himself at the blinds of the window until they are destroyed and, failing my return at that point, throwing himself at the window.

He purrs neurotically whenever I come home, touch him, or look at him.
He has taken to climbing into the fridge every time I open the door, attempting, I think, to help me make dinner.

He sleeps with me, and if I get up to pee, he has to come with and guard the door. If I sit at the table, he has to sit on the next chair. If I type on the computer, he has to touch the keyboard, and if I watch Battlestar Galactica, he stares at the screen.

He squints a lot and I think he is near-sighted.
Cruiser thinks he is an embarrassment to the name of cat, but he tolerates him just fine and seems happier to not be alone.
We are a weird little family.
Love,
Sarah the crazy cat lady
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Nothin Much To Say Lately
Did you get your cat, Sarah? How are he and Cruiser doing together?
Chelsea and I made chai pancakes this past Saturday and they were ohhh so delicious. Tons of flavor. If you like chai and pancakes the recipe is here:
http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/03/chai-spiced-buttermilk-pancakes/
Right now im sitting at work drinking a sweet tea and thinking i'd rather just surf the web all day than do any real work. That's the evil procrastinator-jill trying to get out. get back in there and shut up! no, i'm not listening to youuuu... lalalala lalala
My lilies in the front yard are peaking their little green heads out of the ground but it was really cold last night and it's 26 in downtown Albany as I type this. Brrrr
Can't wait for SPRING!
Love yas,
jill
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Birth Announcement




Ok, not really. But I may have found the newest member of our family. I have been trying to decide on a cat (there are many options) and was pretty sure I had until I met this guy. I walked into the room and he immediately rubbed on my legs, then jumped in my lap, then let me hold him like a baby and rub his tummy, then fell asleep on me. He is goofy and playful and also a little regal and friendly. He's kinda weird-looking, very soft, and basically, I think we were made for eachother. Also, his name is Fenway.
I am going to email his foster mom tomorrow and let her know that I will be ready to adopt when I get back from Florida. If he gets along with Cruiser, he stays. If not, then we'll have to try something else.
xoxo
Sarah
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Ask and you shall receive
Friday, March 6, 2009
Gimme that fish!
Chels got me with the yoyoyo yo baby pop song but this is way worse to get stuck in your head! *laugh*
Yay it's almost the weekend again!
Sarah, I've been thinkin of you. Let us know how you are doing.
-jill
Thursday, March 5, 2009
yo yo yo....
come here give me a kiss
better make it fast or else I'm gonna get pissed
can you hear the music pumpin' hard like i wish u would?
now push it
do do do do doo do doo do dooo do doo do!
doo do do do doooo do





