I love you, friends!

In response to my email about not being able to give Christmas Gifts this year (see "Christmas This Year..." post below), my friends have been so completely awesome. I have received nothing but positive & encouraging notes, and so many people saying that the holidays are not about giving gifts.

It's amazing how much society has burned into our brains that it's all about presents and money and buying things! It's wonderful to know that I'm lucky enough to have friends that get the true picture.

All you guys out there - I can't say it enough. I loves yas.

Beth's Cheapie Mocha

I don't know about you guys, but my work brews the skunkiest coffee.

It's just cheap is all, and leaves that sour icky aftertaste in your mouth. Well I've recently discovered the best remedy to get a little daily coffee kick for free - while simultaneously eliminating the burnt-coffee taste, AND satisfying your sweet tooth! I know, hard to believe, eh? What's great is that this works for if you're on a tight budget and have to pass on the high-end coffee for a while, as a box of store brand hot cocoa packets usually only go for just over a buck.

Beth's Cheapie Mocha (makes 1 drink)
- brewed cheap coffee
- 1 package of hot cocoa (any kind)
- creamer (any kind)

Fill your mug 1/2 of the way with coffee, and about 1/4 of the way with creamer, then dump in your hot cocoa packet & stir. Top with whipped cream if your heart so desires!

Yep - it's that simple! Lucky for me, my work comes well equipped with all of the ingredients. I'm gonna be a happy girl this winter...

Christmas this year...

A letter to my friends:

It's that time of year again!

I don't know about you guys, but it has been quite another amazing year for me. I've had some hard times, but more awesome times - and every moment of the latter I credit to all of you.

This December marks my first official year living in my apartment downtown and as many of you know - paying for rent, food, and to quote Destiny's Child: Bills, Bills, Bills (while also having a good time and divulging in our spontaneous youth every now & then) can take quite a toll on the old bank account. I'm sure there are many of you in worse circumstances than me - as I still (thank GOD) have a job, and an (albeit modest) income. However I was recently reminded of how poor my financial situation has become - not necessarily due to carelessness, but more so due to unforeseen events that have caused my checking and credit card accounts to plummet. Most of which had to do with a certain elderly kitty cat, and a poor little blue car that died.

And after that long-winded explanation, I come to my conclusion. I unfortunately will not be able to give Christmas gifts this year. There I said it! Ugh!

In an effort to make this holiday season a little less strenuous on your finances as well - please do not worry about getting a gift for me! I hope that you can all understand my situation. The good news about all of this? I will instead be spreading my usual Christmas cheer around even MORE this year for all to hear! Just because I will not be able to give traditional gifts does not mean that this holiday season will not be as wonderful as it always is. I will be baking lots of cookies, wearing lots of red & green (and my santa hat), embarrassing you all by singing carols at inappropriate moments, and trying desperately to show you all how much I love you.

Just think about Mister Grinch. Well - not the Grinch at the beginning of the story - but the Grinch at the end! It's not about all of the gifts and wahoozits - it's about family, friendship, and love! Well, and lil' baby Jesus of course, but it's still all in the spirit of the season. :)

Thank you all for being such wonderful people, and such amazing friends. I love you all so freakin' much.

A Bit of Etiquette

I tend to think that a lot of etiquette is generally pretty common sense. Some examples:

- If you attend a dinner party, don't drink too much.
- If you walk through a door, you hold it open for the person behind you.
- You say "please" and "thank you".
- You offer to help your friend clean up after a party.
- You offer to bring something if invited to dinner at someone's house.

Just some basic common courtesy, you know?

The other day it was my turn to have our book club meeting at my apartment. It was a lovely morning, and I had a wonderful time! The only thing that was frustrating was a repeated lack of etiquette by one of our members. She shows up with her meal to share, with none of it prepared. She asks if she can use my blender - which she knows I do not have a dishwasher, and that I would have to clean when she is done using it. She makes a bit of a mess in my kitchen, gets butter on my table which I have to wipe up, then doesn't bother to put away the things that she uses.

If you need to pop something in the oven that's one thing. But creating your entire dish in the hostesses kitchen, while leaving her to clean up the mess is quite another!

In previous book clubs, she brought her puppy along without asking anyone first. I adore puppies, but they are terribly distracting, and the situation made it difficult to keep the discussion going without interruption.

When she had us over at her house for a meeting, she had a friend's 5-year-old daughter still at her house that she was babysitting. It's understandable that a 5-year-old would be much more interested in playing with the puppy rather than sitting still at a book club meeting, and it made for the worst & most unfocused meeting we've ever had. The babysitting shouldn't have overlapped with our meeting, and should have been planned for ahead of time as a courtesy to the rest of us.

So please, pretty please - remember this the next time you attend a dinner at someone's house. Your friend will appreciate it very much! Maybe even pick up Amy Sedaris's book (in picture). I hear it's a hilarious & funny way to learn etiquette of throwing and attending a dinner party (my sister swears by it)!

What a nightmare!

I had a terrible nightmare last night!

It involved me, my little sister, and my friend Mindy being trapped in a glass elevator, way up high on the roof of some building. We were in there for a really long time, and my dad was trying to help us get out, but he couldn't. Suddenly something cut loose, and we began to fall. We fell forever and ever, and hugged each other and said how much we loved each other. We hit the bottom, and I felt like we didn't die instantly but in a horrible twisted mess of awfulness.

It woke me up at 2am this morning, and I tossed & turned until 3am trying to get back to sleep. I don't know where it came from, and I don't think I've had a dream so awful before!

Luckily I had my trusty stuffed lamb pillow to snuggle, which helped.

Of course, I don't think I'll be able to get in an elevator again anytime soon!

Need a drink?

Do you ever just have those moments where you think: Gosh, I could really use a cocktail!

I'm having one of those moments right now!
I guess it comes with the territory that you're going to have to deal with assholes every now & then when you work in the entertainment business. And not that I'm being driven to drink by one silly little situation. We'll it's certainly part of it, but not the whole reason.

I guess it's just dealing with a couple of jerks lately, and feeling in need of a vacation. A bit of a break. Getting away from it all!

But all I can do at the moment for that (since I'm pretty darn broke right now) is the economical thing - and have a drink. Which I can't even do until I'm done with work, because I consider myself a responsible person.

Just another 3 hours & 35 minutes to go....

Breckenridge Opening Weekend - YEAH!!

I'm super duper excited about this snowboarding season - really super duper excited.
Breckenridge resort opens this weekend, and I couldn't be happier! I started the season late last year, out of sheer laziness and didn't take full advantage of what my Colorado Pass had to offer. This year is going to be different though - I can feel it!

I've only been up once so far (to A-Basin), so I'm hitting up Breckenridge this weekend for some snowy snowy fun. Best part? I get to stay in town for FREE on Friday night! YEEEE HEW!!! The company I work for is promoting the Craig Robinson show that is happening that night. So for a mere 3-4 hours of easy-peasy work in the beautiful town o' Breck, I get a free comedy show & a place to stay overnight!

Golly, I love my job. :)

This pic is from a few years ago, back when my hair was super long! If any of you are going to be in the town of Breckenridge on Friday night, be sure to check out the show at the Riverwalk Center. Full details can be found on www.comedyworks.com. It's gonna be FUN!!

Butternut Squash Bread Pudding

It's recipe time again!
I found this one on one of my favorite recipe websites - Epicurious.com. The recipe was featured in Bon Appetit - November 2009 issue, and is by Jill Silverman Hough.

This is a great recipe to bring to a fall potluck - or as a different & filling side dish for Thanksgiving! (not that you need things that fill you up MORE on Thanksgiving!) I made it for our Halloween party, and it turned out pretty well. However, if you aren't a big fan of Kale (which I realized I am not!), then definitely substitute something else such as spinach. I will definitely make it that way the next time because the Kale was icky to me.

OH - and do NOT use vegan butter to grease the dish! Everything stuck to the sides, and was hell to get off - it was as though I hadn't greased the dish at all.

Without further ado - here is the recipe!

Butternut Squash & Cheddar Bread Pudding

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds peeled seeded butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
7 large eggs
2 1/4 cups half and half
6 tablespoons dry white wine
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 day-old baguette (do not remove crust), torn into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)
1 cup chopped shallots (about 4 large)
2 bunches Tuscan kale (about 1 pound), ribs removed, kale coarsely chopped - OR spinach (which is what I would prefer!)
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss squash with 1 tablespoon oil on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt; bake until squash is tender, turning with spatula occasionally, 20 to 25 minutes.

Whisk eggs in large bowl. Add half and half, wine, mustard, and 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt; whisk to blend. Add baguette pieces; fold gently into egg mixture. Let soak 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until soft, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add kale; cover and cook 2 minutes. Uncover and stir until kale is wilted but still bright green, about 5 minutes (kale will be a bit crunchy).

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Generously butter 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Using slotted spoon, transfer half of bread from egg mixture to prepared baking dish, arranging to cover most of dish. Spoon half of kale over bread. Spoon half of squash over bread and kale; sprinkle with half of cheese. Repeat with remaining bread, kale, squash, and cheese. Pour remaining egg mixture over bread pudding.

Cover bread pudding with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered until custard is set and bread feels springy to touch, about 20 minutes longer.

Preheat broiler; broil pudding until cheese browns slightly, about 2 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and serve.

Thoughts on Love...

We're reading this lovely book for my book club this month called "Love Walked In" - it's the first novel from writer Maria De Los Santos, and it's a beautiful story about how love hits you when you least expect it.

There's a moment in the story where this 11-year-old girl (Clare) looks at two people and understands what it's like to be in love. She sees that they behave like they always did, but the connection is there, the way they see each other is more than they see other people - and she gets it.

There was a moment when I saw this last night between my married friends - Nikki & Matt. We had just watched the guys' hockey game, and Matt was sitting on the bleachers near us, telling us all about what happened while they were playing. I looked over at Nikki, and saw her looking at Matt while he was talking. I don't think she noticed, but I saw that look on her face. The complete calmness, the slight smile, the shine in her eyes - it was all there. In that one look she felt so much love for him that I felt fortunate to be in such close proximity to such a beautiful moment. Knowing that Matt sees all of those wonderful things in Nikki too just fills my heart, and gives me hope for so many things. Not only the hope that I can find that kind of love someday in my life, but that that kind of love exists.

It's beautiful, and really simple when you get down to it. Love. Love, love, love. It's a good thing.

The "Safety Bicycle" - Why it's good for you

I've been riding a "road bike" for a while now. It's awesome - really fast & easy to steer, although I always wear my helmet as I'm terrified of hitting some unforeseen obstacle (pothole, cat, whatever), and careening head first over my handle bars.

Turns out, my cruiser bike is actually a much safer design, and the reason why I don't feel as at-risk of head trauma as I do on my road bike. I found a post on one of my favorite blogs (Copenhagen "Cycle Chic") that was all about this phenomenon of the "Safety Bike". It's a simple design, and the most used type of bicycle in the world. Here's an excerpt from the post:


Why is the upright bicycle safe? First of all, have a look at the two girls in the photo at the top. Look at their posture. Not only pleasing their mothers, it is elegant. But more than that, this upright posture means that their center of gravity is in much the same spot as it is when they are walking. Homo sapiens have been around for about 200,000 years and prior to that, other upright-walking species have spent around 2 million years evolving this all-important centre of gravity to near-perfection. In other words, our center of gravity is quite handy in helping us get around. In addition, it is something that we use every single day in almost every move we make. We're quite good at using it.

Compare this to the riding position on, for example, racing bikes. The upper body is pitched forward, which causes the center of gravity to shift. In this position the point is dangling in mid-air somewhere over the crossbar. Just think about braking sharply. Your body must battle to keep the weight of your upper body from chucking you forward, which is unnatural for homo sapiens. In an upright position, your body knows how to readjust itself for this sudden stopping motion, much like when you stop suddenly when walking or jogging.

The racing position is great for people who... well... race or who like to go fast. Works perfectly for them, which is super. If you look at established bicycle cultures, the majority of people don't wish to adhere to this way of riding, preferring to merely use the bicycle as a quick and easy tool for getting around and wearing the clothes they have in the closets to do so. Not surprisingly, the upright bicycle is more often than not their vehicle of choice.

There's much more about why these bikes are rockin', so if you want to read up more on it, be sure & check out the blog (I adore all of the photos on it - they're lovely all on their own)! I'll always adore my hand-me-down Raleigh road bike (thank you, Amber!), but now I just love my Raleigh Robin Hood Cruiser even more. Thanks for keepin' my noggin safe, buddy.

(photo courtesy of http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/)