New Year's Eve - Fun Fun FUN!

Well kids, it's officially the last day of 2009... and I'm still at work for some reason. WHAAA? I gotta get the heck outta here!

On that note, I'm posting a blog written by someone else. No, it's not because I'm being a lazy ass (entirely). But it's because it made me laugh my booty off this morning when I read it. The guy who writes this daily blog is named Rocky, and he works for steepandcheap.com. It's a great website if you've never visited - they sell one thing at a super discounted price 'till it's gone, then put a new thing up on the site. It's mostly for camping/outdoors gear, but there are a bunch of other sites just like it - chainlove.com (for the bike enthusiasts), whiskeymilitia.com (snowboarding/skateboarding gear & attire - and my personal favorite), etc.

So here's what he wrote this lovely December 31st, 2009. Hope you all have a wonderful & safe New Year's! :)

I don't get that into New Year's Eve. Too much pressure to have the night of your life. The worst place to find yourself on New Year's is one of those bars that charges a $100 cover at 8pm and then offers an open bar until last man standing. People destroy themselves in the only way an open bar allows. I don't blame them; they paid $100 to get in so they better get their money's worth. It's better to go to those bars after midnight when everyone who was inside has moved outside to throw up on the sidewalk. Last year I walked between bars at about 12:30, and the city garbage cans were so crowded with vomiters that people had to taken to the streets in groups of three or four. Maybe this year I'll celebrate New Year's on Friday night instead of Thursday so I can avoid the crowds. It would also give me an opportunity to do something I've always wanted: A daring New Year's Eve jewel heist that I get away with since everyone but me is champagne drunk.

Hairdye Time

I just got back from a hair color "consultation" from the Aveda Institute, where they allow near-graduates cut / dye your hair at a very discounted rate. Although a while ago I shelved the idea of drastic cuts from them (trust me there), I thought a dye would be different, and figured "what the heck"?

Let me back up. I originally wanted a super drastic change for my hair (see pictures below).


OK - ignore the weird-lookin' chicks, and focus on the hair! FABULOUS / PUNKY / AWESOME! My hair has been the blunt-bang-black-bettie page cut forever now, and I wanted a big ol' change. In college I had the hot pink hair, as well as fire engine red - but because I didn't know anything about bleaching I absolutely FRIED my hair.

So I thought I'd go the safer route this time & get it done professionally. I called my favorite Denver salon "Moxie", but their price was $100 for the first hour, and $65 for each additional hour it took to get the color out of my hair. They said that for my dark color, 3 hours would be the minimal time, and that does not include putting the other colors in. I almost had a heart attack, and promptly hung up.

Back to the Aveda salon. This is supposed to be a discounted option. To take the color out = $150-$200... and to do a dye over top (not even the bleaching, but just a simple brown color) even more than that. I can't believe people spend this much money to get their freakin' hair dyed! RIDICULOUS!

So I waltzed my thrifty-ass over to Rite-Aid, and bought myself a box of Colorsilk "Chocolate Brown" hairdye for $4.19. I am pretty sure I can find better ways to spend my money (see post below)... :)

Christmas is over...

And it went by so darn fast!

I knew that my 5-days off work would zip by in a blur of family time, wrapping paper, wine, food, gifts, cookies, and holiday joy - but I didn't think it'd go by that fast! Wowza!

I'm back home again, enjoying the solitude, relaxing from the hustle & bustle, playing with my lovely gifts, and at the same time missin' my family already.

I have a whole stack of gift cards to spend now I realized, and an envelope practically bursting with Xmas bonus money. Well, bursting for me anyways.

But how do I spend it? Do I do the "right thing" and put it towards my credit card debt? BOOORING! Do I spend it all on getting a new haircut, and getting it dyed hot pink (which I've been dying to do for a while now. Dying - get it? HA!)? Do I spend it on tattoos that I've been wanting to get? Do I spend it on going out more often for dinner & drinks with friends? Do I get myself some rockin' roller skates? Do I save it for a future vacation??

Any thoughts??

I figure it's a gift, so the possibilities are endless. Well, endless 'till the money's gone. So I guess there is an end, eh? Haha!

Big sis is coming to town!

You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry!
You'd better not pout I'm tellin' you why!

Amber-poo is coming to town!! :)

Yes, my big sister Amber is already at the airport catching her flight out for Christmas.
I'm so happy I think I just peed a little. The last time I saw my big sis was early summer, which was MUCH too long ago. I've been missing her like crazy and I can't wait.

She's the gorgeous one on the far left, my gorgeous lil' sis is in the middle, then there's me. Sister POWAH!!!

Wowza

Great title post, eh? Haha!

It's funny how quickly something happens that you don't expect... with the last person you expected it to happen with!

I like it when things are fun and uncomplicated, and right now I think that's exactly what I need. No crazy emotional ties, but a bit of companionship, a good laugh, and all that stuff!

Yah, I'm being a bit vague.... or am I just being mysterious? HA! I guess all you need to know is that I'm feelin' good, I'm happy, and pretty darn content with life. It's all pretty rad! :)

Gnocchi with Sausage & Spinach

Here's another recipe posting for you all. I know it's not particularly Christmas-ey, but you still gotta eat, right?? It's super easy & delicious, and I've made it a few times before. Below lists the real meat & fake meat options, but honestly it's best vegetarian. ;)

From one of my favorite recipe sources: www.realsimple.com/recipes

Gnocchi With Sausage and Spinach
Serves 4, Hands-on Time: 15m, Total Time: 25m

Ingredients

* 2 9-ounce packages refrigerated gnocchi or one 17.5-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi (you can substitute penne pasta as well!)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
* 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed (vegetarian version – use Morningstar “sausage” crumbles in freezer section, or Smart Sausage which comes in a tube near where they sell fake sandwich meat & fake cheese)
* 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
* 1 5-ounce bag baby spinach
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Parmesan, plus more for garnishing

Directions

1. Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Add the garlic, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, tossing frequently, until the spinach wilts, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the drained gnocchi, the reserved cooking liquid, and the Parmesan and toss. Divide among individual bowls and sprinkle with additional Parmesan.

A Crazy Holiday Weekend

This past weekend was oodles of holiday fun!

Friday I went to see Jeremy Hotz with some friends at Comedy Works South. He was hilarious, and it was a great show! Later that night was the Ugly Sweater Christmas party, which I gleefully attended wearing my amazingly ugly Snoopy Xmas sweater.

Saturday I did some shopping for gifts, then went over to my friend Nikki's place for yummy food, and to watch "White Christmas" with the gang. Later that night was the annual White Trash Christmas party (in picture) which was a total blast as well.

Sunday - snowboard time! We headed up to Breckenridge and hit the slopes for my 3rd time this season. I was in bed by 8pm that night - I was utterly pooped!

It was a fantastic weekend, and I really feel like my friends & I have been making the most of the holiday season this year. It has been SO much fun so far!!

Holiday Cookies

Last night I got ambitious, and decided to make some holiday cookies to share with my friends & co-workers. Believe it or not, the photo above is NOT a photo of how my cookies turned out, and I have a few reasons why!

- I decided to go the cheap & easy route, and buy Bettie Crocker's instant sugar cookie mix, to which you just need to add 2 tablespoons of water and some butter. Not exactly "homemade", but whatevs. I don't have the time or the eggs.

- I wanted to do "cutout" cookies in Christmasey shapes, but I realized that A) I don't have a rolling pin to get the dough all nice & flat, and B) I don't have any cookie cutters. The odds were against me there.

- Sprinkles and colored icing are EXPENSIVE! Yes, I'm a stingy person when it comes to that stuff. So I ended up just buying red & green sprinkles, and calling it a day.

- My oven sucks ass. It's a gas oven, so 350 degrees is usually more like 500 degrees therefore meaning it does not have the ability to cook something slowly. That of course means that my cookies came out kinda mushy on top, and kinda burned on the bottom.

- My icing spreading technique is rather lacking, and I don't have much patience for it. So I just lacquered it on & prayed they'd still look okay.

You know what I learned after all of this? Even though they didn't look super pretty, they were still delicious! So the moral of the story kids, is that it's not how something looks on the outside, but what is on the inside that counts. Crap - I should've baked some chocolate kisses on the inside... that would've been super yummy! Next time...

A Nightmare on Elm Street - First time seeing it!

Right in time for the holidays, I decided to watch a horror movie classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street" for the first time last night. I guess it would've been a little more appropriate to watch near Halloween, but hey - I had a lot of catching up to do! (Over the weekend I also watched "Dracula" with Bela Lugosi for the first time too - pretty awesome).

The movie had a lot of creepy moments that got to me more than the big scares. (Seeing Johnny Depp in his first movie was just adorable too - I can't believe how young he was!) The creepy factor, and originality of the story (a dead child-killer haunting the dreams of teenagers that can kill them in there dreams while at the same time killing them in real-life) were the things won me over. The cheesy 80's stuff was all there of course, but you have to take it all with a grain of salt. As though the horror movies of today don't have any cheesy moments? Yeah right!

The special effects were pretty awesome for the time as well, and added to the fun-factor (and gross-ness). Now I just have to watch "Halloween", and I'll finally feel like I'm in the loop!

Maybe I should wait until after Christmas though?

How the Holiday Party went...

AWESOME! It was ridiculously fun! And the drink thing wasn't even an issue... there were so many people that didn't want to use both of their drink tickets that just started giving them away. How funny!

Christmas just keeps sneaking up on me day by day... I think the thing I'm looking forward to the most is that my big sister is going to be in town in only 2 1/2 weeks!! I can't wait.

Hope you are all having an awesome holiday season so far!