Hopping the Blog Train!

I'm trying this Blog Hop for the first time today. I found it awhile ago, but never felt called to answer the theme. But today, I feel I should. The theme of the week is: "Three Things Parents Should Teach Their Kids" and as someone who would rather dig out their own kidney than have kids, I think an outsider perspective might be nice...

"Three Things Parents Should Teach Their Kids..."

1. Quit licking everything. Going to the store watching the kid with the monkey leash/backpack lick everything in sight makes me want to puke. To think that I might eventually touch that cart or hanger or door knob. Unless you are attempting to infect your child with swine flu, step number one is to get their mouth off of anything that isn't digestable.

2. They actually aren't any more special than anyone else. Just because Mommy and Daddy love you and spoil you rotten, doesn't mean the center of the universe revolves around you in the middle of the supermarket. Not getting your Dora the Explorer Chocolate Bar because you hit Baby Tommy upside the head for looking at you weird is not the end of the world. This attitude is what forms supermodels, pageant queens, and all around diva bitches.

3. Life doesn't get better as you get older.Let's face it, we all would trade places with the kid that believes in Santa and happily twirls in ignorance and bliss. If the worst thing in your day is a crust on peanut butter sandwiches, I think your life is pretty swank.



Special thanks to Shoplet.com-Purell Hand Sanitizers for sponsoring this blog hop.

Fall = Pumpkin Baked Goods!

So my friend Meg has this awesome blog, and she always has these pictures of food and desserts that make me want to become a pastry chef instantly. Well a few days ago, I couldn't take it anymore. Fall is here, and I love ANYTHING pumpkinlicious, and Meg posted a picture of Pumpkin Bread with a Maple Cheese cake filling and I knew that this was my calling for the weekend.

Finding pumpkin in this canned pumpkin shortage was quite the task, all the major grocery stores were out until October 1st, but I lucked out and found organic pumpkin at a hippy crunchy grocery store. Not cheap, but it let me have an awesome Saturday of baking!
The recipe made about twice as much filling than needed, so I made more bread than the recipe called for since I had an extra half cup of pumpkin left over, and the result of that ended up in cupcake tins instead of the bread loaves. But really, I think those turned out better anyway....
Clearly I overloaded the loaves. It said to use three mini loaf pans, and I used 5! So one would think that there would not be this much pop outtage! I think it might have affected the cheesecake layer...
The cheesecake looks nowhere as crisp and clean as the actual recipe photo, but it never does I guess. I personally think it turned out looking a bit like canned cat food, but holy cow did it turn out absolutely delicious!

Oh yeah, and I chopped off a ton of hair last weekend. Now, when it dries naturally, I look like a flap dancer from the prohibition era.
Now all I needed is my beaded dress and dancing shoes!

Throwback Thursday: ALPHA Trip.

I don't think that anyone that might even potentially read this was an ALPHA kid. Which is too bad, because I could reminisce for seemingly hours about the enjoyment that ALPHA brought to me as a jr high/high school kid. But today's throwback is from one of the highlights of Jr High ALPHA. The ALPHA trip. We all got pulled out of school for a day, left ungodly early and traveled to a city (St Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, etc) and did "educational" things around the city for two days. It was always a grand trip. Educational, eh, might have been a little iffy. But it was definitely an attempt.

My first ALPHA trip introduced me to McCrea, who in the first five minutes of knowing him, explained to the bus how chickens have sex. Yup. Welcome to the next five years of your scholarly life. But this picture was taken up in Minneapolis, at some art museum. I distinctly remember it, we were waiting in the lobby for the bus to pick us up, and the three of us randomly decided to immitate the monkeys. Yes, we might have been slightly odd.

This picture is particularly pertinent (big word much?) because I get the chance to have dinner with a few of my ALPHA alum and McCrea tonight. Intellectual conversation is something I miss. It's been hard to find the past few years. I still think that the greatest conversations I've had to date happened in that ALPHA room. That's more than scary....smarten up people! Then let's debate. And I'll still win :)

Today I Learned...

Apparently I have been living in lala land about the origins of some of my exercises.

Pilates, to be more specifically. I have always thought it was like yoga, one of those things that has just been around forever, being practiced by many different ethnicities around the world, each with different takes on it, not having been created by one person, but a mesh of collaboration.

WRONG.

Josef Pilates. World War I. Created it during the war for exercise in different war camps.

I feel like a moron. *hangs head in shame*

Halloween Colored Beasts.

Even their fur screams that its fall! And that they are adorable. And that they really like salmon.
I feel like these two are the the diva's bodyguards...
Workin the catwalk....(yes, kill me for that pun)
And the snozzberries taste like snozzberries....

Fall is here. Just accept it. And bring me anything pumpkin flavored.

A Weekend in Photos.

Friday night, with Linnea and Christopher. Homemade pizza, Scattegories, chocolate chip cookies, and the Goonies.


Saturday, UNI football game. A less than perfect go. From all aspects. My patience was empty by the time I went home. But then there was more Nordyke family Scattegories. That picked it up a bit. Then I slept for 11 hours.

Sunday, a long walk with Tim in the morning. Groceries with mom, and then a full afternoon at the Nordyke house, baking oatmeal raisin cookies with mom. While the boys hung out watching silly football.


Showing off the final product.


Dad was unhappy with how the Bears game was going (but at least it turned out ok!)


I ate far too many of these.....I should go run.

Flashback Friday: Teenage Bedroom

I have been ridiculously behind on my Throwback Thursdays, its that end of summer crazy schedules! But I am going to sneak one in here. I was about to say its not too much of a throwback, but then I did the math, and it was a good decade ago. My room was a band/movie poster mecca. Every inch of wall was covered. What wasn't covered with poster, was blocked by bookshelves BEYOND packed with books and shelves for all my pottery. My teenage bedroom was an art exhibit all in itself. If only I could get away with decorating like that now...although, I am pretty sure the crazy clutter would drive my OCD to off the charts stress.
I rather miss this room.

Tucker Max. The name says it all.

I got to meet Tucker Max.


Now for those of my readers that are on the more conservative end, just smile that I got to meet someone exciting, and go back to your Minesweeper game. Tucker Max isn't exactly the most upstanding guy that you want to take over to meet your grandmother. Well, actually, I think that would be hilarious, because he can be prim and proper when he needs to be, but his fame and fortune is based on a completely different part of his personality. If you don't know him, don't get offended easily, and aren't a feminazi, then you must buy his book. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. It's hilarious. And now he has made a movie from different stories in the book.

He is opening the movie in an uncommon method and touring around the country doing Q&As, and showing the film to different college campuses. Iowa City just happened to be one of them. I would tell you all about the happenings of said event, but he can do it so much better: IHTSBIH Iowa City Stop (Again, be prepared for crudeness....) and here's the pictures from the event: Flickr Iowa City

It was amazing. The movie was awesome, I literally had tears from laughing so hard from a certain scene. And when you see it, you will know exactly what scene I mean. But we also got sweet stuff!
Tshirt was to be expected....

But we also got a gear bag, pint glass, bottle opener, pen, WWTD bracelet, stickers, poster....
But the best part, after all is said and done, Tucker stayed at the theater for whoever wanted to stay and took pictures and signed stuff. Until the last person was gone. Which is mighty classy. When it got to be my turn, their tour manager commented how he was surprised at the girls that came alone to the event (he clearly did not understand how Tucker works) and at my Emerson hoodie. I got to Tucker, who also commented on my Emerson gear, but then him and Nils went on to talk about how one of their producers divorced a girl named Claire, but that she had an i in her name, and it turned into a whole thing. Loved it. Snapped the shot, and away I went.

Walking out the door, the two guys handing out t-shirts were fighting over who would give it to me (literally, pawing at the same shirt), and I made a comment that the one guy had clearly won, and his response? "Does that mean we get to make out?" I think someone has been on tour with Tucker for a teensy bit too long..... :)

After I got out, I looked at my signed copy of the book (well worn with lots of reading) and I have no idea what it says....anyone want to help a girl out?

Hollywoodland via Meg & Becca!

Last weekend, I got the amazing opportunity to go to Los Angeles to visit with dear friends from college. Becca lives there, and Meg traveled from Boston for us to have quite the girls weekend. We packed so much stuff into three days, that it would take a long time for me to list and share my thoughts on every single thing we did, so I bulleted the main highlights. I could talk for a page on each thing! But the weather was perfect, sunny, breezy and warm. Palm trees swayed, and the fires stayed away. It really was the City of Angels with the three of us there :)

Day One, Friday:
- Long Walk to Western Bagel breakfast
- Aroma Cafe lunch with Traci (brought new meaning to goat cheese)
- Menchies dessert (heaven in a cup)
- WB studio tour (Friends, Gilmore Girls, Mentalist, HP exhibit)
- Dinner at Jerry's Deli (odd pickled items)
- Diddy Riese (holy whoa for $1.50)




Day Two, Saturday:
- Breakfast at The Griddle (Meg/Becca's Ginormo Pumpkin Pancakes)
- Driving Tour of Los Angeles
- Buffy's House and Sunnydale High! (No David Boreanaz. Sad)
- Santa Monica Pier/Pacific Ocean
- Rodeo Drive/Whimsic Alley
- Gourmet to Go (Free carrot cake rocks)
- Barney's Beanery (Don't Stop. Believin!)





Day Three, Sunday:
- Free Starbucks (Thanks Paul)
- FIDM TV Costume Exhibit
- Hollyhock House/Ennis House
- Hollywood Sign
- Mann's Chinese Theater (Bruce Willis makes me giggle)
- Crepes for lunch!
- Walk of Fame
- Homemade pizza (Becca with a large knife)
- Apples to Apples
- Last stop to Menchies and movie (MMmmmm and ZZzzz)



Day Four, Monday:
-Failed attempt at Coffee Bean
- Airport drop!


Four things I didn't see/do in LA that I must go back for!
1) Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
2) Sprinkles cupcakes
3) Celebrity Sightings
4) Fire (morbid, but honest)

Football instead of Felines.

This is what I wish I was doing this afternoon.


Alas, I am working the UNI Football game instead. Bring on the stress!

Friday Dryday.

New poll. -------->

Take it!

Flash Mob Attack: Black Eyed Peas Style.

Ok, I am not a huge Oprah fan, but this is ridiculous. Ridiculous awesome. It just makes you want to be there to be a part of that energy!

Kenya Nordyke?

Holy cow. I leave for two weeks last winter, and it took me three days tops to catch up. I leave for five days over Labor Day, and I feel like its going to take me 10 days to catch up. I at least got my pictures up on facebook, but the blog is going to take another day or two. UNI season is up and running, so my free time to work on this stuff is rather lacking.

But the Nordyke's have kittens! My mom has a favorite that she has named Kenya. We fed her a week ago, and she latched onto a chicken wing so tight that when I went to pick her up, the wing came too! She's adorable. An adorable little scrapper. Yet, Dad still won't let her in the house! Meanie!

Nordyke's Gear Up!

Well, I am off to Los Angeles today. So all I've got is the Nordyke August pictures! Enjoy!

Pile of Shoes.

I was cleaning out my closet recently and decided that I must bite the bullet and rid myself of some running shoes. Running as much as I do, I go through a LOT of shoes. But not as many as I should. I should probably have twice as many if I put only the recommended milage on each pair. But I just find it hard to buy new pairs until the old ones are physically hurting me. Some blow out, but others just collapse. It's those that are dangerous cause I run far further on them than I should. This pile has lasted me for about a year and a half. Whoever said running is free, is a LIAR!

Up North!

Saturday, Tim and I woke up early and headed up North to meet up with a few friends of ours at the Minnesota Rennaissance Fair. We went a few years ago, with my family, including my mother who was in a wheelchair with a broken leg. The heat of that day, combined with the uneven terrain and wheelchair made it a less than pleasant day, so we wanted to try again! We mostly just walked around, ate some food, and looked at all the crazies dressed up to the nines in their outfits. I can appreciate the ones that get super into it and its detailed and nice, but wearing a Halloween costume? Fail. And then there is this guy....check out the tights!
We also got a chance to see the Cabor Toss as part of the Highland Festival Weekend. Tim was excited to see it, and it was interesting to watch for awhile. But we never really did figure out what the actual goal was. But the guys warming up were hilarious to watch.
After the Fair, we visited IKEA with everyone and hit up MOA for some shopping and dinner. I got the sweetest hat at my new favorite store. Sun Dog Trading. Love it.

Sunday, after some delicious bagels (I could never pass up a good bagel!) Tim and I (alone) went and got my National Park stamp at the Museum of Science, but ended up staying to see the Titanic Exhibit and omnimax. It was really pretty sweet. It was pretty interesting, and I learned new stuff about it even. Recommended.

It was a gorgeous day out, so before leaving town, we stopped at the Como Zoo. Parking was insane, and yet we managed the second row. Win. Passed some monkeys, zebras, and giraffes. Watched snow leopards sunbathe and lions snooze. It was a quick trip, but perfect.

How adorable is that? These were the lilypads outside the zoo. I have never seen anything that large. They were HUGE!!!!

It was a quick trip, but we did quite a bit and Sunday was awesomely relaxing and beautiful. But now I have a short time to prepare for Los Angeles on Thursday and the first UNI game of the season tomorrow night! More time please?