Highlights of the week

This week it was my turn to host Yahtzee. My theme, if you can call it that, was "shit I found on the internet." I was running around like a crazy person trying to get everything done at the last minute but it all turned out great and it was lovely having time with my girls.

Left: Brownie Batter Dip (yes, those are Lorna Doone cookies on that tray and they were fantastic with this dip)
Right: Tasty's Meatball Sub Bake - next time I might use more sauce but this was super easy!
Not pictured: Warm Bacon Blue Cheese Dip - take a tip from me and double this recipe, Black Bean Hummus with veggies and pita chips, Shrimp Cocktail, beer and wine.

A couple weeks ago Aaron and I joined a different gym. I haven't worked out in well over two years, due to surgeries and whatnot and then just plain laziness. Gwensday morning I got up early and did a proper weights workout at the gym before work. I'm feeling it but it's a good feeling. Of course there's still always this obstacle:

All week I've been thinking about this whole bathroom law bullshit and I knew I wanted to address it here but had a really hard time putting the words together. Fortunately my real-life and blog friend Steph hit it hard in her post yesterday. Some of my favorite parts from the post include:

• "We've all been going to the bathroom with transgender people for years, we just didn't know it because no one is required to flash their private parts to go to the bathroom in a public restroom." This is what blows my mind. If I'm in the restroom with a trans woman, guess what? I'm not going to actually see her genitals.
  
• "Women and children get attacked and raped all across this country every day and no one gives a fuck until now, when people want to pee with people they look like instead of where the genitals they were born with say they should pee." 

The only thing a bathroom law does is allow more hatred and bigotry toward not only transgender people, but also anyone who looks androgynous or just doesn't look like what someone thinks they should (remember SNL's "It's Pat?"). If only the Target protesters would focus their anger and energy on real sexual predators instead of people who just want to pee, now THAT would be productive.

Truth.

Speaking of Steph, she and Jana not only host the monthly Show Us Your Books link up, but they've also started a podcast about books called The Armchair Librarians. There are now 8 episodes and I totally binge-listened to all of them yesterday. My personal favorite is the one with Jana's 9-year-old daughter, who chastises Jana because she "only" reads violent books. Plus I couldn't help wondering how hard it was for them to not curse in that particular episode.


Happy Weekend!

Things That Make Me Go Hmmmmm

Before you read any further, if you missed Señor Gato Negro's blog takeover, you should go read it now.

Today I'm just throwing out some random things.


Lately I've been feeling a lot like this:

Why is it that during the week time seems to go slowly but then one day you realize it's March 27th and you wonder where the month went?


This week it was time for Yahtzee at my house. My mom had this collection of tiny dishes so Aaron suggested we use them. We had a blast figuring out a menu and (full disclosure) Aaron did a lot of the prep work and all of the clean up and didn't even get to enjoy the food. But look how cute everything looked!

There was a caprese salad, mini meatballs, a coconut cream parfait with a granola base, triple berry Kahlua crisp, and a carmelized onion and blue cheese tart (that picture is pre-baking; those were gone almost as soon as they came out of the oven). I'll share the recipe for that last one soon. It's super delicious.


If you know me well or if you're a long time reader, you know how much I hate stray shopping carts in parking lots. Well, earlier this week I diligently took my cart to the cart corral, which was empty at the time. It was a windy day and as I walked toward my car I heard the cart moving. This thing literally backed up and turned around and rolled toward me. And it happened twice! I think it was possessed.


I'm still a fan of The Voice, but does it drive anyone else crazy that they call the second chance for a rejected contestant the "steal?" Granted, I don't know what else it should be called, especially when trying to be all dramatic, but it's not a steal.

Here's a PSA to any fellow teeth grinders. When your bite splint looks like this...

...it's time for a new one. As my dentist said "at least we know you're using it!"


Have a lovely weekend!

Friday Favorites - 8/1

Our cat Bella is such a Daddy's girl. But last weekend, after Aaron had been gone for three days, she must have decided that I was an acceptable snuggling companion.

Every morning I put this in my coffee:

And yes, every time I sing "I'm so fancy....."





This week saw the long-awaited opening of The Market Italian Village in our neighborhood. I went on Monday during the soft open, and again Thursday for the grand opening. I haven't counted the steps yet, but they're so close that when our windows are open, I can smell the coffee.

Last night I hosted the neighborhood ladies for Yahtzee night. Our group this month was small but mighty. I provided the finest in cheap boxed wine, meats and cheeses from the aforementioned Market, take-n-bake pizzas from zpizza (and yes, I baked them) and a blackberry lemon trifle (check back next week for the recipe).

Have a fantastic weekend!

Breaking News

No, I don't actually HAVE breaking news, but this post is about some things that confuse me and it involves "breaking news."

So yesterday I was watching Ellen. In Columbus, it airs at 4:00. The local news on that station comes on at 5:00 and is then on for 90 minutes. Yesterday was also the day that Ohio State formally announced their new president. I say "formally" because of course the news was out the night before so this wasn't a big surprise. And it certainly wasn't the Breaking News that Channel 4 declared it to be. I mean, I get it that this is a big deal for some people, but you couldn't have waited until 5:00?

Of course, the more nationwide "breaking news" bullshit that happened recently was when Andrea Mitchell was forced to interrupt an interview about the NSA to report on Justin Bieber's arraignment. WTF? And just in case for some reason you haven't seen it, here it is:



This got me thinking about a couple other things that I just don't get.

Head-in parking

This isn't the first time I've seen this, so I seriously Googled "head-in parking" to make sure that it meant what I thought it meant. Can anyone explain this to me?

Age ratings on TV

Am I crazy? Don't you read "iffy for 14+" to mean that only people UNDER 14 should watch the show? Obviously that makes no sense, and it makes my brain hurt.


This next picture is the opposite of not making sense. You may have seen this picture on my Instagram, but it bears sharing again. Gwensday was Yahtzee night in the 'hood at Angie's house. Instead of buying ice to cool the beer and white wine, she did this:

Brilliant, don't you think? Finally, something good about winter!

Linking up for Friday Favorites, even though only one of the above items qualifies as a Favorite.

Random Thursday

Happy Halloween! Apparently Columbus is bracing for serious storms tonight which might cause problems for Trick-or-Treat. In our neighborhood we have ONE child and he's still young enough that his parents have convinced him that instead of going from house to house getting candy, he goes from house to house and gives out candy. That surely can't last much longer!

Last year's costume; this year he'll be a firefighter.

Last night was Yahtzee night at Theresa's house. She had some fantastic food, including chicken & dumplings and a pumpkin bread pudding that I may have to make ... someday. I didn't even see the cocktail napkins until I was leaving but y'all know I love a good cocktail napkin and this was perfect.

A couple months ago when Jeannie hosted, she had these, which I forgot to put on the blog but it's also a keeper:

Speaking of fat pants, I saw this the other day and could definitely relate:

I normally don't repost things with random capitalization or
other grammatical issues, but this is an exception.

Yesterday a bunch of bloggers participated in a link up called "Someday I Will ..." One of my responses to that is someday I will not be such a huge procrastinator. Hahahahaha! But I did actually make a step in the right direction of that goal:

Sign of the apocalypse? I already have my Christmas cards!

And finally, if you'd like a chance to win some PayPal cash in preparation for the holidays (or just for whatever the hell you want), check out Helene's blog, where I'm participating in a giveaway!

Observations from Walk to Work Week #1

Some background: I live 2.3 miles from my office. Head a couple blocks west and then it's a straight shot south until I literally run into my office building. I've talked for a while about walking to work and now that we're back from vacation and my extracurricular activities (not including partying) have stopped for the summer this seemed like the perfect week to start walking to work. I'm not a super fast walker; it takes me about 50 minutes to commute by foot. Here are some of my random thoughts during the past week, along with lots of sky pictures.

Monday: It's a gorgeous day and very pleasant. In the morning, anyway. After work it's humid and hot. Damn, I forgot a bottle of water. Huge mistake. Please don't sit at the desk for too long. Also, I should make sure to take an umbrella since it's the time of year of pop-up storms. I got lucky Monday with no rain. Probably not a good idea to wear a dress that potentially flies up in a breeze. And word to the wise, use the restroom before leaving the office.







Tuesday: Today I actually need to drive because I have a 5:00 appointment. Probably a good thing because I'm kind of sore and I could see myself bailing on the whole walking thing. But Tuesday provides a good break and by Gwensday I'm ready to go.


Gwensday: OK, today I'm taking a bigger backpack so I can take a change of shoes and my lunch and deodorant. You're welcome, coworkers. This morning's sky isn't quite as nice but it's still not a bad walk.

Walking home, however, the sky looks ominous.

Will I make it home before the deluge?

Nope.

I did have my trusty umbrella, but I was wearing a maxi skirt so
here's me creating puddles in the hallway at home.

Time to change clothes, go to new next-door neighbors for a happy hour and then to opening night of a new bar that is pretty much a block from our house. Fun, fun, FUN.

Thursday: After last night's good time, I overslept, so I took advantage of what measly public transportation we have and rode the bus most of the way to work. I walked home, and it was damn hot. I took a shower before going to Yahtzee. Home around 12:30. Oof.

Morning sky.

I think of this like I think of Braille at drive-up ATMs. Weird.

I hit a groove in which I crossed seven streets in a row with the walk signal without having to stop. Maybe I should play the lottery.

After work sky

Friday: I managed to get up a little earlier than yesterday. There's possible rain in the forecast for later today and our porch is being painted, so fingers crossed that the weather holds. Took a slight detour this morning to walk by Goodale Park and see the setup of Comfest, which starts today and goes all weekend.

Got to work and changed shoes and freshened up and "did my hair," which consists of letting it down and shaking it out.

Sorry, no makeup today. And holy shit, my hair has lightened a ton. Might need to go with a lighter color for summer.

Of course, I listen to music while walking to and from work. This particular song is one I didn't know until I heard it on SYTYCD last week and now I'm obsessed. If I need to increase my pace, this is one of the songs I bump up on the playlist.

Yahtzee strong

Last night was Yahtzee night in the 'hood. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go here.) We had a smaller group than usual. There were just six of us, but it worked out wonderfully because we sat around Carrie's kitchen table and ate delicious curry and we could all be involved in the same conversation. And we talked about all kinds of things and drank lots of wine and laughed and cried (not quite, but almost) and supported each other and made fun of each other. We definitely missed the ladies who couldn't be there, but it was one of the best Yahtzee nights ever. Sometimes you just need your girlfriends. 

These aren't from last night but here's some of the Yahtzee crew.

And then Angie created what I think should be our slogan:

Yahtzee Strong

Happy Friday Eve!

The Day After Yahtzee

So last night was my turn to host Yahtzee (see my post explaining this monthly gathering here). Now, in case I haven't mentioned it before and if you're new around these parts, I am NOT the cook in my household. Fortunately I married a guy who loves to cook and is good at it so I'm off the hook most of the time. When I host Yahtzee I usually have an array of cheese and crackers, taco dip, and a go-to dessert that is super easy. For this month's venture I decided to step outside my comfort zone and make a bunch of (still easy) food that I had never made before.

I have a bit of an addiction to fun cocktail napkins.

My drinks of choice were boxed wine, Miller Light for Amy and a sangria slush (which didn't go over that well and why should it, since it's February and it's flipping cold outside).

With as blurry as this pic is, you'd think I took it at the end of the night. But I hadn't even had any wine yet.
The glass was a Christmas gift from my mom. I love it.

I made items that I either saw on Pinterest, or found elsewhere but they're now all pinned to my board. I made a black bean hummus (my first attempt at hummus and it won't be my last - delicious), broccoli cheese bites (in which my broccoli wasn't chopped small enough but they were still tasty), a warm blue cheese and bacon dip (described as "crack in a bowl;" I strongly recommend doubling or tripling this recipe), pizza quesadillas (which I didn't execute super well but I'd try them again) and double delicious bars.

I made the hummus Tuesday night and the double delicious bars Gwensday morning before work. Funny story: when I bought stuff for Yahtzee I did not get chocolate chips because I was certain that we had at least a bag and a half. But sure enough, after I'd crushed graham crackers and I had butter melting, I realized that there wasn't a chocolate chip to be found in the pantry. I also needed some cheap red wine for the sangria slush. So off I went to Kroger at 7:15 am looking like hell because I hadn't showered yet to get two bags of chocolate chips and a big bottle of Gato Negro Merlot. Luckily I live in a 'hood in which that probably wasn't unusual, although the cashier did give me a bit of a once over. Don't judge me.

As always, it was a fun night of laughter and catching up. I took a preemptive tactic against the Yahtzee flu by scheduling today off, and then I just decided to take Friday off as well. You can reach me on the couch in front of the fire catching up on Pretty Little Liars and whatever else I can fit in.

Stay Tuned,

The Gila

Yahtzee!

A little more than five years ago, Aaron and I moved into our dream house, which was built from scratch. It was a long, looooong process but well worth the wait. We lived there for about a year before meeting any of our neighbors. Now, it's hard to imagine our lives without the people of the BBITIV (Best Block in the Italian Village).





We first got to know Colin & Amy, who live four houses away from us. Most everyone has their introduction to the 'hood through Colin & Amy; we call them the Chamber of Commerce. They invited us to their legendary Halloween party and we met some more neighbors, although afterward we didn't recognize most of them since they were no longer in costume.

It was decided that we should have a Christmas party so we could get to know more neighbors. So Amy drew a map for us and Aaron printed up a flyer and we also invited friends we already had so we knew people would show up. The flyer had things like this on it:

(So you know that house on the corner where it looks like someone might live there but you aren't really sure because it is always dark and the yard doesn't look so great and maybe they live there but just want to keep to themselves but you watched the house go up and it looks pretty cool and you wonder whether or not the people inside are cool or just assholes but then you heard from Amy that they voted for Obama so they can't be all bad, can they? Well, here's a chance to find out for yourself ... )

some tasty snacks provided by Aaron ('cause Gwen really isn't much of a cook)

beverages courtesy of the Columbus Brewing Company, because Gwen works with them

and the brewmaster who is a cool guy will be at the party too.

It worked, because we had a great turn out and that night in our garage Angie had the idea of having a monthly gathering of the girls to play Yahtzee (she figured the ladies in the 'burbs do Bunco, so we'd go old school). We started this tradition in January of 2009 and we've done it every month since. We rotate houses, so you only have to host once a year, but you provide all the food and drinks when you host. Now, as you might imagine, the actual playing of Yahtzee didn't last. Angie used to bring the game every month and for a while we did play at least one game, but now we don't even pretend. It's just a way for us to get together regularly, but we still call it Yahtzee night, which is tonight.

Sometimes it's a late night, sometimes not, and sometimes a fun Yahtzee night can lead to the Yahtzee flu the next day. Let's hope that's not the case this time around!

Oddly enough, there aren't many pictures that exist of past Yahtzee nights, but here are some from June of 2009 when we got rained out at Sara's house and had to move the party to Jennifer's where we had a dance party in memory of Michael Jackson, because it just happened to be the day he died.

Besides Yahtzee and the Christmas party, we have new traditions like the Chili Cook Off in February, Crawl for Cancer in May, Comfest brunch in June and the Garden Party in September. We've had a few weddings, a baby, vacations and some not-so-fun occasions. These truly are the best neighbors ever!


Stay Tuned,

The Gila

Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday