everyday postcards

Yummy breakfast muffins

2009-03-22T21:39:00.003-05:00

Sunday was gray and gloomy, a perfect day for baking some blueberry oat bran muffins I've been wanting to try for our weekday breakfasts. They turned out really well, very moist and filling. Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

Makes a dozen muffins. Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups of oat bran, 1 tbsp baking powder, 2 tbsp chopped almonds, 1/4 cup shredded coconut, 1/4 cup sugar or maple syrup, 2 large, overripe bananas, 1 1/4 cup skim milk, one large egg, a handful of blueberries.

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Blend all other ingredients into a puree and combine with dry ingredients.

Pour batter into muffin tin and add blueberries.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until tops turn golden brown, and voila! Tasty, good-for-you muffins.

The muffins can be frozen; just zap in the microwave for 30 seconds before eating.

Paris, je t'aime

2009-03-08T22:45:00.015-05:00

This weekend Bob and I watched a movie called "Paris, je t'aime," a collection of short films about Paris, each by a different director.

This short, by Tom Tykwer, was our hands-down favorite and needs to be shared. It is a beautiful little piece of filmmaking.

Watch and enjoy.

When catnip is not enough

2009-02-26T21:34:00.002-06:00

Bob has been spending a lot of time with his guitars lately. I often come home to find them scattered about the living room, gently propped up on furniture. Good for him, I would think to myself.

Then I came home one day to find this:

That's right. Bob's guitar is wearing a winter hat.

I then began to worry maybe he was spending a little too much time with his guitars. Was it possible he was beginning to anthropomorphise them? Was the next step a little knitted jacket?

Turns out, Bob wasn't worried about his guitar catching a cold. The purpose of the hat, he informed me, was to prevent more of this:

Those are teeth marks. Apparently, Cricket has been using the top of his guitar as a chew toy.

Baaaad kitty.

Could you care less, or not?

2009-02-25T16:41:00.011-06:00

While people who pronounce "realtor" as "reel-a-tor" and those who say "spendy" still top my list, my absolute biggest pet peeve lately is the bastardization of the phrase "couldn't care less."

I have increasingly seen or heard this phrase used as "COULD care less," as if that makes sense. I even saw it used that way in a mainstream magazine article that was presumably looked at by at least one editor (shame on you, Real Simple). The writer stated that her free-spirited mother "could care less about dirty dishes." Hmmm. So what could she care more about?

Apparently there are a lot of people running around who think they DON'T care about something but continually tell to others that they REALLY DO by mangling this phrase. Perhaps the extra "n't" is just too much effort for those who are already trying to indicate they care so little? Who knows. But I suspect future generations will scratch their heads at how the then-common phrase "could care less" came about, because, they will realize, it means the opposite of what it's supposed to.

Kind of like "head over heels." Aren't our heads always over our heels? I'll bet some idiot mangled "heels over head" one day and it took off like wildfire. I'm just sayin'.

Farewell, sweet Domino

2009-02-23T18:11:00.004-06:00

I was so sad to discover that my favorite magazine, Domino, recently folded. I love this magazine (hence my collection, above). Unfortunately, there is nothing else like it on the market right now that can fill the void for its passionate followers. And, of course, my mom just got me a subscription for my birthday three months ago. Happy Birthday to me!

I will miss the beautiful rooms, photos, ideas and inspiration that this magazine provided. It's style was chic, modern, fun, and totally accessible. I always looked forward to reading it each month.

Domino, you will be missed.

She wears her sunglasses at night

2009-02-19T15:10:00.000-06:00

If Cricket made an 80s music video, it would look like this:

I swear it looks like she's even wearing eyeliner, but she insists she was going for more of a Don Henley "Boys of Summer" look.

For those of you who are too young (or too "mature") to know what I'm talking about, kindly move along.

In the field

2009-02-15T16:25:00.011-06:00

One of my New Year's resolutions was to improve my photography skills, so I recently took a one-day class on nature photography taught by our friend Dan, who now has his own business. Part of the class was spent in the field where I worked on my macro (close-up) photography, even though I don't yet have a macro lens. Thus, it's really poor man's macro.

And when I say we spent time in the field, I mean an actual field, where there was very little to photograph but snow and branches.

Anyway, here are a couple of the (unedited) shots I took that day:

I kind of like the above photo because, even though it's dark, it looks like it could have been taken underwater. It kind of looks like glowing sea urchins.

This next one is a little drab, but hey - it was January in Minnesota. There wasn't a lot of color out there.

I just thought this tiny field pod was cute and begging to be photographed:

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T23:38:00.009-06:00

I came downstairs this morning to find these:

When Bob came home from work tonight we had wine, hors d'oeuvres, and these:

Cups made of white and dark chocolate filled with mascarpone and raspberries, drizzled with honey (and no, I didn't make them myself). Mmmmmm...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lazy Sunday

2009-02-08T14:38:00.006-06:00

Useless. Every one of them.

I, on the other hand - in an unusual spurt of domesticity - whipped up a batch of pecan brittle. It is sooo good. And so simple: pretty much just butter, sugar, a little salt, and pecans. Here's the finished product:

Sadly, now that my kitchen skills have been exhausted, this will probably be our dinner tonight.

Cats-in-the-Box

2009-01-23T17:20:00.010-06:00

One of the many reasons why cats are great: They are so easy to please. Give them a cardboard box, or even a box lid, and it's just like Christmas morning.

For days.

Seriously. They really love boxes.

Not so crafty

2009-01-21T16:38:00.002-06:00

Anyone who knows me knows I am not what you would call a "crafty" person. In fact, I would rather poke my eyes out with a hot glue gun than step foot in a scrapbook or stamping store, and I would sooner stab myself with knitting needles than spend a day at Michael's or Joanne Fabrics.

But then I saw this:

(Photos courtesy of Mochimochi Land)

And this:

And this:

And I suddenly felt it, that thing that crafty women who love things like Kewpie dolls and appliques must feel – the unstoppable squeal of adorableness coming up my throat like vomit as I realized: I...want...to...make...these.

So I went to (gulp) Michael's and bought myself some knitting needles, yarn, and a book on how to knit. Now I have this:

Hmmmm.

I suppose it could possibly be fashioned into a scarf for Peanut.

Or not.

Then I found out those cute little creatures, called amigurumi, are not knitted. They are crocheted.

Realizing this is a slippery slope leading straight to the Bedazzler, I've decided to hold off on learning to crochet and see if the urge passes. My fingers are crossed.

Back in the saddle

2009-01-19T15:59:00.001-06:00

After a decade-long hiatus I decided to begin taking riding lessons again last spring. I've been wanting to get back to them all along, but finding a stable within an hour of the metro has been challenging. Then I did a story on a woman who started her own equine accessories company, and she told me she takes lessons at a stable that turned out to be only 10 minutes from my house. I was thrilled - the stable doesn't advertise, so you can only get in with a recommendation.

So now, every Friday, I head to the stable and attempt to improve my dressage skills under the expert tutelage of my instructor, Roxanne. My first love is jumping, and I would love to get back into that someday, but this stable doesn't offer it. So I figure I'll continue to try and master dressage, then see if I still have the guts for jumping.

The horse I ride is named Jake - he's a big lug of a guy who injured himself on a barbed wire fence last summer trying to get into a paddock full of lady horses. He's fine now, but a bit lazy. Though Roxanne tells me that he's quite spry when his owner rides him, so I clearly must be the problem.

Against my better judgment, Roxanne talked me into competing in a horse show at the stable last October. Jake and I competed in the walk/trot category, where the judge watches how well you make transitions, control your horse and maintain your form. Amazingly, we walked away with a third-place ribbon! And yes, there actually were more than three competitors.

Here are some photos from the big day:

Me and Jake after our big win

This little horse is expressing his humiliation to Bob after being forced to participate in a costume contest as a pea to his young owner's princess.

Here's Bob with Andrew, a truly ginormous horse. He's very sweet, if a bit naughty. He always seems to be getting into trouble for something. He's often just running loose around the ranch, and let me tell you, the sight of Andrew coming at you, with hooves the size of bowling balls, can give you pause. But he always stops in time.

Here's a perspective shot with me:

Like I said, ginormous. This picture doesn't really even do him justice. Poor guy - he posed very patiently for several pictures and then, when he realized I didn't have a treat for him, walked away in disappointment.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-18T13:38:00.004-06:00

Bob and I rang in the New Year (and our third anniversary) cozied up in front of the fireplace with a smorgasbord of food (crab cakes, stuffed mushrooms, baked artichoke Parmesan dip and crackers, etc.), wine, champagne, and even a small version of our wedding cake (raspberry filling and buttercream frosting - yum!!).

And, of course, a new Playstation 3 game. We're such romantics.

Here's wishing you and yours a healthy, happy, prosperous 2009!!

A different kind of Christmas

2009-01-17T01:09:00.004-06:00

In reaction to this country's increasing culture of mass consumption and thoughtless waste, my family decided to change things up a bit this Christmas. Instead of buying each other "stuff," we chose instead to give gifts that give back. The only rule was the gift had to benefit someone or something.

When all was said and done, my little family: helped save seals in Canada and elephants in Sri Lanka; sent two girls to school in Afghanistan and educated 100 girls in Africa; donated to the U.N.'s World Food Program; gave a family a beehive for their livelihood; started two youth-soccer leagues in Mexico; supported services for the homeless; contributed to the education of a girl in Thailand in danger of being trafficked; contributed to the Courage Center and a veteran's organization; helped plant trees; supported an equine-therapy program for disabled children; and more.

My mom gave me this sweet little elephant family to represent a contribution to a conservation organization that actually makes paper out of elephant pooh. :)

We had a truly wonderful Christmas, and will probably continue this giving tradition next Christmas. It was actually much more satisfying than getting stuff. We spent the day at my sister's house and had a delicious dinner, played games, and visited with my Aunt Maureen and her husband Jean Paul who came all the way from Ottawa.

We spent Christmas Eve with Bob's family, which was also lovely. His mom makes the best lefse, and after we stuffed ourselves with all sorts of goodies we all headed over to his Aunt Paula and Uncle Bernie's house for more food and merriment. It's always so much fun catching up with everybody. The gift exchange was ... um, a bit surprising this year (I'm trying to be diplomatic so his family won't disown me), but we somehow ended up getting a frozen turkey (we're vegetarians), a stoneware cappuccino station for me (I don't drink coffee); and a garden-motif platter and salt and pepper shaker for Bob (?).

Each year we pick names and are asked for a gift list (this year's list: slippers for me, a cozy throw for Bob). But much like children on Christmas morning, we are sometimes still surprised by what we get.

So continuing the spirit of gifts that give back, we donated the turkey to a local food shelf.

Merry Christmas!

This is Whistlepig

2009-01-15T22:54:00.018-06:00

You may recall an earlier post where I mentioned that woodchucks are also inexplicably called whistlepigs.

Well, after that post, Bob's new band – inexplicably – decided to name itself Whistlepig. The band formed last year and consists of four members, two of whom are former colleagues of mine at the newspaper. They made their public debut at a Halloween party throw by Dan, their bassist. Bob is the lead guitarist, and he sounded pretty damn impressive, even if I didn't recognize any of the songs they played. And more importantly, he looked hot while playing.

We both went as characters from "Kill Bill." He was a Crazy 88 and I was Elle Driver, member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (played by Darryl Hannah in the movie). I was pretty happy with our costumes, which were very last minute.

Here are images from the movie:

And this is us:

And this is our friend (and drummer) John Sucansky as a frighteningly accurate version of the bad guy from "No Country for Old Men" and his wife, Sarah, as Mrs. Lovett from "Sweeny Todd:"

Happiness is ...

2008-11-20T16:35:00.005-06:00

A running baby rhino.
(Photo from rhinoark.org)

Hot action cop

2008-07-31T20:09:00.009-05:00

Check out the new poster boy for the State Patrol. Look familiar?

That's right, it's your favorite trooper and mine, our very own Roberto. I guess his pretty face stood out among the trooper crowd (you didn't hear it from me, but he actually had to wear makeup during this photo shoot). Anyway, back off, ladies - he's all mine.

We're back!

2008-07-30T19:02:00.034-05:00

Back to blogging, that is, after an unplanned hiatus brought on by a distinct lack of blog-worthy happenings in our life. I've also discovered that, because I write for a living, writing is often the last thing I want to do when I come home at night. But I vow to be better, to those of you - if any? - who still have enough faith to keep checking in.

Anyway, we just returned from a road trip to Ottawa, Canada, where we went with my family to celebrate my Aunt Maureen's 70th birthday. Bob and I drove up with my mom, while my sister and her family drove up together. Here are some photos of the trip:

Bob attempting to fit in with the locals.

A cat on Parliament Hill. I know, I know... I just can't seem to help myself.

Like the cat, this falls under the "animals we have here at home but still felt the need to photograph while in Canada" file. A woodchuck - otherwise known as a groundhog, marmot and (inexplicably) whistlepig - forages outside of Parliament. Even though our neighborhood is crawling with these guys, ours won't let us get within 20 feet. This guy let me get close enough to touch him (I didn't). It was quite a big moment for me.

Out on the town, watching the chef perform at a hibachi restaurant.

Maureen and Jean Paul celebrate her birthday hibachi-style.

Mom and Maureen

A fabulous spider sculpture by Louise Bourgeois named "Maman" stands guard outside Ottawa's art museum. Her belly is filled with large eggs made of solid white marble.

A super creepy sculpture in downtown Ottawa called "Nature Girls" that curiously purports to depict "the innocent joy of girls playing in the wood, and the bleakness of children gone missing." It's what I like to call an "all-around" sculpture.

This is "Bush Girl."

Bob proves there's truth in advertising.

The War Memorial and Chateau Laurier at twilight.

Parliament at night.

Natives take to the streets. Mothers, lock up your daughters.

Filming of "Public Enemies"

2008-05-15T17:39:00.004-05:00

Johnny and Marion filming their "Hotel Congress" scene. Please forgive the shaky camera!

Heeeeere's Johnny!

2008-05-14T19:41:00.008-05:00

VIDEO COMING SOON!! SEE SLIDESHOW TO THE RIGHT FOR MORE PHOTOS

I was hoping for Christian Bale, but I guess Johnny Depp will do in a pinch.

Bob and I spent yesterday in Beaver Dam, Wis. on the film set of "Public Enemies," a movie about John Dillinger (played by Depp) and Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), the FBI agent who led the manhunt against him. The movie also stars Marion Cotillard, who won the Acadamy Award for best actress this year. It's supposed to be released next summer.

Sadly, Bale has proven far too elusive. But Depp sightings have been rampant, so we decided to take a chance and drive to Columbus for the day, where filming was supposed to take place Tuesday afternoon. We left at 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Columbus around 1 p.m. Parts of downtown have been converted for the movie, so many of the store fronts look like they're right out of the 1930s. They even covered the street with a carpet of foam cobblestones that look like the real thing.

When we got to Columbus we found out filming there was delayed and they were actually filming in Beaver Dam about 15 miles away. They were filming a scene outside of downtown's Hotel Rogers, which had been converted to Hotel Congress in Arizona for the day, complete with cacti. We watched the filming from about half a block away. It took hours to set the scene up, so Johnny didn't appear until about 4:30 p.m. He filmed take after take of the scene, which involved driving a vintage car up to the front of the hotel, getting out, and escorting Cotillard into the hotel (we'll post the video soon). He waved to the spectators a few times, inspiring ear-piercing screams from fans.

At about 6:30 p.m. they moved filming inside the hotel, so we reluctantly headed back home, with stars in our eyes. It was so cool being there, and so hard to come back down to earth today and actually work! That was supposedly their last day of shooting in Wisconsin, but if they do come back, we've decided we're taking off of work and going back to 'Sconi.

Bangkok … or Des Moines? Tough call

2008-05-12T16:17:00.003-05:00

Our "Where should we go next?" poll has officially closed, and what we've learned is that: 1. It's a toss up between Southeast Asia and Iowa; and 2. We clearly need new friends and/or family members.

So I guess it's up to us to decide: Would we rather visit the temples of Thailand or the Giant Pitchfork of Ames? The beaches of Phuket or the Matchstick Marvels of Gladbrook?

Hmmm … stay tuned!

That's right, Iceman...we ARE dangerous

2008-04-28T17:51:00.018-05:00

After three reschedulings due to bad weather, we finally had our flying lessons today. I use the term "lessons" loosely, because in all actuality we were in control of the plane 95 percent of the time (including takeoff!!). The instructor was there to make sure that we didn't do something stupid, like get ourselves into a death spiral, although he was so calm he'd probably have let it ride for a while.

We each flew a Cessna 172 (technically a four-seater, but realistically a two-seater). Bob went first while I waited in the safety of the airport lounge. He flew for about an hour, over Northfield and Faribault, and at one point he purposefully aimed for a pocket of snow in the sky (livin' on the edge, baby). The smile on his face when he landed said it all - he practically jumped out of the plane he was so excited.

Bob here - I thought I would write about my experience flying. I have wanted to do this for years and today was finally the day. After many, many hours and many missed meals logging hours on my flight simulators this was truly an AWESOME experience. After I took off (that's right, I took off, not the instructor) I pointed our compass south toward Faribault. I was lining up to land on the runway and take off again, but we opted against it as we could see that another plane was hooking up with a glide plane behind it. So, since I wasn't able to put my Maverick-esque pilot skills to the test and buzz the tower (there actually was no tower), I headed north to Northfied to look for the Lucas household.I circled the city twice and got my bearings and followed the street right over their house (I even waved, guys)! After touring Northfield I flew back to Lakeville, safely landed the plane and handed over my headset to Erin.

Erin here - then it was my turn. As he did with Bob, the instructor gave me a briefing on the instrument panel, showed me how to work the pedals and brakes, showed me how to start the plane and then basically told me to start taxiing down the runway (!?!?!), using the pedals to steer the plane. When the air speed dial reached 60, he said, I should pull back on the wheel, lifting the nose for takeoff. When I noticed his hands were in his lap during takeoff, it really hit me - I was in control of the plane. My first thought: Should he be letting me do this??

Words cannot describe the feeling of taking off in a small plane when you're holding the wheel. Once you get up in the sky (at more than 2,000 ft), you feel invincible. The instructor, Barry, told me I could go wherever I wanted, so I also decided to buzz my sister's house in Northfield (you guys had no idea the excitement going on over your heads!) He pointed to Northfield and I turned the plane and headed for it, making sure to keep the nose level with the horizon (not always easy on a windy day like today). We encountered some turbulence and a flock of geese that I had to turn away from, but it was a pretty smooth ride. The only scary part was when I turned a little too hard at one point, and I felt the G-force kick in, making me dizzy and disoriented for about two seconds.

Landing was a bit more nerve wracking than takeoff - trying to line up with the runway while decreasing your altitude and keeping the nose steady and, by the way, I've never done this before - but it went very smoothly. The whole experience was incredible, and we both would love to go up again. We toyed with the idea of getting our pilot's licenses, but then we found out it costs about $7,000. Maybe someday.

Afterwards, we did what any self-respecting flyboy (and flygirl) would do - we went to Doolittle's, threw back shots of tequila, and scoffed at all the non-pilots. Pansies.

They grow up so fast

2008-04-07T19:25:00.010-05:00

Today Bob celebrates his LAST YEAR in his 30s ( He loves it when I emphasize that. Which I've been doing all day). Can you believe it?

For his birthday I got him a private flying lesson, which unfortunately had to be rescheduled for Friday due to the weather. He will spend an hour up in the air with an instructor and will get to fly the plane himself for part of it.

I'm actually taking a lesson, too, but mine is for work. I'm doing an article on a local air field, which is how I found out about the lessons. Knowing that Bob has always wanted to learn to fly, I knew it would be the perfect present. Plus, he already has the Maverick-esque Ray Ban aviators, so the lesson is really just a technicality.

Meanwhile, keeping with the aviation theme, we celebrated his birthday with dinner at Doolittle's Woodfire Grill (they have blue crab cakes to die for), where we asked the waitress to take our picture. I noticed she was pointing the camera a little high, but I figured she knew what she was doing when she adjusted the lens and said, "I like a tight shot."

Here's how it turned out.

Umm, yeah. At least she recognized that the vast expanse of wall was the important part of this photo.

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETS!

Bravo, Oprah

2008-04-04T17:25:00.010-05:00

I'm really not a big watcher or follower of Oprah, but I heard she was doing a show on puppy mills and pet overpopulation, so I made sure to tune in. Two boxes of tissues later, I'm really hoping the Oprah magic touch holds true.

The episode began by exposing puppy mills, at which female dogs are kept in tiny cages 24 hours a day and continually bred throughout their entire lives, churning out puppies that are sold at pet stores and, these days, on the Internet. Sometimes, when rescued, they can't even walk because they have been confined for so long.

As a contrast to shady breeders that continually produce puppies, the show put the spotlight on shelters, which can't keep up with the number of unwanted pets discarded at their door. About 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized EVERY YEAR in this country, many because the shelters simply don't have the space to hold them.The segment featured a shelter in Fort Worth that is only able to find homes for four out of every 50 animals it gets – it sometimes euthanizes dozens of animals in one day. The video of piles of garbage bags, filled with the bodies of euthanized dogs, being forklifted and dumped into the garbage was particularly heartbreaking.

Much of this senseless cruelty and killing could be stopped if people would just do these simple things: get their pets spayed and neutered, and never buy pets at pet stores, from unlicensed breeders (even if they are friends), or online. I used to work with a woman whose parents let their cat roam free outdoors but never bothered to get her spayed. Every year that cat got pregnant, and my co-worker kept coming to the office with boxes of kittens needing homes. Wouldn't it just have been easier to bring her to the vet one time for an operation?

And those people who think their dogs are so cute that they should breed them because "all their friends want one just like it," well, they're the reason we need stricter breeding laws in this country.

Bob and I adopted all three of our cats at shelters, and we vowed to never adopt kittens or puppies because they always get adopted first. Older pets are the ones that languish in shelters and are more likely to get euthanized. The last cat we adopted, Cleo (pictured above), was 12 when we got her. The sign outside her cage said, "Old in years, but young at heart." Today she is 17 and still giving us so much joy.

When Oprah recommends a book, it becomes a best seller. When she recommends a clothing item, retailers can't keep it in stock. Let's hope she has as much influence when it comes to serious issues, as well. If nothing else, I applaud her for throwing her weight behind an issue that deserves attention.

Literary misinterpretations

2008-04-03T23:04:00.000-05:00

I am reading my first Jane Austen book (I know, I'm a shame to the female race), Northanger Abbey. I must admit, I did a double take when I came to this line: "She began to curl her hair and long for balls."

Hello world! Or all five people who know about our blog

2008-04-01T16:12:00.002-05:00

Well, it's official - lurkers (and Luddites) no more, we are now contributing members of the blogosphere, or whatever you crazy kids call it these days. We're still tinkering a bit with our features and design, but it's a start. For those of you fortunate enough NOT to have been invited over under the pretense of dinner and forced to sit through stacks of photos from our recent trips to Iceland (above) and Prague, check out the slideshow on the right and enjoy them without extended commentary. Now please excuse us as we go get a life so we'll have something to blog about.