Do You Believe?

Greetings my little goblins!  Haven't scared you off I see.  Well good.  There's nothing I love more than a good ghost story.  I get sucked into Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State, and Ghost Adventures all the time.  But what I really love is a first hand ghost story.  Now, I've never told anyone this, even my parents, so y'all are the first people I've told.  Turn down the lights and cue the spooky music...

When I was little, maybe 7, my family took a trip to California.  One place we visited was Alcatraz Island.  We decided to take a self guided tour with headphones.  I can remember this adventure particularly well, despite being so young.  But that's probably because such an unusual thing happened.  My family (my parents and my sister) made our way through the hallways and peered into old jail cells while listening to our headphones.  Even though I was so young, I can vividly remember feeling a sadness and having the awareness that bad things happened in the very place that I stood.  As we progressed, we came to one cell that coordinated with an escape story.  The man who had lived in the cell tried to escape by swimming away from the Island during a terrible storm.  The narrator said his body was never found, but it was presumed he drowned or was eaten by sharks.  For some reason, this story stuck with me.  I remember he hadn't committed a crime as vicious as most of the other convicts.  I lingered behind my family, transfixed on this cell.  Up ahead, my dad called out for me to catch up to them.  As I took one last look into the cell, I thought I saw a man sitting on the cot, with his head resting on his hands, as if he was worn down and tired.  I ran to my dad and continued on with the tour, never having told anyone about what I have seen.  
Truth be told, I'm not sure what I saw, if anything.  But I will never forget how I felt; sadness.  Total and complete sadness.  I debated about sharing this story for the obvious reasons that its sounds fake.  So I did some research and indeed, there is a convict who attempted to escape during a foggy, stormy night.  And to this day, no one really knows what happened to their bodies.  I do believe, however, that I know what happened to his soul.




Here's something fun to try: See how steady your hand is!  Take your time and try to stay in the lines.  See if you can beat level 3!

Goosebumps

In honor of Halloween week, I wanted to share something I heard about last year.  It is pretty creepy and gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.  Supposedly, in Siberia, a team of scientists were drilling a hole nine miles deep to study the bedrock of the earth.  They were surprised to find a hallow cavity while drilling and sent down a heat resistant microphone.  What they heard is said to be actual sounds of souls that have been damned to hell.  I found a clip on you tube that tells some back story to the event.  Here is the link: sounds of hell.  The sounds don't start right away, so it's not going to alarm you.


  Also, here is a recap and some of parts from the original article that was printed in a Finland newspaper.  Now, I don't know if this is real or not.  Obvi there has been much debate either way.  But, I will say, it is scary and a perfect story for Halloween.

Halloween Traditions

Over the weekend, my boyfriend and I carved pumpkins (and apparently I was carving my fingers too).  As we lit our Jack O'Lanterns last night, I wondered where this tradition began.  I have always loved Halloween and all the mystique that goes with it.  I know that Halloween is thought to be a night that the dead can roam between their would and ours.  But where do Jack O'Lanterns fit in to this picture?  

http://www.history.com/topics/jack-olantern-history

Interested in learning more about the spooky origins of this day?  The History Channel online has some really cool articles and short videos on the topic.  http://www.history.com/topics/halloween

For me, I believe in ghosts and many of the ancient beliefs that have withstood the test of time.  I often think about all that is around me without my awareness.  A cold chill from nowhere, a strange feeling in a familiar place, an image out of the corner of your eye...  

My pumpkin is on the left.

Halloween is almost here!  Check back during this week leading up to Halloween for more creepy posts... I love this stuff!

2 cents

If I ever come across a product that I really enjoy, I like to give my "2 cents" about it to my friends.  I don't know about you, but I can get sucked into a Walgreens and walk out of there having spent a small fortune.  I came across the Spin Pins and decided I wanted to try these out on my hair.  For about six bucks, you get 2 spin pins.  After buying them and getting into my car, I immediately ripped open the package and tried them out.  A twist here, a spin there and...  They worked!  I love them.  I have layered hair, so my bun doesn't look like a perfect bun, but still looks cute.  It also feels very secure and doesn't fall out over time.

Updo with Spin Pins!

I was impressed by how easy the Spin Pins are to use.  I mean, if I can do it, trust me, you can as well.  It is a miracle that I can use a blow dryer.  If you're looking for a quick, easy, and different way to do your hair, I highly recommend the Spin Pins. They are great for work or play.  

Love at first sight

Perhaps you have had the pleasure of reading about the light of my life, Vedder, in my post entitled "That Dog".  Vedder is a pretty good dog.  I joke about him because he is a little crazy, but that's probably not all his fault.  I mean, he has been an only child his entire life.  He moved from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati to Houston to Waco all within 3 years.  And while in Houston, he moved 4 times.  He is a trooper and he's been nothing but loyal and loving to me throughout all of life's challenges.
If you haven't realized by my perpetual moving or quitting my job in one of the worst economic times, I tend to shake up the status-quo and march to my own drum.  And luckily, my boyfriend is just as adventurous (that sounds so much better than crazy) as me.  It is in that spirit that I happily announce that we have a new baby girl in our family!!!

Scratch my belly please!

Gabby girl is our newest member and she is a 4 month old basset hound/beagle mix.  She is so sweet and so cute and so loving.  Gabby is playful and loves her new big brother.  Unfortunately, the feeling isn't mutual just yet.  And God love him, but Vedder can't seem to figure out what she is doing here, sitting on his mom's lap and playing with his rope and walking around his house.  On a positive note, no blood has been shed! 

Cutest little girl!

Gabby and her daddy.

We are so happy and excited to have Gabby in our family. I definitely think that after a few days, Vedder and Gabby will become buddies and eventually best friends.   Annnd, this is a good way for me to fill my free time and get over my recent sports blues.  I hope you think Gabby is as cute as we do, and if you don't, then we can no longer be friends... just kidding!

Gabby looooves to chew!

Update...

So I did not get the job I interviewed for last week.  Apparently I interviewed well, and I seemed intelligent, etc. etc. etc., but someone had more experience.  Just wanted to update.  Back to the grind.  I'm going to look at going through a temp agency and see what happens.  I'm sure there will be more adventures to come on the job front!

Make-A-List Monday

We need to talk.  Before this thing goes any further between us, there's something you sould know about me.  I use a lot of abbreviations.  It started mostly in college while taking notes in class and big words were challeging for me to spell.  Now it's more of a habit.  But you need to be aware of some of my abbreviations so that we are smooth sailing from here on out.  Maybe they will even make your life a tad bit easier.

6 of my most common Abbreviations 

(p.s. I usually abbreviate "abbreviation" with abbrev.)

1.  Sit - Situation (pronounced "sich")

2.  NBD - No Big Deal (courtesey of my friend Maureen)

3.  LBR - Let's Be Real (thanks Maureen!!!)

4.  Perf - Perfect, Perfection 

5.  B - B*tch (I don't like the swear word, but B gets the point across)

6.  Obvi - Obviously (had to use spell check)

This is just my most commonly used list... I might throw in a classic like "LOL" or "wtf" from time to time.  Well, I feel better now that this sit is obvi NBD.  Happy Monday!  

The Sports Blues

My dad had two daughters.  And even though he loves us more than life itself, he didn't get to have that son to bond with over things like sports.  Well, no matter... he successfully turned my sister and especially me into sports fanatics.  I love watching sports, playing sports, talking about sports, and this year, for the first time, I am participating in fantasy football.

I really thought I'd be awesome at playing fantasy football (I'm still not sure if that is the right terminology "playing" fantasy football).  I mean, I have a lot of free time, I follow sports anyways, and I felt like I drafted a good team.  Well week 1, I lost, but scored a ton of points.  Week 2, I won and was in first place in the leauge!  I really thought I was the shit.  I even made some moves, aquired different players, and solidified my dominance.  The thought of matching up against me was sure to strike fear in people's hearts.  

Did you know there are bye weeks?  And did you know that you have to switch players in and out when its a player's by week?  Plus, who gave my running back permission to pull a hamstring and not play?  Get your ass in there and win me some points!  Let's just say I'm in last place...

Perhaps I can console myself about my losing fantasy team by getting excited about my "real" teams.  My Cincinnati Reds were in the playoffs for the first time since 1995!  But... they were swept.  Ok, no biggie, how bout dem Bengals?  Getting lots of talk on ESPN... as being one of the most disappointing teams in the league.  There's always college football and I'm a true blue Pitt Panther fan!  Hail to Pitt!  Can you say Continental Tire Bowl??? Let's hope we can even make it to that bowl... I have the sports blues!  Might need to whip up a good dinner/dessert or buy a lovely fall inspired article of clothing to cheer me up.

Weekend Adventures!

Sorry for the delay... I had a post all ready when I deleted it by accident.  Then I went out of town and didn't have a chance to post my weekend fun until now!  

My friend brought me these beautiful Tulips!!!

On Friday, some very dear friends came to visit me in Waco!  It was so much fun to catch up over some wine and food.  I made my mom's hearty beef stew with homemade biscuits for them, as well as a cheese and apple tray, veggies, and cookies.  In case you are interested in the stew and biscuit recipes, here they are!  And trust me, they are very easy.

Hearty Beef Stew

Ingredients

2 lbs Lean trim stew beef (yes, the package will actually say something like 'great for stew')

6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

4 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces

6 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cubed*

1 bag of small red potatoes, cubed*

*use either kind of potato (I used red potatoes)

1/2 - 1 large onion, cut into medium sized pieces

Spices

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash of nutmeg

8 cups (2 boxes) beef broth (I bought Kitchen Basics, unsalted)

Place all ingredients in large pot that has a lid.

Cover ingredients with beef broth and add spices.

Cover pot with lid and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Reduce heat and uncover for about an hour.

Recover and simmer for about 3 hours.

Once in a while, taste broth and add spices as needed.

After 3 hours....

In a seperate bowl, mix 1/4 cup cornstartch or Wondra flour to 1/2 cup water.

Mix together with wire whisk.

Gradually add mixture to stew while stirring constantly until thickened.

I had to do this last part twice to get the stew thick enough.

Add more pepper before serving.

Mmmmmmm!!! So Meaty!

This stew is so easy to make.  It's virtually impossible to over cook because the longer it cooks, the more tender the ingredients.  Serve the stew with these biscuits...

Biscuits

Perfect for soaking up stew.

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

3/4 cups of milk ( I use skim)

Add dry ingredients to bowl.

Use a pastry mixer to grind in butter.

Pastry Mixer.

Once the mixutre is a grainy texture, add milk.

Mix dough together with hands.

Sprinkle additional flour on dough if too sticky.

Shape dough into biscuits and place on greased pie pan.

Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes.

Biscuit before baking.

Along with the stew and biscuits, I had my cheese/apple tray (you know I used honeycrisp apples lol), my veggies and my cookies.  Oh, and of course, wine, wine, wine!  Here's a quick tip for the cookies... I used pre-packaged dough to make a few different kinds.  Instead of cooking the dough on a cookie sheet, I used a cupcake pan that had mini cupcake holes.  The cookies turned out amazing!

I hope you enjoy these recipes.  As my boyfriend likes to say, they will be added to our "dinner rotation".   And good news, it's already Tuesday!!!  

Job Interview

I've been reluctant to tell people when I have interviews.  When you get excited and tell 20 people about an interview, you have to tell 20 people you didn't get the job.  But in the spirit of blogging and being opened, I have a job interview tomorrow!!!! Now don't get too excited... first let me give you a recap of my past interviews.

I applied to a distribution company and after 2 phone interviews, had an in-person interview.  I dusted off my blazer, shined my black pumps, and arrived 35 minutes early because "early is on time, on time is late, and if you're late, don't bother".   I go in and call the extension of the person whom I was meeting.  So far, pretty normal stuff.  In a few minutes, he arrives and escorts me to a conference room.  We sit on opposite sides and that's when "it happened".  Things started taking an odd turn.

He sets a red party cup on the table and I'm thinking, is this a weird interview trick? (read the next line with a country accent) "You don't mind if I chew, do ya? I'm just a good ol' country boy here in the city."

City? there are like 20,000 people in this county.  He proceeds to tell me the entire history of the company.  Should I be taking notes? Asking questions? Telling him I already know this because I read 3 million articles on the company in preparation for this interview?  Is he going to ask me any questions?  Or look at my resume?  What am I interviewing for again?

Suddenly, our time is done and he is bringing in another gentleman who is going to interview me.  This guy wastes no time.  No sooner has my butt touched the chair when he asks why I'm good for this job.  I answer. He asks what makes me better than everyone else for the job.  I answer again.  We kind of go back and forth for about 30 minutes. Now this guy was older, experienced and kept a smirk on his face the entire time I answered his questions.  He gave me that look that because I was a young girl, there was no way I knew how to use computers and create excel reports and converse with prominent business professionals.  I left that interview feeling slightly annoyed.  But I knew I was qualified and that I had answered all his questions.  A few WEEKS, yes weeks, later, I received an email entitled "No Thanks".  I thought for sure it was spam, but I opened it anyway.  There was nothing but an attachment saying thanks but no thanks, you didn't get the job.

The next interview was for a non-profit  and I was really excited for this one.  Trying to learn from my last interview, I decided that I needed to appear more experienced.  So I purchased new pants and a few nice tops.  Obviously, it's a great idea to spend money on interview clothes for a job you need because you have no money...  The first interview was face to face and went really great.  The lady was very nice and said she loved my experience and she went ahead and set up another interview.  I go to the second interview feeling confident and excited.  This job was made for me!  She brings me back to the interview room and introduces me to another lady.  As requested, I hand over my list of references.  The first question out of her mouth is  "Are you relocatable to Austin?".  My mind goes into panic mode.  Austin? Where did this come from?  Last interview, we talked all about I had JUST moved to Waco with my boyfriend and blah blah blah.  I say no and she and the other lady go back and forth asking me questions from a list.  It took 20 minutes. Guess what I got the next day?  An email.  It happened again.  Another no.

So then there's tomorrow.  How can I prepare for that?  I thought long and hard about what I have learned from the rejections and decided I need to come across experienced, smart, and capable.  Bingo... fake glasses.  

Thanks to eBay, I purchased eye glasses with clear lenses that make me look oh so smart.  Watch out world (aka Waco), I'm about to lower the unemployment percentage!  If the glasses work, I'm going to write to President Obama and suggest giving everyone who is unemployed glasses.  Thus, the economy will be stimulated by the government buying all those glasses and the unemployment rate will decrease.  Perhaps I should be an economic advisor... that is, if my interview doesn't go well tomorrow.

Make-A-List Monday

Mondays are a great day to organize your week.  Personally, I organize my life with lists.  While these lists may not organize your life, hopefully you will find them fun or at least make your Monday go by faster.  So without further  adue, I give you the first list of... 

Make-A-List Monday!

5 Things you Must do in October

1.  Pumpkins!!! (carve them, roast their seeds, play in a patch of them)

2.  Buy awesome fall boots. (like these!)

3.  Send a fall greeting card to someone special. (homemade is great)

4.  Go on a picnic. (it will be cold before you know it!)

5.  Eat a honeycrisp apple. (they are delicious and only available sept. and oct.)

My attempt at a homemade card.

"that" dog

The weather has been nothing short of perfect for the past 2 weeks.  Sunny and 80-85 degrees. And here's the real kicker... no humidity!  In honor of this perfect weather, I thought I would treat my dog and myself to an afternoon in the park.  I pictured us strolling along down by the river, him chasing a squirrel, kids wanting to pet my dog cause he was "sooo cute", and me conversing with fellow dog owners while we watched our doggies frolic about the park.  I also thought I could take cute pictures of my dog and post them on my blog and this would be a good way to introduce my dog.
What actually happened wasn't exactly as I pictured.  Upon arriving at the park, my dog (Vedder) and I got out of my car and set out on the path.  We weren't 20 steps into our walk when Vedder began barking at a small child.  The parents were horrified.  I was mortified.  But I pressed on and came upon a squirrel that a family was watching eat a chicken bone.  Well, the show was over for that family because my dog terrorized the squirrel up a tree and out of sight.  After a few apologies, we settle into a brisk walk.  Now, Vedder was good around all the people.  He ignored them and all the many distractions and I began to think that all those hours of watching the Dog Whisperer was paying off.  Surely people were jealous of me and the fact that I owned one of the cutest and best behaved dogs in the world.  Perhaps my next job could be a dog trainer in the Waco area!
We were on the way back to my car for a water break when it happened.  I noticed 2 large dogs up ahead on the path.  So I got Vedder close to me, made him sit and tried to distract him as they approached.  Needless to say, the scene that ensued was mor-ti-fying.  Vedder, who is 18 pounds soaking wet, began maliciously barking at these 2 pit bulls who were being walked by a family with little kids.  Vedder was lunging and trying to attack these dogs and he wound his leash around his neck and was choking himself and barking and growling... everyone in a 100 yard radius was staring and shaking their heads.  I had to pick him up to get him to stop choking.  It was awful.  And if that wasn't embarrassing enough, I heard the little boy say "Daddy, why is that dog so mean?" and his dad said "I don't know son. Some dogs just are.".  Apparently, I have "that" dog and I am "that" owner with an out of control animal and I don't know what to do.
Ok let me defend myself a little.  Vedder has lived, played, and stayed with other dogs before.  These have all been successful meetings.  Huge dogs, small dogs, in the middle dogs.  On his "turf", on their "turf", at kennels... he's been good with it all.   But, for some reason, he snaps when its a meeting like the park.  Well, that pretty much ended our perfect day in the park.  I will be watching more Dog Whisperer in the coming weeks and crossing off "dog trainer" as a possible job.

The "beast" at rest.

He is pretty darn cute, though, right?