Wedding Countdown Ticker

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Way Back When-esday

Sunday, November 22, 2009

No Dairy Cranberry Apple Cake...

Here at the den I have ventured into a new realm of cooking... the ultimate goal is to produce a god-daughter friendly baked good that I can take when I visit (... I've been promising a visit for much too long). My adorable god-daughter "BF" just turned 5 years old! BF has a few allergies which, I'm pretty sure, include milk and eggs. Cranberry apple cake for a 5 year old?! you say? Well, no, I'm really not expecting a 5 year old to be ecstatic about cranberry apple cake, but I had to start somewhere and seeing as Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I thought I'd start with something seasonal. Plus, I'm not really sure what all I need to avoid other than dairy in making a BF friendly item.

It looks quite lovely... the raw batter certainly tasted good! Since I'm going to JB's extended family thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, I'm going to refrain from eating it just yet so that it will still look pretty when we take it. I stole a little piece that baked over the edge of the pan and it seemed to be pretty tasty... here's hoping! (Shh, don't tell them that they're the guinea pigs ;-) ) More to come on the taste review...

In case it is as tasty as it seemed, here's the recipe: (I forgot to add the vanilla... oops... next time)

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt (I used kosher salt)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. all spice
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp egg replacer, 3 tbsp warm water mixed
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup rice milk with 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients to form batter...
Fold in fruit

2 1/2 cups chopped green apple (reserve some for topping)
1 cup cranberries (halved) (reserve some for topping)

Pour into 9" greased & floured pan (mine almost overflowed the pan but I may have used too much fruit).
Top with reserved apples and cranberries, sprinkle with raw sugar.
Bake at 350°F for 50-70 minutes or until set in the middle (check with toothpick).

Sunday, November 15, 2009

In memorium...

look, my arm...

This guy was standing to my left... the right hand corner of his video features my left arm (blue sweatshirt, wrist watch)

Implosion of the Drexel Shaft...

THE DREXEL SHAFT is GONE!



I was there to see it in person. Alas, my cameras both failed me... the one taking the video stopped recording when the explosion occurred for unknown reasons and the one that I was using to take still pictures decided to turn off... GRRRRR! of all the times! Anyway, I really couldn't have used the video anyway on this blog because the petite blond girl next to me started yelling obscenities as soon as it happened.

Anyway, you can enjoy the first youtube posting of the implosion and a few of my before and after shots


In this next video you can see the shockwave... the point at which my video taping camera stopped its recording...

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Comment spam

Well, ladies and gentlemen, due to the volume of comment spam that has been occurring here at the Den, I've added a step to the comment process which asks you to type in some sort of word in an attempt to reduce these unwanted comments. Please don't let it stop you from leaving comments on my sporadic postings... I <3 comments... I just prefer real comments!

Thanks to everyone who leaves real comments for me! :-)

New posts are coming soon... I promise (as soon as I get a few spare minutes)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

100 things... finally

1 - part of the reason I've been avoiding my blog was to avoid this post
2 - I never know what to say about myself in these list things ... everything I think of seems uninteresting and I don't know why you'd want to read 100 of them
3 - I enjoy playing with little kids... as long as they're not destructive
4 - my favorite age to babysit for is 0-1.5
5 - besides wanting to be the Philly Phanatic, I also wanted to be a master Lego builder... yes, it is an actual job where you build with Legos and get paid for it!
6 - I am the 6th grandchild on my dad's side of the family, but I'm the first with brown eyes
7 - my hair does whatever it wants, whenever it wants - JB's neice once told me that I just need to tell it who is boss... it still doesn't listen
8 - I've donated my hair twice for Locks of Love
9 - my all time favorite band is The Changing Times... I always told my neighbors I wanted The Changing Times to play for my wedding reception but they told me that I could have my dad play at my wedding - Cousin Amy set the precedent... they played for her reception... maybe one day...
10 - I like to listen to loud polka music while I clean
11 - I like to listen to music I can sing to while I'm driving... lucky for everyone I do most of my driving by myself
12 - liturgical music & show tunes are my favorite types of music to play on the piano
13 - one day, I'd like to sing Bach's Mass in B Minor... that will never happen with the Drexel Chorus
14 - I've sung with the Drexel Chorus for 8 years... year 9 started on Sept. 21st.
15 - I've been singing in various church choirs since 1st grade
16 - I do NOT like roaches... ewwwwwww
17 - sleeping is a guilty pleasure... I'd love to sleep/stay in my bed for hours on end, but usually I end up getting up because I feel guilty that there are so many other things I should be doing
18 - I get grumpy when I'm hungry... like the plant in Little Shop of Horrors... feed me, feed me now!
19 - When I'm hungry I have a difficult time deciding what to eat... I usually try to think about what I'm going to eat before I get hungry
20 - I CANNOT tollerate open drawers, especially if something is sticking out of the drawer. All drawers must be closed all of the time!
21 - I organize my closet by type of clothing and each type of clothing has its own type of hanger... pants on black hangers, sweaters on pink hangers, blouses on light blue hangers, etc.
22 - When I was younger I had a lot of trouble finding shoes that fit so when I'd find a pair that was comfortable I'd get them... I need to break this habit because now I have A LOT of shoes!
23 - I like to sleep on cloud 9... cushy beds and piles of pillows... can't wait till I have time to put on my new mattress topper!!!
24 - I like going in the ocean but I do not like to step on things that are on the bottom... so, I always take my "rafty-raft"
25 - this means that I have completed 25% of my list of "things"
26 - years old = me
27 - I like to cook, but I also like to bake... I've been told that this is unusual as people generally tend toward one or the other
28 - Mom gave me a test to determine if I'm dominantly right brained or left brained... guess what?! I use both my brains... but I tend toward the scientific and logic
29 - I've lived in the same apartment for 6 years
30 - I'm currently living with my third roommate in the apartment
31 - I have no idea what my roommate is actually studying (astrophysics)
32 - my previous roommate and I were both in civil engineering
33 - my first roommate is married and lives in Texas?
34 - I am seriously addicted to bubble tea... I don't know what I'll do when the Bubble House isn't right down the street
35 - I'm not really a fan of chocolate... unless it is dark chocolate!!!
36 - I'm allergic to roses... they're pretty but not worth the lack of ability to breath
37 - my favorite flower is amaryllis
38 - my favorite easter flower is the calla lily
39 - I don't have a favorite color
40 - I don't have a middle name
41 - JB and I have the same three digits following our initials on our school email addresses (the only difference is s vs. m)
42 - I met JB freshman year of college
43 - He doesn't remember this
44 - we met in the Newman Club
45 - I couldn't imagine dating a non-catholic
46 - I have "honorary grandparents"... the best next door neighbors any kid could ask for!
47 - I have one sister
48 - I have 13 first cousins... this pales in comparrison to JB's (approximately 40ish?)
49 - I still have trouble with the names of some of JB's aunts and uncles... cousins, pshh, who knows!! (I can name a few of them... mostly the older ones)
50 - I'm now 50% of the way through this list... I wonder if anyone is still reading...
51 - In third grade I decided that the recessional for my wedding would be Widor's Toccata... I haven't changed my mind!

52 - I had just finished second grade when I was first "hired" to sing for a wedding
53 - my church choir director was awesome... she's the reason I'm so involved in liturgical music ministry today!
54 - I once went to every Easter service at my church because I was involved in some form (singing, ringing handbells, altar serving, lectoring) starting on Holy Thursday straight through every Mass on Sunday
55 - I enjoy traditions... esp. Christmas and Easter food traditions!
56 - I went to 13 years of Catholic school - apparently this is evident in my cursive handwriting
57 - my first year of college would have been easier than my senior year of high school if I hadn't had 2 kidney stones!
58 - I enjoyed "tornado drills" in kindergarten because sister would give us fresh baked chocolate chip cookies if we were good while we were near the kitchen
59 - my first grade teacher tried to ruin my life... she said I'd never go anywhere with math or science
60 - I have two bachelor degrees in engineering
61 - I'm working on my masters in Civil engineering
62 - I attended the same highschool that my parents went to and even had some of the same teachers!
63 - the high school I attended was co-ed when I went there but not when my parents went there... to this day, the second floors of the two wings do not connect to eachother
64 - I have never had a pet... my stuffed animals make up for this with their respective personallities...
65 - my sis would kill me if I gave away her "nickname" that was used at home when we were little... this doesn't stop her from calling me by my nickname
66 - my favorite vegetable is asparagus
67 - when we were asked to bring in a vegetable for stew in preschool I volunteered for lima beens and an onion... my classmates thought this was gross
68 - I like liver and onions... my grandmother ordered it one year when we were at V-7 for my birthday dinner... I've liked it ever since
69 - my mom and I have very different cooking styles... I have no idea where I learned to cook
70 - I cook when I'm stressed... like I shouldn't be doing other things with my time
71 - I have 9 pillows on my bed not including my body pillow or my smiley face pillows or my eeyore pillow (and my bed is only a twin)
72 - I don't like other people using my pillows... I have specific pillows on the bed that are "guest" pillows... I never sleep on these (they are in the back)
73 - I like to sleep under a pile of blankets so I like it to be cold when I'm sleeping
74 - I have been known to yell things in my sleep and wake up my family
75 - the furniture in the bedroom of my apartment was specifically designed and built for the apartment (interchangeable to the other bedroom as well) by my dad and me
76 - I have a beautiful coffee table designed and built by JB's dad
77 - I would like to travel; some of the places I'd like to go include: Slovakia, Germany, England, Rome, Italy, Hawaii, Alaska, Seattle, Dubai, New Zealand, Austrailia...
78 - I'd like to go back to New Mexico, the Navajo nation was pretty awesome!
79 - I like making cards rather than buying them, I think it adds a personal touch that you just can't find in a store bought card... every now and then I find a "must send" store bought card... those exceptions are few and far between
80 - I can no longer keep up with making baby blankets for baby showers... not enough time to crochet!!
81 - I've made two full size afghans... one for one of my best friends in high school and one for my sister
82 - I have a collection of matching sets of hats, scarves, and gloves... I like warm cozy things!
83 - I collect baseball caps... I put them up on pins around the top of my room (who needs crown molding?! ;-) )
84 - I got a fortune cookie at the Hard Wok Buffet that says that I'll be ok as long as I don't sign up for anything new... hmmmmm, perhaps I should try this for a while
85 - I <3 <3 <3 the green beans at the Hard Wok... I don't know what they put on those babies, but I could eat whole plates full of them!! (and crab rangoons)
86 - I like toasted marshmallows, but I'm not a fan of smores... toasted marshmallows on chocolate graham crackers is where it's at (this goes back to my lack of enthusiasm about milk chocolate)
87 - my left knee hurts when it is cold and rainy
88 - I didn't really own much in the way of pink clothing until I started working on construction sites... now I feel the need to have pink things!
89 - I enjoy painting my fingernails creatively... I managed a Phillies "P" and a baseball for playoff season
90 - I like Vera Bradley bags but I refuse to pay full price for them... therefore, I never have the current patterns... only retiring ones (or ones that they run particular sales on)
91 - AC Moore and Home Depot are equally dangerous stores... I could easily waste half a day in either one
92 - I enjoy making jewelry... I like to go to craft fairs for ideas :-)
93 - sometimes I think I should open a cafe or a hobby shop...
94 - I have a large collection of teas... I made a prototype shelf out of foam-core board several years ago... the tea is still on the prototype shelf... wood version coming eventually?!
95 - T gave me the cutest tea pot... my teapot looks like a little piggy (it whistles through it's snout)
96 - I don't have cable tv, but I do get more homeshopping/infomertial stations than you could ever imagine... oy!
97 - I have been told that my blog is religious... I was surprised by this comment
98 - In addition to engineering school, I'm currently attending bartending school (I've been trying to do this for several years but haven't been able to fit it in... here's hopin)
99 - I have a twin sister who isn't really related... my best friend from home was born a day after me and we went to school together for 12 years
100 - I made it to the end!!!!!!!! hope you enjoyed my list.