Boo Bash

We had a great time at Bart and Mollie's party this weekend. I think I'll let this pic speak for itself....

Weekend fun is almost here!

Tomorrow we're heading to Cincinnatti to visit Bart and Mollie for their annual Boo Bash Halloween party. We're very excited to see everyone, and since this is costumes required, you'll be getting some funny pics on the blog on Monday.

Visiting Bart and Mollie is always fun, but we always leave so sad! For starters, we begin to miss them almost right away, and also we are reminded of how awesome it would be to have a proper house. Now don't get me wrong, the condo is great and we don't have to mow the lawn. But it would be nice to have backyard barbeques with friends and bonfires and other outdoor fun. I'll quit my whining for now- we've only got 20 more months till we get one of our own!

Give me a head with hair...

Long beautiful hair!
Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen.

And so on...

My dad is a strong, proud, handsome, mostly bald man. He's bald (and bad) as wants to be! But I'm beginning to fear that the one genetic trait I got from his magnificent pool is hair loss. Every day after my shower, blowdry, straightening, etc., I dustbuster up a mass of hair the size of a small animal. I think I may have to forgo the blowdrying and straightening until my poor strands learn to hang on.

We have a plan

Ok, Bart had the best advice on how to deal with the kiddos. We'll bundle up (assuming it isn't 80 degrees outside, which it very well may be), invite friends over, sit on the porch with some beers, grill burgers and hand out candy. That way, we don't have to deal with the annoyance of opening and closing the door. Sylvester is a total escape artist, so it'll be better that way. I'm actually looking forward to Halloween this year!

Halloween is coming...

At what age and in what living situation do you need to start giving kids Halloween candy? I mean, in college we weren't going to spend the 10 bucks we had for the week on candy for strangers, no sir. And now we live in a condo. There are kids who live in our complex, but I'm guessing their parents would have the good sense to cart them over to a nicer neighborhood for Trick or Treating.

We have a few options. We can:

• Go out to dinner during Trick or Treating
  
• Hide in the basement during Trick or Treating
• Buck up and actually hand out candy to the kiddies
• Leave a basket of candy on the porch and let them help themselves

The last idea is my favorite, but Dave "The Cynic" Pflum claims that one or two kids will take it all and it won't be fair to the other kids and that I should care whether or not it's fair to the other kids. We're both a little afraid of children (especially in masks), but I guess we're going to have to get over this eventually.

Any suggestions?

Facebook

Facebook is a weird application that allows you to connect with your friends online. Dave and I have Facebook pages, despite the fact that we're still in phone contact with pretty much everyone we like. But I will say that I've gotten updates and new info recently about lots of friends from way back, like elementary school. It's kind of fun, and while I'll admit that I'm generally not a fan of these online shenanigans, this may turn out to be a good move...

So if you don't have a Facebook page, get one and we'll be your first friends!

Shrimp!

Shrimp is one of my favorite foods. I find that they go everywhere chicken can go, but they're bettter tasting and faster cooking. Like my mom, I've grown addicted to eating a large salad topped with shrimp for one or more meals per day.

But man, buying frozen shrimp is expensive! I decided, in the interest of significant cost savings, to purchase shrimp with the shells still on and do some of the disassembly myself. Shells are no big deal for me- I picked up the shrimp and got those suckers off in a heartbeat. The vein, however, is another story. My concerns are twofold:

First is the wimpy excuse- they call them veins, but those nasty tubes running through the shrimp aren't veins, they're digestive tracts. So the stuff that's inside them ain't blood, people. Gross!

Second, I'm not the greatest with knives, and it takes just a bit of trickery to get those puppies out. Dave often marvels at my ability to get dinner on the table nightly without losing a finger, because I tend to be a bit cavalier with the cutting.

I am pleased to report, however, that I just finished peeling and deveining a pound of shrimp for dinner. The veins are gross looking, but you get used to them pretty quickly and they're surprisingly easy to remove. I only poked myself with the knife once, causing a very minor flesh wound.

So if you're interested in saving about 6 bucks per pound of shrimp, try doing the legwork yourself. If I can do it, anyone can : )

Fall is upon us

Hark! The chilly weather is here. Turtlenecks and jeans are back, baby, and I've already made a casserole. Looking forward to watching our new favorite show, Pushing Daisies, tonight. If you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely check it out. Lots of dark humor, and it's narrated by a guy with a great voice.

In other news, Dave is coming through in the friends department. He secured us a date on Saturday night with another Dave- this one's from California and is studying in the pediatric dentistry program. His girlfriend lives out of town, so that's a perfect setup for us! If you've noticed how we roll, you know that our two best friends in Indy and Chicago have been Bart Labeda and Jeff Jamison, and they both lived near us while their girlfriends (now wives, in Bart's case!) lived a few hours away. It seems to work well for us- Dave gets his male buddy to pal around with, and I get someone to cook for, remind of haircuts, and basically look after. Everyone wins!

Feeling better

Ok, I'm over my Cubs-induced misery and ready to blog again. I've taken the hermit route since Saturday's shellacking- lots of reading and watching of Soprano's reruns. Dave and I are home for the next two weekends, and the word on the street (from forecasters, who we all know are huge liars) is that a cold front is on its way to our hellish metropolis. I hope it comes soon, because I can think of nothing but sweaters, boots and making stew for dinner.

But Laura, you say! You have a lifetime of suffering in the frozen tundra of South Bend ahead of you! Enjoy the heat while you can, for this is your last chance.... I don't care. I'm hot and sweaty, and my hair looks bad. Dave is even worse off- I fear that he will dehydrate and waste away to nothing in this nasty weather. We want fall, ASAP!

Cubs drinking game

Special thanks to Bart and Mollie for posting this on their blog. I'm now going to share it with all of you. This is taken from CNNSI.COM and their links. I do not agree w/ all of the following statements(especially about Old Style). If you plan to follow the game to the letter, I'd recommend doing it on a weekend :)

Required Supplies:

If I were a “real fan” I would tell you to pick up a case of Old Style because they’ve been a sponsor of the Cubs since the Korean War. Unfortunately, it tastes like liquid sawdust so screw it, I’m grabbing a case of Bud Light. After all, Harry was a Bud Man.

You’ll also want a bottle of something hard to fight that bubbly-stomach feeling when you have to pound 8 drinks in a minute

Take One Drink

• Any camera shot of a celebrity in the stands wearing Cubs gear
• The commentator mentions the Cubs haven’t won the series in 99 years
• TV cameras show a white “W” flag
• Wrigley field is described as any of the following: charming, historic, quaint, gorgeous, landmark, priceless, classic, vintage, iconic
• A sign in the crowd depicts the Cubs logo with some other word besides “Cubs”
• Drink at all mentions of goats, black cats, Bartman and curses
• A commentator mentions Carlos Zambrano’s contract extension
• Drink every time you feel an undeniable urge to punch Ernie Johnson in the face. In second thought, just drink once.

Take Two Drinks

• Lou Pinella goes crazy at the umpire
• Felix Pie enters the game as a pinch runner or defensive replacement
• Ron Santo is shown broadcasting the game from a nearby booth
• “It’s Gonna Happen” shirts are seen or mentioned by the broadcasters
• Announcers mention that Kerry Wood is frequently injured
• A shirtless fan is shown (double if it’s a lady!)
• The announcers mention that Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot were college teammates
• The White Sox 2005 championship is mentioned

Finish your Drink!

• Daryle Ward plays the field
• Daryle Ward advances past first base
• Someone explains Eamus Catuli
• Announcers mention Carlos Marmol is a converted catcher
• Carlos Zambrano punches someone
• A Cubs pitcher pinch hits

Enjoy!

Whirlwind week

I'm finally back in the Lou, so I'll catch ya'll up on the past several days. Cincinnati was great- we always have the best time with Bart and Mollie and their friends. We partied like we were back in Indy. We also went to an apple orchard with some of the best apple cider and apple butter you'll ever try.

I left Cinci on Sunday morning and headed to South Bend, where I planned to nurse Papa Gary back to health after his surgery. By the time I got there, I swear he was healthier than me. The man is walking without the aid of crutches or a cane, driving both cars and farm implements and just basically getting better super fast. Hooray!

Dave's been back here plugging away at school. Every week goes by so fast, he'll be done before we know it!

I just got back, so I'm going to take a nap and stay up late for the Cubs game tonight at 10 pm.