What I learned from the Super Bowl

Ben R. > Peyton M.
Even if the Steelers were down 14 points, Ben would've gotten a TD with that last drive. Heck, he would've run it in himself.
So I do not want to hear anymore "Peyton is better than Ben" crap.
That is all.

Nature Kicks My Butt

So, I was going to Mass today. The snow didn't look that bad, and the plows had even cleared the main thruway of the apartment complex. So I was going out.
Um...not.
I should've known it would be hard when I could walk on the snow. My car's front was pretty buried, as was the back wheel on the right side. And this was hard, packed snow. It wasn't going anywhere without a shovel. Kicking so did not work.
I tried brushing/scraping off the car. For the windows I had to chip it off in large chunks. The end result is the sides of my car, and the hood, are somewhat visible. The windshield, back window, and top are not. The snow was like salt crust on a fish. It was not going anywhere.
And, about 5 minutes in, my herart was racing. So I came back in, checked my sats with my little monitor. My sats were fine--97--but my heart rate was 150. So, yeah. I'm not going anywhere today. My dad and brother will attempt to free my car (they have shovels, I do not--need to fix that) later today.
So Mass will be here, with my LOH, and Magnificat. Sigh.

Second Day of Great Snow

The tally:

• Music: Brahms for Book Lovers, Beethoven for your Beloved, Bach for Breakfast. (I'm just about done with the "B" section...)
• Books: Little Town on the Prairie, The Amish Cook's Baking Book, Sailing the Wine Dark Sea (FINALLY done!), began The Winter's Tale (which I think is very appropriate)
• Movies: Oliver Twist, the beginning of Sleeping Beauty
• Food: Cowgirl Cornbread, pasta, and PIE! I am so excited about the pie. I will post pics tomorrow. 

Snow Day Pie

I have made my first pie--successfully!
The filing I wasn't too worried about. It was the crust. I used a pat-a-pan crust recipe, where you actually mix the dough in the pie plate, then pour in the appropriate filing. It can't be used for double-crust pies (like peach or apple), but I'm not there yet anyway.
The pie was fantastic. It's like a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie--so rich I only had one piece. With cold milk, it's divine.

So, here's the recipe, from The Amish Cook's Baking Book

Snow Day Pie
For the crust: 
Pat-A-Pan pie crust
makes one single 9-inch crust (no overhang)

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp. cold milk

Place the flour, sugar and salt in a 9" pie pan and mix with your fingertips until evenly blended. In a measuring cup, combine the oil and milk and beat until creamy. Pour all over the flour mixture. Mix with a fork until the flour mixture is completed moistened. Pat the dough with your fingers, first at the sides of the plate then across the bottom. Flute the edges.

The shell is now ready to be filled. (If you are preparing a shell to fill later, or your recipe requires a pre-baked crust, preheat over to 425 degrees. Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Check often and prick more if needed.)

Chocolate Chip Pie

• Pat-a-pan pie crust (above)
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. melted butter
• 1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and flour; stir in eggs and butter until the batter is well-blended and smooth. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla extract; mix until smooth and the chips are evenly distributed. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Cool on wire rack or windowsill until pie is firm, about 45 minutes. Store any leftovers in a sealed cake safe. The pie will keep for about five days. 

Enjoy with a glass of cold milk. 

Susie's Cowgirl Cornbread

(From Bon Appetit, January 2008)
As we know, today is Susie's first birthday. As we also know, it is a snowy mess in Ohio (although a plow has come through my complex several times, yay!). So I thought that I would make a "birthday dinner" for Susie, and a nice dinner for myself, since I'm snowbound.
The first dish is what I'm calling "Susie's Cowgirl Cornbread." It's actual title is "Texas Buttermilk Cornbread", which is what made me think of making it. But I like my title better.
Rounding out the meal will be pasta in marinara, and...chocolate chip pie. Yes. I am going to attempt pie making. That recipe will be posted once I try the pie!

But first, here's the cornbread that any cowgirl will appreciate.

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted, divided
• 2 c. yellow cornmeal
• 6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/3 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400. Brush an 8X8X2 baking dish with two tablespoons of the melted butter. Place dish in oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add buttermilk and remaining butter. Stir batter until evenly moistened--do not over blend.

Transfer cornbread batter to hot dish and spread evenly. Bake cornmeal until crusty on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cornbread cool at least 10 minutes. Serve warm. 

Happy birthday, Susie! (part II)

Dear Suze,
I cannot believe that you are a year old today! You are an adorable little girl, full of fun and cuddliness (if we can catch you!). I wish I could be with you to celebrate, especially since you're walking now!
Have a wonderful birthday, and many, many more.
Love,
Your Cousin, Emily

I made that blanket for Susie! The other side has girl and boy rubber duckies. 

Susie's first trip to Galveston--and a beach, period

Susie and her parents. Aren't they a good looking family? 

Me and Suze at the Houston Museum of Natural Science's butterfly exhibit. 

In Pittsburgh over Christmas. 

The First Day of the Great Snow

Brought:

• Books: By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Molto Mario, The Olive and the Caper, Jesus, Teach Us to Pray. 
• Music: Bach for Book Lovers, Beethoven for Book Lovers
• Exercise: Seated yoga poses (whoa did I need those)
• Movies: A wee bit of Oliver Twist
• Food: Made Pampered Chef Fiesta Party dip (yum!)

The snow is over thus far--more is coming. So staying in. 

The Saturday Evening (blog) post--Vol. 2 (for me)

IT's that time again! On the first Saturday of the Month, Elizabeth Esther hosts The Saturday Evening Blog Post over at her blog. Pick your favorite post of the previous month, and join in! Rules and linkage instructions are on her website. 

I chose this one. 

Happy Birthday, Susie!

The night before her first birthday, Di's daughter Susie took her first steps!

SEven Quick Takes Friday Vol. XXII

I. 

OK, going to start w/ the complaints and then move on. PLEASE, in snow, with low visibility, put on your lights, and don't tailgate! Also use your turn signal! 

II. 

OK, done with that. Whew. The snow, thus far, is very big (one of my co-workers said the snowflakes were as 'big as potato chips'), and very fluffy and wet. So it isn't really packed down. I hear this will change as it gets colder. The weather guy, at this moment, is saying 5-8", which isn't as bad as a foot, or the THIRTY INCHES DC is predicted to get. Yowzers.

III.

So, from now until Sunday AM, I am not leaving my house. That means--books, food, and movies. Not necessarily in that order.

IV. 

I exercised THREE days this week so far! And the snow will not deter me--I have a pilates DVD and a Shape workout DVD (which is insanely hard, but...oh well). 

V. 

On the movie front, I have a ton to watch. (500) Days of Summer, Oliver Twist, Season 4 of House...I'm well prepared. I also have my biblical studies lectures to keep me busy. The next one is on the books of Chronicles. 

VI. 

Books of 2010: Into Thin Air and The Olive and the Caper, a Greek cookbook. It is a GREAT cookbook to curl up with and read, and provides lots of great recipes and menus. 

 I also started Jesus, Teach Us to Pray. Lent is upon us soon, so I think it's time to dive into some Lenten reading. I'll have more books on that when we get closer. 

VII. 

Still nothing on Titanic. But in voice I'm working on some Linda Eder pieces, including her arrangement of the classic "I'll Be Seeing You". It's a lot of fun. 

For more quick takes, head over to Jen's. 

Stay warm!

A Clouded Constellation

The Corner has this to say about the Obama Administration's proposed canceling of the Constellation space shuttle program. This is one of the things in the budget I'm a little disappointed about. 

 For one thing, space is cool. I loved studying space and astronomy as a kid, and really, it's one of the few places where I could see clear (and AWESOME) applications for higher math. I'm an Ohioan, so flight and space are big--we have the Wright Brothers, Neil Armstrong, and NASA Glenn research center in Cleveland. 

Over the summer, I visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston. It was a world-class museum, offering something for everyone at rock-bottom ticket prices. I got to touch a moon rock, visit Historic Mission Control, see the Saturn V rocket, and learn that we've figured out how humans could survive on the Moon. It was so neat. If I was a kid, this might have motivated me to work harder in math and science!

Growing plants on the Moon

Space is part of the national consciousness. Star Wars, Star Trek, Apollo 13, and the Challenger explosion are easy examples of space-themed things in our culture. My Tempurpedic bed is (supposedly) based on NASA science. 

Sure, it's a government agency, so it's bloated and inefficient. But it does need consistent funding if we're going to reach the Moon again, or Mars. I've been reading Man and the Moon, by Andrew Chakin, about the space program. These moon trips were complicated research missions-- a lot of science was involved, as was the taking of samples and other experiments. It wasn't just, "hey, let's beat the Russians to the Moon." 

I don't think exploration can come with set standards. Christopher Columbus wanted to find China; he found Hispanola instead. Alexander the Great wept when he saw there was no more to conquer. Magellean found the way through the treacherous strait that bears his name. Every terrestrial has added to our knowledge about this planet, her people, and her life. (Let's save the arguments about why it wasn't so great for another time.) Why can't extraterrestrial exploration do the same thing? Astronauts are today's Columbuses and Magelleans. They give us license to dream. 

Popcorn: Oscar Nominees Edition

I love the Oscars. Since 1998 I’ve watched them eagerly and even participated in a few Oscar pools in college. To me, 1998-2004 were great years for American cinema. The last few? Not so much. Movies like Crash dampened my Oscar love, and even last year’s awards, which gave us the uneven Slumdog Millionaire against Milk, The Reader The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Frost/Nixon.
But hope springs eternal—or so I thought. 
This year was the first year the Academy nominated 10 films for Best Picture. To me, this is about five too many.  Look at the list for 2008, for example (listed above). This list could’ve been about two shorter—Frost/Nixon and Benjamin Button could easily have been eliminated. Over the past ten years, the only years where I think all five slots were deserved were 2003 and 2002. These were fantastic years for cinema. The others usually have one or two head-scratchers. (like 1998’s The Thin Red Line. I only made it through about 15 minutes of that one.)
Here’s this year’s list (an asterisk indicates I’ve seen it):

• Avatar
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglorious Basterds
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up *
• Up In The Air

Now, I want to see: Up In the Air,  An Education, The Blind Side, the Hurt Locker, and Precious. Inglorious Basterds I could care about less. My brother owns it, though, so I’ll probably watch it. District 9 wasn’t even on my radar. My Hurt Locker interest was piqued by how well its been doing at awards shows lately. A Serious Man? Eh. 
I’m glad Up was nominated, but I don’t think it will win. More on that in a minute. 
So, without having seen 9/10 of the movies, I can say that at least one—District 9—is on my “highly specious” list.
Best Actor:

• J. Bridges, Crazy Heart
• G. Clooney, Up In the Air
• C. Firth (whee!), A Single Man
• M. Freeman, Invictus
• J. Renner, The Hurt Locker

These all seem legit to me. I am dying to see A Single Man because, as we all know, I love Colin Firth. I would love to see him win. Jeff Bridges won the Golden Globe, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing will happen here. Morgan Freeman, after many “supporting actor” nominations (and one win, for Million Dollar Baby) has moved up to the lead actor category.  George Clooney has been nominated several times over the past few years. He has won an Oscar (best supporting actor for. He has won an Oscar (best supporting actor for Syriana a few years back), so I don’t know how that handicaps him for the race. He was previously nominated in this category for Michael Clayton (which is just a fantastic film).
Best Actress:

• S. Bullock, The Blind Side
• H. Mirren, The Last Station
• C. Mulligan, An Education
• G. Sidibe, Precious
• M. Streep, Julie and Julia (*)

I’m not sure Meryl Streep should be in this category. I thought she did good work in Julie and Julia, but I didn’t think it was Oscar worthy. It was a nice turn. I’m deploring this sort of “everything she does we shall nominate her for” thing. Julia Child was no Miranda Priestly or Clarissa Vaughn.
Helen Mirren just won a few years ago for The Queen, so I don’t think she’ll win again. 
The nomination for Sandra Bullock definitely piques my interest in The Blind Side. 
Of the two younger actresses—Mulligan and Sidibe—I like Mulligan. I just saw her in the BBC’s production of Bleak House (staring Alun Armstrong and Gillian Anderson), where she played Ada Clare. She was exquisite. I haven’t seen Precious, but, like my friend Richelle said earlier, I think it’s sort of presumptuous to give the best actress award to someone in her first role.  Richelle compared this to Jennifer Hudson’s win, and I agree. (And yes, I did see Dreamgirls.) Now maybe I’ll see the movie and be blown away. But…
Best Supporting Actor:

• M. Damon, Invictus
• W. Harrelson, The Messenger
• C. Plummer, The Last Station
• S. Tucci, The Lovely Bones
• C. Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

The money on this one appears to be on Waltz. I think the Tucci nomination is sort of odd, since the movie was pretty roundly panned, although critics did make mention of his good performance. I like Tucci as an actor, but I don’t know if this role will win his Oscar.
Best Supporting Actress:

• P. Cruz, Nine
• V. Farmiga, Up In The Air
• M. Gyllenhall, Crazy Heart
• A. Kendrick, Up In the Air
• Mo’Nique, Precious

Right now, I would say Mo’Nique is pretty much a slam dunk. 
And—it is nice to see Anna Kendrick in this category. Most people know her as Jessica in the Twilight films. I’m glad to see her stretching her chops and getting some critical notice. Bravo.
Best Director: I don’t follow this award anymore, because ever since 1998, when it stopped being an essentially automatic predictor for Best Picture, it’s just sort of there. So—I’ve got nothing for you here.
Best Animated Film:

• Coraline
• The Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Princess and the Frog
• Secret of Kells
• Up *

(Side note: Wasn’t Coraline out like forever ago?) This could be interesting. Pixar has almost totally dominated this category since its inception, but with Up also being nominated for best picture, I’m not sure how the votes will go. The Fantastic Mr. Fox got great reviews and could give Up a serious run for its money. Coraline was dark and moody, and I’ve never heard of Secret. I think this is probably a two way race between Fox and Up.
I have a lot of viewing cut out for me, and I’ll be revisiting this topic as the awards draw closer.

The Simple Woman's Daybook--February 1, 2010

I am so glad it's February! January seemed to last forever!

Outside My Window::

Very clear, not too cold--in the mid 30s. No ice, so I'm happy!

I am wearing ::
J. Crew chinos (gray), a Banana Republic cashmere argyle sweater

I am Thankful For::

My Parade experience

I am Reading:

Mediterranean Summer (I keep re-reading this. It’s such a good winter book.)

From the Kitchen::

A chocolate mascarpone cake from Giada’s Kitchen; pasta; chicken dishes that have yet to be decided on.

I am Thinking:
about how fortunate I am.

I am Creating::
ORDER. (see below)

On my iPod::

My gym soundtrack

Towards Rhythm and Beauty:
I have a gym log and a food log. I figure if I write everything down, that will be incredibly helpful. I used to keep a workout log, but I finished it, and I’m glad I finally have a new one. It’s a great way to track what I do in the gym. I’ve never used a food diary, so this will be a  new experience.

To Live the Liturgy:

Mass tomorrow for Candlemas (I love this feast, I love the name, love it all), LOH, Rosary, magnificat

I am Hoping and Praying:
For Leah Y., who is currently in labor with her first child—a boy! She was induced yesterday so I hope by now the babe has appeared.

Around the House:

Always--the kitchen table.  Taking out the trash, vacuuming.

One of My Favorite Things:

Symphony Concerts

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week:

Tonight: Dinner with Karen and Paige

T and W: Session

Th: Voice

   A Picture Thought  I'm Sharing:

From the Parade archives: 

Last dress rehearsal, before the opening of Act I 

"They like us! They really like us!"

Tonight was the annual Theater Roundtable Awards in Central Ohio, where the best theater of the past year is recognized. Parade won two big awards: best musical ensemble, and outstanding production. The show also garnered best actors for: Jon Schelb (Leo Frank), Liz Wheeler (as his wife, Lucille), and Drew Eberly (as Britt Craig, the muckracking reporter for the Atlanta Georgian.) And Frank, our great director, received a Best Direction award. All in all, that's SIX awards!
Go team! It  was a great production and I'm glad it's getting recognition.