Happy Halloween!

This year, Sadie decided she wanted to be a penguin for Halloween. Then, when I bought her costume at Petsmart and brought it home after she begged and begged, she didn't want to wear it.  I put it on her and she just sat there giving me the stink eye. But, this is what you wanted, I said to her, you were very specific. She didn't care. Is this what it's like to have a fickle toddler? Sheesh.

I plied her with hot dog pieces (also a toddler trick?) and she complied with the briefest of photo shoots. I also tried to shoot a video so you could see her in all her glory but when I started rolling film, she just sat there. I mean, honestly. Have you ever heard of a more uncooperative dog?

She was quite interested in the trick-or-treaters. Our city held it as scheduled and the poor kids had coats and mittens on over their costumes

Somebody out there?

If you stay away, I get first crack at the leftover candy.

We probably only had about 20 kids, unfortunately. And the mixed bag of candy we bought had an inordinate amount of Whoppers. Curses!

OK, I sat still for you.

Happy Halloween!

Can I take this off now?

The Passage

Source

I'm not sure what prompted my reading of The Passage by Justin Cronin as it's not typical of what I choose. However, I'm glad I borrowed this one from the library, even if it is 700+ Pages.

Good Reads' Synopsis: "First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun."

What I Thought: Well, this was quite a story. And not a short one as it spans more than 100 years in the history of the US. I wasn't sure where it was headed at the beginning and just when I was really getting into things, the timeline jumped far forward. I caught on though and really started getting involved with the plot. I had to find out what happened and why. I'm not sure what is up with the post-apocalyptic theme in my reading lately (and in TV) but I like the departure. If you are not a sci-fi fan, that's okay as this isn't really sci-fi. While it was a longer read, I really liked it. And bonus, a second book has been released, which is good because I didn't want this one to end. You know I love a good series!


Rating: * * * *

Destination: Louisville

A couple weekend’s ago, John and I took a belated birthday trip to Louisville, Kentucky. Because we were celebrating John’s birthday, I planned a John-centric itinerary of bourbon distilleries. He is forever driving me to wineries and since I am no fan of bourbon, I was the driver. I think I did a pretty good job on this birthday gift, if I do say so myself.

We dropped off an unsuspecting Sadie at daycamp (where she’d also spend the night) and hit the road. A little over 2 hours later, we ended up at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky. We got a little turned around and toured “downtown” Frankfort. It may be the capital but it is small. Just in case you ever thought you needed to hang out there. 

The grounds at Buffalo Trace were very nice, even for our overcast day of touring. Stepping out of the car, an overwhelming smell of bourbon invaded my nose. I guess we're here.

Say hello to my buffalo friend

The tours here are hourly and free. Our guide was VERY 

enthusiastic about bourbon. A lot of reviews I read mentioned that 

all B.T. tour guides are really proud of their product which I 

appreciate. 

Nothing worse than a tour guide who doesn't want to be there. We 

had a large group and in a little over an hour we walked the 

grounds, watched a short video on the history of Buffalo Trace 

(who make lots of other bourbons that you'd recognize by name 

too) and had a tasting.

Barrel House - Bourbon ages here for years and years and years

Old school copper still

We were lucky the the single barrel reserve bottles of Blanton's (one of John's faves) and Rock Hill were being bottled on this very day. We would get to see bottling in action! It was pretty cool. Then, we all got the horse stoppers that can be found on Blanton's bottles. There are 8 in all and when you line them up, it's a horse race. You can by all 8 in a barrel stave here (friends of ours have one and it's super neat) but we're going to collect them one by one. Challenge! We have 2 N's so far.

Waiting to be bottled

Bottles waiting to go down the line. Those tubes hook up to the barrels.

Everyone gets his horsey!

Then we proceeded to the tasting room where everyone got to try 2 different bourbons. They also distill their own vodka. I gave my first tasting to John. The second, however, was a bourbon cream. It was DELICIOUS! It's something new they're making and it's not distributed anywhere but in the gift shop there. It was similar to Bailey's and with a little root beer. Oh my stars. We came home with a bottle of that for sure.

And then our time at Buffalo Trace was done and we were on the road to Shepherdsville, KY about 30 minutes south. A quick stop a Wendy's for lunch and we arrived at Four Roses Distillery. The grounds here were a lot smaller but significant in their Spanish Mission style architect which was pretty. Strong bourbon and corn smell here too!

Tours here are also hourly and free and included three tastings. All 

of mine went to John. He was quite pleased. While some of the 

information here was a repeat of what we had just heard, their 

history was, of course, different. We also got to see the mash 

percolating, which we didn't see at Buffalo Trace. Here, the aroma 

was very strong, obviously. A small percent evaporates while it's 

heated and they call that the Angel's Share. Lucky angels!

John bought a bottle of their Single Barrel variety which he 

deemed the best of the three. Then we headed on over to 

Louisville. I Pricelined our hotel for the night and got a great 

deal. The key to Priceline is knowing where your free rebid 

zones are. For instance, if you're going for a 4 star hotel, 

there are inevitably areas that have no 4 star hotels available 

but you can add them as a zone without upping your bid 

too much. I ended up getting our room at about 60% off. 

The Brown Hotel is somewhat of an institution and it's 

also the home of the original Hot Brown sandwich. This is an 

open-faced turkey (?) sandwich covered in gravy. We didn't 

try it. Check out this lobby though!

We had dinner at Morton's which was delicious. Then we stopped at a couple places at 4th Street Live on the way back to our hotel. This is an outdoor block closed to traffic that is chock full of restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, etc. John continued his bourbon-y weekend here with some tastings at the Maker's Mark Lounge.

Then we headed back to the hotel but stopped for some local beer at the Bluegrass Brewing Co. There weren't many people here but the service was fast and friendly.

By then we were exhausted. It had been a long day and we crashed. Walked to Starbucks in the morning for coffee and oatmeal and then got ready to head home. But, not before having lunch at Chuy's, my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant that is finally making its way north. We first experienced it in Austin and are excited that they are expanding.

Then, we headed home a scant 36 hours after we left. It was a whirlwind getaway but a lot of fun. Great way to spend a birthday, if you ask me!

Recipe Reblog: Comfort Foods

Where did Indian Summer go in Ohio? I woke up this weekend to cold, dreary blah days. You know what cures those kind of days? Comfort foods! I have two winners for you this week. Hope you're hungry!

Smoky Turkey Shepherd's Pie: This one comes from Rachael Ray so it's supposedly a 30 minute meal. I'm here to tell you, with all the chopping and prep work it took my sous chef and me longer than said 30 minutes. Adjust your time goals accordingly. It was worth it. Tasty dish! This meal is veggie-rific! Carrots, celery, red pepper, peas. Using ground turkey keeps it on the light side too. I substituted greek yogurt for the sour cream. I did not have smoked paprika. Rachael says you can use regular paprika and cumin for the same results. One word of warning, this meal looks pretty disgusting. Don't let that throw you off. It was also a bit runnier than I would have liked. It calls for 2 cups of broth but you can probably use 1 1/2 to help tighten it up. A perfect Sunday dinner.

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Noodles: The advent of fall means the return of crockpot meals. This is a Better Homes and Gardens recipe but I couldn't find it on their site. I have it in a cookbook. Oh, we really enjoyed this one. John tipped the remaining sauce into his mouth and when I caught him doing it he said, "we must never speak of this." Sorry. Your wife is a blogger. All material is fair game. This also has lots of veggie power to it. It says it serves 6 with 2 lbs of chicken. I used 1 lb of chicken breasts but kept the sauce amount the same and it was great. It was very saucy but I like saucy noodles. You could also serve this over biscuits but the egg noodles (they also sell whole wheat in the same shape) were easier and healthier. We cooked it overnight because doing it for 10 hours while we were at work would have been too long. Next time though, I'll throw in the chicken frozen and then it will take the full 10. Winner winner chicken dinner!

Half Marathon Playlist

I loaded 3 hours of music for my Half Marathon on my ipod, just in case. I tried to vary the tempos and give myself a couple slower songs as a break. Looking for some new songs to add to your play list specifically for pumping you up and keeping the beat driving? Here's what kept me going until the finish line.

1. When Love Takes Over - David Guetta
2. Power - Kanye West
3. Let's Go - Calvin Harris feat. Ne-Yo
4.  Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men
5.  Best of You - Foo Fighters
6. Starships - Nicki Minaj
7. Kerosene - Miranda Lambert
8. Chasing the Sun - The Wanted
9. Run the World - Beyonce
10. Payphone - Adam Levine feat. Wiz Khalifa
11. Gold on the Ceiling - The Black Keys
12. Amsterdam - Guster
13. It's OK - Cee-Lo Green
14. Maniac - Michael Sembello (From Flashdance)
15. Ni**as in Pari - Kanye West & Jay-Z
16. Fly - Nicki Minaj & Rihanna
17. Burn It Down - Linkin Park
18. Handlebars - Flobots
19. I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys
20. We Found Love - Glee version
21. Numb / Encore - Jay-Z & Linkin Park
22. Hard - Rihanna
23. Runaway Baby - Bruno Mars
24. Cheers (Drink to That) - Rihanna
25. Till I Collapse - Eminem & Nate Dogg
26. Red Oyster Cult - Guster
27. Little Black Submarines - The Black Keys
28. Wheels - Cake
29. Still Standing - Glee version
30. Any Way You Want It - Glee version
31. Let Yourself Go - Green Day
32. Country Girl - Luke Bryan
33. The Distance - Cake
34. All I Do Is Win - DJ Khaled
35. Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys
36. Remember the Name - Fort Minor
37. Here It Goes Again - OK Go
38. The Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco

And then I crossed the finish line! There were 10 more songs or so but I didn't hear them.

What have you been working out to lately? I'm always looking for new music. Although now that the weather will start turning, most of my runs will be treadmill which means, Hello Netflix!

T-Shirt Take-In

John and I may live closer to Bengals country but hailing from northern Ohio we are Browns fans through and through. OK, to be fair, I couldn’t care less about football so I am a Browns fan by default. But, I try to support John’s interests by watching games with him and making football snacks. Anything for snacks right? The other day, John was getting rid of a Browns t-shirt that was much too short on his long-torsoed body. 

Being the re-fashioner I am and wanting to support the team but spend little to no money on gear, I said, “I’ll take that, thankyouverymuch!”

Taking in a too large top is usually a simple, quick fix. I turned the shirt inside out and used a t-shirt of my own as a guideline. This is easier than pinning your hems while the shirt is on your body, trust me. See the little pin-heads all around the striped shirt? They are marking the way for my stitches.

I sewed up the sides and took in the sleeves as well. Take care around the armpits and make sure your original shirt seams are matched up correctly otherwise you’ll have wonky pits. Luckily, the shirt is dark and no one should be looking there because I did a sloppy job.

Two side seams and voila! 

Really need to use my camera instead of my phone, eh?

Free and new-to-me in a more form-fitting feminine cut. Now I will look the part of a football wife, even if I am reading my book or knitting while the game is on…………

TV Trouble

Network television is out to get me. They are causing much distress in my life on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I am sure the execs are in cahoots and that's why they've scheduled three shows on three different channels that I would like to watch. This is a problem because I can only DVR 2 channels at a time. I know that I could switch and get The Hopper for up DVR-ing up to 4 channels simultanesouly (THE HOP-PUH) but I don't want to. Dealing with cable companies ranks right up there with hanging out in home improvement stores and taking my car in for service. Kill.Me.Now.

9:00 PM on Tuesdays is the witching hour. New Girl on Fox, Happy Endings on ABC, Go On on NBC. On Thursdays, it's Grey's Anatomy, Parks and Rec and Glee. I should be contacted to be a Nielsen watcher since I watch so much awesome television programming. Don't you have On Demand? You ask. Yes, yes I do. The problem is sometimes the shows aren't available for viewing when I want them to be and you typically have to suffer through commercials. I will do anything to avoid watching live TV if it's a show I care about. So you see, while On Demand is my only option -- other than watching TV in the basement (barf), it's far from a good option. Sigh..........



.........First World Problems.