foodies are like trekkies, only fatter...

foodie [foo-dee]
-noun Slang.
a person keenly interested in food, esp. in eating or cooking.

Origin:
food + -ie, perh. in part extracted from junkie

i have this friend, let's call her chessie (i think she'll be okay with that since it's her name), who writes a pretty fantastic blog which i adore. yesterday she posted this little dilly-o about foodies and their blogs. well, i am now publicly admitting that i have the same obsession, except i have taken mine one step farther. i don't just read the blogs, i actually make the food. i am a foodie, and then some. i even read cookbooks. well, that's not entirely true. i don't actually read them, i mostly just look at the pictures. the only reading i really do is that of the recipe titles, then i go make up my own recipes inspired by said titles. why not read the recipe? 2 reasons.   
1) i'm too lazy and i get distracted easily. 

2) i'm not good at following instructions. especially really specific ones.

besides, i'm convinced that my version is just as good as, if not better than, any recipe i've ever "read". betty crocker needn't worry though, i'm not about to get rid of my beloved books. there is something comforting about stepping into a kitchen and looking at a shelf of tried-and-true-recipe filled cookbooks, even if i don't read them. i get the same excitement "reading" recipes in the blogosphere. okay, not exactly the same, but close. in fact i get excited enough that i think about writing my own food/cooking blog, and i have actually followed through on it (not really a strength of mine). so now i am sharing it with you. if you love me, or just loving yummy goodness, check out my new blog here and, if you feel so inclined, share it with fellow foodies

summertime and the livin' is easy...

once upon a time i posted this to-do list for your springtime. did you check those items off? i hope so. whether you did or didn't i have done you a HUGE favor and compiled the following list for your summer. you're welcome. now, do yourself a favor and follow through with this one. i promise it will be worth it.

1.    have a slumber party
2.    run through the sprinklers
3.    go berry picking, eat some while you’re at it
4.    go to a rodeo
5.    have a water fight
6.    go to a state fair, a street fair, a small town festival…
7.    eat carnival food.  funnel cakes, corn dogs, cotton candy…
8.    ride a roller coaster
9.    climb a tree
10.    eat corn on the cob
11.    drink fresh squeezed lemonade-not that powdered stuff
12.    drive with the windows rolled down, and the music turned up
13.    watch a fourth of july fireworks show
14.    go camping, sleep under the stars
15.    eat s’mores. plural
16.    have a popsicle
17.    buy a treat from the ice cream man
18.    go boating, get wet.  enjoy wearing a life jacket
19.    go fishing, tell a great story about the fish you did or did not catch
20.    wear sunscreen every day.  baby sunscreen at the pool
21.    spend an afternoon at a public pool. laugh at every belly flop
22.    slather yourself in aloe vera when you get sunburned.  no sunburn? do it anyway
23.    go to a baseball game, chew bubble gum and/or eat sunflower seeds
24.    play beach volleyball even if you’re no good at it
25.    set up a hammock and take a nap in it
26.    sit in front of an electric fan to cool off.  talk into it like darth vader
27.    play on a playground, jump off the swings
28.    go hiking
29.    attend an outdoor concert
30.    read a book in the shade of a tree
31.    float a river at a leisurely pace
32.    raft and/or kayak at a not so leisurely pace
33.    have a watermelon seed spitting contest
34.    eat a tomato right off the vine
35.    build a sandcastle
36.    walk around barefoot. do it often
37.    spend an entire day in your bathing suit, like you did as a kid
38.    go makeup free for one day and enjoy your freckles
39.    make a meal over a fire. dutch ovens are the best way to do it
40.    build a campfire. tell stories around it
41.    have a snow cone. let a child pick the flavor for you
42.    set up a slip ‘n’ slide. use it
43.    take a road trip
44.    drink something you pulled out of a cooler
45.    play in a kiddie pool, with or without kids
46.    gawk at shirtless hotties on the beach, or the pool, or the basketball court…
47.    go down a waterslide
48.    wear arm floaties while you swim
49.    carry a squirt gun. be ready for action
50.    watch the sandlot
51.    enjoy an ice cream sandwich. let it melt a little bit and ooze down your hands.
52.    shop at a farmer’s market
53.    go garage sale-ing

lessons in awesome: part 1

i recently had a discussion with a friend of mine who, as it turns out, thinks i'm super awesome. i am inclined to agree. as a service to this awesome impaired friend, and all the rest of you, i have taken it upon myself to enlighten the world as to how to be awesome. let the record show that, try as you may, you will never live up to my level of awesome. it's just not possible. sorry, i didn't make the rules. at any rate, you can increase your level of amazing by mastering the following lessons:
lesson #1: just pretend it never happened. if it's not awesome i refuse to acknowledge it. people, places, things and events. you will be amazed at how easy this really is. you may have to thin the herd a little bit and stop spending time with "friends" that are lametards, but it's so worth it, and the less time you spend with them, the more time you have to devote to your own awesomeness. with any luck, they will take a cue from you and develop their own. don't go where you don't want to be. it's that simple. same goes for things. awkward moments? non-existent. the thing is, it's only awkward if you let it be. pretend it didn't happen. blow right by. ignore it. do that and the awkwardness is gone. for realsies.
there it is, your first lesson in awesome. ready, set...GO!
p.s. please report back on your progress so that i will know when it is time for lesson 2...

6/20-6/26

sunday: girl talk
monday: grocery shopping (maybe it's weird but i really enjoy it)
tuesday: pillowcase sewing
wednesday: pillow fight
thursday: mongo and glee with mamma mia
friday: mace-face!!
saturday: "i'll bring home the turkey if you bring home the bacon"

dear old dad

today is father's day, and, as i suppose i ought to, i've been thinking a lot about my dad and how cool he is. i mean, my awesomeness didn't just appear out of thin air, it was bestowed upon me by my parents (yes, mom too). after much deliberation, i have compiled the following list of lessons learned from my dad over the years. sort of a top ten of life lessons, except there are 13...

1. if you put it away when you’re done with it, you will always know where it is
2. use the right tool for the job
3. respect your mother
4. weekends are play time, but only if you’ve done the work during the week
5. spending time with family is never a waste of time
6. don’t spend money on frivolous things
7. the library can be your best friend
8. buy the best one you can afford and then take good care of it
9. if you’re going to do something, do it right the first time so you don’t have to do it again later
10. it’s okay if you aren’t the best at something, as long as you try your best
11. “roughing it” doesn’t have to be rough
12.  good music should be listened to loudly, and often
13. john wayne is awesome

6/13-6/19

sunday: toasty nutella pockets
monday: laughing until i cried "walker told me i have aids..."
tuesday: volleyball. the real kind.
wednesday: baking with jordan (read eating things that jordan baked)
thursday: did the new york times crossword puzzle almost all by myself
friday: canned chicken soup (i don't know why i like this stuff so much)
saturday: confirming my status as the favorite aunt

sing a song of sixpence

i have found my calling in life. okay, okay, i know i've said that before, but i'm pretty sure i warned you about my indecision. maybe i didn't. i don't remember. at any rate, i may be the most indecisive and restless person you'll ever know. i change my mind about everything multiple times before i settle on anything, and even then i may change my mind. this week my future occupation is that of jingle singer. i may never be a pop star, but i'm musical enough to be the voice you hear at the end of a commercial singing some cheesy line like "hoover, nobody does it like you." i honestly can't imagine that it takes much talent to obtain a job like that. plus, you probably don't have to work very hard, which makes it the ideal position for a lazy person like me. i have no intention of writing these jingles, i have no skill for that sort of thing, but that is beside the point. there's just one little hitch in my master plan, i haven't a clue how one becomes a singer of jingles. do you? no? that's what i thought. well, at any rate, i am officially offering my services should any of you need them.

welcome back 12 year old lindsay, i've missed you...

once upon a time i had a best friend named leslie. we met in gradeschool and cultivated ourbond over years of school, church, birthday parties, movie nights, road trips and (most importantly) sleepovers. with the years has come maturity (sort-of) and a marked change of taste in movies (sort-of), but ultimately, we are who we have always been-an independent, type-a, plan making, control freak and a laid back, decision hating, fun loving jokester who somehow manage to get along beautifully. who would've thought we'd be friends at all, let alone for nearly 20 years. holy crap. i'm old enough to have had a friend for nearly 2 decades. i'm so not okay with that, but i digress. so this weekend, amid the time spent visiting the fam and attending my older brother's graduation (congrats on the master's degree bro!) and catching up with friends i haven't seen for quite a while, i spent some time reacquainting myself with the unbridled fun of a sleepover. not just any old sleepover, a sleepover with leslie. i cannot count the times we've done this in the past, but as late we've been adults and have spent our time together doing adult things.  i gotta be honest, kid things are way more fun than adult things. ahhh, the long-lost joys of the sleepover. i'm not really sure who decided to give them such a blatant misnomer since there is little to no sleep actually happening, but they are super fun just the same. in our youth we stayed up until 2 in the morning talking about boys and watching 80s movies, in our not-so-youth we stayed up until 2 in the morning talking about boys and watching episodes of glee which are filled with 80s music, so not much has changed really. it's nice to know that even at the age of 26 i can act like a preteen schoolgirl with a crazy crush on some teen idol. back then it was jonathon taylor thomas (even if he was short and went by the nickname jtt), now it's cory monteith (even if he is canadian and has weirdly sparse eyebrows). things have certainly changed over the last 14 years, and yet, somehow, things are the same as they always have been. weird how that happens.

6/6-6/12

sunday: jungle vs. juggler
monday: knocking on the wrong door. multiple times. then ringing the doorbell. oops
tuesday: glee finale party
wednesday: balsamic glazed chicken, mashed potatoes w/gravy & sauted zuchinni=delicious dinner
thursday: penelope + snuggie + umbrella-ed drink at movie night in the solarium
friday: hello boise :)
saturday: making "stickers" with katelyn, yet another reason to love post-its

5/30-6/5

sunday: inventing new recipes
monday: making a tractor out of the couch cushions with my nephew
tuesday: meritt's ice cream sundae scone
wednesday: mongo and movie night with mama mia
thursday: kickball!
friday: slept until 12:30. pm.
saturday: volleyball (even if i did get sunburned)

i got that boom boom pow!

once upon a time, i took a math class wherein this "brilliant" teacher (attempted) to teach me how to save time by doing the problem right the first time and eliminate the need for a trial-and-error solution finding style. i failed that class. three times. not only am i really bad at math, i also kind of enjoy trial-and-error. okay, so it's not so fun when you're trying to solve some algebra equation (especially when there is a time limit and such) but, generally speaking it's kind of lovely. math failure aside, these last 26 years of my life have been like one big trial and error process. lots of errors. lots. i am happy to report that i have finally found my calling in life. before i tell you what it is, please bear in mind that i have searched far and wide to discover this particular path and am seeking genuine support from all my peeps (that's you, i hate the easter candy. gross.). okay, are you ready? really and truly ready for this epic revelation? if not, better not to read on. just turn off your computer, walk away, and return at some future time when you feel you are fully prepared to read this and follow through with your commitment to love and support me in my endeavors. didn't make that commitment you say? wrong. you should have read the fine print. well, here goes...
i
am
going
to
be
a
kickball
player
second baseman to be exact.
turns out, all those years watching my older brother play little league (while loathing the idea of participating myself) have finally paid off. i am on a pretty epic kickball team. yes, that's a real thing. i only committed to playing because a friend of mine asked me to. i figured, no matter how bad i am, i owe it to him to at least try. we have known each other for like 13 years, after all...so i gave it a go. i used to love to play kickball on the playground in elementary school, but that was a LONG time ago, and since then i have only played with children who are in elementary school. i'm pretty good against a bunch of third graders, but who isn't? so, i went into the whole thing knowing my skills were rudimentary and likely to be disappointing, and i told this to the team. the last thing i needed was for them to have unrealistic expectations about my athleticism. they assured me that it would be fine. i'm not sure they really grasped the gravity of the situation. have i mentioned that i'm really slow? i am. really slow. slow enough, in fact, that i was almost overtaken by the kicker behind me in the line-up while running bases. really slow. good news is, you don't have to be fast to play second base, you just have to be able to catch decently. now that i can do! i would like to take this opportunity to thank my older brother for being such a boy and forcing me to play catch with him in the back yard. also, for throwing stuff at me unexpectedly. reflexes are very important in kickball. i would like to extend my gratitude to my parents for enrolling me in dance classes as a child as well. for that, my friends, is where i developed these wicked kicking skills. and to my various choir teachers who helped me to develop this loud voice of mine, thank you for endowing me with the skills to effectively communicate with my teammates on the field. it seems my whole life has been building up to this very profession. now if only i could figure out how to get paid for it...

yeah, that sounds about right

i was having a discussion with a friend of mine and i mentioned this little blog of mine (of which he was totally unaware. figures) and his reaction was a little disconcerting. and by a little, i mean a lot. he said something about how he could totally picture me blogging. i realize that doesn’t read as offensive, but it sure sounded it.  he was all smug when he said it too. clearly, he has never experienced the sheer awesomeness of my ranting.  okay, that’s not true. he’s heard it many a time, but he’s never read it.  so what does he know? yes, i am a blogger. i use this public forum to express my thoughts, feelings and opinions. yes, i rant and rave a little bit. what of it? i like it here in the blogosphere. i like getting these things out and knowing that someone, somewhere is reading it and maybe even agreeing with me.i really like when people leave comments. i think my points are valid, and interesting. whether you agree with me or not, i think it is important to open yourself up to the world, to share what makes you unique and wonderful. most of all, i like that being here, doing this, allows me to share me with you. i get to be a part of your life, and you get to be a part of mine in a way that isn’t possible in any other arena. i am a fan of the whole thing. so, unnamed friend that is judging me for doing this, i say to you, what are you doing to share you?
that’s what i thought.

5/23-5/29

sunday: naptime
monday: colby cheated at 4 on a couch. seriously?! not necessary (also, not good at it)
tuesday: homemade peach pie from danny
wednesday: 50 states challenge
thursday: turned in final paperwork to leave my job
friday: water balloon launch
saturday: BOISE!!!