Still functioning on 2'ish hours of sleep

I won't do it all the time, but last night was definitely worth it.

I went to Shane's show last night. I wanted to go, but I kept having mixed feelings since I knew it was going to be a late night and I didn't know how much time I'd get to see him. And I wouldn't know anyone there. I was there about 30 minutes before he and people I recognized/kind of new showed up so I just made a few phone calls. He introduced me to some people and a group of us ladies got to chatting. These ladies were so nice and fun to talk to. In the beginning of the night I was mostly hanging around Shane, but as it got going I was mingling back and forth.

The show was amazing. There were some sound issues with Nika's (the lead singer aka Zola Jesus) mike so you couldn't always understand her. I was such a proud girlfriend. He REALLY gets into his keys. It felt good to finally see him doing something he really enjoys. At a little after 2:00 a.m. I asked Shane for his key since I was tired and had to be up at 6:00. I went to bed and soon after I started to relax the rest of the guys came home. They weren't loud, but it was hard to try to fall asleep. Then Shane came into his room and we didn't fall right to sleep. I fell asleep maybe at 3:30'ish, a little before. Then I was basically awake from 5:30 a.m. on. Work was okay this morning, nothing too crazy.

The weekend has been okay otherwise. I closed Friday and opened on Saturday. I rested as much as possible Saturday so I could make it through his show. It's been standard weekend for me.

Random thought: SO excited to work more on Shane's birthday gift!

~Nicole

New recipe of the week

 Sorry I haven't posted for a while. The week has been okay. It's been a typical week for me. I've worked, ran errands and had my class. I went to the Brewer game last night and they FINALLY won when I was in attendance.

Here's the recipe of the week. I have my changes below.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies:
-1 stick of butter
-1 c. + 2T. sugar
-1 egg
-1 T. dark rum
-1 t. vanilla
-1 c. flour
-1/2 c. cocoa powder
-1/2 t. baking soda
-1/4 t. salt
-1 1/2 c. toffee baking bits
-1/2 c. chopped almonds

Soften butter and beat with sugar until fluffy. Add egg, rum and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Slowly add to the wet mixture until just combined. Stir in the toffee bits and almonds. Drop cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes, until the bottoms are slightly golden. Let cool for one minute on the sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes:
-I used less sugar and butter
-I used milk instead of rum because I didn't have rum and the woman I made them for is pregnant. Not that a tablespoon would matter for the entire recipe, but still.
-If you don't want to buy toffee bits just chop up 3 toffee bars for the full recipe
-I omitted the nuts since I didn't have any - you could probably do without them anyways

Random thought: I am feeling very Eeyore'ish right now.

~Nicole

Kinda, sorta big news

I'm moving out of my parent's house for at least the month of August.

Currently three of my friends (Sam, Carolyn and CC) are sharing the house Sam grew up in. Carolyn is moving to Milwaukee for grad school in August and they'll need another roommate. They asked me and I accepted. I am living there at least the month of August. I would obviously be giving up a lot of things, including access to a car. We won't be too busy work wise in August so I'll have time to think/experience this and if it honestly doesn't work out I'll move back home.

Dad doesn't think it's a good idea financially. Mom thinks I'll be okay financially, but it's all the little things that I may not think of at the moment that will affect me. I really want it to work out. More independence, more life experiences, etc. Sam's house isn't too far away so I am still close to grocery stores, bus routes, library, post office, etc. Shane can spend the night at my place. ;)

It'll be a change and a challenge, but I'm ready for it.

~Nicole

Is it wrong?

Is it wrong to be a little jealous of people who can go places while I sit on my ass in Madison?

I know I could go places. I've got money saved up. I don't have amounts and amounts, but if I wanted to take a trip somewhere I could afford it. I've never done that because to my advantage (or detriment) I've always been a responsible person. I never spend more than I make. Even though I don't always need to be cheap I am cheap almost 100% of the time so I can save money. Whenever I go shopping I usually spend less than I budget because "I don't really need that."

Part of why I may not go places is because I feel bad asking for time off. I've always felt bad asking for time off. I am going to e-mail my manager soon with my July requests and I am now re-thinking a few days. One of my co-workers called and she has to quit because the opportunity she originally lost suddenly came back to her and she has to leave next weekend. I am happy for her, but now we're going to be short-staffed. And one of our workers can work less than he originally thought. I get roughly 2 days off a week, which is fine, but asking for those extra days off is what I feel bad about.

I thought about maybe going somewhere over the 4th of July weekend, but with me moving out for at least the month of August I have to really start budgeting my money, moreso than I already do, so I'll probably scratch that. I have to buy a bike - don't know how much that will cost me.

Random thought: I'm going to tune in to see the first few minutes as nastycar craps all over my home track of Road America.

~Nicole

New recipe: jalopeno-cheese-onion bread

 I technically made it Saturday, but there's still leftovers so it'll count!

Whenever I see Shane I almost always bring food. He isn't a big sweets fan and I wanted to try something new. I had been wanting to make smittenkitchen.com/2010/01/ricotta-muffins/. It was last minute and I didn't have all of the ingredients. Instead of stuffing the muffins I used the ricotta in place of some of the yoghurt and used milk as well. I also cut up a jalopeno pepper, some onion and grated some cheese and added that as well. I, being Nicole, used less sugar and oil. I didn't want it to be a sweet bread so I didn't want that sugar anyways. I also omitted the fennel and the nuts. And I also added about 3/4 cup of shredded cheese.

It turned out pretty good. The bit of sweetness really complimented the heat from the peppers. I think I'd used another 1/2 or whole jalopeno next time since the ricotta and the milk cancelled a bit of the heat.

Random thought: This evening is a better evening than last evening.



~Nicole

RIP Grandma

 She's finally not suffering anymore.

She was my grandma that had alzheimers for a good while. She probably had her first symptoms at least 10 years ago. As sad as it is to say this she hasn't been "my grandma" in...I'd say about 3-4 years. That's when she lost all recollection of me as a granddaughter (and herself being a grandma to myself and my brother and my cousins). She was there physically for the past few years, but she's been gone mentally for a while now. I don't know if it makes it easier to cope since I felt like I already lost her years ago. Now she's happier and in a much better place now.

~Nicole

Being in funk...and this week's new recipe

Yesterday, for example, was just not a good day. Shane and I made temporary lunch plans. He said he'd call, which he did, but he called later than I thought he was going to and I got hungry. I kid you not I was about to finish my sandwich when he called. I didn't get upset at him, but I got upset that I had started making this sandwich and I had to rush to catch the bus and I ended up driving anyways since his rehearsal plans changed. I had also rushed through making food Monday night since I wasn't sure if we were doing Monday dinner or Tuesday lunch. Add to that all of this hormonal shit and my grandma with the alzheimers is basically on death's door made for a not-very pleasant Nicole. AND Shane was in a bad mood too. We didn't take it out on each other, but we just needed each other's company. Just laying in bed and holding each other. I had to open this morning and I really don't want to leave him at the end of the night, but last night I just felt like I HAD to stay. But I didn't.

This morning I was still in a bit of a bad mood, but I got better as the day went on. Nadine and myself helped Laura paint. It was soooo good to visit and talk; Oliver and Eliot are getting so big! Tonight I have my class. I have the day off tomorrow. Maybe I'll make something Mexican for lunch since I have cilantro. And tortillas. I'll figure something out.


Recipe time:
So I made a mini cheesecake. I have a 3" springform and I wanted a small dessert for our meal (Shane doesn't really eat sweets) so I made a small one. I took your basic ingredients and just made something up on the spot. lol I used low-fat cream cheese, fat-free sour cream, sugar, vanilla, an egg white, pinch of salt, fresh strawberries and a crust made of teddy grahams, wheat thins and a bit of margarine. It didn't taste too bad, almost like yoghurt. It would have set up better if it was

Random thought: I need to figure out dinner. And put some gas in my car.

~Nicole

The weekend and booze cake-brownies

Honestly, nothing too exciting happened.

Friday I only worked 2-5:30, a short, sweet shift. That night I made my new recipe of the week: "booze cake brownies." The recipe was a whiskey-guiness cake, but I didn't have the whiskey or guiness. I don't drink Guiness and good whiskey is pricey so I used some of the coffee liquor I had. It turned out pretty good. If I ever have whiskey and Guiness on hand I'd make the actual recipe. I brought the cake to a party I went to that night. I had a good time and if I had not have had plans for Saturday morning I would have stayed later.

Saturday was exciting. I met Nadine at the Farmer's Market. We saw cows and walked around. We split two scones. I bought cilantro and catnip. We sat and talked for a few hours before heading our separate ways. I went to the grocery store and bought ingredients for salsa. I made the salsa, visited with the neighbours, had lunch, and worked on my resume. I headed over to Shane's around 4:00. It started POURING when I parked and luckily I had an umbrella. The bottom of my skirt was soaked. We had a good time.

I worked this morning and it was sssssssllllllllllooooooooowwwwwww. I visited with Ali after work and went to the co-op since I was hungry. I am eating dinner now, just turned on the game and will lounge for the rest of the evening. I'll be opening for the next few days.

Random thought: Will I be able to buy this booze with a straight face?

~Nicole

Update on the 24 List

 Well it's been a little over two months since I turned 23 so let's see how I'm progressing, eh?

2 - run a marathon
I have started my training, but a bad bruise has set me back a little bit. I've ran on it twice when I probably should not have. Luckily my runs don't start getting really long for another few weeks.

4 - try one new recipe a week
As I've been blogging you've heard of my successes/failures. I am making this week's new recipe tomorrow night for a party I am going to.

6 - take a fun class
That would be my pole 1/lap dance which is going great. In fact, I registered for pole 2 last night!

8 - attend a new concert
I saw Kris Allen a few days ago and he was pretty good. Hopefully I'll also be seeing one of the bands Shane is in within the next month as well.

17 - read two new books a month
So far so good. I cut it THISCLOSE with May though!

That's it so far. Within the next few months I imagine I'll be able to accomplish some more, including concert on the square, eating at a fancy restaurant and trying a new cuisine. And of course having a tea party with the neighbour girls.

Random thought: Bill Hall actually got a bit!

~Nicole