Halloween+ [Weekend 10]

This morning...Went to McDonald's.  [You can pick up your Jaw now.]  I've heard they had good coffee and I really wanted a dirt cheap mocha.  [Aunt Flo needs the chocolate & dolly needs the caffeine.]  I thought that it would be on the "dollar menu."  Mochas cost more than Egg McMuffins.  Something is terribly wrong with that!  Anyways... my peppermint mocha totally hit the spot.

Let's see what have I been doing this week...

Tuesday I did had a mental health exam and I did Yoga.

Thursday... I had a medical term quiz.  Bought a dress to wear to the symphony (going w Josh 11/4).  Got the dress from the Goodwill on Centre.  $5!  It's a White House/Black Market dress.  3/4 length, strapless, black, embroidered grey and brown floral pattern, and black bead work. I need new shoes.  Then to the Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh to be with a dozen SMOTs, a roommate, a husband, and a handful of extras.  College night!  $5 pretzels & cheese and $6 liters.  2.5 liters is a lot to drink.  Danced danced danced.  Sang.  The lovely miss Caitlin delivered me home.  Lovely time.

Friday... was hung over all day.  Woke up.  Took myself to Ritter's diner.  When  first walked in it was a little strange.  Took a bit of time to get seat, even though they weren't that busy.  I loved my waitress!  She was on top of it.  Called me "hon."  Great.  My omelet [spinach and feta] was pretty standard fair.  The home fries were just perfect!   The coffee was typical Pittsburgh diner coffee, nothing to write home about. This place is 24 hours.  And I highly recommend it for the drunk and hungover and lazy breakfast food goers. After breakfast.  I walked around walnut street for a large part of the afternoon.  Looking for shoes and ID badge holders.  Than home to make my Sheep Costume.  Than Halloween PARTY!  Had a really good turn out.  Tasty snacks. 

The roommates [Carol, Me, & Joy] + Denise [of the U of Pitt archeology/anthropology department].

Saturday...  Went to the Strip with Josh.  Got some good deals on some dry goods.  I find the produce aspect of the strip to be disappointing.  Went home made "Pad Thai."  ["Pad Thai" sauce...  brown sugar, ketchup, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, soy sauce, sriracha, and lime juice.]  Made Israeli salad to take to the Diwali potluck!  Wore my Sari to the Diwali potluck at Khayati's house.  [Khyati is a friend I made on the megabus ride home for Yom Kippur.]  Yummy food.  Smart, funny, and friendly folks. Josh was a bit overwhelmed by the Mafia game.  [I need to start prepping him for Euchre playing at Christmas!]  It was my 1st Diwali party and I felt more than satisfied by the experience! I went home and watched the season finally of Against The Wall.  I hope Abby picks Brody!  And I hope the network [Lifetime] doesn't cancel the show.  [My favorite shows seem to get canceled... Outsourced, Pushing Daisies, The Playboy Club]

Sunday...  Saw Peter Pan at the Ballet with Sho, Venera, and Josh!  The Benedum Center is a pretty impressive venue.  The music was fine.  The dancing was cute, but not outrageous.  The story was well told.  I was most impressed with the costumes.  Had an Irish coffee at intermission.  On the way home dropped Josh off at the bar to watch the Steelers game with the bros [Matt and Adam].  Went with Venera and Sho so they could experience Trader Joe's for the 1st time.  Then I studied the brachial plexus and made soup & salad for dinner.  Josh & I have officially been dating a month and I will be renewing his one-month contract.  <3

Overall great weekend [did not study enough].

Now... the brachial plexus and I gots to duke it out.

Pumpkin Bread

Because you know you want to make some pumpkin bread.

Makes 2 loaves. (or 3-4 dozen muffins.)

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup flaxseed meal (trust me)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. vanilla  extract
1 1/2  cups sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups of fresh pumpkin --> 16 ounces if using canned pumpkin  (I have
used zucchini, rhubarb, beet, carrot, and banana alternatively.)
2/3 cup water --> if pumpkin is canned
1/2 cup water --> if pumpkin is fresh or frozen
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped pecans optional
a Bag of MINI chocolate chips optional (It is important to use the
mini ones, because the regular sized ones tent to sink and all end up
on the bottom. Highly recommended!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, flaxseed meal, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, water, oil and pumpkin. Stir until blended. Add nuts. Mix well. Pour into two 9x5" loaf pans. Bake 1 hour.  (Muffins cook about 17 minutes!) Cool slightly and take out of pans to let cool on a rack. It keeps well in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

Original recipe provided by Maryanne Cox and edited by dolly.

To veganize. 

Omit eggs.

Extra 1 tsp. baking soda

TWO 6 oz silk individual vanilla soy yogurt

Use HALF the amount of water.

Vegan Mac and "Cheese"

Lagoon [Lerone] shared this fabulous recipe with me. 

"Cheese" sauce. In a blender. 

1 & 1/2 cups soy milk (plain)

½ to ¾ cup nutritional yeast to taste (this is the cheesy part)
2 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon powdered mustard

¼ teaspoon turmeric (for color)

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 garlic cloves

1/2 block soft Tofu
1/4 cup tamari (soy sauce)
1 tablespoon earth balance (vegan butter or vegetable oil)

Pour over 1 lb cooked pasta or 12 oz cooked pasta and a cup of peas or peas and carrots.  

Optional bake at 350 until bubbly. 

5-6 servings. 

[Weekend 9]

Made Vegan Pumpkin Bread.
Elissa visited.
Can officially like Indian Garden and their dirt cheap Indian food.
Double Wide Grill served up a pretty tasty breakfast.  Would do again! 
Amazing MSU vs. U of Wisco Madison game viewed at Willain Penn Tavern.  A nice place to watch the game.

Lots of school/studying ahead...

Short week of "school," long week of studying.

Monday
Fall break.  Did some pretty intense Anatomy studying.

Tuesday
Also fall break. Met Josh at the Franktuary dahntahn. [I'm working on using my Pittsburgh vocabulary, Pittsburghese, for yinz.] I was not impressed with the cole slaw.  But I thought the veggie dog with sauerkraut, pickle relish, and local Miller's Mustard was quite fabulous.  I would do that again if I found myself downtown for lunch again.  Also studied anatomy.  Went and saw 50/50 with Trisha, Sho, Venera, and Josh.  GREAT movie!  It was at this cute little theater in Squirrel Hill.

Wednesday
Back to school. Studied. Did some amazing yoga.

Thursday
Went to school.  Studied.  Stressful day.  Followed by cuddles with Josh.

Today
Josh bought a megabus ticket to come to Detroit over winter break 12/25-12/29!  And tickets to see Peter Pan at the ballet! Swoon. I also got a text message from my cousins, Nick and Christina, "Thank you Jesus! We welcome our son Nathanael Honor, 8lbs5oz, 20.5 in. Mom and baby are well." I went to school.  Studied.  Went and got some gas from the get go.  $2.99 a gallon using my fuelperks!  Did some shopping with carol for school supplies and groceries.  Came home finished up an assignment.  Made vegan pumpkin bread.  Looks yummy!  Excited about eating it tomorrow!  Going to pick up Lissa from the Megabus stop soon.

A Lolo loving weekend. [Weekend 8]

Wednesday
Lauren [Lolo] check into hotel dolly.  Went to Ambiance for high end thrift shopping. Then we went on a bar crawl over on the South Side.  OTB for black bean cakes, fried pickles, & beer half off for happy hour.  Our server was totally clueless.  And the peanut butter "sauce" was not really anywhere near the consistency of a sauce. Double wide grill were we had more beer and some dense and tasty seitan wings.  I would eat these again!  Then to the hofbrauhaus for some German Beer.  Not really the most vegetarian menu and we were pretty full from all of our previous snacking.

Thursday
Went to class.  Came home. Went to happy hour at Shape Edge Beer Emporium with Lauren, Chelsea, and John.  [Msu-folk-tastic!]  Got super drunk drinking half off Belgian beers.  There was a blonde Belgian I favored.  Had a blue cheese and buffalo sauce burger.  Very yummy.  Lauren and I went to Giant Eagle.  Bought pumpkin gobs.  Ate gobs and passed out while watching I <3 Huckabees. 

Friday
After school.  Went sushi shopping.  Had people over for sushi rolling.  Tofu, avocado, pea sprout, cucumber, and sweet chili sauce!  Avocado, sweet potato, and cream cheese!  People went home and Carol, Conan [Carol's out of town guest], Lauren, and me went to Lou's. 

Saturday
Breakfast at Quiet Storm.  Really tasty.  But disappointed they didn't have REAL Jam. Andy Warhol Museum. Had such a ridiculous experience trying to find parking on the North Side because of the U of Piitt football game.   Parked downtown and walked across the bridge to the museum  Which was AWESOME.  The Trolley [aka subway]. Monogahela Incline was super packed with Steeler Tourist.  But wonderful views of the city, such perfect weather!  Panera for dinner [the ultimate Pittsburgh dinning experience].  The Waffle Shop for dessert.  Not as exciting as I expected. But fairly tasty. 

Today
Went to Ikea for super cheap breakfast in route to the airport.  Stopped at Jo Ann Fabrics to get Halloween costume supplies! Yay!  [Josh came with so I wouldn't have to drive back to town alone & he didn't complain about going to Jo Ann's.  Good boyfriend.]  I miss Lauren already.   ...  Who's coming to visit next?  Lissa next weekend.  And then...

Weekend home [weekend 7]

Thursday
Turned out to be exactly as predicted.  I am really liking Amazing Yoga.

Friday
After class I went home packed and took the port authority bus down to the Mega Bus.  I was going to return Josh's cooking pot that I borrowed, but the timing wasn't right.  So the pot took a trip to Detroit.  Got in at 11:20pm.  Went to the house of my childhood.  Went to bed.

Saturday
Woke up for Yom Kippur morning services.  They were fine.  Nothing too insightful.  Went to the original pancake house at 2:30 [after 19 hours of fasting] with Rob and Mary [cousin and girlfriend].  Went home.  Watched some Law and Order: SVU.  Went to Shield's for Greek salad and Detroit style pizza.  Yummy.  Was nice to have some family time!  Went to Miss Emily's break fast.  Lots of yummy food even tho I wasn't hungry [Kahlua cake and mac & cheese].  It was nice to talk about boys! I drove and I felt like I was really speeding [45 mph].  I don't drive much in Pittsburgh and when I do the speed limit is 30 mph or less everywhere in the city.  Detroit also has more than one radio station that plays rap/R&B.

Sunday
Woke up went to Alex's for breakfast with Mom, Dad, Lissa, Erica, and Aunt Marie.  Spinach and feta omelet with rice pilaf and pita bread.  Yummy.   Then over to Rochester Cider Mill to get cider and donuts to take pack to Pittsburgh!   Went with Mom to get ideas about halloween costume things.  Then off via Mega Bus to Pittsburgh.  Went to Hotel Lauren [aka the Westin].  Drank Gin.  Walked around downtown.  Watched animal planet.  More adventures with Lauren [the famous published] Olson to come. 

Monday
Went to school. Went home and studied.  Went to Amazing Yoga with Carol.  Went on a double date with Josh & Mikey & Laura to Mad Mex Shadyside.  Had the Super Mad Mex Burrito with Tofu.  The Tofu was sort of blah.  The Chickpea Chili wasn't saucy enough.  The spicy spinach was spicy, but not amazing.  The blue corn bread did not have texture that was pleasing to me.  We came after the margarita specials were over.  So I cannot comment on those.  If I had a good reason to, I would try it again, but not the tofu and first I want a happy hour margarita!  Josh's freind and his girlfriend were fairly quiet.  I felt like I was interrogating them.  After dinner I wanted to get Josh to stop with me for Gelato.  But I failed at that.

Tuesday
Such a long long day.  Brain exploded by anatomy.  Took a quiz in foundation of OT.  Turned in a essay for mental health.  Sat through 3 hours of mental health lectures!  When it was all over I stopped at whole foods to get dumplings [and other tasty things from the cold food bar] and Shannon's Sorbet Dutch Chocolate [needed to fill that Gelato void from the evening before].  Drove to Josh's. Returned his cooking pot.  Ate dinner.  Cuddled.  Ate Sorbet.  Super chocolatey super yummy really hit the spot.   I think Josh approved of the Sorbet [which was vegan].

Today/Wednesday
Arrived at school only to find out class was canceled.  We received an email at 6:36 am. [On a happy note... Trader Joe's Greek Style Nonfat Blueberry Yogurt is pretty amazing.]  Cadaver lab/quiz.  Then to pick up Lauren at the Westin to transfer her to Hotel Dolly through Sunday! 

Do I think about food too much?  Maybe...  

Today is a beautiful day.

Monday
Day of studying.  Amazing Yoga with Joy.  Lovely day.

Tuesday
Our professor informed us that we all did so bad on our anatomy exam that he needed more time to grade them.  Not a good feeling.  On the positive side Mental Health class was canceled.  Done with classed at 2:30!  Did some studying.  Met with Sho, Venera, Lucius, Trisha, and Irem. Picked up a large pizza from Anton's Pizza for under $5 including taxes!  And it wasn't half bad!   Went to Spinx Hookah Bar and Coffee Shop.  EJ, our server was very friendly, but not the best server.  The Spinx has a one drink minimum per person, but no booze, so I had a Lime Milk Shake - $5... like drinking key lime pie?  The pumpkin pie hookah didn't taste particularly like pumpkin.  Large hookah $15, split 6 ways. I got a smoking headache. Went home and studied some more.  Lovely day.

Wednesday
Took Assessment and Intervention exam 90%. Felt like a competent student.  Had a surprise (to me) fieldwork meeting.  My fieldwork level II lotto number is 6.  I'll get 6th pick the first time around and 34th pick the second time around.  Level II fieldwork starts January 7th, 2013.  So this is almost forever away!  Lost 2 hours of study time due to meeting, totally stressed me out.  Got a 90% on my anatomy quiz. Went home and wrote an essay about critical thinking and cultural awareness.  The bus to meet Josh at Spak Brothers was 10 minutes late.  So I was just a bit stressed out by late buses and surprise meeting and not getting 100% in lab.  But [Josh] hugs have magical powers. Spak Brothers do not do BBQ "chicken" pizza, but they do have tasty BBQ Seitan melts.  The bread was a little thick.  They surprised me with green peppers, which needed to be picked off.  Would have been better with pickles.  But it was a good sandwich. Lovely day.

Today
Went to Coffee Tree Roaster coffee shop for a chai charger and an hour of studying before class.  It was pretty good.  Both the barista and the cashier were hot, just saying. Got back my anatomy exam.  88% such a relief!  Went to Jimmy John's for a $1 sandwich [customer appreciation], #6 no mayo.  Took medical term quiz. 89% Instant satisfaction.  To do today...  Going to do stigma assignment with my classmates Devon and Gab.  Amazing Yoga 7:15 pm with Carol.  Cuddles with Josh.

Happy New Year. [Weekend 6]

Thursday
Karissa arrived via megabus.  Scooped her up from the downtown crazy mocha.  She reports that the coffee IS terrible. Went grocery shopping for ingredients for new years party.  Walked to Brillobox.  Josh joned us.  Ate yummy veggie burgers, drank beer. Walked to Lou's.  Had another beer. Lou's gave me a REAL glass!  Super nice evening for a post anatomy day.

Friday
Walked to school.  Gave Karissa my Id and computer password so she could explore and then play on the computer once she got bored.  Karissa took a tour of Chatham with the PT secretary and I learned about reflexes.  Walked home the scenic way.  Stopped at the ShadyGrove on walnut, for a surprisingly affordable salad and sandwich.  Went home and cooked up a storm.  My forearms and hands still hurt from kneading Challah.  So glad Karissa was there to help!

Guest began to arrive at 6:30.  Beppo Von Winkle stole the show.  I had a lovely time.  I think the guest had a lovely time.  I was very happy about the success of hosting my first Pittsburgh party.

Saturday
Such a cold cold rainy day. Woken up by the Shadyside 5K event running down center. Went with Karssa to Hanlon's Cafe.  So great.  Only wish they used real plates and cups...  not disposables.  Sent Karissa home on the megabus. [Excited for when she visits in February!]  Went home.  Did dishes... all day.  Every dish in the house was dirty from the party.  Josh* came over.  Had lots of left over to eat. We cuddled.  And it was a lovey day.

*Sidenote.  Josh is officially dolly's boyfriend, now. And I am just smitten.

Sunday
Lazyed in bed most of the day, it was so cold outside of the blankets.  Finally got up.  Took a shower.  Came to Panera to study, where there is heat and pumpkin lattes.  <3

School tomorrow.