Lisa: one man's garb is another man's...garbage?

Lisa: BS!
Blake: Hi hotness
Lisa: I am getting so excited about your costume for Comic-Con. So excited that I might condone you growing your beard out and putting beads in it.
Blake: What is my costume? I am not aware of what is going on.
Lisa: Well...I was thinking you could wear your kilt and dress as THE HIGHLANDER! What do you think? You could carry a sword?
Blake: Yes, I would be The Highlander. I would like to carry a sword and have a braided beard. But if I am to do that I need to start growing now.
Lisa: Hmmm. Well, what if it wasn't really BRAIDED so much as kind of scruffy? Maybe you could get beard extensions. Or have little beaded pigtails instead of true braids.

Lisa: So, what costume are you going to wear for Comic-Con?
Sarah: Hee. Sailor moon, of course.

Sarah: That New Apartment Smell

Each night my apartment becomes stifling, the air thick with the scent of incense. The smoky aroma engulfs me, and I am left wondering how the neighbor's aromatherapy can effect my air quality to this degree. I tried baking brownies in retaliation, but they seemed unimpressed. Any fortification suggestions are welcome.

Across the grassy area separating two buildings within my apartment complex, I watch my neighbor's daily routine. Shortly after I come home from work, he walks out of his house wearing big noise-cancelling headphones, holding a glass mug full of lemonade, and dragging a white wooden chair behind him. He places the chair in the grass, 10 feet away from the street and sits nearly motionless for at least a half hour. I'm painfully curious about what could be playing in those headphones. A relaxation exercise, complete with soothing music and a Gaiam-worthy voice, directing his breathing and instructing him to visualize himself underwater? Perhaps he's learning French using a series of recordings? I'm dying to know.

Lisa: Red Dawn

Lisa: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234719/
Sarah: Ohmygosh.
Lisa: http://www.themovieinsider.com/m4854/red-dawn/
Sarah: They're remaking it?!
Lisa: A remake. Yes. I was seeing what movies were scheduled for 2010, in case it brought up any awesome costume ideas.
Sarah: WOLVERINES!
Lisa: Blake is going to plotz.
Sarah: Plotz?
Lisa: It's a real word!
Sarah: I don't doubt that, i suppose, I just don't know its meaning?
Lisa: PLOTZ: To burst, to explode, "I can't laugh anymore or I'll "plotz." To be aggravated beyond bearing.
Sarah: Hee. Awesome. Thank you.
Lisa: Thank the Dictionary of Yiddish Phrases.
Sarah: I wish I knew more Yiddish.
Lisa: plotz (pläts) intransitive verb
INFORMAL to be overcome with emotion; give way to excitement, anger, delight, etc. Etymology: < E Yiddish platsn, lit., to burst, explode < MHG platzen

Lisa: Are you going to plotz?
Blake: Absolutely.

Sarah: I wanna get witcha, and take your pitcha

I've finally gotten to work on photos from Europe. I set up a Flickr account so that I could share them with you. My photos of Scotland start here, and I'll be continuing to upload photos over the next several days. Thanks for your patience!

Sarah: My sister is my cheerleader

Lisa: From our search logs: oh my god. i just got a manicure. the sun i swear its bleaching up my gorgoues hair. 98 64 like i dont even no the score rawr rawr fight fight tell me do i look alright
Sarah: The next time I'm getting ready for a date, I'm going to use the following cheer in asking your opinion:
Raw Raw!
Fight Fight!
Tell me, do I look alright?
Gooooooo Eagles!!!!
And then I'll high-step it out the door.
Lisa: I literally. LITERALLY. Can. Not. Wait for that.

Lisa: This is going to be awesome.

I can see the resemblance:

ETA: A few costumes I might have to look forward to.

Sarah: 2008 Cooking Adventure, Week 22

I'm sorry. I know I've been neglecting you. Don't be mad, I still care about you. See? I made you chocolate covered bacon.

You heard me right. Bacon. Covered in dark chocolate. See? These are the ingredients:

I brought these to our final potluck dinner with the lovely Angie and Dave before they got into their moving truck last Sunday and drove to New York City. How better to say "I'll miss you, I love you, and can I come visit soon and sleep on your floor?" than with a surprisingly not-disgusting sweet-salty treat? I can't think of a better way.

These are really easy to make. Once was good enough for me, but I recommend you make these, if only to see the look on your friends' faces when you offer up a plate. Plus, bacon has protein and dark chocolate has anti-oxidants. So, you know, healthy.

How to make Chocolate Covered Bacon:

Cook the bacon. Crispy. No one wants floppy, chewy bacon underneath the chocolate shell. Sounds gross, doesn't it? Glad we agree. Crispy bacon it is.

Melt the chocolate in a makeshift double-boiler. Or a real one, if you're fancy like that. Don't splash water into the melted chocolate. That always ends bad, trust me.

Dip the cooled, dry bacon into the chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. I sprinkled about half of the pieces with sea salt. I'm not sure if anyone noticed or had a preference. The bacon was salty enough on its own, though, so this isn't necessary if you don't have it on hand. Let the chocolate cool.

Serve. Watch your dinner guests approach the platter with extreme trepidation.

Lisa: does anyone want some herbs?

I don't know if anyone remembers our herb garden project, but I thought I'd post an update since things are going so well.

Here's a view of the whole garden, the HUGE comfrey plant (What does one use comfrey for? I guess I should have researched that before planting.), mint, sage, and our little champion tomato plant. We've picked ripe tomatoes four times now, I think. Sorry, I'm blocking the sun with the camera in some of these shots.

So, does this count as having a vegetable garden? I think so. Now, to find a way to use some of these goodies before they go to waste...

Sarah: Midnight Crafting

While getting my apartment into shape, I worried about scratching up my kitchen table with this pottery.

I tried attaching felt feet to the pot for my aloe plant, but the first time I watered it, sloppily of course, the water I sloshed around its base ruined the glue and made the whole thing unpleasant. Plus, the table needed something to make it look a little more finished, don't you think?

Perhaps a cute placemat/tablerunner, I thought. Something felt, so that no sewing is required. $3.50 for a yard of dark gray felt later, and I was in business. My tools:

My giant IKEA bowl was used as a template. I traced the bowl, then added an inch all the way around.

I loosely measured 1 1/2 inch wide scallops all around the circle of felt, cutting down to the bowl outline. I embraced the handmade quality of the project and let the scallops be imperfect. Ten minutes later and:

What do you think? Improvement?

Sarah: Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Walking back to my apartment after taking my trash to the dumpster, I see an unusual stream of water making its way across the parking lot. I look to the source of the water and see another tenant, who stares at me while positioning herself in front of the trickling hose. She initiates conversation, I assume to distract me.

"Hello."
"Hi."
"How are you?"
"Good, how are you doing?"
"NOTHING."

Smooth, very smooth.

Lisa: in the closet, that's my stuff

There was this incident. With the dish brush. And then I suddenly had to get rid of a bunch of stuff from our storage room. Maybe it's best not to ask.

If you're interested in any of these items, click on the picture to go to the ad or auction!

Sarah: Sweet Slumber

Any delusions I had about the aural privacy of my home were pretty much dashed when, while reading in bed, I was serenaded by my neighbor's snores. I guess that discussion Lisa and I had about how Nipples Are Not For Strangers was not as private as we might have hoped.

Lisa: you can't hug a photograph

At the beginning of August, we went to an outdoor showing of Goonies that combined three of Nora's favorite things in the world: being outside, live music, and macaroni and cheese. Not to mention some of her (and my) very favorite people. Don't worry, I have already forgiven Sarah and Mallory for sticking pens in my hair while I was lying on the blanket.

The girls and I let Blake and Nora get to bed at a reasonable hour, then headed to Wal-Mart for midnight purchases of Breaking Dawn. Unfortunately, no one told me to take off my "I was bitten" pin before we went into the coffee shop, so I embarassed myself in front of the barista. Mew!

Farewell, Summer. I hardly knew ye.