change of schedule

yeah ... apparently when my schedule is changed, i'm not able to keep up the blogging. :)

m v. f: an oath

i, 'becca, do solemnly swear to consult with Man v. Food before any and all future trips. i will try the dueling Juicy Lucy burgers in minneapolis. i will drool over the crazy creative menu at Hash House a Go Go in vegas before ordering the fried chicken benedict for breakfast. i will indulge in the fried chicken and waffles at patti labelle's restaurant in philadelphia. and i will have a Cricket burger the next time i visit denver.

adam richman, i salute you.

man v. food

have you seen the show Man v. Food? this fellow roams around eating the best food he can find and taking part in food challenges. not competitive eating, but challenges like: eat 6 of the hottest chicken wings in 30 minutes, finish a 5 pound burger and 5 pounds of fries in an hour, and so on. generally the challenges include a poloroid photo on a wall of fame if he completes it. i'm going to guess many of them also gain him major indigestion and digestive discomfort.

most of the challenges aren't tempting to me. no way would i voluntarily try to drink 15 milkshakes. or a 4.5 pound steak. i like cow, but seriously? 4.5 pounds? ugh. or an omelette made with 12 eggs? no, thank you.

but then there's the carnivore challenge at a pizza place just outside atlanta. it's a 30" pizza that's covered in a variety of meats and weighs in at 11 pounds. i know, it's huge. but you get to attack it with a partner. and you have an hour. who wants to volunteer to try it with me? i'll drive.

streaming netflix

streaming netflix may be more addictive than tv. have i mentioned this before? sure, my options are slimmer - but i can watch full seasons at a time. i can sit down and watch ten straight episodes of Dexter or Law & Order or Intervention. i found this show called 30 Days that morgan spurlock created. he's the guy who did the mcdonald's experiment in Super Size Me. he takes people and transplants them into a different way of life for 30 days. i love it. he went from his own life to a minimum wage job for 30 days. he put a practicing christian into a muslim community. did you know the largest muslim community in the states is in michigan? i was surprised for some reason. i would have expected a larger city. anyway ... it's an intriguing show. but i shouldn't be able to sit and watch six episodes of it in a 24 hour period! yikes! and don't get me started on Weeds ...

shopping list

reasons i'd like to get a job that gives me some extra cash:

- a new laptop. something with a current operating system (i've tried updating mine, it won't update) and a working battery.

- a new lens for my big camera. or a good cleaning for the lens i have, at least. the shutter has a tendency to get stuck in various positions.

- a spring vacation.

- a set of united plates of america prints.

- materials for refinishing the dining room chairs.

- a metal doming set.

those aren't necessarily in order. and the list isn't complete. but it's a start.

brownie torte goodness

sometimes, it's not possible to have enough chocolate smooshed together into a single dessert. so here's what you do ...

bake a boxed brownie mix in a round pan (i used my spring form, but a parchment-papered cake pan should work, too). while the brownies are cooling, mix together some cream cheese, powdered sugar and cool whip. spoon this filling into a pastry bag & refrigerate until ready to use. chop up some fresh strawberries and cover in sugar to juice.

after the brownies are cool, slice in half (so you have two rounds) and then cut each round into eighths. next, layer the goodness. put a brownie wedge onto your plate and pipe a wall of the filling around the edges. spoon a few strawberry pieces inside the wall. repeat with two more layers, then top with a final piece of brownie. pour slightly cooled ganache over the top (oh yeah, you need to make some ganache.) and sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top. pipe some filling along the top edge and get something that looks like this:

take a photo to make your friends drool, and enjoy!

spelling & gaming

so when i'm sitting in front of the tv at night, i have a tendency to play computer games online. i blame it on my roommate, as she's the one who turned me on to the site. :) they've got a large variety of games, and all their online options are free. most of them even work on my slightly sad laptop. however ...

this is one of the screens on their tri-peak solitaire. tittle screen? really?

volleyball tournament

love volleyball? show off your skills at jody & boz's volleyball tournament, taking place oct. 22-23. click here for full details.

have kids that love to read?

remember my post about buying coffee to support my friends jody & boz in their adoption? well, they've come up with a GREAT fundraiser that involves your kids and their love of reading!

Reading for Orphans asks your children how much they can read in 4 weeks. family and friends are asked to sponsor the children at a set price per book. so if your daughter can read a book a day for all 28 days, and can get 5 people to sponsor her at 50 cents a book ... she can donate $70!

i don't have any kids myself ... but i know some of you do! if you want to participate, or get more info, click here to send jody & boz an e-mail!

back to zero

let's just plan to restart the count on monday. :)

road trip massacre

i recently made a weekend trip that put me on the road for about 35 hours. as you can see from the front of my car, that equals a lot of dead bugs. but look at the bottom left corner of my grill. that's not a bug ...

it's a frog! can you imagine the perfect synchronization of his hop and my speed needed to catch him like that?

paper cranes

our air vents are on the ceilings, providing the perfect breeze for paper cranes.