My Mind - A brief glimpse

"My mind as both empty and occupied, all of the thoughts buzzing far below the surface."  - Laurie King, "The Language of Bees"

This is generally how my mind feels. Like there is a torrent of activity going on below the surface...I know that it is there, that things are being processed, but on the surface I might have a jingle running through my mind or a gentle hum.

There have been many times where I know I should be thinking, almost aloud, in my head, where I should be digesting the happenings of the day or of a certain event, but the buzz is there without a singular thought popping into consciousness.

How apropos that this quote should show up today, when I have long since tried to phrase how my mind works.

Anniversary Trip

After a crazy summer full of ups, downs and running around like chickens with our heads cut off, we decided to take it easy for our anniversary trip this year.

Instead of going on a marathon road trip where we see the sights, get very little sleep and try to cram a ton of activities, sights and experiences into one little three day weekend, we took a liesurely drive to Glenwood Springs and spend most of the weekend there.

It takes beween 2.5 and three hours to get to Glenwood, but the drive is very scenic and easy as it is all on I-70.

We decided to take Dave's new/used car for this trip for a few reasons. First, it was our first time being able to take out the Frau (what we have named her) out on a trip that lasts more than 30 minues as well as the fact that we didn't need to take the Explorer as we weren't planning on heading into mountainous territory (ok, we were in the mountains, but we weren't off-roading). There's also that little fact about gas mileage...but you know, just a mere trifle in today's economy =)

Here's a pic of The Frau in case I didn't share one before...

Since we waited until the last minute to plan this anniversary trip, we were torn as to where we should go. There were discussions of heading back down to Mexico for a long weekend or even heading over to San Francisco to see the sights, but after buying a new/used car, something local and relaxing seemed to be just what we needed.

Due to the last minute planning, we didn't get much of a choice in our lodgings, but we ended up staying at a fairly high rated (thanks trip advisor), yet budget friendly lodge. They had an indoor and an outdoor pool, along with a hot tub and sauna, plus a nice breakfast bar in the mornings which was nice when not overrun with the other clientele.

The first day was travel and then taking in the sights of the town. We stopped in Vail for lunch after getting lost in the maze of luxury condos and resorts. We arrived in Glenwood in the early afternoon and decided to walk the downtown area, check out the shops, and stop in at the local brewery.  Dave and I love visiting local breweries. Its something we try to do when we visit a new town. My favorite thing to do is to get a flight or sampler of the different beers they brew...I also do this at vineyards/wineries when available.

After our foray into the different styles and tastes of beer at the Glenwood Canyon Brewing Company, we headed over for a nice anniversary dinner at the Italian Underground Restaurant. It is down in the basement of a building, small and intimate. The staff was great, but I have to say that my Italian food is much better than what we got that night. Its hard to go to Italian places though because we generally make better food...such is the curse of being taught by Dave's Grandma!

The restaurant is in the basement of this building...

Some nice gentleman decided he would take our anniversary picture

After that, a dip in the pool and hot tub, our night was complete. The next day we decided that we would try to go to Hanging Lake. Unfortunately just about everyone in a 100 mile radius decided that they wanted to do the same thing, so we ended up turning around and heading back into town. Luckily for us though, we saw another trailhead and decided to stop and go on a nice hike. We ended up hiking for about three hours at the Grizzly Creek trail. It was beautiful, challenging and hot, but I'm so thankful that we decided to stop and partake in the fresh air. We could have gone farther, but lunchtime had come and gone, so we decided to take a break in the freezing cold mountain stream and head back down the trail.

 (As always, you can click on any of the images in this blog and it will enlarge the image for you)

After a semi-quick lunch at Vicco's Charcoal Burger Stand (which was good, but overpriced and you had to wait while they slaughtered the cow and grew the potatoes), we ended up at the Yampah Vapor Caves. I have to say that the caves are a wonderful way to spend your afternoon/evening. Its a natural sauna heated with the hotsprings water. We spent at least three and a half hours going from cave to solarium (so we could cool off), stretching our sore muscles after our long hike and just in general having a nice relaxing afternoon. We decided that since we spent so long in the Vapor Caves, we were going to put off going to the hot springs pools for another time since it was ridiculously crowded and pretty much just your standard pool, except that it is heated naturally.

Here's Dave at the Charcoal Burger Stand

Here's a pic from the Vapor Cave's website...

The next day we decided that since we were only an hour away from Aspen, and since visiting there is on my Colorado To-Do list, we would meander that way and have a nice lunch. Well, we drove there and tried to find somewhere to park and then somewhere to eat. Both of those things were pretty much impossible to do. Aspen is not really what I thought it would be. I thought that it would be a high class mountain town, similar to Steamboat Springs, but it was kind of like being in a Denver suburb, only in the mountains. We ended up skipping lunch and headed to the Maroon Bells, which we ended up turning around at because the road up was full of bikers and tour busses.

So we headed back to Glenwood, which was fine with me, and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon before heading to dinner. I do wish that we had visited the Hunter S. Thompson Memorial, but we realized that we missed visiting that when we were almost back to our hotel and we didn't feel like turning back around.

Once we reached town, Dave wanted to see the house where their longtime friends of the family used to live. He spent quite a bit of time up in Glenwood when he was younger, but the friends have since sold their house and moved down to the metro-area.  He remembered how to get there and was flooded with childhood memories. These were people who knew Dave's parents before his mom went crazy and his dad, well, his dad has always been his dad...so ?

After that we went to a nice, romantic dinner on the river at a place called, aptly enough, Rivers. 

It was a nice end to our relaxing anniversary trip. There were other things we could have done while we were there, other sights to be seen, but in the end, we have been running at full tilt for the entire summer and we just wanted to rest and relax. Coming home was nice...and I maintain that there is seriously nothing better than climbing into your own bed after a few days at a hotel.

I'm so going to make these!

With all of the travelling and events we have coming up, I won't have time to really bake until the end of September. We DO have a post-wedding potluck that we will need to bring an item for...I just need to figure out if we are in the appetizer section or the dessert section...

Either way though, I'll be making these pillow cookies I saw over on the Bakerella website as soon as the house is cool enough to bake again.

They look delish and right up my alley! (Well, once the wedding festivities are over...I have to make sure that I fit in my bridesmaid dress and that Dave fits into his tux!)

Pillow Cookies

Have you ever had any pillow cookies? I’ve only had them once, but I was immediately smitten. I found them in the bakery section of the Fresh Market sometime last year. They were some sort of sugar cookie wrapped around a brownie center. I immediately went on the hunt for a similar recipe but didn’t have much luck until just a few weeks ago when I was rummaging through some of my aunt’s recipes.

And there it was. A torn out recipe for Chocolate Chip Brownie Pillows.



Not sugar cookies, but good enough. Better even. And when I read the how-to, it all made sense. I had been throwing around scenarios in my head trying to figure out how the brownie batter and cookie batter all came together to form such soft sugary cookies.

And… It’s easier than you think.



First… bake up some brownies. You can just use your favorite box mix if you like. Let them cool and cut about ten 1 inch squares. You won’t need the rest for the cookies. I’m sure you can find something to do with the leftovers.



Then you need some chocolate chip cookie dough (recipe below). The dough should be chilled for at least an hour before using.

Each cookie uses about 1/2 cup of dough. Yes, you read that right. One half cup. For each.

And yes, they are ginourmous!



All you do is place the dough on parchment paper and make a pretty big indention in the center. Place the small brownie in the middle and fold the dough around it to form a ball. Then bake. I know, I was a bit skeptical at first, too. But it worked perfectly.

Not convinced? Want to see it again.

Okay. here goes.



Place 1/2 cup of cookie dough batter on a parchment lined baking sheet.



Make indentions in the dough and place a 1 inch square brownie in the center of each.



Smoosh it a little, so the cookie dough surrounds the edges of the brownie.



Then work the dough around the top to cover the entire brownie and shape them into balls.

Place no more than 6 on a 15 x 20 inch baking sheet at a time because these guys are HUGE!

Bake and voila………




Giant pillow cookies. Now these are much, much, much larger than the ones I had from the Fresh Market. And actually, the process may not even be similar, but the result reminds me of them. I’m guessing these could go smaller if you like, just use a smaller brownie to start.
But I love how big the are.


Gigantic.

I guess you want to see the inside.
The magic.
The pillowy goodness.
Let’s face it – you just want to see the brownie.
I know. I know.
Okay, here ya go…


Oh my.


I’m in love.

Brownie Pillow Cookies
1 package brownie mix
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz. bag miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Make brownies according to package and let cool. Cut about ten 1 inch squares. Enjoy the remaining brownies. (I used a pan about 8 X 8)
For the chocolate chip cookie dough, beat butter with a mixer until creamy.
Add brown sugar and beat until smooth.

Add eggs, yolk and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl and stir together with a wire whisk.

Add flour to butter mixture and beat until combined. Stir in mini chips.
Let dough chill covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a measuring cup to scoop batter by the 1/2 cup. Since it’s chilled, you may need to pack it with a spoon. Then use the spoon to remove the dough from the cup and place it on parchment paper. Work quickly so the dough remains chilled or either prepare one cookie at a time so the rest of the dough remains cold.

After the dough is on the parchment paper, make an indention and place a 1 inch square brownie in the center. Press the brownie down gently and work the remaining dough around the brownie. You can use your hands to shape the dough into a ball.

During this step, I found it easier to use a piece of parchment paper as a work surface since the dough can get sticky and then I used another piece of parchment paper for the baking sheet. If your dough gets too soft, you can chill the rolled dough balls for a few minutes right before baking.

Prepare six cookies at a time using a large baking sheet (15 X 20) and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Return the remaining dough to the refrigerator until time to bake the second batch.

Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about ten cookies using a little less than a 1/2 cup of dough for each cookie.

If your cookies start to get too brown before they are done baking, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over top for the last few minutes.

Recipe adapted slightly from an ad for a Southern Living Cookbook… I think it’s in the Christmas with Southern Living 2009, but not sure.


Enjoy!
P.S. If there was ever a time to use the term “Brookies,” this would be a good one.

Coffee Grounds

I grew up composting just about everything we could. I didn't realize back then that we were being environmentally friendly, I just knew that it was what my parents wanted us to do, so we did it. We did quite a few other things back in the day that now are considered to be super "green". For me though, it was just a regular part of life and something that I try to incorporate into my adult life today.

For example: we hardly ever use paper towels...mostly kitchen rags that we wash with the rest of the laundry. There's always a clean, fresh supply so they aren't germy. We also use the "if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down" philosphy. We don't water our lawn either because a) Colorado is in a perpetual drought. I read a quote from an ecologist that says if your lawn can't stay green on its own, that means your environment can't sustain it, so don't water it. I truly take that to heart because b) water is expensive here!

We also compost....a lot.  We eat a lot of fruits and veggies as well as drink a lot of coffee, so composting seemed like a natural step for us. Since gardening is a bit tricky here, we don't really have a use for our compost, but I feel good that we are cutting down on the amount of trash we are sending out to the landful.

With that in mind, I saw this article on facebook earlier today and thought I would share, because as much as I like to compost, there is a lot of it at our house and finding other uses for those pesky coffee grinds seems like a good thing to do.  I especially like number 11 because I, unfortunately, inherited my dad's smelley feet. So here is a list of other ways you can reuse/repurpose your coffee grinds:

Oh, coffee! Many of us rely on you to start the day or help us push through that early afternoon slump, but what happens to those coffee grounds after we finish the pot?

When you toss coffee grounds into the trash, they break down and release methane, like any other organic matter would do. Methane is a greenhouse gas 20 times more powerful than CO2. Luckily, there are lots of ways to divert all of that coffee from the landfill by using it in beauty products, cleaning supplies, and even in the garden!

For many of these tips, moist ground will do (just let them cool, so you don’t burn your skin!). If you’re planning to hang on to the grounds, though, you have to dry them out or they’ll get moldy. Dry them out by spreading a thin layer on a cookie sheet and placing them in a sunny spot to dry. When they’re all dried out, they’re ready to re-use!

Ready to start repurposing those old coffee grounds? Here are 15 tips to get you going! If you have more ideas on how to reuse coffee grounds, I’d love to keep the inspiration going in the comments.

1. Use them as fertilizer on acid-loving plants (like tomatoes and carrots)
2. Deter cats from the garden by sprinkling around beds or pots.
3. 3Mix with mashed avocado for an invigorating face mask.
4. Scrub your hands with spent coffee grounds after chopping onion or garlic to get the smell off of your skin.
5. Compost them
6. Make an anti-cellulite scrub.
7. Keep them in the fridge or freezer instead of baking soda to eliminate odors.
8. Repel ants, snails, and slugs by sprinkling coffee grounds near the point of entry.
9. Steep the grounds in water, strain out the grounds, and you’ve got all natural brown fabric dye!
10. Scour away grease on your pots and pans.
11. Stick a sachet of dried coffee grounds into a smelly pair of shoes to get rid of the stink.
12. If you have dark hair, you can massage coffee grounds into your scalp to prevent dandruff. Blondes and red-heads, this is not for you, since the grounds can color your roots slightly!
13. Vermicomposters can feed coffee grounds to the worms. Just be careful, since grounds are acidic. Too much isn’t good for those wigglers.
14. Use coffee grounds to exfoliate your skin.
15. To give paper an “aged” look for craft projects, quickly dip pages, soak grounds in water overnight, then quickly dip your pages and let them dry before crafting.

Tip: Not a coffee drinker? Don’t fret! You can still get in on the coffee grounds goodness. Many coffee shops will give you their spent grounds for free or for a nominal fee that covers the cost of packing them up for you.

Tip: Some people say that you can dry out spent coffee grounds, mix them 50/50 with fresh grounds, and make coffee with them one more time!

15 Ways to Reuse Coffee Grounds

• posted by Becky Striepe
• Aug 23, 2011 5:05 pm

Tattoo Removal - Stage 2

So it has been about two and a half weeks since my last tattoo removal session. I kept meaning to update you on the fading process, but time slipped away from me.

After my second laser treatment with Otto at What Were You Inking I had to figure out a new way of covering my tattoo. If you are wondering why, it is because I discovered after the last treatment that I am highly allergic to all forms of adhesive. No matter what type of medical tape I used alongside with the gauze, I would end up with horrible welts wherever the tape had been. Fabric tape, paper tape, tape for sensitive skin...didn't matter...I ended up with nasty welts that lingered.

Eventually I asked my Aunt if my Uncle (my Dad's brother, who incidentally, has weird medical issues like me...we even share the same passion for pepper on breakfast foods and the same back injury) has issues with adhesive. Not strangely enough, he has the same sensitivity, and after 25 years of marriage, she was able to give me some suggestions on regular household items that would cover the treated area without inflaming it.

The solution: plastic wrap on Neosporin

INGENIUS!!!

When I returned home from my second treatment with Otto, which only lasted about 10 minutes and kind of hurt a bit more than the last one...mostly because my skin was already sensitive to the laser...I threw on some Neosporin, plastic wrap and an ice pack.

The healing process with this session was quite short compared to the first time. I had a few more scabs, but they came off a lot faster than last time. The fading is quite remarkable. I wish that the pictures actually did the fading justice because I think that we will be rid of this tattoo in no time at all!

I go in for my next treatment in a few weeks. I could go in next Friday, but we are planning a camping trip, so I would rather put off my treatment until after that.

As usual, I'll keep you updated on my progress. It is liberating to know that the painful reminder of some very tough times will be leaving my body shortly. I'm amazed at the process and can't wait to see the final results. Also, I can't wait until my dermatologist sees the results as well...I think that she'll be astounded!

Just as a reminder, this is what my tattoo originally looked like.

Progress a week or two after my first treatment...

What my tattoo looked like immediately after my second treatment...my apologies for the photo quality...Dave was at work and I wanted to get a picture before I went to bed.

This is the progress 2.5 weeks after my second treatment.

Brutus...being...Brutus

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I have to say that these pictures of Brutus don't truly capture his cuteness...he's ridiculously fat, super cute, and terrified of strangers. I wish that he would get over that last part because he would get all the attention he could ever desire if he would just come out of hiding when a new guest is at the house.

Being fat on the bed...his favorite pasttime.

In the middle of a creepy meow...the one he does when he wants your attention and he wants it NOW!

Here he is checking out Toonces. I got Toonces for Dave right before I moved to Denver. He had a fat, orange cat, just like the stuffed animal above who tragically died of a broken heart. While we were redecorating the house last weekend, we decided that it was time to part with the fat stuffed animal since we have the real deal. Consequently, Brutus was very intrigued by the newest addition to the floor...as you will see by the following pictures:

Mister got in on the sniffing action as well...

They could be twins =) Minus the "I'm going to claw you if you don't stop taking pictures" stare I was getting at the time.



I made my first terrarium!

So after reorganizing the house and doing a bit of redecorating over the past few weeks, I ended up with a large empty vase that needed...something. It was too tall for any flowers we might end up getting at the market, so what was I to do with said piece? Well, the answer hit me like a lightening bolt and I realized that it would be a great terrerium container.

Yesterday I embarked on my terrarium building adventure, where the first stop was our local nursery where I received advice and guidance from the experts that work there. I was given advice on what products to use, what plants would be best and how to improvise when I needed certain tools.

I'll give you a step by step process, which photos included, of my project.

(As with all posts that include pictures, to get a larger view, just click on the image.) I think that I could have made it even prettier given more practice, but after fiddling with the project for almost two hours, I decided that I would let the terrarium settle in and see how it turns out after a few days.

Here's everything that you will need for this project:

1. A container that you like, large enough to get the plants inside and for them to flourish
2. Gravel
3. Charcoal
4. Houseplant Planting Soil
5. One taller plant (not sure what plant I got...it, of course, didn't have the marker included)
6. One ground cover plant (I used Baby's Tears)

Step one: Put a layer of gravel in your container, the a shallow layer of the charcoal, and then a decent amount of the potting soil. The amounts will vary due to the size of your container, but you can eyeball it. I had to actually dump out my first attempt because I had too much of everything in there. I knew this because the tall plant wouldn't fit all the way inside the container, which is what you want.

Step two: Now its time to put your plants in the container. You will probably have to improvise tools (I used a chopstick made longer by the use of a pair of pliers as well as a nice, long stick I found in the back yard).

An important note is that you do not want your taller plant to touch the sides of the container. You might have to create some sort of support system within the terrarium, which I did in the following picture:

The plant placing process is completely based on trial and error. I had to do this a few times in order to get the plants to fit correctly. I started with the ground cover first and then tried to put the tall plant in the center of the container, but that failed miserably, so I ended up having to take out all of the plants, more than once, and tried it the other way. This ended up working out well...thank goodness for that long stick I found in the backyard!

So this is what I ended up with after watering. There was extra Baby's Tears (the ground cover) that I put in an old pot I found in the garage.

So once things settle and the water has evaporated from the side of the container, I'll take a more finished picture for you guys.

It was a great learning experience and I think that I would be successful again in creating another terrarium. You just need the aforementioned supplies and a LOT of patience...practice might also come in handy too, but you know, that's a virtue that a lot of us are lacking.

My suggestions for future projects are to possibly check out a few nurseries in your area to see if they have a broad selection of plants that can go in a terrarium. The tall plant I used was the only one available that would work in my particular container. A larger selection would be nice. I would also suggest digging around the tool chest to find more suitable tools for this project. While the pliers holding the chopstick worked, I think that I could have done better.

Now we just have to wait and see how things progress with this project. The plants may die in the future, but I guess that means I get to try the project all over again!