A sight for sore eyes

Now ain't that a pretty picture. Two days til the weekend!

She loves you, Big River, more than me.

Ramblings

So...I've finished the work I had available for the day and it's just 0946. I have over 6 hours to go until 1600. If I scrape, I may be able to eke out another half-hour or so of work-related organizational tasks.

So...
Last weekend Brian and I traveled to Snowshoe, WEST VIRGINIA! for a weekend of relaxation with old brmrg buddies. The weekend was indeed relaxing and diverting, and allowed me the chance to hike for a few hours and scout out the Greenbrier river near Cass. The Greenbrier was running full and fast in its banks and I am now itching to get back on the water. Since forever, it's been too dry around here to boat, but I discovered today that the USGS streamflow map of Virginia has more green dots than red ones! It's a good sign.

Unfortunately, I also shy from canoeing in the cold. Not that I won't do it, because I have, many times in the past, but just because it's so much work. And it's slightly stupid (re: night canoeing in 30 degree temps with downed trees in the river). And did I mention it's cold?

However, the green dots (which represent 25-75% flow) look so promising. I haven't been on the river in so long! I gave Brian a new blue lifejacket, or PFD (or FLJ) for Christmas, and he's been pestering me about going canoeing lately. Also, we have a free weekend. Let's check out the possibilities:

James- I don't even need to look this one up. The James always has enough water.

Mormons - over 90 cfs, pretty good for this time of year, but unfortunately far below the lower-bound of 300 cfs of what I'd be willing to try on this river, and 300 is scraping rocks all of the way down. Plus, too many rapids for my winter-canoeing comfort zone.

Maury - looks great at over 1,000 cfs but it has a too-high a dunkability factor to be safe in the winter without flotation or decking. I can't wait to do this when it's a little warmer in the spring.

Rivanna - 1000 cfs and still rising. Promising, and so close to home!

South Anna - up around 600 cfs, but it looks like it's topping out. Possible, if it doesn't drop too quickly.

Tye - 160 cfs and dropping. No thanks.

Rapidan - Peaked yesterday and is now dropping rapidly below 200 cfs. Yikes.

Hmm... a few nearby rivers are runnable, but it looks like the Skyline Drive is open. Maybe we'll go hiking instead.

Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul.

Rockytop- Epic Hike

Confronted with a free Saturday of beautiful clear skies (and Brian was out of town), I decided that I should get out of the house and go for a hike. Luckily, Emily Ricks was free as well. I had a Shenandoah park pass, and she had a nice trail map!

Our route- we would leave Brown's Gap and hike along the Rockytop trail, which followed a ridge for several miles before heading downhill to the creek 1500 ft. below. Then we would follow the Big Run Portal trail back along the creek and climb back up to the parking area at Brown's creek. Simple enough? Sure.

So we left the car at 1135 for a nice hike on a clear but chilly day. However, upon reaching the first trail marker, we discovered that the hike we'd estimated at less than 10 miles would number no less than 12 miles total. Eh, what's another few miles? We had six hours before dark and plenty of provisions.

The Rockytop trail was fantastic, offering amazing views of the surrounding ridges and the valley with the leaves off the trees. We hiked along the ridge through numerous quartzite scree piles and noted future campsites. One of the peaks along our path must have suffered an extremely destructive wildfire a few years back, and the mountainside was clear of all mature vegetation, and the new growth of pines and brush was spotty and all less than two feet tall. Overall, a fantastic trail that I would heartily recommend.

At the end of the Rockytop trail, we picked up the Big Run Portal trail, which followed a sizeable creek upgradient to its source. This horsetrail also offered spectacular scenery, and the first mile led us through the bottom of a steep, rocky (for Virginia) gorge. Luckily the stream was running only moderately, allowing us to easily navigate the 10 or so stream crossings without getting our socks wet.

The hike reached epic proportions when we finally reached the trail that would lead us back up the mountainside to our car- at this point, I had a blister about the size of a dime on the ball of my left foot and was complaining heartily in advance about the upcoming 1200 ft. climb. Eh. Like all long hikes, this one was about two or three miles too long in the end, but we eventually made it back to the car to watch a gorgeous sunset. We drove back with the heat on to Charlottesville and had a feast of spaghetti.


This hike is definitely recommended! but make sure you are prepared for the killer uphill at the end. The trails are all very well marked and in great shape. And give yourself plenty of time for side hikes to the cliffs near the stream- we didn't have time, but I can't wait to go back and check them out.

The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean.

Skinny Jeans!

About a month or so ago, Brian and I began a "get back in shape" exercise hobby of running two or three times a week, with situps, pushups, etc. Then, about two weeks ago, I realized I could fit into my college jeans more comfortably than before.

This morning found me scrambling to find clean pants to wear to work after discovering that my new jeans hadn't dried fully in the clothes dryer. I saw the skinny jeans under a pile of other stuff. These are the gently-worn jeans that I picked up at Goodwill about a year ago even though they didn't even fit when I tried them on- they almost fit perfectly, except for that pesky waist button, and I decided to hope that one day, they would fit.

Today they did. Rock!

Spent a little time on a mountain, spent a little time on the hill...

Shrimp substitute

I recently rediscovered a neat cost-saving device learned from my uncle Shannon.

Poor Man's Shrimp:

1/2 head raw cauliflower
cocktail sauce

Wash cauliflower and break into florets. Serve with cocktail sauce.

This is awesome- a nice, healthy, tasty snack. The cauliflower is a perfect vessel for the cocktail sauce.

All that was in plenty, from that cup no more...

Dumb Luck

I had an interesting evening yesterday.

First- somehow the front burner on the stove was accidentally left on for the entire day. However, that particular stove element is on the fritz, and will turn itself off randomly. It probably cut itself off not long after it was turned on, which may be the reason that we didn't notice it was on 'high'. No damage.

Second- Brian and I had a complete "oh shit" moment when we closed the front door to go for a run, and neither one of us had grabbed the keys. So we ran to the library downtown and called the landlord, who happened to be located one block away from our house when he answered his cell phone. No need to call the locksmith! Hooray!

Lucky me.

Lost one round, but the prize wasn't anything, a knife in the back, and more of the same...

Beans and Rice

At the request of Brian, I made black beans and rice for dinner yesterday. The beans and rice that I make is much different from traditional beans and rice, but it is easy, tasty, and probably nutritious.

Beans and Rice

1 can black beans
1 cup long-grain rice
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup frozen corn
jalapeno pepper, minced (I use the kind that comes in a jar)
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro
1/4 tsp. black pepper
salt
kielbasa or uncooked chicken (optional)

Drain black beans, do not rinse. Combine beans, rice, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cut kielbasa or chicken into bite-size pieces. When mixture comes to a boil, stir in cilantro, pepper, dash of salt, frozen corn, jalapeno, and kielbasa or chicken. Allow to return to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes or until rice is done.

Serve with grated pepper jack.

You can't close the door when the wall's caved in.

IT'S ALIVE

So....you know those really awkward situations when you don't talk to a once-very-close friend for a long time and the longer it gets the more embarrassed you are about not calling them which makes you put off calling them even longer so you don't call even when you have time and want to talk to them just because you're embarrassed about taking so fucking long to get back in touch?

No, me either.

Of course, that's not why I haven't posted in forever... I've...been busy. Well, to be fair, just busy in June. Quick summary of the last few months: moved in with Brian, and into a Newer duplex near downtown; traded in the buick for another buick of similar mileage; decided to punish myself by taking organic chemistry for fun. Anyway.

Tonight will be the second of two evenings thus far for pizza and girls night, with the girls consisting of my cousin, sister, and my cousin's fun roommate. Actually, girls' night may not be limited Just to girls. It's kindof hard to kick Brian out of the house, seeing as he lives there. Not that I'd kick him out in this situation. Vaughan's fiance may come by to keep him company. But, tonight will be fun for sure, seeing as that we're making pizza.

How to make pizza:

Mix 2 cups all purpose flour with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp. sugar, and a packet of quick-rise yeast. Add .5 cups of warm water and 1 tbsp veggie oil. Mix and knead until the dough starts to get firm. Put the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover- allow to rise for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the pizza dough is rising, make the sauce and prepare the toppings. I basically have two sauce recipes that I make.

Fast Sauce: combine equal parts tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir until smooth.

Slow Sauce: Saute 3-ish cloves minced garlic for 2 minutes. Add 14 oz. canned crushed tomatoes and italian seasonings. Simmer until sauce is reduced enough to where it will not make your dough watery (takes a while).

Possible toppings: spinach, onion, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, fresh basil, pineapple. Cooked bacon, chicken, hamburger, canadian bacon, kielbasa. Cheddar cheese. Alfredo pizza with chicken was good, but not my favorite, as was barbeque chicken pizza. Endless list. My favorite at the moment is spinach, kielbasa, basil, garlic, and mushrooms.

When the dough is finished rising, roll onto pizza stone or round pizza sheet. Spread sauce thinly. Add mozzerella (about 8 oz) and toppings. Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is brown on the outsides. Don't take the pizza out of the oven unless the crust is seriously brown- if it's not brown, the middle of the crust will be soft.

Yum. My dinner tonight is going to rock.

Then we finished the bottle and broke into mine...

Come rock your face off

Brian's gig was rescheduled! It'll be next Wednesday, and you should come.

Here's the amazing poster that I put together with the input of my coworkers...


Brian doesn't smoke anymore, but it was a great pic and I had to use it.


There's mosquitos on the river...

20-minute chicken cacciatore

I'm not exactly sure what real chicken cacciatore entails, but I made this fake-out meal one day when I had a green pepper on hand.

1 green pepper
1 onion
1 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes
1-2 chicken breasts, thawed
handful of mushrooms
shredded mozzarella cheese
pasta
salt and pepper

Set water to boil for the pasta (whatever you want...spaghetti, penne, etc.), and cook the pasta as you're doing everything else.

Chop green pepper and onion into bite-size pieces and start to saute with 2 tbsp olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Cut chicken into smallish bite-size pieces. Add chicken and mushrooms to the skillet and stir every so often. Salt and pepper as desired. When the chicken is cooked all of the way through, add the entire can of stewed tomatoes and stir (I also like to use my spatula to cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces). Continue cooking until the tomatoes are heated through. Serve over pasta with mozzarella on top.

This is really really good.

Saint Stephen with a rose
In and out of the garden he goes
country garden in the wind and the rain

Being sick sucks

Woke up at 6:15 this morning with an extremely painful throat... and I went to work anyway. Eh. I think I'll be making minestrone soup tonight! Something nice and hot and most importantly, easy to make.

Nothing of note lately, just that working 10 hour days for two and a half weeks kind of steals all of your time. Oh, and Brian turned 25 on Sunday, so that's nice, he can rent the car when we take a dream vacation we can't afford. Yay!

Now I think I'll go home, and buy some ice cream as a treat for my throat.

Honey come quick with the iodine

Easter, adults only!

Sometimes, being an adult (ha!) is awesome.

For example, take the idea of an adult Easter Egg Hunt. Cleverly hidden plastic eggs which may be redeemed for lottery scratchems, mini-bar liquors, or cash. I was almost more impressed by the concept than by the actual event (almost).

How was your easter?

Julie catch a rabbit by his hair

Monday, Monday

I was thinking about recapping my weekend, but while it was extremely fun for me, it would probably be boring to hear about... cookout, hanging out with Brian, drinking heavily, etc. The usual.

Today was a typical Monday, by which I mean it was a stereotypical Monday, the kind that I almost never have to suffer through. First, I discovered that my Buick's coolant leak has progressed to require a half-gallon of coolant every day. Goodie.

So, as I was hurriedly pouring coolant into my engine in the office parking lot so that I could get to my doctor's appointment on time, I accidentally spilled some on my hands. No biggie, right? Just wash it off. I tried to do just that, running back into the office bathroom to rinse my hands. Add a little bit of soap, but- do you know how soap dispensers can sometimes get a little plugged up so that they squirt soap out aggressively at an amazing distance? Well, this one did exactly that... straight at my crotch. Literally. There was no water on my shirt or soap on my shoes, just a dark residue splashed with perfect aim directly on my lower fly. So I had to make a pit stop by my house on the way to the doctor's, to change out of my apparently peed-on pants.

The fortunate detail of the incident is that it was so funny, I wasn't nearly as pissed (ha!) as I would have probably been otherwise...

Other quick notes:
+ I'm aiming to bike to work tomorrow to save gas and coolant. Go me, if I actually follow through.
+ Box of Rain was playing at Bodo's around lunchtime. Rock!
+ Bacterial colonies proliferate even in dishwater if allowed to sit too long. Guess I should clean that up...

If that Jubilee don't come
Baby, I'll meet you on the run

"The King of Kong" rocks!

It's after Spring Break, and I finally feel like I have my life back. School still takes up most of my waking hours, but I've had time for cooking, movies, and other fun stuff. First of all, check out this awesome video from YouTube which quite accurately portrays the dilemmas I've been facing lately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdJyyJ2qur0

And secondly, go see "The King of Kong", a new documentary about the quest to be the world's best at Donkey Kong. It's hilarious. We hear from the middle-aged men who spend their lives in the arcade, and from their wives who don't know how to react to being called the "wife of the guy who plays Donkey Kong." (Actually, only two of the men are married, obviously.)

If an infarction causes loss of the anterior spinal artery at a particular spinal segment, pain and temperature sensation is lost, but not fine touch (since that portion of the spinal cord is supplied by the posterior spinal artery.) How amazing.

Alive! I swear!

Ok, so I've been TOTALLY slacking lately...and there is no excuse. I don't even really have time to be posting now, but I just wanted to share the following information:

It's illegal to be in a cemetary in Virginia after dark.

Good to know. I found out this tidbit by almost getting arrested on Tuesday. Brian and I were strolling around UVa to walk off an enormous meal, and I wanted to show him the monument to fallen Confederate soldiers that is in the Civil War cemetary near the first year dorms. It was too dark to see anything, so we were already almost back at the gate by the time the cops reached us. Luckily, it was pretty easy to convince them we had NO IDEA it was illegal, and that we were upstanding young citizens- it probably helped that we hadn't been drinking (what? crazy). So, they just checked our IDs over the radio and let us go with a warning.

The funny part of the entire incident was that we weren't doing anything! Or trying to do anything illegal! How bizarre...

Oh, and off topic- about that trip two weeks ago to Valley Forge PN- it snowed and sleeted the entire way home. 6 hours of I-81, staring out the windows at cars on their roofs.

Down to the jewelry store packin' a gun
"Wrap it up, I think i'll take this one"

Cause for Celebration

My car passed its Virginia State Safety Inspection today. If I believed in God, I'd be thanking her. I swear I scared the woman at the garage by yelling in delight when she called me to come pick up my car and told me that it was good to go.

It truly is a miracle. My car is a 1991 silver Buick Regal, a front-wheel drivin' snowmobile, a canoe transporter, an indestructible tank, a home away from home. I've driven it since I turned sixteen, and it has never left me on the side of the road. The A/C hasn't worked a day, the roof is rusted from my aluminum canoe, it leaks coolant at a very slow rate, the glove box is broken, and the passenger side windows don't roll down. It's such a piece of shit that I didn't even buy collision insurance this year, just liability.

And I love it. It's my baby. I love it even more than I loved the hat that I threw away. But every time it gets inspected, some stupid expensive shit always fails. Motormount, 2002: $500. Driver's side window motor, 2003: $300. Rear struts, 2006: $400. You probably now understand my glee upon learning that my Buick is street-legal one more year.

I love my car! Thank you baby!

In other news...

Today was an amazing day. First, the weather was spectacular, sunny with a high near 80 degrees. Absolutely beautiful for mid-March in Charlottesville. I took this opportunity to bike to work (also I'd dropped my car off at the shop), which reminded me how out of shape I was, but it was somewhat of an achievement, nonetheless.

After work, I picked up my car and drove to Brian's. We sat for a long while drinking beer on his front porch, just watching the sun sink lower and kids shooting hoops on the street, and enjoying the spectacular ambient temperature. I can't imagine a better way to spend the evening.

Early tomorrow I embark on a roadtrip with the rest of my officemates to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to meet everyone in our home office with whom I communicate frequently by phone. Should be a blast!

Going down the road, feelin' bad...

Cheese and broccoli casserole

I'd been dreaming of cheesy broccoli with chicken for a few days (I occasionally, by which I mean all of the time, crave and obsess about certain foods), so Brian and I experimented a little making dinner yesterday. All we knew was that our dinner needed to include chicken, broccoli, lots of cheese, and garlic. And what do you know? Our made-up recipe was tasty! Now if only I could figure out why my carrot cake turned out bright yellow instead of its usual brown.

Cheese and broccoli, etc., casserole:

8 oz cheddar cheese
1/2 pack egg noodles
2 chicken breasts, thawed
2 cloves garlic
frozen broccoli in sprigs (florets? not sure...)
8 oz. milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
pepper
mushrooms (optional)

Prep:
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Mince the garlic. Grate the cheddar cheese. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

This part is slightly complicated because you have to do several things at once.

1. Boil the noodles only until they are chewy (not all of the way done). Drain and toss with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
2. Saute the chicken with the garlic (and mushrooms). Do Not Overcook.
3. Put the broccoli into your large casserole dish, enough to cover the bottom, and put half a centimeter of water in the dish. Microwave for about 1.5 minutes, then drain the water, leaving the half-cooked broccoli in the dish.

Mix up these ingredients in your casserole dish with about half of the cheese.

4. Make the sauce. This requires concentration and constant stirring. First, microwave the milk for about a minute to warm it up. Then melt the butter in a saucepan. Once it is completely melted, add the flour and stir like crazy until it is smoothly blended. With the heat on medium, add the warm milk and stir forever for it to blend well with the butter/flour mixture. As soon as this is well mixed and slightly thickened and bubbly, add about half of the cheese and continue to stir. Add pepper and paprika. Once the cheese is completely blended, pour it into the casserole dish and stir a little just to make sure that everything is coated.

Bake at 350 for half an hour. Yum!

Look out of any window any morning any evening any day.

Vegas, BABY! Recap, part 1

I have returned from Las Vegas, city in the desert. Actually, I got back on Monday, but it's taken a few days to adjust to this time zone again and my Charlottesville schedule.
(this was the view from our hotel room in the Tropicana)
It was a fantastic trip! and we all had a great time, especially me, in my first decent vacation since I joined the general workforce. I can't describe everything, because our itinerary was jam packed, but I can share a general list of facts about Vegas, as well as events and conclusions:

1. I'm not a big fan of traveling by air. In the category of speed, planes certainly beat out all other forms of transportation, and I will continue to travel this way when necessary, but if there's a choice, let me drive. Nothing beats a good old-fashioned roadtrip.

2. Katie: $100, Las Vegas: $250. If you can't subtract, this resulted in a net loss of $150, the amount of money I had set aside specifically for gambling. The reason for a budget was two-fold: I would spend money on gambling (ordinarily I'm too conservative, aka cheap), and that I would not spend too much money on gambling. At least I diversified- I lost money at poker, blackjack, AND slot machines.

3. Experienced the funniest hour-and-a-half of my LIFE watching a drag show. We had front row seats, and I laughed so hard that my cheeks hurt for the rest of the evening. Not only! did host Joan Rivers tell absolutely hilarious jokes continually, but I had no idea that I would get to see so many celebrities while I was in Vegas, including Britney Spears, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Bette Midler, and Cher.

4. Free drinks if you're sitting at a slot machine! Our drinks of choice were vodka tonics (me), gin-and-tonics (mom), and double Scotch on the rocks (my grandmother), along with many rounds of beer.

5. I was continually astounded by the scale. Las Vegas casinos are big. You cannot simply stroll from one end of the Strip to the other. They're very confusing too, and not just the ones that look like giant pyramids or a tropical desert. Casinos are designed so that neither you or your money can escape easily. There are so many different ways to be dazzled, by rides and lights and spectacular exhibits and shows, and so many ways to spend money. Basically, Las Vegas is just Disney World for Grown-ups.

6. Vegas is a posterchild for an environmentally immoral city. For example, they do not receive electricity from Hoover dam- the overabundance of lights and the air conditioning is all powered by coal and natural gas. You only need to take one drink out of the faucet to tell that the water is hard and old, and that they are using irreplaceable (in their case) groundwater for the fountains.

7. They have awesome double-decker buses going up and down the Strip. Of course, they're $2.00 a ride, but that is chump change (literally) in the city. This picture, for example, was taken from inside the bus.

8. Parking is free at all of the casinos on the strip. The competition between the casinos is to the tourist's advantage, but it also means that sometimes it's hard to find information. It took me a day-and-a-half to find one of those kiosks full of brochures.

9. The topography surrounding Las Vegas is amazing, especially for a geologist from the east coast. You can see the rocks! because they're not covered up with vegetation. We rented a car for a day and visited Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire state park. I picked up a few samples for my collection...10. Vegas is amazing! and I love to travel to new places, especially ones with such interesting landscapes, but I sure am glad that I'm a Virginia girl. Home sweet home.

Los Angeles, give me Norfolk Virginia
Tell the folks back home this is the promised land callin'
and the poor boy's on the line

Vegas BABY! - Pre-flight post 2

No, I haven't left Charlottesville yet. My flight leaves Richmond in less than 24 hours, at 15:45 tomorrow. I'm just so excited about it that I can't think about much else! I've been even more ADD and energetic than usual, to the point that Brian and my coworkers probably can't wait for me to leave.

I'm slightly worried about my mother because there is a highly-contagious norovirus (think 24-48 hours of vomiting and diarrhea) going around Henrico County Schools. If she gets it, she'll be sick on the plane, how miserable, and then Ranny and I will probably get sick when we're in Las Vegas. I talked to her at 7 this morning and tried to convince her to stay home and not teach her sick kids, but she didn't listen. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she (and by extension, I) don't get the fucking stomach bug from hell.

Things have been pretty busy lately, and I've been slacking bigtime on the trip planning, but yesterday I made up for my procrastination by picking up the Michelin Las Vegas MUST SEES from Barnes and Noble. It has lots of information AND pictures. There are so many things that I want to do, and so many places to go! Did you know that there are roller coasters in Las Vegas (they seem expensive, though)? And there are some great state parks in the area it seems.

I'm really excited about the fact that I'm going with my mother and my grandmother (Ranny). Ranny has visited Las Vegas several times before and will be able to show us the coolest places. And she'll know where we can go to get good alcohol while we gamble (she's a scotch drinker).

Just learned that Bob Seger is playing on Saturday at the MGM Grand, that would be fun. Three generations of Virginia girls at one show... hells yeah.

Come to Daddy, on an inside straight

Vegas BABY! - Pre-flight

I'm leaving for Las Vegas on Thursday. I can't wait.

But I haven't done any! preparation with the exception of improving my alcohol tolerance this past weekend. I still have to pack and plan. Which brings me to the following question:

What do you want from Vegas? Leave me a comment and I'll see if I can oblige. Keep in mind that I'm cheap, so if you ask for a stripper, you might just get a dirty shot glass.

I promise I'll put up some pictures post-Las Vegas. And I may even take pictures of something other than pretty rocks.

Living on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine