GingerSass

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Tag Archives: friends

I’m still a wannabe 1950′s housewife.

23til23

Yesterday was a really wonderful day. I cooked not one but TWO meals! I love cooking, as evidenced by my experiences during Hurricane Sandy, and it only seemed fitting that “cook a meal for a friend” was a #23til23 challenge.

My mom gave me my brother’s crock pot the other day, as he’s finished with school and living at home again. I tried it out and made a squash-pine nut-pepper-onion-cheese recipe and it turned out pretty well.

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First, I had my friend over for lunch. He’s moving to Florida next week and I’m pretty devastated. It was really nice to sit back, relax, and show my appreciation for him with food. I really love cooking for others.

Then, after work, I made V dinner for the first time… and it was a success! I felt all fancy-schmancy playing hostess, and it felt really great to be taking care of someone who has taken such good care of me.

Plus, she bought me this cupcake from Crumbs. It’s a s’mores cupcake. I’ve yet to try it, but I’ll probably want to marry it when I do. I snagged a small sampling of the chocolate chips on it and they were Heavenly… I’m really looking forward to trying this bit of cupcake Heaven!

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Update: Writing this post motivated me to eat the cupcake. HOLYCRAP. There’s a marshmallowy filling and I’m in love with it.

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I totally love cooking for others. Please let me know if you want me to cook for you…as long as you’re willing to come to me. I charge extra for delivery.

Happy cooking, folks!

Oh, and this is my drawing of myself. I’m in love with a cupcake. Sorry, V. You have chocolatey competition.

cupcake love

NaBloPoMo 2012- November 23rd: Goodbye

Today’s prompt reads

Friday, November 23, 2012
What is the hardest word for you to say?

Initially, my response to this prompt was “Sorry.” After a bit of reflection, I realized the word “goodbye” is more difficult than any other word.

Saying “goodbye” sucks, whether it be saying goodbye to a friend who’s moving to another country, saying goodbye at the end of a family gathering, saying goodbye when you’re leaving a job, or, the worst sort of goodbye, saying goodbye when someone you love and care about is no longer a part of your life.

Every year, I make a calendar for my Grandma for Christmas.

If you make a wall calendar before 11:59 PST tonight and use the code CALENDAR2013 the calendar will be free! Wooo!

Each month is a different grandchild, with the exception of December, which is always a collage of all of our family, including my Grandma & Grandpa. My Grandpa (Buster) died in 2008, and, until this year, I’ve always been able to use a different photo of my Grandma & him in the calendar. This year, I realized I ran out of photos and that I’d have to repeat a photo of them since it’s been almost 5 years since he’s been gone. This absolutely devastated me, and it really drove home the fact that he hasn’t been around for family holidays and celebrations for five years. Even though it’s been such a long time, I’m still not ready to say goodbye to Buster, and I feel like repeating a photo in the calendar is forcing me to say goodbye.

The truth of the matter is I can never fully say goodbye to people I love. I’m the sort of person who, when you come into my life, unless you really do something terrible, you’re in my life for good. When I do have to say goodbye, it’s nearly impossible for me to bid farewell, and extremely impossible for me to accept that someone is no longer a part of my life.

What is the hardest word for you to say?

“Can you meet me for coffee tomorrow morning?” is a terrifying phrase.

an artsy-fartsy photo I took over the summer

I don’t know what it is about the phrase, “Can you meet me for coffee tomorrow morning?”, but it sends chills down my spine. I was asked this question tonight, and it gave my heart palpitations.

I love coffee. I love the friend who invited me to coffee. I even love the fact that I have off from school tomorrow and can go to coffee!

So why did that simple question, filled with some of the most blissful moments of life, immediately give me heart palpitations?

It’s clichéd, but I associate “Can you meet me for coffee?” with the phrase “Can we talk?” which is usually a bad thing. Honestly, if you were going to have a “good” talk, wouldn’t you just go to a restaurant, or invite someone over for dinner, and have a hearty meal as you talk your hearts out for hours? Meeting for coffee means short and sweet. Unless, of course, it’s a first date. But coffee for a first date gives you leeway to escape if you need to, and leeway to people watch for hours if you’re actually enjoying yourselves. Meeting to talk over coffee means break ups, favors being asked, items from Craigslist being sold, and selling your old textbooks to a naïve undergrad.

Anyway.

Combined with the phrase “tomorrow morning,” I immediately assumed something bad had happened, and that my friend was breaking up with me… which is a bit of an over-reaction, especially because we’re not dating. I asked what was going on and what was wrong, and I was told, “Nothing! I just feel like seeing you.” Because sometimes coffee is just coffee.

And sometimes it’s a death sentence.

NaBloPoMo 2012: November 7th– hot girls, booze, and bacon

Today’s prompt reads

Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Talk about the last compliment you received.

Hehe. Well, normally this would be one of my students saying “Miss! Miss! I love your nails/shoes/hair/outfit/etc!” in order to sweet talk their way towards a better grade. (Or, occasionally actually complimenting my style. I’m definitely one of the “younger” teachers which means, by the weird laws of high school mentality, I’m cool. In high school. Which BLOWS MY MIND.) However, since my school has been closed since Hurricane Sandy, I haven’t seen my lovely students in almost 2 weeks. Wah.

The last compliment I received was last night via Twitter. I was in a weird mood awaiting the campaign results, and as a friend complained that he wanted bacon, I realized that I actually had a pack of bacon that had a use by date of November 7th. aka today. Oops. Sooo I decided to cook the entire thing off. In my apartment. While watching the Election results. This resulted in the creation of a #Bacon2012 hashtag, and me sending out a lot of overly-tired, pumpkin beer induced bacon tweets.

I’ve never been so proud of so many people I don’t know. #Bacon2012 for the win!

I also ended up responding to a tweet from the lovely DeadCowGirl  saying that she was cooking. She posted a link to a recipe for braised beef shanks, and I tweeted back that I may show up on her doorstep, begging for her cooking with gifts of bacon & booze. Her response? My last compliment, NaBloPoMo!

So there you have it, folks. I’m a hot chick, and even hotter when I show up on peoples’ doorsteps with gifts of booze and bacon.

I love the women I’ve met through BlogHer. Seriously.

I just finished reading Jenny Larson (The Bloggess)’s book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir), and there is an entire chapter devoted to her making friends with girls (bloggers) for the first time. At one point, she says, “…I discovered blogging and found other people online who were misanthropic misfits like me” (Lawson, 169-170).* This perfectly sums up how I feel about the women I met at BlogHer12. While I may seem like I’m able to speak coherently to you folks, I’m letting you in on a painful secret: as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become extremely awkward in social situations. I prefer the safety of texting while standing against the wall at parties, and at the BlogHer Conference in August, although I had the time of my life, I didn’t know how to react when meeting people (take a look at my top ten moments!) or when Big Name Bloggers knew my name.

The women I have met through blogging have helped me gain a voice, and they’ve been the girl friends I never knew I wanted. I’m not afraid to be silly, non-sensical, redunkulous, and me with them. We’re all “misanthropic misfits,” and it means so much to me to have these blogging friends.

So, thank you, DeadCowGirl, for being the inspiration for this NaBloPoMo post and calling me a hot chick.

 

*Yes. I did just cite a quote in MLA format on my blog.

Sandy: the Grinch who Stole Halloween

(You can read my initial post regarding Sandy here.)

This morning I was mourning the loss of Halloween… I know it’s a minuscule loss compared to what so many others are missing, but I’m grieving the sense of normalcy I associate with the holiday. For those of you not in affected areas, please be grateful for what you have.

I was lucky enough to have celebrated my favorite holiday on Friday and Saturday nights, before Sandy hit. I usually go all out for Halloween, and this year was no exception. I dressed up as Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus.

On Friday, I had a wonderful time at a party hosted by friends. Then on Saturday I went to my new favorite dive bar. It was a mix of Coyote Ugly meets Cheers meets karaoke. I actually won the costume contest there, and it was a ton of fun.


me and my big winnings! I also won a cup filled with prizes.

Halloween is such an important holiday in my life. I’ve had homemade costumes almost every year since I was 10 (per my own doing, not my parents’!), and I get reeeeally into being ridiculous.


I was Bea Arthur my sophomore year of college….


Colonel Sanders my Junior year of college (my then-gf was a giant chicken!)…


Eden Wood and her mom Mickie last year…


and then The Frizz this year.

I know today is Halloween, but it doesn’t feel like it. The annual NYC Halloween Parade has been CANCELED for the first time ever. Many towns have postponed Halloween. Some have canceled trick or treating altogether.

I’m seriously bummed out, and I’m not even a kid. I understand why the postponements are necessary, but canceling Halloween? That’s just cruel.

I actually have a cauldron of bracelets I got for my students for Halloween. (We’re not allowed to give out candy as per new healthy eating guidelines.) They say “Wicked,” “Spooky,” and “Freaky.” I purchased them last week, and, oddly enough, they describe how I feel about Sandy.

I spent most of the morning trying to decide what the point of dressing up was, and if it was worth it. There are evacuees staying in the lounge of my apartment, and I felt like I’d be a huge asshole if I dressed in my cheery Miss Frizzle garb. However, even if Governor Christie did move Halloween to November 5th, it felt like I’d be going against everything I believe in if I didn’t recognize the holiday.

So, I dressed like Miss Frizzle after a hurricane.


giving Liz the Lizard a kiss to reassure her we’ll go on a field trip soon

My family is currently visiting in my apartment. Pumpkin bread is baking. Coffee is brewing. Above all, we’re together, and they’re enjoying the warmth, electricity, and internet connectivity of my apartment, something I’ve taken for granted in this post-Sandy world.

Stay safe wherever you are, and remember to be grateful for what you have.

Happy Halloween?

NOTE:

The American Red Cross is in desperate need of donations to help fund Hurricane Sandy relief. You can either donate by clicking here or texting “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Donate blood and blood platelets. There are many hospitals losing what little power they have left, and people need your help. Find out more about donating blood through the Red Cross by clicking here, or to find out more about donating blood in the New York/ New Jersey area through the New York Blood Center click here.

Any and all forms of help are appreciated!!!