Emma’s Fantabulous Blog

I’m home in Seattle once again!

While I had a great time on my trip to new England, I’m glad to be back in a place with almost no mosquitos. Thank goodness, since I am covered in about 25 itchy bug bites. Also the weather here is surprisingly beautiful. It’s a warm temperature of 84, with a sunny sky. I’m happy. Seattle was far too dark and cloudy this winter. I’m glad to see that summer has finally arrived in Seattle. I hope it stays for a long while.

Hopefully, I’ll be posting here regularly once again. And soon I’ll post pictures from my trip.

Sorry that I haven’t been posting questionnaires for the past 2 weeks. Here y’all go.
1. Who is your favorite author?
2. What is your favorite book?
3. Are you taking any vacation this summer?
4. What is your current worry?
5. Would you rather argue your opinion or stay quiet and avoid conflict?
6. Do you write in cursive or print?
7. Do you sleep a lot?
8.  Are you a heavy or light sleeper?
9. You have an wealthy aunt who you are not of. She’s old and looking for heirs. Do you treat her more kindly?
10. Do you have any ideas for questionnaire questions?

Driving through Boston, Cambridge and Brookline today, I was amazed at the number of homes undergoing massive renovations. It seemed like almost every other house I saw had a huge dumpster in the front yard, a crew of construction workers, palettes of building materials or a combination of all three. I don’t remember there being so many houses being re-done when I lived here, just 3 years ago. I wonder why there’s been an increase. Do people have more money to spend? Have more houses changed hands in recent years? Or perhaps maybe people are just more interested in having updated, state of the art homes, than they have been in previous years.

Thoughts?

In honor of Father’s Day, I’m sharing the recipe for Devon’s super decadent Cinnamon Rolls. We (actually just Devon) made them for our Father’s day brunch today and they turned out wonderfully.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!!!

Devon’s Cinnamon Rolls

(more…)

I’m currently in “Nude Hampster” and surfing the web via Pine Tree Cable Company.

The bugs here are vicious. I have some nasty no-see-um bites. All over my arms and back. I am like shoo-gar to them. They itch like hell.

The trip is going great. We’ve gone mini-golfing at Twinkle Town in Swanzey, NH for $2, we’ve boated around Spafford Lake with my parents, we were talked into trying out an old school typewritter by Devon’s Dad and we played with our neice and nephew and decided to have 8 million babies.

It has been a pretty great trip so far. I have a bunch of pictures to post when i get back. Especially the one of Devon clacking away on his typewriter.

Devon and I have a flight in about 8 hours for Boston. I’ll be there about 2 and a half weeks. It should be fun. A nice pool and a nice lake. We’ll miss our iguana dearly.

Devon sold his old Eclipse to some kid who promptly went out and got it dyno-tuned. On the way home afterwards, he kid blew the engine. *uck, *uck, double *uck! Its unclear what will happen. He had it checked out by a mechanic before hand, who said the car was basically fine, so maybe it was the dyno’s fault.  Anyways. He has only paid half of the money so far, and we still hold the title, and its unclear on how to proceed. Hopefully the kid isn’t an punk-asshole and doesn’t try to back away and demand all of his money back. I just don’t want to end up with a busted car and no compensation. Grah! The whole situation just makes me feel like thowing up.

We were supposed to see the new animated film “Cars“  this afternoon before we left, but now watching a movie about cars sounds like the best possible way to stress myself out even more, and to make myself start crying.

But yeah. A vacation sounds really good, but this is just a hell of a way to start one. I just wish the whole Eclipse thing didn’t have to be looming over our heads until we get back. 

This is beautiful Fifi after I brought her home from her vet appointment this afternoon. I think she was hunched down, looking for birds. I let her romp around in out yard and soak up some sun, because she was a very good girl about getting her blood drawn. I would have given her an iggy pop if they made one. Check out those lovely dorsal spikes!

So I mentioned in an earlier comment that Fifi’s rock total is 14 now, and I brought them to show to our vet. Her response was basically “Wow, that IS alot of rocks. Are you sure there arnt any rocks in her enclosure?” Yeah. Fifi lives in a tiny laundry room without much “iguana-habitat-decor” besides a fake christmas tree and a sea monster poster from National Geographic. I’m pretty damn sure that the rocks didn’t come from her enclosure. :/

But anyways. Fifi is a stormtrooper, and while we’re still waiting to see if her blood still shows signs of infection, our vet seems pretty confident that Fifi is done with medicines for the time being.

Go iguana!

Mmm.

VOSS

*Artesian Water From Norway*

When I was underage, I used to go into liquor stores and buy tons of this stuff that was 4 bux a pop. I’d get the bottles packed up in the big cardboard wine boxes and after I left the store, people would look at me and wonder why a minor was so obviously carrying a crate of booze.

I like the packaging that looks like big glass test tubes. Madonna has been rumored to bathe in it. And the taste trumphs even Fiji brand water, which I used to think was the ultimate in pure water.

Voss makes me a total water snob happy.

1. How many of Fifi’s rocks do you think I’ve found so far?

2. Why do you think that she keeps eating rocks?

3.Your cat runs away from home and is found injured in a ditch by people who pay $500 for vet care and decide to adopt it. You discover this a month later. Would you try to get your cat back?

4. Have you ever broken a bone?

5. Name your favorite summer time drinks.

6. Would you rather have a sauna or hot tub?

7. What’s one reason that Devon should let me get a puppy?

8. What’s one reason that he shouldn’t?

9. Do you use a cell phone or home phone?

10. First thing that you think of when you hear:

• A. Lemur
• B. Binge
• C. Avoid
• D. Groove

This yummy recipe came from the May 2006 issue of Gourmet. Its a delicious dinner that only takes about 10 minutes. And I only burned myself twice making it this evening.

Ingredients:

• 1 (1 LB) package potato gnocchi
• 2/3 cup heavy cream (i used half and half instead)
• 1/2 tsp flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 15 oz. fresh baby spinach (or about 3 packages)
• 1/2 cup ricotta (I used skim, but feel free to use whole)
• 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler
2. Cook gnocchi in a pot of boiling salted water, according to package instructions (gnocchi wil float when done). Drain.
3. Wisk together cream, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a large oven proof skillet, then bring to a boil over medium heat, wisking. Continue to boil, wisking frequently, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
4. Add handfuls of spinach to skillet, tossing with tongs, and cook until wilted, 2 – 4 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in gnocchi.
5. Spoon ricotta over gnocchi in about 5 dollops and sprinkle with mozzarella.
6. Broil 4 – 6 inches from heat until cheese is browned and bubbling in spots, about 2 minutes. Season with pepper.