NaNoWriMo!!!!

This is my new thing for November. I'd heard about it some time ago, and I think I may have even signed up, but I don't think I did anything past that. The writers group that I am in is doing it this year, and I think it will be really fun. So what is NaNoWriMo, you ask? Well, it's really fun to say and it can subsequently replace nearly any word in any setting, as in:

"Hey, how was the meeting?"

"NANOWRIMO!!!"

Okay so maybe that's not a very good example. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. For the entire month of November, whoever wants to can go to the website and sign up to write a novel, starting November 1 and ending November 30. That is to say you can sign up anytime, but the novel must be written during this time. At the end if you reach the word count of 50,000 you get a certificate, I think.

It is not a contest except with yourself. Nobody wins against anyone else. I don't even think the novels get read. It's just a personal challenge type of thingy. Sounds like fun to me. Of course I am battling grad school, teething infant, potty training toddler and a whole bunch of other stuff. But I think I'd like to give it a shot. I already have a story floating around in my head and this will give me some direction.

So yippee!! Let the NaNoWriMo fun begin!!

Yes, I believe I am that much of a dork...

... enough even to post it on the world wide web. So in honor of the next movie coming out soon, and of the Halloween holiday's just around the corner. I decided to make a batch of cookies. I had wanted to try this out just to see how they looked. You can't really see in the picture but the cookies with the white frosting have a little bit of sparkle in them if you hold them up in the sunlight. The other cookies are darker, furrier and hopelessly unrequited.

Oh, and the cookie recipe is a basic sugar cookie recipe except with whole wheat flour. This makes them less sweet to offset the icing.

Cookies:

1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

4 cup flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugar & butter. Add vanilla, eggs. Add dry ingredients, mix well and chill. Cut into shapes or rounds (or do what I did and form them into balls and squash them). Bake at 375 for 5-6 minutes.

Then the icing is just some store bought butter cream icing with white sprinkles mixed in for the white ones, and decorative frosting for the black ones. I was trying to make them look like fur but I don't think I succeeded. That's okay. This was just a test batch.

Oh, and I can't figure out how to flip the picture over so its the right way.

Experiment Gone Awry

So while we were away I was given a Crock Pot by my MIL. I have wanted a Crock Pot for quite some time now and I am very excited to try it out. Apparently, the passing of the Crock Pot was quite an event for the family as owning one is a near requirement to be a W____. Henceforth the new theme of this blog will probably be Crock Pot recipes, and experiments gone awry and that sort of thing.

Once upon a time I stumbled across a bread machine at a yard sale. I had a similar feeling then, but I learned quickly that I'd rather just make bread the normal way. I have more control over the final outcome. It's more therapeutic and one doesn't end up with the annoying chunk of metal in the bottom of the loaf when one is done. The machine currently sits idly under my kitchen sink.

But that was the bread machine, which was a passing fancy. This entry is about my new true love, the Crock Pot.

Yesterday, I wanted to try it out, and I happened to have a bag of Marie Callender's Crock Pot creations stashed in the back of my freezer. Not the most authentic of foods but it was there so I decided to use it. Around 9 am I dragged it out, looking forward to a whole day of not worrying about dinner, plus the added bonus of the extra time to work on homework. I dutifully followed the directions to thaw out the sauce by running the baggy under some warm water, setting aside the baggie of potatoes into the refrigerator to be added later, combined the sauce and the chicken/ veggie mixture to the pot and put the setting on low. Done.

I went about my day, occasionally peeking at the stew mixture which seemed to be happily warming and cooking the day away.

Around 4:30 pm I wrapped up my homework and went in to finish up with the Crock Pot creation. My hubby was there washing up a few dishes. When I lifted the lid expecting a wafting aroma of stewed chicken and bubbling broth I was met with... nothing. No enticing scents of an awaiting dinner, no happy simmering bubbles, nothing. I dabbed my finger into the stew. Cold. Ice cold.

"Shouldn't this be hot?" I mused.

"Probably," my husband said peeking over my shoulder.

I felt the side of the pot. Cold. I examined the setting. Yes, I had turned it on. Hm. Then I checked the outlet. It was not plugged in. Of course.

So my first attempt with the Crock Pot turned out to be a wash, but we did end up having a nice extra cheese and toppings pizza, made from an Amy's frozen pizza that I got at the Co-op. After putting it in the oven for about five minutes, I added a few layers of ham, cheese and pepperoni. Then cooked it the rest of the way. Mm. Yumtastic.

But I am excited to try out the Crock Pot for real at some point, so if anyone has any cool Crock Pot ideas or recipes please, please, please let me know!

I am still here.

Dear Readers,

While it seems that Gothgirl may have vanished completely out of the blogosphere, I have not. I am still here, and I have not been abducted by the afore mentioned aliens. Though, I do think I have located the Loch Ness monster, but more on that later. No, we have simply been sidelined by things that occasionally happen in real life, which need not be detailed in this blog. School has been on break for about two weeks now and we had such great ambitions for the time off: open an etsy store, knit some stuff, paint some stuff, practice some more recipes, etc. As it is we have had to travel out of state twice now, and are currently readying for yet another trip back. On the upside I have acquired some free yarn out of the deal.

I have completed two experimental scarves and I am currently working on something that I don't know what it is yet. As soon as it is done I will post pictures.

Did I mention that I have taken up knitting too? When I am not wrestling with an infant or a toddler and can find a free moment for my hands I have decided to try the art of knitting. It seems that all the pseudo-closet-goth/ neo-punk kids are doing it. Plus, it's rather a 'mom' thing to do. Since I qualify as both, then I figured I'd better get with the program. Also, in the 'making stuff' category I am exploring and extending my knowledge regarding Steam Punk jewelry and what not.

See, I was paying attention when my marketing class taught us about 'brand awareness' and 'creating your market'.

On top of all of this I am also trying to acquire the resources for a HUGE writing project that I would like to undertake, you know, just for fun. Yes, it does involve the Twilight books. Hehe. But don't worry I am not running out and plastering my car with "Real men sparkle" bumper stickers yet or anything. And it's not fan fiction either.

So that's where I've been. I will try, try, try to stay more current but will need a few more days to wrap things up and finish things out. School starts next week so maybe more of a schedule will arise from that.

I hope my absence has not broken any hearts as of yet....