Riot and Frolic

a mostly ballroom dance, but also a bunch of other stuff, blog

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about

I own and rock people’s faces off teaching ballroom dancing at Dancers Studio in St. Paul, MN. My husband and I compete professionally in American style and wrangle eight children in our spare time. I’ve been teaching and competing in ballroom dancing for over 25 years and have lots of opinions on it. I am an expert by any means, but there are quite a few dancers who are better than me and I have a solid knowledge of basic technique, so suck it.

List of Last Week’s Labors of Love

June 20, 2011

– a new car seat for V. It's narrow enough to fit three car seats across our back row. Because we'll need that soon. Oy.

– two new-to-us little girl bikes. Never mind that they can't really reach the pedals or understand the circular motion of pedaling. Fun! (No, Mae Cake didn't fall on her head after this picture was taken. She only looks top heavy. She will definitely have a round posterior like one or two of her parents.) Plus, I get a workout pushing each of them up and down the sidewalk.

– a billion loaves of bread. Well, maybe five. I felt like I always had my trusty breadmaker going this week. Bread-baking also involved digging through a bag of garbage to find the wee mixing blade that got thrown out when one of my loaves didn't rise. Anybody have a recipe for some good multi-grain bread? Recipes are encouraged!

– amazing flowers from my G.

– one whole pineapple eaten by two little ladies.

– constant pondering of if it's actually possible to buy Nutella in bulk.

– wondering what the past tense of "seek" is.

– changing things around on the blog. I do love to tweek! This time, you don't have to sign in to leave a comment (hint, hint), just leave your email (which isn't published), so the computer knows you're a real person.

– reading of The Hunger Games, another teen fiction trilogy. This one seems well-written and dark. Like, really dark. So dark, I don't even want to tell you the plot.

– smiling each time I smell Lola. Dang, she sniffs good.

– the return of True Blood, a trashy, horrible, delicious show.
The Blanket

June 18, 2011
I went on a shopping spree. In a crafty, nerdy way.
- I got a lemon tree[bush]*. It's name is Lola. Lola smells like sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. (Thanks, Lesley Gore!) She's got two little, tiny lemons in the works and bea-u-ti-ful flowers. Lola is transient in my house right now. I'm not sure if she'll like the kitchen, dining room, or office the best and want to make sure she's happy so she sticks around. (*- I'm too cheap to buy a real lemon tree until I know that it won't die… Or shall we say, "until I know I can keep it alive.")
- I bought the fabric and doodads for this secret gift-to-be quilt. I headed to Crafty Planet because I knew they had the batting I wanted at a decent price, and ended up getting everything there. For some reason, I had always missed their 100% cotton solid-color section (probably hypnotized by their amazing selection of prints). I bought six colors of softy-soft prettiness, some muslin for backing, and thread. That project starts tomorrow!
- I also couldn't resist some random fabric [essentials] that were making my attention drift from the lovely lady cutting my yards and yards of goodies. Seriously, the shop lady was extremely nice and patient and there were at least four other customers waiting for help in the tiny store. Actually, everyone was very nice and patient with me. Yay, CP!
My studio had a show yesterday.

Our Summer Showcase is usually pretty large and great, but this one was extra neat since we were celebrating our one year anniversary in the big new space we relocated to and it's the studio's 25th year in business.

My students danced amazingly, especially my new babies. They might be in this picture. My long-time student, Smee (names have been changed to protect the innocent), did his best to stay in dance frame with "a very pregnant" lady and did a very good job. My friend, America, did her first round of Standard and didn't fall down, so that's good. Most of her heel turns were really heel turns, too! I love America! My bestie, Frissy, made me want to cry when she danced with her new pro partner. She looked so f-ing bomb. She has some latent flexibility that came out of nowhere! Grrr. Now I'm going to have to work even harder after baby #3.

The crowd was also great and it was fun to see so many familiar faces gracing our floor and cheering on our dancers. Thanks to all of you who were there. (And bonus points to those ladies who told me that you read the blog! How cool!)

And today, we had early Father's Day.

We had a picnic with my folks and my gramma. Ladies loved it. It was nearly-rainy and chilly, but the food was tasty and the water toys were still good on dry land. Mae Cake took her great-gramma for a walk. So funny.

I threw G into Stogie's on Grand to buy himself a Dad's Day treat. I was going to do it myself, but what do I know about tobacco? He bought some nice-smelling pipe tobacco. That's about all I can do to describe it. Yep. It smells nice.

We headed down the street and hit up the ye olde Grand Ole Creamery for some frozen confections. V got the "blue kind" (cotton candy) to share with Mae Cake, while G and I each got a waffle cone with some Mexican Chocolate and Pralines. Holy schmoly. Yum. I'm a big fan of the Mexican chocolate. I suggest you try it.

Then we napped.

Happy Father's Day!
Dirty Bird continued…

June 17, 2011

Yesterday, we made a roast chicken. Well, I did. It was delicious, by the way. Crispy skin, moist meat, leftovers.

I told you to save your "juicy tidbits" that were left in the roasting pan and throw your chicken's remains in the pan so we could make some chicken broth. Are you ready?

How to Make Chicken Broth

Ingredients:

– leftover chicken bones and bits

– water

– onion

– carrots

– garlic

– celery

– spices of choice

We start with this bit of nastiness. (Roasting chickens is not for the squeamish… Or vegetarian.)

Mostly cover the carcass with water and heat over the stove until boiling.

I just use the roasting pan and put it over two burners. I'm sure some people would advocate using a stock pot, but that is another dish my husband has to wash.

If if you get some frothiness, spoon that off.

Once your broth-to-be gets boiling, throw in some veggies.

I quarter an onion, randomly slice two carrots, smash three cloves of garlic, and throw in some rosemary, thyme, basil, and oregano. I do not measure. Once again, more dishes for G to wash.

I boil this concoction for about an hour, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for three more hours.

At the end of this four hours (at which time I have multi-tasked and thrown some ingredients in my bread-maker, which also takes four hours), you will have some wicked-good chicken broth. Recipes to follow on another day.

To finish up this tasty project, I put a colander in a big pot (okay, I do use some extra dishes; gotta keep the man on his toes) and pour the roasting pan contents into the colander to strain out all the bones and veggies and whatnot. I put the big pot in the fridge to let the fat and grease rise to the top of the broth and scoop that off the next day.

Yum.

Tomorrow I'll fill you in on all the goodness I bought in the last couple days. Oh, I am excited! There are so many great projects in the works! *drool*

Meanwhile, I must take a shower and get prettified for our dance Showcase tonight. And I'm wondering, what's your favorite song on the playlist?
Dirty Bird

June 16, 2011

You might have figured out that I am a lazy chef. I like food and I like cooking, but I'm a big fan of "recipes" that use less than five ingredients or five steps. I like being able to memorize a recipe and then improvise as I see fit.

It's even better when I can find a recipe that sounds really impressive, besides fulfilling all the above characteristics. I got one for you: roast chicken. Wha?….

How to Roast a Chicken

Ingredients:

– a chicken

– couple tablespoons of olive oil

– teaspoon or so of salt

– pepper to taste

– lemon, zested

– any other spices you like

Get a whole chicken from your grocery store. It might be called a "roaster" or a "fryer," but it doesn't matter. It just has to be a chicken. I get mine in the frozen section from Aldi. It's about $4.

Thaw the chicken completely. I highly recommend this step. The first time I tried to roast a chicken, I was a little impatient. There was a lot of swearing and a lot more prep time.

Unfrozen chickens are pretty loosey-goosey (ha). They're cold, but squishy in their packaging. If your bird ain't thawed quite enough, throw it (still in the plastic wrap) in a sink full of COLD WATER. Don't use warm or hot water; there's something about e.coli or something. Let it sit in there for an hour or two, then test it for squishiness. No icy feeling? Your chicken is ready for its big night.

Take that birdie out of its plastic housing and rinse it in cold water. Pat it dry with some paper towels. Combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest and/or any other spices you dig in a small dish. Now take a deep breath. This part is messy; you're going to get intimate with that bird.

Lift up a piece of skin and stick your hand in, under the skin, as much as you can all over the chicken, so the skin gets loosened away from the meat.

Now you'll take some oil-lemony goodness and spread it under the skin. Get the breast and underside as covered as you can. Sexy. Or gross. Whatever.

Once you've oiled up your chicken, throw it in a roasting pan, breast side up (see picture below for proper orientation), and shake some salt over the whole thing. Put it in the oven.

I do 450 degrees for about an hour. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature after 45 minutes or so. If you stick the thermometer in the thickest part of the drumstick, you want it to get to 180 degrees.

Take that delicious dish out of the oven. Carve it. (I would post my pictures, but they weren't pretty. I just try to get as much meat as possible off that thing and it looks like a massacre.) Eat it. Love life.

That roasting pan you have left over with all the juicy tidbits? Throw your chicken carcass in it (put some tin foil over it, throw in the fridge) and save it for tomorrow. 'Cause we're making chicken broth!

*I must apologize for the photos. Raw chicken is not the most photogenic subject AND the lighting in my kitchen midday is AWFUL. But this should make up for it.
Mandatory

June 15, 2011

As anyone who has stumbled upon a blog knows, there is a mandatory post about the site Pinterest.

If you have any sort of addictive personality, you might want to stop reading. It could get ugly. This site is addictive. Maybe it's too late.

Here's my typical morning:

– wake to alarm sounding for approximately half a second.

– turn off alarm, which opens my phone.

(Yes, my phone is my alarm. It's an iPhone; it does everything.)

– read email and check Facebook.

– open Pinterest app and wait for any other household members to wake up. And by "wait for", I mean, "try not to make."

Pinterest is my go-to site to shut off my brain and chill out to the white noise of great ideas. It's like Facebook for STUFF. Since I don't shop much anymore (read about it here), it's like window shopping for my SOUL.

If you clicked the earlier link, you would find that Pinterest is a "virtual pinboard." When you're surfing the web, you see something you like, and you "pin it," instead of making a bookmark for it on your web browser. Or trying to remember it, like some people do. Silly people. (Yeah, that website I found at 3:30am for the 90%-off designer purses is not likely to be found at a reasonable day and time with my credit card readily available.)

For those of us who are very VISUAL, it is fantastic. I'm all about inspiration, but my inspiring ideas often get lost in my (now obsolete) list of bookmarks via Safari, or a pile of magazines on the floor. Now, I just click on my Pinterest button and BAM! Instant, infinite visual gratification.

The catch is you have to be "invited." In other words, you click on a link to get put on a waiting list to open your account. I'm not sure why you need to wait; it's not exclusive and you don't need to send your resume or references or anything. Without an account, you can still look at all the pins that other people are creating, you just can't make your own boards until you're accepted. Plus, you get a little ego boost when your invite arrives. "They like me!"

There's a button to follow my boards over on the left (yes, I made the Ls with my pointer and thumb to make sure it was the left side).

But here's some of my favorite things with their appropriate links to whet your appetite:

In the craftacular category:

Emma Lamb

Pretty crochet with a great color scheme. Her website is calmingly beautiful.

In the Buy Buy Buy category:

Espadrilles, Etc

These shoes are ridiculous. And there are others.

In the Domesticality category:

Talia Auden Art

V has the same bed and I love it, but can't find sheets to fit it. This cute woman's mom made the sheets and the adorableness surrounding it. How great is a simple kid's room? It's great.

In the Foodilicious category:

Bakers Royale

Um, homemade Samoas? OKAY!

A few extras that really defy categories:

(no link-sorry!)

Pretty Dress

(no link here either)

The End.
Bratt?… Party of 50?…

June 13, 2011

There are "four" people who live in my house. I qualify four, because two of the household members eat enough to be considered one person. So, this many dishes seems acceptable.

But how many dishes do we own?

That many.

We could have a dinner party for 28 people with full place settings for each person. Dinner plate, salad plate, soup bowl, bread plate, cereal bowl (because you never know when you'll need some Lucky Charms with your five course dinner), coffee cup, saucer, dessert plate (no, the Lucky Charms do NOT count as dessert), red wine glass, white wine glass, water goblet, not to mention the cutlery!

It seems we were quite ambitious in our wedding registry. "Let's put this [silver china… thing… maybe a creamer?] on our registry. You know, round out the set [of things we can't actually name]." I assumed we wouldn't get everything we put on that crazy list. We did. Apparently, our combined families are not only large, but generous. And a lot of people forgot to say that they were buying a gift off a registry. 30 wine glasses later, I'm thinking I should send them home as door prizes at our next shindig.

A good part of my nesting streak is I saved this myriad of dishes from it's moldy dungeon in the corner of our basement. Now they are resting peacefully in the hutch we brought home from Dixon, IL on top of G's old Jetta. In the winter. During a snowstorm.

Sidenote: that hutch is getting a makeover soon. Door pulls, some paint, maybe some interior funkiness. It'll happen.

And it's Monday, so that means a recipe…

Okay, I don't have a picture of this delicious dish and the name is generic, but it's E-A-S-Y.

Chicken Stir-Fry

– two chicken breasts

– one zucchini (green summer squash)

– one green pepper

– one onion (I like red)

– one jalapeno pepper

– Emeril's Chicken Rub

frozen jalapeños from a bulk buy

Cut your chicken into cubes and throw it in a large skillet with some olive oil to cook. While that browns, cut your veggies into bite-sized pieces. If you like spicy food, you can leave as many seeds in the jalapeno as you like. If you're just looking for flavor, cut the pepper into large pieces and get as many seeds out as possible (you can take it out after it's cooked a bit).

When the chicken is almost cooked through, toss in the veggies and cook until the onions start to get a little transparent (5-10 minutes). Season liberally with Emeril's after you throw in the veggies. BAM! You're done.

so easy, so fresh

My bestie came over and made this for me about a year ago and I adore it. I actually eat my veggies! Often, I make it without the chicken and it's still awesome. So green. So good.

because sometimes you want some rice
List of Last Week’s Labors of Love

June 12, 2011

– first trip of the summer to my gramma's pool. Thanks, Gram!

– several loaves of bread made in the breadmaker my gramma gave me.

– one weird pan of ice cream.

– seven invitations to air-conditioned houses. Thanks, friends!

– another awesome trip to the river. Raspberry Island was the destination this week (Harriet Island's less popular sister). Amphitheater= dance stage.

– one kiddie pool blown up and ready for more 100 degree days… Or not.

– a cute hairbow ready for production.

– pancakes for breakfast with some delicious peaches on the side.

– a million questions answered in preparation for our studio's Showcase and the big local competition, Twin Cities Open.

– two days of teaching that flew by. Good job, students!

– my first Book Club experience! You might remember the book I was reading in anticipation for being accepted into, what I can only imagine is, a very exclusive group. Not that I'm socially awkward (*nervous laughter*…), but I don't meet a lot of people outside my job and nerd-out when I'm out of my comfort zone. I was a bit apprehensive meeting a bunch of new ladies, but everyone was way cool and I think I only stuck my foot in my mouth once. Okay, maybe twice, but it was a good time. I think I'm still in the Club. Time will tell…

– walk down Grand Avenue with a trip to My Sister's Closet. Mae Cake brought the money.

Besides actually driving down Grand Avenue on the weekend, the street is a good time. Many good places to eat and shop. I finally ventured into MSC, as mentioned above, after hearing about it from friends for years. Tons of great second-hand clothes at amazing prices and a great vintage section. I found an Anthropologie hat with the tags still on for $10, and it turned out to be 30% off! $50 hat for $7? Okay.

– super congrats to my bestie on her second place finish at a ballroom competition this weekend. She also has a cute new dress.
The Long Mile

June 12, 2011

I miss running. That is one of the most shocking statements I've ever made about myself, according to myself.

[This is a picture of me before my second race.]

I started running last August or so in an attempt to lose the last of my baby weight (or pregnancy weight?) and gain some much-needed cardiovascular stamina for dancing.

My beginning trials at running consisted of running down the block, gasping for air after 100 yards, walk, repeat for about half a mile. Then G decided it would be "fun" to run together.

Now, my husband is black-or-white guy. My version of running wasn't running to him. His version of running meant consistently pacing yourself for over a mile. Ridiculous, I know. We started waking up before the kids, lacing up our shoes, and running down our street and across to the Univ (one of the busiest streets in the city) every morning. [Our roommate was home with with the kids-don't worry.]

The words "gasping for air" didn't even cover it. First of all, it was very clear to me when G was attempting to run to my pace: he assumed this annoying, energetic bounce/walk that made me feel like a mall-walking old lady. So, I ran to his pace.

Secondly, I'm pretty sure I haven't run over a mile since I was about 19 and did my first 5K, and I was young then. G would add another block of distance on our run every other day.

Finally, the last leg of our morning jog took us by the fire department, where I've known several of the guys for years. At this point of our two-mile journey, I'm dripping sweat, heaving breaths, and more than a little red in the face. Hello, young firemen! Lovely.

G was quietly tolerant of my under-the-breath swearing (both at him and other various elements of our runs), which was better than his previous training attempts over the years.

Somewhere along the way, because I must be a bit of a masochist, I began enjoying the morning's exercise. I would run even if Gordon stayed in bed, or if I had a cold, or if it was hot out. Then, I signed up for a race.

To be fair, this race was called the Blubber Run and involved beer at the end. But it was my first endeavor of my new running career that involved putting some money where my feet were. I'll fill you in on the details of the race later, but it was fun.

Since then, winter in Minnesota forced me indoors to run the treadmills (I will not run on ice or below 30 degrees, so that's about six months of running indoors). Treadmills are not fun. Then I got pregnant. Running pregnant is not fun. Well, after a certain point, it is not fun.

So I sit dormant until the first opportunity arises after baby #3 to lace up my sneaks and put another mile behind me.
Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day

June 9, 2011
Which is why we are taste-testing ice cream at 9am.

What.

Yesterday I mentioned the ice cream recipe I was going to try from Everyday Food's June issue. I was suspicious, and rightly so, as it turns out. A can of sweetened condensed milk, cream and vanilla?

I memorized the recipe as I read it. Open can of SCM, mix with two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Beat 2 cups of heavy cream to stiff peaks. Combine. Freeze.

The exciting part was cracking open my homemade vanilla extract since I had run out of the store-bought kind. We're closing in on the minimum "brewing" time of six weeks anyway. I also enjoyed beating the cream to stiff peaks. It sounds so violent!

V and I decided to taste-test this concoction this morning. Here's what I found:
- It's very hard. Like, some solid-arse ice cream.
- It's very sweetened-condensed-milky.
- V loved it.
- It's very rich. Almost too much so.
- After you get over the SCM part, it has a normal vanilla ice cream after-taste.
- It's very quick to make, but might be best if you were using it with some other dessert thing. Like with cake, or fruit, or… alcoholic beverages.
- In the end, as easy as it was, I'd love to find an old-school ice cream maker to crank out some real goodness.
I saw this really cute hairbow on Pinterest awhile back and have been dying to try to make one. There's no comment on who made it originally; just a link to a Flickr page of a photographer. So whoever made it- props to you.

I'll show you the finished product now, and then give you a little how-to tomorrow. Let's just say the trial run wasn't pretty. For example, when sewing, one should generally use a thread that matches your project's fabric, instead of, say, lime green, which does not. And most of the time, when sewing two pieces together, one would want to put the wrong sides facing each other, but sometimes it's fun to mix things up and put them facing the same way. Zany.

It's about three inches across. I was trying to take a picture of it in my hair, but couldn't get the angle right at all. V really needs to learn how to use my camera.

Until then, she'll play in the pool.

Maybe when the new iOS 5 software comes out for my iPhone, she'll be able to help out in the photo department. Did you watch the Apple keynote? I nerded out for an hour and watched it with G.

Apple is just the greatest. Buy their stuff.

Okay, enough free advertising!

Let's get to the goods!

I'll be a bit embarrassed if you recognize this guy. Both for myself and for you.

P.S. Minnesota, what is up?

6-7-11 *Record 103 degrees*

NOAA weather radio detailing the 103 degees at MSP. Hottest temp since July 1988. Excessive heat warning. It was also very windy today, gusts over 30 mph.

And now…

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Minneapolis, MN (55401)

53°F (11°C)

Overcast
Oh snap

June 8, 2011

Here is it!

Look at the swanky, new design. Admire it. Love it. Wonder at the magnificence of ME writing CSS code. Yes, yes. I know. It's great. Not only can I do a mean tango, but I can cut and paste nonsense and follow directions.

A special thanks to D at thephOtoshOp at Etsy for creating my banner. She was fast, helpful and inexpensive! What more could you want?

There are some items in the works, like fancy buttons for the "categories," similar to the buttons on the left that will link you to a subscriber page (to get my posts sent to your email), my Etsy store, Pinterest boards, and Facebook account.

I'm hoping to get a page for "tutorials" and "recipes" as a bit of a quick reference.

Any thoughts? Comments?

Today, I'm going to make a suspicious-looking recipe for ice cream that uses only three ingredients and you don't have to churn. Like, you mix all the ingredients together and throw it in the freezer and then can eat it a few hours later. It's Martha Stewart, so it must work… I'll let you know how that works out.

Also, I'm filling up the Buzz Lightyear kiddie pool (thanks, Danielle and MiMi) and throwing the kids and myself in it. Nice.