February 7-13

I've been using PictureTrail for most of my photo slide shows, but I just discovered GoodWidgets and I really like it.  Uploading the pictures is a little more time intensive, but the final product is great:)  If you have any suggestions for places to create photo slide show widgets, let me know ... I'd love to test them out!

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Entire 365 collection is available here.

January 31-February 6

Oooh, the month of February just flew by without giving me a chance to upload any pictures.  Time to play catch-up!  As always, to view my entire 365 Project just click here.

Troegs

Nugget Nectar is only available from January through March.  At this point, it is still hard to find in stores, so when Tim came up to visit, we couldn't not drive down to the Troegs brewery so that he could get a case for himself.  So, Tim and I ventured down to Harrisburg where the brewery is located hoping to get a tour, but knowing we would at least get to enjoy some great beer.  For those of you who have never heard of Troegs, this is how the Trogner brothers define Troegs:

TRÖEGS (tr?gs) *v-tröeged, -tröeg'in
The act of tröeg'in, ie "I tröeged it" or {slang} "that boy is tröeg'in" -adj. An aura of complete enjoyment and contentment, ie "My you look Tröegy this morning" -n. a new tradition of Pennsylvania specialty ales {from the brewers of Tröegs}, ie "I'll have a Tröegs!"

 Alas, when we arrived, the tours were all booked, with no cancellations.  So, we grabbed a beer - I chose a Java Head Stout and Tim had a Nugget Nectar - found a seat, and just enjoyed the atmosphere, beer, and conversation.  Instead of each getting a second, we decided to have a sampler ... mmmm.

Since they don't sell food, except for pretzels, at Troegs, we stopped at a Venezuelan restaurant, Arepa City, in Harrisburg before heading home.  Amazing!  I need to find a recipe for making arepas.  If you know of or find any good ones, please, let me know!

January 24-30

I decided to take some pictures of my library since I do spend a huge chunk of my life there.  You'll see my always messy desk, areas where students can sit and relax and/or work and read, a shelf of new books, some book fair displays, and the circulation desk.  These pics will give you a little peak into my work world.  Of course, I can't have any shots with students in them, but just imagine all these areas filled with students.  I always have anywhere from 1 to 50 students in the library at one time.  So, while these may not be the most artistic photos, they are my life.

Here is the link to my 365 project homepage ... all my past photos are available.

So Long, Farewell ...

Tonight was my last night of yoga with my wonderful instructor, Sara, at the OYETD yoga studio/art gallery!  While she will be starting up again in the summer, it will be at a different place, so it won't be quite the same.  Although, I will be happy to be able to practice yoga with her again, wherever that may be.

I love the space so much, and I will really miss it!  I could try to describe a room with jeans on the ceiling, walls painted black and white in areas, bright primary colors in others, and muted shades of blue and green other areas, and interesting artwork and sculptures filling every empty space ... but it just wouldn't do it justice. So, I took a few pictures, which even in isolation don't fully provide the full effect, but it will have to do.

Tonight's session ended with Eric playing the bowls while extremely relaxing music played, which was incredible!  I could feel the vibrations from the bowls through my entire body.  This is truly the ultimate in a relaxing experience ...  even better than being on the beach ...  which to me is the ultimate measuring stick for relaxation!  Of course, part of it too could be that I just worked my butt off for the past hour, so the time at the end to just lay on my mat feels amazing.  I found a video that will give you an idea of what they are, since it was new to me the first time too.


While we cannot attend a yoga studio, my yoga partner and I both bought a yoga video, and we plan on meeting Mondays to do a video together.  We have tried them both out, and, happily, they are both excellent!  Who would have thought that Jillian and Bob from The Biggest Loser would actually create a fairly decent yoga workout video.  Jillian's is a good workout, although I question her claim to help you lose 5 pounds a week, but Bob's video is a more traditional yoga "routine".  So, I do prefer Bob's video, even though the music on his is HORRIBLE.  I think I will have to mute the video, and just play my own music.

 I will keep going through my vinyasa, going into downward dog and blissful baby, and paying attention to my breathing on a regular basis, because there is no workout like yoga :)  Namaste!

Haluski

Haluski is one of those meals that I crave on a fairly regular basis ... luckily it is easy to make!  I like to include kielbasa in mine - there is nothing like cooking everything in meat drippings!
You can serve the dish with egg noodles of spätzle.  My preference is to serve it with spätzle, but egg noodles are a great option if I don't have time to make the spätzle.  I like to double or triple the spätzle recipe so that I have enough (to my liking) to serve with the haluski as well as some extra to heat up with sauteed onions and cheese.

Spätzle
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 pinch white pepper
1/2 tsp salt

1.  Mix flour, nutmeg, white pepper, and salt together
2.  Beat eggs well and add alternately to the dry ingredients with milk
3.  Mix until smooth
4.  Press dough through the spätzle maker (into boiling water)
5.  Drain spätzle for use late
6.  If you would like, you can cook the spätzle in some butter briefly after removing from water


Haluski
1 long chain kielbasa sausage
1 large sweet onion
1 bottle beer
2 T butter
3 T brown sugar
3/4 head of medium green cabbage
1/4 cup sugar
1/3(about) cup chicken broth or water

Mise en place:
1.  Slice kielbasa into thin slices
2.  Slice onion into strips
3.  Cut cabbage into long, thin strips


 Throwing it all together:

1.  Cook kielbasa over medium-high heat until slightly browned.   (Be sure to cook your sausage in a regular pan - not a non-stick - because you will want to create a fond to scape up when you deglaze with the beer)
2.  Remove sausage from pan and place it on a plate - cover with tin foil
3.  Pour in about 1/2 cup of beer (just eyeball it) and scrape the bottom of the pan
4.  Add butter and onions - saute onions until brown and caramelized - be patient
     *Add a bit of brown sugar to the onions as they caramelize
5.  Remove the onions and place them on the same plate as the kielbasa
6.  Add the cut cabbage with some sugar and a bit of chicken broth or water
7.  Cook the cabbage until it still has a slight crunch to it
8.  Once the cabbage is cooked, add the spätzle, onions, and kielbasa

January 16-23

Anyone that knows anything about is completely aware that I love to eat.  So, in the spirit of my love of food, this week's theme is Food and Cooking :)   Link to my 365 Project homepage to view all my past photos.  Enjoy!