Guest Post: The Weekend Calli Went Away

Hi there! Last weekend I took a quick trip to Evansville, Indiana to surprise my best friend Katie for her birthday. Boy was she surprised! While I was away, Dan and Zahara and some lovely daddy-daughter time. They had a great time--mostly. Here's a little gem he just shared with me. It's a perfect representation of life with a toddler. Heartbreaking and beautiful.

I love her.

I say it as much for myself as I do for her. She's beautiful, but it's a terrible beauty. I feel powerless to help and she wouldn't want me to, even if I could. I miss Calli, and of course she does too, but rather than bind us together, she blames me and pushes me away.

It's been two hours now. Two hours since the cat's whine woke her up. I tried to comfort her, but she only grew angrier in my presence. For over an hour we sat in her room in the dark because she didn't want me to touch her. Eventually, I picked her up anyways. Of course it was a fight, with her hitting me the whole way. I hoped by getting her food, or toys, or anything else I could possibly offer I could break her out of the tantrum. We spent another hour in the living room with her throwing the offered food and hitting me. I don't even respond anymore, I just let her do it. Maybe if she hits me enough she will feel better and I will feel less guilty.

Two and a half hours now. I can't take it anymore. For her, for me, I need to get away. I wrestle her into her highchair, somewhere I know she'll be safe. I put a bowl of cereal in front of her and I go upstairs. I know I'll hear the bowl crash and have to clean up cereal later. Up here, the screaming is slightly attenuated. Not much better, but at least I don't have to see her anguished face. After 20 minutes it's strangely quite. I take a deep breath and head downstairs.

And what does my 25 month old say to me? "Uh oh spaghetti-ohs! I need milk and a spoon."

I've never gotten milk and a spoon faster in my life.

Guest Post: Festive Cookie Exchange

One of the best parts about moving back home is getting to see all of my old friends. I've known Erin for nearly a decade now, and she is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. Read about her fun holiday party tradition.

One of the many reasons why I am so glad that Calli is back in Maryland is because we can continue a holiday tradition started six years ago. The "annual" (ok there may have been a couple missed years here and there) Festive Cookie Exchange is a great excuse to bake, mingle with friends and eat cookies!

Each guest is asked to bake 2-3 dozen of their favorite holiday treats. At the party everyone fills out a little card detailing the type of cookie, the baker's name and other dietary specifics (does the cookie contain nuts? Is it gluten free?).

Now that she is back, Calli jumped right into the festive fun with a cute new dress and tasty pumpkin oatmeal chocolate balls. Yum!

There were lots of great cookies this year! Including delicious gluten free options. Why describe the cookies when you can see them (warning: don't view on an empty stomach)...

Even my dog Ziggy got in on the holiday fun! One generous baker made peanut butter/pumpkin dog cookies. Ziggy entertained the party guests by dancing for his treats.

One of the reasons why I asked guests to bring so many cookies was in order to both enjoy them at the party and take plenty home to enjoy throughout the holiday season! Each guest got a to-go box to fill with their favorite treats.

Thanks for reading about this year's Festive Cookie Exchange!

And, thank you, Erin for hosting such a fun party! Now, please excuse me while I dig in to my leftover cookies.

Guest Post: Remember, Remember...

A while back I asked my friend and fellow SOS'er Nick to write a guest blog post about the awesome jacket potato bar party he hosted for Guy Fawkes Day. To give you a sense of timing, the Guy Fawkes rhyme goes as follows:

Remember, remember the 5th of November
gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
should ever be forgot.

So, I've been excited to read this post for a while. I'm sad that I couldn't make it to the event, but now at least there are only a few more months until the next Guy Fawkes Day! Here's Nick with more.

Here is one from the archives... except that it was never written, until now! A source of fortnightly mild interrogation from Calli, the subject of this blog post has finally matured to the point that we can crack the seal and enjoy the perfectly (overly?) aged material. This introduction is a touch superfluous, but it's my way of skirting the issue of apologizing to Calli for taking SO long to do a guest post for Calli's Crossing. Without further ado...

To avoid confusing all of us Americans, we used the American 
term "Baked Potato Bar" on all official signage

The Jacket Potato Bar is an ancient Anglo-Saxon rite of passage into middle-age hood. As an adolescent and young adult, one can only handle the concept of individual or perhaps a duo of toppings. The adventurous British soul might even have ventured into a three topping jacket potato, but he was often shunned by his peers and forced to live a solitary life off in the Dales somewhere. There was an archaeological dig that uncovered all this. This is history here, people. I live in England. Wouldn't I know? Look it up... but in one of those research-journal-only paid subscription search engines. Don't have access to those? Well then I suppose you'll just have to believe me.

Another ancient British tradition was annual Blowing-Up Parliament Day. That is, until Guy Fawkes took a triumphant stand on November 5th and said, "Nay! This tradition is barbaric and fiscally indefensible. Instead of rebuilding parliament every year, how about this imperialism thing, or we could decapitate a monarch!? And drinking to excess is good, too." Mr. Fawkes was a visionary that is still celebrated annually on November 5th with a ritual bonfire representing all those years of blowing up/burning down parliament and the lives lost to such a senseless tradition. Wait, I'm being told I may have some of the details wrong. But why else would British people celebrate Guy Fawkes Day annually? Ah well, my memory sometimes fails me. Look that up, too.

Burning an effigy in "honor" of Guy Fawkes' brave stand

Now you see why I chose the ritual Jacket Potato Bar (JPB) to celebrate such a momentous day in British history, in addition to my march forward in my 30s. As this is a DIY style blog, perhaps I should discuss the makings of a good jacket potato bar. One that announces to the world that I've arrived squarely out of young adulthood into... whatever the early to mid-thirties are called. And no, it wasn’t my birthday, I’m holding this story together with tape and chewing gum here people. The village that it took to raise me would be proud.

So back to the JPB. You’re welcome to make it as small or as large as you feel comfortable with. It turns out, no matter whether or not you put out certain... let's say "coordinated ingredients," you're going to have people that take it as a challenge to fit every.single.topping on the jacket potato. You know the type, they were the same ones that can't be trusted at a soda fountain. Cherry Coca-Spri-Monade Dew is not a thing. But don't let these people deter you. Put out whatever you feel like making and embrace the madness. You can eat 3 properly coordinated jacket potatoes and feel morally superior.

Jacket Potato Bar with all the trimmings

Here were the four styles of jacket potatoes I intended with the toppings for each. There is reuse of several ingredients throughout:

The Dirty Frenchman (Xenophobia be damned)

Brie! (Sacrebleu!)

Red wine sauteed onions and mushrooms

Lardons (really just bacon for fancy folk)

Tex-Mex-a-tato

Vegetarian Chili

Shredded Adobo chicken

El queso cheddaro

El Sour Cream

Cilantro-o

Salsa-o?

The Posh Brit

Cranberry sauce

Proper Back Bacon

Brie

And that's it for that one. Brits can't tolerate more than 3 ingredients. We've been over this.

And last, but not least

'Merica!  #!@(& Yeah

Gosh darn bacon!

Gal dern cheddar cheese?

Fancy schmancy chives

Whatever the heck else you want!

* Comes with a side of freedom.

I'm not getting into recipes, here, but do note that something similar to this menu for 30 people will take you most of a day of cooking because it's a lot of stuff, and it's all made from scratch. You can take shortcuts, but won't be as earth shattering, so if that's what you're going for, just keep doing your thing. But here is an idea of how I planned my day.Hopefully this will give you an idea of how to set up for this type of party:

• 8-9am: Wake up to God Save the Queen on your alarm clock, make breakfast, make tea, forget to drink most of tea because you're busy cooking
• After breakfast (2-3 hours of work): Chop the bacon/lardons while it's raw to make the best bacon bits (aka American lardons), and then let the fat render and let the bacon deep fry in its own fat. Because I said so. Trust me.
• While that's going, spice up and sauté off your chicken and let it cool. Shred the cooked chicken. Sweat some onions in the same pan and then add the chicken and simmer it in chicken stock spiked with lots of your favorite Tex-Mexican spices. Simmer... not boil!
• After you start the chicken start your cranberry sauce (sugar, lemon zest, and cranberries, plus a few teaspoons of water to get it started).
• While the chicken is cooking (about an hour): Chop and shred things that don't need to be warm: Cilantro, cheddar cheese, brie, chives. Take the chicken off the stove after an hour or so of simmering. (If you're smart and less of a procrastinator than me, you can do this stuff the day before.)
• Sometime around noon-1pm: Find your tea. Microwave, drink one-third, forget again.
• Early- to mid-afternoon: Start your chili, which, depending on the recipe you're using, should take 1-3 hours of prep/simmer time.
• Mid-to-late afternoon: while the chili is simmering, prepare your red wine onions and mushrooms. This involves sautéing both items in butter with salt and pepper, and deglazing the pan with red wine and then adding fresh thyme and maybe a spoonful of whole grain mustard, but this can flavored any way you like it.
• You probably have a break now, so tidy up and get ready for the party.
• At least 2 hours before people show up: put on a big vat of mulled wine in the crock pot and make sure the beer is on ice.
• 2 Hours before you want to serve the jacket potatoes: start the potatoes baking. I wrapped mine in foil and poked holes in them so they'd stay hot longer when they're put out on the bar. They take longer to cook this way, but it's worth it to buy you extra time with hot potatoes. Without the foil, it will take closer to an hour to an hour and a half.
• Half an hour before party: Find your tea again, feel a little shameful for doing so, but microwave it yet again and proudly finish the cup. This is Yorkshire’s finest, here. No wounded soldiers.

One thing we had to work around was heading out to the celebration of Guy Fawkes for about an hour during the party… I couldn't miss it, after all he did for our host country. Everything had to be as close to ready to go when we got back as possible. British patriotism makes people hungry. We put out cheese and crackers and some dips and breads before people headed out to the Guy Fawkes festivities. That bought us some time on the other end of the outing, but I did still have to head back a little bit before everyone else to reheat items made earlier that day. I used a combo of pots and the microwave to make things go as quickly as possible.

Once everyone has eaten and is happy, tidy up a bit and enjoy the party!Put out the desserts when it feels right. I am fortunate to be surrounded by terrific bakers. My beautiful wife and the lovely and talented Sarah King provided the desserts. Sarah made us a FANTASTIC likeness of Guy Fawkes, in pie form! No one wanted to cut into it, though. It was too impressive.

Sarah King's pie in the likeness of Guy Fawkes.
Not en flambé  but perfect otherwise!

Later on in the evening, if you live within 2 blocks of a pub, make sure everyone gets an adult juice box full of 2 pints of beer. It’s one last element of Britishness you really must fit into the day. If you don’t live within 2 blocks of a pub, make sure to have plenty of British ale stocked.

All the guys with their adult juice boxes full of 2 pints of beer

And that’s all she wrote.  If you drink too much: good, that’s the most British thing you can do.  They’ll hardly notice you’re a Yank if you’re properly slurring that ghastly bastardization of the Queen’s English, know as ‘Merican, and we wouldn't have it any other way.  Health and Safety wanted me to tell you that.

Don't you love Nick? Not only is he hilarious, but is a fantastic chef and host. I can't wait until November for his Second Annual Jacket Potato Bar! Thanks for posting, Nick!

Guest Post: View From On-High

I've been marinating on this blog post for a few days. Aside from the Northern Lights (save the best for last!) the rest of what I want to share about Iceland doesn't have a central theme.

On our last full day in Reykjavik, Blair and I went to Church at the Hallgrímskirkja (if the font looks different, it's because I copied-and-pasted it....these Icelandic names are killer). The building itself reminds me of a rocket ship.

The highlight was the view from the top. Since it was a beautiful, clear day, we could see all of Reykjavik below and the surrounding mountains.

It was a fantastic farewell to a city that we instantly loved upon arrival a few days earlier. After wandering through one last time, Blair and I made our way back to the Blue Lagoon for our final afternoon. What was hidden by darkness a few days earlier was fascinating! Not only were there lava fields, but green lava fields! It seems that lichen and moss have gotten a hold of the rock and give the illusion of rolling green hills.

The best part were the remaining hours we spent soaking in the warm waters of the Blue Lagoon.

Have I convinced you to book your next vacation in Iceland? No? My next post well sell you for sure!  Next time, the Northern Lights!

Thanks for sharing Chelsea! Catch up on Chelsea's other Iceland posts:
Mush
I Came From the Land of Ice and Snow
Off to a Warmer Climate
And be sure to check out her blog, Chelsea's Air Force Life.

Guest Post: Mush!

I can't explain why, but there it was on my bucket list, somewhere between "African photo safari" and "Dive the Great Reef" -- Go dog sledding. I'm a Texas girl, I don't particularly like the bitter cold, but there's something novel to me about transporting one's self via dogs. I have to thank Blair for finding this adventure. Going dog sledding is the kind of thing that made "the list" but I didn't ever talk about. It doesn't often make its way into conversation and there's no good segue. When she mentioned it as a possibility, I was thrilled!

That's how we found ourselves navigating Iceland in a rental car, with an old-school map since my GPS didn't feel like working. About an hour outside Reykjavik is a ski resort that also offers dog sledding for part of the year. It wasn't quite what I expected, but still fun all the same. 

First, the dogs are playful and love belly rubs. I kind of expected gruff, focused dogs, not cute fluffy ones. Second, there's lots and lots and lots and lots of peeing -- even when they're running (something about marking the trail). Third, the dogs speak English. Finally, sometimes, the lead dog goes off the path and you have to get off the sled and coax (or physically move) them back to the trail. It was an experience of a lifetime and I'm still amazed that five medium-sized dogs were able to pull 3 adults on a 10km (ahem 6ish mile) path. 

Here is picture proof of our second big adventure in Iceland, complete with mountain views.

Mush!


Thanks for sharing Chelsea! Catch up on Chelsea's other Iceland posts:
View From On-High
I Came From the Land of Ice and Snow
Off to a Warmer Climate
And be sure to check out her blog, Chelsea's Air Force Life.

Guest Post: I Come From the Land of the Ice and Snow

There aren't adequate English words to describe Iceland, so I'll use some of their own. One Icelandic proverb I came across, "Ilt er þeim er á ólandi er alinn" translates as "Things look bleak for the one who lives in a foreign country."

After spending 4 days in Iceland, I understand where they're coming from. My soul felt happy there. This is the sunrise that greeted us on our first day:

Our first day's adventure took us on a whirlwind tour of the natural beauty around Reykjavik. We drove in darkness to our Bed and Breakfast the night before and could only anticipate the scenery which awaited us on our trip to see Gullfoss (Golden falls).

Only an hour from Reykjavik is this amazing waterfall. It's not one drop-off, it's three! The name comes from the golden hue the waters have in the afternoon under the glow of the sun. Iceland is so far North that in the winter the sun never makes it all the way in the sky, casting a warm, ethereal light below. Just as soon as the waterfall appears, the water seems to fade into the gorge below.

The falls is close to Langjökull Glacier (long glacier), the second largest in Iceland. To get there, you need to take a bad-ass vehicle off-roading. Only the roads in the cities and major areas are actually paved. Once you hit wilderness, the paths are marked by tall yellow poles and are only marginally leveled. 

Once we reached the glacier, Blair and I got to drive around on a snow-mobile and see Iceland from several thousand feet.

Convinced you to visit Iceland yet? The saga continues in my next post after I upload more pictures of Strokkur, and the Northern Lights. 

Thanks for sharing Chelsea! Catch up on Chelsea's other Iceland posts:
View from On-High
Mush
Off to a Warmer Climate
And be sure to check out her blog, Chelsea's Air Force Life.

Guest Post: Off to a Warmer Climate

Hi everyone! I'm out of town at the moment, but my friend and former co-worker, Chelsea, volunteered to write about her trip to Iceland. Prepare to be as jealous as I am. Iceland is definitely on my to-do list, so I can't wait to hear about Chelsea's adventures!  

This title could work for both me and Calli, and I just love the image it gives. While Calli is off in Israel, she graciously let me take over her blog for a few days. I love writing mine, and can't wait to share my adventures with even more people.

As you can probably guess, we're an Air Force family. My husband is active duty and has kept us pretty busy moving around the globe. Last year, we were stationed in Korea. Thankfully, we get to spend a bit more time in Germany, where we're currently stationed. On a personal note, I have a soft-spot for out-of-the-way destinations. France will always be there, but India or Turkey? Maybe not. While I've enjoyed my travels to Paris, London, and Edinburgh; it's the smaller places that have truly found a place in my heart.

Enter Iceland. My whole life, I've been fascinated by the Northern Lights, volcanoes, glaciers, dog-sleds, geysers, lava, and hot water. When I found out all these things existed in one place, I just had to visit. The more I researched Iceland, the more I fell in love with the idea of it. It's a land of hidden worlds, and old myths-- all with a climate that's no worse than the East Coast.

While I was looking through my guide book, I came across this passage:

" Once you've seen some of the lava fields, and eerie natural formations that characterize most of the Icelandic landscape, it probably comes as no surprise that Icelanders believe their country is populated by hidden races of wee people - gnomes, elves, fairies, dwarves, lovelings, mountain spirits, angels, and 'hidden people.' ....in fact, construction on roads and homes in Hafnarffjordur is only permitted after is has been determined that the site in question is not already populated by wee people. " (Lonely Planet)

What a magical place! I can only imagine what it must be like to live somewhere so stately and serene that you could picture a fairy tale happening in your backyard. I haven't left yet, but it looks like I have a lot to look forward to! Check back in for updates as my friend, Blair, and I soak in geothermal pools, hunt the Northern lights, man (woman?) a dog-sled, hike a glacier, and eat delicious seafood!

Thanks for sharing, Chelsea! Like me, Chelsea is an American living in Europe and she's got some great stories to tell. Be sure to check out her blog, Chelsea's Air Force Life. 

Guest Post: Adult Halloween Party

Remember the Chocolate Pumpkin Torte I made for Halloween? It was for this epic party hosted by Karen and Katie. These girls really know how to throw an event. I don't know what was more fun...eating, dancing, dressing up...all of it was amazing. I'm already pressuring them to throw another party soon. Here's Karen to give us the scoop.

Katie had her heart set on having a Halloween party for our friends in Harrogate and was looking for a venue. So I agreed to host the party at my house, and thus the fun began. It turns out that we work very well together, with the right combination of creativity and flexibility. Between the two of us, we had ideas for decorations, food, and entertainment. She came over the day before to prepare, leaving party day stress free for a change!

Ahead of time we made two kinds of Halloween cupcakes, both with a pumpkin spice base. 

Candy corns and owls fashioned out of buttercream

We also made maple sandwich cookies. There was onion dip, salsa dip, and buffalo chicken dip. One favorite was Katie's caramel apple bites.

We then decorated the house with her playful ceiling hangers and confetti, while finding spots for candlelight everywhere.

Afterward, we moved on to the pumpkin carving. Katie had two great ideas for a polka-dot pumpkin and an owl over a cemetery. I decided to match my costume with a Queen-of-Hearts pumpkin. Her husband Jon was very helpful with his clever drill.

Carving party

On party day, our advance preparations made everything easy and allowed us time to get in costume.

The hostesses

All our guests were quite enthusiastic with their costumes and tasty contributions.

Dessert table

Some of the party guests were part of an Alice in Wonderland ensemble.

And all of SOS were present for the festivities!

Queen of Hearts; Little Red Riding Hood; Cheshire Cat;
Risky Business; Alice in Wonderland; 70s Aerobics Man

Throughout the evening, we had a costume contest, where each person could vote for the best and sexiest costumes. Pirate Phil and Gaybraham Lincoln took the prizes!

There was also a doughnut-on-a-stick contest, a surprisingly difficult task.

Then during the dance party, the partygoers got low, very low, for the limbo.

Nick, the 70s aerobics man, enhanced his costume by leading several group dances/exercises! 

And we danced until the wee hours thanks to DJ Jay (10 of Hearts)! 

The party was a total blast, and Katie and I look forward to our next chance to co-host together!

It was amazing! Thanks for sharing all the details Karen! I can't wait for your next party, ladies!