Lisa: one man's garb is another man's...garbage?

Lisa: BS!
Blake: Hi hotness
Lisa: I am getting so excited about your costume for Comic-Con. So excited that I might condone you growing your beard out and putting beads in it.
Blake: What is my costume? I am not aware of what is going on.
Lisa: Well...I was thinking you could wear your kilt and dress as THE HIGHLANDER! What do you think? You could carry a sword?
Blake: Yes, I would be The Highlander. I would like to carry a sword and have a braided beard. But if I am to do that I need to start growing now.
Lisa: Hmmm. Well, what if it wasn't really BRAIDED so much as kind of scruffy? Maybe you could get beard extensions. Or have little beaded pigtails instead of true braids.

Lisa: So, what costume are you going to wear for Comic-Con?
Sarah: Hee. Sailor moon, of course.

Sarah: That New Apartment Smell

Each night my apartment becomes stifling, the air thick with the scent of incense. The smoky aroma engulfs me, and I am left wondering how the neighbor's aromatherapy can effect my air quality to this degree. I tried baking brownies in retaliation, but they seemed unimpressed. Any fortification suggestions are welcome.

Across the grassy area separating two buildings within my apartment complex, I watch my neighbor's daily routine. Shortly after I come home from work, he walks out of his house wearing big noise-cancelling headphones, holding a glass mug full of lemonade, and dragging a white wooden chair behind him. He places the chair in the grass, 10 feet away from the street and sits nearly motionless for at least a half hour. I'm painfully curious about what could be playing in those headphones. A relaxation exercise, complete with soothing music and a Gaiam-worthy voice, directing his breathing and instructing him to visualize himself underwater? Perhaps he's learning French using a series of recordings? I'm dying to know.

Lisa: Red Dawn

Lisa: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234719/
Sarah: Ohmygosh.
Lisa: http://www.themovieinsider.com/m4854/red-dawn/
Sarah: They're remaking it?!
Lisa: A remake. Yes. I was seeing what movies were scheduled for 2010, in case it brought up any awesome costume ideas.
Sarah: WOLVERINES!
Lisa: Blake is going to plotz.
Sarah: Plotz?
Lisa: It's a real word!
Sarah: I don't doubt that, i suppose, I just don't know its meaning?
Lisa: PLOTZ: To burst, to explode, "I can't laugh anymore or I'll "plotz." To be aggravated beyond bearing.
Sarah: Hee. Awesome. Thank you.
Lisa: Thank the Dictionary of Yiddish Phrases.
Sarah: I wish I knew more Yiddish.
Lisa: plotz (pläts) intransitive verb
INFORMAL to be overcome with emotion; give way to excitement, anger, delight, etc. Etymology: < E Yiddish platsn, lit., to burst, explode < MHG platzen

Lisa: Are you going to plotz?
Blake: Absolutely.

Sarah: I wanna get witcha, and take your pitcha

I've finally gotten to work on photos from Europe. I set up a Flickr account so that I could share them with you. My photos of Scotland start here, and I'll be continuing to upload photos over the next several days. Thanks for your patience!

Sarah: My sister is my cheerleader

Lisa: From our search logs: oh my god. i just got a manicure. the sun i swear its bleaching up my gorgoues hair. 98 64 like i dont even no the score rawr rawr fight fight tell me do i look alright
Sarah: The next time I'm getting ready for a date, I'm going to use the following cheer in asking your opinion:
Raw Raw!
Fight Fight!
Tell me, do I look alright?
Gooooooo Eagles!!!!
And then I'll high-step it out the door.
Lisa: I literally. LITERALLY. Can. Not. Wait for that.

Lisa: This is going to be awesome.

I can see the resemblance:

ETA: A few costumes I might have to look forward to.

Sarah: 2008 Cooking Adventure, Week 22

I'm sorry. I know I've been neglecting you. Don't be mad, I still care about you. See? I made you chocolate covered bacon.

You heard me right. Bacon. Covered in dark chocolate. See? These are the ingredients:

I brought these to our final potluck dinner with the lovely Angie and Dave before they got into their moving truck last Sunday and drove to New York City. How better to say "I'll miss you, I love you, and can I come visit soon and sleep on your floor?" than with a surprisingly not-disgusting sweet-salty treat? I can't think of a better way.

These are really easy to make. Once was good enough for me, but I recommend you make these, if only to see the look on your friends' faces when you offer up a plate. Plus, bacon has protein and dark chocolate has anti-oxidants. So, you know, healthy.

How to make Chocolate Covered Bacon:

Cook the bacon. Crispy. No one wants floppy, chewy bacon underneath the chocolate shell. Sounds gross, doesn't it? Glad we agree. Crispy bacon it is.

Melt the chocolate in a makeshift double-boiler. Or a real one, if you're fancy like that. Don't splash water into the melted chocolate. That always ends bad, trust me.

Dip the cooled, dry bacon into the chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. I sprinkled about half of the pieces with sea salt. I'm not sure if anyone noticed or had a preference. The bacon was salty enough on its own, though, so this isn't necessary if you don't have it on hand. Let the chocolate cool.

Serve. Watch your dinner guests approach the platter with extreme trepidation.

Lisa: does anyone want some herbs?

I don't know if anyone remembers our herb garden project, but I thought I'd post an update since things are going so well.

Here's a view of the whole garden, the HUGE comfrey plant (What does one use comfrey for? I guess I should have researched that before planting.), mint, sage, and our little champion tomato plant. We've picked ripe tomatoes four times now, I think. Sorry, I'm blocking the sun with the camera in some of these shots.

So, does this count as having a vegetable garden? I think so. Now, to find a way to use some of these goodies before they go to waste...