by | October 9, 2010 · 9:32 am

Becki’s Car Go BANG!

     I had kind of a rough day. I had an audition for a print job, which I find completely pointless to begin with because I AM NOT A MODEL, and as an added knee-to-the-groin, I got in my first car accident.

     But first…

The day started off well – Peach Pie Monsta with 6 cups of spinach, 1/2 cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1 carrot, 2 spears of asparagus, 1/2 of a peach, 1 lime, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a handful of ice.
Monstas = ENERGY!
     I decided that since I had to be in LA anyway, I might as well make the best of it, so I met up with Malachi for lunch.
Suzanne’s Country Deli – a little local place that Malachi has driven past and always wanted to try. I was up for the gamble!
Sir Malachi!
I ordered the Avocado Sammich – lettuce, avocado, tomato, cucumber slices and a light mayo on whole wheat bread. Simple, but delicious! I could only eat half before I was full.
Malachi got the signature burger and fries.
Dan got the remaining half of my sammich for when he wrapped up at work.
I spoil him 😉
     After lunch I headed out for my audition. I was feeling joyful, rocking out to some Flo Rida while driving down Vine, and as I switched lanes, someone decided that right then would be a genius idea to peel out of his parking spot and rammed straight into the rear passenger door of my car, shredding off a bunch of metal trip and leaving a groovy scratch along the side. I pulled over on one of the busiest streets in Hollywood with cars screaming by and exchanged info with the driver who “didn’t want nothin’ to do with no poh-lice” and somehow still made it to my audition on time. MAGIC!
I always said that as long as my car still functions, it won’t matter if a few bumps or scrapes happen – but that was before it actually happened to me. I got off lucky, I’ll say that!
I’ll never feel the same joy when I listen to “Club Can’t Handle Me” by Flo Rida.
     The audition went fine after that. They took a few pictures from different angles then had me do a little improv on video. The casting director told me to pretend that a friend had called me and given me great news. My improv went a little like this:
Becki answers phone: Hey Malachi, what’s up?
(She listens)
Becki: Sammiches are half off until 3 today? I am SO there!
(She listens)
Becki: No, dude I don’t do that veggie crap, I’m getting a burger. Your treat, right?
(She listens)
Becki: OKAYBYE!

     The CD laughed. Hey, half-off sammiches are GREAT news to me! If nothing else, I stuck out in their minds for originality, right? It’ll be interesting to see if I hear back considering they were looking for women in their late twenties – which, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, I am not.
     The drive home was spent with quiet music and extra caution, and I wrapped up the afternoon with some fun calls to the LAPD and my insurance company. When I went to work, I decided that gelato would be of great comfort to me. Honestly though, when is it not?
Pumpkin Cheesecake!!! Autumn flavors are out at Paciugo!!!
Everything looks better in macro!

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Filed under audition, avocado, car accident, Flo Rida, green monster, Malachi, Paciugo, peach pie monster, Suzanne's Country Deli

by | October 8, 2010 · 8:53 am

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins!

I did NOTHING but cook today! Well, that and watch the COLORADO AVALANCHE DESTROY the Chicago Blackhawks! Ooooooh yeah!

I’ve been dying to make pumpkin muffins since we bought our first can of pumpkin half a month ago, and I finally had time today!

Ingredients assembled!
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins – Printable recipe available HERE.
adapted from Donna
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole rolled oats
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I realize this is dry, but this just makes it easier)
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup water
     1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and grease muffin tins. (Or use silicon muffin cups like I did – They’re pricey but make everything easier! I highly recommend them.)
     2. Combine dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.
     2. In second bowl, combine wet ingredients.
     3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
     4. Pour batter into muffin tins.
I heart mini-muffins. Too cheesy?
     5. Baking times vary: my mini-muffins took 12 minutes until they were done. The full size muffins took 25 minutes.
Donning a cute apron from TJ Maxx helps too…
     6. Set your camera to the macro-setting which you will have JUST TODAY discovered (Manual is not macro? I am ashamed) and take some awesome pictures!
Chocolate chip goodness!
     Since I discovered the official macro setting on my camera, I set out to take some artsy pictures.
Cleaned silicone muffin liners.
Cat.
Candleholder with a view.
Sweet potato chili ingredients.
Sweet potato chili served in handmade pottery.
It was a great day.
What are your favorite fall recipes?

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Filed under apron, baking, cat, chocolate chip, macro, muffins, pumpkin muffins, recipe, silicone, sweet potato chili

by | October 7, 2010 · 10:40 pm

Sweet Potato Pancakes!

Over the last month I have made pancakes. Lots and lots of pancakes. Not just any pancakes though – I’ve made Banana-Pecan Pancakes, Green Monsta Pancakes,  Peach Pie Oatmeal Pancakes, and many many more. Today brings another rendition – Sweet Potato Pancakes.

Sweet Potato Pancakes
Dry Ingredients:
1/3 cup whole rolled oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients:
1 small baked sweet potato, skinned and smashed
2/3-1 1/3 cup soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
     1. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
     2. In another bowl, combine the sweet potato, vanilla, and half of the soymilk.
     3. Add the sweet potato mixture to the dry ingredients and combine.
     4. This is where you must use your own judgement (did you know that there are tons of internet debates about the spelling of judgment/judgement? I guess I’m British at heart! The things I learn from blogging…) – add soymilk until the batter consistency is thin enough to pour, but thick enough to hold together – does that make sense?
Until it looks like THAT!
     5. Pour a heaping tablespoon onto a greased pan and cook over medium-low heat until the edges look a little brown, then flip.
     6. Cook for another three minutes, then serve with your choice of topping.
I topped mine with diced peaches that were tossed with cinnamon and a teaspoon of brown sugar, then softened and caramelized in a pan over medium heat.
Eat. Breathe. Joy.

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by | · 10:13 pm

Thanksgiving in October!

     I’ve been feeling pretty under the weather lately: I’m sure none of this is attributed to diving into the ocean at 2am on the polluted shores of California. It’s just coincidence.

     In order to take care of myself and try to heal, I had to bring in the full forces. I loaded up on Throat Coat tea, Emergen-C, Green Monstas and Pumpkin Ale. (Pumpkin Ale is helpful to sore throats, isn’t it?)

I tried Shipyard’s Smashed Pumpkin on Monday night. This beer is slightly hoppy and has a fruity sweetness to it. It was a little TOO sweet for me, but had lots of pumpkin spices added and gave off a clove/nutmeg scent.
I tried this one last night – Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale. I found it at Trader Joe’s and bought a single, and MAN am I glad that’s all I got! It tasted like really cheap Bud Light (I’ve never actually had Bud Light so I’m just guessing here…) with a handful of rancid pumpkin seeds thrown in.
Luckily I’d prepared for such an occasion, and was able to fall back on Stockyard Oatmeal Stout to cleanse my palate of the awful taste of rancid pumpkins. Stockyard is like a refreshing sip of icy mocha and contentment.
     Yesterday I had training for a new job that I’m beginning in November. I’m going to be an artist’s assistant! 
    I was bored and scanning Craigslist one day after grappling with a lot of discontentment in my life and stumbled across an ad. I sent in an e-mail inquiry and she immediately wrote back and asked me to call her. That same day I met with her and had an interview and was offered the job! Basically, I’ll be traveling with her to about thirty art shows a year throughout the western states and helping her set-up, break down, answer client questions, help with sales, experience some amazing road-tripping and discover a bunch of new people and FOODS at art/wine festivals. I’ve been needing an escape recently and after lots of praying, this fell into my lap.
     I spent the training day using a ton of power tools, drilling, putting together displays and benches, lifting incredibly heavy boxes and getting to know the routine. I am going to be so ripped after all the heavy lifting I’ll be doing for this job! I headed home after a few hours of working in the rain (I LOVE RAIN!) and got started on an early Thanksgiving dinner with the roommate.
We cooked a turkey breast, marinated in lemon zest, garlic, herbes de provence, salt and pepper and olive oil, and made mashed potatoes with brown gravy. We were planning on roasting some zucchini and asparagus, but vetoed that idea after the turkey needed an extra hour in the oven to be edible and we were just too ravenous to wait any longer.
     Too early for Thanksgiving foods? NEVER!

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Filed under gravy, mashed potatoes, pumpkin ale, rain, Shipyard Brewery, Stockyard Oatmeal Stout, Thanksgiving, turkey

by | October 4, 2010 · 7:53 am

A Night of Deathtraps!

     Plans changed last night. Drastically. I originally planned on staying in, having a Punkin Ale (or two) and getting to bed at a decent hour. Dan and Malachi decided that just wouldn’t do.

My amazing boys drove all the way up to my neck of the woods, and the night slowly blurred into oblivion in the best ways possible.
Yep, that loving look between roommates sets the precedent for the evening…
Dan and I split a pitcher of the Ladyface Weizenbock that they had just tapped the day before. This wheat beer is not filtered which gives it the dark cloudy look, and tasted fruity and light with a little sweetness. I find that most of Ladyface’s beers have a little more sweetness than I’m used to – but I can dig it!
Malachi had some wine with his whine – “I don’t LIKE beer!”
We split the garlic and herb pommes frites with garlic aioli. Drool.
     We closed the restaurant and headed out around 12:30am. The rest of the night would be spent risking our lives and freezing our asses off. Disclaimer: we had a sober driver, thank you very much!
Visiting an old abandoned train station in the middle of the night seems like a safe idea to me!
     We went to Paramount Ranch, parked at the outer gates (the parking lot closes at sunset) and hiked the half-mile in to get to the western town. Gates were jumped, trespassing was committed, and many, many pictures were attempted, of which the only usable one is posted above.
     Post-trespassing, we trekked back to the car and decided that the next logical place to go would be the beach. We got to Zuma Beach around 2am and made a mad dash into the water, screaming in pain as each fist of icy water pummeled our bodies – doesn’t that sound like a fun time to you? One minor detail we forgot: towels. But really, who needs towels when it’s a breezy 60 degrees out after an extended amount of time in the bitterly cold ocean? We jumped back in the car, pumped up the heat and decided to end the night.
     I got back at 3am, left my flip flops (that are still coated in sand) outside, showered and crashed. Today’s lesson: going to work is even LESS fun than usual after only four hours of sleep. It was so worth it.
I suffered through the longest day of my life at work and was rewarded with this amazing dinner cooked by the roommate: Lemon-herbed tilapia, sauteed spinach with cherry tomatoes and garlic, seared asparagus and red bell pepper, and a small sweet potato (my family and I thought these were yams for years!) with a pat of butter.
My life is complete.
What was your last spontaneous adventure?

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Filed under Dan, deathtraps, garlic fries, Ladyface Ale Companie, Malachi, ocean, Paramount Ranch, pommes frites, tilapia, Weizenbock, Zuma Beach

by | October 3, 2010 · 6:35 am

Too. Many. Pancakes!

     My last few days have been a bit crazed. I have a lot of planning and prepping going on for the upcoming month (of which I’ll share with you soon enough!), so I decided to keep tonight’s post simple for my own sanity, as well as yours.

Yesterday’s breakfast. I’m really on pancake cruise control lately. These were based on my Vegan Banana-Pecan Oatmeal Pancakes, but we were out of rolled oats so I used a little more whole grain flour and soaked some quick-cook steel-cut oats in hot water for five minutes before draining them and adding them to the batter.
     I had to work a full shift today, so it was a typical day food-wise. The Monstas made a return, finally! I had a Monsta with 5 cups of spinach, 1/3 of a cup of soymilk, 1 carrot, 1 spear of asparagus, 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries, 1/2 of a frozen banana and 1/2 of a lemon. Happiness! These really give me SO much energy and up my mood like nothing else (even coffee!).
     
     Lunch was a mini-spicy tuna roll with brown rice. I didn’t take pics of the Monsta or lunch because I’m sure you’re tired of seeing the same thing over and over. And over.
     Dinner, on the other hand, was something fun and new! Kinda…
Mini burger with cheddar cheese and topped with spicy guacamole, and a Punkin Ale.
I had some leftover batter in the fridge so I made a banana-pecan pancake for dessert.
I. Am. Stuffed. 
     I finished my latest book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. It’s a young-adult read, but I honestly recommend it if you’re looking for something riveting. It’s got a lot of action in it, and I feel it’s closer to the “adult” side of “young-adult”, with just enough innocence to make it palatable for the kids. All I know is that I’ve already started the second book of the series, “Catching Fire”, and will probably finish that within the next two days because I’m addicted and don’t want to put it down.
     Tonight will include another Punkin Ale and a healthy serving of “Catching Fire”. I’ve got another full day at work tomorrey (it has been WAY too long since I’ve been to church 🙁 I miss my Sundays.) and a lot of reading to do! I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen and make something that involves a lot of effort! I need an excuse to use my new apron, which I’ll show when I finally have time to cook!
Punkin Ale is affecting me. I have no questions. Anyone want to ask me something?
🙂

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Filed under banana pecan pancakes, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, green monster, sushi, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, work

by | October 1, 2010 · 9:38 am

A Very Hoppy Day!

     What a beautiful day, eh?

Yeah, beautiful 🙂
     I had an amazing day today! I got an incredible opportunity this morning that involves art, road trips and exciting new things for my blog! I can’t share anything quite yet, but hopefully I’ll be able to explain it all after next Wednesday! Stay tuned 🙂
Autumn Season Update
     I’ve now tasted:
Blue Moon’s Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale – tastes like Fat Tire by New Belgium – nothing exciting or pumpkin-y.
Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale – No good. Good amounts of spices, but too watery to be good, which is funny because I used to love this one before tasting some of the better beers out there!
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale – Lovely! Nice and hoppy. I didn’t really get that much taste of the spices, but I think the hoppiness may have overwhelmed that a little – still delish!
     Up next (probably on Saturday) is Shipyard Signature Smashed Pumpkin. I’ve never heard of this one, but boy am I looking forward to it!
Any nationally distributed pumpkin ales you’d recommend?

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Filed under beer, Blue Moon, Buffalo Bill, Dogfish Head, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Harvest Moon, Shipyard Brewery

by | September 30, 2010 · 8:44 pm

Green Monsta Pancakes!

     I made pancakes for breakfast. Again.

     We only had about 2 cups of spinach in our fridge this morning – definitely not enough to make three Monstas for three hungry roommates, so I decided to create something new, exciting, and scary!

Green Monsta Oatmeal Pancakes
Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole grain rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup soymilk
2 cups spinach
1 small carrot
1 banana
1 teaspoon vanilla
Soymilk to thin out the batter
     1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
     2. Put the first five wet ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
     3. Stir 1 1/2 cups of the spinach blend into your dry mix and whisk until smooth.
     4. My first batch ended up too thick and didn’t cook all the way through, so I added another 1/4 of a cup of soymilk to thin it out. Use your own discretion – that’s what makes it fun!
Frightening! This might be good for breakfast on Halloween…
     5. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into a large greased pan.
This doesn’t look appetizing…
     6. Let the pancakes cook through for a few minutes, and flip them when the bubbles around the edges pop.
Since there’s banana blended into the mix, they tend to caramelize pretty quickly.
     7. Cook the pancakes for another 3-4 minutes, then attempt to serve them in an appetizing fashion. This will prove to be very difficult.
See what I mean?
I’m not sure this angle helps it at all…
     This was an interesting try for me… The pancakes tasted like banana pancakes, but had a bitter aftertaste due to the raw spinach, and I don’t know how to get rid of that for next time – maybe steam the spinach beforehand?
     I’m going to go gargle some mouthwash for a bit. Okeybye!
Any suggestions to get rid of the bitterness without adding an artificial sweetener?

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Filed under ATTACK OF THE PANCAKE, banana pancakes, bitter aftertaste, green monster, green monster pancakes, pancakes, scary

by | · 8:04 am

MY TOWN IS ON FIRE!

I realize it is neither National Pancake Day, or Pancake Sunday, but since we were out of spinach this morning, I decided to make some whole grain cakes.

This first batch was experimental…
… an experimental FAIL. I used egg in this recipe just to try something new. Apparently, new + Becki = hockey pucks masquerading as pancakes. Oh well, lesson learned!
The second batch appeared to be faring a little better…
Oooooh yeah!
 
Vegan Banana-Pecan Oatmeal Pancakes – Printable version HERE
1/4 cup whole rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup soymilk
1 banana, 1/2 of it diced, 1/2 in thick slices
A handful of chopped pecans
     1. Toast the handful of chopped pecans in a pan over medium heat. Pecans are done when their warm, nutty aroma fills the air (about 3 minutes, stirring constantly). Be careful not to burn them!
2. Put the thick slices of banana into a greased pan over medium-low heat.
     3. Carefully flip the banana slices after 4-5 minutes.
     4. While the second side of the banana is cooking, mix together the oatmeal, flour, baking soda, salt and toasted pecans in a medium sized bowl.
     5. Add the soymilk and diced banana, and stir until well combined.
     6. Pour a heaping tablespoon of batter onto a large greased pan or skillet.
     7. When the tops of the pancakes start to bubble and appear to dry out, flip em!
     8. Cook them for another minute on the other side, then plate with the caramelized banana slices on top and drizzle with syrup or honey.
Incredibleness on a plate.
As always, a great breakfast is best enjoyed with an amazing view on a beautiful morning!
     You’d think that such an rich breakfast would fill me up until the end of time, but before I knew it, it was lunch time!
Mexican food on the brain! I got a grilled chicken quesadilla with guacamole. I haven’t been making the healthiest choices lately – I can blame it on my schedule or on the insane heat, but really it comes down to my own lack of self-control and planning.
Problem acknowledged, and being worked on!
     The drive back home held a surprise! While we were in the restaurant, about thirty fire trucks, cop cars and paramedics went screaming by, and I forced the roommates to investigate!
THE TOWN IS ON FIRE!!!! It actually looked like a bomb went off, or a plane crashed, but it turns out it was just four businesses that were lovingly built from the ground up, burning right back to the ground thanks to some chemical fire. Sadness 🙁
     When we got back, I split and headed to the library to pick up some books I had on hold – I’m now reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. My cousin recommended the series to me, and while I’m loving the story so far, I’ve been really slow, which is bad considering it’s due back in a few days! I distracted myself from reading a bit longer by replenishing my aromatherapy spray.
I used to be a massage therapist and always wanted to specialize in aromatherapy. Even though I don’t work as a therapist anymore, I brought aromatherapy along with me for daily life.
 
Bexter’s Spaaaaah Mix
  1. In an 8oz. atomizer bottle, add 7 drops of lavender oil, 7 drops of lemon oil, 2 drops of tea tree oil and 1 drop of eucalyptus oil.
  2. Fill the atomizer bottle with filtered water, cap and shake well.
  3. Spritz the mixture into the air to remove toxins, and over face while inhaling to be in total, utter bliss.
Bexter’s Spaaaaaah Mix! This bottle makes me so happy!
     The rest of my day was spent lounging around, doing massive amounts of research and note-taking for a novel I’m writing and swinging by Great Harvest for a loaf of their High 5 Fiber bread to go with dinner.
The roommate made an indian-inspired veggie soup. I don’t have the recipe on hand right now, but it has fresh green beans, eggplant, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, garam masala and a whole bunch of other stuff that makes a heavenly, healthy stew.
My soup was served in my most successful bowl made in pottery to date!
     I’ll be hitting up the farmers’ market tomorrey to pick up some ingredients for a Foodbuzz competition I’ll be joining in! Food contests aren’t normally my thing (I’m a VERY competitive person, and it stresses me out and erases a little of the enjoyment for me), but I decided, why not! Stay tuned for a new recipe… or a lot of competitive anger! 😀

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by | September 29, 2010 · 10:13 am

I Almost DIED Today!

     I almost died today. It was the most painful experience of my life… or one of the top five most painful experiences, which include some of the recent reality shows that have been inflicted upon society. Before we get to that, though, let’s start from the beginning!

     Today was my first day off after working SIX days in a row. That’s illegal, right? In my lazy mind, yes, yes it is. Anyway, since it was going to be ridiculously hot today, my mom and I decided to spend the day in Ventura before we headed off to pottery class.

Indian at The Taj Cafe, of course!
This handy card made treating oh-so-much easier!
That’s right, I’m a VIP!
     We went to We Olive and picked up some cherry balsamic vinegar and a new bottle of olive oil. Here comes the point of my near-death experience: 
That, my friends, is a habanero pepper. We Olive now carries an olive oil that is infused with jalapeno and habanero pepper. I, being the adventurous soul that I am, decided that I would try out this new option. I poured a small bit into a sample cup and took a miniscule sip. Not even a sip, just got a few drops on the tip of my tongue. It was fine for a minute, until the pepper ninja-kicked the back of my throat. My throat closed up and for a good ten seconds, I could not breathe. As I clumsily weaved through the store, tears pouring from my eyes, my nose running uncontrollably, I stumbled across a chocolate merlot dip and stuck a huge spoonful in my mouth to try and stop the pain.
     There you have it, my near-death experience. It took an hour for my nose to stop running and for me to stop coughing painfully as each wave of intense heat ran over me again and again. Seriously though, it was awful and painful and not being able to inhale is not a fun thing.
     After my over-dramatized moment, we picked up some chocolate at Trufflehounds and headed back towards my parental unit’s house.
We were hindered by a huge wind storm and some really aggressive tumbleweeds.
     We got to pottery class around 6pm and it was a nice, chilly 90 degrees outside. Yesterday was 113 degrees fahrenheit in Los Angeles, so it was more than acceptable to be in the low 90’s.
Here’s the latest batch of crap that came out of the kiln!
Here’s my mom’s antithesis of crap. She made an amazing plate last week and imprinted a leaf on it before glazing. Doesn’t it look incredible??
And here’s the NEW batch of crap I made today!
Here’s my mom after a rough day at class – still freakin’ gorgeous.
And here’s me and my chicken legs, covered in clay and dust.
Here’s the glazed, yet pre-fired, version of Amanda and Andy’s pot that they won!
And speaking of winners, the official winners of my Pottery Giveaway are…
Justin, Sophia, Amanda and Andy, and Sir Malachi. (Dan is getting an extremely awful one for his birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAN!!!), and as an honorable mention).

     Unfortunately, all of the winners’ bowls will not even be out of the kiln until next week, so you’ll have to wait an extra week. For now, all winners please e-mail me at BeckiKregoski@aol.com with your addresses for me to send the pottery to! If you live in SoCal and would prefer to meet up for a blogger get-together/pottery exchange, let me know that as well!
Have you ever had a near-death experience, exaggerated or not?

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Filed under blogger meet-up, Burp and Slurp, Dan, glazing, Happy birthday, Indian Food, Malachi, Mom, Pottery, Two Boos Who Eat, Ventura