SITB Has Moved

Please visit me at my new address.

startinginthebasement.wordpress.com

Wonderland

Manly
Originally uploaded by etjarrell

Here's a picture of Frenchie throwing wood in my mother's backyard. Merry Christmas.

Frenchie and I actually arrived in Portland very early Tuesday morning despite the countries travel troubles! I have never felt so lucky. All weekend I had been worried about our trip and sure that we were going to get stuck in an airport somewhere. I was actually more afraid of being stuck somewhere than not getting to Portland at all. I definitely would have picked having the holidays alone in Boston over spending days in airports. We saw a lot of people sleeping in the airport and heard some crazy traveling stories.

The reason for all this trouble was of course the Winter Wonderland that is occurring on the West Coast right now. They had 2 feet of snow in Portland which NEVER happens. There is no snow plan here and it is very hilly so getting around is tough. We are going to brave the weather tonight for our families annual Christmas Eve dinner at Hunan's Chinese restaurant. This has been a family tradition for who knows how long on my mother's side of the family.

What are your Christmas traditions?

My Day

Today I:

- Bought a 12 pack of Classic Pate Friskies cat food
- Went to see Four Christmas's alone. I was the only person in the theater!
- Ate primarily chocolate and potatoes
- Saw an entire buttcrack of a Best Buy employee
- Got hit on by a "car" guy at Auto Zone. "You gonna change that oil yourself?"
- Got full service at the gas station (screw you Boston, I'm not pumping my own gas!)
- Moved my blog!! I am now going to post at startinginthebasement.wordpress.com

Sorry about the change but wordpress is about 8000 times easier to use than blogger. Sorry blogger. I also apologize if there are a million change daily on the new site because I'm still figuring it out.

Why Mars and Venus Collide

If you are in a relationship I suggest you read this book. I got it from the library but I think I might buy it so I can read again and again (as needed).

John Gray goes through how men and women react differently to stress and how that affects relationships. That part is interesting with a lot of "I TOTALLY agree with that!" moments but the best part is that he gives you actual solutions and tips on what to do. I've already put a couple of these tips into action and it has totally worked!

Needing a partner is not a weakness. It is why we partner up. Men and women just have different primary needs. Men need to feel needed, and women need to feel they are not alone. Just as a woman is happiest when she feels she is getting what she needs from her partner, a man is happiest when he feels successful in meeting his partner's needs. This is an important distinction. We certainly need each other, but for different reasons.

The book is called, "Why Mars and Venus Collide: Improving Relationships by Understanding How Men and Women React Differently to Stress" by John Gray. Seriously, you need this book.

Why do cupcakes always look so yummy?

Cupcakes in ramekins
Originally uploaded by etjarrell

But sometimes don't taste that great? I made pumpkin muffins with honey cream cheese frosting. They taste okay but I think I need a different recipe for the muffins. These were a little weird but the frosting is good and I had fun decorating them!

Cheesy Onion Cornbread

I think I managed to make the most unhealthy cornbread yesterday. Sometimes you just need some greasy bread to go with your healthy chili though, you know? I modified this recipe from simplyrecipes.com.

Cheesy Onion Cornbread

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
3/4 cups cooked corn, either frozen or from a can
1/2 cup chopped onion (red or white)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9x9 pan (or cast iron skillet if you have one, which I don't) with a generous amount of butter for extra crispiness and saturated fat

Mix together dry ingredients

Add remaining ingredients and mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into 9 pieces and serve warm or room temperature. Just try to eat only one piece. You can't do it.