Halloween and Hurricane Sandy

Happy Halloween, everyone!

We have had a very interesting week so far here in Boston, to say the least.

On Saturday, we celebrated Halloween with the LGOs.

Vampires!

We went the historic route this year- Amelia Earhart and Abe Lincoln.

Lobsters in pots!

A hunter and a deer

The Hamburglar and Sexy Grimace.  They handed out real McDonalds hamburgers!

Captain America got into a battle.

We went to 4 different houses as part of a "Liqu or Treat" and ended at our friend's Greg and Tiffany's house. They had their house decked out in Halloween decorations, a special dance room with a strobe light and fog machine, and tons of amazing food and drinks. They even drove out of Boston that day and picked up a huge thing of ChickFila nuggets for the party! (If you followed the ChickFila drama from this summer, you know the Boston Mayor banned ChickFila from opening any stores here....)  The party was a big success until the neighbors called the cops with a noise complaint and we all got kicked out. I'm 25 years old and have never been to a party that was busted by the cops until now. I found it pretty humorous. Especially considering the party was full of people in their twenties and thirties, and most of them are MIT students. Not exactly the type of crowd you would think has parties broken up by the cops.

On Sunday we relaxed and prepared for Hurricane Sandy, who was scheduled to arrive Monday morning.

I carved a pumpkin!

Chuck and my pumpkin before he took it to the hallway. It was attracting gnats. :(

I also made the baked ziti I talked about in my last post. (It was so good.) Sunday night, we learned that MIT was closing on Monday, just like the rest of Boston and most parts of New England. We were very excited to have a surprise 3 day weekend but also kind of nervous about the oncoming storm.

Luckily, Monday came and went with just some high winds here and there and nonstop rain. We never lost power or anything. We watched the news a lot though.

Around 2 o'clock, boredom set in and I decided to make popcorn balls- a tradition for the Annual Hagan Halloween Party my parents host every year.

Want to make them? They're super easy! (Unless you burn the caramel because you're not paying attention and then have to spend 15 minutes cleaning up the mess you made and unwrap 28 more caramels to try again... What? That didn't happen to me! Or maybe it did. I guess I can add this to my list.)

Recipe:
28 caramels
2 tblsp. water
popcorn (I used about 1.5 bags of popped popcorn)

Melt the caramels in a pot with water on low heat. Pop popcorn. Pour melted caramel over popcorn and mix. With wet hands (so the caramel doesn't stick to your hands), form the popcorn balls and place on a baking sheet or wax paper. The end.

 Since we recently got Showtime so we can keep up on Dexter, we also now have Showtime On Demand. I found that the entire 1st season of Homeland is on there, and a lot of people have told me Homeland is an amazing show, most recently my best friend Lauren. We decided to watch the first episode and, well... that was the end of our day. Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, we were able to watch more than half of the first season of Homeland in one day.

We were very lucky to not get hit hard by the hurricane. Thank you to all of you who were texting and facebooking me and Chuck to make sure we were ok. We are more than ok and now just feel very sad for all of the people affected by it, especially those whose homes were flooded or burnt down, whose cars were flooded, or who were injured or lost someone they love. I can't even watch the news coverage of all the destruction without crying. Mother Nature sure can be a beast.

Adventures in Cooking

Those of you who know me well, know that cooking has never been one of my strong points. Ok. That may be an huge understatement.

Exhibit A: The time I tried to make guacamole by putting an entire NOT RIPE avocado into a blender to mash it up. (I don't think I have to tell you this but, it didn't work.)

Exhibit B: The time I cut an entire green pepper with the wrong, non-sharp side of the knife. (In my defense, I had just woken up from a nap. I didn't know who I was much less what I was doing.)

Exhibit C: The time I cooked a frozen pizza but forgot to remove the cardboard from underneath, so the pizza never cooked. (Yes I know. It is nearly impossible to screw up a frozen pizza but I somehow did.)

I have several more of these incidents I could share but in an effort to not make myself look like a COMPLETE fool, I will keep them to myself.

In college I survived on a typical 18-22 year old's diet. Keep in mind that all of these things were consumed for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner at some point in my college career. Cereal, chips and salsa, chips and queso, cheez-its, pizza rolls, pop tarts, rotisserie chicken, spaghetti, scrambled eggs, muffins, bagels, popcorn, and last but certainly not least, Velveeta Shells and Cheese. As you can see, none of these things really require any kind of skill to cook, except maybe the homemade spaghetti sauce, and none of these things are the least bit healthy. 

The years between college and Boston, I was living with my parents, who recently began an obsession with Master Chef and other cooking shows, and now make gourmet meals for practically every dinner they cook. Grilled corn on the cob, stuffed red peppers, grilled portobello mushrooms.... Those were the good old days....

Now that Chuckie and I are here in Boston alone, I feel a very strong responsibility for keeping us both alive.  Well, maybe alive is the wrong word. A responsibility for keeping us fed, and somewhat healthily fed if I can.  If I left it to Chuckie to feed us, we'd probably eat hot pockets or frozen pizzas every night. (Please note, he actually can make a frozen pizza without screwing it up. He also makes really good Easy Mac.)

I've made a lot of dinners from different cookbooks, websites, etc. but my favorite is still Skinnytaste.com, and so far none of the recipes have disappointed. Here are a few things I've made and the links to the recipes:

Fiesta Lime Rice
Garlic Shrimp
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting (aka the best thing you'll ever eat, ever.)
Angel Hair with Zucchini and Tomato (I substituted the regular noodles with Spaghetti Squash and also left out the chicken broth and used butter and lemon juice instead of olive oil.  So a slight variation of this.)

Coming up this week, I will attempt to make this one: Lowfat Baked Ziti with Spinach.

I think I'm really getting the hang of this cooking thing, although cutting open an uncooked spaghetti squash is probably one of the most difficult and dangerous things I've ever attempted. It may have taken 15-20 minutes, some sweat, and a few choice words, but I did it.

I think the key to cooking is confidence and it's just something that you have to work on, or at least for me it seems to be.  Some people are just naturals I guess. I am not one of those people. I need confidence! And luckily, Chuckie is good with boosting my cooking confidence. He'll eat anything.

Sometimes I feel a little like I Love Lucy when I'm cooking and something goes wrong. At least this has never happened to me. Yet....

Pig Roast

This weekend we went to our first ever Pig Roast.

One of Chuck's LGO classmates, Andrew, invited all of the LGOs and their families up to his parent's house in New Hampshire for a day of outdoor fun. His parents live in Amherst, NH and their house is on a dead end road that looks like this.

It's gorgeous.

Andrew and some of the other LGOs went up on Friday night and started cooking the pig around 2 in the morning. They stayed up all night, turning the pig every 15-20 minutes. By the time we got there around noon, the pig was close to being done.

I was a little disturbed by seeing a full pig on a stick, and was convinced he was making eye contact with me no matter where I stood.

Us and the pig. (I am posting a far away picture of the pig so I don't completely offend any vegetarians who might read this. The close-ups are pretty sick.)

People just sitting around watching the pig cook.

 While we waited to eat, some of us took a field trip across the street to a horse farm and fed the horses some apples.

Red barn, yellow leaves, blue sky, pretty horse... Is this real life?

New Hampshire is beautiful.

Asher, Jessica and Robbie's son, feeding the horses.

This is Finnegan. He liked the smell of my deodorant. I wanted to keep him.

When we got back to the pig roast, the pig had already been taken down and was in the process of being cut. I'm kind of glad I missed the process of them taking him down.

Finally it was time to eat. I'd be willing to say that the meat from this pig was the best pork I have ever eaten in my entire life.

After we ate, some people napped, played croquet, played football, played bocce ball, took horse carriage rides, and sat on the porch and talked. It was pretty great.

The back yard where the football game took place.

 Once it got dark, we went down to the HUGE bonfire and sat around it. It was an awesome ending to an awesome day.

Also this weekend: we hosted a small game night which was a lot of fun, but once again reminded us that Boys vs Girls Taboo is never a good idea.

On Friday, Chuck and I went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with his Sloan Core Team to celebrate the end of midterm week. Afterwards, we went to one of his team member's apartment and played a karaoke game and a trivia game on PS3.

Sunday, Chuck and I had a date which I thought was very exciting because usually Sundays are heavy homework/study days for him. We went to the California Pizza Kitchen for lunch and then saw Argo at the the movie theater. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should. We gave it an A+. It's based on a true story. 'Nuff said.

Looking forward to a big Louisville football game and a Halloween party coming up this weekend!

Visitors Galore!

It seems we've had a lot of visitors lately. Emily in mid September, some of Chuck's extended family a couple weeks ago, and this past weekend, two of my Aunts came to visit us!

My mom is one of 6 girls, and lucky for us, a few of the sisters happen to live up here in the Northeast. My Aunt Carolyn, who lives in New Jersey, drove some of our wedding gifts home with her after the wedding with a promise to bring them to us at some point in the Fall. My Aunt Betty lives near Springfield, MA, only 1.5 hours away from here. So this weekend, Aunt Carolyn drove herself and our gifts up to Springfield for the weekend, and on Saturday they made the trip to Boston together.

Their visit was exciting for us for a number of reasons. 1) We got to see familiar faces and spend time with family- something we miss A LOT here in Boston. 2) We go to show off our new apartment and our little section of Cambridge. 3) THEY BROUGHT PRESENTS.

It was like Christmas! Chuck and I couldn't remember any of the things we had stacked in the "bring" pile, except for a crock pot. So going through all the gifts was like getting them for the first time again. A wine rack, 3 bottles of wine, a pie scooper, a paper towel holder, a nice knife set, an ice bucket, pillow shams... So many exciting things!

When the aunts got here, we brought up all our things and then they watched the UofL football game with us. Then we walked to a nearby restaurant, The Asgard, and had a late lunch. Even though we were all pretty full afterwards, Chuckie and I took them to our favorite place, Toscanini's (where I also took Emily) for some delicious ice cream.

It was a really nice visit and like I said, we enjoy seeing familiar faces, even if only for a few hours.

In about 2.5 weeks, my sisters are coming to visit for FOUR DAYS. I can't describe how excited we are. Neither of them have been to Boston so I'm making a full agenda so they can see and do all of the awesome things you have to see and do while here. Then, at the end of November, my best friend Lauren is coming for a long weekend. Three weeks after she leaves, we go home to Kentucky for Christmas for a little over two weeks!

So, friends and family who have not yet visited or made plans to visit, please start submitting your dates to come visit us starting after January 6. Thank you.

The Dance Complex

I've found my favorite place in Boston. It's not a restaurant. It's not a historical building. It's not even an ice cream place. It's- The Dance Complex.

After some recent blood tests, it was suggested by my doctor that I take better care of myself and try to reduce stress over the next month before I come back in for more blood tests. It's a long story, but I'm fine- just a couple of high levels on some things in my blood results that could either mean there is an issue with my thyroid or could simply just mean I'm stressed.

So in my effort to de-stress, or get out of my "funk" as I like to call it, I've started doing some things like taking bubble baths, baking, and aromatherapy.  And in my latest attempt to de-stress, I attended a dance class.

I took dance from ages 4-17. Jazz, ballet, tap, modern, and even some pointe for a little while. At one point I was taking dance lessons two nights a week and was also in our dance company's traveling performance group which met often rehearsing all day on Saturdays and Sundays. I was by no means an amazing dancer, but I LOVED it. I loved being in the studio. I loved learning new dances. I loved the atmosphere.  I loved the people. And I loved performing.

A girl at work recently told me about this place called The Dance Complex that offers several different types of dance classes at all skill levels throughout the week. There is no early sign-up required, no weekly commitment, and no validating your dance background. You simply show up when you feel like it for the class you want to take, pay the $11-$15 (depending on the class) and dance your heart out for 1-2 hours. You guys. THIS IS MY DREAM. And the best part? The Dance Complex is ONE BLOCK from our apartment.

Have you ever seen the movie Center Stage?  No. Most of you probably haven't. It came out in 2000 and was my favorite movie all through middle and high school.  It's a dance movie, and since the cast are all real dancers and not actors, the acting is kind of bad and the plot is a little silly and really it's just not a very good movie. But the dancing is awesome and when I was growing up, I wanted this movie to be my life. (Just the dancing parts, not the drama.)

My favorite scene in the movie is when the main character, a ballet dancer in school in New York City, goes to this cool studio and drops in on a hip hop/jazz class just for fun and to get away from her really intense ballet classes.

And because this is a movie, I didn't think this type of experience actually existed. But it does! I walked in to the Complex and there were people all over the lobby in dance clothes, stretching, chatting, putting dance shoes on... I was pretty nervous, considering I haven't danced in a class since I was 17. My nerves weren't helped either when the lady at the desk saw what class I was signing in for and said "Oh you're taking THAT class? You have some dance experience, I hope?" Once we got into the studio though I was calmer. The teacher had us warm up and do some exercises to get our bodies moving, and then for the last 45 minutes, taught us a combination. Then we (like the lady says in Center Stage)  danced the s#@* out of it!

I left feeling so energized and happy and like myself. And then I realized, since we moved to Boston, I have not had any arts in my life for the first time. Growing up I was in piano lessons, dance classes, band. In college my major was Arts Administration, so half my classes were theatre, art and music classes and I practically lived in the Fine Arts building at UK. When I graduated, I worked at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts for three years and lived and breathed the arts daily. Since moving to Boston, I have not worked in the arts, been to a performance of any kind, or participated in any art form myself. I think I found the solution to my funk, and while this might not cure all my stress problems or my blood results, it is definitely going to make me an all around happier person.

C-Functions at Sloan

On random Thursdays throughout the year, the Sloan school hosts what are called "C-Functions" which stands for "Cultural Functions" (or as some students like to call them, "Consumption Functions").  The C-Functions are held in a huge ballroom in a building on campus and showcase different cultures each time. Sometimes they don't showcase any cultures and are just a way for the students to get together and have fun outside of the classroom. Regardless of the theme though, they always have free food and beer, which is probably why these events are so popular. Don't be fooled by the fact these people are grad students. Grad students love free food just as much, if not more, than undergrads.

The first C-Function of the year was an 80s themed party. Chuckie and I didn't go because 1) I didn't know about it until the day of and already had plans and 2) we have no 80s attire anyway. But we heard it was a blast.

The next C-Function was Japanese themed. There was free sushi and other Japanese dishes, free beer, and the Japanese students put together a Japanese fashion show, some traditional dances, and then the Power Rangers made an appearance.

The most recent C function was a "90s Pajama Party" which was kind of random and confusing but, we went with it. A few SOs and I made a special trip to Target the week of the C-Function to get some pajamas. The 90s party happened to fall on the same day as our friend Ana's birthday, so we wanted to make it really special. Thus, adult footie pajamas were purchased.

It was a really fun night. We pre-partied at Ana and Jose's, ate birthday cake, and then walked to the C-Function.

Happy 25th Ana!

Missing our 4th pajama wearer, Kate, who got sick that day and couldn't come. :(

 The party was 90s themed which meant 90s music, 90s trivia, 90s TV character trading cards, and 90s candy on the tables which included blow pops and ring pops, among other things. All of this was enjoyed in our pajamas.

90s TV character trading cards. Danny Tanner, Kelly Kapowski and Urkel. We hit the jackpot.

Yep. This happened. It was just like Animal Planet.

We had a blast dancing to some old school music and I have to say- nothing made me quite as happy as watching a room full of 25-40 year olds dancing to and singing all the words to Backstreet Boys "Everybody."

I have no idea what the next C-Function's theme is but it's going to have to be pretty good to top the 90s Pajama Party.

Camping

This past weekend was a long weekend. I had off work Monday for Columbus Day and Chuckie had off both Monday and Tuesday. For part of the long weekend, we went camping!

Our campsite was somewhere in the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  We got to the campsite late Friday night when it was already dark.  I helped the guys set up our tent, and by helped I mean watched them set it up, and then we sat around the fire with all of the other people who were already there and settled in. The best part of Friday night was the s'mores.

Saturday morning, we woke up, had breakfast and hung around for a little bit while everyone slowly woke up. Seeing our campsite in the daylight for the first time was really exciting. I had no idea we were surrounded by such beautiful scenery!

After everyone was awake, we got ready to go on a hike. One group chose to go on an all day hike, and another group chose to do a less ambitious hike for just a few hours. As you might guess, we went with the less ambitious group, as we aren't expert hikers like some of Chuck's classmates!

Jose made sure to bring a whistle and a compass. Safety first!

Our hiking group.

 We stopped at a nice viewpoint and took pictures for a while.

MIT in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

LGO in the White Mountains of New Hampshire!

 

After taking all of the MIT and jumping pictures, our group split as some people wanted to continue hiking and others didn't. We went back to the campsite and right when we got back it started raining, so we had to hang out in our tents for a little while. I napped a little while Chuckie watched out the little window in our tent and said he watched chipmunks steal Reese's cups out of an open bag on the picnic table for 10 minutes straight.

Once everyone was back from hiking, we cooked dinner on the fire.

Testing out the fire to see if it was ready to cook hot dogs.

 As the sun went down, it got pretty cold, so the rest of the night consisted of us all huddled together as close to the fire as we could get. Also, there were s'mores again. As it got late, a fox started stalking our campsite and getting pretty close. That's when we decided to go to bed AKA hide from the fox in our tent because we're scared of wild animals.

We came back to Boston early Sunday morning and spent the rest of the day on the couch. Camping is exhausting! We showered, napped, watched 3 movies (Waterboy, Hercules and Man on a Ledge), watched the Broncos game, cooked a Stouffer's lasagna, and napped some more.

Monday, Columbus Day, Chuckie had to start studying for a test and I went shopping. We had surprise visitors call and invite us to lunch!

Chuck's brother-in-law's mom and step dad. Sounds random but it's not.

 And then that night we went to a friend's for dinner and some foosball.

Overall I'd say it was a pretty good long weekend. My favorite part was that we had no cell service or internet in the mountains, so Chuckie and his classmates couldn't check their emails or think about school work the entire time!

Chuckie had fun playing with the Panoramic feature on the new iPhone 5.