Making Adjustments

I started a new job this past week and the adjustments to my daily schedule aren't as easy I hoped they would be. Basically, I now have a two-plus hour commute each and every day. That part isn't fun. Couple my new extended commute with the ever shortening days and I hardly get to see sunlight anymore. Well, that's not true, I do get to see the sunlight dancing by as I'm in that awkward phase of, "if I fall asleep now I may miss my stop on the train and that would be really bad, so I must stay awake."

It's really not that bad. I was just being overly dramatic. Actually, I love, love, love my new job. The only negative thing I can say about the job is the commute and even that is a short-term issue. The hubs and I are planning to move this winter and that will make things much easier.

In the meantime my blogging habits have taken a big hit. I barely have time to make it through my Google Reader once a day. Don't worry, I'm not just neglecting Blogger as I'm almost completely off of Facebook as well. It's terrible!

Hopefully, I'll adjust to my new schedule and I can learn to make more time for blogging. Having a super cool hubs who cooks and vacuums is definitely an asset. I'm also going to upgrade to a more advanced phone so I can be more productive on the train. Any suggestions?

Fall weather= baking time

I love fall, depending on the day of the week fall is either my favorite season or my second favorite. It's a toss-up with winter, but it's a really close race.

Anyway, the fall weather for the next few days in my area isn't the fun kind of fall weather. It's cold (temps are in the low 40s), rainy, mushy, gray, and just all around gloomy. Plus, the hubs and I had plans to head out to a haunted hayride with friends this weekend and those plans are now canceled due to the weather forecast. BOO!!!

There is one aspect of fall that I do love that the weather can't take away from me... baking. It's so nice to warm up a slightly chilly house by baking. I made these brownies today and they're tasty.

Peanut Butter-Swirl Brownies (from Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/3 cup chunky-style peanut butter
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces or chopped peanuts

1. Grease a 9x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat butter until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in the sugar and eggs. Using a wooden spoon, lightly beat the mixture just until combined. Stir in the flour. Remove 3/4 cup of the batter; set aside.

2. Stir the melted unsweetened chocolate into the remaining batter in the saucepan. Spread chocolate batter in the prepared pan. Set aside.

3. Stir peanut butter into the reserved 3/4 cup batter. Dot peanut butter batter atop the chocolate batter. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces or peanuts. Using a knife, swirl the batter.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the brownies appear set on the surface. Do not overbake. Cool the brownies in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

5. Quickly eat a few brownies before you have any witnesses. Down the evidence with a glass of milk. Repeat until appetite is satisfied. :)

October Baseball

I'm a self-described baseball fanatic. It's either charming or highly annoying, depending on your own personal likes and dislikes.

Unfortunately, baseball season ended last week in the Baltimore are. The O's didn't make the playoffs and finished the season well under .500. There's always talk of being a better team next year and hopefully next year is finally that year.

Of course, my beloved New York Yankees are in fine shape in the post-season. They're having a grand ol' time beating up on the Minnesota Twins in the first round, but it isn't over until the last out is made.

Back here in Baltimore the hubs and I had a great baseball season. We went to FanFest and Opening Day. We were there when A-Rod hit his first home run in his first game back from hip surgery. We were there for both Matt Wieter's first game and when he hit his first career home run. We were there for floppy hat night, crab mallet night, beer stein night and a whole host of other promotions. We celebrated our second wedding anniversary with a bunch of screaming O's fans. We were there for the last series of the year when the O's actually swept the opposition.

At the end of the season we went to 22 O's games. Not too shabby. Not nearly as many as we went to last season, but we were a bit busier this year and had to cut back on a few O's games. We'll be okay, no worries. Although, I think by time next year rolls around the hubs will most likely need a new dresser because of all the free O's t-shirts he's accumulated over the past two years. For the record, the O's give out XL orange t-shirts and they don't quite fit my 5'7" frame. Plus, orange isn't one of my better colors, so I gladly give my free stuff to the hubs. It's a fair trade, he gave me his purple O's hat (a cross promotion on NFL draft day to bring in a few Ravens fans).

This past baseball season was especially great for me because I was able to go to a few games with my family members.

May 29th with my nephew and sister. Aka Matt Wieter's first game in Baltimore.


June 13th with my brother.

Maybe next year I can finally go to a game with my mom and dad. Yeah, that was a public shout-out that you two should visit your daughter. No pressure or anything.

In this post-season the hubs and I are putting on a united front (he's grudgingly cheering for the Yanks), but we can't wait to be back to a divided house back at Camden Yards next year.

See you in 2010.

Whoops!!!

Okay, I don't normally receive a ton of comments on my blog. It's okay, comments are nice, but they aren't the main reason I blog. I did however notice that I went quite a few posts without receiving any comments. That struck me as somewhat odd.

Sure enough, the comment feature wasn't working correctly! Whoops!!! I uploaded a new blog template not too long ago and it seems I somehow disabled the comment feature.

So now, feel free to comment all you like. Or, don't comment, that's cool too.

Look! It's a bee

Normally, I'm not really a fan of bees. The whole getting stung aspect of bee interaction usually leaves me in a sour mood. Yesterday afternoon I was outside letting Jax and Jewels roam around when I saw a super bright red Cardinal hanging out in an oak tree. I ran inside to get my camera in the hopes of getting a picture of a cute red head (clearly, I'm biased), but the Cardinal ditched me before I could snap a picture.

I was minding my own business taking a quick picture of a cool looking yellow flower when all of the sudden a bee popped up and starting rubbing around in some pollen. Traditionally, that's when I would have freaked out and ran away from the bee. I'm a wimp when it comes to insects.

I resisted my inner temptation to run away and snapped a few pictures of said bee. He (I think) was a perfect model for thirty seconds and then he fly away to pollinate another flower.

Yay, bee pictures!!!


Yeah, that's Jax roaming around in the background.