Happy (early) Halloween!

Just wanted to go ahead and share my pumpkin masterpieces!

Hoot! Hoot!



Goooo Dawgs!!



The House Divided....That's my brother's perfectly cut Georgia Tech pumpkin. What a dork!?

A BBQ Rendezvous in Memphis

While Kriston, Julie and I were at the AIGA Conference in Memphis, we had to eat some BBQ! The first night we visited Neelys (From "At Home with the Neelys" on the Food Network) and let's just say we thought it would be a little bit more inviting. The food was good, but the atmosphere was just scary.

The second night we ate at the famous Rendezvous.



Kriston and I split the full rack of ribs!




All gone!!

White Chicken Chili

Just had this for dinner Sunday night and it was delish! The perfect weather for some chili!

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients
1 1/2 to 2 pounds white chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 can chicken broth
2 medium onions, finely chopped
14 oz. green salsa (tomatillo salsa) or your favorite red salsa
48 oz. Great Northern Beans
8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese

Directions
1. Saute onion in a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet.
2. Transfer to crock pot.
3. In the same skillet, cook chicken in a small amount of chicken broth. Transfer to crock pot.
4. Add remaining broth, salsa, beans with liquid to crock pot.
5. Cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-6 hours.
6. Add shredded cheese in the last half hour.

Bananas for Frozen Banana Bites!!

I used pretzels, Butterfinger candy bars, chocolate graham crackers, m&m's and reese's pieces!



Jessica enjoying her bites!

Frozen Chocolate Dipped Banana Bites
From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons canola oil
Assorted toppings (such as crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, toffee bits, Butterfinger candy bars, chopped salted peanuts toasted shredded coconut, crushed chocolate dipped pretzels, crushed pretzels, chopped hazelnuts)
3 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

Directions

1. Stir chocolate and oil in heavy small saucepan over low heat just until smooth. Let stand 15 minutes to cool.

2. Place each topping in separate shallow dish. Line baking sheet with foil. Arrange banana slices on foil. Using fingers or utensil, dip 1 banana slice in chocolate, coating completely. Shake off excess chocolate.

3. Drop dipped banana in 1 topping. Using clean hand or utensil, sprinkle more topping over banana to coat; transfer to foil-lined sheet.

4. Repeat with remaining bananas, chocolate, and toppings. Freeze until firm, about 3 hours, then serve.

Makes 36 banana bites.

Sammy the Boston Terrier

Sammy is one of four dog paintings I'm working on! Sammy is just as funny as he looks!

Stay tuned for the other three pups!

Girls Supper Club: Opa!

This month's supper club was at Taverna Plaka off Cheshire Bridge. The food was delicious and how can you pass up The Chef's Special!! It was $25 and included three appetizers, a salad, three entrées and two desserts. Definitely a Greek Special! We even got to mash up our own hummus...I've got the hummus!

AIGA Make/Think: Hatch Show Print

As good designers you have to have the ability to make and to think and you also have to have the ability to make people think...

I caught a couple of good sessions, but the main one that gave me some inspiration was the Hatch Show Print letterpress. They have such great artwork and most of the woodtype they use are originals since the beginning. It's amazing how timeless art can be.

My Baby Bro is 21

and here's what was going on the day you were born...

President: Ronald Reagan
Vice President: George Bush

Top headlines:
"Smile Jamaica" concert for Hurricane Gilbert victims held in London
S Ueda & H Kaneda discover asteroid #5005 Kegler & #7751
Orel Hirsheiser, 1st to pitch shutout in playoff & world series (World Series #85)

Top Songs...aww man...good times when you were born....Rick Astely, Billy Ocean, MJ, Steve Winwood....I'm kind of jealous...

Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses
Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison
Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley
Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car by Billy Ocean
One More Try by George Michael
Roll with It by Steve Winwood
Man In the Mirror by Michael Jackson
Look Away by Chicago
Anything for You by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
The Flame by Cheap Trick

1988 Prices:
Gas: $0.96/gal
Stamp: $0.25/ea
Min Wage: $3.35/hr

On TV..I miss The Wonder Years...

The Golden Girls
Married... With Children
Murphy Brown
The Wonder Years
L.A. Law
China Beach
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Roseanne
The Cosby Show
Moonlighting

Hot New Toys:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures
Micro Machines
Super Soaker
Power Drencher
Dino Riders

It was a good day

Up, Up, and Away...

I thought I would never ever ever be jumping out of a plane but I just did! It was such an unbelievable experience that words cannot do justice for the feeling of free falling for 47 seconds (which PS felt like 5 seconds) and 10 minutes of floating in the air looking out at the Atlanta skyline.

The four of us, me, Jessica, Maggie and Erin, set out on our what felt like a really long trip to Monroe, Georgia. Driving from Athens to Monroe hungover seems to make time longer for some reason. Tip#1: Don't drink and dive! (and no, we did not have any projectile up in the air...thank god!)



I don't think the situation had hit any of us until we were getting into our jumpsuits and the intercom came on and said "5 minutes for skydivers!" Umm what, I just put my jumpsuit on...But I do have to say, being in those jumpsuits makes you feel pretty awesome and important. Like I'm on a mission (which we were)! I feel the need...the need..for speed!

Jessica and I were the first jumpers and as we made our way on to the plane, the mood quickly changed from "I'm so excited!" to "What in the hell am I doing?" Jessica's face was priceless and basically said it all!

The moment got all too real when they opened up the hatch and you were kneeling right there in front of the open air amidst the clouds and ground below of what looked like a model of a small town. What is this? A center for ants?!?



1, 2, 3....



I free fell for 47 seconds with sleeting hitting my face. It was like little pricklies hitting my face, but that quickly wasn't important anymore as I could finally see the ground below me. I became used to the fact that I was free falling and stopped screaming and then tried to breathe normally. Tip #2: Dont' try to breathe normally. Just keep screaming.

Free-falling felt like 5 action-packed seconds of my life, but the ride afterwards felt like forever, but a good forever. It was just so peaceful floating and looking at everything around...the Atlanta skyline, Stone Mountain, Athens...



I would do this all over again! Thanks Skydive Monroe!