Halloween Conundrum

It's the middle of October, in case you didn't realize.  And it is time to start thinking about the holiday that I have the biggest love-hate relationship with.. Halloween.  

Hate being scared. I am a big scardy-cat.  I am scared to watch creepy commercials in broad daylight.  I run down the street to my house from my car if it's dark outside.  I haven't been in a haunted house since 2001 and I probably only went because I thought some boy was cute.  "Hocus Pocus" and "Casper" (the Devon Sawa version, obvi) and even Desperate Housewives can be too creepy for me at times.    So all this ghosts and goblins nonsense isn't really my thing. 

Love candy.  "I'll wear anything I have to wear. I'll do anything I have to do, to get the candy from these idiots who are so foolishly just giving it away."  --taken from Jerry Seinfeld's Halloween Bit.   So obviously, I have always been a fan of the candy aspect of this holiday.  I used to truck it out from start to finish, rain or shine, with my pillow sack and my winter coat just to get to as much candy as possible.  Now, I just buy my own.

Hate picking a Halloween costume.  There is just too much pressure.  Every year I have the same debate: Do I want to dress up?  Do I want to spend money on a costume?  And every year, it gets to around this time and I decide.. alright alright, I'll do it.  Reflecting on my passed Halloween costumes, I feel that I have had some pretty creative and successful costumes.  My costume career started in 2003 with my first year of college as Heidi from Tool Time (on Home Improvement.)  I would show a picture, but there's just a lot going wrong with me at this time.  2004 seems to be a lost costume year.  I don't know what went wrong here, but there is no existing evidence of what or if I dressed up.  (Unfortunately, I didn't become a Facebook member until November 2004.

In 2005, I purchased my first costume: Strawberry Shortcake which I displayed at Eastern Illinois and a Guster concert. (Top 10 most embarrassing moments being 1 of only 4 people dressed up for this show-- with Lepper, Haley, and Bando.)

 

2006- Another purchase and some misc. accessories. A Go Go Dancer in which everyone mistook me for Barbie.

 

2007- Gangster.  Which was cool because 3 Hahn Gangsters = a mafia.

2008- Hannah Montana.  How I thought this was a good idea, I'm not sure.  But Jimmy and the Osey got the best use out of that singing microphone prop I brought with me.

2009 - Victoria Secret Angel.  My ballsiest costume yet.  I am still looking for a reason to wear my wings again.  A girl never forgets her first pair of wings.

working the camera.

2010 - Betty Draper.  Candy cigs.  Deal breaker. I don't know why Giorgio didn't want to be Don.

 

2011- My very own super hero.  Face makeup was clutch & a great pulled together homemade costume to form Super T & Super K.    

Love Kari & Brett's annual Halloween party which means I have no choice, but to come up with another costume.

Maybe I should bring back my wings?  Maybe I should let my readers decide?  What should I be for Halloween this year?   Which was your favorite costume of mine in the past?


**Disclaimer** I will be at the XX concert at the Congress before the Halloween Party..  NBD

A Bears W with a side of Mac n Cheese

Is it just me, or do you dislike Tuesdays more than Monday too?  I think Monday I go through the motions, and then Tuesday is when my weekend and festivities catch up with me to make me feel extra unmotivated and lethargic.  My Monday was pretty awake for my action packed day, but yesterday I was ready for bed by 6:45pm. 

Yesterday was athletic day at school (only second to pajama day.)  Of course, I was sporting my yoga pants and Charles Tillman jersey.  How can you not have a great day when you get to where yoga pants to work?  Well my day peaked with yoga pants.  I should have known the rest of the day wouldn't have been so smooth when my classroom was practically on fire.   (Okay, I'm being a little dramatic.)   When the custodian came into fix said furnace, he asked if watched the Bears game last night (which of course, I did.)  And followed it up with the fact that he only watched the 1st quarter because it was boring.  BORING?!?! What is boring about 5 interceptions and a Bears W?  Nothing, that's what. 

There's also nothing boring about an overload of Homemade Mac.  I say overload because there was about 3.5 lbs of Mac n Cheese brewing at the Lair Monday night.  I offered to cook Mac n Cheese as a bribe to the Southport Corridor to watch MNF with me, though we all know that they didn't need a bribe to stay at their house.  Jes was supposed to join us but her case of the Mondays kicked in after school, and she opted out of traveling north, but still was craving Mac n Cheese.  And as for me.. I'll take my mac gluten free.  This is how we came to have 3.5lbs of Macaroni and Cheese. 

Though Tony makes a mean mac, I opted for a variation of Giada's Recipe.  Her recipe is actually a copy from Harry's Bar in Venice (which I've been too! I'm so cool, I know!)  So as Giada was teaching me through this video; I was teaching Jes.  (If you know anything about Jes, you know that the extend of her cooking is grilled cheese.  And don't get me wrong, I would prefer her grilled cheese to mine any day.  But I wouldn't dare let her make me peas.) 

I also made some improvements to Giada's recipe.  I used these large spiral noodles called trata something or tortella or something like that. (No! Not tortellini.)  They were huge and awesome and probably more tasty than yucky egg noodles even though I didn't taste them.  I got them from Jewel, but had never heard/ seen them before.  For my GF recipe.. I used Brown Rice Penne from Trader Joe's.  Since I drink Lactose Free Milk, and its pretty thick, I substituted it for whole milk.  And since I was cooking for boys, I added about 1.75lbs of pasta & some extra Parmesan cheese and an extra 1/2 pint of heavy cream.  And don't forget the bacon. 

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Top that bad boy with extra cheese and breadcrumbs to make it crunchy on top.  And here's what you get...

Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese
 

Regular Mac n Cheese

Plus some happy eaters. 

Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

 

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing dish
• 12 ounces wide egg noodles
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups (packed) grated Fontina
• 3/4 cup (packed) finely grated Parmesan
• 3/4 cup (packed) grated mozzarella
• 4 ounces cooked ham, diced, optional
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Butter a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Drain well, but do not rinse.
Whisk the cream, milk, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl to blend. Stir in 1 cup Fontina, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ham, if using, and parsley. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish. Toss the remaining 1 cup Fontina, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup mozzarella in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the noodle mixture. Bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts and begins to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Laters.

All good things must come to an end.  That good thing being my crip pass that I may or may not have been abusing for the past 2 months.  I say 2 because I legitimately needed it the first month.  Though that crip parking pass cost me a grand total of $330 after fines for not understanding where I can and cannot park, I still thoroughly enjoyed our time together. It is going to be weird adjusting to the common folk city life who pay for parking and have to obey time limits.  I will probably less encouraged to drive places because I can't just leave my car all over the GD city.  Back to the slums of the CTA.  Bummer. 

The worst part of parting ways is that I actually managed to re injure my knee last week. Do you think they will give me an extension for some minor swelling? It went down like this.  I have been running a couple days a week (about 2 miles or so.)  Well on Friday, I was feeling good to be back in my running club with Leanne that I tried to push it an extra quarter mile.  That caused me to trip over my own feet and almost face plant across the sidewalk.  Instead, my bad knee took the brunt of the fall, and my hands and shoulder took the rest.  I don't think I am cut out and coordinated for this running business.  At least not anymore.  When did I get so old?   (Can I blame being a klutz on being old?  I am pretty sure I have been running into walls since I was 2.) 


So since I'm saying goodbye to people, places, spaces, and material objects these days, I'd also like to take an opportunity to happily say goodbye to:

Baseball.  This is the longest season ever and like.. who cares.  I enjoy playing and attending games, but watching it on  TV is so slow.  (Not quite as slow as golf. I don't have a clue when golf season starts or ends.)

Wedding season.  2 more to go.  I know this is still middle of the road for some people, but this years season, come November 26th, is OVA.  Unfortunately or fortunately, there will probably be twice as many next year and the following.  (I guess I'm at that age, yikes!)

Sun dresses.  Bust out your fall boots!  There's no better season for fashion than the
fall.  I love changing the clothes in my closet between the seasons.  It feels like you have a whole new wardrobe. 

September.  Still remains the worst month to ever exist.  I despise you.  I'm still waiting for something happy to happen in September. 

RIP