the waffle man… September 24, 2008

in portland is pure, delectable genius. i’m pretty sure his waffles are what waffles in heaven will taste like.

they are bigger than the standard waffle and come with a variety of toppings. nutella, ham and cheese, etc. my favorite is sweet cream and butter, so simple, so good. he serves them folded in half, so when i get mine i always open it just a little to peak inside. the pools of butter swirling with the sweet cream smell amazing and my waffle is always gone in 2 minutes flat.

the waffle man knows his stuff, so make sure you make a pit stop to see him the next time you are in portland. eat an extra one for me!

imaginary obit March 23, 2008

this is probably morbid, and perhaps not blog-appropiate, but every now and then i wonder what i would do if steve were to die.

it happens most around certain personal mile-stones that signal the death of my own dad, who passed away when i was 2 years old. right before addie turned two i thought about it alot, and now that paige is over a year old, i find it on my mind again.

my mom was widowed at 23 years old, with two young girls to care for. i have NO idea how i would survive that, but it makes me admire my mom for getting through it. she worked secretarial jobs until she remarried, and then quit work to stay home with us again.

what would i do? where would i work? what would i do with my girls while i worked? would i move? would i remarry at some point? would i get a dog to snuggle with at night? just kidding, but not really. all these questions go through my mind. sometimes steve and i talk about it, and what he would do if i kicked the bucket. i have a friend, who shall remain nameless, who once told us she had picked out the woman she wanted her husband to marry if she were to die. i have never done that…maybe it’s not a bad idea, afterall, they did it on Everybody Loves Raymond!

although these thoughts and questions creep up from time to time, i am not weirdly obsessed with them. but they are there, maybe more real to me than some people because i grew up with the reality of having lost a parent. but it certainly makes me thankful for the times we have together, and appreciate the presence of my husband, for his strength, protection, love and fathering even more.

14 days March 19, 2008

for the first time in my life i wrote out meals for the next 2 weeks. it’s not because i am organized. the truth is, i am at my wits end. i am not naturally a cook, nor am i good at finding new recipes. so i thumbed through a rachel ray magazine and browsed through allrecipes.com for ideas. i compiled recipes and ingredients for the next 2 weeks. hopefully this will make my life easier.

any ideas out there for good recipes or meal organization tips? and please don’t say freezer cooking. although i think it’s a great idea, my husband just won’t go for it.

the results are in March 17, 2008

my team lost last night, but i had fun body checking as many of them as i could, and i have the marks to prove it.

ready, set, go! March 15, 2008

i’m getting ready for my first roller derby bout tonight.

to prepare: i had a big juicy burger for lunch, i took a long nap, i’m drinking lots of water, i’m painting my toenails and donning my fake eyelashes.

mrs. brooke snake February 27, 2008

that is actually what my last name means in german. i wonder about last names, how they were chosen, stuff like that.

for instance, did steve’s ancestor own a pet snake? or maybe he was a snake-handler? or snake hunter? or maybe he ate snakes! who knows. if i could give myself a last name it would be Chocolate, because i eat chocolate everyday. actually, maybe it would be Reader because i love to read. or FakeLaugher, because i do a lot of that too. Brooke FakeLaugher. perfect.

quiz schmiz February 24, 2008

You Belong in 1984

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You’re colorful at night – and successful during the day.

i took this poll from my friend’s blog. i disagree. i used to daydream about living in the late 1800’s. i really wanted to be a pioneer man (not woman) who went west. giddy up!

comfort January 25, 2008

tonight i made hush puppies, which are a comfort food for me. basically, anything that is fried is a comfort food for me! i wonder if some poeple’s comfort food is good for them? what is yours?

going to the roller derby ball January 21, 2008

i use the term “ball” loosely…but it was a fun night of dancing, food and people-watching. monica, sorry there aren’t more pics, but our babysitter (photographer) couldn’t seem to get any pics in focus. this is the best we have.

man world January 17, 2008

i ventured into man world the other night. it was stinky, sweaty and ugly. it was the spokane boxing club. 

i was there for some cross-training work with the roller derby girls. we boxed so long that my knuckles, under the foulest smelling boxing gloves on earth, were swollen and bloody. the boxing coach was similar to a drill sargeant. every few minutes he would yell, “drop and give me 25!!!!” or “you call that a push-up???” after an hour of boxing and drills my arms felt like wet noodles.

but it was fun, in a dirty, sweaty sort of way and a great way to work your aggressions out.

roller girl January 14, 2008

many of you have asked about my involvement in roller derby. here are some details:

after attending my first roller derby match with my bff last fall, i knew i had found my true calling. lucky for me, they are accepting walk-ons because they are trying to form 2 more teams and need more people. after a few practices i bought my own derby skates, which are different than regular roller skates, and i have been loving it. we practice a few times a week, have one bout (match) a month, and it is crazy good excercise, plus it’s a ton of fun.

roller derby is pretty aggresive, and tempers sometimes flare. but the cool thing about it is that the girls will duke it out instead of playing dumb girl games. also, you have to be really good on skates. it is one of the hardest sports i have ever played because while you are skating at break-neck speed, playing offense (getting your jammer to the front) and defense (keeping their jammer and blockers away by hip and shoulder checking) you are also usually looking behind you the whole time to keep the opponets from passing you.

so, am i on the team? well, i am part of the team, but until i pass the skills test i can’t play in a bout. i am about half-way through the checklist, but i have a lot to learn. some of the skill requirements are: stopping on a dime, jumping (both feet) while skating, whipping girls forward (and being whipped), untangling your skates without falling as you are skating and doing 20 laps in 5 minutes.

if you ever have a chance to go to a roller derby bout i highly recommend it. it is so much fun and i guarantee you’ll wanna kick some booty when it’s over.

i’m not gonna wash that gray out of my hair January 13, 2008

i am almost 33 years old and i am 40% gray.

i’ve been putting color in my hair for years, and i hate every minute of it, always have, always will.  so i made a decision: no more color. just because our society has serious issues with aging doesn’t mean i have to. i actually really it like when younger women let their hair go silver, so that is what i am going to do. hopefully it’ll be a pretty silver, but if not, well, i just can’t face the thought of hair color for decades to come. but promise me, if i ever start getting a blue tint, you’ll tell me!

winter theme song December 18, 2007

hibernation day

enjoy!

slogger December 7, 2007

i have been a complete slogger (blogging slacker) lately. but we’ve been busy, and i’ve been lazy.

today addisyn and her friend alexa decorated and ate gingerbread men.

chocolate education November 29, 2007

last night my friend tammi and i went to the chocolate apothecary for a class on chocolate. it was very similar to a wine tasting (not that i’ve ever been to one of those), but we tasted many kinds of chocolates from all over the world, learned all kinds of cool things about the origins and process of making chocolate and had a wonderful time. i think one of my favorite and most interesting tastes was a dark chocolate that first tasted cinnamony and then as i swallowed it had a kick-cayenne pepper!

i never thought i could reach my chocolate limit, but last night i did. after tasting 30 or so artisan dark chocolates, i was beginning to get a stomachache, but it was so worth it! i can’t wait to go back!