Moving is in full swing

Except for the short break I took to cross something off of my Wisconsin bucket list. 

That's right, I had never made a snowman in Wisconsin. Actually, I don't think I had ever made one. In all my time in Wisconsin, snow was something to look at or complain about (including the lack of it last year).

I think my snowman turned out pretty decent. I don't have carrots or charcoal for the face of a traditional snowman, but I think you get the point. After snapping a few shots of my snowman styling in my hat and scarf, I made a few snow angels before heading back in to pack. It's a good thing that most everyone was still at work, because I'm sure I looked a little ridiculous - a grown adult without any kids around making a snowman and snow angels with a big grin on her face.

Then back inside for some more packing. I've made good progress on my craft supplies. That should be almost finished, once I get some of it to new homes. If you're in Madison and want some free craft supplies, let me know! I don't want to move all of this. I'm about half way through with the clothes, which if you have ever seen my closet, you will know is good progress. I've even got a few bags of clothes and things destined for Goodwill.

Tomorrow will bring more of the same as the past couple of days -- packing, cleaning and general moving errands. I'm not sure if I'm going to get any play time for making snowmen, so I may not have much to write about for a bit.

Loving Seattle

Just a brief note to tell y'all how much fun I'm having in Seattle with Meg celebrating my birthday. We walked in the rain to Pikes Place Market, withstood gale force winds on the top of the Space Needle, and we're now enjoying the restful view of a rainbow and sunset over downtown Seattle.

I've been taking lots of pictures, but you'll have to wait until I get back home and go through all the pics on my camera to see them all. In the meantime, I wanted to share one photo - Meg and I enjoying a nice latte at the original Starbucks, warming up and drying off. It's just not fair that Meg's hair turns out so pretty and mine looks so messy after our walk in the rain.

What to do with leftover pepperoni

It all started because I had pepperoni left over from making pizza the week before last. I could have made more pizza, but I thought about making pizza muffins. My first thought was to use refrigerated biscuit dough, but then I started googling and found a recipe for these muffins. Actually, I found a couple that were very similar, which was good because the recipe I printed off didn't say how much baking powder or spices, and I didn't think I should just guess at the baking powder.

Then, since the oven was on, I figured I'd mix up the Trader Joe's Pumpkin bread mix. I'm looking forward to my breakfast tomorrow! Since I've got one more work trip coming up before I leave my job, I don't think I'll be able to eat the whole loaf. So, I put half of it into freezer bags and put them away for when I get back into town.

Then, I baked cookies. I actually had to go back to the grocery store for sugar. I should have gotten more butter and brown sugar as I only had 1 3/4 sticks of butter and the recipe calls for 2 and my brown sugar was dried out. The cookies taste okay, but don't look quite as pretty as normal. I hope my coworkers like the, since I plan to take the cookies into the office to celebrate my last full day there.

I am a little shocked at myself. I did all this and cleaned up. It's been a while since I was around during the week and not at work and not exhausted to the point that I jut ate dinner, watched TV and went to bed. I'm hoping this resurgence of evening energy keeps up, as I'm going to need all the energy that I can muster to get my apartment all packed up.

Recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Muffins
Slightly modified from http://www.fatsecret.com/recipes/pepperoni-pizza-muffins/Default.aspx

Ingredients

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/5 tsp baking powder
(some) Italian seasonings
(some) red pepper flakes
1 oz pepperoni (14 slices)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 large egg
2 cups (ish) shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup reduced fat milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 dash salt
Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375° F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes; whisk in the milk and egg.
Stir in the mozzarella, parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.
Stir the batter and divide among the muffin cups.
Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through.
Serve the muffins with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Location:Verona,WI United States

Well, hello again

Long time, no post, right? Well, I found that my job just didn't balance with a life that involved doing just about anything creative, much less writing about it. But, now, I'm moving on in my life and moving home to Texas. Which brings me to sitting in a coffee shop in for a few minutes this pleasant Friday afternoon sharing a picture of one of the valentines I made for a friend.

The card was a quick and easy reintroduction to a creative life, that I hope will continue to grow. And, this blog post is my reintroduction to you and writing about the creative things I'm up to (as well as some of the more mundane items of life). Expect a few posts about leaving Madison, the tasks of moving, and getting settled back into small town life as I make this transition. If someone is actually been checking in on this blog regularly looking for a post, her you go and I promise many more. I hope that you will be joined by scores of fellow followers in the weeks and months to come.

Happy Friday!

Location:N Grimes St,Giddings, TX United States

Leaving Rome

Well, my time in Rome is coming to an end. It's been almost two weeks since I 'moved in' to the apartment that I have called my home in Rome. I've seen a lot of art and architecture and ruins, and I've walked a lot. I've gotten to know the neighborhood where I've been staying, including getting to know a little bit the family who run the bakery and pizzeria downstairs.

While I finish packing and get ready to head to the train station for the next portion of my adventure, here are some pictures from Rome. Ciao!

Location:Via del Banchi Vecchi,Rome,Italy

One and a half weeks in Italy

Two weeks ago, I was in Seattle. One week ago, I was in Siena. Now, I'm sitting down to lunch in Rome (or I was when I wrote this).

So far, Italy has been awesome, in the full sense of the word. Just to see the ruins of Ancient Rome and the churches of Siena, Florence and Rome and the Vatican and walk where so many people from history have stood is breath taking.

They've also inspired a lot of picture taking. Here are some of my favorites. So far, in a week and a half, I've taken over 1200 pictures. I may need a care package with a few memory cards for my camera!

Here is a brief summary of what I've seen and done:
Day 1 - arrive in Florence, see the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, the Pitti Palace and the Boboli gardens. Go to bed early
Day 2 - shopping in Mercato Centrale and the booths outside. See the Duomo again, more awake this time, more exploring. Take the bus to Siena. Walk with luggage through the streets of Siena. Visit Il Campo for dinner and then walk around more. See the Dumo exterior at dusk. Ate gelato
Day 3 - visit the Duomo. Go through the museum and climb to the top of the unfinished expansion project. Lunch at Il Campo. More walking and a little shopping. Ate gelato.
Day 4 - train to Rome. After we got settled into the apartment that is my home for two weeks, we went walking. Well, first we got some pizza at the bakery downstairs. We walked past Castel Sant'Angelo, found a cute street called Via Coronari, got some groceries. We walked to the Vatican and Piazza Navona and got more gelato.
Day 5 - time to see Ancient Rome. We went to the Colosseum, walked through the Forum and around Palatine Hill. Then, we went to the Pantheon
Day 6 - we were up early to tour the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. In the evening, we walked Via del Corso down to Piazza del Popolo, climbed the Spanish Steps, three coins into the Trevi Fountain and got lost
Day 7 - we started the day at Campo de'Fiori. After lunch, we toured Castel Sant'Angelo. Then, we split up and the girls went shopping. We walked a lot.
Day 8 - we took it easy and just walked to Trastevere, had lunch and then walked home.
Day 9 - I went with Mom and Dad to the airport to see them off. Then, I took the train to Termini and made my way home via the Baths of Diocletian and the Spanish Steps. I like Rome in the early mornings, but my quite enough to wake up early enough to experience it again. Then, I did laundry and took a nap
Day 10 - I went to Campo de'Fiori for some groceries, then I went to the museum Montemartini, where there are statues in an old electric plant. I walked to St. Paul Outside the Walls, then I took the bus back, got gelato outside of Vatican City and read a book in the park outside Castel Sant'Angelo.
Day 11 - today. I have been shopping a little this morning, but I haven't bought anything because I don't want to carry anything. After I finish my lunch, I'm going to the Borghese gardens and the Borghese museum. I had better finish up and head over there.

I'll try not to wait another full week and a half to post, even if all I do is post a few pictures.

Location:Rome,Italy

A real post to come....

....I promise. I wrote it over lunch, but I want to add pictures of everything I've seen the last week.

In the meantime, I thought I'd give an update. I am sitting at the ristorante in Borghese Gardens, cooling off after my bike ride through the park.