The Roaming Rosie Blog

On a not-too-chilly Florida evening, my husband and I find our seats in a darkened stadium that slowly fills to capacity.  After an announcer welcomes us and tries not to burst with excitement, promising us a special surprise and insisting over and over that we “not leave early,” everything goes black.

There’s a misty blue light clouding onto to the stage and as deep bells ring out and a rumble slowly crescendos, silhouetted figures become visible and then with a burst of quick, colorful lights and a heavy bass of drums and electric guitars a chorus of voices explodes into the stadium.  There’s music, loud and passionate, and lights, swift and pulsating, and at one point I see a guitarist, his long, blond hair whipping about because he’s headbanging as he jams out to “Joy to the World,” and I find myself thinking, hey, these are my kind of people.

Somewhere between the keyboard and electric guitars, the long, feathered hair, the ballad-like lyrics and the vibrant laser light show, I feel like I’m in the middle of an ‘80s metal music video.  It’s pretty cool.   Of course, I’m a child of the ‘80s, so I can’t help it:  metal’s in my blood.

But this isn’t your normal rock concert.  It’s the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Winter Tour 2009 performance at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.  We attended on 06 December, buying the tickets kind of in celebration of my birthday, which was the day before, and our wedding anniversary, which is next week.  We though it would be nice to do something a little different, which is what the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is:  a little different.  It’s a mini-orchestra but it’s a rock band, too.  They play Christmas music and pieces from traditional operas, as well as their own works.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has been around since the release of their first single, “Christmas Eve in Sarajevo 12/24,” fourteen years ago.  They’ve sold over seven million copies of their first four albums, but they are best known for their concerts, playing to over 5 million people in over 80 cities by 2008.  Their concerts are presumably memorable because creator Paul O’Neill was not only trying to build a progressive rock band that would push existing boundaries, but, according to their website, he was determined to have “people to walk out of our shows speechless and…still not believing what they have seen was possible.”

It was certainly impressive, but I also can’t say that it was the best concert I’ve ever seen – especially since the last concert I saw was Paul McCartney, and I don’t think anyone will ever top that.  The band was certainly talented, most of the vocals were well executed, and the light show was well arranged, but there was something a little off.  I think that perhaps it was a bit unbalanced.  I thought the narration was nice and provided a fairly appropriate break between some of the songs, but some segments were a little overly-lengthy.

Also overly-lengthy was the slow song sang by a singer portraying a drunken homeless man to only the background on a single acoustic guitar.  It’s not that I can’t appreciate a good message or a temporary slow pace while attending a rock show, it’s just that it’s so darned hard to me to make out what people are saying through a microphone when I’m not familiar with the material, and it’s just as hard for me to be entertained by what I’m only able to interpret as gibberish.  It’s not their fault – I’m a bit hard of hearing these days, but I can honestly say I mostly enjoyed the loud music and psychedelic lights and the energy of the passionate band members, like the crazy, headbanging violinist who kept swinging around her bow.

After what I’ve just said, however, I still feel it’s important to mention that one of my absolute favorite parts of the show was a single man soulfully singing “O Holy Night.”  I took over 30 minutes worth of video of the concert, but didn’t tape this – and wish that I had.  It was a very powerful performance.

I also have to mention that we did not have good seats.  I can’t complain too much since we didn’t even buy the tickets until a week before the performance, so we already knew our choices would be limited.  And maybe it was just the venue, since there were these gigantic posters hanging from the ceiling of the stadium to brag about the Tampa Bay Lightning’s past accomplishments just to the left of where we were sitting and there was this massive structure, presumably to hold lights, that was hanging very low and just above the stage, and thus obstructing our view.  I would see this concert again in the future, but only if I had the money to spring for the best seats:  either on the floor in front of the stage or at least in the first level.  We just really felt that the show would have been much, much better if you could look directly at the stage and not down on it from the nosebleed section.

As a special treat, instead of a traditional encore, the surprise the announcer had promised turned out to be a guest appearance by Joe Walsh (a former Eagle), who sang the last two songs of the evening.  It was a completely different atmosphere, and one that was purely fun – even the TSO band members were having a blast onstage.  He did an eight-minute performance of “Life’s Been Good” and then “Rocky Mountain Way,” complete with talk-box sound effects.

Incidentally, this completely unexpected turn of events – Joe Walsh’s appearance – means that in this year of 2009, my husband and I saw live performances from one of the Beatles and one of the Eagles.  Just one of each, but that makes it a memorable year nonetheless.

And now to leave you with a quote from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra:

In the moments of our lives / Both the joyous and the tragic / If the truth is to be told / We are all pursuing magic. / And the magic that we seek / As we’re sure you have discovered / Can be found in certain places / Far more easily than others.

In the sand beneath the Sphinx / In the dreams of candlelight / But the surest place of all / Is the forgiving world of night. / And of all the nights throughout the year / That come and gently leave / None hold the dream of magic / Like the evening, Christmas Eve.

Saturday was my 28th birthday and my husband and I spent the day out.  We saw a movie, though that choice was mostly made because we had been meaning to visit the Big Cat Rescue but the weather was terrible and we needed to find an indoor activity.  So:  movie.  Simple enough solution.

Then we had a nice dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy at the Westshore Plaza in Tampa.  I wasn’t sure where I wanted to have my birthday dinner, but his parents and sister gave me a gift certificate which was good at a few places, including Maggiano’s, and I’d been in the mood for Italian, so again:  easy solution.

The food was quite good and the décor upscale, but we’ll probably stick with Carrabba’s Italian Grill in the future since its still Seth’s favorite restaurant – and it’s cheaper.  I’m just not that much of a “high class” person, but when I do go somewhere that’s supposed to be classy, I don’t expect the servers to shout to eat other from twenty feet away or to touch every single water glass in the restaurant with the rim of the water pitcher or to ask me if we’d like them to box up our food when I’ve still got my fork in my hand.

If I’m going to chance putting up with all that, I’m going to eat somewhere cheaper.

The food, though, was very good, and because it was Seth’s first time eating there, we were offered (just like we saw them offering other tables) a complimentary sample of their fried zucchini, or Crispy Zucchini Fritte, appetizer.  That’s something I wouldn’t have ordered on my own, but it was incredibly tasty!  The crunchy, breaded zucchini with a warm, soft center then dipped into the lemon aioli cream sauce was more like a savory dessert then a vegetable.  Also, we had ordered the Bruschetta, which we both loved.  Fresh, juicy tomato chunks topped crouton-like, crispy bread, and I thought it could have used a little onion, but Seth thought it was perfect the way it was.  Those two appetizers were our favorite part of dinner, really, and we could easily go back for just wine and appetizers and be plenty satisfied.

For an entrée, Seth got the Chicken Marsala, which he said was very good, but he still preferred Carrabba’s – no surprise there.  (I think he could eat Carrabba’s Chicken Marsala every night and never get tired of it!)  He wished there was pasta on the plate, too, but since pasta is traditionally a first course, I believe that’s why it was excluded.  I ordered pasta as my main course:  a plate of Gnocchi with Tomato Vodka Sauce.  The gnocchi were tender and the tomato-cream gravy smooth and flavorful.  I do prefer more sauce on my food, which I know is merely a personal preference, but the top pieces seemed a little dry to me since the sauce had pooled in the bottom of the bowl.

No dessert was ordered because we were both quite stuffed, and there was cake waiting for me at home anyway.  In fact, I barely made a dent in my full-size (as opposed to half-sized) plate, which I believe could have really fed three or four people, and even Seth took home some chicken.  But that’s okay; we’ll just have leftovers for a little while.

The mailbox has recently been stuffed full of myriad catalogs selling everything from cheese logs to chocolate pretzels to flavored popcorn.  These are dangerous times for a pregnant lady…

So, to satisfy some unexpected cravings, today I made a snack that I love:  Caramel Popcorn, or Caramel Corn.  I use the recipe from my Pillsbury Complete Cookbook, simply omitting the slivered almonds, because I prefer just the popcorn.  Plus, this is a great recipe because all of the ingredients are usually in my pantry anyway – so no need for preplanning!  I’ve made this for parties and potlucks, but also just for myself to enjoy because it’s so simple to make.

I prefer to use light brown sugar, but all we had on hand was the dark, which also works, though it has a slightly stronger flavor.  And because my first batch of popcorn was mostly burnt and I decided to make a fresh batch but use a handful of decent-looking pieces from the burnt package, I ended up with some extra popcorn and not every piece was fully covered in caramel.  No big deal, though – the pieces only partially covered taste just as good!

Another note:  when you add in the baking soda, be sure to mix it in well.  The caramel should become thick and lighter in color before you pour it over the popcorn, otherwise the end product will be a little off. Also, do NOT let the hot caramel touch your skin – that’s a searing burn you don’t want!

So here it is:

Caramel Corn
Prep:  15 mins., Yield: 6 (1 Cup) Servings

6 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds, if desired
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine popcorn and almonds.  In a 4-cup microwave-safe measuring cup, combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt; mix well.

Microwave sugar mixture on high for 2 minutes.  Stir, then microwave for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until mixture comes to a rolling boil.

Stir in baking soda and mix well.  Immediately pour over the popcorn and toss until coated.

Microwave popcorn mixture on high for 2 minutes.  Mix again to make sure all the pieces are coated, then spread out on waxed paper to cool, separating the big chunks.

I use two spoons for separating the caramelized pieces.  Once cool, I store it in a plastic Tupperware-type container, and I find that it stays good for awhile – though it usually never lasts more than a few days at most in my house!  :)

Every now and then I browse through my physical recipe book (most of my regular recipes have also been scanned onto the computer) to get ideas.  For Thanksgiving this year I decided to make a recipe that I’d printed out five whole years ago.  It was hiding in the back of the binder’s pocket, so I’d completely forgotten about it.  Boy am I glad I found it again!  These cookies turned out much better than I expected.  Maybe it’s just because I’m pregnant and crave all things sugary and resembling cake or cookies… but I don’t think so.

The recipe was from the Taste of Home website, and they’re called “Pumpkin Drop Cookies.”  Attributed to Denise S. of Wyoming, these plump, soft cookies are cake-like and highlighted with a sweet, flavorful icing.  And because they’re filling, I won’t eat a million of them, which is also good.  And the pumpkin is not overwhelming, so even though they seem like autumn cookies, I feel they would be great for a Christmas cookie exchange as well.  So here goes:

Pumpkin Drop Cookies

Prep:  45 min
Cook:  10 min plus cooling
(I didn’t take that long to prep, but they definitely needed more cooking time)

1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
3 cups sugar
1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Cinnamon Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar.  Beat in the pumpkin, eggs, and milk.  Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, allspice and cloves; gradually add to the creamed mixture.  Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

(I used rounded teaspoonfuls and found the cookies to be more than big enough.  I didn’t grease the cookie sheets, but used non-stick pans.  I found that when “lightly-browned” they were still undone on the inside, and so cooked them until a dark brown around the edges, which was more like 14 to 16 minutes.)

In a small bowl, combine the frosting ingredients; beat until smooth.  Frost cookies.  Store in the refrigerator.  Yield:  11 dozen.

(I actually used a whole box of confectioners’ sugar and added a couple extra tablespoons of milk to the icing.  Make sure the cookies are totally cool before icing.  I got nowhere near 11 dozen cookies.  I got about 5 dozen, and didn’t have enough icing for all of them, but I didn’t feel like making more icing, so we just sprinkled powdered sugar over the rest.)

I’ll be keeping this recipe on hand, either for Thanksgivings in the future, or even dinner or tea parties during the holidays.  It’s a little bit different and the cookies are a nice after-dinner treat.  And do you see all those yummy bits of cinnamon in the cookie and the icing?  Mmm!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was a little surprised to see a segment on the news the other day about a recall of over 2 million Stork Craft cribs.  Since we’re not in a house yet, I’ve been putting off ordering baby furniture, but that didn’t stop me from picking out the brand, model and color I wanted.  Actually, I even registered for it – to make sure I wouldn’t forget which ones I liked, even though we intend to purchase the furniture ourselves.

Anyway, I read all about the recall at the website for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.  I saw that the recall is for drop-side cribs, and I suddenly realized I didn’t know whether or not the crib I picked out was a drop-side crib.  Quite frankly, the dropping side seemed unnecessary to me.  It turned out I had picked a drop-side crib, and when I viewed it on the store’s website (just after seeing the news segment) the product was already unavailable.  Luckily, Stork Craft also makes a fixed-side crib in the same style I like.

When I showed my husband all the information, he said he wouldn’t have wanted a drop-side crib anyhow.  The fixed-side cribs are sturdier, he said.

I was relieved I hadn’t already purchased the crib.  I read that the company was offering repair kits so that parents could fix the cribs, but it turns out all the kits do is turn a drop-side crib into a fixed-side crib.  Hmm.  Turns out to be a good thing that we have to wait until almost the last minute to buy our nursery furniture.  Who knew?

These too cute pillow cases designate the On Duty / Off Duty responsibilities for middle-of-the-night feedings. I wonder, though, how effective they would be for us, seeing as how my husband could easily sleep through the St. Patty’s Day parade.

Since the baby is still months away from needing any feedings that don’t include the umbilical cord, I can still find myself saying that I don’t mind being the On Duty person most of the time, especially because I’d like to breastfeed.

I wonder how long those feelings will last…

I’ve been debating whether or not to invest in wall decals for the nursery.  The tough part is that we don’t have a house yet or, thus, a nursery to decorate.  But, since the baby is due in March, I’d like to be as prepared as possible so that I can set up the nursery quickly once we finally get to move into our new home.

I know the theme and bedding set I’d like to go with:  a soft, pastel jungle theme.  I also know I’d like to hang real photos of animals in the room to accent the more cartoon-ish toys and stuffed animals that will fill the room.  But would I like more decorations to fill the walls?  My friend painted a beautiful but elaborate jungle mural over all four walls of her son’s room, but I just don’t have the time for something like that.  Decals are easy:  peel and stick.  Done.

The main problem is that when I started researching the decals, or wall stickers, I found that many were quite pricey.  I’d find animal or nature decals that were fifty or sixty dollars a sheet or even upwards of a hundred dollars for a single, larger decal.  But does my baby really need these designer products?  As neat as they are, I still find myself searching for something a little more playful.

Luckily, today I found a wide variety of animal and nature wall decals that range in prices from about $10 to $25.  Cute AND affordable – can’t beat that!  I intend to get the decals that best match the bedding I’ve chosen, but I couldn’t help sharing all of these, because they’re just all so cool… now I just have to resist buying them all! :)

Pregnancy is a strange creature.  There are many aspects of the pregnancy that I anticipated, but not always in the way the symptoms actually manifest themselves.  I knew I’d be tired, so when I spent most of my first trimester just working and sleeping and halfway comatose on the couch, I was frustrated but not surprised.  Lack of energy is typical in the first trimester.  But here I am, many weeks into my second trimester, and I still haven’t experienced that sudden burst of energy I keep hearing about.  Sure, I have energy, but very little.

Is it because of my allergies?  Is it because I’ve got a lot on my mind and I’m not sleeping well?  Or just my body’s reaction to growing a little person?  Why, yesterday, did I get shaky and feel like I’d collapse when I was folding one load of laundry from the dryer, putting another load in, breading a pork loin and constructing twice-baked potatoes for dinner?  Was it just the heat in the kitchen and laundry room?  Had I not been drinking enough water?  I’m not sure.  But after making a salad and veggie side dish and setting the table and helping to clean up afterwards, I couldn’t seem to do much except sit on the couch and watch TV all night.  I felt weak, so much so that I didn’t even have the energy to pull out my laptop to write in my journal.  Even the thought of doing that exhausted me.

There are many other things that surprised me as well.  It’s a joyful experience to feel the baby kicking me, but I’ve found that I also worry much more than I thought I would.  Why don’t I feel her moving more often?  Well, I know it’s because of the placement of my placenta and how it cushions her movements so that she must kick pretty hard for me to feel it.  My husband, in fact, has only felt her once, even though he’s sat there with his hand on my stomach while I feel movement.  So I still wonder.  It surprises me that I can be so happy and so worried at the same time.

And none of my bras fit.  Even the ones I bought a few weeks ago at Victoria’s Secret that were on sale and a cup size bigger are now a little awkward.  Does that mean I’ve gone up two cup sizes?  When will it stop?  I’ve already noticed one stretch mark, which freaked me out, and so I make sure to apply cocoa butter every night now to both my boobs and tummy.  I know I’m genetically prone to stretch marks anyway, but it’s worth a try.  I’m a little surprised the growing rack is not as exciting as I’d hoped.  It just produces more questions:  how many more bras will I have to buy?  Will my boobs keep growing?  And what size will they be after the birth and breastfeeding?  Will I have to buy all new shirts?  Will I care at all once I’m holding my little baby girl in my arms?

I guess the worrying and the questions are normal.  I never realized the acne and pimples of a 16-year-old would also be normal, but, in a weird way, I think I like the surprises.  After all, this is a completely new journey in life, and one that I’ve always looked forward to.  I look forward to more surprises (and less pimples) as time goes by, because really, how many times in life do we get to experience something so new and incredible?  Something that plays out much the way we though it would, but also completely exceeds every expectation?

As I’ve mentioned, I also write “lenses” on Squidoo, and I’ve recently published a lens all about Skillet.  Skillet is one of my all-time favorite rock bands and I wanted to help share the band with the world because they aren’t nearly as well-known as they should be!  They’re amazingly talented and their music rocks – everyone should know who they are.

So check out my lens about Skillet and click on any of the albums below to hear their incredible music!

It may seem strange that lizards are one of the things I’ve missed about living in Florida (well, I think it’s strange), but seeing them scurrying across the ground or climbing up the screens or doing their little push-ups when they catch you watching brings back a weird sense of warm nostalgia.

I never thought I’d say anything like this, but I find the presence of the lizards comforting.  Everything on this list is somehow strangely comforting.  But the list exists because when we were about to move back to Florida, we encountered a barrage of “Why do you want to go to Florida?  They have hurricanes and it’s hot and the pace of life is way too slow!”

So many people in the Northeast had negative opinions of Florida.  But, then again, they were choosing to live in the Northeast, and we were not.  Home is where the Army sends you, but now that my hubby is retiring, we get to choose where we live.  So here are a few of the things I’ve missed, strange or not, that have drawn me back:

1.  The water, i.e. the ocean, gulf, rivers, lakes, etc. that are everywhere

2.  Blue skies

3.  Light, spring showers / sun showers

4.  The sandy beaches and blue-gray waters of the Gulf of Mexico

5.  Lizards

6.  General tropic appearance of foliage, including Palm Trees, Spanish Moss and Palmetto bushes

7.  The plants don’t all die in the fall and winter – they’re green all year

8.  Slightly chilly but pleasant winter temperatures

9.  No snow, no snow shoveling, no salting the driveways

10.  The scent of the orange trees