Missing IU Student

The scary part of this is that I used to run alone where she disappeared.

Daily.

Scary, right?

She disappeared about 4:30 a.m. after she had been at a bar (AND SHE WAS UNDERAGE), then went home, then to a friend's apartment and then decided she wanted to go home.

I've found the best news coverage so far with the Indiana Daily Student.

A timeline of Lauren's events can be found here.

It's an interesting story. Truths and lies have come out. Eventually we will find out what happened to Lauren. Her purse was found on Morton Street - not a route that most people would take to get to her apartment on College. You just can't help but speculate and imagine what happened. It's hard not to do because we just don't know.

And Lauren has a heart condition.

So the sooner she is found, the better.

Intro To My Other Life...

So there's another life that I have that I haven't mentioned much. Why? Because it's kind of scary... Bimmer Man is called Bimmer Man because he's a BMW car enthusiast. Actually, not only is he an enthusiast he races them too.

The thrill of car racing past me by years ago... When you get a phone call from your husband saying the car needs to be towed home on a flatbed because the radiator failed, well, not only does your heart skip a beat but so does the bank account.

He went to track days, put in some lap time, joined the Hoosier BMW Club and that was it.

Then the deliveries started.

A helmet, specialized driving gloves, Ferrari driving shoes, etc... New car parts... I really like our UPS guy. And when we lived in Indiana, car parts were even delivered to my work (imagine my surprise when I think it's a work package and it turns out to be the front end of a BMW).

This is why he has a shop in the basement and a shop in the garage. I'll have to take pics of the race shop at some point because now I'm sure y'all are curious to see what a race shop looks like (cars, car parts, welding tools, spare roll cages, extra seats and smelly men). Neither is it glitzy nor glamorous like Penske or Andretti Green Racing is. Sarah Fisher's race shop is really nice plus she's pretty awesome too - Graham Rahal drove in her cars last year. Unfortunately she's not big enough to get huge sponsorship like some of the other shops and I would really like to see that. I think that her team could do excellent if they had more funding (but just don't let me start spouting off like other race wives, it's really not like we matter that much in the world of racing. Generally wives are on the sidelines trying to not look to bored).

In any case, a roll cage was put into Bimmer's every day driving BMW (which I helped with, I'm actually pretty good at helping to fix cars but that's a whole other story) and then track days became more frequent and more expensive. He wanted more than just driving fast around a track trying to better his lap times.

 He's actually going to be an instructor this year... if he has time...

WE decided (yes, WE, not HE) that racing was the next step. And so out of that decision the ChumpCar World Series has now taken over my life from late February to late October. There are famous racers that do a few races each year. Races take place in major tracks (like Road America and the Iowa Speedway) and some people have jumped from Chump to more famous racing teams and televised races. The picture below is Bimmer Man (in the gray car) at the Iowa Speedway.

Last weekend he was supposed to race at Road America but it was canceled due to weather. They're heading out for this weekend instead and Bimmer is super excited for the season opener. I'm pushing for the team to go race in Ensenada, Mexico - it's a street race, however in my excitement for going to Mexico I sort of forgot that I'd probably get stuck either in the car giving the guys a break or being on the pit crew and all suited up. I'd planned on just going to the beach and reading, shopping or hanging out by the hotel pool but I forgot - I'd have to actually work.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a heck of a lot of information - people that don't race are usually pretty curious and have a lot of questions.

If you're curious to see more, feel free to visit Bimmer's blog, Opposite Lock. He mostly talks about repairing cars, recaps of the races and the events.

Hmm... I May Have Home Video Of This

Why yes, I have home video footage of the Bloomington Speedway (which if you get a chance to go there, please do. Bring your own 6 pack, eat the track food and don't dress up). I'll have to find Bimmer's and my home video of the Bloomington Speedway where we watched the Midgets. Oh, and the T-shirt that Bimmer bought.

In any case, enjoy the HBO documentary (or maybe they'll make a series), but soon enough, I shall be a track wifey. And I already know how to bleed brakes, change tires and hold a wrench. You know, the usual track stuff.

ACK! I've been MIA!!!

Actually, I feel like I've been MIA for at least a month now... but remember, I don't have my own kitchen and my mom likes to cook. A lot. So that's good but unfortunately not for my lovely blog readers.

I thought I'd update everyone (especially my fabulous Indiana friends) on what I've been up to.

1. Job hunting
2. House hunting (oh, we're putting in an offer this week! Yea!)
3. Walking the dog
4. Crocheting because I can't find all of my pots and pans
5. I even made my own soap one day (yea, I was that bored)
6. Starting up my photography business in the Twin Cities, go White Tree Photography & Designs, LLC (um, and figuring out what to do for a professional website, go figure)
7. Walking the dog
8. Throwing a softball for the dog
9. Making sure not to bother Bimmer Man whilst he studies
10. Hangin' out with my mom

Ok, so there you go, that's what I've been up to lately.

Oh yes, and I accidentally lost my camera battery charger so I have to look for that today.

I swear, I'll be back to cooking & baking soon but I just need some fabulous ideas and to find my pots and pans that are still packed away.

And my KitchenAid mixer. My lovely BEAST, oh where could it be??? I have no idea...

So moral of the story - if you want something and someone else is packing your crap, watch what box it goes in so you're not like me!

Ok, I'll post more about my life later this week, especially if the sellers accepted the offer on the house!

And 3 Years Comes to an End...

I don't think I've posted too many pictures of Bimmer Man and I...

So here's one of very few! Happy Mother's Day (Doggie Moms included too) and Happy Graduation!

The Indy 500

No, this year we're not going but I just have to attention whore for a minute.

Last night we went go karting in Indianapolis. On Pole Day.

With Townsend Bell. And most of the Indy Lights racecar drivers. Let me tell you, you'd never think that you'd walk into a go karting place and see what you think is a bunch of high schoolers just playing around when they're actually pro racing drivers. And they were nuts on the track! Seriously, they'd bump into each other, brake check and slam each other into the wall. And their times were amazing.

But since Bimmer Man has been doing driving schools, his times were around the same as the pro drivers.

Hmmm.... Interesting, right????

(It made me feel kinda old, being around teenagers that were racing. And no I wasn't starstruck by the way considering that they were totally normal teenagers off the racetrack!)

Just one perk of living near Indianapolis during the 500...

This Is An Organizing Post

Amazing, right? Um, yeah.

So I chose the facebook cartoon, not because it's all that funny but because it seems like every time facebook makes a change, there's a change in our lives.

Like moving.

So here's the To-Do list that I have in my notebook - because we're moving in... 8 1/2 weeks.

Can you believe it? Back to the MSP we go... This time I have to document it so that way I know how I packed everything so when we move again, I'll have an established checklist.

So here's the list:

1. Bimmer Man needs to graduate first and foremost
2. Stop eating take out so I can cook and blog about it
3. Close out the photo business here, establish LLC in Minnesota
4. Finish out photo orders here
5. Try to remember how I packed everything the last time we moved - it seems like we're missing some plastic bins... (Mental Note: Ask Bimmer Man about plastic bins)
6. Re-establish the number system for packing - where all boxes end up in the garage of my mom's house. Seems like all the boxes will have a #1 on them where the garage = #1.
7. Don't go to Sam's Club to buy food. Eat what we have and only replenish what we need.
8. Play more Wii Fit. And Shaun White Snowboarding.
9. The MONSTER needs a moving plan too - darn it, that means another list!
10. Take advantage of health insurance and get all check ups before last day of work.
11. I thought this was going to be about moving, but um... I guess not!

So, as the 8 1/2 weeks comes closer and closer, I'll definitely have more leftover recipes and what to do with all the random crap that you're left with in the fridge. Like the half box of spaghetti, cucumbers and feta (pasta with cucumbers, feta & olive oil perhaps...). And all the other randoms that you happen to find - like black beans, canned tomatoes and frozen corn (Hmm, Southwestern Black Bean soup anyone???).

Ok, enough... Have a fabulous Thursday!!

McTatty

What Can You Do To Be More Eco-Friendly?

Well, for starters you could forget to take the full garbage can out to the curb. Every.other.week.

Um, yes. We only throw our garbage away every other week. And generally there's only one or two bags of it. Dog poop goes into Bio-bags.

Garbage tags are $2 each. With 52 weeks per year, that's $104 + $7.28 in tax = $111.28 per year in garbage collection. By only taking out the garbage every other week, we spend $55.64 on garbage and reduce what goes into the landfill.

How?

Reduce, reuse and recycle.

1. Every plastic that's 1 - 7 gets recycled.
2. Take out containers get reused
3. Cardboard and paper get recycled (which is most of the garbage anyway)
4. Cleaning products = all natural baking soda, vinegar & Dr. Bronners so no chemicals ever get washed down the drains or soaked up in paper towels (which we rarely use)
5. Bar soap - no packaging at all and lasts much longer
6. Start using microfiber cloths to clean. Your wallet will thank you! (I still have approximately 12 rolls of paper towels from the last time I bought them - last year...)

At the grocery store:
7. Don't put produce in those stupid plastic bags
8. Bring your own reusable bags - make it fun and buy cute ones!
9. Buy only containers which can be recycled (Yes, I really do look for the recycle triangle)
10. Don't purchase food with a lot of packaging

Unfortunately we don't compost. Dang rental houses. I can't wait until we have our own garden and our own compost pile. Hopefully soon!

If you live in an apartment building that doesn't recycle, find a friend that wouldn't mind setting it out on their curb - you'll feel better and so will Mother Earth.

I hope that some of these tips can be easily integrated into your life. Reducing, reusing and recycling really aren't that hard, especially if you make it fun!

How Much Meat Do You Like?

11 ounces? 18 ounces? One whole pound? 3 pounds of meat? Oops, I mean cow?

I'm not a red meat eater, but it's really for health reasons - the added bonus of people assuming that I'm all against animal cruelty is kinda fun too. I like the question, "So you're an animal activist, then?"

Um. Sure! I can be!

Last night was awesome though.

:::McTatty is whispering::: I think they killed the cow in the back alley. It was that fresh.

And my body shall be punishing me for the next few days. But it was SO GOOD!!! Living in the Midwest is definitely good for something - the cows.

So I did some research. Where does the beef come from around here? Well, um, duh.. farms. Indiana has a Beef Council (but no real info, just recipes which you can find here) which works together to effectively communicate with ranchers and consumers. Hmm... that's a little too technical for me...

So I found this link here - farms by county. And I absolutely adore Local Harvest. You can find local produce farms as well as meats, cheeses, farmer's markets, etc... So, use these tools to your advantage to find the freshest food around! Your taste buds will be pleasantly surprised!

So, on with the story (and the eventual point of this post!)...

Bimmer Man and I had an anniversary yesterday (for you family members reading this, yes, we did get married in a courthouse BEFORE we "got married" in June... It was easier). We celebrated by going to dinner at a local hole in the wall meat market of sorts (thanks for the tulips, Bimmer!).

Janko's Little Zagreb serves your typical Midwestern meal. Meat and potatoes. Small salad. Rolls. Wine (Ok, beer too but I like wine!).

And it's a kitchy restaurant. No suits or ties necessary. The servers wore T-shirts, jeans, sweatpants. It was awesome. If I had to work in the food industry, I'd work there. No uniform.

And I didn't take pictures. Why? Because they would've looked exactly like the ones on the website. But I do have leftovers.

So, the main point of this post -

WHAT THE HECK DO I DO WITH LEFTOVER STEAK???

What Does Bimmer Man Do In His Spare Time???

He doesn't really have spare time but he likes to think so.


Putnam Park Finale from HaraM3 on Vimeo.

And this is what he does. There's another one coming up and unfortunately he ruined his own anniversary present. I was going to get him a fabulous video camera, but he beat me to it.

I'll have to think of something else for him!

Way to go, Bimmer Man!

Seriously? Who Does This???

So last night was kinda scary - I mean, Bimmer is at his lovely car racing /driving school and I'm home. Alone.

And guess what happened.

I watched Twilight (Oh - ok, so my review - totally a rip off movies like Interview With A Vampire and several other 80's & 90's vampire movies all rolled into one. Robert Pattinson is super cute though!) and then brushed my teeth, washed my face, turned out the lights, dragged the dog to bed and then went to bed myself.

There was a knock on the door.

At 11:30 at night.

OMG.

None of the lights were on. I hadn't even been in bed 5 minutes. MONSTER was snarling and growling and barking. I had never heard him like that before. At this point I was freaking out.

And so I went to the door and stood on my tip toes to look outside. I didn't know who it was so I didn't answer the door. I peeked outside to see what kind of car they drove (I know ALL of our neighbor's cars because there's limited parking so if they take my spot, I'm generally kinda pissed). They drove a small pick up - dark in color, dark blue or black, either a newer model Dodge or a Chevy because they had those stupid brand covers on the back lights and the corners were rounded - but I need glasses so I couldn't make out the pattern.

I wouldn't make a very good witness with my eyesight.

I called the police instead.

Seriously? Who knocks on MY DOOR at 11:30 at night when I'm trying to sleep? So not cool. They had to have been watching the house - otherwise why would they have waited until I turned the lights out to knock on the door?

Scary, right??? What if it had been one in the morning and I had actually opened the door thinking it was a neighbor that needed help???

There's a park across the street where homeless people sometimes sleep - that freaks me out enough, let alone strange people knocking on my door at night.

So in any case, the police came. They patrolled the neighborhood. It didn't really make me feel any better.

But MONSTER did. I didn't realize that he had "Guard Dog" in him!

As it turns out - there were two men and they were looking for a guy named "Steve" and probably drugs too.

So not cool! Generally I don't panic. But I was alone - and when a strange person knocks on the door at 11:30 at night, I'm not about to answer the door!!! That's what the cops are for.

Moral of the story: next time set up the web cam pointed towards the door, grab a golf club and call the non-emergency line because it's better to be safe than sorry!

Oh yeah, and I can't wait for the sequel for Twilight!

Earth Hour

Earth Hour. It's coming...

An Era Almost To An End...

I will have Bimmer Man back in 46 days.

Ok, kind of. Then he has to study for the bar.

So I guess I don't really get him back until late August.

Job starts in October - so that leaves me with the month of September.


If your spouse is even thinking about going to Law School, please, go find friends and other activities now. And whatever you do, don't expect them to drop studying just because you broke a nail.

They will find friends in their classes. They will talk about torts, ambulance chasing, tax law and even more boring things than that which you will have no knowledge of (unless you are also in field of law). Trust me, do you really want to know what Professor so-and-so said in their second class of the day? NO. YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE LAW THAT SAYS THAT SOMEONE GETS SOMETHING and blah blah blah.

Instead, embrace and behold the powers of blogging, reading, running, swimming, doggies and family. Learn how to be yourself again. Find online forums. Go shopping. Challenge yourself to read/learn how to play Wii/etc...

Because for the love of sanity, the law never sleeps.

Some Link Lovin'

Kowalski's Market in Minneapolis. Oh, man. Do I miss it like crazy! They make the best deli salads I think I've ever had from a grocery store. What I've linked to is their recipe list, mostly because everything on the list is something that I would eat. And I mean everything.

Bimmer Man's favorite Twin Cities grocery store is Byerly's - his favorite soup is shown above. A little nasty to photography, but it tastes like no other. It freezes well (store in individual containers, I use Gladware...). The link goes straight to the recipe, though you'll find that they have so much more to offer than traditional wild rice soup!

Being of finnish descent, I can't quite help NOT shopping at FinnStyle, simply because of Marimekko - cute napkins, placemats, towels, etc... will dot your walls with something fun in the dark depths of Winter.

In Indiana - one can't help but shop at BloomingFoods. It's a co-op. And it's local and it's fabulous. It's deli is amazing - so if you're in Bloomington, Indiana, make a stop at the downtown BloomingFoods for lunch. You'll be pleasantly amazed!

Enjoy all the recipe links!

Photo Stuff

I started putting together handmade cards a few weeks ago. Mostly of flowers and scenes from Brown County, Indiana. I'm selling them for $3 each OR 6 for $15. I have more listed on my Etsy Shop but to be quite honest, well, um, I haven't really had much time to figure Etsy out!

So, I've been busy trying to get everything together, keep the house clean, walk THE MONSTER and read. So in the meantime I've been keeping a list of recipes to make this weekend. Including a tarte of some sort, maybe some squash stuff, eh, who knows at this point, right? (Oh, yeah, and I'm going to a Thanksgiving but I don't know how I'm going to pack either! Or go tanning! Can you tell I'm freakin' out a little bit?).

It's time for vacation! (And I'll bring my camera, which means I will have a higher chance of taking pictures, woo hoo!)

PSH

Take Back the Filter

TakeBackTheFilter.org is fighting to make Brita take back the filters for recycling and trying to keep them out of the landfills. Yesterday Bimmer Man realized that we have more recycling than trash. That makes me happy. Actually, if we could compost we'd have even less trash and if I stopped using paper towels then we probably wouldn't have any trash at all.

So moral of the post: Sign the petition for Brita to take back their filters.

Notice: only 1 filter was sent back from Indiana. They'll be receiving another one later this week.

PSH

PS: Bimmer Man is out this weekend, so I'm making some great stuff! Like curried pumpkin soup, fun pasta dishes and probably more food that I can freeze. My camera will be worn out...

When It Rains, It Pours

You've met the Bimmer Dog. But here he is, not as healthy as a horse like previous posts. He became lethargic one day and then never got better. We brought him to the vet last week and we got horrible news. He has bone cancer, which, in Golden Retrievers, cancer kills approximately 60% of the dogs. I've learned more about canine cancer than I ever wanted to.
When he was better, he stole my shoes. And I would find them in the dog box (crate). But now he doesn't have the energy to steal my shoes. So now I find them where I put them last and it's weird. Really weird. It's sad. I keep thinking that I need to search the whole entire house to find my shoes for work at 7:30 AM.
He used to sniff at his doggie bags to go out and potty. Now we have to lift him up to get him to go out and potty. And that sentence just made me start to cry.
Here's Bimmer Man with Bimmer Dog. This was last Thursday.
And this is yesterday.
And this is today. Better, but only because of pain medication. The Bimmer-mother-in-law is flying down this weekend to say goodbye to Bimmer Dog.
And so we had to take one last family picture.
We love you Bimmer Dog.
And yes, we know that you love squirrels and kitty cats. But never fear.
We've kinda adopted a cat. That's the Bimmer Car. This was on Tuesday, the night we had to leave the Bimmer Dog at the vet. I prayed for God to send us a sign and guess what. We got a freakin' tabby cat instead. I hate cats. Bimmer Man hates cats, so no offense or anything.
But there's the cat.

McTatty

Apple Pecan Sticky Buns

And so Fall begins with apples. I don't normally eat them by themselves. I just like apple crisp and food like that. Don't ask why. I just do. Oh, and applesauce. I have to have apple sauce everyday, just like oatmeal.
I forgot to take a dang picture of all the ingredients again. Please, don't delete me from your google reader! I promise, this gets better...
Especially with pecans...
And 2 apples. Peel them and chop them.
Don't forget to squeeze a little lemon or some sort of acidic something over them so they don't brown. Toss to get the acid all over the apples.
Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
And make the sticky dough.
Seriously, you could probably add another 1/4 cup of flour to the dough. I recommend making the dough in a food processor. I didn't and you can tell. So, make it in a food processor.
Get the crumble mixed. With a fork.
Roll out the dough. Make sure your board is floured well. Otherwise it'll stick. It did for me...
Dot the dough with butter.
Then roll up like a jelly roll and cut into 8 - 9 pieces. Put into a prepared pan.
Smell the loveliness of the warm apples mixed with the cinnamon and remember what Fall is like...
Then come out of your stupor of Fall scents and shove it into the oven for 35 - 40 minutes.
See? Sticky dough. Eh, add another 1/4 cup flour next time, plus chill the dough. That should take care of it...
Check the oven and smell. Wish that there was an apple cinnamon scented perfume...
Then remove after it's done.
Make the syrup.
Swirl a lot.
And more... For 2 - 4 minutes.
And drizzle. Then eat.

Apple-Pecan Sticky Buns
From Every Day with Rachael Ray

2 tart apples, such as granny smith—peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick 1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) butter, softened 2 cups flour 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Place the apples, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter on a parchmentpaper- lined baking sheet; toss to coat. Cover loosely with foil and roast until tender, 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°.

2. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, blend the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt at low speed. Add 5 tablespoons butter and mix until crumbly. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with 1/2 cup cream, then mix into the dry ingredients.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to form a 9-inch rectangle. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, the pecans and cinnamon. Cut up 2 tablespoons butter and dot the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top and cover evenly with the roasted apples. Roll up the dough, jelly roll-style, and cut crosswise into 9 slices; place the slices cut side down in the prepared baking pan. Bake until golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the honey to a boil, stirring. Whisk until reduced, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly. Drizzle the sauce over the warm buns.
Enjoy!

PSH