pants on fire.

I'm back. I'm a big, fat liar.

One of my coworkers, Stephen, (who has been kind enough to put up with me pulling shot, after shot, after shot, after shot of espresso from every machine we sell until I get them all just right,) has been hassling (no, harassing is probably more accurate a term) me about my blog-break ever since . . . well, when did I post last? Damn you, Stephen, you wore down my defenses! I am back. I guess a one-month break from posting is better than no break at all.

I've cooked some, had popcorn and/or cereal for dinner some, and eaten out a little. Dan took me to an all-vegetarian Indian restaurant for my birthday, which was delicious, and otherwise, I've been sticking with a lot of old standbys -- sloppy lentils, sushi, brownies, Thai coconut soup with lemongrass, falafel, tabouli, fried rice, and rhubarb apple crisp. I have tried two new recipes since I blogged last: African Pineapple-Peanut Stew (tasty, but to quote my store manager, Mike, "that looks like vomit,") and Double-Corn Pancakes with Tex-Mex Tomato and Black Bean Salsa (much more appetizing looking, but not all that show-stopping, in the end.)

Not planning on blogging, I haven't taken any food photos! I will share some pictures of Dan's and my mini-vacay to Duluth this past weekend, however. Here you have it:


Duluth is so freakin' cool, because it's this cute, little harbor town full of awesome coffee shops, an Electric Fetus (the BEST CD stores in MN,) a co-op, and all sorts of other awesome things we hippie/hipsters enjoy. Plus, there's water, beach, and lighthouses, which are kind of neat to see.


More of the beach.


Lake Superior is chilly-cold, but we went wading anyway.


Oh yeah -- we really went because Dan's band had a show (they were some of the post-run entertainment for Grandma's Marathon!) See Dan play drums. (Those really tall cymbals are NOT Dan's, but he was sure fascinated by them.) Most of Saturday was actually eaten up with band stuff, but I had fun selling CDs and t-shirts with the other "significant others," and Dan and I also scored free dinner and a free hotel room out of the deal.

Sunday morning, we awoke to ginormous, whomping thunderstorms . . . and we had planned on going hiking. We waited out the rain CD shopping and reading the newspaper, and once the rain let up, we drove up the North Shore, with every intention of hiking at Gooseberry Falls. The further north we went, the worse the weather got, (but I have to tell you, riding in the car along the North Shore during a rainstorm while listening to Sigour Ros is pretty awesome,) so we decided to stop in Two Harbors for lunch. After lunch, we took the scenic route back south, and stopped at some random historical marker along the way. Little did we know . . . we could sneak out on to the rocks along the lakeshore!


Minnesota is so pretty.




Self-portraits are tricky. (P.S. It was really, really windy.)

We then headed back south, and stopped at Jay Cooke State Park on our way back to the city. AMAZING HIKING! You enter the park at the top of giant cliffs along the Saint Louis river, walk across the river along a big suspension bridge, and then slowly make your way down to the river bed along the opposite side. Not to restate the obvious, but Minnesota is so pretty!






Skippin' stones. I learned valuable technique from a master stone-skipper, having never successfully skipped a stone in my life. I'm not yet a pro, but I did manage a couple of short, two-skippers.







After we finished hiking, we drove back to town, picked up a pizza for dinner, (Luce's pizza bianca with garlic, spinach, mushroom, and tomato,) and watched a rockumentary about the Flaming Lips. Fabulous end to a fabulous weekend.