on postseason baseball, oatmeal & other things

between the world series starting in two days(!!) and the looming election, i've been a bundle of excited nerves all week. tickets for the world series are being sold for shameful prices online (i really dislike people who buy tickets just to sell them to other people lucky and crazy enough to pay those sort of SHAMEFUL prices for them), which means i'll be watching the games with friends either here in the wc or back in philly. adam and i will surely watch a few together. we are also making plans for a nice, little election party the night of the 4th. i want to make cookies in the shape of pennsylvania and donkeys and cover them in blue sugar or icing!

i'm currently trying to get myself into the proper mood to go out into the cold and wait in line for who knows how long for the hayride at bates motel. hope & leigh have $5 off coupons and laurel and ryan are going, too. so, the company will be awesome and it would be really nice to bundle up in a scarf and get some hot cider or chocolate after all that screaming and pulling the hood of my hoodie down over my face that will surely take place on the hayride. but it's also heroes night and i taught ALLLLL DAY today without a single prep period (for my teacher friends out there - that's NINE forty-minute periods of teaching thanks to our longer school day). so, i don't know. i told them to call me when they get there and i'll make up my mind then. thank goodness it's only four miles away.

i've been drinking a different seasonal beer every other night or so. tonight is dogfish head's "punkin" ale and it's definitely in the running for a top place on my list, though the weyerbacher imperial pumpkin ale is still my favorite.

and lately, i'm obsessed with oatmeal. i mean, it really is the perfect morning meal. it's warm, hearty, nostalgic and filling as hell. i've been making it nearly every morning before work and i swear, i don't get the slightest bit hungry (not even for a little snack!) until it's actually time for me to sit down and eat my lunch. i've managed to incorporate it seamlessly into my pre-existing, perfectly timed 40-minute morning routine. here's the recipe i use, just like mom used to make it for laurel and me:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup quick oats + plus a little shake more
1 TB of brown sugar
a handful of raisins
a dusting of cinnamon

bring water & milk to a gentle boil. turn down the heat and add the 1/2 cup of oats. if you like your oatmeal thick like me, shake in some more. cook for another minute over medium heat, stirring often. remove from heat, cover and leave it while you finish getting ready for work (or whatever else you may be doing).

uncover it when you're ready to eat it. add the brown sugar, raisins and cinnamon, stir it up and eat it right away.

trust me, it's damn good and ridiculously easy.