Camping Trips - maybe THE best camping trip

Tony and I have definitely had some fun camping trips....in fact I think they have all been fun. Even the night that Jen & Adam, Heather & Gary, and me and Tony camped out at the tree farm and FROZE (especially Gary:)). The night we spent at Tony's parents land and Tony's friend Davis drove up way late and scared the crap out us......too many fun nights to mention here.

But the night that is probably the most memorable was one we shared with Kelly, Athena, Josh, Patrick, Jenni and Rob at Three Rivers in New Mexico. I can't even think about the night without cracking up. It started off with Coors Tall boys and ended with Carlos Rossi wine....who wouldn't have a good time? :) There were also some Bloody Mary's in the middle of all of that.

When we were taking turns dancing around the picnic table Kelly fell down, got back up, and kept dancing. I don't think he ever missed a beat. Then playing frisbee he fell into a cactus but said he was fine.

Ok, disclaimer, this part is gross: but I got sick in the middle of the night and barely made it out of the tent...and onto my shoes. Ewww!! Then I stumbled over to the water jug and saw a bear standing right next to Kelly's tent, so I ever so quietly walked back to the tent. Well, the next morning I was talking about this and everyone said I must have been seeing things, and I figured that was not too far fetched. Then Patrick woke up from sleeping on a picnic table and said "Guys, last night there was a black bear in our camp - I saw it but couldn't do anything about it". Meanwhile he had some purple stain all the way down the front of his shirt. Awesome....

When Kelly got up his foot was HUGE and had cactus needles all over it! He could barely even walk. Well, come to find out his foot was broken - during our Rossi Possi dance session when he fell down it was a lot worse than anyone thought!

You would think with all that happened it wouldn't be such a great memory - but it was - it was a night to remember.  Here are some pictures from that night.

Hungarian mushrooms

So the real name for this dish is Houby Paprikas, but it's from Hungary so I'll just call it Hungarian mushrooms. We had it last night for dinner and it was great! Very quick to whip up too. We had ours over brown rice but I think it would be really good over egg noodles.

2T butter
1 med onion- chopped
1 lb. mixed mushrooms - chopped chunky
seas salt & pepper
1 T paprika
cayenne
1C sour cream
3T dill (I substituted 1 T tarragon and 1 T parsley)
Serve over rice, pasta, or spatzle

Heat large sauce pan and add butter.
When melted add onion - cook until transulcent.
Add shrooms, season with salt and pepper, then increase the heat and stir. When moisture has been released, allow it to evaporate. Add paprika and cayenne, fry for a few more moments. Add sour cream and dill - cook for 5 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Bon Appetit!

Clear Lake 2001

So we finally broke down and got a printer today. We just have too much school work to be printing off - so we figured it would be a good investment. The printer also has a scanner! So I've been scanning in old pics - here is one now - I'm sure I'll be uploading more soon.

Back story on this picture - it was taken before Tony and I got married - on our first road trip together. We stopped in Clear Lake, Iowa to camp for the night and fell in love with the little town! We have been back several times since then and it's always just as charming.

Have a good weekend!

Pay it Forward

Yesterday morning I woke up at 5:30 per the usual and in a fog wondered down stairs to feed Kirby and pour myself a cup of coffee. No coffee in the coffee pot, so I thought I forgot to program the timer. Then I realized the coffee machine was broken. Nuts! So I pulled out our french press that we use for camping. As I take off the top the plunger falls apart. I tried for 5 minutes to put it back together and finally gave up with the consolation that I could just run by S-bucks on my way to work. Not a bad consolation!
So I stopped by S-bucks and ordered my coffee - that's when the girl at the cash register told me my drink was taken care of today. WHAT? I just smiled and said thanks, but didn't push it. I figured I was winning something, like maybe I was the 20th customer or something. I really didn't want to prod because I was afraid they would take my prize away. Then the guy behind me ordered 2 small coffees and she said the same thing to him - his was taken care of. So he asked her why? And she said "someone came in this  morning and paid it forward". So he handed her his money and said - let's just continue that then. Upon which I almost started getting teary and I gave her my $5 too. I'm a selfish girl for thinking I would keep my $5 to myself. I was just shocked. So of course when I got to my car I started crying. It was the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for me that I found out about. Paying it forward? I thought that was only something you hear about in the news, not something that truly ever happens to you. And granted it wasn't something big - just a cup of coffee, but still - it completely made my day. Something so small, but it meant so much. It made me remember that there are still good people in the world - the type of people who just want to make a complete strangers day better because they can. Small gifts of kindness mean so much. Imagine if we all paid it forward when we were able to - just a little bit here and there, how much better the world would be? Even if it's only our little world in which we live day to day. I still get weepy even thinking about it.

Who knew Healthy could taste so good?

Continuing on my quest to eat more things homemade, today I made granola. AMAZING!! It turned out so tasty and made quit a bit. I put it on top of some fat free vanilla yogurt - I can't stop grinning it was so good! :) I want to package it up and send some out to people. It was really easy to make and now it's going to be a great snack during the week.

It would be awesome if I could get a really good recipe down pat and sell it maybe at the Farmer's Market in the summer. :)

Here is what I used. I got the basic recipe from a vegetarian cook book at the library yesterday. But it looks like a lot of other ones I have seen on the internet. The one thing is to keep stirring and moving it around - it burns quickly!! I would say every 4 -6 minutes stir it.

Fruit & Spice Granola
4 Cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 Cup unsweetened dried coconut
1 Cup sliced almonds
1 Cup pecans
1/2 Cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 Cup honey (I used raw blue agave and I have also read recipes that called for maple syrup)
2 Cups mixed dried fruit (I used 1/2 cup raisans; 1/2 cup dried blueberries; 1 cup craisans)

Sitr together first 7 ingredients
Melt butter with honey (or whichever sweetener you want to use) in a small sauce pan over low heat.
Pour butter mixture over oat mixture and toss.
Spread evenly on 2 baking sheets. Stir frequently and switch positions of pans until golden brown - approx. 30 minutes (maybe less).
Transfer to large bowl, add dried fruit and toss.

Bon Appetit!

My Weeks End

Not too much happened this week so I just thought I'd post the low down of our regular every day goings.

Tony started school and his week went really well. His classes seem like they are going to be pretty good - and a couple of them sound really interesting. He has to read the book Botony of Desire and it actually looks like a good book - he's already began reading it. It's a very interesting way to look at our interaction with plants, or plants interactions with us. It's still so exciting that he is doing this. Oh, the places he'll go.

I've still been sticking to my running plan, some days its more, some days its less. But either way I've stuck to it now since Jan. 1 and I'm already feeling stronger.Today was the longest one yet. Granted, I'm more of a jogger than a runner, but it feels really good to get back into it.

So I've been wanting to take yoga classes again, since we quit the gym. There is a place here in Parker (it's a franchise) called CorePower. But it's pricey! So I was really trying to weigh whether or not it would be worth it to join since I'll only be able to go a few times a week. Then what pops up in my inbox from Groupon??? A $49/month coupon to CorePower!! So I hoped on that and finally got something good out of Groupon. Now at least I'll get to check it out for a reasonable price. They have hot yoga, which is something I've always wanted to try.

I tried a new recipe last night and it turned out great - it's definitely going on our rotation. I was talking to Marla the other night and we were talking about what a great recipe book Savoring the Southwest is so I decided to find one out of there. (This is a recipe book from my hometown. It is illustrated with art work from artists in New Mexico throughout the book. As much as I love to read recipe books, this one takes the cake because of the beautiful drawings and paintings scattered it in.)
Here it is along with my substitutions:

Southwest Fettucine
1/4 cup butter (I used Smart Balance)
1 cup sliced Canadian bacon (or you could use ham)
1 jar (8 ounces) roasted sweet red peppers, drained and diced
1 package (10 ounces) frozen green peas
1 cup heavy cream (I used fat free half and half)
1/2 tsp. salt (I used course)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pd. fettucine noodles
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. minced garlic (I added this because we are fans of garlic but the recipe does not call for it)

Melt butter in large skillet. Add bacon and cook for 1 minute. Add peppers and peas, cook for 1 minute to coat with butter. Stir in cream, salt and pepper. Bring to boil; lower heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove sauce from heat; reserve while cooking pasta. Cook and drain pasta; return to pot. Add sauce and cheese; toss over low heat until mixture is well blended and heated thoroughly.

This was a really quick meal and Tony and I were both big fans!

Bon Appetit!

Speaking of food - I started a new book this week - My Life in France. It's written by Julia Child (with the help of her nephew). So far so good! I think I am equally facinated with cooking and with France. Since she did both I am a fan of hers. I did watch Julie and Julia in the theater and thought it was great! I wasn't as impressed the second time I watched it when it came out to video though. I think it has something to do with the fact that I googled Julie Powell and she's not at all what I thought her to be from the movie. I was just really disappointed with an interview I read with her. Anywho - I'll let you know how the book goes!

Now we are off to my favorite place - the Public Library! After that we might try to get in some Geo Caching.

Have a good weekend!

Nothing like Homemade Bread

That's what I have been thinking for the past couple of weeks - craving homemade bread. So I did it today. I finally finished my paper (woo-hoo!) so I thought as a reward I would bake us some wheat bread. It's really not much of a reward. In fact, it's not really edible (I do have another loaf in the oven - so maybe that one will be better). I'm not sure what I did wrong but I'm thinking that perhaps bread making is something that takes practice to get good at. I think one of the things I did wrong was that I did it all by hand. You are supposed to use a standing mixer with a paddle or dough hook attachment - but I don't have one (as much as I cook I probably should, but my old mixer that I got for a wedding present is still working!). So I had to stir everything and my arms got so tired!! I finally gave up and just figured it would work out. It definitely looks like bread - it just doesn't taste great. It's not doughy and soft. It's more like a baguette.
I followed the recipe out of Martha Stewart but I think next time I'm going to use this one from a blog I found.
The positive side was that it smelled absolutely delicious! So if you have a good bread recipe send it my way! Next weekend I might try and make home made granola - hopefully with better luck.

Mmmm...Beer....

Who wouldn't be smiling on a beer tour?

Saturday Tony and I took a trip to Ft. Collins to get his books and check out where his classes were. While we were there we went on a tour of New Belgium. These tours sometimes sell out, so we made our reservation ahead of time. It was a GREAT tour! I really like the company itself and their beer is so goo! We had a really fun time tasting. Too bad the beer I fell for is SUPER expensive. I guess we will have to go back for a tour in order to taste it again. :)  It is a sour beer and it takes 3 years of being in oak barrels to be ready. The company itself just sounds amazing to work for. They treat their employees well and make a concentrated effort to be as energy efficient and off the grid as possible.

New Starts

New adventures, new changes...life changes. In some respects it's scarier as you get older, you have more responsibilities and you feel as though you have more to lose than when you were yonger. But in some ways it's not quite as frightening because you have gambled before and landed on your feet. You can analyze the risk and your perspective is different.
I am so proud of Tony and really excited for him and for us. Leaving a good job to persue a dream. It takes courage and most of us never take that leap. We stay with what is safe. But who wants to live their life having never taken a chance? Tony is jumping at his chance - on Wednesday he starts back to school. He is going for a degree in Forestry. Everything about this feels right and we know there is no time like the present. It is scary, financially, but we are putting our trust in God and relying on Him to get us through this exciting new chapter. After all, we don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow.
Amy is also starting a new phase in her life - she is moving to Las Cruces to go back to school. She actually started back in the fall, but now she is transfering to finish her degree. I'm so excited for her too! She is uprooting and moving to a new place, but I know she's going to do great. She has a goal in sight and knowing what you want is half the battle. Plus Tony and I are really looking forward to taking a road trip down to Cruces to visit her!

Beautiful day for a Hike!

It feels like it's been so long since Tony and I went on a nice long hike. We couldn't wait any longer. With temps finally warming up we made our way to Eldorado Canyon State Park on Sunday. We took the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail. It was about 4 miles by the time we got back to the car....and it was a moderately difficult 4 miles in the snow. I'm definetly going to be sore tomorrow! But it felt so good to be outside enjoying the sunshine. It was a really cool hike too - at the end of the first 1.4 miles there are the remains of the Crags Hotel - a hotel that burned down in the early 1900's. All that remains is a retaining wall and the place where the oven was. Very cool! I just can't imagine how people got all the way up there way back when though. Then we hiked a bit further up to a look out on the continental divide.
It's just beautiful up there and we have really enjoyed all the hikes we have done in that state park (I think we've done almost all of them now). And one of the best parts about going there is getting to see all the climbers! It's intense to watch them on these vertical walls - I can't imagine what it would be like to get up there! Hopefully someday it will be me. If you weren't looking for them you would miss them.Its such an enormous slab of mountain, but if you look close enough you can see these ants making their way up.
(I was going to hold off on posting this until I uploaded the pictures, but who knows how long that is going to be - so I'll post the pics later)

The Homework is already starting....

Tomorrow I begin school again. What a nice break it was.....now back to the real world. Tomorrow begins my 6th quarter in school. I am scheduled to be done in August - so only 3 more quarters to go. But I already have homework! I have some accounting and law homework and I am still working on my risk managment research paper. I have 14 pages so far. The central issues and identifying the ways to mitigate the risks have to be a minimum of 20 pages....after all is said and done it should be around 30 or 40 pages though. Whew!!! It's not that difficult - what is difficult is getting all the ideas down in an organized manner. I am turning in the paper to 2 professors though - one for a grade and the other one in *hopes* of getting it accepted to a larger project and maybe get published....that would be ideal.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

If I ever make it to Hawaii.....

We will definitely be going to Kauai to hike the Kalalau Trail. In Tony's Backpacker magazine it was listed a reader's choice and this hike looks amazing. It's about 11 miles one way. The Sierra Club listed it as a 9 out of 10 in terms of difficulty. But the end of the trail is a secluded beach! I've read some reviews of the hike and it seems grueling - but just imagine the view.
And a funny coincidence - we rented The Perfect Getaway last night. We really like the movie - but the trail that they are hiking was the Kalalau Trail. 

New Year's Eve Grub

On the menu for tonight:
Little Smokies
Crab Dip in a bread bowl
Ranch Dip and Veggies
Shrimp & Dip
Champagne punch

It's a good thing Mandy and Michael and the kids are joining the 3 of us!

Bon Appetit!

Ending December with The Decemberists

So lovely.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9JKoCtoox8

Read this story of The Crane Wife - it explains where the song came from.

Resolutions continued..........

So going off my last post I continue my resolutions. One of them being to take more pictures. Tony and I invested in a really nice Canon DSLR this past year. We always have the best intentions of taking pictures but then forget! And seriously, even if I don't want to lug around the big gun it's not that hard to take my little digital camera with me in my purse to capture moments. So this year I am going to try really hard to take more pics.
Geocaching. This is something that Tony and I really enjoy doing (as you can see from previous posts). But its something we just haven't done that much of. One of the biggest reasons is grad school. I know I blame it most of the time for why I don't/can't get things done, but it's all I do! There just aren't enough hours in a day. But maybe if we plan ahead of time we can stick to it and start doing more of it. At REI they are really expanding their caching stuff. They have a section dedicated to it now.
I have quite a few other "little" resolutions too. Now that I look at these -they are not so much resolutions as parts of my life I want to improve on or things I want to do. I know that for the first half of the year (until August 13th! Graduation day!) they are all going to have to go on the back burner because I'll be going to school full time, but maybe every now and again I can find the time to do things I really enjoy doing. Like sewing (or more like learning to sew), keeping a cleaner house (how can 2 people and a dog get a house so dirty?), cooking more, baking more, keeping in touch better with friends and family. Take language classes (free Rosetta Stone through the college library - how can I pass that up???).
Oh, and we have big plans for the garden this year. We are going to expand it to double in size so that we can grow more food!! We had a lot of fun last summer and learned some lessons. We have already started planning how we are going to lay it out and what we are going to plant. The veggies just tasted so good and it felt good to eat straight out of the garden. Hopefully this year I will have enough to can as well.
One of the bigger resolutions I am really going to try and stick to is letting go of guilt. I am guilt ridden! It's almost debilitating. I feel bad about everything. I think of things that happened years ago and I am plagued with guilt about what I should have done or didn't do or did wrong. I know how unhealthy it is. I am still not sure how I am going to do accomplish this. If I start letting things go I know it will help. I feel like it's part of my DNA to feel so bad about next to everything. Like taking time off work - it's hard to even enjoy it because I think of what I should be doing or what I am going to have to face when I get back. I worry that maybe I'm not in the right career field. I worry that I don't have children yet....and what if I can't? What if I wait so long to start trying that I am not able to? I feel guilty that I don't do as well in school as I should. Oh, I could go on and on and on with this list.
On this same note another thing I need to do is learn to let things go. I know in my head that not everyone is going to want to keep/maintain friendships. I guess I just always think that even if you don't talk to someone often that you continue thinking positive thoughts and hoping good things come their way, but not everyone is like that. This sounds negative, but I need to accept that and realize that friendships are two sided and they cannot be maintained by only one side. And I will still continue praying for people and wishing great things for their life, but I cannot allow the non existant reciprocation of this to affect me. I mean, how many times do you reach out to someone before you realize that they are never going to reach back? Does it make you a fool to continue trying? Maybe it is just a waste of time that you could be spending on those that really count in your life, those that are going to be there at the finish line waiting for you with open arms and an iced coke. Once you realize that you can see that they were the ones cheering you one the whole time, even when you were falling, when you were wanting to give up and walk away, they were the ones who loved you no matter what and they are ones that are important then you can focus your energy on doing the same for them. And I don't want this to sound like I am going to start taking people out of the address book, I'm just not going to put as much heart into those relationships. I'm going to try and keep them at arms length, then its not such a big deal when in the past I would be disappointed. I think part of why I am feeling this way is our lack of friendships here in Colorado. As you get older too, I think you realize that there are a few people who really count in life and they need/want you as bad as you do them. I am so lucky and so grateful for the lovely people in my life....the ones who will drop everything to listen, who know just what to say and who know it's ok to not say anything at all sometimes. The ones who call just to hear your voice and be reassured that you are ok. So here is to letting the nagging feeling that it's my fault go to the wayside with the rest of 2009.

New Year's Resolutions and other notions

It seems like everyday I add to my list of resolutions. Things I want to change about myself. I usually don't do resolutions because I seem to break them the minute I make them - but this year I'm hoping to turn that trend around. And what a better time to do so as I enter my 29th year. That's right, the BIG 2-9. I figure I ought to try and end this decade on a high note.
My biggest resolution is to start running again. Not only that - but to run with a purpose(s). I know that mentally it will make me feel a million times better. It will help me to de-stress. With all that I have had going on for the past year and half, the move, new job, going back to school along with all the other everyday stresses that we all face, I desperately need to do something to help me cope. I also have this dream of ending my twenties at the size I was at the beginning of my twenties. That is going to be close to impossible, but a girl can dream, right? Granted I haven't gotten on a scale since last summer, but I know I have a ways to go. I also plan on signing up for some competitive runs. The best part about these is that you are always striving for your own PR, it's not so much a race against anyone else. I love that running is measurable, be it time or distance or both. I think that if I sign up for some ahead of time I will have more drive to keep practicing. I just keep trying to remember how good it felt when I accomplished my best run. It wasn't very fast, but it was definetly the hardest run I ever did. It was not that far, maybe 3 1/2 miles, but I did it the whole way through without walking and I felt so good about myself when I finished. It was a course I had done so many times before, but had usually had to stop and walk for a bit halfway through. If I keep thinking about how good that felt I know it will help me to be inspired. I'm reading a book right now on running and one of the suggestions was to find a running group. When we lived in Federal Hill there was a running group that I always wish I would have joined. The book says that it will help you to stay committed and make your runs more fun. Maybe this would be an opportunity to make some friends as well. I'll have to look into it (another item added to my to-do list). Another idea from the book was to expand your running courses. So maybe I can start trail running. That is one thing that I am a little nervous about since my knees are so bad - so I'll have to try it out and see if I can do it. I have seen some people trail running while we have been out hiking and they are hard core!! But the scenary might be worth it.
Well, this is enough for now. My first resolution. I'll have to list the rest of them in another post. Right now I need to finish getting ready for my sister!! She's driving up tonight and I can't wait! We are going to try and go either cross country skiing or snow shoeing on Wednesday in Breckenridge. They have a Nordic Center there with groomed trails. We have been snow shoeing before but never CC skiing - which looks like so much fun! I love the winter and I want to make the most of it. It's just so nice to be outside enjoying the white fluffy stuff. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures (take more pictures - another resolution). Maybe we can even do some Geo-caching while we are up in the mountains (see - another resolution!!).

Merry Christmas to All

HAPPY CANOEING!!!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! Our's was wonderful! We drove down to New Mexico on Wednesday and got back home today. Driving was kind of hairy - we hit a really bad storm in between Vaughn and Roswell. It was definetly in the top 3 worst driving conditions we have been in - only change up was that I was driving!! There was no where to pull over to switch. No plows, no salt, just a really icy stretch. It was super scary but thankfully we made it ok.
It was great to be with my family. We had a really nice time. We spent most of it at my parents house but also got to go over to my aunts and see my grandparents and cousins. It's been too long.
We were going to go to Minnesota for New Year's but have decided against it. We are tired and don't want to risk the weather being bad on the road again.
I also got to catch up with some old friends while in Roswell! We met up with Marla and Lauren and Doug this morning for breakfast. I haven't seen Mar since she came out to Baltimore in 2007 and I think it's been 3 years since I've seen Lauren. There is never enough time but at least I got to catch up with them for a little while. It's so hard when everyone lives so far apart.
I have one week off until school starts. Ughh, I need to buy my books. Oh, and finish a 20 page paper from my last class. But this last week I'm going to try and relax as much as possible. And try to finalize my New Year's resolutions - which at this point are NUMEROUS!

Book Review and New Readings

So I finished the Sarah Palin book. It was an interesting read because I am interested in her. But I think if you are looking to get a juicy autobiography - this is not the book for you. It was mostly about her experience in politics in Alaska. Then towards the end it was dedicated to her experience with the RNC and running as VP. The part I liked most was that throughout the book she continued to talk about how she was a mom first and how much she loved her kids. I really admire her being able to balance it all. I don't know how she does it! She's a really beautiful person, both inside and out. After Andrea gets done reading it I'm probably going to mail it to my friend Craig - I know he's been dying to get his hands on it (I will also be including my selection of Ann Coulter books).

I started reading Rumspringa on the plane today. I'm hooked! I'm already almost 1/2 way done. It's so interesting and it's something that I knew next to nothing about until today. For those of you who don't know, Rumspringa is a period in an Amish person's life where they are able to live outside the bounds of the Amish rules. It starts when you turn 16 and ends when you decide to leave the church or come back into the fold through Baptism. I can't imagine going from such a sheltered life to a life where almost everything goes. The part that shocked me the most was that they have an 80-90% return rate! Call me crazy, but I just think the Amish way of life would be so much easier. Less stress, less involvement with the trails of this world. The one thing that seems unbelievable is that they stop their education at the 8th grade. That would be the hardest part to handle. I guess I love how they all take care of eachother and try everyday to live a Christ like life. I'll be interested to finish the book and see how the main people that Mr.Shachtman interviewed turned out.

Brrr....

It's so cold here!! It started snowing on Sunday morning and it's kept up intermittently since then! I think the warmest it has gotten here since Sunday has been in the teens. When I got home today my car said 7 degrees and the wind is blowing - so it really felt like the wind chill was in the negatives. So cold! I just want to stay inside and stay warm! I still had to go to work though and errands still have to be ran, they don't stop just because of the cold. I had to go to the post office - mailed off 2 presents!! 2 more things to check off my list. And the post office isn't quite a mad house yet.
You know what today is? Julie and Julia is on DVD!! Yeah!!! So I had to high tail it to Blockbuster and get a copy for tonight. I'm so excited - I loved this movie in the theater. It just makes me want to blog and cook. Ok, I already do both, but I would like to do both well! Maybe someday. :)
17 more days until Christmas!

Pretty in Pink

When we were little, one of Amy and I's favorite movies was Pretty in Pink. Along with Grease and 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. I watched Pretty in Pink again the other night and I had forgotten how much I love that movie!!! It just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I'm sure the nostalgia has more to do with times gone by than with the actual movie - but still. That movie is great. First of all - the pink Carmengia. That is still my dream car. Every time we see one I remind Tony that some day it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine. And I still think Molly Ringwald is one of the most beautiful actresses. What happened to her? I never realized until the other night how punk she is in this movie. And it's not necessarily her clothes or style, but it's her. It's her attitude. The places she hangs out. She stands out.
The first scene - where Steph hits on Andie - reminds me so much of Juno when Ellen Page talks about how the popular jock is supposed to like cheerleaders, but secretly wants to date the goth/the vamp/the nerd. And they know they can't get her.
Blaine wins your heart when he lets his inner nerd come out with the computer trick in the library. Ahhh, ancient IMing.
Duckie - oh Duckie. You can't talk about this movie without talking about Duckie. He's loved Andie for as long as he can remember. Maybe all of us at some point in our life can identify with a Duckie and Andie relationship. Having a platonic relationship that you want more out of - but you know the other person doesn't. I think that is why he is so relateable.