Dream a Little Dream...

Here is something weird that has been happening ever since I moved into my new apartment: I am remembering my dreams. I have always been the odd one out when any conversation turned to dreams because after about the age of 8 I was never able to remember the deep sleep musings of my REM cycles. However, for some reason, barely a week goes by when I don't have some crazy, split-second long flashes from my subconscious. Strange changes. Oh, and just as a side note, Annie and I affectionately called our apartment -before I knew what would transpire in the midnight hours- "DreamHome#1". Fitting.

Another thing that hasn't happened to me since I was I'm sure past the toddler age was waking up in the middle of the night out of hunger. That, too, happened to me last week. Turns out it was the beginning of a week-long stomach sickness. Luckily, my mom came down to Chicago to celebrate her annual flee from the Education MN conference (and to have fun for her birthday). There's no better time to be sick than when your mom is around. She brought me soup, made me cream of wheat and hot water bottles, did my errands, and was okay with skipping the Institute of Art in favor of sleep.

By Saturday night, I thankfully still had the stomach for my first, epic entry into the world of... competitive baking! That's right, I entered an apple pie baking contest. As if I were a 4-H -er! For some reason I really wanted to give it a go and to get some outside validation on my growing gourmand ego. Turns out my first ever entirely from scratch pie was a semifinalist! Out of 75 entries, ours made it in the top third! Of course, I wouldn't have even thought twice about entering if not for the fact that Minnesota Mama was here (her, and the other women of my family present in my kitchen through all the stories my mom was telling as she rolled out our secret recipe pie crust).

Just because it was a hoot, here is the website for the pie contest. Why was this contest so awesome –besides getting a free mug, a Home Depot gift card, and aggravating my stomach with more pie than was good for it...? Their slogan: "Pies You Can Believe In."