Yesterday I went back to work. Not for a real work day, but because the floors needed to be vacuumed before the carpet cleaners came in today. The doors stayed locked, the lights turned off, the computer system off, the music blaring as loud as it would go. I had to move all the furniture around and vacuum and it took longer than expected. Drek went to go play badminton and I was left alone. When I was almost done, a person came and knocked on the door. I knew she could see me, but apparently she couldn't see that the open sign was not lit, and that the sign on the door said closed until Jan 2. She wouldn't leave, so I went and opened the door.
"Do you work here?" She asked.
"No," I answered,"I'm robbing the place."
"Ok." She said and got back in her car.
Ok. That works.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Indoor Plumbing; It's Gonna Be Big
Our bathroom sink works!! It's the best Christmas present ever!! Our landlord came over yesterday to fix our furnace (good thing we didn't go out of town; Acouchi would have been a catsicle) and while he was at it he fixed our leaky toilet and our sink. I didn't think it could be fixed. It's been broken ever since we moved in a year and a half ago. Do you have any idea how great it is to have a bathroom sink that work?!! It is amazing.
Also yesterday Krisling gave me a breadmaker. I am so freakin excited to make bread. It was all I could think about today. Alas, I have no yeast, so bread will have to wait until tomorrow. SO EXCITED!!!!
Also yesterday Krisling gave me a breadmaker. I am so freakin excited to make bread. It was all I could think about today. Alas, I have no yeast, so bread will have to wait until tomorrow. SO EXCITED!!!!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Three Christmases
Christmas was wonderful.
Christmas eve I worked until three. It was a fun day to work. Cherie gave me a beautiful new jacket that has quickly risen to may favorite piece of clothing. She also gave me an Australia movie poster, and an apron with cute little cherries on it. I love cherries! Josh gave me socks, which was hilarious. Bob gave me MOVIE TICKETS!!!!! SO EXCITED!!!! I want to use them to see Australia. Rissy, you free?
After I got of work Drek and I went up to his family's house. We played games in the gym of the church up there. We played kick ball and basketball and ultimate Frisbee, then I took of my shoes so we could play a form of dodge ball. This game was a blast. Two teams stand on opposite sides of the gym, each team must stay on their own side, divided by the line in the middle. You then throw hings at the other team. What kinds of things? Oh, gloves, stuffed animals, pillows, socks, tennis balls and things like that. Yes. you throw things at each other. That is the point of the game. I ran up to get some ammo, but jumped back to avoid a flying glove. Unfortunately, I jumped back into small corner, my foot catching a piece of metal on the wall. I tore open my foot on a wall. It takes talent.
After that we went back to the house for a fantastic feast. Drek and I then left for my parent's house, where we talked for a little bit before loading up in the car to go look at Christmas lights.
Looking at Christmas lights on Christmas eve has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. We always go in our little car. We drive up hills, we drive down hills. We charge up mountains and through snow drifts. We've gone in good weather and we've gone in blizzards. We have never gotten stuck in the snow. Until now. We got stuck in the snow. Luckily, we weren't that far from Drek's family's house so he just called them and they came and rescued us. It turned out to be great fun. I hope we get stuck again next year.
Drek and I finally came home, snuggled into bed with another feast of breakfast foods, put Acouchi in between us and all three of us watched Pushing Daises until we fell asleep.
Christmas morning came to soon. Our alarm went off at the ridiculous hour of seven am. Drek and I pulled ourselves out of bed and stumbled to the car, where we drove back up to Drek's family's house to open presents. Once we woke up, it was tons of fun. They had something called a hot chocolate bar, which I'm thinking will be a tradition from now on. What a great idea.
Drek's mom loved the calender, and she didn't mind that Amari's (that's the baby's name!! Amari Nakayla. I finally got to meet her. She is gorgeous!!) birthday wasn't marked. She didn't even realize any birthdays were marked. Hooray!!
Mathew, Drek's brother, had drawn my name for presents. He got me gift certificates to my favorite Mexican restaurant, a game called Buccaneer (which we spent most of the day playing. It is a great game. Very easy, very quick) and he got Acouchi the remote controlled catnip-filled mouse. I was blown away. It was so nice of him to do all those things. I still just can't believe it.
We then drove back down the mountain to my family's house to open presents there. My mom liked her calander. I am already thinking of how to design next year's calander.
My mom got me the exact nativity I had been wanting; one made out of olive wood. It is so beautiful!! I can't wait till next Christmas to display it! Drek finally let me open Xirax's present. It is a word game! It's called a Cross Words and it is hilarious. Drek and Kara got on a team against Meimei and me and we played viciously until my sister and her family came over and we opened more presents. When the last present was opened, it was around five. Talk about dragging it out. But in a good way, I really did love every minute of it. That day I finished my dad's scarf that I was knitting. He said he liked it.
It was snowing like crazy (after snowing like crazy for several days) so Drek, Meimei and I went into the back yard and built the best snowfort ever. It was amazing. Drek built a smaller one up on a hill and we had several snowball wars. We then buried Drek alive. Giggle giggle.
We played games, ate personal calzones and then said good-bye. We headed back to our house with our loot and to spend time with Acouchi. There, we finally opened our stockings and mostly played with Acouchi's stuff. Guess what I got in my stocking?? VODKA!!!! SO EXCITED!! It's a tiny little bottle straight from Russia! Russian writing and everything! I've been wanting Vodka because I read that if you mix Vodka with deep conditioner, it makes your hair really healthy and shiny. I'm so excited!!
Christmas was so much fun this year!! Not only did we get to spend a lot of time with family, but we now have our year's supply of food storage!! Hooray!!
Christmas eve I worked until three. It was a fun day to work. Cherie gave me a beautiful new jacket that has quickly risen to may favorite piece of clothing. She also gave me an Australia movie poster, and an apron with cute little cherries on it. I love cherries! Josh gave me socks, which was hilarious. Bob gave me MOVIE TICKETS!!!!! SO EXCITED!!!! I want to use them to see Australia. Rissy, you free?
After I got of work Drek and I went up to his family's house. We played games in the gym of the church up there. We played kick ball and basketball and ultimate Frisbee, then I took of my shoes so we could play a form of dodge ball. This game was a blast. Two teams stand on opposite sides of the gym, each team must stay on their own side, divided by the line in the middle. You then throw hings at the other team. What kinds of things? Oh, gloves, stuffed animals, pillows, socks, tennis balls and things like that. Yes. you throw things at each other. That is the point of the game. I ran up to get some ammo, but jumped back to avoid a flying glove. Unfortunately, I jumped back into small corner, my foot catching a piece of metal on the wall. I tore open my foot on a wall. It takes talent.
After that we went back to the house for a fantastic feast. Drek and I then left for my parent's house, where we talked for a little bit before loading up in the car to go look at Christmas lights.
Looking at Christmas lights on Christmas eve has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. We always go in our little car. We drive up hills, we drive down hills. We charge up mountains and through snow drifts. We've gone in good weather and we've gone in blizzards. We have never gotten stuck in the snow. Until now. We got stuck in the snow. Luckily, we weren't that far from Drek's family's house so he just called them and they came and rescued us. It turned out to be great fun. I hope we get stuck again next year.
Drek and I finally came home, snuggled into bed with another feast of breakfast foods, put Acouchi in between us and all three of us watched Pushing Daises until we fell asleep.
Christmas morning came to soon. Our alarm went off at the ridiculous hour of seven am. Drek and I pulled ourselves out of bed and stumbled to the car, where we drove back up to Drek's family's house to open presents. Once we woke up, it was tons of fun. They had something called a hot chocolate bar, which I'm thinking will be a tradition from now on. What a great idea.
Drek's mom loved the calender, and she didn't mind that Amari's (that's the baby's name!! Amari Nakayla. I finally got to meet her. She is gorgeous!!) birthday wasn't marked. She didn't even realize any birthdays were marked. Hooray!!
Mathew, Drek's brother, had drawn my name for presents. He got me gift certificates to my favorite Mexican restaurant, a game called Buccaneer (which we spent most of the day playing. It is a great game. Very easy, very quick) and he got Acouchi the remote controlled catnip-filled mouse. I was blown away. It was so nice of him to do all those things. I still just can't believe it.
We then drove back down the mountain to my family's house to open presents there. My mom liked her calander. I am already thinking of how to design next year's calander.
My mom got me the exact nativity I had been wanting; one made out of olive wood. It is so beautiful!! I can't wait till next Christmas to display it! Drek finally let me open Xirax's present. It is a word game! It's called a Cross Words and it is hilarious. Drek and Kara got on a team against Meimei and me and we played viciously until my sister and her family came over and we opened more presents. When the last present was opened, it was around five. Talk about dragging it out. But in a good way, I really did love every minute of it. That day I finished my dad's scarf that I was knitting. He said he liked it.
It was snowing like crazy (after snowing like crazy for several days) so Drek, Meimei and I went into the back yard and built the best snowfort ever. It was amazing. Drek built a smaller one up on a hill and we had several snowball wars. We then buried Drek alive. Giggle giggle.
We played games, ate personal calzones and then said good-bye. We headed back to our house with our loot and to spend time with Acouchi. There, we finally opened our stockings and mostly played with Acouchi's stuff. Guess what I got in my stocking?? VODKA!!!! SO EXCITED!! It's a tiny little bottle straight from Russia! Russian writing and everything! I've been wanting Vodka because I read that if you mix Vodka with deep conditioner, it makes your hair really healthy and shiny. I'm so excited!!
Christmas was so much fun this year!! Not only did we get to spend a lot of time with family, but we now have our year's supply of food storage!! Hooray!!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Acouchi's Christmas
Acouchi had a great Christmas. Her stocking was stuffed full of treats from Santa Paws, and once Drek and I actually got home, she was given a lot of attention.
This is her looking over her loot:
Lots of yummy canned food, bacon treats (her favorite, even though they are supposed to be dog treats) a container of catnip, a laser pointer (the one from last year was lost) and, the best toy of all; Matthew gave Acouchi a remote controlled catnip mouse. We named the mouse crackers.
Notice that once we opened the can of yummy chicken and shrimp cat food, she dived right in and would not stop eating, even to get her picture taken.
I keep trying to get a video of Acouchi playing with Crackers, but she will not cooperate. I will keep trying.
This is her looking over her loot:
Lots of yummy canned food, bacon treats (her favorite, even though they are supposed to be dog treats) a container of catnip, a laser pointer (the one from last year was lost) and, the best toy of all; Matthew gave Acouchi a remote controlled catnip mouse. We named the mouse crackers.
Notice that once we opened the can of yummy chicken and shrimp cat food, she dived right in and would not stop eating, even to get her picture taken.I keep trying to get a video of Acouchi playing with Crackers, but she will not cooperate. I will keep trying.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Ah, Insurance Salesman
On Saturday, a guy came into the store. He was young (late 20's) and dressed like he was trying to dress well. He told me he had just opened up his own insurance company. He wanted to look at massage chairs. I put him in a Zero Gravity chair and went on to explain to him what Zero Gravity was:
Zero Gravity is a position in which your muscles are not extended or retracted. All your muscles are completely relaxed. The higher up your feet are, the more pressure is taken off of your back. So, as you can feel, it's a very comfortable position because you sort of melt. It's also very healthy for you; you have improved circulation and improved oxygen.
He didn't really seem to get it (he didn't seem too bright) so I left him to enjoy the massage. When it finished, I came over to see how he liked it. He asked about the position again, saying he really didn't get it. So I said this:
Zero Gravity position is the position that astronauts sleep in when they are in space, when they sleep in zero gravity. It's the position the body naturally goes to because it puts the least amount of pressure on your body. You'll also notice that it's the position you sleep in on your side, again, this is because it is the position your body is most comfortable in.
He answered: So, Zero Gravity is a pillow between your legs?
...
What? Me: Um, zero gravity is this position, that you are in right now, but yes, when you sleep on your side it is good to put a pillow between your legs. That will help take pressure off of your lower back.
He didn't seem to get this. He thought for a second, then got that look in his eye. You know when you have found a catch, a question the will prove that the sale person or the witeness in a murder trial is lying. That's the look he got. This is the question he asked: "But I've never been in outer space. So how does my body know it should be relaxed in this position?" and then he sat back with a "gotcha" expression on his face.
Zero Gravity is a position in which your muscles are not extended or retracted. All your muscles are completely relaxed. The higher up your feet are, the more pressure is taken off of your back. So, as you can feel, it's a very comfortable position because you sort of melt. It's also very healthy for you; you have improved circulation and improved oxygen.
He didn't really seem to get it (he didn't seem too bright) so I left him to enjoy the massage. When it finished, I came over to see how he liked it. He asked about the position again, saying he really didn't get it. So I said this:
Zero Gravity position is the position that astronauts sleep in when they are in space, when they sleep in zero gravity. It's the position the body naturally goes to because it puts the least amount of pressure on your body. You'll also notice that it's the position you sleep in on your side, again, this is because it is the position your body is most comfortable in.
He answered: So, Zero Gravity is a pillow between your legs?
...
What? Me: Um, zero gravity is this position, that you are in right now, but yes, when you sleep on your side it is good to put a pillow between your legs. That will help take pressure off of your lower back.
He didn't seem to get this. He thought for a second, then got that look in his eye. You know when you have found a catch, a question the will prove that the sale person or the witeness in a murder trial is lying. That's the look he got. This is the question he asked: "But I've never been in outer space. So how does my body know it should be relaxed in this position?" and then he sat back with a "gotcha" expression on his face.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
You Know I Think This Christmas Thing Is Not As Tricky As It Seems
My work Christmas party was last night. It was so much fun! That morning, Bob told me I was in charge of the games. Surprise!! Josh and I looked online to find good Christmas party games and found a good one. Cherie wanted to play Charades, and I came up with the other game.
We finally all made it to the restaurant and the fun began! We had the most delicious appetizers and talked and talked. We played the first game:
Everyone writes the name of a celebrity, famous person or character on a Post-It note which they stick to the forehead of the player on their left. Make sure they don’t see the name. Everyone else can see your forehead. The objective is to work out who you are. Going around the table, each payer takes a turn to ask the party questions about who they are - answers can be YES or NO only. If you get a YES you may continue asking, if you get a NO play moves on to the left.
I made Drek be Simba, and I was SpoungeBob. The game was hilarious. Next up was our white elephant gift exchange! For some reason, last year the game went on for almost an hour! This time it was over in ten minutes. I guess we were all content with what we got.
The next game was one Anna taught me when we were in Texas over the summer:
Different candy bars are put in the middle. One person rolls two dice. If he does not roll doubles, he passes the dice to the next player. If he rolls doubles, he picks a candy bar from the middle, announces what he picked and hides it so no one can see. Then the next person rolls. Same thing, except if he rolls doubles he can say what candy bar person one has, and if he is right he steals the candy bar. Play continues until all the candy is gone.
Drek almost always rolled doubles! He ended up with five out of the seven candy bars!! I need to take that man to Vegas.
The last game we played was Christmas Charades. It was hilarious. All of this was done over delicious food and even yummier deserts. I had such a wonderful time!
We finally all made it to the restaurant and the fun began! We had the most delicious appetizers and talked and talked. We played the first game:
Everyone writes the name of a celebrity, famous person or character on a Post-It note which they stick to the forehead of the player on their left. Make sure they don’t see the name. Everyone else can see your forehead. The objective is to work out who you are. Going around the table, each payer takes a turn to ask the party questions about who they are - answers can be YES or NO only. If you get a YES you may continue asking, if you get a NO play moves on to the left.
I made Drek be Simba, and I was SpoungeBob. The game was hilarious. Next up was our white elephant gift exchange! For some reason, last year the game went on for almost an hour! This time it was over in ten minutes. I guess we were all content with what we got.
The next game was one Anna taught me when we were in Texas over the summer:
Different candy bars are put in the middle. One person rolls two dice. If he does not roll doubles, he passes the dice to the next player. If he rolls doubles, he picks a candy bar from the middle, announces what he picked and hides it so no one can see. Then the next person rolls. Same thing, except if he rolls doubles he can say what candy bar person one has, and if he is right he steals the candy bar. Play continues until all the candy is gone.
Drek almost always rolled doubles! He ended up with five out of the seven candy bars!! I need to take that man to Vegas.
The last game we played was Christmas Charades. It was hilarious. All of this was done over delicious food and even yummier deserts. I had such a wonderful time!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Qinghaosu: An anti-Malarial Substance Used in Chinese Medicine
It is snowing like crazy here. I do like snow, I just wish is wasn't so cold. Then snow would be delightful. I had my very first snowball fight of the year today. Drek hit me in the head with an ice ball. Xirax hit me in the face. I got Xirax back by distracting him while Alexis sneaked up on him and pelted him. I got Drek back by beating him at Alhambra. Bwahahaha.
A few weeks ago Krisling finally convinced me to join facebook. She only did this by bribing me with online Scrabble. So, I joined, and have been sucked in to the relm of facebook. Hey, did you know Jeremy is married? And Aaron hates Christmas?? Everyone is on facebook! It is amazing!! You know what else is amazing? That no one else is on facebook for the Scrabble. Not even Krisling, who has not played a word in nine days. I started searching for an open game. Alas, no one on facebook plays Scrabble. No one. There are no open games. I created one, but I am less than hopeful.
For some reason, I am going through a word-game phase. It started with Scrabble, but then I played Balderdash and my obsession exploded. I am now looking up random words all over the place, This might be an attempt to beat Drek and his sister, Anna, at a word game. These two are word fiends. At any given time, they can rattle off lists of English words with Q's that do not require U's. But I am getting closer...
A few weeks ago Krisling finally convinced me to join facebook. She only did this by bribing me with online Scrabble. So, I joined, and have been sucked in to the relm of facebook. Hey, did you know Jeremy is married? And Aaron hates Christmas?? Everyone is on facebook! It is amazing!! You know what else is amazing? That no one else is on facebook for the Scrabble. Not even Krisling, who has not played a word in nine days. I started searching for an open game. Alas, no one on facebook plays Scrabble. No one. There are no open games. I created one, but I am less than hopeful.
For some reason, I am going through a word-game phase. It started with Scrabble, but then I played Balderdash and my obsession exploded. I am now looking up random words all over the place, This might be an attempt to beat Drek and his sister, Anna, at a word game. These two are word fiends. At any given time, they can rattle off lists of English words with Q's that do not require U's. But I am getting closer...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Just the Chance that Maybe We'll Have Better Days
Ah, Christmas wish lists, what would we do without them?
This year for Christmas, I am asking for two things:
1) That you donate the money you were going to spend on a present to me. I have two favorite charities: Humanitarian aid and ucpets.com.
2) Food storage. You can either give the food to a food drive, or to me, for my food storage. You know, a bag of rice, a can of tuna, a 10 can of Morning Moo's dried fruit or Taco TVP. Maybe a few MRE's. Whatever.
So, that's my wish list. Merry Christmas everyone!!
This year for Christmas, I am asking for two things:
1) That you donate the money you were going to spend on a present to me. I have two favorite charities: Humanitarian aid and ucpets.com.
2) Food storage. You can either give the food to a food drive, or to me, for my food storage. You know, a bag of rice, a can of tuna, a 10 can of Morning Moo's dried fruit or Taco TVP. Maybe a few MRE's. Whatever.
So, that's my wish list. Merry Christmas everyone!!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Point Taken
We can't let Acouchi go outside. This is because there are stray cats wandering our neighborhood in hordes and we don't want her bringing home flees or viruses. Also, she is de-clawed, and can't defend herself. Also, I don't want her getting lost, hit by a car, or eaten by a dog. Also, it's freezing outside.
Acouchi does not understand this. She will stand by the door and whine and whine and whine for HOURS because there is a closed door, and she does not like closed doors. This got really annoying, really fast. Now, when Acouchi stands by the front door and whines to go outside, we shoot her with a water gun.
Today I was complaining to Drek about a website being slow, and he shot me with a watergun.
Acouchi does not understand this. She will stand by the door and whine and whine and whine for HOURS because there is a closed door, and she does not like closed doors. This got really annoying, really fast. Now, when Acouchi stands by the front door and whines to go outside, we shoot her with a water gun.
Today I was complaining to Drek about a website being slow, and he shot me with a watergun.
Monday, December 08, 2008
And God Bless What's His Face
Christmas presents, for my parents-in-law and my parents, are homemade calenders from Shutterfly. They were supposed to be easy projects. They were not. Still, it could have been worse.
The hardest part was gathering information from Drek's side of the family. Last year I did a calender for them, so the majority of the dates (By which I mean birthdays) were done. I just needed to know the birthdays of the two babies born this year.
The first one, little baby girl Sammy, was born in the summer. Her birth date was easy, not only because I remembered the date, but because her mother confirmed the date. Easy.
The second, little baby girl...uh, I don't know her name. Amari? Maybe? Her middle name is a mystery. It might be Nakayla. It might be Nekeely. No one is really sure. She was born the end of November. Drek and I were informed when her mother was in labor, but not informed when the child was actually born. Her parents don't like to answer phones, so they won't return our repeated request to come and visit them and our new niece. Nor will they answer what her name is or when she was born. Last night I was over at the family's house, and a cousin took out his iphone and shows me pictures of her. Apparently, she was born with six fingers on one hand. How does this information not get passed along? I then got to see a camera-phone video of her. She looks cute. At least, she looks cute on the tiny screen. I'm sure she's gorgeous in real life.
I finished my calenders today. The only thing missing was the name and birthday of grandchild #5. Alas, no luck. And I can't very well put "Six fingered child born sometime around this date". I don't think that would go over well.
Oh well. I am DONE!! She'll be in next year's calender.
This means I am done with all my Christmas shopping!!
The hardest part was gathering information from Drek's side of the family. Last year I did a calender for them, so the majority of the dates (By which I mean birthdays) were done. I just needed to know the birthdays of the two babies born this year.
The first one, little baby girl Sammy, was born in the summer. Her birth date was easy, not only because I remembered the date, but because her mother confirmed the date. Easy.
The second, little baby girl...uh, I don't know her name. Amari? Maybe? Her middle name is a mystery. It might be Nakayla. It might be Nekeely. No one is really sure. She was born the end of November. Drek and I were informed when her mother was in labor, but not informed when the child was actually born. Her parents don't like to answer phones, so they won't return our repeated request to come and visit them and our new niece. Nor will they answer what her name is or when she was born. Last night I was over at the family's house, and a cousin took out his iphone and shows me pictures of her. Apparently, she was born with six fingers on one hand. How does this information not get passed along? I then got to see a camera-phone video of her. She looks cute. At least, she looks cute on the tiny screen. I'm sure she's gorgeous in real life.
I finished my calenders today. The only thing missing was the name and birthday of grandchild #5. Alas, no luck. And I can't very well put "Six fingered child born sometime around this date". I don't think that would go over well.
Oh well. I am DONE!! She'll be in next year's calender.
This means I am done with all my Christmas shopping!!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Deer Crossing
S0 there we were, driving up the hill when suddenly, out of nowhere, appeared THIS!! We had the camera, and thus a shaky home video was born.
It's like we've never seen a deer before. I mean, honestly.
P.S. If Cloverfield made you camera-sick, maybe you shouldn't watch this.
It's like we've never seen a deer before. I mean, honestly.
P.S. If Cloverfield made you camera-sick, maybe you shouldn't watch this.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Some of Us Didn't Survive
Last night I had the most amazing dinner. Drek and I were still talking about it when we got home. It was just so good. And he doen't even like black beans.
Also last night, I was laughing to hard tears were streaming down my face. See? This, Krisling is why we need to move in together. Delicious dinners and not being able to breathe.
Also last night, I was laughing to hard tears were streaming down my face. See? This, Krisling is why we need to move in together. Delicious dinners and not being able to breathe.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Slightly Shotgunned!!!
Drek's birthday!!!
In the morning I made Drek breakfast in bed, and then he worked all day while I ran errands. My first present to him was that I cleaned the car. Outside, inside: happy clean car. And of course it rained. The outside is now not clean.
For lunch Drek, Kara and I went to a Chinese buffet and talked and had fun. A few hours later it was finally time to take Drek on his birthday adventure!!
We went shooting!! We went shooting with guns!! Like, shotguns (actually, they were .22 rifels. don't I sound so smart?) It was crazy fun!! We did so well! Drek was a lot better shot than me.
Afterwards we had dinner and desert (cherry cream pie) over at my mom's house.
Everything was delicious and we had a great time. Later that night, Rissy and Ismael came over and we played speed Scrabble and Munchkin late into the night.
Happy birthday, love of my life. I adore you, this year and always.
In the morning I made Drek breakfast in bed, and then he worked all day while I ran errands. My first present to him was that I cleaned the car. Outside, inside: happy clean car. And of course it rained. The outside is now not clean.
For lunch Drek, Kara and I went to a Chinese buffet and talked and had fun. A few hours later it was finally time to take Drek on his birthday adventure!!
We went shooting!! We went shooting with guns!! Like, shotguns (actually, they were .22 rifels. don't I sound so smart?) It was crazy fun!! We did so well! Drek was a lot better shot than me.
Afterwards we had dinner and desert (cherry cream pie) over at my mom's house.
Everything was delicious and we had a great time. Later that night, Rissy and Ismael came over and we played speed Scrabble and Munchkin late into the night.Happy birthday, love of my life. I adore you, this year and always.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
I LIVE!!!!!
Phew! December is here and I can blog again! Do you have any idea how hard it is not to blog after you have blogging for three years?? Well, it's not that hard, but still, there were lots of things I wanted to post that I couldn't.
Update:
I knitted. A lot. How much is a lot? I got very close to finishing my first ever project, and I started and finished a knitted scarf for Krisling for her birthday. It was my first ever finished knitting project!!!
Her birthday was lots of fun. We ate sushi, and it was soooo yummy. She got a baby kitty and named her Sushi. Sushi came and stayed at out house for a little bit. She was so so so cute!!
On the subject of Thanksgiving; Kara, Lani, Ben and I cooked the whole meal. My mom set the table and Mei-mei did clean-up. I've never liked Thanksgiving, but this one wasn't too bad. Drek made stuffed mushrooms (which were a huge hit) and this:
Cranberry sauce. which was also good. The item I was most proud of was lemon meringue pie. My mom told me the secret of meringue, and my sister helped implement the secret. It turned out perfect!!!
Rissy's birthday was SO MUCH FUN!!!! As usual. This year was different as Rissy wanted me to do a little bit of the planning. So we set it up like a cruise, with a casino on board (she was turning 21) and we played poker, 21 and roulette. We drank Shirley Temples and Daiquiris and watched the movie 21. Of course, we had tater tots and chicken nuggets. What would Rissy's birthday be without them?
I LOVE Christmas music!!!! Oh, Christmas music of Josh Groban and TSO, how have I lived without you all these long months?
Today is Drek's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARLING!!!!
Update:
I knitted. A lot. How much is a lot? I got very close to finishing my first ever project, and I started and finished a knitted scarf for Krisling for her birthday. It was my first ever finished knitting project!!!
Her birthday was lots of fun. We ate sushi, and it was soooo yummy. She got a baby kitty and named her Sushi. Sushi came and stayed at out house for a little bit. She was so so so cute!!
On the subject of Thanksgiving; Kara, Lani, Ben and I cooked the whole meal. My mom set the table and Mei-mei did clean-up. I've never liked Thanksgiving, but this one wasn't too bad. Drek made stuffed mushrooms (which were a huge hit) and this:
Cranberry sauce. which was also good. The item I was most proud of was lemon meringue pie. My mom told me the secret of meringue, and my sister helped implement the secret. It turned out perfect!!!
Rissy's birthday was SO MUCH FUN!!!! As usual. This year was different as Rissy wanted me to do a little bit of the planning. So we set it up like a cruise, with a casino on board (she was turning 21) and we played poker, 21 and roulette. We drank Shirley Temples and Daiquiris and watched the movie 21. Of course, we had tater tots and chicken nuggets. What would Rissy's birthday be without them?
I LOVE Christmas music!!!! Oh, Christmas music of Josh Groban and TSO, how have I lived without you all these long months?Today is Drek's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARLING!!!!
Monday, December 01, 2008
November BAMC: Eat Pray Love
Ah, November. I wasn't supposed to be reading, I was supposed to be writing. I did a little of both. I only read one book this month: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
November's word was giving, but, again, I only read one book so I'm making it count. Let's see. . . this book, is about . . . giving . . . back to yourself! And back to the world! And back to the universe! Wow. This book just screams giving!
It's a memoir. Liz Gilbert has just divorced her husband. Her life is in shambles, she has no identity, and is in a deep dark hole of depression and self-loathing. What does she do? She signs a book deal and spends four months in Italy learning Italian eating Italian food and being overall self indulgent. Up next is four months in India at Yoga retreat, eating only healthy vegetarian food, meditating, scrubbing Temple floors and learning self-control and self peace. To top it off she spends the next four months in Bali, Indonesia with a witch doctor, learning how to balance her life between self-indulgence and self-control and where she fits in the world.
This book will: 1) Give you a craving pizza 2) leave you wanting to meditate and do yoga 3) make you want to spend a grand vacation in Bali and 3) CHANGE YOUR LIFE
This book was amazing. I'm so glad Krisling recommended it to me. I loved this book! Not only was it hilariously funny, deep and philosophical, but my soul just loved to read it.
Liz finds out that the world is at her fingertips, waiting and wanting to giver her everything. After she discovers who she is and how to live, she can then give back to the world.
November's word was giving, but, again, I only read one book so I'm making it count. Let's see. . . this book, is about . . . giving . . . back to yourself! And back to the world! And back to the universe! Wow. This book just screams giving!It's a memoir. Liz Gilbert has just divorced her husband. Her life is in shambles, she has no identity, and is in a deep dark hole of depression and self-loathing. What does she do? She signs a book deal and spends four months in Italy learning Italian eating Italian food and being overall self indulgent. Up next is four months in India at Yoga retreat, eating only healthy vegetarian food, meditating, scrubbing Temple floors and learning self-control and self peace. To top it off she spends the next four months in Bali, Indonesia with a witch doctor, learning how to balance her life between self-indulgence and self-control and where she fits in the world.
This book will: 1) Give you a craving pizza 2) leave you wanting to meditate and do yoga 3) make you want to spend a grand vacation in Bali and 3) CHANGE YOUR LIFE
This book was amazing. I'm so glad Krisling recommended it to me. I loved this book! Not only was it hilariously funny, deep and philosophical, but my soul just loved to read it.
Liz finds out that the world is at her fingertips, waiting and wanting to giver her everything. After she discovers who she is and how to live, she can then give back to the world.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Spoiler Alert, You Have Been Warned
Dear Catherine Hardwicke,
Your movie was gorgeous. The filming, the special effects, the people: Gorgeous.
Dear Melissa Rosenberg,
?????
Did you miss somewhere that this movie was for young girls ages twelve to eighteen? Why all the adult content? There was no reason for it AT ALL.
Dear Kristen Stewart,
Congratulations; you did such a good job on the movie, and portrayed Bella Swan so well, that my loathing of Book-Bella became loathing of you. JUST TALK!! Stop biting your lip, stop stammering, stop breathing in-between words. STOP STALLING! I think you averaged one word every twenty minutes. Please move the story along instead of holding up the plot just like Book-Bella. So I suppose this was to more Bella, than to Kristen. Except for this next part, this is for Kristen: KEEP YOUR FREAKING PANTS ON. Whore.
Dear Robert Pattinson,
Stop. Moving. I get that it was a low budget film, and no one really focused on moving like a vampire, and that vampires do move to look more human, but please, please, stop fidgeting. Stop squirming, stop moving for two seconds, and for those two seconds you would be Edward. Still, you did a great job. You are now what I envision when I envision Edward, except more dressed how you were at the end of the movie rather than how you were dressed for the rest of the movie. Who did your wardrobe?
Anyway, That one scene where you drive off in the car, and you are so mad, and you want Bella to talk you out of turning around and ripping those guys into pieces; that was well done. I think it was my favorite part of the movie. You did great. I look forward to seeing in more movies.
Dear Taylor Lautner,
You have come such a long way from Sharkboy. Dressed up at Jacob, you made me, a die hard Team Edward, convert to Team Jacob, even it was only for a few seconds. On behalf of the females who will watch this movie, thank you.
Dear Jackson Rathbone
Wow. Book-Jasper is very vague, no one really remembers him from the first book. Everyone will remember you. You are now Jasper. Good job. Also, I love your hair.
Dear Peter Facinelli,
Fire whoever did your makeup. Seriously, I was so afraid for your life when you walked on camera. You were supposed to be a Vampire, not an anemic ghost who had just been splashed with bleach. But you made up for it, I loved movie-Carlisle just as much as I loved book-Carlisle
Dear Billy Burk,
Bravo.
Dear Soundtrack Person,
Why can't I find your name anywhere? Is is because you are Stephanie Meyer? In any case, you are a GENIUS. And I love you.
Dear Stephanie Meyer,
Your cameo was lame.
Your movie was gorgeous. The filming, the special effects, the people: Gorgeous.
Dear Melissa Rosenberg,
?????
Did you miss somewhere that this movie was for young girls ages twelve to eighteen? Why all the adult content? There was no reason for it AT ALL.
Dear Kristen Stewart,
Congratulations; you did such a good job on the movie, and portrayed Bella Swan so well, that my loathing of Book-Bella became loathing of you. JUST TALK!! Stop biting your lip, stop stammering, stop breathing in-between words. STOP STALLING! I think you averaged one word every twenty minutes. Please move the story along instead of holding up the plot just like Book-Bella. So I suppose this was to more Bella, than to Kristen. Except for this next part, this is for Kristen: KEEP YOUR FREAKING PANTS ON. Whore.
Dear Robert Pattinson,
Stop. Moving. I get that it was a low budget film, and no one really focused on moving like a vampire, and that vampires do move to look more human, but please, please, stop fidgeting. Stop squirming, stop moving for two seconds, and for those two seconds you would be Edward. Still, you did a great job. You are now what I envision when I envision Edward, except more dressed how you were at the end of the movie rather than how you were dressed for the rest of the movie. Who did your wardrobe?
Anyway, That one scene where you drive off in the car, and you are so mad, and you want Bella to talk you out of turning around and ripping those guys into pieces; that was well done. I think it was my favorite part of the movie. You did great. I look forward to seeing in more movies.
Dear Taylor Lautner,
You have come such a long way from Sharkboy. Dressed up at Jacob, you made me, a die hard Team Edward, convert to Team Jacob, even it was only for a few seconds. On behalf of the females who will watch this movie, thank you.
Dear Jackson Rathbone
Wow. Book-Jasper is very vague, no one really remembers him from the first book. Everyone will remember you. You are now Jasper. Good job. Also, I love your hair.
Dear Peter Facinelli,
Fire whoever did your makeup. Seriously, I was so afraid for your life when you walked on camera. You were supposed to be a Vampire, not an anemic ghost who had just been splashed with bleach. But you made up for it, I loved movie-Carlisle just as much as I loved book-Carlisle
Dear Billy Burk,
Bravo.
Dear Soundtrack Person,
Why can't I find your name anywhere? Is is because you are Stephanie Meyer? In any case, you are a GENIUS. And I love you.
Dear Stephanie Meyer,
Your cameo was lame.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
You're Right. We Should Just Deal With Nice People.
I'm not supposed to be blogging until December, but I can't resist. The James Bond Party was SO AWESOME!!!! I had to take a million pictures.
What better thing to serve than Martinis? Don't they look so great?!
The idea was that everyone gets a certain amount of gambling things. We play three games: Roulette, Blackjack and Poker. The person with the most money at the end won a free movie ticket. If you had a certain amount of money left, you could buy a Milky Way.
I wanted to be Vesper for Halloween, but I didn't get the idea until too late. This was much better!! My costume was fantastic and look at my husband!! We got his costume at DI. $17.99 baby. Isn't he so great?! He is my favorite James Bond. I'll be Vesper next Halloween, maybe.
The Characters:
Rodger Moore, Odd Job, James Bond, Vesper Lynd, Christmas Jones
The Bonds play Roulette
Rodger Moore wins. He sips his Martini in casual celebration.
A fierce game of blackjack breaks out! Christmas Jones puts up a good fight, but in the end, she is no match for Odd Job (notice how the gambling chips during Black Jack were Black Jack gum sticks. Hah! I am so clever!)
Next up, Texas Hold'em!! The stakes were high, the bluffs; indecipherable
James Bond began to win, everyone else was bleeding chips!
But in the end, I won.
Rodger Moore makes a very important call, only to be silenced by Odd Job!!
Off to the movie!!
It was so great!!!!!!!! I was surprised how much of a sequel this movie was. It was not a typical James Bond Movie, more of a crazy good action movie. I loved it!!
What better thing to serve than Martinis? Don't they look so great?!
The idea was that everyone gets a certain amount of gambling things. We play three games: Roulette, Blackjack and Poker. The person with the most money at the end won a free movie ticket. If you had a certain amount of money left, you could buy a Milky Way.
I wanted to be Vesper for Halloween, but I didn't get the idea until too late. This was much better!! My costume was fantastic and look at my husband!! We got his costume at DI. $17.99 baby. Isn't he so great?! He is my favorite James Bond. I'll be Vesper next Halloween, maybe.
The Characters:
Rodger Moore, Odd Job, James Bond, Vesper Lynd, Christmas Jones
The Bonds play Roulette
Rodger Moore wins. He sips his Martini in casual celebration.
A fierce game of blackjack breaks out! Christmas Jones puts up a good fight, but in the end, she is no match for Odd Job (notice how the gambling chips during Black Jack were Black Jack gum sticks. Hah! I am so clever!)
Next up, Texas Hold'em!! The stakes were high, the bluffs; indecipherable
James Bond began to win, everyone else was bleeding chips!
But in the end, I won.
Rodger Moore makes a very important call, only to be silenced by Odd Job!!
Off to the movie!!
It was so great!!!!!!!! I was surprised how much of a sequel this movie was. It was not a typical James Bond Movie, more of a crazy good action movie. I loved it!!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Vote
Voting was a blast. The longest I had to wait was while they were finding my name. So, Ralph Nader is an independent, right? Hardcore. Next to his name, where the party is supposed to be listed, it said: Peace and Freedom. Is that the name of his party? Or did he just put that on the ballots so you would be voting for peace and freedom?
Drek and I had looked up the issues in our area so I already knew how to vote when I walked in. I got may card, passed about 7 people at the booths and took the very farthest booth for myself. I zipped through the voting (touch screens are oh-so-awesome) and on my way out I passed the same people. No wonder lines in the East were so backed up, if people don't read the issues until they get into the booths, how do the lines move at all?
I made sure I got my "I Voted" sticker because rumors on the interwebs said you could get lots of free stuff with it. Krispe Kreame was giving away free star-shaped donuts, Chick-fil-a was giving away free sandwiches, and Ben and Jerry's was giving away free ice cream. Sweet! Our dinner was set! Alas, There is no Ben and Jerry's where we live, the rumor about chick-fil-a was a lie (the manager seemed very upset) but we did get free donuts. Alas, they were circle donuts and the sprinkles were brown and orange. THOSE COMMUNISTS!!!!!!
And Obama won. It appears the Dems also won the senate and the house. Well, there's nothing like putting all the power into one hand.
Reading the results of the issue results, I am a little shocked. For voting so completely democrat for people, the propositions were surprisingly republican values. Odd. Also, what was South Dakota thinking?? We overwhelmingly support Obama values but we vote overwhelming for Mcain?? Did you even read the ballot?? Did anyone who voted for the president vote for the propositions? Or did they just leave that field blank? Seriously?
A lot of the country was voting on gay marriage, gay adoptions, Abortion issues and Doctor-assisted suicides. I find it humorous that Maryland's most important issue is a video lottery. Ah well, our most important issue was giving our elected officials a longer vacation. This is what we vote for when the zoo is on the line??
Drek and I had looked up the issues in our area so I already knew how to vote when I walked in. I got may card, passed about 7 people at the booths and took the very farthest booth for myself. I zipped through the voting (touch screens are oh-so-awesome) and on my way out I passed the same people. No wonder lines in the East were so backed up, if people don't read the issues until they get into the booths, how do the lines move at all?
I made sure I got my "I Voted" sticker because rumors on the interwebs said you could get lots of free stuff with it. Krispe Kreame was giving away free star-shaped donuts, Chick-fil-a was giving away free sandwiches, and Ben and Jerry's was giving away free ice cream. Sweet! Our dinner was set! Alas, There is no Ben and Jerry's where we live, the rumor about chick-fil-a was a lie (the manager seemed very upset) but we did get free donuts. Alas, they were circle donuts and the sprinkles were brown and orange. THOSE COMMUNISTS!!!!!!
And Obama won. It appears the Dems also won the senate and the house. Well, there's nothing like putting all the power into one hand.
Reading the results of the issue results, I am a little shocked. For voting so completely democrat for people, the propositions were surprisingly republican values. Odd. Also, what was South Dakota thinking?? We overwhelmingly support Obama values but we vote overwhelming for Mcain?? Did you even read the ballot?? Did anyone who voted for the president vote for the propositions? Or did they just leave that field blank? Seriously?
A lot of the country was voting on gay marriage, gay adoptions, Abortion issues and Doctor-assisted suicides. I find it humorous that Maryland's most important issue is a video lottery. Ah well, our most important issue was giving our elected officials a longer vacation. This is what we vote for when the zoo is on the line??
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Self-imposed rules of NaNoWriMo:
1) No laptop watching. Time watching Television shows online is time that could be spent writing
2) No knitting. If you can knit, you can type on a laptop
3) No Internet surfing
4) Procrasting won't help
5) Avoid all forms of procrastinating
6) Stop procrastinating by updating your blog
8) Stop pracrastinating by making up pointless rules
9) ENOUGH WITH THE BLOGGING!!!!
10) Write like crazy now, worry about editing later
2) No knitting. If you can knit, you can type on a laptop
3) No Internet surfing
4) Procrasting won't help
5) Avoid all forms of procrastinating
6) Stop procrastinating by updating your blog
8) Stop pracrastinating by making up pointless rules
9) ENOUGH WITH THE BLOGGING!!!!
10) Write like crazy now, worry about editing later
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tender Lovelings Everywhere, Life's No Fun Without a Good Scare
Happy Halloween!! This Halloween has been wonderful! I came home from California yesterday evening only to find that Drek had built me a coffin!!! A real, pine board, shaped-like-a-coffin, coffin!! He's amazing!! I have always wanted one as a Halloween prop and he built me one!! He built it by himself, using his own measurements and everything! Best. Husband. Ever.
We went over to my parent's house and ate a Halloween-ish dinner with Kara, my parents and my sister and her family. My sister made her and my niece's Halloween costume this year: Megan was Boo From Monster's Inc and my sister was Sully. The costumes were so great and Megan was sooooo adorable. Megan looked exactly like Boo!! It was so much fun.
My sister had also made these amazing dessert treats. She had carved orange peels to look like Jack-O-Lanterns and filled them with Hot Apple Cider Jello. What a fun treat!!!
This morning I got dressed up in my work-appropriate Halloween costume and had so much fun making it! I took a black shirt and safety-pinned a folded white tank-top down the back. I had a headband with ears on it, and a tail to pin on the back.
To top it off, I had a spray bottle of perfume I would spray at people to add to the effect of my costume. Giggle giggle.
Drek drove me to work and we listened to Nightmare Before Christmas on the way to get into the spirit of things. Work went really well. I was expecting it to be dead because of Halloween, but the morning was busy and we did well. That is, until about 11:30, when the place went dead and there were no souls in sight. I cleaned, got caught up on what I had missed while I was gone to California, and read my Midnighters book, which was a fantastic choice, because the book is building toward midnight on Halloween.
Kara and I hung out and we knitted (she is so fast!! Will I ever be as fast as her?) and she told me a wonderful Halloween Story about how she got the most purple monster in the world.
We went to show of my costume to my sister right before she had to leave, and then we raced back home to have a quick Halloween-ish dinner at y house. It was then time to go to the corn maze!! Rissy came drove the van and we all piled in. There was another Kara, Ismael and Cavan. Alas, the corn maze closes after 6pm on Halloween! So we took some pictures and decided to go to the Scream Asylum.
When we o there, we tried to recruit people to join our "group" if you have 13 people to a group, it's $5 less per ticket. We were successfully! And what's even better, taught the trick to a bunch of girls, who tried to collect their own group. I think the Scream Asylum saw a strange influx of large groups that night.
Anyway, the Asylum was AMAZING!! So worth $10. There was even a 3D part where you had to wear 3D glasses and it was really visually stunning. I loved it!!
After that is was back to Rissy's house to enjoy root-beer floats, lots of candy, and CLUE. Three people in our ever-increasingly large group had never seen the movie all the way through. It;s so much better to watch if you are getting people's first-time reactions.
After the movie Drek and I came home to play with Acouchi and put her in her Halloween costume. Behold: A Cat Burglar!!!
A very good costume if I do say so myself!!
Gasp, and tomorrow is NaNoWriMo!!!
We went over to my parent's house and ate a Halloween-ish dinner with Kara, my parents and my sister and her family. My sister made her and my niece's Halloween costume this year: Megan was Boo From Monster's Inc and my sister was Sully. The costumes were so great and Megan was sooooo adorable. Megan looked exactly like Boo!! It was so much fun.My sister had also made these amazing dessert treats. She had carved orange peels to look like Jack-O-Lanterns and filled them with Hot Apple Cider Jello. What a fun treat!!!
This morning I got dressed up in my work-appropriate Halloween costume and had so much fun making it! I took a black shirt and safety-pinned a folded white tank-top down the back. I had a headband with ears on it, and a tail to pin on the back.
To top it off, I had a spray bottle of perfume I would spray at people to add to the effect of my costume. Giggle giggle.Drek drove me to work and we listened to Nightmare Before Christmas on the way to get into the spirit of things. Work went really well. I was expecting it to be dead because of Halloween, but the morning was busy and we did well. That is, until about 11:30, when the place went dead and there were no souls in sight. I cleaned, got caught up on what I had missed while I was gone to California, and read my Midnighters book, which was a fantastic choice, because the book is building toward midnight on Halloween.
Kara and I hung out and we knitted (she is so fast!! Will I ever be as fast as her?) and she told me a wonderful Halloween Story about how she got the most purple monster in the world.
We went to show of my costume to my sister right before she had to leave, and then we raced back home to have a quick Halloween-ish dinner at y house. It was then time to go to the corn maze!! Rissy came drove the van and we all piled in. There was another Kara, Ismael and Cavan. Alas, the corn maze closes after 6pm on Halloween! So we took some pictures and decided to go to the Scream Asylum.
When we o there, we tried to recruit people to join our "group" if you have 13 people to a group, it's $5 less per ticket. We were successfully! And what's even better, taught the trick to a bunch of girls, who tried to collect their own group. I think the Scream Asylum saw a strange influx of large groups that night.
Anyway, the Asylum was AMAZING!! So worth $10. There was even a 3D part where you had to wear 3D glasses and it was really visually stunning. I loved it!!
After that is was back to Rissy's house to enjoy root-beer floats, lots of candy, and CLUE. Three people in our ever-increasingly large group had never seen the movie all the way through. It;s so much better to watch if you are getting people's first-time reactions.
After the movie Drek and I came home to play with Acouchi and put her in her Halloween costume. Behold: A Cat Burglar!!!
A very good costume if I do say so myself!!
Gasp, and tomorrow is NaNoWriMo!!!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
October BAMC: Midnighters
October's Book a Month Challenge was Haunts. How delightful!!
I chose to read the Midnighter series by Scott Westerfeld. The first one is The Secret Hour, then Touching Darkness, and then Blue Noon. The books are about five teenagers living in Bixby Oklahoma who live 24 hours in the day just like the rest of us, but they also experience and extra 25th hour, right at midnight. This hour is full of danger, conspiracy and such. While the rest of the world is frozen for an hour, they are walking about like haunts, enjoying their world, fighting for their lives and searching for answers. Very Halloween-ish. The best book was the second book, Touching Darkness.
I was entirely absorbed by it. The sad thing I, the main character, Jessica, is supposed to be the central character and the most popular, but by the end of the second book I HATED HER!!!! I HOPE SHE DIES A PAINFUL AND HORRIBLE DEATH!!!!! My favorite is Des and Melissa. Even though they hate each other, they are both great.
Anyway, I found this great fan pic:
Very Halloween-ish. Jessica is the ugly red-head in front (don't you just hate her just from looking at her?) Des and Jonathen are to the right and Rex and Melissa are on the left.
I can't recommend these books. I enjoyed reading them but...I don't recommend them to anyone else.
Happy Halloween Eve!
I chose to read the Midnighter series by Scott Westerfeld. The first one is The Secret Hour, then Touching Darkness, and then Blue Noon. The books are about five teenagers living in Bixby Oklahoma who live 24 hours in the day just like the rest of us, but they also experience and extra 25th hour, right at midnight. This hour is full of danger, conspiracy and such. While the rest of the world is frozen for an hour, they are walking about like haunts, enjoying their world, fighting for their lives and searching for answers. Very Halloween-ish. The best book was the second book, Touching Darkness.
I was entirely absorbed by it. The sad thing I, the main character, Jessica, is supposed to be the central character and the most popular, but by the end of the second book I HATED HER!!!! I HOPE SHE DIES A PAINFUL AND HORRIBLE DEATH!!!!! My favorite is Des and Melissa. Even though they hate each other, they are both great.Anyway, I found this great fan pic:
Very Halloween-ish. Jessica is the ugly red-head in front (don't you just hate her just from looking at her?) Des and Jonathen are to the right and Rex and Melissa are on the left.I can't recommend these books. I enjoyed reading them but...I don't recommend them to anyone else.
Happy Halloween Eve!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Have You Ever Heard of Autocannibalism? She Actually Ate Herself
In case I haven't made this clear enough, I adore he fact that Kara has moved here. I really hope she is happy, because I am thrilled.
Saturday Krisling, Kara and I went to dinner. We met at the movie theater and decided on the closest sushi restaurant, but after walking in to the place we decided it didn't mesh with our...style. So we went to the next closest sushi place. It was fantastic!! We ate right up at the bar and this small, old Japanese guy made our sushi just for us. It was SO GOOD!! It was fantastic, but at the end of the deliciousness, I was still hungry. It was a problem that could only be solved by a cookie store. NOM!! We went back to the movie theater and watched a movie. The movie was freakin hilarious.
Today after work us "K's" got together for a "knitting class". Kara taught me how to read my stitches. This will save me lots of time and take a lot of the guess work out my blanket. We had a great time.
My wonderful husband invented a card game. Last week Rissy and Ismael came over to test the game. I was shocked out of my socks. The game needs tweaking, but, let's face it, my husband is a genius.
Kara, Drek and I played the game with few modifications. The game is so much fun to play!! I can't wait to see the finished product.
Tomorrow I am off to California!! See you all in a few days!!
Saturday Krisling, Kara and I went to dinner. We met at the movie theater and decided on the closest sushi restaurant, but after walking in to the place we decided it didn't mesh with our...style. So we went to the next closest sushi place. It was fantastic!! We ate right up at the bar and this small, old Japanese guy made our sushi just for us. It was SO GOOD!! It was fantastic, but at the end of the deliciousness, I was still hungry. It was a problem that could only be solved by a cookie store. NOM!! We went back to the movie theater and watched a movie. The movie was freakin hilarious.
Today after work us "K's" got together for a "knitting class". Kara taught me how to read my stitches. This will save me lots of time and take a lot of the guess work out my blanket. We had a great time.
My wonderful husband invented a card game. Last week Rissy and Ismael came over to test the game. I was shocked out of my socks. The game needs tweaking, but, let's face it, my husband is a genius.
Kara, Drek and I played the game with few modifications. The game is so much fun to play!! I can't wait to see the finished product.
Tomorrow I am off to California!! See you all in a few days!!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Moving at the Speed of Life, We are Bound to Collide With Each Other
One bright day, a woman came into my store. She was a very nice women, but she looked tired and stressed. She explained that her brother was getting married in Las Vegas, and she was driving down to be there. She had come from the city next to my city, and said that her back hurt so bad in that 10 minutes that she had to stop and get a lumbar support really fast. Her husband and kids were patiently waiting in the mini-van. I gave her some options, she chose two, took them out to her van to test them, found one that worked, purchased it, and left.
A few minutes later she came in, looking even more tired and even more stressed. "You don't happen to know who owns that white car in the parking lot, do you?" She asks. Um, you mean Jasmine? "Yes I do, that's my car actually." She had backed up into it. I was stunned that she had come back in to tell me. Kudos to her!! Way to be honest.
She gave me her insurance card, I quickly made a copy, told her it was no problem, don't worry about it, have a safe trip, and sent her on her way. Later that day Drek called the insurance companies and went and got a quote from a repair shop. She only hit the front right side, and she didn't hit it very hard. There were a few small scratches, a dent, and a very broken-in-half light.
I'm thinking the only thing we HAVE to fix is the light. Sure there is a tiny dent, yeah it got scratched up, but who cares? Jasmine doesn't really compete in car shows or anything. I just hoped the light wouldn't cost too much. I was thinking $100, maybe $50, not to much, but in my experience, all car parts are overpriced.
SEVEN DOLLARS!!!!! That's it. $7 to fix the light. Oh, and $200 to replace the panel to fix the dent. $200 to repaint and $400 for labor. Insane.
Their insurance company sent us a check for $807. Seriously? Insurance will pay for such frivolous things but not for my IUD? Crazy. At least Jasmine is well taken care of. Poor baby.
So Drek took poor, traumatized Jasmine into the shop and the guy informed him that the break lights were all burnt out, and oh, did you know your registration expired two weeks ago?? Sigh.
Apparently her tinting is too dark, and now illegal, and they told us they would peel it off so she could pass safety and emissions, but they. . . got lazy? Forgot? Actually did and you just can't tell? Oh well, she passed. All taken care of!! Jasmine is now back to her gorgeous, legally registered self.
A few minutes later she came in, looking even more tired and even more stressed. "You don't happen to know who owns that white car in the parking lot, do you?" She asks. Um, you mean Jasmine? "Yes I do, that's my car actually." She had backed up into it. I was stunned that she had come back in to tell me. Kudos to her!! Way to be honest.
She gave me her insurance card, I quickly made a copy, told her it was no problem, don't worry about it, have a safe trip, and sent her on her way. Later that day Drek called the insurance companies and went and got a quote from a repair shop. She only hit the front right side, and she didn't hit it very hard. There were a few small scratches, a dent, and a very broken-in-half light.
I'm thinking the only thing we HAVE to fix is the light. Sure there is a tiny dent, yeah it got scratched up, but who cares? Jasmine doesn't really compete in car shows or anything. I just hoped the light wouldn't cost too much. I was thinking $100, maybe $50, not to much, but in my experience, all car parts are overpriced.
SEVEN DOLLARS!!!!! That's it. $7 to fix the light. Oh, and $200 to replace the panel to fix the dent. $200 to repaint and $400 for labor. Insane.
Their insurance company sent us a check for $807. Seriously? Insurance will pay for such frivolous things but not for my IUD? Crazy. At least Jasmine is well taken care of. Poor baby.
So Drek took poor, traumatized Jasmine into the shop and the guy informed him that the break lights were all burnt out, and oh, did you know your registration expired two weeks ago?? Sigh.
Apparently her tinting is too dark, and now illegal, and they told us they would peel it off so she could pass safety and emissions, but they. . . got lazy? Forgot? Actually did and you just can't tell? Oh well, she passed. All taken care of!! Jasmine is now back to her gorgeous, legally registered self.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I Request the Cone of Silence
The past two days have been fantastic!! I have been having the time of my life.
Monday night Drek took me to a movie. The dollar theater was only playing two movies we had any interest in, and one was slightly more interesting than the other. We saw Get Smart, which was not as funny as I was hoping, but it was still pretty funny, and defiantly worth the $3 we paid to see it. Also, I love watching movies with Drek. He is amazing.
Tuesday work was great. I did Medical Marketing and got a lot done, and then I came back to the store which was fairly busy. It was great! I was picked up by Krisling, Natebot, and Toby. I adore Toby, have I said that already? He is such a cute kid. Anyway, Kris and Nate and I went out to dinner and were served by Deth!! No, really, our waiter's name was Deth. It was kind of scary. The jokes were endless.
We tried to go see Ghost Town, but I was too tired in the end and made Krisling take me home.
Wednesday was the best day I have had in a very long time. I got up early and went running. It has become too cold outside to run outside for long periods of time, to I ran to my mother's house to work out on the treadmill. Before I did, I woke up my cousin who, oh, did I mention? MOVED TO UTAH I AM SO EXCITED YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I ran on a treadmill and she biked on a bike and it was great.
I went home and cleaned the whole house until it sparkled. I then went back to my mom's house, did laundry and helped my cousin move in. I was so productive!! All this by 11am. I went back home, cleaned some more, then Krisling came and picked me up. We picked up my cousin and went off to enjoy copious amounts of Sushi. Toby, we discovered, loves bathing in sticky rice. We had such a great time enjoying sushi and watching Toby enjoy his rice-bath, that we missed the movie. Again. So we went to the mall walked around. Kris bought me some crazy-yummy smelling had sanitizer. It makes me want to eat my hands. NOM!!! Krisling got a new phone. My new phone is still coming. My current phone is very broken. Oh, and lost.
We went home, I finished laundry and hung out with Drek until that night when Rissy, Ismael and Michelle came over to drink hot chocolate, work on homework, and do a schizophrenic, cross-gender version of how to host a murder. It was hilarious.
I went to bed exhausted, but oh-so happy!! Best. Day. Ever.
Monday night Drek took me to a movie. The dollar theater was only playing two movies we had any interest in, and one was slightly more interesting than the other. We saw Get Smart, which was not as funny as I was hoping, but it was still pretty funny, and defiantly worth the $3 we paid to see it. Also, I love watching movies with Drek. He is amazing.
Tuesday work was great. I did Medical Marketing and got a lot done, and then I came back to the store which was fairly busy. It was great! I was picked up by Krisling, Natebot, and Toby. I adore Toby, have I said that already? He is such a cute kid. Anyway, Kris and Nate and I went out to dinner and were served by Deth!! No, really, our waiter's name was Deth. It was kind of scary. The jokes were endless.
We tried to go see Ghost Town, but I was too tired in the end and made Krisling take me home.
Wednesday was the best day I have had in a very long time. I got up early and went running. It has become too cold outside to run outside for long periods of time, to I ran to my mother's house to work out on the treadmill. Before I did, I woke up my cousin who, oh, did I mention? MOVED TO UTAH I AM SO EXCITED YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I ran on a treadmill and she biked on a bike and it was great.
I went home and cleaned the whole house until it sparkled. I then went back to my mom's house, did laundry and helped my cousin move in. I was so productive!! All this by 11am. I went back home, cleaned some more, then Krisling came and picked me up. We picked up my cousin and went off to enjoy copious amounts of Sushi. Toby, we discovered, loves bathing in sticky rice. We had such a great time enjoying sushi and watching Toby enjoy his rice-bath, that we missed the movie. Again. So we went to the mall walked around. Kris bought me some crazy-yummy smelling had sanitizer. It makes me want to eat my hands. NOM!!! Krisling got a new phone. My new phone is still coming. My current phone is very broken. Oh, and lost.
We went home, I finished laundry and hung out with Drek until that night when Rissy, Ismael and Michelle came over to drink hot chocolate, work on homework, and do a schizophrenic, cross-gender version of how to host a murder. It was hilarious.
I went to bed exhausted, but oh-so happy!! Best. Day. Ever.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tags
Crazy 8's
8 Things I’m passionate about
Drek
Vegetarianism
My religion
Saving the planet
Politics
Stories
Music
Movie Trailers
8 Things I want to do before I die
Spend weeks, at the very least, in Egypt
Go skydiving
Go Hang gliding
Go Scuba Diving
Run a Marathon
Write a Novel
Reach my goal weight
Leave my mark on the world
8 Things I do now
Work
Create dinners
Read
Write
Knit
Hang out with friends
Watch movie trailers
Love my husband
Things I can not do
THERE IS NOTHING I CANNOT DO!!! (If I want to do it)
8 Things I often say
"Thank you for calling (insert store here). How can I help you?"
"What brings you into the store today?"
"Well, there you go"
"Oh, crap"
"Potatoface"
"JTTF"
"Cat!"
"I lost my phone/keys/car/mind"
8 Favorite foods
Fresh Fruit
Lasagna
Fresh Mozzarella Pasta Penna
Pineapple curry
Dried fruit in milk
Spinach, Mushroom and eggs wrapped in a crepe and topped with Hollandaise sauce
Potatoes and egg burrito with green salsa
The tacos we got from the taco stand in Mexico
Sixth Tag
This is the sixth picture in the sixth folder of my pictures:
It is taken by Xirax, my favorite photographer. This is my amazing husband getting ready to spring up and snatch the Frisbee out of midair!! Actually, this picture was taken before we were married.
And now I'm supposed to tag seven people and make them post on their blogs the seventh picture from their seventh file of pictures. So, if you read this, I have just tagged you.
8 Things I’m passionate about
Drek
Vegetarianism
My religion
Saving the planet
Politics
Stories
Music
Movie Trailers
8 Things I want to do before I die
Spend weeks, at the very least, in Egypt
Go skydiving
Go Hang gliding
Go Scuba Diving
Run a Marathon
Write a Novel
Reach my goal weight
Leave my mark on the world
8 Things I do now
Work
Create dinners
Read
Write
Knit
Hang out with friends
Watch movie trailers
Love my husband
Things I can not do
THERE IS NOTHING I CANNOT DO!!! (If I want to do it)
8 Things I often say
"Thank you for calling (insert store here). How can I help you?"
"What brings you into the store today?"
"Well, there you go"
"Oh, crap"
"Potatoface"
"JTTF"
"Cat!"
"I lost my phone/keys/car/mind"
8 Favorite foods
Fresh Fruit
Lasagna
Fresh Mozzarella Pasta Penna
Pineapple curry
Dried fruit in milk
Spinach, Mushroom and eggs wrapped in a crepe and topped with Hollandaise sauce
Potatoes and egg burrito with green salsa
The tacos we got from the taco stand in Mexico
Sixth Tag
This is the sixth picture in the sixth folder of my pictures:
It is taken by Xirax, my favorite photographer. This is my amazing husband getting ready to spring up and snatch the Frisbee out of midair!! Actually, this picture was taken before we were married.And now I'm supposed to tag seven people and make them post on their blogs the seventh picture from their seventh file of pictures. So, if you read this, I have just tagged you.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Do You Always Leave it to Porters to Tell You This Sort Of Thing?
Well, October has escaped me. One day October was approaching ever so slowly, and the next day, it's the 20th and October is almost over. What happened? I blame it on the cold weather. I don't think I feel cold like other people do. When I'm cold, it's painful, not just...cold. Whatever.
Last week I woke up with high expectations of the day. I went outside and scraped the frost of the car, froze to death driving across down, gave up on the day and went home to soak in a warm bath all day. Sigh.
I came up with a brilliant costume idea for me and Drek, but alas, I have had not the time nor the talent, nor the resources to make it happen. Yesterday I told Drek the idea, he got all excited and said we should still go for it. So we are. Hooray!! I have seven days to make a very complicated Halloween costume. Only seven because I leave for California next Tuesday. I'm so excited!! It is purely a social visit. I am spending three days with Jordie and Jesse. We're apparently going to a haunted house. I can't wait! I come home the night before Halloween, so our costumes have to be done before I leave. We'll see how it goes. I do have a back-up costume plan, but it is lame.
I'm sad October has gone so fast, I love this time of year. Halloween is one of my favorite hollidays. Looking on the bright side, the best thing about October going so fast is that it's almost November!! November means NaNoWriMo!!! Ialready have my novel all planned out. This year I am so going to win. Bwahahahaa
Last week I woke up with high expectations of the day. I went outside and scraped the frost of the car, froze to death driving across down, gave up on the day and went home to soak in a warm bath all day. Sigh.
I came up with a brilliant costume idea for me and Drek, but alas, I have had not the time nor the talent, nor the resources to make it happen. Yesterday I told Drek the idea, he got all excited and said we should still go for it. So we are. Hooray!! I have seven days to make a very complicated Halloween costume. Only seven because I leave for California next Tuesday. I'm so excited!! It is purely a social visit. I am spending three days with Jordie and Jesse. We're apparently going to a haunted house. I can't wait! I come home the night before Halloween, so our costumes have to be done before I leave. We'll see how it goes. I do have a back-up costume plan, but it is lame.
I'm sad October has gone so fast, I love this time of year. Halloween is one of my favorite hollidays. Looking on the bright side, the best thing about October going so fast is that it's almost November!! November means NaNoWriMo!!! Ialready have my novel all planned out. This year I am so going to win. Bwahahahaa
Monday, October 13, 2008
Saboteur III
Saboteur III was a huge success! At least by my standards anyway. Only two flas ion the whole game: 1) It was so cold. If we ever do Saboteurs past September, they need to be indoors. 2) The lasy questions on the quiz was not a good question. If you were first to take the quiz you would have no idea.
Other than that, it was amazing!! As hosts, we spent Saturday afternoon gathering supplies, testing games and working on last minute details. We packed up the cars and drove down to the park just in time! All pictures and deatils are posted on the Saboteur website, I'm not going to re-post them here.
The weather held put, it didn't starts to snow until we were done. It was a great game.
Other than that, it was amazing!! As hosts, we spent Saturday afternoon gathering supplies, testing games and working on last minute details. We packed up the cars and drove down to the park just in time! All pictures and deatils are posted on the Saboteur website, I'm not going to re-post them here.
The weather held put, it didn't starts to snow until we were done. It was a great game.
Friday, October 10, 2008
I Don't Really Think That Saying Was Created To Warn Cats
Today I did not have to go into work until 12:30. Rarely do I ever go to work this late. Drek and I decided to take full advantage of the situation. I woke up this morning a little before 8am, just like I always do. Instead of going running right away, I curled up in bed and read my book. I finished my book. It was good. Only after I finished did I go running. I came home, showered, ate breakfast, read scriptures with Drek, and then instead of going to work, we got back into bed and watched two episodes of House. It was wonderful. I love snuggling with my husband. I love being in bed, and I love House. Also, during this, I was IMing Rissy. We were in crisis mode because Saboteur III is tomorrow, and a player cancelled last night. During the IMing frenzie, I got an email from Nick saying he would play. Bless that kid.
Best Morning Ever.
Best Morning Ever.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Castle of Chaos
Well, we went. It was...not what I was expecting? Perhaps I expect too much. The first year we went to the CoC, it was AWESOME!!!! The game part was forever long and through a huge and seemingly endless mansion. I think it took us around 30-45 minutes. It was wonderful!!!
This game, we were done in 7 minutes. The whole thing took place in four rooms. There was no sprawling maze, no endless mansions, just one hallway and four rooms for going to and fro. At the end, when we were facing the vampire, I actually thought: "clearly, we have lost, because here we are, facing the vampire, and we haven't even begun to play the game." No, no that was it. That was the end.
I mean, it was fun, and we had a great time, and the game was fun, but no where near $17 worth of fun, especially considering the first year was only $10. CoC has become highly commercialized. I don't think I shall be returning next year unless the price is free.
This game, we were done in 7 minutes. The whole thing took place in four rooms. There was no sprawling maze, no endless mansions, just one hallway and four rooms for going to and fro. At the end, when we were facing the vampire, I actually thought: "clearly, we have lost, because here we are, facing the vampire, and we haven't even begun to play the game." No, no that was it. That was the end.
I mean, it was fun, and we had a great time, and the game was fun, but no where near $17 worth of fun, especially considering the first year was only $10. CoC has become highly commercialized. I don't think I shall be returning next year unless the price is free.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
That's The Reason We Need Lips So Much
I love my husband. He is the most amazing person I have ever met. He constantly amazes me with all he does. He is constantly working hard at his job, typing away at his computer, solving the problems of the world. Because we have very limited furniture, he has been using a metal folding chair as his office chair. One day I did some work in his chair and discovered that after an hour, I was dying. The chair was horrible! Here Drek was spending eight hours plus in it! He works so hard, he definitely deserved a new chair. Luckily, I happen to work at a back store that just happens to have the most ergonomic office chairs in it's inventory. Drek picked the chair he wanted, I picked the color and voila! a comfortable chair to sit those long hours in.
Not only is he is always going over to the animal shelter to help out, but he volunteers to do websites for the animal shelter. He learns new things, puts them into practical (and financially successful) use and still manages to find enough time to make me feel loved, appreciated and special. He is just so great.
I'm trying to do more for him. I've been super successful at the dinner thing. Gone are the days of cereal and hot dogs for dinner! Now are the days of delicious and healthy meals that I love to make and we love to eat! My third attempt at Ratatouille was my best attempt. Although the basic ratatouille is delicious, healthy and super-easy, Ratatouille Remy-Style is delicious, healthy, and looks awesome. It is not easy, but is was worth it. Behold, a dish a rat inspired:
When Drek and I were in Texas, we watched an episode of Rachel Ray (I had never seen an episode before, or since). She was making something called potato pancakes. Drek commented that his mom used to make a version of those all the time. Last week, I looked up four different potato pancake recipes, mixed them together and added what I remembered from the Rachel Ray episode. The result: YUMMY!! Healthy, yummy, and easy. The perfect dinner. Well, not perfect. It needs sauce. There is this sauce at Bombay house that would be amazing with these potato pancakes. I must learn how to imitate that sauce to this dinner will be perfect, because my husband deserves perfect dinners, and I love creating them for him.
Not only is he is always going over to the animal shelter to help out, but he volunteers to do websites for the animal shelter. He learns new things, puts them into practical (and financially successful) use and still manages to find enough time to make me feel loved, appreciated and special. He is just so great.
I'm trying to do more for him. I've been super successful at the dinner thing. Gone are the days of cereal and hot dogs for dinner! Now are the days of delicious and healthy meals that I love to make and we love to eat! My third attempt at Ratatouille was my best attempt. Although the basic ratatouille is delicious, healthy and super-easy, Ratatouille Remy-Style is delicious, healthy, and looks awesome. It is not easy, but is was worth it. Behold, a dish a rat inspired:
When Drek and I were in Texas, we watched an episode of Rachel Ray (I had never seen an episode before, or since). She was making something called potato pancakes. Drek commented that his mom used to make a version of those all the time. Last week, I looked up four different potato pancake recipes, mixed them together and added what I remembered from the Rachel Ray episode. The result: YUMMY!! Healthy, yummy, and easy. The perfect dinner. Well, not perfect. It needs sauce. There is this sauce at Bombay house that would be amazing with these potato pancakes. I must learn how to imitate that sauce to this dinner will be perfect, because my husband deserves perfect dinners, and I love creating them for him.
Friday, October 03, 2008
October At Last!!!
I love October!! It is the start of the bet time of the year!!! I love Halloween and this year I have sworn to celebrate it like a fiend!!
Next week We are going to the Castle of Chaos, A Halloween tradition spanning back 3 years! I'm so excited.
That will be followed by the Saboteur III, which is on Saturday. I have a special Halloween game all planned and ready. Bwhahahaha!!
Sometime in October I also want to do a How to Host a Murder, and a Halloween party. I haven't figured out the dates yet, but I am excited!
On the 28th I am flying out to San Diego to spend some time with Jordan and Jessica and Bonnie. I come home on Halloween eve. I wanted to spend Halloween with Drek. I already have Drek's and my Halloween costumes planned, I only have to make them...
Next week We are going to the Castle of Chaos, A Halloween tradition spanning back 3 years! I'm so excited.
That will be followed by the Saboteur III, which is on Saturday. I have a special Halloween game all planned and ready. Bwhahahaha!!
Sometime in October I also want to do a How to Host a Murder, and a Halloween party. I haven't figured out the dates yet, but I am excited!
On the 28th I am flying out to San Diego to spend some time with Jordan and Jessica and Bonnie. I come home on Halloween eve. I wanted to spend Halloween with Drek. I already have Drek's and my Halloween costumes planned, I only have to make them...
Monday, September 29, 2008
Twin Cousin
My cousin, Kara, came to visit me on Thursday. I've missed her so much!! It was so good to hang out with her. I haven't seen her since my wedding and well, we didn't have tons of time to talk as I was...a little busy.
She brought her kitty, Claire, with her. I hadn't met Claire yet so it was quite a treat. She is so pretty! She is a small kitty who is a beautiful ginger color. She loves to be petted and was apparently adapting well to traveling across the country in a car.
We went over to my sister's house and made homemade peach jam (which is fantastic by the way, I already finished the jar of sugar-free jam; So good!!) and played with Megan. We went back to my house afterward and discussed the fact that Drek and I are board game freaks and love to play at any opportunity. Kara also loves to play board games. We then discussed how some people are fun to play with, and others are...not. Good sportsmanship is something you need to learn while young. No one likes a sore winner or loser. We practiced good sportsmanship by playing a game of Settlers. It was then time to go out to eat with the rest of the family. Around the table, we played It Came To Pass and had a great time overall. That night the family played Munchkin with our Munchkin-Fu cards and Kara's Cthulu cards while I created an odd version of homemade apple empanadias. I say odd version because although they tasted delicious, they didn't look like empanadias. Ah well, it was my first attempt. Kara gave me a mini-lesson on knitting. I've been trying to get Ismael and Kris to teach me, but time keeps being a factor. Kara taught me about circular needles (which I love!!) and how to cast-on. I love casting on!!
Friday was more games and more knitting lessons. Saturday was The Relief Society general Broadcast. I got of work a little late, so I only caught the last two talks, but they were wonderful. Elder Uchtdorf's talk was incredible. I loved the idea that to have God's happiness, we must create! We are children of the most magnificent creative being in the universe, so creating is what we can and must do! I love to create meals, stories, games and parties. And now I am thinking I want to create through knitting!
Afterward I loved walking home with Kara, Lani and mei-mei (who came down from college to see Kara). We ate ice-cream and Kara gave me a final knitting lesson in which I learned the basic stitch, the purl stitch, and that if my tension is too tight my yarn will keep breaking.
Sunday I had to say good-bye Kara. I was pretty depressed about it. I kept snapping at Drek and I didn't have a great experience at church. After church I just lazed about being sad until Rissy called and dragged me outside to plan the Saboteur. This cheered me up immensely. Just so you all know, this game is going to ROCK!!!!!!! Our ideas are oh-so-good. Sign up now, because seriously, amazing.
Also, I am now feeling the need to knit. I have no needles, no yarn, no idea how to do a project, but I have the urge to knit and I am eager to learn. Come back to visit soon, Kara, I miss you already.
She brought her kitty, Claire, with her. I hadn't met Claire yet so it was quite a treat. She is so pretty! She is a small kitty who is a beautiful ginger color. She loves to be petted and was apparently adapting well to traveling across the country in a car.
We went over to my sister's house and made homemade peach jam (which is fantastic by the way, I already finished the jar of sugar-free jam; So good!!) and played with Megan. We went back to my house afterward and discussed the fact that Drek and I are board game freaks and love to play at any opportunity. Kara also loves to play board games. We then discussed how some people are fun to play with, and others are...not. Good sportsmanship is something you need to learn while young. No one likes a sore winner or loser. We practiced good sportsmanship by playing a game of Settlers. It was then time to go out to eat with the rest of the family. Around the table, we played It Came To Pass and had a great time overall. That night the family played Munchkin with our Munchkin-Fu cards and Kara's Cthulu cards while I created an odd version of homemade apple empanadias. I say odd version because although they tasted delicious, they didn't look like empanadias. Ah well, it was my first attempt. Kara gave me a mini-lesson on knitting. I've been trying to get Ismael and Kris to teach me, but time keeps being a factor. Kara taught me about circular needles (which I love!!) and how to cast-on. I love casting on!!
Friday was more games and more knitting lessons. Saturday was The Relief Society general Broadcast. I got of work a little late, so I only caught the last two talks, but they were wonderful. Elder Uchtdorf's talk was incredible. I loved the idea that to have God's happiness, we must create! We are children of the most magnificent creative being in the universe, so creating is what we can and must do! I love to create meals, stories, games and parties. And now I am thinking I want to create through knitting!
Afterward I loved walking home with Kara, Lani and mei-mei (who came down from college to see Kara). We ate ice-cream and Kara gave me a final knitting lesson in which I learned the basic stitch, the purl stitch, and that if my tension is too tight my yarn will keep breaking.
Sunday I had to say good-bye Kara. I was pretty depressed about it. I kept snapping at Drek and I didn't have a great experience at church. After church I just lazed about being sad until Rissy called and dragged me outside to plan the Saboteur. This cheered me up immensely. Just so you all know, this game is going to ROCK!!!!!!! Our ideas are oh-so-good. Sign up now, because seriously, amazing.
Also, I am now feeling the need to knit. I have no needles, no yarn, no idea how to do a project, but I have the urge to knit and I am eager to learn. Come back to visit soon, Kara, I miss you already.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
September BAMC: Marathon
September's BAMC was, in my opinion, very good. The word was change. I took this challenge to heart and read three wonderful books.
The first book is Pushed: the Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block. Krisling has really got be interested in thinking outside the box when it comes to labor. I had no idea there were other options besides hospital with epidural and hospital without epidural. This book was amazing!! It has not only changed the way I think about childbirth and modern maternity care, but also changed some of my aspirations. I wanted to be a Douala when I was in Infant Massage school, now I am even more interested. I think it's something I would not only be good at, but I would really enjoy doing. Of course I need to do more research, but I am highly intrigued.
The second book I read was Marathoning A to Z: 500 ways to run Better, Faster, and Smarter, by Hal Higdon. This book was very simple to read, and well well the other book I read: Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Hidgon.
These books changed my lifestyle. I am indeed running better and smarter (I'm not sure about faster, but, farther yeah), however, the point is that I'm running. I'm excited about it, I'm enthusiastic about it and my habits have to support my running. I have to go to sleep earlier at night, I need to eat healthier and things like that. As it turns out; I really like running!!
The first book is Pushed: the Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block. Krisling has really got be interested in thinking outside the box when it comes to labor. I had no idea there were other options besides hospital with epidural and hospital without epidural. This book was amazing!! It has not only changed the way I think about childbirth and modern maternity care, but also changed some of my aspirations. I wanted to be a Douala when I was in Infant Massage school, now I am even more interested. I think it's something I would not only be good at, but I would really enjoy doing. Of course I need to do more research, but I am highly intrigued.
The second book I read was Marathoning A to Z: 500 ways to run Better, Faster, and Smarter, by Hal Higdon. This book was very simple to read, and well well the other book I read: Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Hidgon.
These books changed my lifestyle. I am indeed running better and smarter (I'm not sure about faster, but, farther yeah), however, the point is that I'm running. I'm excited about it, I'm enthusiastic about it and my habits have to support my running. I have to go to sleep earlier at night, I need to eat healthier and things like that. As it turns out; I really like running!!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Fruitie Ootie Bar??
Aaron came over to introduce us to the the future of Sour...Sweet!! No, really. There is a fruit; Called "Magic Fruit" That after you eat it, it makes everything sour taste sweet. This fruit has been put into pill form by the Japaneses, and sold to thrill seekers everywhere.
We decided to have a sour party. Ismael was the only one brave enough to join our little group. We wanted to have a variety of tastes, so we had lemons, limes, crushed red pepper, spicy Cheetos, grapefruits, orange juice, lemon juice, and a bunch of different kinds of sour candy. We dissolved half a pill on our tongues and...AMAZING!!
The best things were the lemons. Oh, they were so good!!!! And the orange was fantastic. Oh the delight!
We decided to have a sour party. Ismael was the only one brave enough to join our little group. We wanted to have a variety of tastes, so we had lemons, limes, crushed red pepper, spicy Cheetos, grapefruits, orange juice, lemon juice, and a bunch of different kinds of sour candy. We dissolved half a pill on our tongues and...AMAZING!!
The best things were the lemons. Oh, they were so good!!!! And the orange was fantastic. Oh the delight!
Monday, September 22, 2008
It Sounds Like Rat and Patootie. Rat Patootie. Which Does Not Sound Delicious
Creating new dinners is going well. This past week I think my best accomplishment was not dinner, but made-from-scratch brownies. They were amazing. I thought I did a fantastic job at making Eggplant Parmesan, but Drek didn't like it as much as I did and it is way to unhealthy to make for myself. I also really liked my attempt at Mushroom and Spinach Manicottii, but the recipe was highly confusing as it did not call for spinach. It was still delicious, but I need to try it again, this time, with the spinach.
My new obsession is Ratatouille. The first time I made it that traditional way: as a stew. But I wanted to mimic the famous Disney movie a little more, so I found a recipe for Baked Ratatouille. It turned out...baked. I didn't like it as much as the stew and it still wasn't anything like the movie. After some more research I found Ratatouille Remy Style!! A recipe for the movie dish. As it turns out, the recipe in the movie is the Turkish version of the dish. I'm looking forward to making it and seeing if it is delicious.
Today I am making General Tao's Tofu again, tomorrow I am modifying the dish to see if it can be turned into Orange Chicken. I mean Tofu.
My new obsession is Ratatouille. The first time I made it that traditional way: as a stew. But I wanted to mimic the famous Disney movie a little more, so I found a recipe for Baked Ratatouille. It turned out...baked. I didn't like it as much as the stew and it still wasn't anything like the movie. After some more research I found Ratatouille Remy Style!! A recipe for the movie dish. As it turns out, the recipe in the movie is the Turkish version of the dish. I'm looking forward to making it and seeing if it is delicious.
Today I am making General Tao's Tofu again, tomorrow I am modifying the dish to see if it can be turned into Orange Chicken. I mean Tofu.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Ay, Avast!!
It be Talk like a Pirate Day. Arrr. I can't celebrate all that much. I be doin' 12 hour work days yesterday, today and tomorrow. I also be havin' to be all professional-like, so if I be talkin' like a pirate, I be walkin' the plank.
Aye, it be a hard life for us on the land. The sea be callin' me, and one day...one day I'll answer.
Aye, it be a hard life for us on the land. The sea be callin' me, and one day...one day I'll answer.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Saboteur II
Oh, so great. What else can I say??
Rissy was in charge of this one, I was just a humble player. Being a player is a blast BTW, so much more fun!! Anyway, she did all the work. I did not help at all.
We met at the park and started off with "The Chains That Bind Us". We were all tied to a rope and once every minute had to let on person from either end free. That person could then either add candy to the pot, or betray the team and take the exception. The exception meant that fifty candies would be subtracted from the pot, and he people tied had to stay tied up for the next game. Right away I was suspicious of Megan. She had seemed reluctant to play, but perked up right away. This could be because we were having fun, but could it also be that she is the Saboteur??
My plan was to be the last on the rope, that way I could take the exception but candies would still be added. Alas, they found out my plot and I was voted off the rope. Good thing too, cause Curt decided to betray the team. He chose the Exception with Ismail and Shana still tied up. Very suspicious behavior.
The next game was "Find A Penny..." This was a very clever game. I was highly impressed with Rissy at this point. Shana and Ismail (still tied together) had to wade around in the fountain looking for pennies. One penny (among hundreds) was green on one side. The tied team had to throw the pennies out of the water to us, the sorting team. The sorting team had to find the green penny and run it over to Rissy. The faster we did this = more candies. We did it pretty fast, I thought, but the finding of the penny was just...odd. Curt made it into this huge thing and I was suspicious of him. Cavan was the one that found the penny, and now that I think about it, it was odd.
Next up: Lava Monster!!! People were on top of picnic tables, trying to keep the candy safe from lava monsters (me and Ismail) I ROCKED this game and won an exception. Still suspicious of Megan. Very suspicious.
Next was an improved version of the game I invented. Two teams, one searching for GPS coordinates, one searching for addresses. Both teams have to work together to make it within the time limit. Also, there were riddles solving the riddles = candy. This game was awesome. I was first suspicious if Ismail, who missed turns and was deliberately slowing us down. Curt missed an obvious clue. If I hadn't found it, we might have never moved on. Megan won an exemption without even knowing she had...or did she know?? In any case, we didn't make the time limit, but we did answer a lot of riddles.
TRAFALGA!!!! Three Saboteur cards were actually in ticket bins. The only way to get them out, was to but them with tickets. And how were we going to do that? Why Deal or No Deal, of course!! Our team was not so good, only winning four tickets. We bought our Saboteur card, which informed us that for the next challenge, we would be blindfolded. The next challenge: Mini Golf.
I was blindfolded, Drek was my eyes. The point was not accuracy, the point was speed. We had 18 minutes to play 18 holes. It was crazy. I almost died several times. We did not make the time limit. The other team did better, they only had to be tied together. They did make the time limit. Ismail even got a hole in one, winning himself an exception.
To finish it off, the best game of all: GO KARTS!!!!!!!! Once again, I was blindfolded (I was used to it by now). I drove the go Kart, Megan was my passenger and my eyes. We used 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock and 12 o'clock to tell me how to turn. To make things more complicated, Rissy held up a sign everytime we made a lap. I could not see them, but I had to memorize the answers. The first two questions were "how many toes does a human have?" and "*picture of an eye* + *Picture of a phone*". The last question was a math question. Megan read it out load, and instead of figuring it out, I just asked her what the answer was. We were both concentrating more on the wuestion and less on the driving. We ran into a wall. Curses!! And we were doing so well. Megan solved the math problem, but becasue of the crash, she forgot a small part of it, resulting in a wrong answer. Shana and Curt answered all three right, and got the fasted time, resulting in a special prize for them: A gift card to Trafalga. Ben and Cavan crashed three times, and Cavan answered the questions out of order. I blamed this on Drek. He was obviously not communicating effectively. The question was, is this on purpose...??
So, much blaming and conversations ensued. At this point, I know it is not Nick. I know it is not Shana. After a slip of the tongue, I know it is not Megan (curses!! I had been voting for her the whole time!!) After more thought, I realize it cannot be Ismail. I am fairly sure it is not Drek. That leaves Cavan and Curt. It is so Curt!! He has been suspicious from the start!!
We take the last quiz, I vote Curt. We take pictures and then the Saboteur stands up.
Cavan?? What the...?? I NEVER suspected him. Not the whole game. Dang.
We add up the quizzes and guess what?? It turns out Megan was my lucky charm. I voted for her all through the game, but she had enough in common with Cavan that I got ten question correct!! Megan was second place, with 8 correct questions. Everyone else was close together with either six or seven. So, take that Mark. You won without knowing who the Mole was, I won without knowing who the Saboteur was. Hooray.
I had so much fun!! Rissy and I are already making plans for Saboteur part: the third.
Bwhahahah
Rissy was in charge of this one, I was just a humble player. Being a player is a blast BTW, so much more fun!! Anyway, she did all the work. I did not help at all.
We met at the park and started off with "The Chains That Bind Us". We were all tied to a rope and once every minute had to let on person from either end free. That person could then either add candy to the pot, or betray the team and take the exception. The exception meant that fifty candies would be subtracted from the pot, and he people tied had to stay tied up for the next game. Right away I was suspicious of Megan. She had seemed reluctant to play, but perked up right away. This could be because we were having fun, but could it also be that she is the Saboteur??
My plan was to be the last on the rope, that way I could take the exception but candies would still be added. Alas, they found out my plot and I was voted off the rope. Good thing too, cause Curt decided to betray the team. He chose the Exception with Ismail and Shana still tied up. Very suspicious behavior.
The next game was "Find A Penny..." This was a very clever game. I was highly impressed with Rissy at this point. Shana and Ismail (still tied together) had to wade around in the fountain looking for pennies. One penny (among hundreds) was green on one side. The tied team had to throw the pennies out of the water to us, the sorting team. The sorting team had to find the green penny and run it over to Rissy. The faster we did this = more candies. We did it pretty fast, I thought, but the finding of the penny was just...odd. Curt made it into this huge thing and I was suspicious of him. Cavan was the one that found the penny, and now that I think about it, it was odd.
Next up: Lava Monster!!! People were on top of picnic tables, trying to keep the candy safe from lava monsters (me and Ismail) I ROCKED this game and won an exception. Still suspicious of Megan. Very suspicious.
Next was an improved version of the game I invented. Two teams, one searching for GPS coordinates, one searching for addresses. Both teams have to work together to make it within the time limit. Also, there were riddles solving the riddles = candy. This game was awesome. I was first suspicious if Ismail, who missed turns and was deliberately slowing us down. Curt missed an obvious clue. If I hadn't found it, we might have never moved on. Megan won an exemption without even knowing she had...or did she know?? In any case, we didn't make the time limit, but we did answer a lot of riddles.
TRAFALGA!!!! Three Saboteur cards were actually in ticket bins. The only way to get them out, was to but them with tickets. And how were we going to do that? Why Deal or No Deal, of course!! Our team was not so good, only winning four tickets. We bought our Saboteur card, which informed us that for the next challenge, we would be blindfolded. The next challenge: Mini Golf.
I was blindfolded, Drek was my eyes. The point was not accuracy, the point was speed. We had 18 minutes to play 18 holes. It was crazy. I almost died several times. We did not make the time limit. The other team did better, they only had to be tied together. They did make the time limit. Ismail even got a hole in one, winning himself an exception.
To finish it off, the best game of all: GO KARTS!!!!!!!! Once again, I was blindfolded (I was used to it by now). I drove the go Kart, Megan was my passenger and my eyes. We used 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock and 12 o'clock to tell me how to turn. To make things more complicated, Rissy held up a sign everytime we made a lap. I could not see them, but I had to memorize the answers. The first two questions were "how many toes does a human have?" and "*picture of an eye* + *Picture of a phone*". The last question was a math question. Megan read it out load, and instead of figuring it out, I just asked her what the answer was. We were both concentrating more on the wuestion and less on the driving. We ran into a wall. Curses!! And we were doing so well. Megan solved the math problem, but becasue of the crash, she forgot a small part of it, resulting in a wrong answer. Shana and Curt answered all three right, and got the fasted time, resulting in a special prize for them: A gift card to Trafalga. Ben and Cavan crashed three times, and Cavan answered the questions out of order. I blamed this on Drek. He was obviously not communicating effectively. The question was, is this on purpose...??
So, much blaming and conversations ensued. At this point, I know it is not Nick. I know it is not Shana. After a slip of the tongue, I know it is not Megan (curses!! I had been voting for her the whole time!!) After more thought, I realize it cannot be Ismail. I am fairly sure it is not Drek. That leaves Cavan and Curt. It is so Curt!! He has been suspicious from the start!!
We take the last quiz, I vote Curt. We take pictures and then the Saboteur stands up.
Cavan?? What the...?? I NEVER suspected him. Not the whole game. Dang.
We add up the quizzes and guess what?? It turns out Megan was my lucky charm. I voted for her all through the game, but she had enough in common with Cavan that I got ten question correct!! Megan was second place, with 8 correct questions. Everyone else was close together with either six or seven. So, take that Mark. You won without knowing who the Mole was, I won without knowing who the Saboteur was. Hooray.
I had so much fun!! Rissy and I are already making plans for Saboteur part: the third.
Bwhahahah
Sunday, September 14, 2008
5K
Thank you, K-lizzle, for posting that last entry. I will be more careful about leaving my account logged in on other people's laptops. For the sake of posterity, allow me to clarify.
Friday after work Drek and I went to his work's BBQ. It was very exciting. Drek works with a lot of hilarious people. I highly enjoyed the experience.
After that we went to Krisling's house. We talked, ate watermelon, and watched Casino Royal. This was very important because Krisling had never seen this before. Alas, she had never seen ANY James Bond movies, and if we are going to See Quantum of Solace for her birthday, I thought I should get her hooked on 007.
Drek drove back home and I camped out on Krisling's couch for the night to guard the house against any intruders that were small enough to fit the hole in the door where the door handle used to be.
Saturday morning was the big day! The day I have been preparing for for months! The day of my 5k!! It was quite the learning experience. I did the 5k to prepare for my ultimate goal: running a marathon. I thought this would prepare in regards to running a long distance, but instead, it prepared me for the part of the marathon I had not thought to prepare for. I learned that I must get up crazy early in the morning and freeze to death in the cold morning air before being told when to run and where to run. I learned how to pin those numbers to my shirt. I learned how to sign it at the sign in table. I learned to have the courage to stand next to skinny blondes in tank tops and short shorts while my big end is dressed in pajama pants and a T-shirt and not let it bother me. I learned that I'm not competing with that crazy skinny girl who is the star member of the BYU cross country team, I am competing against myself. I learned I don't care how fast they go, the point is that I keep going. I learned I don't care when I cross the finish line, just that I cross it. I learned that I don't care what other people think of me, or worry if they think I look stupid, I'm not doing this for them, I'm doing this for me. In short, the experience was AWESOME and so much better than I could have hoped.
Kris and I stayed together the whole time. The cop that was following us made me very nervous, so I went up to his car window and asked him to leave us alone. He did. The course was not flat, it was up and down a mountain. A freaking huge mountain. It also took us through a very rich neighborhood, so most of our time was occupied with getting enough air to make it up the steep hill, and reading flyers on the houses the were for sale. We found this crazy 7 bedroom house that had a 2 story great room, and a fireplace in the master bedroom. That was our favorite. We picked sunflowers, laughed really hard, and crossed the finish line smiling and in high spirits.
Way to go us!!
Friday after work Drek and I went to his work's BBQ. It was very exciting. Drek works with a lot of hilarious people. I highly enjoyed the experience.
After that we went to Krisling's house. We talked, ate watermelon, and watched Casino Royal. This was very important because Krisling had never seen this before. Alas, she had never seen ANY James Bond movies, and if we are going to See Quantum of Solace for her birthday, I thought I should get her hooked on 007.
Drek drove back home and I camped out on Krisling's couch for the night to guard the house against any intruders that were small enough to fit the hole in the door where the door handle used to be.
Saturday morning was the big day! The day I have been preparing for for months! The day of my 5k!! It was quite the learning experience. I did the 5k to prepare for my ultimate goal: running a marathon. I thought this would prepare in regards to running a long distance, but instead, it prepared me for the part of the marathon I had not thought to prepare for. I learned that I must get up crazy early in the morning and freeze to death in the cold morning air before being told when to run and where to run. I learned how to pin those numbers to my shirt. I learned how to sign it at the sign in table. I learned to have the courage to stand next to skinny blondes in tank tops and short shorts while my big end is dressed in pajama pants and a T-shirt and not let it bother me. I learned that I'm not competing with that crazy skinny girl who is the star member of the BYU cross country team, I am competing against myself. I learned I don't care how fast they go, the point is that I keep going. I learned I don't care when I cross the finish line, just that I cross it. I learned that I don't care what other people think of me, or worry if they think I look stupid, I'm not doing this for them, I'm doing this for me. In short, the experience was AWESOME and so much better than I could have hoped.
Kris and I stayed together the whole time. The cop that was following us made me very nervous, so I went up to his car window and asked him to leave us alone. He did. The course was not flat, it was up and down a mountain. A freaking huge mountain. It also took us through a very rich neighborhood, so most of our time was occupied with getting enough air to make it up the steep hill, and reading flyers on the houses the were for sale. We found this crazy 7 bedroom house that had a 2 story great room, and a fireplace in the master bedroom. That was our favorite. We picked sunflowers, laughed really hard, and crossed the finish line smiling and in high spirits.
Way to go us!!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Potatoface
My name is K-lizzle! I am freaking awesome! YOUR MOM.
I ran a 5K today and I totally kicked its butt. I am also the coolest person to ever walk the planet, for behold, I stayed behind and saved the Kris from certain lonely doom. Also I totally scared a cop!
TU MADRE!
Also I am basically James Bond. Except I am a girl. I am a girl James Bond. I am, Jamie Bond.
TOUCHE!
I need to move to the Salt Lake valley.... TOMORROW!!
I ran a 5K today and I totally kicked its butt. I am also the coolest person to ever walk the planet, for behold, I stayed behind and saved the Kris from certain lonely doom. Also I totally scared a cop!
TU MADRE!
Also I am basically James Bond. Except I am a girl. I am a girl James Bond. I am, Jamie Bond.
TOUCHE!
I need to move to the Salt Lake valley.... TOMORROW!!
Friday, September 12, 2008
FYI
I am now hopelessly addicted to pita bread. So. Good.
My genius husband is amazing. He made $80 yesterday playing the stock market. He is so smart.
I run my first 5K tomorrow!! I am so excited I've been having racing dreams for the past two days!
My neice, Meg, is the smartest little girl in the world. She can already sign like a pro, and she already talks really well.
My nephew, Toby, is entirly adorable. He is also already very musical. He will be a genius musician/singer/conductor when he grows up.
Both my neice and my nephew are the cutest kids you will ever see (the only exception might be Ben's little sister, Rachel, when she was a baby. She was an adorable baby. Like, world's-cutest-baby-ever kind of adorable). If I get permission from their parents, I will post pictures.
I'm getting restless. Very restless.
My genius husband is amazing. He made $80 yesterday playing the stock market. He is so smart.
I run my first 5K tomorrow!! I am so excited I've been having racing dreams for the past two days!
My neice, Meg, is the smartest little girl in the world. She can already sign like a pro, and she already talks really well.
My nephew, Toby, is entirly adorable. He is also already very musical. He will be a genius musician/singer/conductor when he grows up.
Both my neice and my nephew are the cutest kids you will ever see (the only exception might be Ben's little sister, Rachel, when she was a baby. She was an adorable baby. Like, world's-cutest-baby-ever kind of adorable). If I get permission from their parents, I will post pictures.
I'm getting restless. Very restless.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Vindicated
"Then there's manure — all that animal waste generates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that has 296 times the warming effect of CO2. And of course, there is cow flatulence: as cattle digest grass or grain, they produce methane gas, of which they expel up to 200 L a day. Given that there are 100 million cattle in the U.S. alone, and that methane has 23 times the warming impact of CO2, the gas adds up."
And just think, you're eating that.
And just think, you're eating that.
Friday, September 05, 2008
My Attempt to be More Home/Wife-y
I love to clean. Drek pointed out that I love to clean on a deep level, as in, sterilize. I could scrub, wash, steam and soak all day. Keeping things tidy is more of a chore.
I spent Wednesday cleaning a lady in my ward's house. She had a C-section 3 weeks ago and is having trouble. I then went to my Mom's house and cleaned that. Drek got slightly upset, and took revenge by cleaning our house. Our house is now tidy!!! It looks amazing!!! Best. Husband. Ever.
Alas, I needed to get revenge, so I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned our carpets, Our house in now "clean". Oh, our carpets are so beautiful! They should be framed and put in a museum.
Usually, I love to cook. I take that back, I love to create. Cooking is no fun if I am not creating. In the past cooking dinner has been a struggle. The problem is that I work all day, come home, ask Drek what he wants for dinner ("I don't know. Whatever you want.") And then rummage around in our cupboards looking for inspiration. I look for something fast, but healthy. My blood sugar is low, so I am grumpy, and thus dinner is usually cereal or eggs.
I have solved this problem!! I searched the Internet for recipes I wanted to try, then laid out a two-week plan of who will cook dinners (I cook Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Saturday, Drek cooks Thursday and Friday, the days I work late) and went shopping for all the ingredients. I only bought food needed for the two weeks, thus saving money, and was so excited to create!!
The result has been fantastic. I am much happier when I come home, I can't wait to cook dinner, we are eating healthy, and the food is AMAZING!!!!! I have a new favorite dish, and even Drek says he has a new favorite!! We also discovered that while we both love to say Gazpacho, it is no fun to eat as a soup. As salsa, it's great. As soup, it's disgusting.
I'm about to plan the next two weeks of dinners. Let the creative juices start flowing!!
My favorite recipe:Fresh Mozzarella Penne Pasta! Note: The does not serve four. It serves like fourteen. If making this, follow amounts on everything but the pasta. Only use half a bag (8 oz) of pasta.
fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
3 medium tomatoes or 5 to 6 Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoons crushed red pepper or to taste
1 (16-ounce) package uncooked penne pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a large bowl, toss mozzarella cheese with tomatoes, avocados, garlic, olive oil, basil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pan to keep warm. Add tomato mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Transfer onto individual serving plates and garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Makes 4 servings.
Drek's favorite recipe: General Tao's Tofu! Note: This recipe is extremely delicious. I believe I can turn this into a tofu version of Panda Express's Orange Chicken. Details forthcoming. Also, grilled bell peppers are so tasty when added to the steamed broccoli
1 box of firm tofu
1 egg
3/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying
3 chopped green onions
1 Tablespoon minced ginger
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
4 Tablespoons sugar
red pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon sherry (optional)
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
steamed broccoli
Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn't necessary. Mix the egg and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg/water mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.
Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil.
Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.
Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.
Serves: 4
I spent Wednesday cleaning a lady in my ward's house. She had a C-section 3 weeks ago and is having trouble. I then went to my Mom's house and cleaned that. Drek got slightly upset, and took revenge by cleaning our house. Our house is now tidy!!! It looks amazing!!! Best. Husband. Ever.
Alas, I needed to get revenge, so I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned our carpets, Our house in now "clean". Oh, our carpets are so beautiful! They should be framed and put in a museum.
Usually, I love to cook. I take that back, I love to create. Cooking is no fun if I am not creating. In the past cooking dinner has been a struggle. The problem is that I work all day, come home, ask Drek what he wants for dinner ("I don't know. Whatever you want.") And then rummage around in our cupboards looking for inspiration. I look for something fast, but healthy. My blood sugar is low, so I am grumpy, and thus dinner is usually cereal or eggs.
I have solved this problem!! I searched the Internet for recipes I wanted to try, then laid out a two-week plan of who will cook dinners (I cook Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Saturday, Drek cooks Thursday and Friday, the days I work late) and went shopping for all the ingredients. I only bought food needed for the two weeks, thus saving money, and was so excited to create!!
The result has been fantastic. I am much happier when I come home, I can't wait to cook dinner, we are eating healthy, and the food is AMAZING!!!!! I have a new favorite dish, and even Drek says he has a new favorite!! We also discovered that while we both love to say Gazpacho, it is no fun to eat as a soup. As salsa, it's great. As soup, it's disgusting.
I'm about to plan the next two weeks of dinners. Let the creative juices start flowing!!
My favorite recipe:Fresh Mozzarella Penne Pasta! Note: The does not serve four. It serves like fourteen. If making this, follow amounts on everything but the pasta. Only use half a bag (8 oz) of pasta.
fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
3 medium tomatoes or 5 to 6 Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoons crushed red pepper or to taste
1 (16-ounce) package uncooked penne pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a large bowl, toss mozzarella cheese with tomatoes, avocados, garlic, olive oil, basil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pan to keep warm. Add tomato mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Transfer onto individual serving plates and garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Makes 4 servings.
Drek's favorite recipe: General Tao's Tofu! Note: This recipe is extremely delicious. I believe I can turn this into a tofu version of Panda Express's Orange Chicken. Details forthcoming. Also, grilled bell peppers are so tasty when added to the steamed broccoli
1 box of firm tofu
1 egg
3/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying
3 chopped green onions
1 Tablespoon minced ginger
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
4 Tablespoons sugar
red pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon sherry (optional)
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
steamed broccoli
Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn't necessary. Mix the egg and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg/water mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.
Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil.
Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.
Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.
Serves: 4
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