Think they trained hard?

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20247449,00.html

I made peppermint bark the other day. It's both fun and easy to do stuff with melted chocolate. It's also fun to smash up candy canes with a hammer, only if you do it on top of a cookie sheet while you husband is sleeping on the couch in the other room, he will wake up quite suddenly and wonder what the hell is going on. Because that is very noisy. If you move your candy cane smashing operation directly to the countertop, it's a lot quieter. (Please note, candy canes must be confined in a ziploc if you don't want a huge mess.)

My candy looks pretty much like this picture.

My whiskers, let me show you them

A shot of Tasha when she was our visitor, soaking up the sun

I made four batches of pumpkin bread yesterday, 2 at a time. In the end there are 6 small loaves and 2 bigger ones. And what nice loaves they are! Pretty brown on the outside, smell so tasty, crispy crust- (yesterday) and they taste good too. So don't disdain the recipes that come with your appliances. Our recipe came with the Sunbeam Mixmaster.

This house has pros and cons.

pro- Better wall insulation means it's warmer that the apartment was.
con- The windows are aluminum, and attract the cold like nobody's business. Thus, there is often moisture build up on the windows.

pro- Garage! Basement with washer and dryer! Driveway that isn't steep! Nice view from the patio door for kitty. Kitchen has dishwasher (but we paid for half of it.) Landlord is pretty accommodating.

con- Actually less living space than the apartment. House lacks style. Not saving any money on rent or bills. Crappy electricity leads to my monitor view shaking if the microwave is on.

Final verdict- Remains to be seen. At least we aren't getting screwed by the University any more.

It's a good thing they sell food. If not, I probably wouldn't have made it this long. Or I'd live off cereal. I'm a pretty crap cook. I managed to make soup the other day- but that mostly just means I cut some stuff up small, put it in broth, and waited for it to cook. It's a good thing it turned out okay too, because I made a lot!
My banana bread yesterday, while not a failure, also wasn't a success. I should have put in another banana, because it turned out kinda dry and not banana-y enough.
How did I make it 28 years and not pick up anything from my mother? She's a good cook. She doesn't always think the stuff she makes is the greatest, but it's always food and usually tastes pretty good. I can make a few things but not many. I usually suck at planning too. We'll start to feel hungry, then look around for something to eat. If I manage to eventually put ingredients together into food, then I'll leave some of the dishes around for a couple days before cleaning it all up. I need a chef.

Over the last 45 minutes, I watched a fellow build a log cabin on PBS. He cut windows and a door, then made wooden hinges and a wooden latch for the door. Then he made a wooden lock for the door. Then he built a fireplace and chimney, not to mention carved himself a wooden spoon. In Alaska! He hunted for sheep, caught fish, and everything else you do to live in the wilderness. He built a sled to haul things about in winter.

He started out seeing if he could live a year in the wilderness in 1968. He stayed there 30 years.
Oh, the voice over at the end said he moved out when he was 82.

Condensed video here.

Delicious!

I can't imagine not wanting to eat meat. I will now list some tasty meat items: Pulled pork, cheezburgers, steak, chicken nuggets, meatballs, fajitas, philly cheese steak, ham, and chicken "wings."

Can you tell I haven't had dinner? For lunch I had leftover pizza, which is a tasty thing even though there isn't a lot of meat included. I like it better this way, for pizza you need to have a lot more cheese and veggies than meat.
You still need that pepperoni, of course. But you also need the cheese (duh) onions, peppers, olives, mushrooms maybe, and pineapple if you're lucky.

What a relief

We did it! And by "we" I mean the rest of the country because Missouri didn't help a bit. But it's still fantastic!

Bleh- a headache tale

I woke up yesterday and my neck hurt, all through my shoulder up to my ear. The unusual part is that it was on the left side. After my shower and blowdrying my hair some, I sat on the couch with the heating pad behind my neck, which sometimes helps. I figured I could wait it out without taking a painkiller because I was getting a massage at 3:30. I'd just gotten an adjustment Monday, so I figured it wasn't that. It wasn't too bad until early afternoon when it started hurting more. I still left it alone. (It was raining all day, too) Then I went to the massage, told the nice lady where it hurt, and she only worked there a little bit. She spent a lot of time on my shoulders, it seemed. I generally felt better though.

Until after I got home, when it started hurting again. I took an advil, and waited. It became tolerable. We watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was funny. We watched Monday's Heroes on Netflix.* I eventually went to bed, where it got worse in the way headaches can only do when you are trying to sleep. I tossed and turned, and didn't wake up Donald. I was hot and pushed off the sheet. At that point my left temple was throbbing. If I slept, it was very shallow and for short periods of time. At some point I got up and took another advil. (this amount usually does it.) Moments after that I got back out of bed to get the heating pad. I think Donald woke up around this point. I put the heating pad on my pillow and just laid my head on it. (I wish it got hotter) after awhile Donald's alarm clock went off. Great. After he got out of bed the heat had done its trick and I felt somewhat better. Then I woke up to the sound of Anna yakking. Great. I always love waking up to that sound.

Right now it doesn't hurt much. It feels tender, and achy. I'll take a shower, and it will hopefully feel better after that.

* If you don't watch Heroes on Monday, don't bother with Hulu or NBC.com. Wait a couple more days for it to be up on Netflix Watch Instantly. It's much better video quality and no commercials.

I bought an enormous tube of kettle corn yesterday from a cart in the parking lot at Ward Parkway. It is delicious. The whole house smells like amazing kettle corn. Now I want kettle corn for breakfast. Crispy salty/sweet kettle corn!

We have a trial period cat right now. Tasha has been here for almost 2 weeks, and the amount of hissing has gone down a lot. It's not gone, but it's better. At first, Anna was very interested in Tasha, and Tasha was interested in getting away. Now Anna swats at Tasha sometimes when she gets too close, and sometimes they sniff noses peacefully with no hissing. As for humans, Tasha is happy to be petted on her own terms. If you are standing, and she walks by, and you lean over to pet her, she's likely to skitter away. If she's on the spare bed, and you sit there to pet her, she's likely to wiggle onto her back so I can pet the tummy. It's a nice soft tummy.

The play I've been in tech for opens tonight. It's a relief to get one thing off your plate. Soon I'll be on to the next opera. Time to start thinking about that one. Hmm, actually the gel for that one should be in next week.

We have 2 episodes left to watch in season 2 of How I Met Your Mother. We lurve this show. Donald and I have been watching it in all our free time for about a week. I tried to get season 3 yesterday, but I couldn't find it. Mike has vowed to acquire it this weekend.

In Animal Crossing news, the internet told me that if I chop down an existing tree and then plant another in the exact spot, it's almost certain that the new tree will grow. Now I have several peach trees, which are very profitable! (My town grows oranges.) I've also planted some coconut trees by the ocean, which will only grow if you plant them a certain distance from the water. Now that I've paid off my mortgage, I'm building a second story on my house. Then I get to decorate another room. I think I'll use the mushroom themed items that I got for giving all those acorns to that turtle. Then after I pay of that mortgage, I think a basement is the next improvement.

Now I will go eat breakfast. It will not be kettle corn.

Oh, and even though leaves are falling, I haven't been able to crunch them because it's been raining. >:(

Gotta enjoy it while I can

It's very pleasant outside. The sun is shining, but it isn't humid, it's about 70º and starting to smell like fall. Ahh, the couple weeks when Missouri weather is great! Soon the leaves will change, then fall, and I will be able to crunch them. I love to crunch leaves.

Theatre fail

This evening while striking the show downtown we took a break about 7:00. There were 15 or so people sitting in the front row of seats, snacking. I heard a questioning voice from the theatre entrance, which is up several rows of seats. Several of us looked, where there was a girl and her boyfriend- asking about the show. Someone said it had been a matinée. She looked down at her tickets, exclaimed "matinée!" and left hurriedly. She must not have looked at the time on the tickets before!

It was funnier at the time, but picture the entire crew in the middle of taking the set and lights down- ah, you had to be there.

I lasted longer than Robyn, but Donald lies

I could survive for 25 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Serve to Everyone But Jeff

Fourteen Passive-Aggressive Appetizers
by Yoni Brenner July 21, 2008

1. Top thick slices of country bread with fresh goat cheese. Sprinkle with herbs and bake until crusty; serve to everyone but Jeff.

2. Vegetarian friends? Try veggie rumaki: wrap a strip of imitation bacon around a water chestnut, spear with a toothpick, and broil—but instead of imitation bacon use real bacon, and instead of a water chestnut use veal.

3. Steal Cheryl’s famous potato-salad recipe. When Cheryl asks, “Why did you steal my recipe?,” say, “I don’t know, Cheryl, why did you break my heart?” Then laugh so she knows you’re just kidding.

4. Blend fresh crabmeat with diced avocado, scallions, and a dollop of mayonnaise for a canapé topping so delicious that it will take your guests a full minute to realize that they’re eating it off dog biscuits. Once they catch on, act mortified and stammer that you must have “mixed up the boxes,” until everyone calms down. Then start crying because the biscuits remind you that today marks exactly eight weeks since you had to put down Buster, and you just miss him so much.

5. Tell Marissa that you appreciate her concern, but in the two years since Cheryl broke off the engagement you’ve grown up a lot, and you’re really in a much healthier place now. Then say, “Speaking of fiancés, how’s Peter’s alcoholism?” (Note: This is not technically an appetizer.)

6. For a taste of the U.K., fry up mini-servings of fish-and-chips. Take it to the next level by wrapping them in small pieces of newspaper, which, oddly enough, all seem to be printed with unfavorable reviews of Jeff ’s novel.

7. Have you ever noticed how sun-dried tomatoes and top-grade peyote look exactly the same? Not a suggestion, really. Just saying.

8. Another one for the vegetarians. If they think they like tofu, wait until they sample your delicious mock tofu—all you need is chicken fat, puréed pork loin, and five cups of piping-hot tallow. Cheryl will never know the difference.

9. Tempura makes great finger food, and the batter locks the flavor of just about anything in a savory, opaque crust. Impress your friends with creative choices, from squash blossoms to mislaid car keys to the two-carat engagement ring that Cheryl gave back to you after she “reassessed things.” Surprise!

10. Guests getting antsy? Head them off with a big bowl of steamed mussels. No one can resist mussels, not even emotionally stunted ex-fiancées and their new poorly-received-novelist boyfriends. Besides, disappearing into the kitchen will give you a chance to collect your thoughts and also to go slash Jeff ’s tires.

11. Homemade sugared almonds make the perfect sendoff, sure to please all your guests, even the ones who would be bludgeoning you with a tire iron if Peter weren’t standing between you. Good old Peter. He may not be the brightest or the handsomest person, but he’s very large.

12. As the party disperses, your guests might seem a little ungrateful, calling you an obsessive sociopath or pelting you with sugared almonds. Don’t worry, it’s probably the peyote talking. Just stand on the porch as their cars pull out, your eyes brimming with tears, and shout, “You know, I try, I really do . . .”

13. Add, “My dog died! He died! And he’s never coming back!”

14. Hepatitis! (Note: This is not technically an appetizer.) ♦

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/07/21/080721sh_shouts_brenner

Ha ha, it's so true

more music charts

The funny, it is everywhere

If you lol at icanhascheezburger.com (and I do)

or the Fail Blog (yes I do)

Then you'll probably also like the Graph Jam, a member of the Cheezburger network. :)
All my posts are pictures these days...

I can has cheezburger delivers again

Ha!

The breaking news is that the IOC is finding proof that at least one of the Chinese gymnasts is too young. Take that! Got caught, being 14 didn't ya? They'll catch the rest of them too.

ha ha!

The gymnastics are done

Yay for Shawn! I'm so pleased that she got a gold. It would have been awfully disappointing if she'd gotten another silver after all that work. It's been a lot of fun to watch gymnastics, even though the Chinese girls are universally agreed to be underage. And even though the scoring has been skewed, according to the people who know about that sort of thing. Especially on the women's vault final! That was complete bullshit. You can land on your knees and get a medal? No way.

In general, I wish that NBC would show a better variety of events in primetime. We saw a LOT of swimming, and I know there was a lot of Phelps hype, but come on! I would have really liked to have seen some Tae Kwon Do. I didn't need to see 10 different qualifying races.

On a different note, why is it that my hair feels so nice after a haircut? I know that the ends are nice and tidy now, but what is the magic stuff that make my hair so nice and smooth? I'm sure the salon would sell it to me, and I'm sure that it costs many more dollars than I'd pay. But it's nice while it lasts. :)

I dreamed last night that I was at a grocery store with Mike and Donald. It was a very large store, and I was unfamiliar with the layout. I wanted to buy peanut butter, but all I could find was an endcap with enormous Costco size jars. So I kept looking for the regular sized jars. At one point I thought I found them, but it turned out to be salsa. A security guy in a suit came over and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was looking for peanut butter, and he left. Also, Anna was with us at the store, just running around on the ground following us. I had the memory that I'd brought her to the store before, but she rode in the shopping cart that time.

So that was weird.

Nadia Comaneci PERFECT TENS

Wow! It was a very different event then.

It's even more amazing that I actually posted this several days ago, and it appeared today for no damn reason.

Finished!

I finished my bag! Sunday I kept going up, adding another stripe. Monday I rested, and Tuesday I put the strap on. It went pretty fast, and ended up looking fairly tidy. At least it did on the outside. So my completely made up crocheted bag was a success.

Olympics project

Here is my work so far on my Olympics yarn project. Top picture is progress 8-8, bottom is 8-9. When finished, it will be a small bag. In my mind it was going to be larger, but somehow ended up small. Oh well! I will probably finish it up in a few days and start another one, since it's so small.

I've been watching many various sports so far. Men's gymnastics, swimming, team volleyball and beach volleyball, scull rowing, and cycling. Looking forward to diving and women's gymnastics, as well as BMX biking.

Simon's Cat 'TV Dinner'

Whew! It's been a busy July. I finished up a ballet, am now in the midst of designing the next thing, and ready to pick up the script to design the one after that. Donald and I finally got the house in a state to receive visitors! There is still more to do, including decorating, but now we don't have to step over boxes any more.

Movies lately:
Hellboy 2. Very different movie than the first one. I enjoyed it, but not enough to see it again.
Live Free of Die Hard: Enjoyable enough, but completely bullshit in many many places.
Juno: Fantastic. Loved the dialogue.
The Dark Knight: Also fantastic. Can't wait to see it again.
The Whole Nine Yards: Donald hadn't seen it so we netflixed it. Fun movie.

Medium did this?

I thought that I burned off all my tastebuds long ago with hot salsa. Tonight I was enjoying a bit of medium salsa with blue corn chips. I was drinking ginger ale, chomping my chips, and watching the idiot box. After a few minutes, I realized that this salsa was pretty hot! I actually had Donald get me a glass of milk. I tell you I wasn't expecting the spicy-spicy from a medium salsa. Now I can't taste anything properly. Maybe tomorrow. :(

Wii Sports

Wii baseball, in particular, is awesome because of the Mii participation. Only there can Dumbledore be at bat, hit the ball to left field, and the ball gets caught by Harry Potter. Sweet!

Grilling is fun

We grilled for the second time last night. And by "We grilled" I mean Donald grilled. I prepared some stuff, and then waited for food. :) Mike let us in on the secret to tasty hamburgers, which isn't actually a secret. Apparently all it takes is some seasonings. Then you eat the tasty. We also did skewered veggies again. They are a work in progress but will be even tastier the next time. I'd like to do pork chops sometime, and Mike wants to do steaks and asparagus.

We have a little patio in the back, and we originally thought we could grill there. It turns out that since it faces west, it's a terrible place to grill unless you actually want to be baked in the sun. The driveway is too perfect. The garage puts us in the shade, and the overhang would keep the rain off if needed. There's plenty of room for chairs on the driveway. It's as close as it could be to the kitchen and front door of the house. With the doors open and screen doors closed, Miss Kitty can participate by watching us through the screen and meowing.

Stepping stones

Yesterday my dad and I put in stepping stones on the side of the garage. Now I can go through there and not get my feet muddy after it rains. Next Donald and I will plant something viney for ground cover. We're going to start with some ivy and see if it takes. It's on the north side and doen't get very much sun, but since I always see ivy growing under trees I think it will do fine.

That's that.

Donald turned in our apartment keys today, so we are Officially Moved.

(Please note I said nothing about unpacked.)

White Noise 2

Do not see it. You'd think that a movie starring Nathan Fillion and Katee Sackhoff would be a cool thing. It sure would be, if it were a movie that did not suck. There was a nice "Captain Tightpants" reference, but it was pretty much a crummy movie. The one thing that we enjoyed while watching was the 20 seconds in the making of when they talked about who would win in a fight between Starbuck and Cap'n Reynolds. I guess it was better than War (Jason Statham and Jet Li) because we didn't even get through the whole movie with that stinker.

Anybody else loving "watch instantly" on Netflix? It used to give you a few hours a month, but now it's unlimited. I watched 2 1/2 seasons of The Office (American version) on my computer before Donald decided to hook my laptop up to the TV. Then it was more awesome. I had to watch season 4 of The Office on Hulu which doesn't have the resolution that Netflix has. I'm also stuck watching BSG on Hulu, which is still a bit better quality than Scifi.com. Netflix downside: you have to use IE, and it sucks up your bandwidth big time. Netflix upside: no commercials, the "next" button when you're watching a TV show. Mike! You can catch up on Heroes on Netflix.

High Fructose Corn Syrup- All Natural!! (Scary)

the high fructose corn syrup publicity machine is beginning

Whoopsie, apparently all of our (and Michael Pollan's) hating on high-fructose corn syrup is starting to ruffle some feathers, specifically those of the people who make their money selling high-fructose corn syrup. They're fighting back with a major PR campaign that is trying to convince worried moms that corn syrup is as natural as honey. Really? I know, I didn't believe it either, but here's what they had to say in their press release:

HFCS, like table sugar and honey, is natural. It is made from corn, a natural grain product. HFCS contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives and meets FDA's requirements for the use of the term "natural."

Hmmm... to get honey, you fight your way through some bees and crack open a honey comb and blammo, you've got your honey right there. With maple syrup, you tap some trees and then condense it down through boiling and blammo, maple syrup. Pretty much the same process with sugar beets and sugar cane, although you have to mash those first and then throw them into a colander to strain them. In fact, if you had the raw ingredients, you could totally make beet sugar or maple syrup in your own kitchen. But corn syrup? Here's the recipe from Linda Joyce Forristal, in case you want to make it at home (except, well, you probably don't have an industrial factory for a kitchen).

First, cornstarch is treated with alpha-amylase to produce shorter chains of sugars called polysaccharides. Alpha-amylase is industrially produced by a bacterium, usually Bacillus sp. It is purified and then shipped to HFCS manufacturers. Next, an enzyme called glucoamylase breaks the sugar chains down even further to yield the simple sugar glucose. Unlike alpha-amylase, glucoamylase is produced by Aspergillus, a fungus, in a fermentation vat where one would likely see little balls of Aspergillus floating on the top. The third enzyme, glucose-isomerase, is very expensive. It converts glucose to a mixture of about 42 percent fructose and 50-52 percent glucose with some other sugars mixed in. While alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are added directly to the slurry, pricey glucose-isomerase is packed into columns and the sugar mixture is then passed over it. Inexpensive alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are used only once, glucose-isomerase is reused until it loses most of its activity. There are two more steps involved. First is a liquid chromatography step that takes the mixture to 90 percent fructose. Finally, this is back-blended with the original mixture to yield a final concentration of about 55 percent fructose--what the industry calls high fructose corn syrup.

Sounds pretty straight forward, huh? All enyzme-y and natural? I think it would be easier to make your own Legos from scratch, honestly, but let's see how gullible the average consumer is, shall we?

http://elasticwaist.com/2008/06/dont-believe-everything-you-re.php

Shoulda gotten a fish

We moved more crap last night. What's that you say? How can there possibly be more crap? I don't know either. But there isn't much left in the apartment now, just a whole lot of dust. We dumped everything in the living room to be sorted out and took showers. Then we sat down in the living room where Donald was hooking my laptop up to the big TV so we could watch the Netflix streaming of the Office. A few minutes later I walked to the kitchen.

"Donald. The screen door is open." Oh shit! We couldn't find Anna. It was open just the right amount for her to mosey on out. Donald searched the house and I went outside with the flashlight. It was about 10:30 at that point, so, dark. I went back inside to look and Donald went out with the flashlight. We probably looked for about half an hour, finding nothing. Donald was very worried that she'd get hit by a car or get stuck under something. At that point I figured we should leave the door cracked open and she'd probably come back in when she was ready. The doorbell rang, it was my mom with a flashlight, come to help look. We talked for a few minutes, then looked down, and there was the cat. Walking through the living room. Wondering why we were all yelling at her. Relief!

It's possible that she was in the house the whole time. Even though we looked all over, it's possible that she'd burrowed under something. In fact, that's probably what happened. Argh!

Busy!

We've been busy doing the moving thing. Here are a few highlights of my goings on lately.

Saturday- I went to a ballet rehearsal in Gladstone. Got screwed (hard) by Google Maps, only found dance studio by luck in the end. I spent half an hour driving around in circles swearing at Google Maps in the unfamiliar land known as "North of the River."

Sunday- We moved many large things. Donald's dad came up with a truck and started the day by fixing Donald's car, which managed to break down Friday night. We moved almost all the furniture, including the bed, and slept here for the first time that night. We hadn't taken apart the bathroom at that point, so we took showers at the apartment. Kitty spent the day getting shut into various rooms at the apartment, then spent the night by herself.

Monday- Went shopping. We had a list, and I think we may have actually found half of what was on it. Donald needs a night stand, since he's been using a small bookshelf for 5 years. The problem is that in all our looking we haven't found anything close to the right size. There are loads of little end tables that would be too low, but that's about it. We bought a new litterbox which I set up first thing when we got home. Then I went to get Anna- who was sitting sadly in her kitty carrier- and had apparently spent her night alone knocking things off the mantel. Once in the new house, she did a round of careful sniffing, then a round of less careful sniffing, followed by several rounds of watching wildlife from the windows.

The rest of the week was spent trying to find places for all our stuff, moving more stuff, trying to sort through junk at the apartment, moving things around in the new house, and getting used to our new gas stove. I have used the oven twice. It smells different from an electric one but I was not alarmed. Mike has been giving me gas oven/stove tips. It's still weird to be using a stove where there are open flames though!

Yesterday we did more shopping. The big accomplishment is that we finally bought a mattress. We chose a full size Sealy Posturpedic cushion firm. The specific line name doesn't matter since every store has different names preventing you from comparison shopping. We have 30 days to return it if we don't like it. These next six days will be the most difficult to decide, since the damn thing doesn't get here until Friday.

Cleaning

While cleaning today, I came across a couple of lighting haiku. I'm sure they will boggle the mind.

adjusting levels
a hot spot left of center
then update, enter

You want it brighter?
It isn't funny enough?
Of course, I'll fix it

I know, they're stunning!

Feed the kitty

I love the cartoons with the big mean dog and the teeny kitten!

An Awkward dinner

Robot Chicken-Star Wars

The clips could be longer, though

iTunes Essentials, under genres and history, has a playlist for every year since the 50's. It's surprisingly fun to go through the 90's lists and reminisce. Right now I'm looking at 1992, and I can remember loving this stuff when I was twelve. I still love some of it. I'm also constantly surprised that some of these songs are so old. It just doesn't seem like that long ago...

More melty cheese

Following the last post, Donald and Mike and I had more Mexican food. We went to Don Chilito's for the first time. It's a place that needs an introduction at the door, to tell you what to do. It's loud in there and a little mystifying for newcomers. You are first presented with a choice of doors to enter, one for take out and one for cafeteria line. Cafeteria line? After entering the cafeteria line door, we found that you are to look at the menu on the wall, then tell your order to the (white) person behind the cafeteria counter. Next you stand and wait to be handed a plate with food on it. While waiting we wondered about chips and salsa, and if they were complimentary. Then you scoot down to the cashier at the end to pay. As we headed to fill our cups at the self serve drink station, we saw what looked like a salad bar. Me being me, I went to check it out. Turns out that's where you get your chips and salsa, as well as sopapillas. The food was adequate, and pretty tasty. I'd eat there again if I was in the area.

Yesterday we made our own Mexican-style food. We made tostadas with beans, seasoned meat, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, red onions and lettuce. Those turned out very tasty. We also tried making our own queso blanco, like the delicious melty white cheese you get in Mexican restaurants. That was less of a success. It was certainly melty, but not nearly as good at restaurant cheese. Probably due to the quality of melting cheese available at Price Chopper in KC, MO.

I am weak

Last night I told Donald I felt like something with melty cheese for dinner. We went to Manny's, which is a Mexican restaurant the size of a small city block. As I looked at the menu, all I really wanted was nachos- so I caved in to my cheese craving and had nachos for dinner. I still feel silly about it, but they were damn tasty. And it wasn't just cheese, there was beef and beans and tomatoes and sour cream and guacamole. (Mmmm, guacamole.)

I can has photoshop joke?

more cat pictures


more cat pictures

John Butler Trio - Ocean

Wow. watch the whole thing- it's worth it.

John Butler Trio - Zebra (Live at Wave Aid)

Damn- that's good stuff

Iron Man

Iron Man lived up to its trailer. This may be brought to you in part by the fact that I can't remember ever reading an Iron Man comic. So I don't know/care about anything they changed for the movie. Robert Downey Jr was terrific. The CG was just right, it didn't stand out too much. Go see it!

If you do go see it, stay until the end of the credits for a little treat.

Incredible Hulk looked okay. Ed Norton looks good. Hell, it's got to be better than the first one, which I thought was dull.

Why I hate driving

Last night I pulled up to a stop light in the right lane. A taxi pulled up in the left lane, then turned right, while the light was still red. Whatthefuck. I've seen several cars run red lights lately.

Spring is here

I'm going from one thing to another this week. Today was focus at the Lyric from 8-5, then my show call here at Copaken at 5:30. I should be home by nine. Tomorrow and Saturday are all day Lyric, then on Sunday I'll close a show at Copaken then head back to the Lyric for more tech. It should be a profitable week, at least!

It seems Subway is having a promotion with footlongs for $5. I got one at lunch and ate the other half for dinner. Lunch and dinner together cost me about $7.

I'm sick of driving. It used to be fun, but now it just seems like there are too many assholes doing asshole things out there. I want a subway, now.

We watched 28 Days Later last night. I was pleasantly surprised that there weren't cheap scares where something jumps out at you. The story wasn't complex, but it didn't need to be. Also- more Cillian Murphy can't be bad. I'm definitely going to be waiting for Danny Boyle's next movie, since he also directed Sunshine which I loved.

I love flowers! I love going out every day and looking at new growing things. My hens and chicks have decided now is the time to grow bigger. It must be all the rain. I also enjoy daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, irises, and violets. I love that violets grow all over the yard. Purple, light purple, white with purple centers and white. Soon lilacs will bloom. I may have to dig up my plants when we move. I'm getting rather fond of them.

Overheard in NY again

Guy: How was the weekend? Were the kids well-behaved?
Woman: It was fine, they were great.
Guy: How was Max at night? He sometimes gets lonely and starts crying.
Woman: Hmm, I don't know. I locked them out of my room.
Guy, yelling: You what?!? How could you? You know how they are at night!
[pause.]
Woman, unruffled: They are pets. Not kids. Pets. And I don't sleep with dogs that weigh more than I do.

wtf, smoke detector

There was a peep. Then we heard another peep. Then Donald got up on a chair to take the apparently dead 9v batteries out of those smoke detectors. Of course, we didn't have more. We resolved to get some later and went back to our business.

Several hours later, another peep. This time it was the one by the kitchen. Donald went up the chair and removed the battery. It didn't stop peeping. What! I can't stand any peeping all night long so Donald went to get batteries at 11pm. He came back with the batteries, $17 poorer. Highway robbery, I'm telling you.

We finished season 3 of BSG the other day. I'm so hooked on that show. It's very hard to stop watching, but we could only watch a little bit each night. I'd get home from the show at 9:30 or so, but Donald has to get up every morning and go to his real job so we had to stop at 2 episodes. Next up is to watch season 4 episodes online. We loaned season 1 and 2 to Mike recently, and then I loaned them to a theater friend, Porter. They were both hooked, and Now Mike has our season 3, and Porter is watching season 3 from Netflix because he doesn't want to wait for Mike to finish. Oh yeah, and next I'm getting him to watch Firefly. I'm spreading the nerd love. :)

Work continues on our new house. I've been helping during the day lately. I've done various small things, but yesterday Donald and Mike and dad painted all day. They painted the ceilings and did a base coat and a top coat on the walls in all three bedrooms. I haven't even seen the result yet, but I hear it looks great! We're repainting all the rooms, so there will be more painting to come. Slowly but surely, we're getting things done.

And holy crap, paint is expensive! The top of the line paint was $40 a gallon before it went on sale.

Overheard in NY delivers

Environmentalist with clipboard: Excuse me, do you have a minute to help save the environment?
Woman in suit: I'm sorry, I already saved the children this morning and then told the Democratic Party to go fuck themselves three blocks ago, so no, I don't have time to save the environment today. Maybe tomorrow, hippie.

So awful

Whatever you do, don't Netflix The Girls' Room. The description makes it sound pretty entertaining, and it has Wil Wheaton, and Netflix thought we'd like it- but it was wrong. As readers of Wil's blog, we know that he acted in crappy movies in exchange for shiny gold rocks in order to feed his family. But damn. The dialogue was hokey, the characters were unlikeable, and the story lacked conflict. We fast forwarded large parts of it.

Verdict: Stay far far away!

Been awhile

I got all manner of tied up with tech for about a week. It was a fairly normal tech. We did discover a major downtown improvement very close to the theater. It's a lovely new restaurant dealing out tasty hamburgers known as Chef Burger. You may have guessed, but they specialize in burgers. They also have hot dogs and even a few salads. I will surely branch out in the future, but right now I'm hooked on the sweet potato fries. ( I looove sweet potato fries.) We went there about 4 times during the tech process. They also specialize in milkshakes, and for an extra fee you can have yours spiked with booze. I'm looking forward to trying one.

Top 10 reasons to watch Battlestar Galactica

No spoilers!

I love trailers

Yay trailers! They're bite size bits of entertainment that sometimes indicate a whole movie of goodness! But sometimes the trailer uses all the funny. All you can do is hope you didn't spend $9 to see the whole thing before you found out. Here are my trailer verdicts:

Iron Man- Looks friggin' awesome. Robert Downey Jr is perfect for the role. Cross fingers and hope movie doesn't suck.

Wanted- Also looks awesome! Angelina kicking ass, check. James McAvoy, check. I'm so sold. I love me some good action.

Indiana Jones 4- Looks okay- the trailer doesn't really show a lot other than clips of the action. I'm cautiously hopeful, but not holding my breath.

Get Smart- Trailer delivers. I'd like to go see it.

The Love Guru- Netflix. I laughed in places, but it's nothing we haven't seen Mike Meyers do before. And Jessica Alba promises to be as dull as always.

Sex and the City- Netflix. It'll probably be more of the same as the TV show, and I didn't pay to watch that either.

Doomsday- Apparently not starring Kate Beckinsale, but I didn't realize that until I read the cast list. The action looks good, but it'll probably be a Netflix.

The Bank Job- Doesn't look like Jason Statham will be flipping any cars in this one, so yay! Looks decent, probably Netflix.

Many thanks to Apple for putting all these trailers in one place for me to enjoy.

no more games now.

I went out and bought Animal crossing for the DS last night. I'm weak. It's not exactly the same as the 'cube version, but is just as engaging.

One problem with both games is that they follow the clock in real time. This is a bit of an issue when you want to play in the middle of the night, since the store is closed. You can't do a whole lot when the store is closed. You can change the time and date in game, but you don't want to do that. If you do that, (or if you turn off the game without saving) a mole by the name of Resetti chews you out the next time you play. Then you have to click through a lot of text. I'm told that if you keep doing it the text gets longer and longer, then he makes you write an apology! Moral of the story: change the time on your DS/cube/Wii.

Neen- ten- doh

I've had Animal Crossing for 2 days and I already want the DS version. It's not exciting, but it does hook you in. The premise is that you move into this little town, and you have to buy a house to live in, but you don't have enough money. So the first thing you do is pay off your loan! Wow, fun! You earn money by doing errands for the animals, or shaking trees or whatever. Then later you get to make your house bigger, and decorate it, and collect fish...

It's on Gamecube, so you can get it at your local Gamestop for about $17. Hurry though, they're clearing out all their Gamecube stuff.

Wii version forthcoming!

Home sick

I had my day planned out: get up about 7:30 to take a shower, leave about 8:30, collect crew, go work at Copaken. Instead I woke up before 6 with a pain behind my left eye. I took an advil and unsuccessfully tried to go back to sleep. I got back up and got a hot pack to put on my head and tried to go back to sleep again. I got up again, considered throwing up, didn't, and went back to bed, but not to sleep. After Donald finished his shower I did throw up, and felt a bit better. After I took a shower I felt really weak, and eventually decided not to go to work. Fortunately the first carpool pickup lives next door so I had Donald give him my keys and the carpool carried on without me. I feel rather better after a few more hours sleep- at least at the moment. I predict more sleep in my future today.

Simon's Cat 'Let Me In!'

Still working?

I can't believe I'm still here, at 5:21 pm. We had the final dress rehearsal this morning at 10am. It was over about 1, and then surprise! We were going to lunch then coming back to work on cues more. I thought I'd be home by 2:00. Now I'm just hoping that nothing gets screwed up for opening night, since there are no more rehearsals left. It doesn't help that I'm not doing anything. My main job has been to organize the followspots, and they got sent home over an hour ago. They keep working on the projections, which amount to a series of powerpoint slides. (They look about as good as you think they do.) Jeez.

Cat of 1000 Faces - Episode 1

Can you solve it?

Riddle

You are driving in a car at a constant speed. On your left side is a 'drop off', (The ground is 18-20 inches below the level you are traveling on), and on your right side is a fire engine traveling at the same speed as you. In front of you is a galloping horse, which is the same size as your car and you cannot overtake it. Behind you is a galloping zebra. Both the horse and zebra are also traveling at the same speed as you. What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

For the answer, click and drag your mouse from star to star.
* Get your drunk-ass off the merry-go-round. *

goddammit

Today Anna prepared a surprise for me when I came home. She yakked on my desk chair! Yay kitty! I really wanted to throttle her at that moment. She didn't look bothered at all, in fact she was calmly sitting next to it, just looking up at me. So I cleaned and cleaned, making a lovely soaking wet place, then febreezed it for good measure. After that, I forgot about it. Later I sat in my chair, used my computer for awhile, wondered why my leg felt damp, and remembered. Aren't pets great!!

It's been a good time for comedy

A couple months ago, I came across reruns of Roseanne in the afternoon. I watched a few times, and it reminded me that I used to love that show. My mother didn't like it of course, and she liked it even less when people would occasionally say I reminded them of Darlene. Sometimes she wouldn't let me watch it. But now I'm 28, and I can watch whatever the hell I want. I bought seasons 4 and 5 from Amazon.

I watched a couple episodes the other night, and thoroughly enjoyed them. The characters are funny, even if their clothes are dated, and more real than sitcom characters on TV now. There have been way too many shows with the tubby comedian and his unrealistically hot wife. Some of them have kids, but hardly any of the kids are actual characters. So I sat on my couch and enjoyed watching the Conners bicker, wear slouchy clothes, eat generic food, play jokes on each other, and generally amuse me.

Other funnies: Last night Donald and I watched the first new SNL after the strike. Tina Fey hosted, and large parts of the show were actually funny! Then we caught a bit of a Chappelle's Show rerun, which is also hilarious. I've been reading Wil Wheaton's Just a Geek, which if you are a nerd, you should read. His writing style is very agreeable, and he just tells a good story. Check out his blog: http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/ He's recovering from sinus surgery, so isn't very funny at the moment, but dig into the archives for some good stuff.

movie roundup

Donald and I watched the third Resident Evil movie tonight. I say it's better than the second, but not as good as the first. Milla Jovovich entertains, and zombies eat people. You know the drill.

I saw Atonement a couple weeks ago, and thought it was excellent. Not my usual sort of movie, but some folks invited me along. This is one of the few times I've seen a best picture nominee before the Oscars.

More Netflix fun included Brick last week. We both really enjoyed it. It's described as an unconventional film noir set in high school. It was certainly something different.

Next in our queue: The Last Kiss, with the Braff. (who Donald loves in a non-gay way.)

Just stuff

It's snowing again. This winter has been more up and down than any other winter I can remember. I'm sooo ready for spring.

Yesterday D and Mike and I went downtown to look at an art gallery and get some culture. The exhibit was okay, and then we walked over to get a look at the Sprint Center up close. It looks fine, by the way. I kind of would like to go to an event there, but I haven't heard of anything I'd go to. It didn't seem cold when we set out, but it sunk in as we walked. By the time we had our look around we were more than ready to get back in the nice warm car.

Later we got dinner at Accurso's, which we hadn't been to for quite awhile. I wanted dessert, but we decided to wait until we weren't so full. After driving around doing other stuff, we ended up at Applebee's for dessert. Their dessert menu has shrunk since the last time I looked. They have added dessert shooters, which are one of 5 options in a big shot glass for $2. I got the hot fudge sundae and it was just the right size for me. It was the right size at the time, but in general it just whetted my appetite for hot fudge.

Animal Phone

Subconcious kitten?

Last night I dreamed that I was at a high school reunion of sorts, or at least in a place where there were a lot of people from high school. The place may have been a basement, because it was sort of cold and dark. I had my blue blanket (the one the cat likes to groom) and so did two other people! We thought that was funny. Then I went around a corner, and saw a door with keys still in the lock. The door turned out to be 532, so I took the keys out of the lock and went in, thinking that somebody was going to get in trouble for that, but I found them so at least I could stash them away where they wouldn't get stolen. Inside the room wasn't 532. Somehow SMJ had gotten a new kitten, and I was supposed to look after it because he was out of town. Then it became my parents backyard, and one of the picnic tables was near the kitten's litter box. So I played with the kitten, cleaned the litterbox, got it food and water and woke up.

No kitten in real life, but Anna's just as good.

aww!

It's a Valentine's Day miracle!

Inaccurate!

I’m filling in on a show where an artist works on a watercolor painting on an easel. What they have is a big watercolor pad, and she’s “painting” on the top page. This really bothers me, because nobody would watercolor like that. If you tried to paint like that, the paper would curl and get wrinkled. A watercolor artist would have a single sheet of watercolor paper taped out on a drawing board. They vetoed that because later on the painting gets picked up and waved about. Another option would be a watercolor block, where instead of glue on one edge, the glue is on all four edges so the sheet of paper stays put. Another option would be a “canvas” where you have a stretched piece of paper instead of fabric. It just looks wrong up there.

dream again

I dreamed last night that I was going on a trip, possibly camping, with a large group of people, maybe 9 or 10. Somehow we were all going in one car. We got to the place we were spending the night which was somebody's house. For some reason there were two fancy coffee pots in the trunk, still in boxes. I remember wondering why we needed two. We all changed into out pajamas and stood around on the porch discussing what our plans were going to be. Parts of the porch were bouncy. For some reason I was wearing a night gown. Then I got cold so I put on a jacket, which was a camel tan color and very comfy. (Too bad I don't have such a jacket in real life.) For some reason I had three pairs of gloves in the pockets. We were all going to sleep on the floor downstairs. When we got downstairs, I saw that there were more stairs going down to another basement.

I feel very specifically that the porch faced south. I almost always know what direction things are in dreams. In the visiting Jim and Amy dream their house faced north. Isn't that useful?

Weird dream

I dreamed last night that Donald and I and Jon (for some reason) went to visit Jim and Amy, who lived in town. We got there, went in the front door and went towards the back of the house. Jim was directing our attention out the window, and Amy was talking about their farming. Out the window was a massive yard, with a few rows of corn and such. Jim took us outside to see.

As we went down the back porch stairs, Jon heard chittering. A chipmunk was stuck in there, so I went for the door to let it out. Then it chased me, zipping around very fast making an angry chipmunk noise. Everybody else had gone, so it was just me and the chipmunk in the huge yard. It chased me and I hopped up onto a fence to get away from it. It kept chasing me as I got off the fence and tried to get closer to the house. Once I fell, and felt something furry by my hand. I grabbed it, (it was the chipmunks tail,) and threw the chipmunk away from me- then ran for the back door. Chipmunk was still chasing. I made it to the door, the stupid chipmunk went back in the porch, and then I woke up.

One dream interpretation website says this about chipmunks:

chipmunk Curiosity, trust, and the balance between trust and caution. Playfulness. Darting from side to side (as in being flexible in your opinions). Dreaming of this animal can represent:

• Having too much of one of these qualities, or that you could benefit by being less this way
• Not having enough of one of these qualities, or that you could benefit by being more like this
• Someone or something in your real life with whom you associate one of these qualities (an event, situation, threat, etc.)

For more clues, pay attention to what the animal was doing or any particular characteristic that stood out.

And this about being chased:

being chased

If you dream someone is chasing you, consider the context.

If the chaser wants to harm you, this can represent a feeling or fear of: persecution, hostility, aggression, criticism, etc. by another person or by "people in general." It can also represent real-life situation where you feel your boundaries have been crossed or your integrity has been compromised.

If someone who likes you is playfully chasing you, it could represent your perception that they like you or might want to know you better.

So there we have it. :)

Nothing terribly interesting has been happening lately. I worked a bit more on the UMKC show, and I should be done with it now. I cooked on Monday night. I tried a new pork chop dish. It was okay, and Donald liked it well enough. I got tired of it the second time I ate it so I don't think I'll be making that one again. I really enjoyed the pork chop part though. I'll have to get pork chops more often.

I've washed dishes almost every day this week. I'm very tired of washing dishes. Period. I want a dishwasher. Maybe we can get one in our new place. We're moving in a few months! My dad is buying a house from a nice old fellow on the next block. We're going to rent from him. We'll have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a garage! We'll be able to keep the car indoors!! That's going to be awesome. I'm also looking forward to not hauling everything I buy up the stairs anymore. That's especially troublesome after I go to Costco. It's a 1 story ranch style so it's not a cute house, and it doesn't have a porch. But it's solid, well insulated, and not owned by the university. It does have a small back patio, and we may be able to build a deck over it.

Donald and I watched Shoot Em Up last night. The title says it all- there's a lot of shooting. Very well choreographed shooting! It was pretty much great. If you're in the mood for some fun action that's not dragged down by a lot of plot, rent this. Clive Owen is badass. It's an hour and a half of pure entertainment.

B Team

I got home last night about 1:15AM from a light hang that took 8 hours. A light hang that would have probably taken 4 hours, with a different crew. A fast crew. A Dream Team light crew, like the crew that busted out the Love, Janis hang in less than a full day. It was really more like a changeover than a light hang. We had some tedious stuff to do, but 85% of the lights were already hung and circuited, (even patched already) due to the rep plot already being hung. All we had to do was hang and circuit 2 lights onstage, take down the lights we weren't using, cut pipes for 6 booms and hang 8 booms, change all the color, replace burned out lamps, and circuit the booms. That's the part that took the longest, because about every other circuit at Union Station can't be used for some reason. The booms only had 2 lights each! Argh!

Today I get to run 2 performances of Mockingbird, and get paid to read. Yay!

fun with baby

more funnies here: http://www.c00lstuff.com/1133/Do_s_and_don_ts_with_babies/

driving southish

Today I'm driving way the hell south to get an allergy test. I think I have some food allergies, and I'd like to know for sure. Anyway, my point is that I'm driving way out of my usual range, but I'm doing it for a doctor's appointment that is likely to leave me itchy. Being somewhere different, I think I should make the best of it by shopping or something. I bet though, that by the time I'm done with the Doctor's Appointment of +5 Itchiness I'll just want to go home. That's generally what happens. I'll be all unmotivated. I'll probably also be annoyed at Kansas drivers too.

Droool- BBQ

We went to Oklahoma Joe's yesterday with my folks. Sigh. So tasty. Donald and Mike agree, it's better for all that they don't deliver, and that they're not closer to home. We'd eat way too much. Man I love barbecue. I'd eat there 3 times a week if I had the chance.

We're hooked on Hellgate London. It's made by the same people who made Diablo 2, but not the same studio. You can download a demo from the website. You must fight the forces of evil in a futuristic London. Like D2, there are several classes of character to choose from. You can use swords, guns or magic, and there are 2 sub classes of each. I haven't gotten very far into the game yet because I have about 4 different characters going, 2 offline and 2 online. Unlike Diablo 2, you have to create completely separate characters to play online. Playing online, you can play with your friends, which is cool. You have to know their exact character name, and go through a few steps to connect with them. (I let Mike and Donald tell me what to do there.) Then you can join forces to kill the beasties, and swap loot once you get back to town. As Donald can attest, I'm all about the loot. If there were a game called "Loot" when all you do it smash boxes and get loot, I'd probably buy it.

birthday/ tech

Since I had to work last night, Donald and I celebrated my birthday Monday night. We went out to eat at Carmen's in Brookside for the first time. We were in no hurry, so we relaxed and took our time. Donald had a chicken dish and I had a very tasty pasta. For desert we shared a very good tirimisu. The restaurant was pretty dark, which always bugs me a bit, but otherwise had an inviting ambiance. We went home very full, and carrying leftovers.

Yesterday I went out for brunch with the rest of my family. Donald was unable to ditch work, so we went without him. Eggtc has really good waffles, if you wanted to know.

Then there was rehearsal. Last night was the final dress rehearsal. I got there at 5 intending to do about half an hour's worth of work notes, and found that none of the lights onstage would come on. They worked when I left Sunday night, but it seems that every time I show up something else isn't working with the lights. Sunday morning, all 4 moving mirrors weren't working. After much climbing around, phone calls, and ladder dragging, it turned out that in 3 separate places, vital things had come unplugged. Guess what was wrong last night? If you said "something was unplugged" you are a winner! The TD knocked things loose when he was working. Again. The DMX running from the dimmers in the booth to the dimmers backstage had come undone. Kind of important if you want the light board to turn the lights on. With the massive piles and knots of cables everywhere, I don't know why the place hasn't burned down yet. I didn't get any of my notes done, so I'll try again, and hope to get them done today. And tonight is first preview.

Fun fact: The Unicorn has SIX different kinds of dimmers. In three places.

Scrubs Dance Compilation

Silly fun to be had here:

So many t-shirts

I'm hooked on shirt.woot.com. These are the shirts I have ordered recently:


I have resigned myself to wearing t-shirts. I try to buy other types of shirts, but it just never works out. If it's all t-shirts for me, I may as well wear cool ones.

Misc.

• You can get free ice cream on your birthday if you sign up on the websites for Cold Stone and Baskin-Robbins. This is great if your birthday is in the summer, but still pretty sweet in winter. My birthday is in 5 days. Yum.
• I'm starting tech for the show at the Unicorn tomorrow. Opens next Friday. They have a weird tech schedule, but I like it. Saturday's tech gets out at 8:30, Sunday's at 11. It's nice to leave a theater before midnight during tech.
• I just got two cool t-shirts from shirt.woot.com. You should too. They sell one shirt each day, so you have to check every day. The shirt of the day is $10. You can sometimes get a shirt later for $15. The shipping is free, but very slow.
  
• I want to buy all the food at Costco. Every time I go there I taste something delicious that I want to buy and devour. I'm only stopped by the fact that my freezer isn't big enough. I also like that they have a good variety of healthy and organic stuff to choose from, even though I liked the nacho cheese I tasted the other day. I won't be buying a gallon of nacho cheese, but I'd definitely buy a tub of hummus.
• Battlestar Galactica: Razor was pretty good, but I'm glad I got it from Netflix and didn't buy it yet. I'm waiting impatiently for season 3 to come out on DVD the end of March.
  

Kitty present

Here is Anna enjoying her present from Robyn and Joe:
It's gotten much fuzzier, because she loves to wrap her paws around it and kick it into submission.

Chili more difficult than anticipated

The first time I made chili, I sent Donald to the store with instructions to buy (amongst other things) a can of Ro-tel, a can of red beans, a can of black beans, and a can of crushed tomatoes. He came back with a can of Ro-tel, a can of red beans, a can of seasoned black beans, and a can of crushed tomatoes in sauce. That chili turned out pretty tasty, so I've been buying the exact same products since.

This time I bought my stuff at a different store, so I didn't get the same things. I don't think most of it mattered, except the Ro-tel. I usually get a can of the regular kind, and all is tasty. This time, they were out. All they had was the hot Ro-tel. I thought, whatever, got a can of it and a can of the best choice ro-tel, and planned to do half each. I figured that would be fine. Well, it turns out that when they say hot, they meant HOT. I didn't even use half a can, and my chili is frikkin spicy. The hot Ro-tel includes jalapeños and a small percentage of habeneros. It's pretty damn hot, and I sure didn't need to add any cayenne pepper this time.

Donald doesn't really like the spicy, and it was hotter than I wanted, so I looked online for too spicy chili remedies. Number one was to peel a couple potatoes and toss 'em in to absorb some of the spicy. I did that, then went back to the computer, where I learned that the potato thing is BS and doesn't work. Other suggestions were to add honey, sugar, or brown sugar, applesauce, lemon, peanut butter, etc. The most sensible solution is of course to make a batch of chili with no spice, then mix the two to dilute the spicy. I didn't have enough ingredients to do that so I tried adding a few things. The results were tasted, then I resigned myself to putting a lot of sour cream on top, which I planned to do anyway.

Moral of the story: Just use the regular Ro-tel.

I hate winter

My computer tells me that its 7º outside right now. Our puny little furnace simply can't keep up, so it's all of 65º in the living room. Last night Donald set up the electric radiator right next to his desk when he was playing a game, and I sat next to it to read a magazine for awhile. That's always a bad idea, because I couldn't stay next to the nice warm heater forever, so when I got up my back felt even colder. :( Then I got in bed and all was cozy. Then Donald got in bed and his hands were cold, and his feet were cold and he was leeching my heat! I need to buy him some electric slippers or something.

I also hate how dry it gets. My throat is parched every morning, even though we have a humidifier. My nose is so dry that it bleeds sometimes. I'm ready for spring and it just turned January. Dammit. On the plus side of winter, snow is pretty.

I'm feeling the need for warm food. I think I'll make chili this week.

Happy New Year!

To start off 2008, here's a little story from the end of 2007:

Yesterday morning I sat down and had my breakfast. I poured my Cheerios, and finished off the milk. I read a magazine while I ate, then took a shower when I was finished. Donald and I got ready to go run errands, and my stomach started to feel weird. "I don't feel well," I said to Donald. Moments later, I was sitting on the floor in the bathroom certain that I was going to throw up. And I did.

"What did you eat?" asked Donald.
"Cheerios and the last of the milk." I replied, still sitting on the bathroom floor.
"Oh, I thought that smelled bad." said Donald.
"Huurk," I said.

So Donald smelled that the milk was off, then put it back in the fridge.
"I thought you would smell it!" he protested. "You don't take chances with dairy!"
"Then why did you put it back instead of throwing it out?!?" I yelled.

On the last day of 2007, my husband tried to poison me.