About a month or so ago, Brian and I began a "get back in shape" exercise hobby of running two or three times a week, with situps, pushups, etc. Then, about two weeks ago, I realized I could fit into my college jeans more comfortably than before.
This morning found me scrambling to find clean pants to wear to work after discovering that my new jeans hadn't dried fully in the clothes dryer. I saw the skinny jeans under a pile of other stuff. These are the gently-worn jeans that I picked up at Goodwill about a year ago even though they didn't even fit when I tried them on- they almost fit perfectly, except for that pesky waist button, and I decided to hope that one day, they would fit.
Today they did. Rock!
Spent a little time on a mountain, spent a little time on the hill...
13 December 2007
05 December 2007
Shrimp substitute
I recently rediscovered a neat cost-saving device learned from my uncle Shannon.
Poor Man's Shrimp:
1/2 head raw cauliflower
cocktail sauce
Wash cauliflower and break into florets. Serve with cocktail sauce.
This is awesome- a nice, healthy, tasty snack. The cauliflower is a perfect vessel for the cocktail sauce.
All that was in plenty, from that cup no more...
Poor Man's Shrimp:
1/2 head raw cauliflower
cocktail sauce
Wash cauliflower and break into florets. Serve with cocktail sauce.
This is awesome- a nice, healthy, tasty snack. The cauliflower is a perfect vessel for the cocktail sauce.
All that was in plenty, from that cup no more...
28 November 2007
Dumb Luck
I had an interesting evening yesterday.
First- somehow the front burner on the stove was accidentally left on for the entire day. However, that particular stove element is on the fritz, and will turn itself off randomly. It probably cut itself off not long after it was turned on, which may be the reason that we didn't notice it was on 'high'. No damage.
Second- Brian and I had a complete "oh shit" moment when we closed the front door to go for a run, and neither one of us had grabbed the keys. So we ran to the library downtown and called the landlord, who happened to be located one block away from our house when he answered his cell phone. No need to call the locksmith! Hooray!
Lucky me.
Lost one round, but the prize wasn't anything, a knife in the back, and more of the same...
First- somehow the front burner on the stove was accidentally left on for the entire day. However, that particular stove element is on the fritz, and will turn itself off randomly. It probably cut itself off not long after it was turned on, which may be the reason that we didn't notice it was on 'high'. No damage.
Second- Brian and I had a complete "oh shit" moment when we closed the front door to go for a run, and neither one of us had grabbed the keys. So we ran to the library downtown and called the landlord, who happened to be located one block away from our house when he answered his cell phone. No need to call the locksmith! Hooray!
Lucky me.
Lost one round, but the prize wasn't anything, a knife in the back, and more of the same...
26 November 2007
Beans and Rice
At the request of Brian, I made black beans and rice for dinner yesterday. The beans and rice that I make is much different from traditional beans and rice, but it is easy, tasty, and probably nutritious.
Beans and Rice
1 can black beans
1 cup long-grain rice
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup frozen corn
jalapeno pepper, minced (I use the kind that comes in a jar)
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro
1/4 tsp. black pepper
salt
kielbasa or uncooked chicken (optional)
Drain black beans, do not rinse. Combine beans, rice, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cut kielbasa or chicken into bite-size pieces. When mixture comes to a boil, stir in cilantro, pepper, dash of salt, frozen corn, jalapeno, and kielbasa or chicken. Allow to return to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes or until rice is done.
Serve with grated pepper jack.
You can't close the door when the wall's caved in.
Beans and Rice
1 can black beans
1 cup long-grain rice
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup frozen corn
jalapeno pepper, minced (I use the kind that comes in a jar)
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro
1/4 tsp. black pepper
salt
kielbasa or uncooked chicken (optional)
Drain black beans, do not rinse. Combine beans, rice, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cut kielbasa or chicken into bite-size pieces. When mixture comes to a boil, stir in cilantro, pepper, dash of salt, frozen corn, jalapeno, and kielbasa or chicken. Allow to return to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes or until rice is done.
Serve with grated pepper jack.
You can't close the door when the wall's caved in.
06 November 2007
IT'S ALIVE
So....you know those really awkward situations when you don't talk to a once-very-close friend for a long time and the longer it gets the more embarrassed you are about not calling them which makes you put off calling them even longer so you don't call even when you have time and want to talk to them just because you're embarrassed about taking so fucking long to get back in touch?
No, me either.
Of course, that's not why I haven't posted in forever... I've...been busy. Well, to be fair, just busy in June. Quick summary of the last few months: moved in with Brian, and into a Newer duplex near downtown; traded in the buick for another buick of similar mileage; decided to punish myself by taking organic chemistry for fun. Anyway.
Tonight will be the second of two evenings thus far for pizza and girls night, with the girls consisting of my cousin, sister, and my cousin's fun roommate. Actually, girls' night may not be limited Just to girls. It's kindof hard to kick Brian out of the house, seeing as he lives there. Not that I'd kick him out in this situation. Vaughan's fiance may come by to keep him company. But, tonight will be fun for sure, seeing as that we're making pizza.
How to make pizza:
Mix 2 cups all purpose flour with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp. sugar, and a packet of quick-rise yeast. Add .5 cups of warm water and 1 tbsp veggie oil. Mix and knead until the dough starts to get firm. Put the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover- allow to rise for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
While the pizza dough is rising, make the sauce and prepare the toppings. I basically have two sauce recipes that I make.
Fast Sauce: combine equal parts tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir until smooth.
Slow Sauce: Saute 3-ish cloves minced garlic for 2 minutes. Add 14 oz. canned crushed tomatoes and italian seasonings. Simmer until sauce is reduced enough to where it will not make your dough watery (takes a while).
Possible toppings: spinach, onion, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, fresh basil, pineapple. Cooked bacon, chicken, hamburger, canadian bacon, kielbasa. Cheddar cheese. Alfredo pizza with chicken was good, but not my favorite, as was barbeque chicken pizza. Endless list. My favorite at the moment is spinach, kielbasa, basil, garlic, and mushrooms.
When the dough is finished rising, roll onto pizza stone or round pizza sheet. Spread sauce thinly. Add mozzerella (about 8 oz) and toppings. Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is brown on the outsides. Don't take the pizza out of the oven unless the crust is seriously brown- if it's not brown, the middle of the crust will be soft.
Yum. My dinner tonight is going to rock.
Then we finished the bottle and broke into mine...
No, me either.
Of course, that's not why I haven't posted in forever... I've...been busy. Well, to be fair, just busy in June. Quick summary of the last few months: moved in with Brian, and into a Newer duplex near downtown; traded in the buick for another buick of similar mileage; decided to punish myself by taking organic chemistry for fun. Anyway.
Tonight will be the second of two evenings thus far for pizza and girls night, with the girls consisting of my cousin, sister, and my cousin's fun roommate. Actually, girls' night may not be limited Just to girls. It's kindof hard to kick Brian out of the house, seeing as he lives there. Not that I'd kick him out in this situation. Vaughan's fiance may come by to keep him company. But, tonight will be fun for sure, seeing as that we're making pizza.
How to make pizza:
Mix 2 cups all purpose flour with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp. sugar, and a packet of quick-rise yeast. Add .5 cups of warm water and 1 tbsp veggie oil. Mix and knead until the dough starts to get firm. Put the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover- allow to rise for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
While the pizza dough is rising, make the sauce and prepare the toppings. I basically have two sauce recipes that I make.
Fast Sauce: combine equal parts tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir until smooth.
Slow Sauce: Saute 3-ish cloves minced garlic for 2 minutes. Add 14 oz. canned crushed tomatoes and italian seasonings. Simmer until sauce is reduced enough to where it will not make your dough watery (takes a while).
Possible toppings: spinach, onion, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, fresh basil, pineapple. Cooked bacon, chicken, hamburger, canadian bacon, kielbasa. Cheddar cheese. Alfredo pizza with chicken was good, but not my favorite, as was barbeque chicken pizza. Endless list. My favorite at the moment is spinach, kielbasa, basil, garlic, and mushrooms.
When the dough is finished rising, roll onto pizza stone or round pizza sheet. Spread sauce thinly. Add mozzerella (about 8 oz) and toppings. Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is brown on the outsides. Don't take the pizza out of the oven unless the crust is seriously brown- if it's not brown, the middle of the crust will be soft.
Yum. My dinner tonight is going to rock.
Then we finished the bottle and broke into mine...
24 May 2007
Come rock your face off
Brian's gig was rescheduled! It'll be next Wednesday, and you should come.
Here's the amazing poster that I put together with the input of my coworkers...
Brian doesn't smoke anymore, but it was a great pic and I had to use it.
There's mosquitos on the river...
Here's the amazing poster that I put together with the input of my coworkers...
Brian doesn't smoke anymore, but it was a great pic and I had to use it.
There's mosquitos on the river...
10 May 2007
20-minute chicken cacciatore
I'm not exactly sure what real chicken cacciatore entails, but I made this fake-out meal one day when I had a green pepper on hand.
1 green pepper
1 onion
1 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes
1-2 chicken breasts, thawed
handful of mushrooms
shredded mozzarella cheese
pasta
salt and pepper
Set water to boil for the pasta (whatever you want...spaghetti, penne, etc.), and cook the pasta as you're doing everything else.
Chop green pepper and onion into bite-size pieces and start to saute with 2 tbsp olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Cut chicken into smallish bite-size pieces. Add chicken and mushrooms to the skillet and stir every so often. Salt and pepper as desired. When the chicken is cooked all of the way through, add the entire can of stewed tomatoes and stir (I also like to use my spatula to cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces). Continue cooking until the tomatoes are heated through. Serve over pasta with mozzarella on top.
This is really really good.
Saint Stephen with a rose
In and out of the garden he goes
country garden in the wind and the rain
1 green pepper
1 onion
1 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes
1-2 chicken breasts, thawed
handful of mushrooms
shredded mozzarella cheese
pasta
salt and pepper
Set water to boil for the pasta (whatever you want...spaghetti, penne, etc.), and cook the pasta as you're doing everything else.
Chop green pepper and onion into bite-size pieces and start to saute with 2 tbsp olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Cut chicken into smallish bite-size pieces. Add chicken and mushrooms to the skillet and stir every so often. Salt and pepper as desired. When the chicken is cooked all of the way through, add the entire can of stewed tomatoes and stir (I also like to use my spatula to cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces). Continue cooking until the tomatoes are heated through. Serve over pasta with mozzarella on top.
This is really really good.
Saint Stephen with a rose
In and out of the garden he goes
country garden in the wind and the rain
19 April 2007
Being sick sucks
Woke up at 6:15 this morning with an extremely painful throat... and I went to work anyway. Eh. I think I'll be making minestrone soup tonight! Something nice and hot and most importantly, easy to make.
Nothing of note lately, just that working 10 hour days for two and a half weeks kind of steals all of your time. Oh, and Brian turned 25 on Sunday, so that's nice, he can rent the car when we take a dream vacation we can't afford. Yay!
Now I think I'll go home, and buy some ice cream as a treat for my throat.
Honey come quick with the iodine
Nothing of note lately, just that working 10 hour days for two and a half weeks kind of steals all of your time. Oh, and Brian turned 25 on Sunday, so that's nice, he can rent the car when we take a dream vacation we can't afford. Yay!
Now I think I'll go home, and buy some ice cream as a treat for my throat.
Honey come quick with the iodine
09 April 2007
Easter, adults only!
Sometimes, being an adult (ha!) is awesome.
For example, take the idea of an adult Easter Egg Hunt. Cleverly hidden plastic eggs which may be redeemed for lottery scratchems, mini-bar liquors, or cash. I was almost more impressed by the concept than by the actual event (almost).
How was your easter?
Julie catch a rabbit by his hair
For example, take the idea of an adult Easter Egg Hunt. Cleverly hidden plastic eggs which may be redeemed for lottery scratchems, mini-bar liquors, or cash. I was almost more impressed by the concept than by the actual event (almost).
How was your easter?
Julie catch a rabbit by his hair
02 April 2007
Monday, Monday
I was thinking about recapping my weekend, but while it was extremely fun for me, it would probably be boring to hear about... cookout, hanging out with Brian, drinking heavily, etc. The usual.
Today was a typical Monday, by which I mean it was a stereotypical Monday, the kind that I almost never have to suffer through. First, I discovered that my Buick's coolant leak has progressed to require a half-gallon of coolant every day. Goodie.
So, as I was hurriedly pouring coolant into my engine in the office parking lot so that I could get to my doctor's appointment on time, I accidentally spilled some on my hands. No biggie, right? Just wash it off. I tried to do just that, running back into the office bathroom to rinse my hands. Add a little bit of soap, but- do you know how soap dispensers can sometimes get a little plugged up so that they squirt soap out aggressively at an amazing distance? Well, this one did exactly that... straight at my crotch. Literally. There was no water on my shirt or soap on my shoes, just a dark residue splashed with perfect aim directly on my lower fly. So I had to make a pit stop by my house on the way to the doctor's, to change out of my apparently peed-on pants.
The fortunate detail of the incident is that it was so funny, I wasn't nearly as pissed (ha!) as I would have probably been otherwise...
Other quick notes:
+ I'm aiming to bike to work tomorrow to save gas and coolant. Go me, if I actually follow through.
+ Box of Rain was playing at Bodo's around lunchtime. Rock!
+ Bacterial colonies proliferate even in dishwater if allowed to sit too long. Guess I should clean that up...
If that Jubilee don't come
Baby, I'll meet you on the run
Today was a typical Monday, by which I mean it was a stereotypical Monday, the kind that I almost never have to suffer through. First, I discovered that my Buick's coolant leak has progressed to require a half-gallon of coolant every day. Goodie.
So, as I was hurriedly pouring coolant into my engine in the office parking lot so that I could get to my doctor's appointment on time, I accidentally spilled some on my hands. No biggie, right? Just wash it off. I tried to do just that, running back into the office bathroom to rinse my hands. Add a little bit of soap, but- do you know how soap dispensers can sometimes get a little plugged up so that they squirt soap out aggressively at an amazing distance? Well, this one did exactly that... straight at my crotch. Literally. There was no water on my shirt or soap on my shoes, just a dark residue splashed with perfect aim directly on my lower fly. So I had to make a pit stop by my house on the way to the doctor's, to change out of my apparently peed-on pants.
The fortunate detail of the incident is that it was so funny, I wasn't nearly as pissed (ha!) as I would have probably been otherwise...
Other quick notes:
+ I'm aiming to bike to work tomorrow to save gas and coolant. Go me, if I actually follow through.
+ Box of Rain was playing at Bodo's around lunchtime. Rock!
+ Bacterial colonies proliferate even in dishwater if allowed to sit too long. Guess I should clean that up...
If that Jubilee don't come
Baby, I'll meet you on the run
30 March 2007
"The King of Kong" rocks!
It's after Spring Break, and I finally feel like I have my life back. School still takes up most of my waking hours, but I've had time for cooking, movies, and other fun stuff. First of all, check out this awesome video from YouTube which quite accurately portrays the dilemmas I've been facing lately:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdJyyJ2qur0
And secondly, go see "The King of Kong", a new documentary about the quest to be the world's best at Donkey Kong. It's hilarious. We hear from the middle-aged men who spend their lives in the arcade, and from their wives who don't know how to react to being called the "wife of the guy who plays Donkey Kong." (Actually, only two of the men are married, obviously.)
If an infarction causes loss of the anterior spinal artery at a particular spinal segment, pain and temperature sensation is lost, but not fine touch (since that portion of the spinal cord is supplied by the posterior spinal artery.) How amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdJyyJ2qur0
And secondly, go see "The King of Kong", a new documentary about the quest to be the world's best at Donkey Kong. It's hilarious. We hear from the middle-aged men who spend their lives in the arcade, and from their wives who don't know how to react to being called the "wife of the guy who plays Donkey Kong." (Actually, only two of the men are married, obviously.)
If an infarction causes loss of the anterior spinal artery at a particular spinal segment, pain and temperature sensation is lost, but not fine touch (since that portion of the spinal cord is supplied by the posterior spinal artery.) How amazing.
Alive! I swear!
Ok, so I've been TOTALLY slacking lately...and there is no excuse. I don't even really have time to be posting now, but I just wanted to share the following information:
It's illegal to be in a cemetary in Virginia after dark.
Good to know. I found out this tidbit by almost getting arrested on Tuesday. Brian and I were strolling around UVa to walk off an enormous meal, and I wanted to show him the monument to fallen Confederate soldiers that is in the Civil War cemetary near the first year dorms. It was too dark to see anything, so we were already almost back at the gate by the time the cops reached us. Luckily, it was pretty easy to convince them we had NO IDEA it was illegal, and that we were upstanding young citizens- it probably helped that we hadn't been drinking (what? crazy). So, they just checked our IDs over the radio and let us go with a warning.
The funny part of the entire incident was that we weren't doing anything! Or trying to do anything illegal! How bizarre...
Oh, and off topic- about that trip two weeks ago to Valley Forge PN- it snowed and sleeted the entire way home. 6 hours of I-81, staring out the windows at cars on their roofs.
Down to the jewelry store packin' a gun
"Wrap it up, I think i'll take this one"
It's illegal to be in a cemetary in Virginia after dark.
Good to know. I found out this tidbit by almost getting arrested on Tuesday. Brian and I were strolling around UVa to walk off an enormous meal, and I wanted to show him the monument to fallen Confederate soldiers that is in the Civil War cemetary near the first year dorms. It was too dark to see anything, so we were already almost back at the gate by the time the cops reached us. Luckily, it was pretty easy to convince them we had NO IDEA it was illegal, and that we were upstanding young citizens- it probably helped that we hadn't been drinking (what? crazy). So, they just checked our IDs over the radio and let us go with a warning.
The funny part of the entire incident was that we weren't doing anything! Or trying to do anything illegal! How bizarre...
Oh, and off topic- about that trip two weeks ago to Valley Forge PN- it snowed and sleeted the entire way home. 6 hours of I-81, staring out the windows at cars on their roofs.
Down to the jewelry store packin' a gun
"Wrap it up, I think i'll take this one"
14 March 2007
Cause for Celebration
My car passed its Virginia State Safety Inspection today. If I believed in God, I'd be thanking her. I swear I scared the woman at the garage by yelling in delight when she called me to come pick up my car and told me that it was good to go.
It truly is a miracle. My car is a 1991 silver Buick Regal, a front-wheel drivin' snowmobile, a canoe transporter, an indestructible tank, a home away from home. I've driven it since I turned sixteen, and it has never left me on the side of the road. The A/C hasn't worked a day, the roof is rusted from my aluminum canoe, it leaks coolant at a very slow rate, the glove box is broken, and the passenger side windows don't roll down. It's such a piece of shit that I didn't even buy collision insurance this year, just liability.
And I love it. It's my baby. I love it even more than I loved the hat that I threw away. But every time it gets inspected, some stupid expensive shit always fails. Motormount, 2002: $500. Driver's side window motor, 2003: $300. Rear struts, 2006: $400. You probably now understand my glee upon learning that my Buick is street-legal one more year.
I love my car! Thank you baby!
In other news...
Today was an amazing day. First, the weather was spectacular, sunny with a high near 80 degrees. Absolutely beautiful for mid-March in Charlottesville. I took this opportunity to bike to work (also I'd dropped my car off at the shop), which reminded me how out of shape I was, but it was somewhat of an achievement, nonetheless.
After work, I picked up my car and drove to Brian's. We sat for a long while drinking beer on his front porch, just watching the sun sink lower and kids shooting hoops on the street, and enjoying the spectacular ambient temperature. I can't imagine a better way to spend the evening.
Early tomorrow I embark on a roadtrip with the rest of my officemates to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to meet everyone in our home office with whom I communicate frequently by phone. Should be a blast!
Going down the road, feelin' bad...
It truly is a miracle. My car is a 1991 silver Buick Regal, a front-wheel drivin' snowmobile, a canoe transporter, an indestructible tank, a home away from home. I've driven it since I turned sixteen, and it has never left me on the side of the road. The A/C hasn't worked a day, the roof is rusted from my aluminum canoe, it leaks coolant at a very slow rate, the glove box is broken, and the passenger side windows don't roll down. It's such a piece of shit that I didn't even buy collision insurance this year, just liability.
And I love it. It's my baby. I love it even more than I loved the hat that I threw away. But every time it gets inspected, some stupid expensive shit always fails. Motormount, 2002: $500. Driver's side window motor, 2003: $300. Rear struts, 2006: $400. You probably now understand my glee upon learning that my Buick is street-legal one more year.
I love my car! Thank you baby!
In other news...
Today was an amazing day. First, the weather was spectacular, sunny with a high near 80 degrees. Absolutely beautiful for mid-March in Charlottesville. I took this opportunity to bike to work (also I'd dropped my car off at the shop), which reminded me how out of shape I was, but it was somewhat of an achievement, nonetheless.
After work, I picked up my car and drove to Brian's. We sat for a long while drinking beer on his front porch, just watching the sun sink lower and kids shooting hoops on the street, and enjoying the spectacular ambient temperature. I can't imagine a better way to spend the evening.
Early tomorrow I embark on a roadtrip with the rest of my officemates to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to meet everyone in our home office with whom I communicate frequently by phone. Should be a blast!
Going down the road, feelin' bad...
Cheese and broccoli casserole
I'd been dreaming of cheesy broccoli with chicken for a few days (I occasionally, by which I mean all of the time, crave and obsess about certain foods), so Brian and I experimented a little making dinner yesterday. All we knew was that our dinner needed to include chicken, broccoli, lots of cheese, and garlic. And what do you know? Our made-up recipe was tasty! Now if only I could figure out why my carrot cake turned out bright yellow instead of its usual brown.
Cheese and broccoli, etc., casserole:
8 oz cheddar cheese
1/2 pack egg noodles
2 chicken breasts, thawed
2 cloves garlic
frozen broccoli in sprigs (florets? not sure...)
8 oz. milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
pepper
mushrooms (optional)
Prep:
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Mince the garlic. Grate the cheddar cheese. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
This part is slightly complicated because you have to do several things at once.
1. Boil the noodles only until they are chewy (not all of the way done). Drain and toss with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
2. Saute the chicken with the garlic (and mushrooms). Do Not Overcook.
3. Put the broccoli into your large casserole dish, enough to cover the bottom, and put half a centimeter of water in the dish. Microwave for about 1.5 minutes, then drain the water, leaving the half-cooked broccoli in the dish.
Mix up these ingredients in your casserole dish with about half of the cheese.
4. Make the sauce. This requires concentration and constant stirring. First, microwave the milk for about a minute to warm it up. Then melt the butter in a saucepan. Once it is completely melted, add the flour and stir like crazy until it is smoothly blended. With the heat on medium, add the warm milk and stir forever for it to blend well with the butter/flour mixture. As soon as this is well mixed and slightly thickened and bubbly, add about half of the cheese and continue to stir. Add pepper and paprika. Once the cheese is completely blended, pour it into the casserole dish and stir a little just to make sure that everything is coated.
Bake at 350 for half an hour. Yum!
Look out of any window any morning any evening any day.
Cheese and broccoli, etc., casserole:
8 oz cheddar cheese
1/2 pack egg noodles
2 chicken breasts, thawed
2 cloves garlic
frozen broccoli in sprigs (florets? not sure...)
8 oz. milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
pepper
mushrooms (optional)
Prep:
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Mince the garlic. Grate the cheddar cheese. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
This part is slightly complicated because you have to do several things at once.
1. Boil the noodles only until they are chewy (not all of the way done). Drain and toss with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
2. Saute the chicken with the garlic (and mushrooms). Do Not Overcook.
3. Put the broccoli into your large casserole dish, enough to cover the bottom, and put half a centimeter of water in the dish. Microwave for about 1.5 minutes, then drain the water, leaving the half-cooked broccoli in the dish.
Mix up these ingredients in your casserole dish with about half of the cheese.
4. Make the sauce. This requires concentration and constant stirring. First, microwave the milk for about a minute to warm it up. Then melt the butter in a saucepan. Once it is completely melted, add the flour and stir like crazy until it is smoothly blended. With the heat on medium, add the warm milk and stir forever for it to blend well with the butter/flour mixture. As soon as this is well mixed and slightly thickened and bubbly, add about half of the cheese and continue to stir. Add pepper and paprika. Once the cheese is completely blended, pour it into the casserole dish and stir a little just to make sure that everything is coated.
Bake at 350 for half an hour. Yum!
Look out of any window any morning any evening any day.
09 March 2007
Vegas, BABY! Recap, part 1
I have returned from Las Vegas, city in the desert. Actually, I got back on Monday, but it's taken a few days to adjust to this time zone again and my Charlottesville schedule.
(this was the view from our hotel room in the Tropicana)
It was a fantastic trip! and we all had a great time, especially me, in my first decent vacation since I joined the general workforce. I can't describe everything, because our itinerary was jam packed, but I can share a general list of facts about Vegas, as well as events and conclusions:
1. I'm not a big fan of traveling by air. In the category of speed, planes certainly beat out all other forms of transportation, and I will continue to travel this way when necessary, but if there's a choice, let me drive. Nothing beats a good old-fashioned roadtrip.
2. Katie: $100, Las Vegas: $250. If you can't subtract, this resulted in a net loss of $150, the amount of money I had set aside specifically for gambling. The reason for a budget was two-fold: I would spend money on gambling (ordinarily I'm too conservative, aka cheap), and that I would not spend too much money on gambling. At least I diversified- I lost money at poker, blackjack, AND slot machines.
3. Experienced the funniest hour-and-a-half of my LIFE watching a drag show. We had front row seats, and I laughed so hard that my cheeks hurt for the rest of the evening. Not only! did host Joan Rivers tell absolutely hilarious jokes continually, but I had no idea that I would get to see so many celebrities while I was in Vegas, including Britney Spears, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Bette Midler, and Cher.
4. Free drinks if you're sitting at a slot machine! Our drinks of choice were vodka tonics (me), gin-and-tonics (mom), and double Scotch on the rocks (my grandmother), along with many rounds of beer.
5. I was continually astounded by the scale. Las Vegas casinos are big. You cannot simply stroll from one end of the Strip to the other. They're very confusing too, and not just the ones that look like giant pyramids or a tropical desert. Casinos are designed so that neither you or your money can escape easily. There are so many different ways to be dazzled, by rides and lights and spectacular exhibits and shows, and so many ways to spend money. Basically, Las Vegas is just Disney World for Grown-ups.
6. Vegas is a posterchild for an environmentally immoral city. For example, they do not receive electricity from Hoover dam- the overabundance of lights and the air conditioning is all powered by coal and natural gas. You only need to take one drink out of the faucet to tell that the water is hard and old, and that they are using irreplaceable (in their case) groundwater for the fountains.
7. They have awesome double-decker buses going up and down the Strip. Of course, they're $2.00 a ride, but that is chump change (literally) in the city. This picture, for example, was taken from inside the bus.
8. Parking is free at all of the casinos on the strip. The competition between the casinos is to the tourist's advantage, but it also means that sometimes it's hard to find information. It took me a day-and-a-half to find one of those kiosks full of brochures.
9. The topography surrounding Las Vegas is amazing, especially for a geologist from the east coast. You can see the rocks! because they're not covered up with vegetation. We rented a car for a day and visited Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire state park. I picked up a few samples for my collection...
10. Vegas is amazing! and I love to travel to new places, especially ones with such interesting landscapes, but I sure am glad that I'm a Virginia girl. Home sweet home.
Los Angeles, give me Norfolk Virginia
Tell the folks back home this is the promised land callin'
and the poor boy's on the line
(this was the view from our hotel room in the Tropicana)It was a fantastic trip! and we all had a great time, especially me, in my first decent vacation since I joined the general workforce. I can't describe everything, because our itinerary was jam packed, but I can share a general list of facts about Vegas, as well as events and conclusions:
1. I'm not a big fan of traveling by air. In the category of speed, planes certainly beat out all other forms of transportation, and I will continue to travel this way when necessary, but if there's a choice, let me drive. Nothing beats a good old-fashioned roadtrip.
2. Katie: $100, Las Vegas: $250. If you can't subtract, this resulted in a net loss of $150, the amount of money I had set aside specifically for gambling. The reason for a budget was two-fold: I would spend money on gambling (ordinarily I'm too conservative, aka cheap), and that I would not spend too much money on gambling. At least I diversified- I lost money at poker, blackjack, AND slot machines.
3. Experienced the funniest hour-and-a-half of my LIFE watching a drag show. We had front row seats, and I laughed so hard that my cheeks hurt for the rest of the evening. Not only! did host Joan Rivers tell absolutely hilarious jokes continually, but I had no idea that I would get to see so many celebrities while I was in Vegas, including Britney Spears, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Bette Midler, and Cher.
4. Free drinks if you're sitting at a slot machine! Our drinks of choice were vodka tonics (me), gin-and-tonics (mom), and double Scotch on the rocks (my grandmother), along with many rounds of beer.
5. I was continually astounded by the scale. Las Vegas casinos are big. You cannot simply stroll from one end of the Strip to the other. They're very confusing too, and not just the ones that look like giant pyramids or a tropical desert. Casinos are designed so that neither you or your money can escape easily. There are so many different ways to be dazzled, by rides and lights and spectacular exhibits and shows, and so many ways to spend money. Basically, Las Vegas is just Disney World for Grown-ups.
6. Vegas is a posterchild for an environmentally immoral city. For example, they do not receive electricity from Hoover dam- the overabundance of lights and the air conditioning is all powered by coal and natural gas. You only need to take one drink out of the faucet to tell that the water is hard and old, and that they are using irreplaceable (in their case) groundwater for the fountains.
7. They have awesome double-decker buses going up and down the Strip. Of course, they're $2.00 a ride, but that is chump change (literally) in the city. This picture, for example, was taken from inside the bus.8. Parking is free at all of the casinos on the strip. The competition between the casinos is to the tourist's advantage, but it also means that sometimes it's hard to find information. It took me a day-and-a-half to find one of those kiosks full of brochures.
9. The topography surrounding Las Vegas is amazing, especially for a geologist from the east coast. You can see the rocks! because they're not covered up with vegetation. We rented a car for a day and visited Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire state park. I picked up a few samples for my collection...
10. Vegas is amazing! and I love to travel to new places, especially ones with such interesting landscapes, but I sure am glad that I'm a Virginia girl. Home sweet home.Los Angeles, give me Norfolk Virginia
Tell the folks back home this is the promised land callin'
and the poor boy's on the line
28 February 2007
Vegas BABY! - Pre-flight post 2
No, I haven't left Charlottesville yet. My flight leaves Richmond in less than 24 hours, at 15:45 tomorrow. I'm just so excited about it that I can't think about much else! I've been even more ADD and energetic than usual, to the point that Brian and my coworkers probably can't wait for me to leave.
I'm slightly worried about my mother because there is a highly-contagious norovirus (think 24-48 hours of vomiting and diarrhea) going around Henrico County Schools. If she gets it, she'll be sick on the plane, how miserable, and then Ranny and I will probably get sick when we're in Las Vegas. I talked to her at 7 this morning and tried to convince her to stay home and not teach her sick kids, but she didn't listen. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she (and by extension, I) don't get the fucking stomach bug from hell.
Things have been pretty busy lately, and I've been slacking bigtime on the trip planning, but yesterday I made up for my procrastination by picking up the Michelin Las Vegas MUST SEES from Barnes and Noble. It has lots of information AND pictures. There are so many things that I want to do, and so many places to go! Did you know that there are roller coasters in Las Vegas (they seem expensive, though)? And there are some great state parks in the area it seems.
I'm really excited about the fact that I'm going with my mother and my grandmother (Ranny). Ranny has visited Las Vegas several times before and will be able to show us the coolest places. And she'll know where we can go to get good alcohol while we gamble (she's a scotch drinker).
Just learned that Bob Seger is playing on Saturday at the MGM Grand, that would be fun. Three generations of Virginia girls at one show... hells yeah.
Come to Daddy, on an inside straight
I'm slightly worried about my mother because there is a highly-contagious norovirus (think 24-48 hours of vomiting and diarrhea) going around Henrico County Schools. If she gets it, she'll be sick on the plane, how miserable, and then Ranny and I will probably get sick when we're in Las Vegas. I talked to her at 7 this morning and tried to convince her to stay home and not teach her sick kids, but she didn't listen. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she (and by extension, I) don't get the fucking stomach bug from hell.
Things have been pretty busy lately, and I've been slacking bigtime on the trip planning, but yesterday I made up for my procrastination by picking up the Michelin Las Vegas MUST SEES from Barnes and Noble. It has lots of information AND pictures. There are so many things that I want to do, and so many places to go! Did you know that there are roller coasters in Las Vegas (they seem expensive, though)? And there are some great state parks in the area it seems.
I'm really excited about the fact that I'm going with my mother and my grandmother (Ranny). Ranny has visited Las Vegas several times before and will be able to show us the coolest places. And she'll know where we can go to get good alcohol while we gamble (she's a scotch drinker).
Just learned that Bob Seger is playing on Saturday at the MGM Grand, that would be fun. Three generations of Virginia girls at one show... hells yeah.
Come to Daddy, on an inside straight
26 February 2007
Vegas BABY! - Pre-flight
I'm leaving for Las Vegas on Thursday. I can't wait.
But I haven't done any! preparation with the exception of improving my alcohol tolerance this past weekend. I still have to pack and plan. Which brings me to the following question:
What do you want from Vegas? Leave me a comment and I'll see if I can oblige. Keep in mind that I'm cheap, so if you ask for a stripper, you might just get a dirty shot glass.
I promise I'll put up some pictures post-Las Vegas. And I may even take pictures of something other than pretty rocks.
Living on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine
But I haven't done any! preparation with the exception of improving my alcohol tolerance this past weekend. I still have to pack and plan. Which brings me to the following question:
What do you want from Vegas? Leave me a comment and I'll see if I can oblige. Keep in mind that I'm cheap, so if you ask for a stripper, you might just get a dirty shot glass.
I promise I'll put up some pictures post-Las Vegas. And I may even take pictures of something other than pretty rocks.
Living on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine
23 February 2007
Turkish Beef
This recipe was invented by Holly in an attempt to imitate a dish made by a Turkish-exchange-student friend of hers. It's cheap and tasty, and only uses one pot!
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can diced tomatoes w/basil and oregano
fresh spinach
salt
pepper
Brown beef in a medium-sized pot. Drain excess fat and add salt and pepper. Add tomatoes (undrained), rice, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. After 5 minutes, add as much fresh spinach as you can fit into the pot and replace the lid. Cook until the rice is done, then enjoy!
I prefer mine served with thinly sliced pepper-jack cheese. Also, the proportions of ingredients in this dish are completely flexible- I never use the same amounts of rice and beef. And if you double the recipe, you'll have tons of delicious leftovers.
Grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter, either side of the hill.
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can diced tomatoes w/basil and oregano
fresh spinach
salt
pepper
Brown beef in a medium-sized pot. Drain excess fat and add salt and pepper. Add tomatoes (undrained), rice, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. After 5 minutes, add as much fresh spinach as you can fit into the pot and replace the lid. Cook until the rice is done, then enjoy!
I prefer mine served with thinly sliced pepper-jack cheese. Also, the proportions of ingredients in this dish are completely flexible- I never use the same amounts of rice and beef. And if you double the recipe, you'll have tons of delicious leftovers.
Grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter, either side of the hill.
22 February 2007
Spring!
Ok, it's not spring yet. But it feels like spring.
I've spent the past two days cooped up in the office staring out the window at the beautiful warm weather. After work yesterday, I really wanted to do something wild, but figured the water was too cold for skinny dipping, so I got my hair cut instead. Nothing crazy, though. 6.5 inches.
When I got to my house I put on a tank top and sat outside on my patio with an Old Milwaukee, and listened to the 1977 new year's eve show at the Winterland blasting on the boombox. I think the church behind my house was having some sort of Wednesday gathering, but I'm sure the cooler church-goers appreciate the Grateful Dead. As soon as the sun set, it got too cold to sit outside in a shirt with no sleeves... but it was great to enjoy those first few moments of springtime.
Other Random things:
+ Leave comments, folks. Really. Right now I think that the only people that read this site are HMH and Bubba. And Brian, but he's probably just checking that all of my posts about him are accurate.
+ There is a concentration of cars in Charlottesville with "KAT" as the first letters on their license plates. I swear I'm not making this up.
You can shave my head clean as my hand
(especially if you're Britney Spears, apparently)
I've spent the past two days cooped up in the office staring out the window at the beautiful warm weather. After work yesterday, I really wanted to do something wild, but figured the water was too cold for skinny dipping, so I got my hair cut instead. Nothing crazy, though. 6.5 inches.
When I got to my house I put on a tank top and sat outside on my patio with an Old Milwaukee, and listened to the 1977 new year's eve show at the Winterland blasting on the boombox. I think the church behind my house was having some sort of Wednesday gathering, but I'm sure the cooler church-goers appreciate the Grateful Dead. As soon as the sun set, it got too cold to sit outside in a shirt with no sleeves... but it was great to enjoy those first few moments of springtime.
Other Random things:
+ Leave comments, folks. Really. Right now I think that the only people that read this site are HMH and Bubba. And Brian, but he's probably just checking that all of my posts about him are accurate.
+ There is a concentration of cars in Charlottesville with "KAT" as the first letters on their license plates. I swear I'm not making this up.
You can shave my head clean as my hand
(especially if you're Britney Spears, apparently)
20 February 2007
Junk Mail
Ok, it has been a WEEK since my last post. I'd like to say that I've been ridiculously busy doing important and fascinating things like saving the planet, but that's not entirely true.
Week's recount:
Sick on Wednesday with what felt like brillo pads stuffed into my throat. But on the plus side, I lazed around all day watching EMPIRE STRIKES BACK with Brian, who had the day off due to ice, and drank literally half a dozen pots of green tea with at LEAST 2 tbsp of honey in each cup. (2 tbsp honey/cup x 3 cups/pot x 6 pots = 36 tbsp honey. Yikes, I didn't realize it was quite so much.) Also, at this time I'd like to point out that Brian is a dead ringer for Indiana Jones. For starters, he has the exact jacket AND hat PLUS he's a real-life archaeologist. And by association, just like Han Solo (are you following my train of thought here?)
"Who's scruffy lookin'?" If by scruffy-looking, you mean HOT, then yes.
Thursday and Friday were spent freezing my ass off in the field, trying to sample water that would freeze after about 2 minutes. Walking from the truck to the wells and back took several minutes of baby steps and holding onto the sides of the truck bed for dear life. Ice is slippery, apparently.
The weekend was fantastic. Went wine- and CHOCOLATE- tasting with the majority of Brian's family, with no major meet-the-family embarrassments. I am apparently a "cutie", but I'm not quite sure how I feel about that verdict. Slept in like a champ on Sunday. Seriously, until about 4 pm, with only one break for breakfast.
To cap off the week, I'm learning to play the bass. Sweet!
But Back to the Point of the Entry:
I actually like getting Junk Mail. But only at work.
There is a bit of ceremony that goes along with the mail. The boss walks around, flipping through the pile, and occasionally flicks pieces of post on various desks. The majority of what we get is random shit from our suppliers, and what I personally recieve may or may not even be addressed specifically to me.
Today's examples:
"Do you have Pump Eaters at YOUR landfill or cleanup site? Viscous fluids or suspended solids? Corrosives such as chlorides or low pH? Flammable or explosive hydrocarbons, aggressive solvents, high-temperature liquids...?"
"Boiler Operation Maintenance and Safety. Day 1: Fundamentals of Steam"
I'm gonna sing you a hundred verses of ragtime
Week's recount:
Sick on Wednesday with what felt like brillo pads stuffed into my throat. But on the plus side, I lazed around all day watching EMPIRE STRIKES BACK with Brian, who had the day off due to ice, and drank literally half a dozen pots of green tea with at LEAST 2 tbsp of honey in each cup. (2 tbsp honey/cup x 3 cups/pot x 6 pots = 36 tbsp honey. Yikes, I didn't realize it was quite so much.) Also, at this time I'd like to point out that Brian is a dead ringer for Indiana Jones. For starters, he has the exact jacket AND hat PLUS he's a real-life archaeologist. And by association, just like Han Solo (are you following my train of thought here?)
"Who's scruffy lookin'?" If by scruffy-looking, you mean HOT, then yes.
Thursday and Friday were spent freezing my ass off in the field, trying to sample water that would freeze after about 2 minutes. Walking from the truck to the wells and back took several minutes of baby steps and holding onto the sides of the truck bed for dear life. Ice is slippery, apparently.
The weekend was fantastic. Went wine- and CHOCOLATE- tasting with the majority of Brian's family, with no major meet-the-family embarrassments. I am apparently a "cutie", but I'm not quite sure how I feel about that verdict. Slept in like a champ on Sunday. Seriously, until about 4 pm, with only one break for breakfast.
To cap off the week, I'm learning to play the bass. Sweet!
But Back to the Point of the Entry:
I actually like getting Junk Mail. But only at work.
There is a bit of ceremony that goes along with the mail. The boss walks around, flipping through the pile, and occasionally flicks pieces of post on various desks. The majority of what we get is random shit from our suppliers, and what I personally recieve may or may not even be addressed specifically to me.
Today's examples:
"Do you have Pump Eaters at YOUR landfill or cleanup site? Viscous fluids or suspended solids? Corrosives such as chlorides or low pH? Flammable or explosive hydrocarbons, aggressive solvents, high-temperature liquids...?"
"Boiler Operation Maintenance and Safety. Day 1: Fundamentals of Steam"
I'm gonna sing you a hundred verses of ragtime
13 February 2007
Win some, lose some.
Ok... so there is no snowstorm. It's just starting to sleet. Oh goodie. Hopefully it won't be too tough to get to the show tonight! I can't wait!
UPDATE: SHOW IS CANCELLED due to fear of ice. Bummer...stay tuned for reschedule date.
Anyway. Moving on.
This past weekend, I made an epic trek into enemy territory: Blacksburg. Home of the Hokie.
At Christmas I had promised to visit two close childhood friends of mine during their last semester at Virginia Tech. I hadn't kept in touch with the girls very well during the past several years, but back in the day we were together all of the time. We used to get into some serious shit, building treeforts in the woods and staying up all night at sleepovers drinking wild cherry ginger ale. So we'd planned a weekend to visit and drink and catch up. Which we did, and I personally had a blast.
I'd never been to Virginia Tech or Blacksburg (with the exception of a random evening at the Rescue Squad following a search). Post-visit, I still have ambivalent feelings about Blacksburg.
Pro: 25 oz. of Bud Light for $2.50 during Happy Hour. I was absolutely floored.
Con: Too many college kids! Ahhh! (since I'm now a graduate, aka snob)
Pro: Pretty scenery! Lovely mountains and matching stone buildings (oooh, pretty limestone..)
Con: UVa getting its ass kicked in basketball. I'm glad the score is not visible in the following photograph.
(I hadn't planned to go to the basketball game, and had brought no Cavalier gear on my trip. But we were able to scrounge up some student tickets thanks to Katie and Melissa's networking skills, and found seats right behind the VA Tech Band. And the entire band turned around with death glares at my first "Wa-hoo-wa, motherfuckers!" Later in the game, however, I became very quiet, and was actually glad for my lack of school spirit-wear. Let's just say, 84 to 57. Ouch.)
Pro: Good company! Good Nachos! Seinfield! Wet Hot American Summer!
Con: Over-zealous tow-truck Nazis. Greedy fuckers. There was no sign.
All in all, it was a fun and eventful weekend. Next it's their turn to visit Charlottesville! Wa-hoo-wa!
Q: How many Virginia Tech students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Three. One to change the light bulb and two to brag that they did it just as well as the UVa student.
And in the interest of fairness...sportswomanship...
Q: How many UVa students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just one. He holds the bulb up and waits for the world to revolve around him.
Also these because they are funny:
Q: How many JMU students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Harrisonburg doesn't have electricity, silly!
Q: How many University of Richmond students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Two. One to call the electrician and one to mix the martinis.
Q: How many VCU students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Downtown Richmond looks way better in the dark.
Nine mile skid on a ten mile ride
Update: I can hear the pitter-patter of the sleet bouncing off of my windows. Reminds me of the fall, when I would go to sleep at night to the sound of acorns hitting my car.
UPDATE: SHOW IS CANCELLED due to fear of ice. Bummer...stay tuned for reschedule date.
Anyway. Moving on.
This past weekend, I made an epic trek into enemy territory: Blacksburg. Home of the Hokie.
At Christmas I had promised to visit two close childhood friends of mine during their last semester at Virginia Tech. I hadn't kept in touch with the girls very well during the past several years, but back in the day we were together all of the time. We used to get into some serious shit, building treeforts in the woods and staying up all night at sleepovers drinking wild cherry ginger ale. So we'd planned a weekend to visit and drink and catch up. Which we did, and I personally had a blast.
I'd never been to Virginia Tech or Blacksburg (with the exception of a random evening at the Rescue Squad following a search). Post-visit, I still have ambivalent feelings about Blacksburg.
Pro: 25 oz. of Bud Light for $2.50 during Happy Hour. I was absolutely floored.
Con: Too many college kids! Ahhh! (since I'm now a graduate, aka snob)
Pro: Pretty scenery! Lovely mountains and matching stone buildings (oooh, pretty limestone..)
Con: UVa getting its ass kicked in basketball. I'm glad the score is not visible in the following photograph.
(I hadn't planned to go to the basketball game, and had brought no Cavalier gear on my trip. But we were able to scrounge up some student tickets thanks to Katie and Melissa's networking skills, and found seats right behind the VA Tech Band. And the entire band turned around with death glares at my first "Wa-hoo-wa, motherfuckers!" Later in the game, however, I became very quiet, and was actually glad for my lack of school spirit-wear. Let's just say, 84 to 57. Ouch.)Pro: Good company! Good Nachos! Seinfield! Wet Hot American Summer!
Con: Over-zealous tow-truck Nazis. Greedy fuckers. There was no sign.
All in all, it was a fun and eventful weekend. Next it's their turn to visit Charlottesville! Wa-hoo-wa!
Q: How many Virginia Tech students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Three. One to change the light bulb and two to brag that they did it just as well as the UVa student.
And in the interest of fairness...sportswomanship...
Q: How many UVa students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just one. He holds the bulb up and waits for the world to revolve around him.
Also these because they are funny:
Q: How many JMU students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Harrisonburg doesn't have electricity, silly!
Q: How many University of Richmond students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Two. One to call the electrician and one to mix the martinis.
Q: How many VCU students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Downtown Richmond looks way better in the dark.
Nine mile skid on a ten mile ride
Update: I can hear the pitter-patter of the sleet bouncing off of my windows. Reminds me of the fall, when I would go to sleep at night to the sound of acorns hitting my car.
12 February 2007
News Update
Naturally, the forecast has changed. Plan for ice. Two days of ice. But keep your fingers crossed for a little SNOW! Look to Look Out Stagger Lee for the most accurate "current weather condition" reports over the next few days. Because I don't get days off of work for winter weather.
IMPORTANT- The archaeologist is playing at Starr Hill Tuesday (tomorrow) night at 2130 (9:30 pm). You should check it out. It's gonna be H-O-T HOT.
What's that you say... you don't like going out in freezing rain? Pshaw... what's a little ice? Don't be a fucking sissy.
Well, I married me a wife, caused me trouble all my life
Put me out in the cold rain and snow.
IMPORTANT- The archaeologist is playing at Starr Hill Tuesday (tomorrow) night at 2130 (9:30 pm). You should check it out. It's gonna be H-O-T HOT.
What's that you say... you don't like going out in freezing rain? Pshaw... what's a little ice? Don't be a fucking sissy.
Well, I married me a wife, caused me trouble all my life
Put me out in the cold rain and snow.
10 February 2007
Reason #39 I'm glad I'm a cute blonde
I got pulled over today. I can't tell you for sure whether I ran that stop sign, but I can tell you why I got off with "just don't do it again, miss." It's cuz I smiled real pretty. I also put on makeup and did my hair before going to study at the library. (You know, since it's a Saturday night, and I have no life.) Oh, and I had showered recently so I smelled good. And I'm wearing pink. How could a cop be so mean as to ticket a cute girl in a cuddly pink sweater? It'd be like kicking a fluffy bunny for no reason. And that my friends, is why I didn't get a ticket.
Speaking of adorable little animals, my mice are doing fine for the moment. Ada started coughing up blood last week (a touch of pneumonia), but has since stopped. Both Ada and Heidi are taking their antibiotic regularly. (I taught them to lick it right off my finger.) They're good little girls.
Remember: Mucous is an adjective. Mucus is a noun. For example, "There is mucus emanating from my mucous glands."
Speaking of adorable little animals, my mice are doing fine for the moment. Ada started coughing up blood last week (a touch of pneumonia), but has since stopped. Both Ada and Heidi are taking their antibiotic regularly. (I taught them to lick it right off my finger.) They're good little girls.
Remember: Mucous is an adjective. Mucus is a noun. For example, "There is mucus emanating from my mucous glands."
09 February 2007
Busy Tuesday
I am a weather geek. I check the forecast and current conditions at least three times a day at work. So when I noticed a chance of SNOW in the forecast, I had to learn more!
Basically, this graphic for Tuesday evening shows Charlottesville getting hit. Hard. Text forecasts predict freezing rain/sleet/wintry mix crap during the day on Tuesday, then Snow! Tuesday night, with SNW category 6, which is 6-8 inches of snow.
Awesome! I'll be watching this system closely over the next few days, because as everyone knows, Virginia weather forecasts are notorious for their no-show blizzard-of-the-century-s.
Now, I am not complaining about snow. I love snow. But the timing is not ideal- the archaeologist has a gig that night. So, drive safe on your way to Starr Hill on Tuesday at 9 pm.
And get ready for some serious sledding.
Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain.
Update: already used that Grateful Dead quote. Sorry!
Snowed so hard that the roof caved in.
Basically, this graphic for Tuesday evening shows Charlottesville getting hit. Hard. Text forecasts predict freezing rain/sleet/wintry mix crap during the day on Tuesday, then Snow! Tuesday night, with SNW category 6, which is 6-8 inches of snow.
Awesome! I'll be watching this system closely over the next few days, because as everyone knows, Virginia weather forecasts are notorious for their no-show blizzard-of-the-century-s.
Now, I am not complaining about snow. I love snow. But the timing is not ideal- the archaeologist has a gig that night. So, drive safe on your way to Starr Hill on Tuesday at 9 pm.
And get ready for some serious sledding.
Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain.
Update: already used that Grateful Dead quote. Sorry!
Snowed so hard that the roof caved in.
06 February 2007
Look out Stagger Lee
I have had several comments about the blog title- basically, what does it mean and where does it come from?
It comes from...the Grateful Dead! Stagger Lee is a folk villain featured in murder ballads and other tales (thanks Brian!). Here are the lyrics to the Dead's version of the story:
P.S. It's gonna snow!!!
Now what do you make of that?
It comes from...the Grateful Dead! Stagger Lee is a folk villain featured in murder ballads and other tales (thanks Brian!). Here are the lyrics to the Dead's version of the story:
1948, Xmas eve, with a full moon over town
Stagger Lee shot Billy DeLions
And he blew that poor boy down.
Do you know what he shot him for?
What do you make of that?
Cause Billy DeLions threw the lucky dice
Won Stagger Lee's Stetson hat.
Bayo, Bayo, tell me how can this be?
You arrest the girls for turning tricks
But you're scared of Stagger Lee.
Stagger Lee is a madman and he shot my Billy D.
Bayo go get him or give the job to me.
Delia DeLions, dear sweet Delia-D
How the hell can I arrest him? He's twice as big as me.
Well don't ask me to go downtown, I won't come back alive [no more].
Not only is that mother big but he packs a .45 [four].
Bayo, Delia said, just give me a gun
he shot my Billy dead now I'm gonna see him hung.
She went into the DeLion's club through Billy DeLions blood
Stepped up to Stagger Lee at the bar,
Said, "Buy me a gin fizz, love."
As Stagger Lee lit a cigarette she shot him in the balls
Blew the smoke off her revolver, had him dragged to city hall
Bayo, Bayo, see you hang him high
He shot my Billy dead and now he's got to die.
Delia went a walking down on Singapore Street
A three-piece band on the corner played "Near My God to Thee"
But Delia whistled a different tune, what tune could it be?
The song that woman sung was "Look Out Stagger Lee".
The song that Delia sung was "Look Out Stagger Lee".Yeah Delia! Now, don't read too much into this. The theme I wanted as the take-away message for this blog is just a general sense of girls kicking ass. Hell yeah.P.S. It's gonna snow!!!
Now what do you make of that?
03 February 2007
Farewell old friend.
I threw out my favorite hat tonight. I feel like I've lost a good friend and traveling buddy.
(I also bought a new digital camera. Go me!)
As you see above, my hat died long ago. And while you can easily identify the monstrous sweat-stain, frayed brim, and other rips, there are things the picture doesn't show:
1. The rusted safety pin that has held the back of the hat together for over 3.5 years.
2. That the inside sweatband was torn out over a year ago.
3. The smell. Combination salt and funk.
My parents bought this hat for me when I was either 15 or 16 at Stingray's restaurant on Rt. 13 on the Eastern Shore (which, btw, is an absolutely fantastic place to eat). I wore it almost unceasingly until this past summer, when I decided that it was too decrepit to wear to my new job. But over these past 5 years, this hat has been with me for every trip, every event. This hat has been with me for all of the great adventures of my life. At this moment, there are 5 pictures of me in my room that I can see from my computer desk- I'm wearing the hat in 3 of these. It has been with me on every single river trip, every search, every hike. I wore it to class, in high school and college. I wore it in my car and outside in the sun, working at summer camp, driving a bus, working on the river. This hat has been to Dry Tortugas National Park twice. It's been to the beach and in the ocean more times than I'd care to count or remember. I beat the shit out of this hat and wore it out.
And now, it's in the trash, the victim of a vicious room-cleaning kick. I will not allow myself to accumulate clothes that are no longer wearable. I will not hang it on my wall like I would have done in high school. And as much as it kills me to actually put it in the garbage can, I know that I will never forget it. And I have a lot of pictures to remember it by.
Goodbye, favorite faithful hat.
Fare you well, fare you well, I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul.
(I also bought a new digital camera. Go me!)As you see above, my hat died long ago. And while you can easily identify the monstrous sweat-stain, frayed brim, and other rips, there are things the picture doesn't show:
1. The rusted safety pin that has held the back of the hat together for over 3.5 years.
2. That the inside sweatband was torn out over a year ago.
3. The smell. Combination salt and funk.
My parents bought this hat for me when I was either 15 or 16 at Stingray's restaurant on Rt. 13 on the Eastern Shore (which, btw, is an absolutely fantastic place to eat). I wore it almost unceasingly until this past summer, when I decided that it was too decrepit to wear to my new job. But over these past 5 years, this hat has been with me for every trip, every event. This hat has been with me for all of the great adventures of my life. At this moment, there are 5 pictures of me in my room that I can see from my computer desk- I'm wearing the hat in 3 of these. It has been with me on every single river trip, every search, every hike. I wore it to class, in high school and college. I wore it in my car and outside in the sun, working at summer camp, driving a bus, working on the river. This hat has been to Dry Tortugas National Park twice. It's been to the beach and in the ocean more times than I'd care to count or remember. I beat the shit out of this hat and wore it out.
And now, it's in the trash, the victim of a vicious room-cleaning kick. I will not allow myself to accumulate clothes that are no longer wearable. I will not hang it on my wall like I would have done in high school. And as much as it kills me to actually put it in the garbage can, I know that I will never forget it. And I have a lot of pictures to remember it by.
Goodbye, favorite faithful hat.
Fare you well, fare you well, I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul.
The wonders of lactose-free cooking...
I'm a busy med student who requires 3 things of her recipes in order to minimize prep time (and GI distress) and maximize nutrition:
1. All mixing, cooking, and serving will at most dirty 2 dishes.
2. The recipe will include at least 3 of the 5 food groups.
3. Only lactose-free dairy will be included.
With that said, here's my fantastic chicken pot pie recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Cook 16 oz frozen veggie mix with 14 oz chicken broth until veggies are thawed.
3. Add 6 oz of egg noodles and another 14 oz chicken broth and cook until noodles are tender.
4. Add 1 cup lactose-free milk and 1-2 cups chopped, pre-cooked chicken and stir.
5. Pour mixture into pie pan already prepared with pie shell.
6. Don't forget to pierce top pie crust!
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
Eat with some fruit and you've got all 5 food groups, baby!
Plus, this tastes great leftover and will keep for about a week.
I've learned that a single meal including meat can cause a person's glomerular filtration rate to increase 30-50%. I haven't learned yet whether that's good or bad.
1. All mixing, cooking, and serving will at most dirty 2 dishes.
2. The recipe will include at least 3 of the 5 food groups.
3. Only lactose-free dairy will be included.
With that said, here's my fantastic chicken pot pie recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Cook 16 oz frozen veggie mix with 14 oz chicken broth until veggies are thawed.
3. Add 6 oz of egg noodles and another 14 oz chicken broth and cook until noodles are tender.
4. Add 1 cup lactose-free milk and 1-2 cups chopped, pre-cooked chicken and stir.
5. Pour mixture into pie pan already prepared with pie shell.
6. Don't forget to pierce top pie crust!
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
Eat with some fruit and you've got all 5 food groups, baby!
Plus, this tastes great leftover and will keep for about a week.
I've learned that a single meal including meat can cause a person's glomerular filtration rate to increase 30-50%. I haven't learned yet whether that's good or bad.
Hair day and snakes
The archaeologist and I often communicate through gmail chat. However, one of the primary drawbacks of internet communication is the lack of voice cues.
Yesterday, after he was telling me he'd just gotten a hair cut.
Brian: yeah
Indeed. This conversation is funny because if you know the archaeologist, you could probably picture him with a mohawk (he can totally pull off the sexy punk-rocker black-boots-leather-jacket wallet-on-a-chain-look). Actually, it might just be funny to me... in that case, sorry. But the point is, internet chat makes it sometimes difficult to detect if people are serious or just fucking with you. Luckily, he was just messing with me. I have nothing against mohawks, but I just don't think it would look as good on the archaeologist as his current haircut.
Anyway. Enough about hair.
Went to see SNAKES ON A MUTHAFUCKING PLANE yesterday for the 10 pm show and had a fantastic time! I would recommend this movie for anyone with a sense of humor. However, I think that there were multiple factors contributing to the experience last night.
1. The movie is hilarious in a bad-B-movie sense, but also in its own right as a kick-ass ridiculous action movie. I was envisioning something along the lines of Airplane! but it was more like... I don't even know.
2. We had pre-gamed for about an hour and packed beverages.
3. The atmosphere was rowdy- the theatre was packed with college kids who had all apparently seen the movie before and knew all of the good Samuel Jackson quotes, and everybody was just having a great time yelling at the screen.
She can fly like a lie, she can't be outdone
Yesterday, after he was telling me he'd just gotten a hair cut.
Brian: yeah
I hope you like it
me: um...
did you do something other than getting it trimmed?
Brian: what?
I got a mohawk
me: hahahaha
:-p
Brian: I'll make sure it's spiked when I come over tonight although I didn't dye it b/c I don't know what color you like
me: i can't tell if you're serious or not
... reallyBrian: yeah
bet you can't wait to see it
Indeed. This conversation is funny because if you know the archaeologist, you could probably picture him with a mohawk (he can totally pull off the sexy punk-rocker black-boots-leather-jacket wallet-on-a-chain-look). Actually, it might just be funny to me... in that case, sorry. But the point is, internet chat makes it sometimes difficult to detect if people are serious or just fucking with you. Luckily, he was just messing with me. I have nothing against mohawks, but I just don't think it would look as good on the archaeologist as his current haircut.
Anyway. Enough about hair.
Went to see SNAKES ON A MUTHAFUCKING PLANE yesterday for the 10 pm show and had a fantastic time! I would recommend this movie for anyone with a sense of humor. However, I think that there were multiple factors contributing to the experience last night.
1. The movie is hilarious in a bad-B-movie sense, but also in its own right as a kick-ass ridiculous action movie. I was envisioning something along the lines of Airplane! but it was more like... I don't even know.
2. We had pre-gamed for about an hour and packed beverages.
3. The atmosphere was rowdy- the theatre was packed with college kids who had all apparently seen the movie before and knew all of the good Samuel Jackson quotes, and everybody was just having a great time yelling at the screen.
She can fly like a lie, she can't be outdone
30 January 2007
Pocket Pet Fun
I've got pet mice. They can entertain me for hours on end. Forget AIM--in college I procrastinated by watching my little mice chew on seeds, chew on the cage, chew on toilet paper rolls, and run round and round on their wheel. They're fantastic little balls of energy.
They're quite tame, too. I got Heidi when she was a month old in July 2005. I introduced her to being held slowly. First I'd just lay my hand in the cage to get her used to my smell. Then I'd put food in my hand and have her crawl up onto it. It took about two weeks for her to crawl up into my hand whenever I put it in the cage. Ada was easier to tame. I got her when she was 2 weeks old in January 2006. She wasn't weaned yet, so I kept her in my coat pocket and feed her a mixture of milk and chow by hand. After a week she was strong enough to eat by herself and I introduced her to Heidi. They get along great. Ada is the dominant one even though she's only half the size of Heidi. Ada shows her dominance by "barbering" Heidi. So I've got one itty-bitty mouse and one bald mouse.
Heidi is 1.5 years old now, and Ada is 1 year old. They've been with me through a lot: 3 boyfriends, an Honor's research thesis, a 1,200 mile drive from VA to TX, plus transitioning from college to medical school. I'm rather attached to them. So when little Ada started sneezing, I became very worried. I did what any concerned pet owner would do and called the vet. It took a lot of calling. Turns out that most vets don't take care of mice. And most receptionists at the vet's office will make you repeat yourself many times when you try to explain the problem:
"Hello, thanks for calling Hillside Veterinary Center. How may I help you?"
"I'd like an appointment for my mouse."
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"My mouse. My mouse is sick."
"Oh, your mouse...ok...what seems to be wrong with your mouse?"
"Well, she's sneezing."
"Sneezing? Ok....lemme see if Dr. X will see sneezing mice."
I finally found a vet who would see Ada. Ada was such a good little girl. She crawled right into my hand so I could give her over to the vet to examine. And she didn't bite the vet at all. I really thought she would since the vet was poking and prodding her. First she looked in her ears, eyes, and nose. Then she pried open her mouth to look down her throat. Then she placed Ada on the bell of a stethoscope to listen to her heart and lungs. It cracked me up. The vet was actually doing a thorough exam on a creature less than 3 inches long while it wriggled and squirmed around.
Somehow the vet diagnosed an upper respiratory tract infection and gave me some antibiotic to administer to her daily for the next 10 days BY MOUTH. How in God's name can you get a mouse to happily drink down cherry-flavored antibiotic? Cherry! In fact, the vet added the cherry syrup to the antibiotic and charged me for it. Mice don't like cherry syrup. Maybe cheese or trash-flavored syrup, but not cherry. I spent 30 minutes trying to get Ada to chew on the end of the syringe so I could squirt the medicine down her throat. I ended up just squirting it all over her face. She was pissed. My poor, pissed, sneezing, sticky Ada. It was pretty funny to watch her try to clean it all off. I hope she ingested some of it in the process.
I'll be trying something new tomorrow. I'm going to estimate how much she drinks in a day and mix the antibiotic with the correct amount of water. I hope I get the dosage right. Too much and it's bye bye Ada and Heidi. (I'll be treating Heidi too since it's probably contagious.)
The auriculotemporal nerve hugs the middle meningeal artery after it branches off of V3 in the face. Think about that.
They're quite tame, too. I got Heidi when she was a month old in July 2005. I introduced her to being held slowly. First I'd just lay my hand in the cage to get her used to my smell. Then I'd put food in my hand and have her crawl up onto it. It took about two weeks for her to crawl up into my hand whenever I put it in the cage. Ada was easier to tame. I got her when she was 2 weeks old in January 2006. She wasn't weaned yet, so I kept her in my coat pocket and feed her a mixture of milk and chow by hand. After a week she was strong enough to eat by herself and I introduced her to Heidi. They get along great. Ada is the dominant one even though she's only half the size of Heidi. Ada shows her dominance by "barbering" Heidi. So I've got one itty-bitty mouse and one bald mouse.
Heidi is 1.5 years old now, and Ada is 1 year old. They've been with me through a lot: 3 boyfriends, an Honor's research thesis, a 1,200 mile drive from VA to TX, plus transitioning from college to medical school. I'm rather attached to them. So when little Ada started sneezing, I became very worried. I did what any concerned pet owner would do and called the vet. It took a lot of calling. Turns out that most vets don't take care of mice. And most receptionists at the vet's office will make you repeat yourself many times when you try to explain the problem:
"Hello, thanks for calling Hillside Veterinary Center. How may I help you?"
"I'd like an appointment for my mouse."
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"My mouse. My mouse is sick."
"Oh, your mouse...ok...what seems to be wrong with your mouse?"
"Well, she's sneezing."
"Sneezing? Ok....lemme see if Dr. X will see sneezing mice."
I finally found a vet who would see Ada. Ada was such a good little girl. She crawled right into my hand so I could give her over to the vet to examine. And she didn't bite the vet at all. I really thought she would since the vet was poking and prodding her. First she looked in her ears, eyes, and nose. Then she pried open her mouth to look down her throat. Then she placed Ada on the bell of a stethoscope to listen to her heart and lungs. It cracked me up. The vet was actually doing a thorough exam on a creature less than 3 inches long while it wriggled and squirmed around.
Somehow the vet diagnosed an upper respiratory tract infection and gave me some antibiotic to administer to her daily for the next 10 days BY MOUTH. How in God's name can you get a mouse to happily drink down cherry-flavored antibiotic? Cherry! In fact, the vet added the cherry syrup to the antibiotic and charged me for it. Mice don't like cherry syrup. Maybe cheese or trash-flavored syrup, but not cherry. I spent 30 minutes trying to get Ada to chew on the end of the syringe so I could squirt the medicine down her throat. I ended up just squirting it all over her face. She was pissed. My poor, pissed, sneezing, sticky Ada. It was pretty funny to watch her try to clean it all off. I hope she ingested some of it in the process.
I'll be trying something new tomorrow. I'm going to estimate how much she drinks in a day and mix the antibiotic with the correct amount of water. I hope I get the dosage right. Too much and it's bye bye Ada and Heidi. (I'll be treating Heidi too since it's probably contagious.)
The auriculotemporal nerve hugs the middle meningeal artery after it branches off of V3 in the face. Think about that.
It's all about the Food
Seriously. I just wanted to chronicle my weekend in food.
Saturday
Breakfast: Homemade bacon pizza with the archaeologist :). Homemade pizza is amazing. My aunt and uncle gave me a pizza stone for Christmas and I use it at least twice a week. If you make a bacon pizza, be sure to put cheddar in with the mozzarella cheese.
Lunch: Two Yuengling draft beers (which, no matter what you may have heard or seen, is an unusual midday meal for me).
Dinner: My famous spaghetti sauce with pasta and garlic bread. Consumed with wine, old milwaukee, and white russians.
Sunday
Brunch: Eggs on toast, with basil (pronounced baa-zel, according to the archaeologist).
Dinner: London Broil! with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and mushroom gravy (family recipe). Absolutely spectacular.
Mmmm. And I didn't eat any of it alone! I didn't even make all of it! Spaghetti on Saturday was followed by round after epic round of Kill Dead Uno with the girls and Noah, and the archaeologist.
Tomorrow I'm making pizza with garlic and spinach and mushrooms and bacon. I can't wait even though I'm stuffed after tacos tonight. I'm so glad I love food.
Cost two dollars and burned like hell.
Saturday
Breakfast: Homemade bacon pizza with the archaeologist :). Homemade pizza is amazing. My aunt and uncle gave me a pizza stone for Christmas and I use it at least twice a week. If you make a bacon pizza, be sure to put cheddar in with the mozzarella cheese.
Lunch: Two Yuengling draft beers (which, no matter what you may have heard or seen, is an unusual midday meal for me).
Dinner: My famous spaghetti sauce with pasta and garlic bread. Consumed with wine, old milwaukee, and white russians.
Sunday
Brunch: Eggs on toast, with basil (pronounced baa-zel, according to the archaeologist).
Dinner: London Broil! with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and mushroom gravy (family recipe). Absolutely spectacular.
Mmmm. And I didn't eat any of it alone! I didn't even make all of it! Spaghetti on Saturday was followed by round after epic round of Kill Dead Uno with the girls and Noah, and the archaeologist.
Tomorrow I'm making pizza with garlic and spinach and mushrooms and bacon. I can't wait even though I'm stuffed after tacos tonight. I'm so glad I love food.
Cost two dollars and burned like hell.
29 January 2007
Not for human consumption
On Friday (I just didn't feel like writing it up Friday), I was using wikipedia to learn more about methylphenol, a semi-volatile VSWMR constituent. It is a type of Cresol, an organic chemical that can be manufactured, but also occurs naturally in coal tar (think creosote, the black shit they use as a preservative for railroad ties.)
So, as I continued to read wikipedia, I learned more about cresol.
Cresol is a primary component of Lysol. Lysol is a popular disinfectant and deoderizer that was incidentally used by my best pal Holly to decontaminate ME on more than one occasion in the past two years accompanied by threats of death (her death, by my bare hands).
Reasons (according to wikipedia) why Lysol should NOT be used on humans:
"Effects observed in people include irritation and burning of skin, eyes, mouth, and throat; abdominal pain and vomiting; heart damage; anemia; liver and kidney damage; facial paralysis; coma; and death."
GOOD to KNOW. Then, reading further, I came across the following external link:
"Lysol advertisements advocating use as a douche, from 1928 and 1948."
WHAT!!! Apparently, Lysol was an extremely popular vaginal douche in the 30s and 40s as well as a CONTRACEPTIVE. Reading that made me cringe and cross my legs. One 89-year-old woman was surprised to read on a website about all of the health problems and at least a dozen deaths associated with the use of Lysol as a contraceptive:
I'm going on 89 years YOUNG . . . LOL . . . and was very amused by the Lysol douche ad. I don't know if I'm "still the girl my husband married" as I have pretty bad osteoarthritis (could it have been the Lysol?), but I used Lysol as a douche and contraceptive ever since I married at age 17!! I had two children, both sons who turned out very well, in spite of the Lysol!! LOL
Holy Hell! Also, that an 89-year-old Canadian woman uses "LOL".
Check out the following ad.
Read the complete article here. Oh, horror of horrors.
Well, my mama told me, my papa told me too
So, as I continued to read wikipedia, I learned more about cresol.
Cresol is a primary component of Lysol. Lysol is a popular disinfectant and deoderizer that was incidentally used by my best pal Holly to decontaminate ME on more than one occasion in the past two years accompanied by threats of death (her death, by my bare hands).
Reasons (according to wikipedia) why Lysol should NOT be used on humans:
"Effects observed in people include irritation and burning of skin, eyes, mouth, and throat; abdominal pain and vomiting; heart damage; anemia; liver and kidney damage; facial paralysis; coma; and death."
GOOD to KNOW. Then, reading further, I came across the following external link:
"Lysol advertisements advocating use as a douche, from 1928 and 1948."
WHAT!!! Apparently, Lysol was an extremely popular vaginal douche in the 30s and 40s as well as a CONTRACEPTIVE. Reading that made me cringe and cross my legs. One 89-year-old woman was surprised to read on a website about all of the health problems and at least a dozen deaths associated with the use of Lysol as a contraceptive:
I'm going on 89 years YOUNG . . . LOL . . . and was very amused by the Lysol douche ad. I don't know if I'm "still the girl my husband married" as I have pretty bad osteoarthritis (could it have been the Lysol?), but I used Lysol as a douche and contraceptive ever since I married at age 17!! I had two children, both sons who turned out very well, in spite of the Lysol!! LOL
It's rather funny as I used it every day for many, many years because back in the early days, we didn't have the "Pill" and Lysol was used after "the act" to prevent unwanted pregnancies by just about every lady I knew, including my mother and grandmother who had just ONE child each.
Holy Hell! Also, that an 89-year-old Canadian woman uses "LOL".
Check out the following ad.
Read the complete article here. Oh, horror of horrors.
Well, my mama told me, my papa told me too
28 January 2007
Weekend Update
What a weekend. I intended to chronicle the events, and chiefly the food, but right now I have so many different thoughts and emotions ricocheting between my ears that I can't even hold one still long enough to fully describe. And if I could, I wouldn't share. Maybe I'm just full and content, with my tank topped off again thanks to the last few days. A long hot shower and a night's rest are all I need now, and I know I will fall asleep quickly and sleep like a newborn, eager to dream and learn more tomorrow.
I find myself reflecting on the ways relationships change over time. The way I make friends and keep them. How to realize when once-close comrades have left your team, and how to remember those great times from the past in their own right without comparing them to right now. The habit of growing closer to others without noticing, only to discover suddenly how much you communicate without needing to clarify. The surprise of reconnecting after time apart with little talk and finding none was needed regain the same level of friendship. The unspoken, resigned letting go when we both know that our outlook and values are no longer compatible due to changes in our lives and maturity. Recognizing that moment when habits that were once unfamiliar are now something to grin at, and depend on, not because I like the traits, but because I love my friend.
It's a lot like fractionation (geology term). Things change, recycle into new emotions and events, but the process eventually and inevitably continues in only one direction. Memories can only accumulate. If I believed in God, I would give thanks for that, but as is, I'll just say, what a great way to live.
Alright, enough of this horseshit. I swear, I haven't even been drinking.
In the words of my West Virginia rafting buddies,
WA-HOO-WA, MOTHERFUCKERS!!
Gotta love it all.
Don't give it up, you've got an empty cup only love can fill.
I find myself reflecting on the ways relationships change over time. The way I make friends and keep them. How to realize when once-close comrades have left your team, and how to remember those great times from the past in their own right without comparing them to right now. The habit of growing closer to others without noticing, only to discover suddenly how much you communicate without needing to clarify. The surprise of reconnecting after time apart with little talk and finding none was needed regain the same level of friendship. The unspoken, resigned letting go when we both know that our outlook and values are no longer compatible due to changes in our lives and maturity. Recognizing that moment when habits that were once unfamiliar are now something to grin at, and depend on, not because I like the traits, but because I love my friend.
It's a lot like fractionation (geology term). Things change, recycle into new emotions and events, but the process eventually and inevitably continues in only one direction. Memories can only accumulate. If I believed in God, I would give thanks for that, but as is, I'll just say, what a great way to live.
Alright, enough of this horseshit. I swear, I haven't even been drinking.
In the words of my West Virginia rafting buddies,
WA-HOO-WA, MOTHERFUCKERS!!
Gotta love it all.
Don't give it up, you've got an empty cup only love can fill.
26 January 2007
Ole Virginia Fried LOVE
At first, I thought it was a mistake. A fortuitous happenstance. A once-in-a-lifetime event.
But then it happened again, a third time, and now I've come to expect it, but still with excitement and wonder.
I keep getting extra pieces of fried chicken! Every time I go to my favorite neighborhood chicken shack for lunch as a treat for working extra-hard, I am rewarded. Three legs instead of two. An extra wing thrown in. And today, the ultimate surprise:
Eleven pieces of chicken in an 8-piece box! What joy!
This is an unmistakeable sign that my earlier hypothesis is correct: a fried-chicken man is in love with me. This idea was first formulated by Bubba several months ago, when I recieved an extra bounty in my lunchbox and he did not. From then on, I ordered all of the chicken. I began to credit the idea one day when my order number was not just shouted out and my chicken bag passed through the window between the back and the register- it was brought out from the back and handed to me personally by one of the fried-chicken men and not given to the cash-register man at all. I made sure to smile at him.
Raised a few eyebrows then she went on down alone
But then it happened again, a third time, and now I've come to expect it, but still with excitement and wonder.
I keep getting extra pieces of fried chicken! Every time I go to my favorite neighborhood chicken shack for lunch as a treat for working extra-hard, I am rewarded. Three legs instead of two. An extra wing thrown in. And today, the ultimate surprise:
Eleven pieces of chicken in an 8-piece box! What joy!
This is an unmistakeable sign that my earlier hypothesis is correct: a fried-chicken man is in love with me. This idea was first formulated by Bubba several months ago, when I recieved an extra bounty in my lunchbox and he did not. From then on, I ordered all of the chicken. I began to credit the idea one day when my order number was not just shouted out and my chicken bag passed through the window between the back and the register- it was brought out from the back and handed to me personally by one of the fried-chicken men and not given to the cash-register man at all. I made sure to smile at him.
Raised a few eyebrows then she went on down alone
My house, etc.
As much as I bitch about having to go to bed by 10 pm, I'm not very good at observing said bedtime. Example- last night, after an enjoyable Guild Wars session with Renee (I havent' played in over 6 months), I left with the excuse that I really needed to get a full night's sleep. Which was true. However, upon arriving home I immediately spotted the mostly-finished puzzle strategically-placed-for-maximizing-distractability on the kitchen table. I returned the archaeologist's phone call (to make up for my earlier response of "I-can't-talk-I'm-playing-an-intense-computer-game") and started working. Luckily, there were only about 100-150 pieces left, and I'm an amazing puzzler, so I was done by 11, but still... 11 is an hour after 10. Goodbye, 8 hours of sleep. Then! I stayed up reading Harry Potter for another half hour.
Then I couldn't sleep because my bed was cold. I probably spent at least 20 minutes huddled under my two! comforters with two layers of clothes on waiting to get warm enough to fall asleep. It wasn't even that cold, my alarm clock reported a temperature of 61.7 degrees Fahrenheit. I am just unable to generate body heat to a satisfactory level.
HOWEVER- On a Positive Note, my landlord came and unclogged my drains! They had been getting worse all winter even as I poured super-concentrated drano down them a few times a week, to the point that I showered in 3 inches of water. Ugh. But they're fixed, and my tub is clean, and I took a long hot bath yesterday to celebrate.
Well, I'm going where those chilly winds don't blow.
Then I couldn't sleep because my bed was cold. I probably spent at least 20 minutes huddled under my two! comforters with two layers of clothes on waiting to get warm enough to fall asleep. It wasn't even that cold, my alarm clock reported a temperature of 61.7 degrees Fahrenheit. I am just unable to generate body heat to a satisfactory level.
HOWEVER- On a Positive Note, my landlord came and unclogged my drains! They had been getting worse all winter even as I poured super-concentrated drano down them a few times a week, to the point that I showered in 3 inches of water. Ugh. But they're fixed, and my tub is clean, and I took a long hot bath yesterday to celebrate.
Well, I'm going where those chilly winds don't blow.
25 January 2007
Sleeping in and Harry Potter
I should have slept in this morning.
Every morning I find it difficult to get out of bed. It doesn't matter what time- it would be tough to get up even if I had to be at work at 8 instead of 7. My new alarm clock doesn't help either- it has an amazing snooze feature that makes it really easy to ignore the alarm. But today was worse than usual. I was in the middle of a very intense Harry Potter dream- Harry and Malfoy were dueling in a house, and Harry was losing, but then Harry put Malfoy in a headlock and was going to town with the non-verbal hexes. I think he used sectum-sempra and some petrifying hexes.
I usually can't remember my dreams very well, and I'm sure that the only reason I can remember this much is that exactly at the moment when Malfoy started reeling from the multiple hexes, I was interrupted. Damn alarm clock. Not only did it interrupt an action-packed dream, but it felt like midnight, not 6:15 am. Ugh.
I made it out of bed after something like 6 snoozes...and parked at our building by 7:10. Unfortunately, I lack the 6th sense that would warn me when everyone else is later than me. I was alone in the office until about 7:30, and all I could think about was...
...I could have slept for another half-hour...
MOVIE: Speaking of Harry Potter, if you like Stephen Lynch, you should check out this link, it's fucking hysterical. Harry Potter-what's he doing??? Caution- slightly twisted adult humor not suitable for children.
You keep me up just one more night, I can't sleep here no more.
Every morning I find it difficult to get out of bed. It doesn't matter what time- it would be tough to get up even if I had to be at work at 8 instead of 7. My new alarm clock doesn't help either- it has an amazing snooze feature that makes it really easy to ignore the alarm. But today was worse than usual. I was in the middle of a very intense Harry Potter dream- Harry and Malfoy were dueling in a house, and Harry was losing, but then Harry put Malfoy in a headlock and was going to town with the non-verbal hexes. I think he used sectum-sempra and some petrifying hexes.
I usually can't remember my dreams very well, and I'm sure that the only reason I can remember this much is that exactly at the moment when Malfoy started reeling from the multiple hexes, I was interrupted. Damn alarm clock. Not only did it interrupt an action-packed dream, but it felt like midnight, not 6:15 am. Ugh.
I made it out of bed after something like 6 snoozes...and parked at our building by 7:10. Unfortunately, I lack the 6th sense that would warn me when everyone else is later than me. I was alone in the office until about 7:30, and all I could think about was...
...I could have slept for another half-hour...
MOVIE: Speaking of Harry Potter, if you like Stephen Lynch, you should check out this link, it's fucking hysterical. Harry Potter-what's he doing??? Caution- slightly twisted adult humor not suitable for children.
You keep me up just one more night, I can't sleep here no more.
24 January 2007
Snow in Charlottesville!
It has FINALLY snowed in Charlottesville. There were scattered reports of flurries back in early December, but I didn't see any snowflakes and they certainly did not stick if they fell at all. But Sunday morning around 1100, the snow began to fall. Later in the day, it switched over to sleet, so the total accumulation was not very impressive. My back patio was a solid sheet of ice by the time I went to sleep on Sunday.
Nevertheless, it snowed for several glorious hours, setting a perfect pace for the day. Except for a two-hour-long walk around UVa in the snow later on, I spent the entire day with the archaeologist watching That 70s Show (2nd season), working a new puzzle, and drinking white Russians. We killed a half-fifth of Kahlua, not to mention almost a whole gallon of milk. What a way to spend a snowy afternoon.
Monday morning was beautiful with a layer of ice covering everything. Of course, it was difficult to get out of bed knowing that many of my friends and the archaeologist had a SNOW DAY. Seriously... aren't we out of school? Come on! Go to work, people! Bubba at least had a valid excuse, and he was only 4 hours late to the office. He'd been on his way back from Atlanta, and was forced to get a hotel room in Roanoke when I-81 closed.
Temperatures today remained low, barely breaking 40 degrees. The snow from the weekend was mostly gone, and a few hours of snow that we received this morning disappeared pretty quickly. Naturally, today was the day that Bubba and I chose to hike along a creek for 2 hours to do a stream survey. At least I didn't fall into the creek this time! like I had done in October. Too Cold.
Will we get any more snow this year? I hope so. Perhaps we'll have another record-breaking March blizzard this year like we had in '93. (or '95? something like that).
Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain.
Nevertheless, it snowed for several glorious hours, setting a perfect pace for the day. Except for a two-hour-long walk around UVa in the snow later on, I spent the entire day with the archaeologist watching That 70s Show (2nd season), working a new puzzle, and drinking white Russians. We killed a half-fifth of Kahlua, not to mention almost a whole gallon of milk. What a way to spend a snowy afternoon.
Monday morning was beautiful with a layer of ice covering everything. Of course, it was difficult to get out of bed knowing that many of my friends and the archaeologist had a SNOW DAY. Seriously... aren't we out of school? Come on! Go to work, people! Bubba at least had a valid excuse, and he was only 4 hours late to the office. He'd been on his way back from Atlanta, and was forced to get a hotel room in Roanoke when I-81 closed.
Temperatures today remained low, barely breaking 40 degrees. The snow from the weekend was mostly gone, and a few hours of snow that we received this morning disappeared pretty quickly. Naturally, today was the day that Bubba and I chose to hike along a creek for 2 hours to do a stream survey. At least I didn't fall into the creek this time! like I had done in October. Too Cold.
Will we get any more snow this year? I hope so. Perhaps we'll have another record-breaking March blizzard this year like we had in '93. (or '95? something like that).
Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain.
Minestrone Soup
This recipe has gone through many alterations- the best (I think) is below.
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans italian stewed tomatoes
10-12 oz frozen mixed veggies
fresh spinach
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
bowtie pasta
Heat chicken broth (I use chicken bouillon to make chicken broth), and add Italian stewed tomatoes in a large pot with a lid. Bring to boil. Add frozen veggies and beans. Bring back to a boil. Add as much fresh (washed!) spinach as you can fit into the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add as much pasta as you want. Simmer for about 10 more minutes until the pasta is done. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.
"32 teeth in a jawbone..."
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans italian stewed tomatoes
10-12 oz frozen mixed veggies
fresh spinach
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
bowtie pasta
Heat chicken broth (I use chicken bouillon to make chicken broth), and add Italian stewed tomatoes in a large pot with a lid. Bring to boil. Add frozen veggies and beans. Bring back to a boil. Add as much fresh (washed!) spinach as you can fit into the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add as much pasta as you want. Simmer for about 10 more minutes until the pasta is done. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.
"32 teeth in a jawbone..."
21 January 2007
Mountain climbing
Yesterday I climbed a mountain just for the hell of it. Emily Ricks and Megumi and I were tired of waiting for the Brmrg boys (they got lost trying to find Sugar Hollow for some land nav training, how ironic), so we went for a little hike.
"Where should we go?" -me
"How about there?"- Emily, pointing to a peak to our left.
Two hours and 1600 vertical feet later, we reached our destination. Not the peak itself, but a relatively flat area from which we could not see the peak. Also, we didn't have a map, but I knew that if we continued uphill, we would hit Skyline Drive, which would be an anti-climatic ending to the uphill trek. The hike to the top was fairly rigorous, with Emily and Megumi frequently waiting for me to catch up.
Again, we didn't have a map, but thanks to a later trip to topozone.com, I discovered that we had hiked 1600 ft. uphill from the reservoir along Sawlog Ridge. The view of the lake and the Mormon river valley from 2200 ft. was spectacular with no leaves on the trees. The weather was perfect- clear skies with a temperature near freezing, and hiking along the creek we kept finding amazing icicle formations.
We hiked back down to the lake in an hour along the ridgeline, then came back to my house for some homemade minestrone. Perfect ending to a perfect outdoor adventure.
"Don't shake the tree if the fruit ain't ripe..."
"Where should we go?" -me
"How about there?"- Emily, pointing to a peak to our left.
Two hours and 1600 vertical feet later, we reached our destination. Not the peak itself, but a relatively flat area from which we could not see the peak. Also, we didn't have a map, but I knew that if we continued uphill, we would hit Skyline Drive, which would be an anti-climatic ending to the uphill trek. The hike to the top was fairly rigorous, with Emily and Megumi frequently waiting for me to catch up.
Again, we didn't have a map, but thanks to a later trip to topozone.com, I discovered that we had hiked 1600 ft. uphill from the reservoir along Sawlog Ridge. The view of the lake and the Mormon river valley from 2200 ft. was spectacular with no leaves on the trees. The weather was perfect- clear skies with a temperature near freezing, and hiking along the creek we kept finding amazing icicle formations.We hiked back down to the lake in an hour along the ridgeline, then came back to my house for some homemade minestrone. Perfect ending to a perfect outdoor adventure.
"Don't shake the tree if the fruit ain't ripe..."
19 January 2007
Parents and Children
After the work for the day was generally finished, I was chatting with the office folks and we got to talking about the kind of shit parents pull on their kids that they think is funny. Specifically, traumatizing memories from childhood of our parents.
Examples:
1. My boss's dad woke up his two young daughters with a crow-call after they had all watched The Birds.
2. My father talking me into pulling a baby tooth by tying it to a door and kicking it shut.
3. Laura laughing uncontrollably at her fiance hitting his head on the cabinet... ok, this isn't that funny secondhand, nor is it a parent-child tale, hmmm.
What did your parents do to you that has forever changed your outlook on embarrassment or humor?
On the day that I was born, Daddy sat down and cried.
Examples:
1. My boss's dad woke up his two young daughters with a crow-call after they had all watched The Birds.
2. My father talking me into pulling a baby tooth by tying it to a door and kicking it shut.
3. Laura laughing uncontrollably at her fiance hitting his head on the cabinet... ok, this isn't that funny secondhand, nor is it a parent-child tale, hmmm.
What did your parents do to you that has forever changed your outlook on embarrassment or humor?
On the day that I was born, Daddy sat down and cried.
18 January 2007
Famous Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb. ground beef
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
20 oz cheap spaghetti sauce
2 cans stewed tomatoes (italian style)
italian seasoning
salt and pepper
Heat vegetable oil in large pot. Add ground beef and cook until brown, drain off fat, and add salt and pepper. Push ground beef to one side of pot with a spatula, put onion on the other side of the pot over the hotter part of the stove eye. Add garlic when the onion is almost translucent, and when the onion becomes translucent, add spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Stir. Bring to boiling, then add italian seasoning to taste and reduce heat to simmer for 2-3 hours.
This sauce is absolutely fantastic, and pretty cheap to make. It's good with pasta, bread, or eaten with a spoon like chili. Also- the ingredients and their quantities are flexible. I never measure anything, and it always tastes great.
Half-a-cup of rock and rye...
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
20 oz cheap spaghetti sauce
2 cans stewed tomatoes (italian style)
italian seasoning
salt and pepper
Heat vegetable oil in large pot. Add ground beef and cook until brown, drain off fat, and add salt and pepper. Push ground beef to one side of pot with a spatula, put onion on the other side of the pot over the hotter part of the stove eye. Add garlic when the onion is almost translucent, and when the onion becomes translucent, add spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Stir. Bring to boiling, then add italian seasoning to taste and reduce heat to simmer for 2-3 hours.
This sauce is absolutely fantastic, and pretty cheap to make. It's good with pasta, bread, or eaten with a spoon like chili. Also- the ingredients and their quantities are flexible. I never measure anything, and it always tastes great.
Half-a-cup of rock and rye...
Eureka
I have several points to make in this first post. This whole blog thing is an idea that came to me just now... half-an-hour past my bedtime. I surely will pay for this tomorrow. Keep truckin' on.
Predicted themes of this blog:
1) The Grateful Dead
2) Food
3) Canoeing
4) Humor
This blog was born at this moment because:
1) My hard drive was replaced last week. All of my files and works-in-progress are lost forever! and the motivation to start from the beginning reloading software is hard to restore...
2) I acquired a wireless card at the same time I picked up my newly-restored computer. I am connected to the internet illegally, or at least unethically, in that I'm picking up someone else's wireless network. However, I don't doubt that I could quickly gain my neighbor's blessing by taking over a 6-pack.
The title would have been "any window" for Box of Rain, but it was already taken... so I chose an alternate, more kick-ass, song lyric.
May the genius and the wisdom of the Grateful Dead guide us all.
Predicted themes of this blog:
1) The Grateful Dead
2) Food
3) Canoeing
4) Humor
This blog was born at this moment because:
1) My hard drive was replaced last week. All of my files and works-in-progress are lost forever! and the motivation to start from the beginning reloading software is hard to restore...
2) I acquired a wireless card at the same time I picked up my newly-restored computer. I am connected to the internet illegally, or at least unethically, in that I'm picking up someone else's wireless network. However, I don't doubt that I could quickly gain my neighbor's blessing by taking over a 6-pack.
The title would have been "any window" for Box of Rain, but it was already taken... so I chose an alternate, more kick-ass, song lyric.
May the genius and the wisdom of the Grateful Dead guide us all.
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