In a Minute

I made it through a year's worth of posts. Sometimes it was easy to think of what to type and other times I wanted to type about how I had nothing to type. Something always popped into my head in the end, even if I needed a day or two to reflect on it.

Happy new year!

Just In Case

Since I'm not sure I'll be home in the next day or two, I packed up some baking supplies in case I get the urge to bake something for New Year's Day dinner. The possible baked goods are: pecan butter cookies, gingerbread (since I didn't make any gingerbread cookies for X-Mas), a bundt cake (since I got a new pan for X-Mas) or chocolate chip cookies.

There and Back Again

I'm back at home after being stranded in Lorain. I hitched a ride with my godson and his mom tonight so that I could retrieve my car and collect the newspapers and mail that accumulated while I was away. Back for good? Who can say?

Spinderella

I got in the borrowed car this afternoon to get some lunch and the first left turn I had to take caused the car to spin almost 360 degrees. We went back home, adjusted the car's power switches, put it in second gear and took what we thought might be a safer route. On the left turn this time, the car spun into the oncoming traffic lane. We turned around and decided to eat leftovers at home.

Picture Me

I hate my camera more than usual. The battery is crap, it's bulky and I can't connect it to the computer very easily. I don't know whether I'll get a new camera or a new battery, but if I want to continue taking pictures I have to buy something new. Luckily, I got some cash and gift cards for Christmas.

End of Days?

I haven't decided whether I'm going to continue this daily blog into the new year. Probably not. I've been lazy in my posts for most of December, and I can't see getting better in January.

Serving Size

Holiday overeating is in full swing. I tend to eat what's in front of me and Christmas is all about endless supplies of cookies, casseroles and appetizers. The worst is being served a double-sized portion and eating the whole thing. How are you supposed to not finish a meal that someone else dished out for you?

X-Mas Eve

The California branch of the family is in town. I feel like I just saw them... oh wait, I did!

The Battery's Down

My car battery conked out tonight, which is bad. But worse is the fact that someone else was driving it at the time! I called roadside assistance and got a jump, and the car ran fine back to my house. Luckily, the auto repair shop where I take my car is open tomorrow, and they're pretty good about fitting in last minute customers.

Tree

I put my Christmas tree up tonight. I wanted to also decorate it, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.

X-Massing

Second round of Christmas shopping very late at night. So many places are open until midnight! At least one more round to go.

All Is Palm

I took some pictures of palm, orange and (I think) lemon trees today and also took some fruit off the orange or lemon tree and a lime tree. It's harder to pick than it looks. I'm very excited about the free citrus. I might post some pics but I'm not sure they are that interesting.

Orange You Glad

I tried to take a picture of the citrus trees in the area, but my camera battery is still crap. It holds a charge for only a few minutes, and I spent a minute looking at the pictures on my camera before I tried to take a few snapshots. Dumb mistake.

I hope to charge it up and get some post-worthy pics tomorrow.

Mac Envy

I intentionally left my laptop at home (it didn't fit in the carry on bag anyway) and have been working off a Mac for the last few days. It's like coming home! There are so many good differences. Not to mention the fact that my stupid PC is constantly downloading updates and/or working super slow.

My one complaint is the lack of a delete key at the bottom of the keyboard. That's always bothered me about the Mac. Why can you only erase backwards and not forwards? Oh, another complaint is no right and left click options on the mouse. You just get used to stupid things on a stupid PC.

I feel like I can only complain about it because I'm not typing on it. My laptop is over three years old so I guess I should just be glad it still works.

Go Gadgets

For some reasons the gadgets on this page aren't working right. I took the twitter one down a bit ago and now the blogger play one isn't looking good. I guess most people don't pay attention to the side bar stuff anyway so I probably won't try too hard to find replacements.

Jet Set

I can't tell if I'm jet-lagged or just tired. I had the whole emergency exit row to myself on my flight out west, which is the way to do it since it's the longer leg. I slept a little on the plane, but I should probably go to bed on east coast time anyway.

Packing Up

I'm trying to pack light for my mini-holiday. I borrowed some luggage that fits in the overhead bin so that I don't have to check any bags. I can always borrow stuff from my sister. Hey, that's what I've been doing this week and last anyway!

Sleeping In

I wish I could have slept in today. I usually get up early on Mondays and most of the time I stay awake, but I like having the option of going back to sleep. My "second job" continues this week. I surely couldn't do this type of work full-time.

Greensleeves

I've almost decided on a color for my living room, although I probably won't get the paint on the walls until next year. It'll be green, but I'm not sure of the shade yet. In the meantime, I've taped a bunch of color swatches to the wall to help me pick. One of these is a top contender.

Outdated

I made my annual pilgrimage to a "warehouse" store in preparation for cookie baking. You really can't beat their prices on a big ol' bag of chocolate chips. I was very disappointed that they didn't have any dates, but more disappointed when I went to another store and asked for dates and the stock gal replied, "as far as...?" Are dates really that exotic that people need an explanation as to what they are? Sticky Toffee Pudding should be more popular in this country!

Mañanitas

I'll have my first tamales of the yuletide at the Mañanitas a la Virgen de Guadalupe fiesta tonight. Last year they were a little doughy so I hope they are better this time.

One of my cousins sells tamales during the Christmas season, and he's making a dozen for me (via my grandmother). His food is always delicious so I'm looking forward to them!

Get the Lead Out

I feel like I might be coming down with something. I can't tell if it's the weather, the furnace (as opposed to boiler) heated places where I've been hanging out or an actual sickness. I hope it's nothing.

Everything In Its Place

I rearranged my living room furniture in preparation for putting up my Christmas tree. I'm not sure if I'll get it up sooner than a few days before Christmas. The stupid fake tree is big and clunky and in my basement. I'm not feeling it yet.

Name Game

I was at my grandparents' house tonight, and my grandmother asked me to look up something for her when I got home (whether Post still made Post Toasties.) I had my iPod and an Internet connection so I looked it up right away (apparently the cereal was discontinued in 2006.) This led to me doing at least 10 more searches for actors and singers from yesteryear. Mostly we were interested in finding out whether they were still living, whether they had kids and how many times they were married. I didn't think my grandfather was paying attention to us until he asked me to look up someone, too.

Simply Cards

I finished my Christmas cards today, and I was super lazy with them this year. They're cute though.

Party Time! Excellent!

One of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season is bake cookies. It used to be a family affair when I was a kid, but at some point it changed to more of a solo effort. There were years when I did all of the baking, frosting and decorating myself, but I usually have some help.

A few years ago, I started my very own tradition when I hosted my first official "cookie party." My initial thought in having the party was to recruit help in making the dozens of cookies I bake every year, but I found it's just nice to have company while baking, especially when Christmas cookie baking takes 24+ hours. Of course, guests don't have to help although I strongly encourage their help in frosting and decorating, which are my least favorite things to do.

I sent out the invitations for this year's cookie party today. I hope you all can come!

Overdone

Second trip to the gym today. But this time was more comprehensive. I hope I didn't overdo it, really. I'm not in the worst shape of my life so I think I'll be okay. Hot tubs can be wearing, though.

Office Space

I'm not sure why, but I have an easier time tackling a project if I can stretch it out over a period of time. I can't stand doing a long clean-up of any one room. My newest long-term project is my office. It's going to take forever. Here's why:
1) It's freezing in there. Even on warmer days it's cold since the entire east wall is full of drafty windows.
2) For every well-organized file there are about three unorganized ones.
3) I have a box lid (not the box, just the lid) full of various papers from college, work, etc.
4) I have a box of magazines and various other papers.
5) I have a box of job search related papers.
6) I have a box of office supplies and work files.
7) I have a box of stuff from my grandparents house from when I was a kid.
8) Everything that didn't have a place to go over the last 8 years got thrown in my office (or my closet, which might be my next long-term project.)
I try to spend 15-20 minutes in there every day, which is about all I can stand.

Speedy Delivery

I sent my first Christmas card today. I didn't put it in the mail since I was going over the family's house tonight anyway, but it still counts as being sent.

I'll probably do the same tomorrow when I go to a different family's house. The rest I'll likely mail since I bought two books of Christmas stamps so I should probably use them.

At the Gym

I overheard two different conversations today on my first visit to the gym where I have a free three month membership. The first was about how this woman and her husband? (not sure because she just said "we") were going on a cruise to the Bahamas over Christmas. Not before or after but from the 21st to the 26th. The second was a woman who talked nonstop for about 10 minutes and whose topics ranged from hosting Thanksgiving for 35 to how her grandmother came to America from Hungary on the Carpathia to how [Mexicans] come to this country expecting free housing and other handouts. My favorite story was about how she told the younger generation (mine, from what I could extrapolate) that they had to help clean up after the Thanksgiving meal because they normally don't. Of course she only meant the women since, as she said, "I understand that the men want to watch football."

Needless to say, these women are my new BFFs.

It's Beginning

I thought about setting up my Christmas tree. I gathered my cards and thought about addressing them. I'm debating whether to write a letter this year, but I'm afraid of how it would sound.

I've bought no presents, but I did make a list of approximately 20 people and gift ideas for each.

Free Coffee

I've been sitting on a few free drink coupons for some time; one since the inauguration and one since about a month ago. I finally used the one for Starbucks (good thing because it expired today) that I got for registering my gift card and giving them my birth date. The card's had a zero balance since the beginning of the year, but I guess that didn't matter since they sent me the postcard around my birthday.

I intentionally left my travel mug at home because the postcard didn't specify a size, and I knew I was going to order a venti vanilla latte. I'm not the biggest fan of their coffee, but my barista made a mean latte today. It wasn't as good as one from Tully's, but what is?

Freeze Tag

Lately, my cable box has been freezing up, which I don't discover until I'm trying to watch a show on my TiVo and it's a still image that's been recorded for an hour. Luckily, a lot of the shows are On Demand or will be repeated, but it's annoying on days like today when I tried to record three episodes of Spectacle: Elvis Costello With... and I didn't get any of them.

On the other hand, I'm not sure Sundance is a channel I'm supposed to get. I don't understand the "tier system."

On Punishment

I'm keeping my thermostat a little lower than usual (59 degrees) for a few days to make up for the fact I accidentally left it on 67 on Thanksgiving while the house was empty. It's not unlike the time I made myself drink instant coffees that I didn't much care for instead of just throwing them away.

Thanksgiving Recap

Dinner yesterday was turkey, gravy, stuffing (two kinds!) mashed potatoes (garlic and plain), sweet potato casserole, green beans (plain and with almonds), cranberry sauce and rolls. Everything was homemade with the exception of the plain green beans. I was in charge of potatoes and cranberries. Dessert was red velvet cake, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie and pumpkin roll. I had a hand in all of the desserts except the pumpkin roll. Oh, and we had some crudités and spinach dip while dinner was being finished. There was plenty of beer, wine and assorted other beverages, too.

To my surprise, the most popular dessert was the cake, followed by the cheesecake. Personally, I had the other two desserts. The pie because I wanted to see how the from-scratch crust held up (pretty well) and the roll because I love 'em.

I took home a little of everything except the desserts. As I was eating some leftovers today, I was amazed at how little I could eat at one time. I had no trouble packing in all of the side dishes on Thursday, but today I could only eat about two at a time! I guess that's part of the magic of the holiday.

Turkey Day!!!

Substitute

On the way home from my grandparents' house, I stopped to get sugar for the cake I had to make tonight. Although I checked the recipe, I thought I had all of the ingredients except the sugar at home. As I gathered the ingredients from the fridge, pantry and cabinet, I realized I didn't have any cocoa powder. It may just be lost or misplaced but I can't find it.

As luck would have it, I recently organized most of my dessert recipes in my on-going recipe binder project. And I put the two lists of baking substitutions in the front. Turns out unsweetened bakers chocolate is a decent substitute for cocoa. You're supposed to reduce the fat by 1/2 Tablespoon, but I didn't. A little extra butter can't hurt a red velvet cake.

I Should Have Cussing Listened To My Lawyer

I saw a preview screening of "Fantastic Mr. Fox" tonight. It might be my favorite movie of the year. It was a great movie; funny and clever with extraordinarily good voice acting. I'm a fan of both stop-motion and Wes Anderson so it's not really surprising that I enjoyed it so much.

Some of the other people at the screening thought it was "cute." I'm floored that that was the only word these people could think of to describe it. Of course one lady who was underwhelmed said she loved "Old Dogs," which she saw as a preview last weekend. She also had questionable hair.

To Dye For

I'm struggling with whether to dye my hair before Thursday. On one hand, I don't care whether the people at Thanksgiving dinner see my grays. On the other, if I don't dye it this week I can't dye it the week before Christmas.

Although I should ideally color my hair every 3-4 weeks, I actually do it every 5-6. Right now I'm leaning towards waiting 2-3 weeks and living with the roots.

Now I'll go look in the bathroom mirror and change my mind.

New Bologna

I had a bologna sandwich for lunch and it was more delicious than I expected. White bread, a little mayo, a lot of mustard, lettuce, tomato, American cheese and two pieces of deli-sliced bologna. Add in some chips and a 7-Up, and I was set. I had an orange a little later to make my day healthier, but my face got all flushed from the salt overload.

Washing Up

I've been cleaning a lot this week. I did the usual stuff like vacuuming, clothes washing and kitchen duties but also tasks that have needed to be done for a while.

I cleaned the leather chairs in the living room, and I even washed the couch cover, by which I mean the futon cover. It wasn't that hard to take off, but it was hell to get back on.

One day my whole house will be both clean and organized. One day...

Less Than A Week Away!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I'm already looking forward to it. I don't contribute much to the feast -- homemade cranberry sauce and sometimes a side dish or a dessert -- but I was looking at recipes today nonetheless. I might make brussel sprouts since I found some interesting ideas on how to prepare them in my Real Simple magazine.

It's my favorite holiday because it's all about eating. Oh, and being with family. but mostly eating

Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé!

An early post today to remind everyone that my best friend/worst enemy is available today! I don't know what this year's vintage is like, but I will soon.
Don't forget to get some if this light and fruity red for Thanksgiving.

Just Hang a Shingle!

It's interesting when you meet people and tell them what you do because they inevitably have an opinion on what you should be doing.

Eggplant Parmesan

Today was probably the last of my birthday celebrations. Dinner at my little sister's house. It was yummy eggplant parmesan with a side of rotini and brownies and ice cream for dessert. I think I would have liked a salad with dinner, but since she hates them there was little chance of that.

No one believes me, but I actually like salads.

Phone a Friend

I spent a lot of time on the phone today. I think I'm talked out.

Of course, there's always tomorrow.

Nigel

I said goodbye to my beloved cat Nigel today. He was a little over 15 years old and was my cat for about 14 years of those years. Although my sister adopted him, he became my cat soon after we moved in together. Truthfully, I didn't like him at first, but he changed my mind by being the most loving and devoted cat.

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Nigel and my oldest nephew.

A Day Over 60 Degrees

I've been meaning to do some outside chores, but on the few nice days we've had recently I've been too busy or lazy to do them. I managed to get one done today when I vacuumed my car. It took about an hour and a half. Part of the reason it took so long was that my shop vac wasn't working that well, which I didn't realize until I was 1/4 of the way done. Apparently, I didn't do too good of a job cleaning it out the last time I used it. Once I emptied the base and shook out the filter, it worked much better.

I might try to finish cleaning the interior tomorrow. Or I might sweep my side porch. Or I might just wait for another nice day.

You're Soaking in It

I threw out my kitchen sponge without having a new one to replace it. Then it occurred to me that I have dish towels (dish rags? dish cloths?) in my linen closet. I got one out but didn't use it since I'm not 100% sure it's not a washcloth. Maybe I'll just buy some new sponges tomorrow.

Cheating Fines

I had two videos due to the library today, but I decided I didn't need to return them because all throughout November you can erase any fines by making a canned food donation. They'll erase $1 for every can, and I only have $.20 worth of fines. As long as I return them soon I should only have to donate one can.

Words, Words, Words

I watched the movie Wordplay the other day, and it got me thinking about crossword puzzles. I've never been great at them and usually give up before they're done. But, I hadn't tried to solve one in a while so when I was reading through old papers today and came across a puzzle, I decided to try it out.

I managed to get it done, albeit with a mistake or two, but I don't think I'll be heading to the tournament in Connecticut anytime soon. I'm going to try to do them more regularly because it's one of those smart people things like playing chess or learning Klingon. Or are these geek activities? Same difference?

My One and Only

I received one phone call today. One. And I picked up the phone and immediately hung up.

Early to Rise

The bad thing about falling asleep before 10 PM is waking up early. I started making papers at about 9:30 PM last night and woke up around 6:45 this morning. There's nothing worse than waking up early and not being tired enough to go back to sleep.

Recipes To Go

Lately, I haven't been printing out new recipes from the Internet. Instead, I save them on my iPod and keep it on the counter when I'm baking/cooking. It's not ideal since the iPod turns off periodically, and I've spilled flour and sugar on it. Plus, if my iPod is on the counter top, I can't listen to tunes through my jambox. But, it makes it easier to find a recipe I've used in the past, and it's convenient.

Cool

Wasn't the weather awesome today? It got up to a cozy 66 degrees inside my house (and the heat didn't turn on all day.). I wore a short-sleeved shirt and sandals when I left my house. I would have worn capris instead of jeans but that's just crazy. It is November, after all.

Can you believe this is the first time I used the word "awesome" in this blog? I find that almost impossible to believe.

InterNOT

I had some Internet issues today. I don't know whether the router kept freezing or if the signal was bad or what but my computer had problems with the connection at times.

Luckily, no big harm was done. It was just annoying.

Steal of a Deal

The Halloween candy at Target is 75% off so I couldn't resist buying a bag of mellowcreme pumpkins. It was a tough choice between them and the harvest mix that has candy corn, Indian corn and the pumpkins.

I think the bag was like $1 and change.

Mini-Cupcakes

I probably should have flipped the container over so you could see how these cupcakes are smaller than normal, but you can kind of tell from the outline around the cupcakes. I made these little guys because I had mini baking cups and leftover frosting from the ghost cake.

Civic Duties

I went to vote today. I got sticker and everything. I spent a little time researching the issues and have a feeling I'm voting contrary to most of the state. We'll see tomorrow.

UPDATE: Half of the issues broke my way. You guess which three!

Poor Souls

I'm completely obsessed with V. I TiVo'd the original mini-series, the Final Series and the television series (which continues tomorrow) and will be sure to watch the new television show tomorrow.

I'm not sure when I'll have time to watch it all. Oh wait, I have some time on my hands.

All She Wrote

Today is the official last day of birthday week. Monday's events were nicely spread out, which is always good. There's nothing worse than getting all of your birthday greetings at the same time. The rest of the days, except Wednesday, had at least one event that usually involved food. And today was my party at my grandparents' house with enchiladas (my fave) and cake!

You may ask, who bakes a cake for the person who always bakes the cakes? She does, of course. I've been making my own cake for years. The cake flavor varies, but I usually make white chocolate buttercream frosting. This year I made a simple yellow cake with semi-sweet chocolate buttercream frosting. It was a delicious end to a great week. Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate! You're all the best.

Most Popular

By far, the most popular costume of the trick-or-treaters tonight was a vampire. Second most popular was either pirate or gangster. Or maybe I should say, "gangster" since the majority of them were giggly white girls. There were a few kids who came by twice. I guess kids these days are that lazy that they just walk up the block and then back down the block for free candy.

The double-dippers weren't even slick about it. There was one kid dressed in a zoot suit with scars on his face who did it even though I commented on his outfit. And the young(?) lady with the pierced lip and no real costume stuck out as well. They really should have been more generic if they didn't want to get called out.

Candy

I always say I'm not that big a fan of chocolate, but whenever I have some in the house I seem to want to eat it. Like, I bought two packages of Reese's cups the last time my oldest nephew was over, and he only ate one. I saved the other one for him for a week or so but then I ate it the other day. Also, my godson got me a bag of Lindt truffles, and I've eaten a couple each day since he dropped them off on Tuesday.

However, I have a box of chocolate I haven't opened yet. It's supposed to be eaten with wine or something. Okay, the real reason I haven't opened it is because I haven't read the box.

Eating Good in the Neighborhood

So far, the best part of birthday week has been not having to cook. I've been out to eat or had leftovers everyday. I don't think I'll have to cook for another couple of days.

It's not that I haven't cooked so much as I haven't used my stove for anything but the tea kettle. I've used my microwave and eaten cold foods, which might be considered "cooking" to some. Personally, I define cooking as anything that requires more effort than re-heating.

Heart of Glass

I think I set the last of my TiVo season passes for the fall today, and I'm surprised none of the shows has been canceled yet. If you're curious, my list of shows is here.

The Tide is High

I hate the day after I color my hair because I like to give my hair 24-48 hours before I wash it again, and it looks obviously dirty after about 25 hours. I'm usually better about timing the dyeing with having to leave the house, but this time I didn't. It didn't look that bad, but I wore some distracting jewelry anyway.

Atomic

$2.00 winner! Thanks Count Fartula!

Sunday Girl

The church I joined sent me my second batch of "stewardship" envelopes since the first ones they sent run out next week. This time they got my name right. Well, the first set got my name right, which is a feat in itself, but messed up my title. The envelopes said Mr.

It's not the first time my name has caused gender confusion. It is made up after all.

Dreaming

I had this weird dream the other night that my hair was super long. Like Crystal Gayle long.



On a sort of related note, I got my hair cut today. Only about an inch off the length and some layers put in.

One Way or Another

I watched my littlest nephew at my house tonight, and we had a ball. He had fun exploring my house and got a kick out of my Halloween toys. We had a bit of trouble at the end of the night when he dropped his little chair on his foot, which caused him to cry and cough, but he settled down soon enough.

The babies I sit could never be as much trouble as one kid I watched back in my prime babysitting years. She literally cried from the time her parents left the house until they walked back in the door hours later. I think that was over twenty years ago, and I'm still traumatized.

Call Me

I spent tonight waiting for a call that never came. It's not like I sat by the phone or anything, but when someone says, "I'll call you either way" you expect to hear from them in a timely fashion.

Maybe they'll call tomorrow.

Nutty

What does it mean when you find part of an acorn in your basement? Are the squirrels back? Did it fall down the chimney? Are there even any trees in my yard that have acorns?

I don't want to think about it.

Gravy

Yesterday was supposed to be the end of a project, but it wasn't. Well, it was the end for some but not me. I went back today and will go back tomorrow. After that, who knows?

Meanwhile...

Today was supposed to be a day of rest or recovery or clean-up or goof-off. There's always tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Crick

I woke up with a crick in my neck. At least it's better than the weird thought-I-was-getting-the-flu-or-dying aches I had late last night.

Sometimes I feel twice (thrice?) my age.

Primed

I started priming my living room for painting even though I still haven't decided on a color for my walls. I began with the mantel because it's the wall that least needs priming.

If I could decide on a color maybe my living room will come together. I figure I need to make one big decision and the rest will follow. Pick a wall color, chose a window treatment, find some furniture, etc.

Sleeping In

I slept in today since it was a long week. It might be the last one for a while so I don't really mind.

Yesterday the bags under my eyes were so big they would have to be checked in and couldn't be stowed under the seat in front of me or in the overhead bins.

In other words, I really needed some beauty sleep.

Coming Soon

I started clearing off my mantel today so that I could put my Halloween decorations up. I don't have a ton of stuff but it's worth changing out the Actos buddies. Yeah, I meant to take them down sooner than October.

Love Bug

The guy who works at the parking lot where I usually park runs hot and cold. Today he was in a good mood and when I got my ticket from the booth he said, "here comes the love bug!" That cracked me up. Most days he just scowls at me.

ABC

I've been using my VCR to record shows that I should be watching live or online. The shows I had to record aren't available on demand or I could just watch them there. Since it's a pain to watch VCR tapes, I'm a few weeks behind on a couple shows. The biggest problem is that my VCR records in such a way that I can only watch the tape on the same VCR. Actually, sometimes it looks bad on the same VCR. I can't believe I used to live like that.

Punchie

I had a really great drink tonight called Crowne Punch at The Green Olive. It had Malibu rum, mango rum, pineapple rum, banana rum and a couple splashes of fruit juice, garnished with a lime. I'm not the biggest fan of ladies drinks, but I do like rum-based drinks.

I also recommend the calamari.

Ethnic Eats

Stuffed cabbage for dinner bought at a local-ish church. There were six, and they're big enough to last at least three meals. I'm not sure if they were from the same church that sold pierogies in the spring.

Bonus! They were free since my tia bought them for me.

Camera Shy

I forgot my camera today so there's no picture.

Safe Keeping

Dear former tenant:

I forgot to include these beautiful wine glasses in the two bags of beer mugs and drinking glasses I recently returned to you, which were stored in my basement for over three years. I will keep them in my dining room cabinets until you are able to retrieve them.

Love, D

How Hair Comes Alive!

I found this at Rite-Aid today so I bought it. We'll see how it works.

Mini-Mex

These Homies crack me up every time I open my medicine cabinet. I like the fiddle player best.

White Hot Chocolate

I was charged 89¢ with my coupon that said 99¢ medium hot chocolate. I didn't know how to fight that battle.

Brown Bag

Bread and Butter

This morning I made some toast with one of the two loaves of bread I bought at the grocery store yesterday. I also bought some pitas. I don't know why I bought so much bread except that I had a reason to buy each. Pitas for hummus that I plan to make, white bread for the BLT I want to make and wheat bread for toast and sandwiches other than BLTs.

But you know what I didn't buy? Butter. You know what I used up on Sunday making sweet potato pie? Butter.

I'm almost never out of butter. I usually have both salted and unsalted butter in my refrigerator drawer. I ate my toast with jam only. It could have used some butter.

Sunday Soup

Last week and today, I made a big pot of soup. Last Sunday I made 16 Bean and today I made Manhattan Clam Chowder from the leftover clams I took home from yesterday's clam bake. I ate the bean soup for a few dinners last week, and I plan on doing the same this week with the chowder. I would take it for lunch, but the microwaves at work might not do the soup justice. Plus it takes an elevator ride and at least five minutes to get to the micros. It's a complicated building.

Clammered

I went to my first clam bake this evening. Lots of food and drink. My group won some prizes in the raffles, too. The only thing missing was dessert. Are there usually desserts at these things? Every dinner should end with a sweet.

Peanut Butter Blahs

I've been in a lunch rut. I don't care for the cafeteria in my building--it's relatively cheap, but takes two elevators and at least 15 minutes to get there and back--so I've been packing my lunch. I've packed basically the same thing every day: a sandwich, a yogurt, an apple. I've varied my breakfast and snacks for the day, but lunch has been consistently boring.

Most days it's been a peanut butter on wheat bread sandwich. Today I mixed it up and ate my sandwich for breakfast and got a slice of pizza for lunch. The pizza is about the only thing that's worth making the trip to the cafeteria. I gotta figure something else out for lunch. Or limit the peanut butter sandwich to once a week.

Early to Bed

I've been meaning to go to bed early just about every night this week, but it hasn't worked out. I've had errands to run most nights, and I've been to the grocery store way too many times.
The end. I literally fell asleep while writing the above.

Weather You Like It or Not

I know the low tonight is supposed to be in the 40's but I refuse to turn my heat on in September. Tomorrow, I might cave.

Office Police

It was very tense at work, and it all started with me getting coffee. Apparently, not all coffeemakers are created equal. Some are only for visitors, but others can only be used when no one is around. Ditto for the water machine.

I know all offices have quirks, but today was a little ridiculous.

Fall Television

I'm still trying to decide what shows I'm going to be watching this fall. I wish I knew what shows aren't available online or on demand because then I would watch them live or TiVo them. In my opinion, all shows should be available both places. Fox and ABC seem to be the main problems.

Seeing Double

I just started using some checks that were ordered from my bank back in January. I didn't want to order checks from my bank, but since my account comes with free checks, why wouldn't I? For some reason the teller ordered duplicate checks, which she charged me for, even though I started the conversation, "how do I order free checks for my account?" When I called to complain, I told the customer service rep that not only did I not order duplicate checks but that I didn't like duplicate checks. They credited my account and told me to keep the checks and try them out.

I don't like them.

I use checks very infrequently so I guess I'll live with them.

Shopping While Hungry

Today was one of those times when I just couldn't decide what to have for dinner. I browsed through the takeout menus in my Panshel folder and couldn't decide what to get. I thought about ordering Saag Paneer from an Indian restaurant and also thought about getting takeaway from somewhere that has a really good spinach side dish. Then I thought maybe a Dewey's pizza with half Socrates revenge or maybe a calzone with spinach and mushrooms. I finally decided to go to the grocery store and only then did it dawn on me that I wanted some spinach. Der!

I got a frozen pizza to go with my spinach.

Garage Sale-ing

Some of the houses on my street are having what's advertised as a "block" garage sale. I'm scouring my basement for things to sell, but I don't have a ton of junk to move. I got rid of a lot of stuff the last time Easter Seals or one of the vet associations was doing a drive where they pick-up donations from your front porch. I sold most of my junk at my last garage sale three years ago, and I donated what didn't sell to the APL's garage sale.

So far I've collected a bunch of X-Mas decorations, some drinking glasses, a bike, some incense burners and office supplies. If nothing sells I'll probably just put it back in the basement.

The organizer (and apparent money collector) told us it's supposed to rain tomorrow. I guess I'll have a true garage sale if it does. The sale's from 9:00AM to 5:00PM but I might only do from 9-12. But if it's raining, I might skip the football game I'm supposed to go to at 1. I'm not sure which would be worse a rainy football game or a rainy garage sale.

Oil Can What?

My car burns through a lot of oil. I checked it this evening knowing it would need some oil since I hadn't checked it for at least a few weeks. For some reason, I opened the cap where you put the oil in (if there's a proper name for that I don't know it) before I took out the dipstick to check the oil level. I set the cap on the engine like I always do, but this time the cap rolled down through the spaces of the engine and disappeared. I couldn't see it's final resting place so I decided to fill the oil before dealing with the missing cap.

At first I thought it might have fallen through to the ground. But, that's what would have happened before I replaced the underpan. Since that part is brand new and in place it caught the cap. Once I realized where the cap should be it was easy to find. I grabbed my long-handled kitchen tongs and retrieved it on the second try.

Two things occurred to me: A) I can't believe I've never dropped the cap in the engine before today and 2) I can't believe I actually got the cap out of the space where it fell.

Believe It or Don't

I've been cooking a lot in my time off, and I like to think I've gotten more efficient at actually preparing meals. Today was my first attempt to make a real dinner after working eight hours. I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and a salad. I had all of the ingredients except crackers/breadcrumbs for the meatloaf, and I went to the grocery store with the intention of buying one of those and instant mashed potatoes to use up the milk in my fridge. I couldn't find the fake potatoes and real ones were on sale so I made the mashed potatoes from scratch. Dinner was done at a reasonable time so I might try doing it again sometime. I made enough for two dinners but I might have enough for a sandwich for Friday's lunch.

Side story
When I got home from the store, I noticed that the crackers I bought had a sell by date of September 19. I tasted one and it wasn't the best saltine I ever had, but I've eaten worse. I used it in the meatloaf anyway and it turned out fine. I did return the box to the store the next day, though.

About Tree Fiddy

It's a good thing I only have one bill due this week because I let my bank account balance get very low. I'm waiting for a check and two direct deposits, which are all late in arriving. If something does show up tomorrow, I'll have to make some phone calls. This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't worked on Friday.

High Wireless

I figured out how to log on to the wireless network at work, but it's a hassle. As long as I'm actively browsing I stay logged-in, but if my iPod goes dark I have to type my user name and password again.
Also, my cell phone gets terrible reception.

Bejeweled

I've decided that I need to wear more jewelry. I wear earrings almost every time I step out of the house, but I don't wear rings or necklaces that often. I almost never wear bracelets or pins.

I think part of the problem is that I don't have a great system for my jewelry. I have no fewer than eight boxes to store my wares. My rings have their own (1) box made especially for rings. I have a little (2) box for hoop earrings, which I'm terrible about remembering to use -- the hoops hang out on my bedside table and bathroom windowsill a lot. I have a quilted pink (3) box for the other earrings that has no rhyme or reason.

A slightly larger quilted pink (4) box holds my necklaces. It's a terrible place to store them. I have some other necklaces in my childhood jewelry (5) box and my Joy Mangano roly kit jewelry storage system. Both roly kit (6-7) boxes have an odd assortment of jewelry, really --watches, gumball machine rings, odd-shaped pieces, etc. I think the little one holds the few bracelets I own. My childhood box holds old jewelry, broken jewelry and stuff I don't wear but can't bear to throw out. I have a (8) box devoted almost exclusively to brooches and pins.

I might get a big box to hold it all. I have a feeling I'd still use at least one of these old boxes. If my jewelry was well-organized would I wear it more often?

Dyeing to Fit In

I meant to get up early yesterday before work to dye my hair, but I didn't. But even if I gave myself an extra hour, I might have been late anyway so it's probably a good thing I waited.

I took care of it this morning. Now my hair is shiny but not glistening with grays. I might have mentioned this before (I'm too lazy to search the blog) but Clairol told me that most women start to go gray at my age. HA! I guess my hair is just mature since I'm so very gray.

Working 9 2 5

I ran into some colleagues that I haven't seen in about a year and not one commented on how long my hair is. Maybe they didn't want to also point out my roots.
I did get complimented on my outfit. At least I think I did. She said, "I like your outfit. It looks comfortable."

Thursday Doesn't Even Start

I stocked up on some healthy foods today since I've had a few too many processed foods in the last few days. I can always tell when I've had too much -- my heart races, my face gets red, etc.

Water, Water Everywhere

I went water heater shopping today. Technically, I shopped yesterday since I comparison shopped online. I went to two big box stores and finally settled on the plumber who lives down the street who gave me a quote way back last December. His price today was surprisingly lower than his quote nine months ago.

In between shopping and the plumber coming over, I decided to clean my basement. I knew I wouldn't get the whole thing done, but I accomplished my goal of sweeping and shop vac-ing the first room. I don't think it's been cleaned like that since my sister and I cleared all the crap out of it when we moved in in 2001.

About a third of the floor got wet on Friday when the tank sprung its leak. Nearly all of it dried by yesterday. Somehow, when the plumber moved and drained it today a lot of the remaining water spilled out onto the floor and not into the basement drain. Close to half of the floor got wet so the dehumidifier is going to be working overtime for at least another few days. I won't know whether I have to clean the floor again until it dries.

Oh, and while I was cleaning I found one dollar in change. How weird is it that I found exactly $1 (three quarters, two dimes and five pennies). Most of it was under the dryer. I wonder if it fell out of clothes that were drying?

Good News

I got some job news today that sounds promising. Actually, the first part of the news happened on Friday and the next part of the news will happen tomorrow, I hope.

Now I wait.

V05

I'm experimenting with some old school hair product. I think they still make it anyway-I'll have to check next time I'm in the hair product aisle. On Saturday, I put some V05 in my towel-dried hair and let it air dry. It looked pretty good for not really trying. Today I tried it on mostly dry hair with so so results.
I was using the "hair dressing" made for gray and silver hair. I don't think the regular stuff is much different, but I bet it's not purple.

Sunday BBQ

We had an imprompu barbecue tonight. Nothing fancy just burgers and stuff. I didn't make any desserts for it, which was a little weird. But, there were waffles so we got some ice cream and raspberries to go with them. I think most people ate the cookies that I made on Friday. Or maybe the muffins I made on Saturday. More people should have had ice cream because it was Tofts. I think people skipped it because we had Mr. Softie earlier.

It was a good food day.

Worn Out

I was watching Ugly Betty on Thursday night when my DVD player started going on the fritz. First, the disc froze and the blue lights on the front of the player started flashing in a disturbing way. I took out the disc and cleaned it, even though I had just cleaned it before popping it in the player. I turned off the player and unplugged it to see if that would help. When I was unplugging the machine, I swear I smelled bacon. That's never a good sign around electronics.

I turned the DVD player back on and loaded the same disc, but the player couldn't read the disc. I tried another one and it couldn't be read. I unplugged the player and let it rest.

I tried again yesterday and tonight, but the player is definitely dead. When I plugged it in, the front lights came on but nothing else seems to work. I can't turn it on, open it or get any of the buttons on the remote to work.

At least I have my laptop and my PlayStation 2 as backups. I don't have to stick with my library AV room ban!

Sooner or Later

After my shower this morning, I heard a hissing sound coming from the basement. I got downstairs to find my hot water heater had sprung a serious leak. Water was on the floor and streaming out of the bottom of the hot water heater. I turned off the water and the gas supplies and cranked up the dehumidifier. Once the water heater stopped leaking, there wasn't that much water on the floor -- not 40 gallons, for sure. I guess I was lucky that the big leak happened right after I exhausted most of the hot water in the shower. Since some of the water on the floor found its way to the drain, I'm going to wait and see if the basement dries up without my active participation.

It's time to get a new water heater. The thing's been leaking a little for a long time so this wasn't a surprise. For now, I'll have to heat water in the kettle. At least I can use the shop vac in the basement without fear of blowing out the water heater's pilot light. I've been meaning to do that for a long time.

TV on DVD

Here's a list of the television shows that I've been watching on DVD. This list is nothing compared to the movie list, but I'll leave that for another day.

Extras, Seasons 1 and 2 and Series Finale
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seasons 5 and 6
The Tudors, Seasons 1 and 2
Hustle, Seasons 1, 2
Freaks and Geeks
Torchwood, Seasons 1 and 2
Jekyll
Eleventh Hour (the one with Patrick Stewart)
Ugly Betty, Seasons 1 and 2

Fly, Fly Away

I keep seeing these little flies around my kitchen. Other than not leaving fruit on the counter, what am I supposed to do to avoid these stupid flies? I hope they're seasonal. I also see them when I have my computer on at night. So they're attracted to food and light?

I hate 'em!

Only Bores Tell People Their Dreams

I fell asleep watching tv and updating this blog last night and woke up around 4 AM. I went to bed but woke up around 6:30 to take the garbage out and pretty much stayed up since then. My cold is nearly full-blown, and the lack of sleep probably isn't helping with my recovery. I got a few winks in this afternoon, but the ring of the phone woke me up more than once.

I have nothing to say about dreams. The title is a quote from a movie I'm watching. I actually like hearing people's dreams as long as they don't talk about them for more than a few minutes. Twenty minute dream synopses can be boring.

Sniffling

I think I caught a cold. My throat was a little sore this morning, and I've had a few sneezing fits today. But what's really annoying is the constant sniffling that's been going on all day.
I know a few people with or just getting over a cold. I don't know who to blame.

Two For The Show

My arms, especially my left arm, are aching from carrying around two different 20+ pound babies two nights this weekend. It didn't dawn on me when I agreed to watch these kids that I would be doing nearly back to back babysitting of children that aren't independent walkers.

Both boys are such good kids. I've had to watch nightmare children in the past, and I'm so glad these kids are good baby guys.

Fresh Eyes

I made chocolate chip cookies for the block party tonight. This is the first time all of these relative strangers have had my baking so I was anxious to hear what, if anything, people would say. I sometimes feel like my reputation precedes me when I make cookies or cakes and that people compliment me before they taste anything. Or that people I know will tell me something is good whether it is or not.
Although now that I think about it, why wouldn't these people lie to me? The compliments seemed genuine, but there are a lot of theatrical people on my block so maybe I wouldn't know if they were lying. I've lost the abilty to tell whether the cookies are any good. I like them straight from the oven and less and less as the days pass. I've also been making them without wheat flour so they taste off to me. I should buy some wheat flour.

Full TiVo

I'm not sure how it happened again, but my TiVo is full. I have 0 deleted programs. There are a lot of Friday night shows that get recorded, so that's part of the problem -- although two of them weren't on tonight so that can't be the only problem. I recorded a few movies, which is another part of the problem.

It's just unbelievable because I had 17 deleted programs earlier in the week. I must not have watched enough tv this week.

This simple solution would be to get a bigger TiVo. I'd love an HD TiVo.

Sloppy Joes

I'd say I was about halfway done with my office reorganization. I can only work on it for an hour or so at a time because it's too overwhelming. I'm doing my darnedest to purge as much as I can. The biggest problem is that my office has become a repository for miscellaneous papers, toys and other stuff over the years. It's frustrating, but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.

No News is Good News

I finally got through all of the newspapers that I had in a pile in my living room with the exception of those sections I saved so I could cut an article or two out of them. I'm going to have to go through that bunch next.

It was a perpetual pile that grew and shrank as I added new unread papers or I read and/or flipped through the old ones. I never thought I'd read the whole stack. It's nice to have the corner in front of my fireplace bare again.

Never Trust a Junkie

I totally broke my ban on going into the AV room at the library. I went to pick up a book (and DVD) I reserved and the reserved shelves are so close to the AV room that I couldn't resist. I can't help that I'm a movie junkie and that there are so many movies that I need to see. I guess I don't "need" to see them, but I want to see them.

I can stop at any time.

Sinking Feeling

My kitchen sink has been draining slowly for a while now and has a stopper that has been stuck in it for years. Today it seems about 90 percent clogged so I put some drain cleaner in it. I'm using a bacterial drain cleaner that usually needs two applications so I'll have to see whether it clears. I'll probably never get the stopper unstuck, and I'm sure it's not helping with the slow draining issue.

I hope I won't have to call a plumber. I haven't had the best luck with plumbers.

SKP

My Godson was baptized today so I'm officially a Godmother for the second time. I didn't have to do to much at the ceremony. I thought I'd get to hold him during the whole thing, but I didn't.

I made some Cut-Out Shortbread Cookies for the party, but I didn't get a picture of them. Some were round and some were shaped like crosses. They were frosted white and sprinkled with pastel non-pareils. They seemed appropriate for a Christening.

HD Horror

I was watching tv today without my TiVo. I don't do that too often, but to see my HD channels in true HD I have to watch the live feed from the cable box to the tv. There is really a discernible difference between the non-HD and the HD channels. Recently, I've been trying to watch shows that are in 1080i resolution live or on my cable company's "On Demand" channels. Some shows that are broadcast in 1080i are of a lesser quality on demand. But for the most part, they still look better than the TiVo quality so it's worth the time and/or wait.
HD can be a little scary sometimes, like when there are close-ups of people's faces. The food network might want to invest in some better makeup since they love to show close-ups. The food looks great but the show hosts look horrible.

Can You Stand The Rain?

I had to get up early today to take my car into the shop for two reasons: one of my headlights was burned out and the underpan, also known as a splash guard, was damaged beyond repair. They changed the light bulb and ordered the part.
The underpan is just a big piece of plastic that sits under the engine. I first learned of its existence years ago when it fell off and one of the guys who was painting my house at the time reattached it with twist-ties since I didn't have the right size screws. My shop reattached it soon after, and I didn't think about it again until it started falling apart on my way to Marblehead. The underpan sagged for about a week before it cracked last Saturday and scraped the ground as I drove. The whole thing's been removed now, but I'll feel better when the new one is attached and my engine isn't exposed.

Dwindling Supplies

I keep using up stuff this week. Today I ran out of shampoo. Monday I ran out of contact lens solution. Sunday I ran out of trash bags and cat litter.

How does a person run out of so many odd things at about the same time? And why didn't I see it coming?

Too Early

I woke up this morning after a lot of interrupted sleep. Last night I fell asleep watching tv, woke up for a few hours, fell asleep again, woke up again very groggy and went back to sleep. By the time I woke up for good, it had been about 12 hours since I first fell asleep. This isn't so unusual except for the 12 hours part.

It's weird to get a lot of sleep even if it was interrupted. I don't think I had any coffee yesterday. Could that be why I was so tired?

Deep-Fried Goodies Part II

I went to Melt today and ordered a sandwich I've had my eye on since it was recently added to the menu. The Big Popper is filled with the ingredients of jalapeño poppers but not really. It has herb cream cheese, cheddar cheese, fresh jalapeños and the whole thing is beer battered and fried. It's topped with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and served with a side of mixed berry preserves. The sandwich is graciously cut in three for easier eating. Of course it comes with fries and the weird (and I think inedible) slaw.

The ends of the sandwich are better than the middle since the ratio of peppers to bread/fried breading is lower at the crust. I was shocked to discover the dipping sauce actually made the sandwich better since it is very sweet. It was so good.

I've been meaning to write a proper review of Melt on my main blog, but I never bring my camera when I go. Also, I usually order the sandwich of the month and that would make an odd review to rave about a sandwich that you can't order on a regular basis.

In The Cards

I work under the assumption that I possess certain things. There are things that I use all the time and think I have on hand like when I got to make a cake, I assume that I have sugar in my pantry. Or these might be things that I never use but guess are somewhere around my house, like I assume I have a protractor (although once I looked for one and didn't find it).

Today I was looking for a pack of playing cards. Who doesn't have multiple packs of cards around their house? Apparently me. I looked around my office for a while and finally found an unopened pack in my bedside table. Maybe I assumed I had cards because I play a lot of solitaire... on my iPod.

Fly Away

Is it my imagination or are there a lot of flies buzzing around lately? Perhaps I've been outside too much or too many have found their way into my house, but I seem to be annoyed by flies at an ever increasing rate.

Gee, I Never Noticed

I've been making chocolate chip cookies most of my life. I know the recipe by heart and can generally make a batch in under an hour, including clean-up. I made a few dozen today and as I was double-checking the list of ingredients, something struck me for the first time. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup each of brown and white sugars and 2 1/4 cups flour. The flour is three times the amount of one of the sugars, which means you could use just the 3/4 measuring cup for all of the dry ingredients except for those measured with a teaspoon.
I'm pretty sure I've never figures that out before. Der!

All Shapes and Sizes

I haven't done a lot of baking while it's been hot, but since I got a great recipe for zucchini bread, I've made it four times. Twice I halfed the recipe. Once I used butter instead of oil, which didn't go so well, especially when I tried to use my muffin top pan. Once I made it according to the recipe, but with a handmixer since I wasn't at home.
The first half batch made one loaf. The next batch made one loaf and a dozen muffins. The next batch made a dozen muffins and six muffin tops. The last half batch, which I made today, made six jumbo muffins. It might be the last zucchini baked goods of the summer.

Last Visit to the AV Room

I finally ran out of reserved movies at the library. Over the last few months I've checked out a lot of movies, most of which I reserved in advance so all I had to do was run in and get my stack of movies and leave. It was clean and easy, but I think I've been abusing my reservation rights. The last time I picked up a reserved movie I got some others that I didn't watch in a timely manner. I think August is too busy.
So today I returned four movies and checked out eight. These will be the last movies I check out for a while. From now on books only!

Roomba for One More, Honey

I broke my Roomba ban yesterday and today because it was too hot to sweep or vacuum. The Roomba spent most of yesterday charging, but I ran it in the dining room last night. Today I Roombaed the living room, kitchen, hallway and guest room. I charged it before each room because I hate when it quits before the room is done. Then when you rerun it, it does the whole room again so there is no point running it in the first place.

The only room left to Roomba is the game room since the rest aren't iRobot friendly -- too many obstacles. I might run it on the third floor one of these days to see how it does on carpet.

Westside, Schmestside

I was at Dewey's in Cleveland Heights today, which made me remember the one time I was at Dewey's in Lakewood. The pizza selections were identical, but the pop selection was different because on the eastside you can order red creme soda, but on the westside you can't. Why? Because they have Mr. Pibb instead.

It also reminded me of the last time I was at the Regal at Crocker Park and ordered a Cherry Coke. I was told that they didn't have Cherry Coke but they did have Mr. Pibb.

Is there some obsession with Mr. Pibb of which I'm not aware? I never drank the stuff when I lived in either Lakewood or Westlake, and I'm not starting now.

Pretty Produce

I got these mini sweet peppers and heirloom tomatoes at a farm stand/market. On the left is a persimmon tomato and on the right are some green zebra tomatoes. The peppers in between were just small yellow, orange and red peppers.

I feel comfortable shopping at these type of produce markets. It's sort of halfway between the chaos of the unregulated farmers market and the order of the sterile grocery store.

iPod Messaging

Testing to see if I can post something on here from my iPod touch. I bet it looks weird on a computer screen.
Here goes nothing.

Safety School

On the way back from Kelleys Island, the ferry was much less crowded than the one going over. Also, since we loaded on the opposite side of the boat, I had a better view to notice that the second level was a seating area for the pedestrians who didn't have cars to sit in. These were posted on the wall of the tiny room.

Luckily, I didn't have to follow these instructions or try to find the life preservers.

Kelleys Island

Kelleys Island is the largest freshwater American island in Lake Erie. My friends rented a house on the island for a week and generously let me spend some time there with them. I had planned to take the boat from Sandusky but wound up taking the Kelley's Island Ferry from Marblehead. It was a longer drive on land but a smoother, cheaper and slower (boat speed not time) trip on the water. Also, the ferry runs every half hour so it was convenient to get to the island without being tied to an infrequent schedule.

On the ride over, I followed the crowd and stood next to the cars loaded onto the ferry for the duration of trip. I was surprised that so many people got out of their cars and started their weekend drinking on the morning ferry. I guess that's island culture for you. I saw some beers and mixed drinks being enjoyed on the 20 minute ride. Nothing like cracking open a bottle of Crown Royal before lunch on a Friday. Maybe the Crown Royal was lunch.

Wish you were here!

Godson Duty

I've been watching my Godson about once a month since he was around four months old. He's a very well-behaved kid, and I like taking care of him. We spent a long time together today since his parents needed to be out of the house earlier than their typical time. We did the usual: read books, sang songs, played with toys, watched television, had some dinner and just relaxed on the sun porch.

I guess I should call him my Godson-to-be since he won't officially be my Godson until he's actually christened. Eh, close enough.

Beer Bread

I "made" this bread today, but it's from a mix. I'm not the biggest fan of "boxed" or "bagged" just add water/milk/eggs type of products. And yes, I have been known to shame people into not eating that obscene "log" of cookie dough. But, this was a gift from somewhere in New England, and it reminded me of the beer breads of old that I would bake before I was old enough to buy beer. Not that I bought the beer used in this bread. It was also a gift.

Halves on a Pie

There's a place near me that has a "Tasty Deal" on Tuesdays and Wednesdays -- a large pizza with unlimited toppings for $5.50. They have the usual offerings, but they also have "world" pizzas with fancy toppings like hummus and tandoori chicken. It's a good deal that I've taken advantage of exactly once.

I didn't remember why until today when I called and got put on hold for a few minutes. When the punk kid remembered to picked up the line, he (accidentally?) hung up on me. I guess I could have called back and joined the new queue, but I didn't. I think I'll stick with Dewey's.

Open Letter to Bad Drivers

To Whom It May Concern:

On my way home this afternoon, I saw three non-working traffic lights. As I approached the first, I slowed down and noticed that the other cars going in my direction continued through the intersection as if the light was working and green. Similarly, the cars in opposing traffic did the same. There were no cars on the side streets, but I stopped at the intersection, looked both ways and continued on.

At the second intersection, there was a car at the side street on my left. Although I treated the light as a four-way stop, only a few of the other cars did the same.

At the third intersection, most of the cars obeyed the correct traffic rule, but a few didn't. This was the busiest of the three intersections and would have benefited the most from licensed drivers acknowledging the rules of the road.

I can't help but wonder whether people fail to follow the safety rules because they know the rules aren't being enforced or because they are selfish? Are they thinking, "can't catch me" or "screw you guys"? Maybe both?

Love, Deitri
P.S. It would be nice if everyone also stopped for pedestrians in marked crosswalks. The last time I crossed at a crosswalk almost every car, including a police car, drove right through.

Not Again!

I saw an ant in the bathroom.


Again.


Tonight.


I have to work, or I'd call Terminix first thing tomorrow. I'll have to call Tuesday, for sure. Or maybe it was a rogue ant. I might wait and see if there are more tomorrow.

I Heart Vintage Ohio

Free peach from the Farm Bureau.

Tuppence a Bag

I won tickets to the performance of Mary Poppins tonight. I liked the stage show more than the movie, but then the movie is kind of annoying, isn't it?

The big songs were very big, but the rest was kind of dull. But the choreography was outstanding throughout. Better than most I've seen in the theatre. It was so good you might think it was choreographed by Kenny Ortega.

Swept Away

I've decided to use my broom more this summer since my electric bill was higher than it should be, and I blame my roomba since it takes forever to charge. I guess it could have something to do with running my air conditioner too, but I blame the roomba.

Beetle Street

Here are two of the Beetles that live on my street. There is another that looks remarkably like mine except for the fact that the other one has a squirrel bumper sticker, which I would never have because I hate squirrels. I like seeing the classic and new Bugs together in this picture. If only one was a convertible.

Bunny Watch

Nigel's been spending a lot of time in the window seat of the dining room. I think he's been watching the bunny that hangs around the house.

Baking Fallout

When I bake, I use a lot of equipment. I have three bowls for my KitchenAid mixer so I tend to use one for each thing I make instead of washing the same bowl for each step along the way. I also have three sets of measuring cups and five or six sets of measuring spoons so I can use a different teaspoon for dry ingredients and wet ingredients. I rarely reuse spatulas and mixing bowls either. It's no surprise that I'm always left with a huge clean-up. Almost everything requires handwashing so it takes forever. I love baking, but I hate cleaning-up after.

The last things I baked for a party yesterday were a cake with two kinds of frosting and cookies with yet another type of frosting. Lots o' dishes to do. I think the kitchen will be clean by next weekend.

Shoe and Tell

Some kid spilled cheese dip on my left brown suede sandal today so I sent him to my car to get my beach sandals. I put them on and realized the right one was torn. I wore them for a while but then the bottom fell off my right shoe, and it was unwearable. I was tempted to wear the right brown sandal and the left beach sandal but decided to send the kid back to my car to get my brown flip flops that I keep in the car for pedicures. Really, I should have picked the flip flops in the first place since they matched my outfit, and they are cuter than the beach sandals.

The beach sandals got thrown away. I have to see if the suede ones are salvageable tomorrow. I rinsed the cheese off but am not sure the suede survived the assault.

Summer Baking

I've noticed that baking with butter and shortening is easier when the weather isn't humid and hot. Baking with oil doesn't seem to be affected by the weather as much.

I think I need to learn more about the science behind baking.

My Flower is Ephemeral

My rose bushes have begun blooming again. Here is the latest flower to appear. This picture was taken on Wednesday.

Same bud on Wednesday.

Here's the rose today (far right). It looked pretty for a few hours this morning, but by this afternoon it was past its prime. I should probably pick the two new buds in the back tomorrow if I want to enjoy them in the house instead of in the flowerbed.

Game Room Kitty

Nigel likes to sleep in the game room next to an open window. I think he likes the love seat better without the paisley cover.

Comfortable?

Nigel might be the only one who is truly comfy on the futon that acts as my sofa. Here he's among the Newsweeks.

The Look

Nigel likes to glare at me over his shoulder. I see this face many times a day.

Secret Toy

Nigel has always liked playing with ponytail holders. I try to keep them out of his reach, but he can sniff them out. Once he's done playing with them, he puts them in his food bowl. I'm not sure why.

Burn Notice

I do a lot of baking so I'm careful around hot surfaces. I have potholders and oven mitts that I use regularly. Also, I'm quick to snap back if I accidentally brush something hot. I work around the oven's inherent risks. I don't get burned that often.

Today I got an unexpected burn on the tip of my right ring finger. But not from the oven. From my toaster.

All I was doing at the time I got burned was taking the toast out of the toaster while not looking. I guess my finger got too close to the metal that is stupidly on the top of the toaster. Maybe I should invest in some toaster tongs to prevent future injury.

iProblem

My poor radio tuner that enables me to listen to my iPod Touch in my car has been dying a slow death. I don't abuse it or manhandle it, but my general use has worn down the plastic and exposed and cut the wires contained in the housing.

First, the charger stopped working, which was really inconvenient if I wanted to listen to my music but forgot to charge my iPod. Now, the reception is starting to get bad. It sounds static-y most of the time. Sometimes if I twist the wire correctly it sounds fine. Sometimes it helps to hold the wires and sometimes it helps to let them go. It's a game I don't like playing, but I suffer through it because it's better than listening to the radio.

Cooking Mama

I've been doing a lot of home cooking lately. Not just casseroles and Hamburger Helper. And not just burgers and spaghetti. Or grilled cheese.

The most important ingredient in my cooking odyssey is onion. It's an integral part of a lot of recipes, but it's not exactly user-friendly. I still don't like chopping or cooking them, but I'm not afraid of onions anymore. After making quite a few dishes with onions, I can't deny their worth.

I'm trying to be a more patient cook since things tend to take longer than I think they should. I still prefer using the oven to the stove top, but I'm getting more comfortable everyday.

I might still have cereal for dinner on occasion, but it'll be the exception and not the norm.

Halfway to Done

I was looking around my house today and realized I have a lot of projects that have been started and abandoned. For instance, I moved the black bookshelf from my office to the spare room, but haven't moved the small bookshelf into my office from the spare room. I set up my printer but haven't decided where its permanent home should be so it's sitting in the living room. My dining room table is partially cleared off. The game room is 90% finished. The spare room needs pictures hung on the walls. My laundry is cleaned but not folded or put away. The list goes on.

Maybe that's the solution. I should make a to-do list and tackle one project everyday. Knowing me, I wouldn't even finish writing the list.

Movie Update

I'm way behind on my summer movies. I've seen Wolverine, Star Trek, Night at the Museum, Up, Year One and Food Inc. I should have seen 13 movies by this time! I'll be halfway there if I see Harry Potter on Saturday.

Actually, I just looked at the list of summer releases and the only one I really want to see in theaters still is Transformers 2.

Squashed

I got some squash at the farmers' market today. Clockwise from top left are pattypan squash, spaghetti squash, yellow squash, and green and yellow zucchinis. The green zucchini was from the local grocery store and was Ohio grown, so I'm counting it.

With Love

I finally setup the printer/scanner/fax that I got for Christmas so that it would work with my laptop. Here is the first photo I scanned. It's of my 10th birthday cake that I made for myself. I think my mom and sisters might have helped make the cake. My mom definitely turned on the oven because I never did that. The stove at our old house was the type where you first turned on the gas and then lit the pilot(?) with a match.

If I remember correctly, it was Special Birthday Cake with pudding frosting. The swirls were supposed to be lavender or purple, but the color came out grayish. The "top" of the cake (the elevated circle inside of the candles) was made in an easy bake oven pan.

It's a terrible photo of an ugly cake. I bake delicious cakes, but I'm still not much of a decorator.

Stranger

Metamorphosis

My feet have needed professional care since last fall. Not too long ago, I tried to give myself a pedicure with mixed results. My feet looked good and my toes looked okay, but overall it was not great. They looked good enough to wear sandals, which was all I cared about.

I don't have a regular pedicurist since my last one left the salon I frequented, and I didn't follow her to her new salon. I've tried a couple of other places but haven't made a commitment yet.

Yesterday, I decided to see if I could schedule an appointment for today and first called a spa near my house where I had a good experience last year. Luckily, I got an appointment this morning but it was for an "express pedicure" where they take care of your toes but not really the rest of your feet. I've been told that my feet aren't bad so I guess I can do without the filing and massaging and still look good.

Come Clean

I was talking to a friend of mine about my hair and I told her I think I wash it too frequently. I try to wash it every other day, but on the days where I don't wash my hair it usually looks like I didn't wash it. I've tried to partially wash it (roots only) but the shampoo works its way to the majority of my hair anyway.

My friend suggested that I try just rinsing it and then conditioning since that's what she does.

I tried it and my hair looks like I put too much product in it. It looks dull yet kinda dirty. It looks like I got caught in the rain.

I don't think I'll do that again.

Sweet Sixteen

This is the third day in a row where I've had to do a lot of writing. Not typing or composing, but physically putting a pen in my hand and writing. My hand is a little sore.

I filled pages and pages with my chicken scratch. Mostly, I wrote the date.

So Yesterday

Yesterday, I thought something was different at the work cafeteria and today I confirmed my suspicion. They raised the prices!

I don't know when the mark-ups started or why some foods got a small increase (soup from $2.00 to $2.10) and others got a big bump (muffin from $1.05 to $1.40). I do know it's still less expensive than most cafeterias and way cheaper than going to the Galleria. Plus it's pretty good. If only they were serving chicken tortilla soup this week.

Workin' It Out

I was supposed to get to work at 8:45 this morning so I planned on leaving my house at 8:00 AM. I ended up leaving at 8:10, but had an easy commute and parked my car at about 8:35. The walk from the parking lot should take ten minutes at the most, but to my horror, the elevator in the parking garage wasn't working. I had to walk up four flights of stairs!

I made it to the office at 8:46 AM on my clock, which is probably at least one minute fast. The elevator was working when I left, so I hope this was a one-shot problem.

Hit The Curb

That's 11 phone books on the curb for recycling. I found the string and tied them up. I still have four books that I'll rarely, if ever, use.

Timing Issues

Lately, I've been having problems with setting this blog to update. If I set it to post in the future, I have to go back in and publish the post again. If I set it to post in the past, it usually works.

Thistle Never Do

I have a few thistle plants that I never pulled when they were little. I guess I assumed the guy who tends my yard would chop them, but he never did. This one is the tallest. I probably should get rid of them before they do more damage.

Nearly Paperless

I finally gave up on thinking I could read the newspaper everyday so I cancelled all but Sundays. And Wednesdays since they're free.

The day after I changed my subscription, I got a call from one of the newspaper's telemarketers. He spoke very fast and said that I could get a discount on seven day a week delivery, and he just had to confirm my address.

Telemarketer: Are you still at ____ Road?
Me: Yes.
TM: Okay, thank you. Goodbye.
Me: Wait, why did you want to confirm my address? To give me a discount?
TM: Yes. $3.50 for daily delivery.
Me: I'm not interested in daily delivery, in fact, I just cancelled daily delivery. Maybe your records haven't been changed.
TM: My records show you have a Sundays and Wednesdays subscription.
Me: I just changed it yesterday from daily delivery. I don't want daily delivery so that's why I changed it. Yesterday.
TM: Okay, thank you. Goodbye.
Me: Wait, so you didn't change my subscription?
TM: That's correct.
Me: Good. Thank you.
*click*

Shelf It

My house has a lot of shelves. There are five in my living room, which does not include the mantel over the fireplace. There are eight in the dining room behind glass doors. There are around 10 in the game room. There are eight in my office.

These shelves were obviously meant to display things and lord knows I have a lot of crap to display but I have a hard time committing to something. For instance, I meant to rotate displays on my mantel yet the Actos buddies are still there.

I Mint To Do That

I was looking in my pantry for some tea because I was too lazy to grind my usual Kona beans for coffee, and I noticed that I have four kinds of mint tea. Two kinds of peppermint, one spearmint and peppermint and one just called mint.

The strange thing is that I don't particularly like mint tea. It's okay, but I prefer teas that blend mint with something else, like Tension Tamer. I think I've been drinking around the mint teas and that's why I have so many. I didn't buy half of them anyway.

Steel

I found out today that I can recycle steel cans on the curb on trash day. I wondered whether I could since other cities, like Lakewood and Lorain, allow their residents to do so.

I don't know how new this policy is since my city seems to change the rules every time I look them up. I might have missed it all the other times, but I doubt it. I'm pretty sure it used to say aluminum cans only.

String

A while ago, I was looking through a box of old stuff for a protractor. There was no protractor, but I did find some string. I thought it would come in handy for recycling paper so I took it out of its box, out of my office and downstairs.

Now, it's lost.

I was looking for it yesterday and today in order to bind at least half of the phone books I have to set on the curb. Maybe I'll find it by next week.