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.