Mimi of the Mountains

Wooops!

2011-03-05T12:13:00.002-05:00

Where did February go? Ummmmm, sad to admit this, but for much of it I was locked out of my computer. Yeah. Forgot the login password. It was weird...I used the password successfully several times then just couldn't get it right after that. Luckily I had my netbook, but w/ the tiny screen it wasn't as easy to blog and read blogs, and I just didn't seem to want to spend my time on it. Anyhoo, now I'm back in action, with a (startlingly) increased awareness of how easy it is to break into computers once you have the right tool. Not. Very. Reassuring. But at least I'm blogging again.

Updates
Fish at work: 0 (my office at the new building is too small for such frivolities)
Fish returned to pet store to find a new home: 1 (I resisted the urge to go back and visit him)
Fish at home: 1 (the Malawi Auratus Ciclid named Daisy...very aggressive!)
Fish up for adoption from home tank: 1 (the tank is too small for her, and I'm not in a position to get a bigger tank just now)

Gardening: In the planning stage, considering making cucumbers, jalapeños, and herbs my primary crops, along with some Texas wildflowers and catnip for Miss Mimi. Two of my large pots exploded during the coldish TN winter...ooops...I've only gardened in Texas and with plastic pots so I didn't see this coming. Needless to say, new pots are on the horizon.

Cooking: I received the cookbook "Jamie's Food Revolution" as a birthday gift from my brother and sister-in-law (thanks Bill and Jodi!), and have marked several recipes for immediate use. I'll keep you posted on how they turn out. It's a great tool for someone who has never cooked but wants to learn how to make real food.

I guess that's about it for now. I finally got two chairs for the living room, so when I get that set up and make a few other changes I might post a reveal photo. Maybe. We'll see.

Secret hobby

2011-01-23T22:04:00.002-05:00

Counting the number of husbands waiting in the car outside Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts. Record count to-date: 4.

Puerto Rico trip photos, part 2

2011-01-17T19:41:00.010-05:00

These photos are from our boat trip to the Island of Culebra, off the Eastern coast of Puerto Rico. The water wasn't as clear as it normally might be due to unusually large waves churning up a lot of sand. It was still just gorgeous.

Close up of the lovely home pictured above. It's mine when I make my first....I don't know, 5 million? 10 million? Not sure what it'd cost, but I think a lot! Don't worry, I'll still invite you over, even when I'm living large.

This is walking up to Flamenco Beach. It was a bit cloudy, but still quite nice.

If you can see in the background, the red flag on the beach means no swimming due to the large waves.

At first this sign made me laugh, then I felt guilty for laughing. Let me clarify: cartoon sign guy scampering up the mountain = funny; Tsunami in real life = devastation that I would never make fun of.

There are more don't's than do's at the beach in Puerto Rico!

Puerto Rico trip photos, part 1

2011-01-05T21:53:00.015-05:00

Don't be scared, this isn't a twenty-part series with 500 photos each, just a handful of shots that I thought were among the better ones. Bear in mind I'm not a professional, and haven't even attempted photoshop magic yet.

Photos from around Old San Juan

Views walking towards Castillo San Felipe del Morro.

Sidewalk with palms.

Outside the fort, which happened to be closed for Christmas (we presumed). This was a lookout to protect Spanish interests in the Caribbean, if I understood correctly.

View from El Morro down the coast to another fort (not sure which one).

Lots of great texture at the fort!

Stunning coast - I can only imagine what a sunny day looks like here.

Cemetery near the fort.

And now, for the finale (drumroll, please), my favorite photo of the day:

I need to photoshop it and see what happens. I'd like to try it in sepia tone, though I'm not sure there's enough contrast to make it worth it. Just be glad this photo isn't scratch and sniff, though...not sure what gets into people, but the isolation of the little lookout combined with a lack of public restrooms adds up to stink. Seriously.

To relieve your suspense

2011-01-02T17:25:00.002-05:00

He is Hector "Macho" Camacho!

Triumphant return to blogging and a Puerto Rican legend

2011-01-01T15:38:00.007-05:00

As far as I'm concerned, the three people who still check my blog are fantastically patient and I hope to reward their faith in me with some fantastic blogging in the weeks to come. To steal the classic Bartles and James line, thank you for your support.

Happily I have internet at home again, so blogging regularly (in theory) should not be a problem. Though not specifically a New Year's Resolution, my goal is to blog 3-4 times a week. Everyone cross your fingers that something interesting will happen to me 3-4 times a week, otherwise you'll get updates on the fish count (steady at two) and other such mundane reports.

Now onto more interesting business! Over Christmas I had the opportunity to travel to Puerto Rico with Sujan and some friends, and on Christmas day we wandered into La Bombonera, a famous little diner that serves coffee and Mallorcas in Old San Juan. We intended to only have coffee as we had just eaten lunch, but you-know-who had just arrived in Puerto Rico and hadn't adjusted to the Puerto Rican accent yet, so when the waiter took our coffee order and ended it by asking if we wanted 4 mallorcas, you-know-who said, "Sí," thinking he was asking if we wanted large cups of coffee. Well, out come 4 large pastries with the coffee. You-know-who was reminded of many fond adventures in Asia when she had no idea what was going on half the time, and ordering at restaurants was an adventure. Anywho...

So we were sitting at our table enjoying the coffee, when a man walked in and people started asking him for photos. Our group had no idea who he was, but he certainly looked eccentric wearing all black and throwing his head waaaaaay back to drink his can of Coke, and based on the reactions of others he seemed to be rather famous.He ordered lunch and sat very near our table. The guy on the other side of him was obviously taking video of him surreptitiously (or so the man thought - buddy, you fooled no one when you turned to your wife and did your "oh, here honey, look at my iPhone pictures that I feel the need to show you just now" act). Not ones to be left out, we also took a few photos with the intention of showing them to our Puerto Rican friends later to find out who it was.Finally he left, and we asked our waiter who it was. It turns out he IS quite famous, and he was recently on the Spanish-channel version of Dancing with the Stars. He is NOT a professional dancer, as evidenced by this video. He's done some jail time, too, apparently. AND he's the 10-time world champion in his sport. Any guesses? No guessing if I already told you who he is.

And by the way, Happy New Year! I hope that 2011 is a blessed year for each of you.

Prepare yourself

2010-12-29T18:10:00.002-05:00

Get ready, I'm going to have a go at blogging again! Stay tuned, and you will soon be rewarded with a "news of the weird" anecdote involving a famous but possibly shady character from the Caribbean Islands! Sadly, he's not a pirate. At least I don't think he is. He did look and act differently than you and I, but not pirate-y different. You can judge for yourself when I return on the first. See you then!

Hiatus

2010-09-11T13:08:00.002-04:00

As you may have noticed, I've not been posting much lately, and it occurred to me I should make some kind of announcement for those who do check back regularly. I decided to give up internet at home, which means I don't check my email very often, much less blog about life. I am not giving up blogging completely, but will be taking a hiatus. Hopefully at some point I'll have internet at home again and be able to restart. I do keep a list of your blogs and try to check them from time to time. See you all after a while.

Recent creations

2010-07-25T08:27:00.007-04:00

Here is one of my honorary nieces, Hannah, wearing her birthday gifts that I finally finished (only two months behind on this one). I've discovered a formula that is apparently fool proof:

little girls + tutus of any kind = smiles.

Summer of borrowed recipes

2010-07-17T16:58:00.002-04:00

Here's another good one, borrowed from here. Have I ever had an original idea? Who needs to when there's the internet?

In the kitchen

2010-07-13T21:20:00.003-04:00

I finally (FINALLY!) completed my nieces' chef hats and aprons. Happy Birthday!

Busy

2010-07-03T19:25:00.010-04:00

Things around here have been busy lately. I've been working to finish some of my long overdue sewing projects, such as birthday gifts for my nieces (ahem, their birthdays are in March). I got that box sent off, finally, and will post pictures of them with their gifts as soon as I see pictures. Some other gifts for my honorary nieces and nephew are in the works to be mailed soon. Also, Krissia's prize from the blog raffle last October (ahem, the backlog is long). In order not to spoil those surprises, I'll just post a few general pictures of recent projects, since many of the recipients read this blog.

First is Miss Mimi, who waits around then jumps on my sewing chair when I get up to iron a seam.Next are some fabric shots - behold, the pretty! I really should have been a seamstress for Lady Gaga...shiny fabrics make me smile. And as a note to those environmentally friendly types, the gold fabric in the middle of the first photo is actually recycled (or is it upcycled?) fabric from a dress I had made during my travels in Asia...now redone as a handbag. The others are tutus.These fabrics were for chef hats and aprons for the nieces.
And these are assorted bags.
So, what projects are you working on?

For the soccer fans out there

2010-06-24T06:51:00.003-04:00

Have a look. Love it!

Ode to pudding

2010-06-18T22:20:00.004-04:00

I think pudding should be a food group. I love pudding. Especially this week, since it's about the only thing that tastes good with my allergies acting up. I made two trips to the store for pudding, and am alternating between chocolate and vanilla. They actually had blueberry muffin-flavored pudding but that didn't sound very good. And there was some green stuff in who-knows-what flavor that I quickly vetoed. I'll stick with vanilla and chocolate. Viva la Snack Pack!

Crafting comedy

2010-06-11T17:22:00.002-04:00

What makes it funny is that it's so true.

CraftyPod Video Blog #4: 7 craft supplies I am no longer allowed to buy from Diane Gilleland on Vimeo.

Dubious distinction

2010-06-09T01:01:00.003-04:00

I actually belong to this special club. Do you have any dubious distinctions?

It's a winner

2010-05-24T21:38:00.002-04:00

So the chimichurri? That recipe hasn't seen it's last days in my household...not by far. Used it to marinate chicken to grill, and it was really good. Allrecipes is my favorite website ever.

Garden love

2010-05-19T22:30:00.006-04:00

Anyone out there garden in small spaces? I have mostly given up on veggies (not because you can't make it work, but due to limited space and having left my large pots in TX), except for two pepper plants, but have several herbs and wild strawberry plants. Rather than starting from seed, I used a credit card reward gift card to buy seedlings from Lowe's. This was a good move for impatient gardeners like me. I already used the flat leaf parsley and oregano to make Chimichurri (it smelled great, and I'll tell you how good it tastes once I cook with it). I think that the herbs I have will keep me cooking all summer. And of course the Cat likes the catnip. A lot. I have more than one catnip plant (there were, like, 3 in the one little container), so if anyone has cats, I'll mail you some 'nip. That probably makes me some kind of cartel in the cat world, but so be it. Here's some photographic evidence...

Make

2010-05-15T11:51:00.003-04:00

With the advent of blogging I've stumbled onto some communities of people who like to make things. Some are into recycling and upcycling (i.e., using junk mail and trash as a canvas to paint on, making kids' clothes out of used men's shirts), some are into more traditional arts such as quilting or canning. I guess making things from scratch and/or repurposing items ARE the traditional arts because it's cheap and what people have always done when they didn't have other options.

At any rate, all of this has me thinking about what things I'd like to make at home vs. buying from the store. Today I made barbecue sauce from ingredients I already had on-hand. Many of those ingredients were processed, but I think I'd like to make more sauces at home from basic staples. As many of you know I've been trying to make gifts and cards at home with little success (basically, a backlog a mile long because apparently I like to THINK about making gifts by hand but don't as much enjoy the actual MAKING of the gifts...I mean, I do, but the fact that I don't spend more time doing it says I must not like it as well as other things that I don't fail to do, like eating). Also, I almost never buy hummus from the store anymore since I like my homemade version so much better. And roasting garlic has become a process that I enjoy and actually look forward to. In addition to sauces, I think it would be cool to bake your own bread. Seems like it might take some practice, but you'd have complete control of the ingredients.

What about you? Do you make anything at home? Leave a comment and tell us what you make!

If it's strawberry season...

2010-05-12T10:10:00.004-04:00

...then you must try it. You won't be sorry. Thanks, Martha Stewart.

Strawberry Tart from Everyday Food Magazine

Blogging = Fail.

2010-05-12T08:59:00.003-04:00

Man! It's already been a month since my last post. Sheesh. I must have been busy, I guess. I did take a trip to Texas to see friends and my grandma. Work has been a steady flow, for the most part. I planted my herb garden. I picked strawberries. I did laundry, lots of times. Maybe you're glad I didn't blog about that last 0ne...I mean, what is there that's new to say about that?

Busted

2010-04-13T22:58:00.003-04:00

So, someone already deduced that these photos are from the same shoot. Argh. Who has time to go in the great outdoors except for walking to and from work? I'll try for more photo shoots this month, or else I'll pull out some vintage outdoorsy pictures from my collection. Until then, enjoy this shot, which is possibly my favorite from the other day.

Where's Buzz-o

2010-04-12T20:06:00.002-04:00

Purple love

2010-04-11T22:46:00.003-04:00

GOC day 3 (oops! missed one day already)

2010-04-10T09:36:00.003-04:00

Challenge fail, right? No seriously, let's not be legalistic about this.

The Great Outdoor Challenge

2010-04-08T21:58:00.003-04:00

One of the blogs I read has issued a challenge, and I have accepted. There's actually more to it, but my personal interpretation of the challenge is that we are supposed to get out and enjoy the out-of-doors everyday this month, and to post a daily picture to document it. I'm a bit late starting, but here's my picture for the day (OK, so actually it's from yesterday, but I had internet issues so it's now today's picture). It's a picture out my front door for the out-door challenge.

News of the weird

2010-04-05T18:32:00.005-04:00

So, I grew an inch. Not OUT. Haha, you're funny. UP. That's right. My height was measured today by two independent sources, and it has been confirmed: I'm 5'9". My height was previously 5 feet 7.75 inches, which I typically rounded up to 5'8" to make it easier for everyone. I either grew, or I have unnecessarily been rounding down all this time.

Obviously this has me (and the medical community) puzzled. I am trying to recall when the last time I was measured might have been. When you get to your adult height, you just kind of assume you know how tall you are and then they take your word for it at the doctor's office instead of measuring you. My best guess is that the last time was in high school or MAYBE college, but at least ten years ago. My puzzlement and consultations with various sources today has led me to the following plausible explanations:

I grew an inch sometime in the last ten years. I still like this explanation best, and it is supported by the fact that my dad grew an inch in his mid-thirties. He has other theories to explain why he was suddenly taller, but with a second person in the family now having a similar experience, I say we have the "grow an inch in your 30's" gene.
My six months of chiropractic care made me taller. I never got to see the before and after x-rays side by side, so we'll never know if there was a notable change in spinal alignment that could have added an inch.
My posture was terrible in my teens, but now I stand up straight. I can't imagine this is possible. I DO have kinda bad posture, but I always wanted to be taller than I am, so I tried REALLY HARD to stand up straight when I was being measured.

What do you think? How can this be explained? My driver's license is even wrong!

Raise your hand if...

2010-03-26T21:06:00.002-04:00

...you've been there, done that!

I can has cheezburger

2010-03-20T23:12:00.002-04:00

This website makes me giggle every time.

And so it begins

2010-03-11T22:35:00.004-05:00

I never thought that I would be young forever, but I must confess that I wasn't ready to start showing visible signs of the growing-old process just yet. Not that anyone ever is. And not that I haven't shown any signs thus far - I'm pretty sure that what I currently have on the outside of my eyes more closely resembles crows' feet than what was there ten years ago, and I often don't get carded if I order a glass of wine at dinner, and nobody says, "Hey, are you on spring break?" when I'm out and about during the day. So I'm already showing signs, but I guess I just wasn't ready for this sign of aging: my first gray hair. OK, it's the second one. I found the first one a month ago, and apparently it invited a friend to the party. I probably have more gray hairs, but since my hair is blondish, they don't show up much. That is, until I found these two that were much shorter than the surrounding hair, frizzy as all get-out, and sticking up from the part out into the air. They were like a billboard shouting, "LOOK HERE!!! FORMERLY YOUNG WOMAN NOW GROWING OLD!!!" It was a moment of decision...I never thought I'd do it, but I pulled out the second one. Yanked it right out. I half-heartedly tried the first one a few weeks ago, but it was in my bangs and too hard to get ahold of. So I combed my hair differently and left it. This one was different - a foe I could defeat, so I did. If only he wouldn't come back with reinforcements. I'll keep you posted. I think we all know how this will end. If you have money to invest, I would recommend stock in Garnier Nutrisse.

Doh!

2010-02-25T23:56:00.004-05:00

Someone forgot to have her mail forwarded. Anyone who sent me large envelopes of money in the past three weeks may need to resend those.

Actually I thought I had taken care of the forwarding...not sure what went wrong. Hopefully they haven't already rented out my old apartment to some unscrupulous mail thieves. Though I guess it's not theft if it's now their mailbox.

New favorite book ever

2010-01-31T01:28:00.003-05:00

One-Yard Wonders, by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins

It's not a work of fiction, but it's my new favorite book! Under $15, with lots of project ideas (that I actually might want to make), and clear instructions. Your next Christmas present (that will be delivered by Easter the following year) might be here in these pages!

Demoted

2010-01-21T23:53:00.002-05:00

Due to some corporate acquisitions, I am now able to fly standby again. It had been a while since I had had that privilege - I grew up flying standby, and was able to do so up until I graduated from college. A lot of my travel memories involve flying standby - my favorite possibly being the time that we were stranded in Memphis after getting bumped off our flight, and we had to wait several hours, and there were girl scouts at the airport for some reason (back in the days when they let total strangers mill about), and my mom let me leave the airport with a local girl scout troop to go to McDonalds for lunch. That couldn't happen today for a number of reasons, but those were more innocent times. Some things about standby travel have changed for the better though, namely that I can now wear jeans and tennies (we used to have dress up). And being able to book/pay for your ticket online. That's amazingly convenient, and something I am already taking for granted. I don't even know how people used to pay for things back in the day.

I just returned home from a trip to visit my grandmother in Texas. The bootylicious one. One of the hardest things about leaving Texas last year was knowing that I would not be able to check on her as often as I used to when I lived close by. It was great to see her, though, and she has kept her spunk in spite of losing my granddad 18 months ago. I hope I can visit her again soon.

The point of the post is forthcoming. On this last trip my dad listed me in first class for my standby ticket, and I was able to secure a first class seat from Atlanta to San Antonio. I have to say, that first class is the only way to go! A personal TV screen and several options including new release movies, TV shows, and computer games. And leg room. And a comfy seat. And your own pillow and blanket without having to ask (not full size, to dispel a rumor - at least not on this airline). It was amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I almost wish I had never experienced it. On the way back I had high hopes for watching a movie and kicking back, but unfortunately the airline offers cheap upgrades to first class for regular customers (no doubt in an effort to squeeze a few hundred extra dollars of revenue out of the flight), and people were in the mood to pay an extra $75 for the privilege. Sooooo, on the way back I was demoted from first class to last row, next to the bathroom. It smelled bad.

I can't complain though, because flying standby is going to allow me a lot more opportunities to travel in the coming years. Get your couches ready, I'm coming to visit!

Winter weather

2010-01-11T19:40:00.002-05:00

I left Texas to find some winter weather, and apparently didn't need to this year. At any rate, I'm enjoying the cold temps and snow that stays on the ground (well, just a wee little bit of snow, but it hasn't melted yet!). After so many years of living in Texas I thought I'd find it strange to have such cold weather this winter, but I guess cold winters are still my default setting after all this time. In spite of this, I am having to relearn a few behaviors:

Wear gloves and a hat
Plan a few extra minutes to scrape your windshield in the morning
Wear a sweater at home to save on heating costs

I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon. Just about the time Spring comes along...

Books Enjoyed in 2009

2010-01-02T09:09:00.002-05:00

The official list - made longer by the allowance of audiobooks, short books, and by my having been out of work for five weeks when I first moved to TN. That, and certainly by not having a TV anymore. That didn't hurt my reading a bit. Whatever the reason, I'll still pretty proud of my list! My goal for 2010 is to continue to read lots of books, but to add to the variety (you may have noticed a theme about cats).

"Spider Mountain" by P.T. Deutermann (audiobook)
"The Moonpool" by P.T. Deutermann (audiobook)
"Bell, Cook, and Candle" by Joanne Pence
"A Bend in the Road" by Nicholas Sparks (audiobook)
"Something's Cooking" by Joanne Pence
"The Cat Who Covered the World: The Adventures of Henrietta and her Foreign Correspondent" by Christopher S. Wren
"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
"Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard" by Kiran Desai
"The Cat Who Could Read Backwards" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Turned On and Off" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Saw Red" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Played Brahms" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Played Post Office" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Went into the Closet" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Came to Breakfast" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Sang for the Birds" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"River God" by Wilbur Smith
"The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Knew Sniffed Glue" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Went Underground" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"Train Man" by P.T. Deutermann (audiobook)
"The Cat Who Moved a Mountain" by Lilian Jackson Braun
"The Cat Who Wasn't There" by Lilian Jackson Braun

Fresh Start

2010-01-02T08:52:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year to one and all! I welcomed 2010 in low-key style, and actually didn't do the family tradition of making pizza at home until New Year's Day. Incidentally, it tasted just as good the next day, and I like the idea of being flexible with traditions. Although I am terrible at New Year's Resolutions (NYR), and have blogged about it before, I do like the idea of a fresh start. A fresh start seems to provide extra motivation to get out of the ruts I get stuck in, and make an effort to follow through on at least some of the ideas that I have rolling around in my brain. It seems like I do well for a while, but finding long-term motivation to continue is where I, and probably most of us, struggle. That's something I'll be thinking about in the coming weeks. But for now, I'm just enjoying the fresh start and hope for success. That, and the sore muscles from my first two workouts at the Y.

And for anyone interested in the details, we made pepperoni pizza, olive-oil/spinach pizza, cheeseburger pizza (used mustard and pickle relish instead of sauce, with ground beef and some cheddar cheese added to the usual mozzarella), and Sujan's Special (extra thin crust, extra sauce, ground beef, light mozzarella, and hot sauce). We tried a mixture of whole wheat flour for the crust which didn't rise much, but tasted good (I love thin crust pizza anyhow).

Return to blogging

2009-12-10T00:24:00.007-05:00

It's been over a month, so I thought I ought to check in and say hello. Here's an update on some crucial areas you may have been following:

Reading: I have not been reading as much, as I subscribed to Netflix and have started watching the Office from the first season. My new favorite episode was today from Season 5 when Michael tries to revive Stanley. Laughed out loud.
Holidays: I enjoyed a great Thanksgiving (first time I cooked by myself!) with Sujan and our friends Andriy and Pheba from Texas. Thanks for coming out to see us! I'll be at home in TN through the New Year, but hopefully will get to visit my family soon in 2010.
Mimi: My cat has decided that in Tennessee she is a lap cat. Not sure if the two-day drive last August inspired the change, or if I'm just not around as much and she is craving attention, or if the smaller apartment makes her want to snuggle. It's weird, but we already knew Mimi was weird.
Housing: In an effort to save more money I was considering moving to another apartment that was less expensive (and really close to work), and I turned in my notice at my current apartment. Then, in an effort to keep me there, my current apartment manager offered to lower my rent. That's good news, but part of me is like, could you not have just charged me lower rent when I moved in!?
Elf yourself: Check out Sujan's and my disco moves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Fancy that

2009-11-04T21:33:00.003-05:00

As my regular readers (all three of you) may have noticed, I've discovered the secret to increasing the number of books I read each year: read shorter books. Who'da thunk?

Incidentally, this strategy (short and sweet) is also helping me to post more frequently to the blog.

Clarification

2009-11-02T17:15:00.002-05:00

My mom raised a good question: is spinach safe for cats to eat? I did some investigating, and it turns out that spinach might not be good for cats after all, potentially causing kidney problems. Nothing conclusive, but to put your minds at ease you should know that I will not be feeding Mimi any more spinach, and she really didn't eat THAT much before - just a few leaves. It cracked me up that she seemed to like it though. Sorry if my exaggeration for literary effect worried anyone!

Strawberry Muffins

2009-11-01T22:29:00.002-05:00

I have been meaning to post this recipe for the past few months, but was a teensy bit busy (and/or lazy) and never got around to it. I was going to post the link to the original Stonyfield Farm website, but it didn't generate a unique URL for this particular recipe. Go here if you want to search their recipe database - they looked like they had some really good recipes besides this one! Enjoy!

Strawberry Muffins from Stonyfield Farm
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup Stonyfield lowfat plain yogurt
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 12 muffin tin or line it with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar and baking soda. In another bowl, stir together eggs, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla until blended. Toss the strawberries with the flour mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until the flour is just moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Yields 12 muffins.

Just call her Popeye

2009-11-01T21:55:00.006-05:00

So, don't ask me how I discovered this, but apparently Mimi likes to eat spinach! Now mind you, she doesn't have a salad for dinner or something, but as long as I hold them out for her, she'll eat the spinach leaves (and for those of you who know Mimi personally, you know that she's not the kind of cat to eat much of anything out of your hand, or off the counter). Maybe it's because she is an indoor cat who has never had the pleasure of grazing in green pastures, but she tends to nibble on any plant or green that is brought into the house. This is why all of my plants are at the office - they just don't survive here at home. Observe the evidence of some tulips I brought home once:
In any case, I can only assume that her diet of spinach will increase her stamina to keep the crickets and other bugs at bay. She catches something almost every night - most recently a spider she cornered in the living room. I noticed she was alert and staring at something, and gave our 8-legged roommate the flush treatment. I like to think of it as surfing lessons for bugs. At any rate, I will feed this kitty spinach if it helps her keep our home bug-free (or moves us towards this elusive goal). Way to go, Popeye! I would get her a kitty Popeye costume if there were any chance of getting it on her furry self.

Blog Giveaway Winner

2009-10-24T10:10:00.006-04:00

For those of you who don't know, I'm running a parallel version of my blog in Spanish (at this address) for my friends in Costa Rica, and I announced the giveaway contest on both blogs. Next I made a comprehensive list of all of the giveaway entries in the order they were received. I used random.org to generate a number, and the winner of the giveaway contest is...

...Krissia!

(that's Krissia, who just had a birthday, by the way. Happy Birthday!)

Thanks to everyone who participated. This was fun - I'll do it again soon.

It makes sense

2009-10-20T22:40:00.001-04:00

So, I was at Sam's Club the other day, and I saw a clown shopping. That's right, a man in full clown garb and makeup, pushing a flatbed cart around shopping. Then I thought about it, and it really made sense. I mean, of course clowns would shop in bulk - have you seen how many people fit in a clown car!? That's a lot of mouths to feed.

Mimi of the Mountains Blog Giveaway

2009-10-18T22:15:00.003-04:00

In honor of our new look, Mimi and I would like to announce a blog giveaway! No, you won't be getting a free blog from us (wait a second, um, yes you will - it's our Christmas gift to you, so go to blogger.com to redeem your free blog).

No really, we've decided to give away something else unique and homemade, so the random winner will receive their choice of prize from three options: a homemade reusable lunch sack, a cotton fashion scarf, or a tote bag (if you were on my Christmas gift list from last year you've already got a tote coming your way unless you're one of the few lucky ones who already got theirs, so don't pick this option unless you want two totes).

I'll try my best to customize the prize for the winner, so you will have some choice of colors as well. And if a boy wins the prize we can make your option manly or brainstorm a different option for you.

To register for the giveaway simply leave a comment on this post, and I'll select a winner randomly next Saturday (10/24/09). Leave your comment by Friday night 11:59pm Central Standard Time to be eligible.

Ta-Da!

2009-10-12T21:11:00.002-04:00

After much thought (and procrastination) on my part, my blog finally has a new title and look to go with our new home out East in the mountains. The header is courtesy of KarenD and Twiddle Designs. Isn't it cute? I won the free header in KarenD's blog giveaway contest several months ago, but just now (thanks to KarenD's reminder) got around to brainstorming ideas to send to her. Many thanks to her and her graphic design skills for making us look good. And in honor of my new blog header, I've decided to have a random drawing and giveaway. Stay tuned for details!

End-of-Summer Fun

2009-10-10T22:04:00.010-04:00

I was able to go up north for a quick visit before I started my new job - here's some pics of my favorite subjects.

Minutes

2009-10-10T21:51:00.003-04:00

So, apparently being out of a job for a month wasn't so hot for my cell phone plan. I've had this plan for 6 or more years, and I've never exceeded the number of minutes. Well, with no job to keep me busy during the day I apparently did more talking than I usually do, and not only did I use up all of my rollover minutes, I starting burning the "minutes that are laced with gold" to the tune of an extra $100 this month. Eeeek! No worries though - with my new job I get a discount with my current cell carrier, so I upgraded to a plan with twice as many minutes for about the same price as before. Yay! So call me, anytime!

By the way

2009-09-04T22:46:00.002-04:00

If I haven't talked to you in a few days, I thought I'd mention that I found a job! If you'd like details, just email me and I'll share. It's pretty similar to what I was doing in Texas, though there will be some new challenges. Thanks for all the prayers for my job situation. I'll start orientation on Tuesday. Yay!

Me, 2; Bugs, 0

2009-08-19T12:34:00.002-04:00

To be fair, it should read "Me and Mimi", since the absence of one leg on the baby cricket could indicate that Mimi "prepped" the critter for my eventual victory. In any case, one baby cricket down, and one weird Tennessee bug down that I have no idea what it was. I think it must have been a man-eating preying mantis. They have those out East, don't they?

We have arrived

2009-08-13T21:57:00.003-04:00

For those of you following the story, Mimi and I have safely arrived at our destination. She fared quite well during the two-day drive, with only two half-hearted escape attempts at rest stops. I don't think she really wanted out, she was just fulfilling her cat duties. She's currently watching the closed front door of my new place, desperate for some excitement, apparently. I will say that she's staying a little closer by than usual (now 6 inches from me at any given moment, instead of her customary 1-4 feet). Everything else is coming along - probably 60-70% unpacked, and making good progress. For those who've asked about the job search, I'll keep you posted when there's news to tell. And for the new blog title, I'm not totally sold on it, so don't grow attached. I'm open to clever ideas if anyone's in a brainstorming mood.

Tornado

2009-08-04T22:29:00.002-04:00

It currently looks as if a tornado passed through my apartment. No, I won't be posting any pictures. Even after getting rid of lots of stuff I still have lots of stuff. I have been feeling like I wanted to simplify my life, but I don't know what to get rid of. I do have lots of kitchen stuff, but I find it hard to get rid of some of it because I like to cook and actually use it. I guess there are those two drawers that I don't use the stuff most of the time. But then once in a while I do use those things for a specific purpose, and I'm glad I have them. Argh! Why does downsizing have to be so hard?

Adorable

2009-07-19T23:53:00.010-04:00

Sarah had two cats, then took in a stray who turned out to be "in the family way." Now she has 7 cats! Here's a few pictures of the new kitties, momma, and Sarah's other two cats FTC and Mr. Chubbs (who are styling "boots" for the summer).

Moving forward

2009-07-18T21:52:00.003-04:00

After more than a year of consideration of the prospect, I've decided to move away from Texas. Over the next three weeks I'll be packing up and moving to join Sujan out East. I'm excited to have a new start in a new state, but sad to be leaving so many friends here. Once I'm settled (and Karen is settled in San Antonio and able to make my new blog banner), I'll unveil a new look for the blog. Until then I appreciate your patience!

What are the odds?

2009-06-02T23:56:00.002-04:00

Today after work I started reading a book that I carry in my purse, and it started with a particular quote. Then just now I started reading a different book that I keep on my nightstand, and it started with the same quote. I was confused and disoriented with a terrible case of déjà vu until I realized why. What are the odds that two totally different books by two different authors on two different topics would start with the same quote?! What are the odds that I would start reading those two different books within the span of 4 hours (something I rarely, if ever, have done before)!? And if you're wondering, the quote was a conversation between Alice and the Cat from "Alice in Wonderland."

No-poo

2009-05-30T11:46:00.003-04:00

That is, not shampooing your hair. Apparently it's a thing. I'm not sure if I could do it, since I have such a well-documented love of purchasing shampoo. But part of me would love to try it. I'll keep you posted.

The office

2009-05-04T22:34:00.006-04:00

Finally, here are some pictures of my new office. Here is the view from the hallway - the only change is that now I have my name on a plaque on the door. Straight ahead is the chair I usually sit in when meeting with clients. This is the view of the office with my back to the window.

This is my desk - where the casenotes are supposed to happen, and occasionally do.

Look, Mom, I made a table!

2009-05-03T14:26:00.002-04:00

OK, this will certainly underwhelm any of you with actual carpentry skills, but one of my projects this weekend was to make a simple table to use as a computer desk. I would like to eventually stain it and make a little more purrty, but I couldn't wait to use it. Special thanks to Sarah for use of her power drill. Look, Mom, I made a table!

Thermostat wars

2009-04-22T21:51:00.003-04:00

Just a quick poll for those of you who share workspace and a thermostat with coworkers: How do you decide what temperature to set the thermostat at? Inevitably there are cold- and hot-natured people in the same space, and I wondered if there are any rules of thumb to guide the thermostat policies in your workplaces.

The best kids' game table ever

2009-04-15T13:42:00.004-04:00

When we moved into our new offices (I never showed you pictures of the finished space, did I? Standby for pictures...), my boss let me order a small folding table to use when I play games with my kid clients. I found this one at Target.com, and I have to tell you - it's the best kids' game table ever! It folds up nicely (nearly flat) and slides into the corner out of sight when I don't need it, and when I do need it I just flip the legs out and voilà! Seriously, it's awesome...you should get one.

If Miguel had a girlfriend...

2009-03-20T22:50:00.001-04:00

...she would be the Princess-mobile!

Happy Birthday(s) Ladies!

Where are my minions?

2009-03-10T13:14:00.005-04:00

Oh, to have minions...how lovely it would be! I've decided that my lack of minions is what prevents me from being highly successful in life. Of course, lack of motivation or follow-through is another way to characterize this problem. But, if you presume that these are fixed qualities, then a lack of minions is the only OTHER thing that stands in my way. If I had minions you all might already have your Christmas gifts from 2008. If I had minions my apartment might have less cat hair on the carpet and crumbs in the bottom of the toaster oven. If I had minions my pants might be ironed for work every day. If I had minions I might post to this blog more than once a month. If I had minions I might have already opened my own shop on Etsy. If I had minions I might be a billionaire due to my clever inventions that would revolutionize the way we live life. And of course, my favorite: if I had minions, my casenotes might actually be finished on time! [Sigh.]

Where ARE my minions?

PS, this is the only type of "minion" I'm likely to get...better start working on the follow-through, I guess.

Neighborhood drama...

2009-03-08T17:02:00.003-04:00

...played out before my very eyes on the way back from church today: Cat vs. Squirrel.

The squirrel won!

PS, it wasn't MY cat, just in case you were wondering.

Eeek! It's already February

2009-02-01T18:01:00.005-05:00

Man, this year is flying by! Or it just feels that way for me. I hadn't realized that I only got around to one blog post in January. Life was pretty busy, and here are the highlights for what I didn't blog about last month:

Moving on: The agency I work for moved offices across town. We did all of our own packing and unpacking, but thankfully a professional company moved the boxes up and down the stairs for us. The new digs are beautiful, but my commute is now 3 times as long (from 7 minutes to about 20). That's still short, by most people's standards. I'll post pictures once I remember to take my camera to work to take the pictures.
Family ties: My granddad passed away last September, which has left my grandmother alone in the city in which she lives (about 2.5 hours away from me). As such, I've been trying to go and see her more, usually every-other weekend. I've really enjoyed getting to spend more time with her, though she constantly apologizes that she's not "more fun." I think she's a hoot. Although she deals with almost constant pain, she still takes care of herself and finds new things to do and try at the age of 87. Pretty cool lady, if you ask me!
Sewing news: Work on the Christmas presents continues steadily, though slowly. Unfortunately I keep thinking of other projects to do. Now that my office is at the "mother ship", I need to wear my name tag. It's got a little clippy thingy, but it doesn't always clip very well, so I decided to make a holder with ribbon and fabric tape. I'll let you know how the makeshift design turns out. If they're nice, I might even make one for you for Christmas this year! And you'll get it by Easter the following year!
Fish news: Rick, my betta at the office made the move successfully and seems to like the new digs. How can I tell? You'll just have to take my word for it that he looks happy.
Mimi news: Ummmm, not much. She's still occasionally winky-blinky. She still likes to barf. She still likes to attack my ankles in the evening. She's still adorable enough to keep in spite of the winky-blinky barfing and ankle-biting. Here's some photographic evidence of the weird look she gets on her face right before an ankle-attack happens.

Books enjoyed in 2008

2009-01-12T21:03:00.003-05:00

So here it is, for all posterity: the books I enjoyed in 2008. If you have a good memory (or a mind to search my blog) you'll remember that I set reading 18 books last year as my goal. Fifty percent successful...not terribly impressive, but I was busy doing other things this year too (like, um, work and stuff, ummmmmm, I'll have to get back to you on that). I'm thinking of reading the other half of last year's books this year, if I want to set the bar real low. Or else I could try for 18 again. What do you think?

1. "Santa Cruise" by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark
2. "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey
3. "Evidence Not Seen" by Darlene Deibler Rose
4. "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" by Jeanette Winterson
5. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini (Audio)
6. "The Cat Dancers" by P.T.Deutermann (Audio)
7. "Lake Wobegon Summer 1956" by Garrison Keillor
8. "Getting Things Done" by Edwin C. Bliss
9. "The Clutter-Busting Handbook" by Rita Emmet

So, this guy on the Space Station called my apartment today...

2008-12-27T15:39:00.004-05:00

...no, seriously. I talked to him. His name is Mike. He said they were over the Baja Peninsula at that moment and could see some cloud cover on the land. It was way cool.

This is the kind of lovely Christmas gift you get when your friends work for NASA. Beth and Kenneth are visiting from Houston with their two girls, Natalie and Angela, and Kenneth got a call on his cell phone from the Space Station. Kenneth works with their radios, and apparently one of their radios wasn't working properly and the astronaut needed some guidance on how to fix it. So Kenneth took care of business, and then as a kind gift to the awestruck non-NASA personnel present he passed the phone around for us to say hi to Astronaut Mike. Seriously, way cool.

Gotta love iTunes

2008-12-22T23:23:00.003-05:00

It was a long day, so I couldn't be bothered to figure out how to shuffle only my Christmas songs on iTunes without creating a separate playlist. As a result, I'm currently discovering hidden treasures tucked away in the corners of my CD collection! (Shout out to my dad, for ripping all of my CDs into iTunes two years ago when I was vacationing in Costa Rica and he and my mom were cat-sitting.) What would I do without iTunes bringing to my notice these fun tracks on obscure CDs that somehow made it onto my shelf?

Oh, and can I say that I'm shocked to have 4124 songs in my iTunes. That's a lot! I don't know where it all came from, but it's 11.7 days worth! I'm sure some of my readership can put me to shame though. How many songs/days of music do you have in iTunes?

She who dies with the most fabric wins

2008-12-21T16:07:00.004-05:00

This is a post for those of you who sew, because I think you can relate to my dilemma. I always seem to dream up more sewing projects than I actually do. This wouldn't be a problem except that sometimes I go so far as to purchase supplies for said projects, which has resulted in a "backlog" of fabric stacked in my spare room. Well, that, and sometimes when fabric is on clearance I can't resist even if I don't have a specific use for it in mind. But anyhoo, this is not new news...I've had the accumulating stack ever since I got my sewing machine probably 5 years ago. And it should be noted that I did very well for years with this simple formula: New fabric can only be purchased to fill vacant room in storage containers that is left when fabric is removed and projects are completed. Pretty smart, huh? At least this kept my backlog to a limited amount (two storage containers).

Well, everything changed when I decided to handmake Christmas gifts this year. I began to gather supplies (in particular material to make carrying totes like one I purchased on the Cape in August), and before I knew it I had an additional stack of material. And now it's exactly 4 days until Christmas, and I've only actually made one tote out of at least 10 that I had planned to give out as gifts. Eeek! I'm still planning to hand them out, just after Christmas, but my fear is that at some point I'll give up and just have an extra stack of beautiful fabric and not give gifts. I suspect my NYR (New Year's Resolutions) may include something about working on one sewing project a month or something of the sort (in addition to trying to pare down my stack to fit in the storage containers again). Any sewers with a solution out there? And if you're one of the ones that was likely going to get a tote, please keep my accountable by asking me "where's my tote?" next time you see me, OK?

Never fear, baby hippos, you're safe now

2008-12-07T20:07:00.006-05:00

Kids are so imaginative! Here are my adorable nieces playing at Thanksgiving - they said they were driving around saving baby hippopotamuses. From what, I'm not sure, but I imagine the baby hippos have a number of natural predators that threaten them.

Now you may be wondering why small square cat toys were the vehicles of choice for saving baby hippos. I think it may have something to do with my parents' second vehicle, shown below.
My nieces were reported to have said something to the effect of "Hey, this is our size" the first time they saw the Smart Car. I would have traded Miguel in for this hot little number in a heartbeat if I thought I'd have any chance of survival against the trucks on I-35.

One of my favorites

2008-12-03T21:17:00.004-05:00

This is one of my favorite shots from my week in the Northland...what's better than sisters?

And then there was Luigi

2008-12-02T20:14:00.003-05:00

Keanu is no more, thanks to a nasty "papers shuffling in your ear" sound that he made in my listener's ears when I shifted finger-position during a call. Now I have Luigi, who is not a cool dual-slider phone, but who manages to stay quiet and let the listener hear the talker. I may not be texting, but I didn't do a whole lot of that to begin with, so I figure that's OK. Did I mention that Luigi is purple?

Ballerina math

2008-12-02T20:10:00.004-05:00

2 pre-school girls + 2 pink tutus = days and days of fun

Plain Jane

2008-11-27T21:09:00.005-05:00

Race relations from the perspective of a 3-year-old
Tia: "Emma, what color is Sujan?"
Emma: "He's brown."
Tia: "What color are you?"
Emma: "I'm plain."

Introducing...Keanu!

2008-11-18T22:04:00.005-05:00

Behold, the Pantech Matrix! I call him Keanu. Look at the fancy double-slidey thingy with a qwerty keyboard...you can text me now, and I won't be too frustrated to text you back!

Miss Mimi has already posed for my wallpaper, and by "posed" I mean she was foolish enough to take a nap next to me when I had Keanu handy to try out the camera feature.

New digs

2008-11-08T09:42:00.006-05:00

My agency will be changing office spaces in the next few months, and when we were over at the "mother ship" recently we got an unofficial tour (for the first time!) of our new digs. Still a ways to go, but we're looking forward to it. Here are some pictures...prepare to use your creative minds to imagine how it'll be.

Above you see the waiting area when you enter from the elevator/lobby (we're on the second floor). The cutout rectangle on the left is the check-in window, the doorway in the top middle of the frame (hard to see) is the entrance to the office area.

The above photo was taken standing at the doorway to the office area - most of the current staff (counselors and psychiatrists from the clinic) will have their offices on the left side all the way down. On the right side are more offices that will eventually be used, a play therapy room, and a large meeting room for family therapy, etc.

And this will likely be MY office - if I remember correctly it was the 2nd or 3rd door down on the left. The braces on the wall is where they will put in a "credenza" (new word for me - apparently it's a built-in shelf that is used as a desk) and above it they'll have some open shelves for my books, plants, any photos, etc. I will certainly post pictures once we move in and get settled there.

More news from middle school

2008-11-08T09:34:00.004-05:00

OK, last pic from dressing up last week, but one of my favorites that I had to share. This is how I did my bangs in 7th grade - possibly about an inch shorter (because my bangs weren't this long), but pretty close to the truth. And you'd be surprised how the styling knowledge came back after 20 years....like riding a bike (just "curl-tease-spray-repeat"). This is my coworker and friend Lauren displaying her 80's style - hindered only by the fact that her bangs are shorter than mine currently.

Married to the 80's

2008-11-06T10:27:00.006-05:00

We dressed up at work last Friday in hopes of winning bragging rights in the costume contest. Apparently someone else was more clever than we were, though, and it turned out that we didn't even place (boooo). Thankfully we had fun, though, so it was worth it. This is our contest entry garb - we all changed to more casual 80's styles for the rest of the work day. Check out the height on my bangs...I was pretty impressed with myself! I did it even higher once I had the casual duds on, so high, in fact, that it touched the roof of my car when I was driving. Now THAT'S 80's bangs for you!

You know what they say...

2008-10-26T20:32:00.005-04:00

...people start to look like their pets after a while.

You be the judge!

Parenting

2008-10-26T17:55:00.003-04:00

For those of you that don't know, although I don't have any kids of my own (excluding those of the furry-purry variety), as a part of my job I teach parenting concepts to clients. I usually don't tell them I don't have kids, and so far no one who's received my parenting advice has suspected that it wasn't wisdom gathered from life experience. Besides, who needs life experience when you've got "research" and "experts" to back you up? Well, OK, so life experience helps, but I just don't have any so that's that. In any case, what I was going to say was that knowing about parenting can make a trip to Walmart a little frustrating.

I was recently there and witnessed a little boy, maybe 2 or 3 years old, with angelic blond curly hair who was pitching the biggest fit I've ever seen. Seriously, I think he could be heard from one end of the store to the other, and his face was bright red. I was trying to think of something encouraging to say to mom when she walked past me, because I can only imagine that a parent in that position might feel a bit self-conscious and embarrassed, but I didn't have a chance to say anything because the mom made a bee-line for the mini bags of Doritos by the checkout. I saw her heading that way and thought, "No!!! Nooooooo!!!! Don't do it!!!!! Don't bribe him to be quiet, or cave in on his demands!!!!" She apparently can't hear what I'm thinking (or doesn't care) because she angrily yelled at him to "Sit down!" and gave him a bag. I can see why she did it - the bloody-murder screaming promptly stopped, but I was sad to think that already frustrated mom is now going to have to hear the same hissy fit every time she goes to Walmart (or maybe she already has).

Like anything though, it's probably a lot easier to parent from the sidelines. Now that I've posted this, I'm sure that'll be me someday, and I welcome all of you to remind me of this post!

Fallish

2008-10-17T13:29:00.006-04:00

The above photo shows one of the reasons I love fall, especially in my home state of Minnesota. There's just something about those sugar maples turning a vibrant shade of orange or red that signals that summer has truly passed by, and we're in for something different. Now I know that many of you who are used to mild winters might think that we anticipate the upcoming "something different" with dread, but I have to be honest...I don't think that I ever did dread the coming winter. It was just something that came like clockwork, a given, and in a state where there are four distinct seasons, it just always felt like it was the due time for something new. Perhaps that is why I have never seemed to adjust completely to the weather here in Texas - the seasons (that I have affectionately named "hot" and "not-so-hot") just seem to go on and on before they begin the flip-flop dance of the in between months. I can see why people like living here...some of the in-between is really quite lovely, but part of me will always be a Minnesota girl who longs for fall. Thankfully, though, we in Texas are finally arriving to the in between, a place I like to call "fallish." A place where I might need to wear a jacket or sweater for at least a portion of my day. A place where I'm treated to the sight of a few changing leaf colors. A place where I might like to make a pot of soup once in a while, or drink hot chocolate. I do miss fall, but fallish will do.

Tidbits

2008-10-12T19:45:00.005-04:00

Suddenly, I think of several things to report. A person with greater patience could stretch this into a week's worth of posts, but I am not that person.

Fish update: I killed my last two guppies in the tank at work a few weeks ago. I plead fish-slaughter, because my unplugging of the air pump was entirely accidental. In any case, they were gone in two days. Then, last week someone who had a fish at home that they didn't want any more donated it to my sad, empty tank. So now I have a lovely Betta with dark blue and yellow markings (I've never seen a Betta with yellow before, but he's kinda cute). No name as of yet - feel free to comment with ideas.
Fun way to waste a few minutes: The Global Rich List. Guaranteed to make you feel fortunate, and want to give back to help someone else out. It also amused me to see how much my ranking jumped by adjusting my salary by $1 increments. I had only guestimated it, after all. I need to go and find my Social Security printout to identify my exact ranking.
New arrival: I am pleased to announce the arrival of Xavier Thomas! A new cat, you ask? A nephew? A b-a-b-y??? (gasp, horror!) Noooooo, a camera. I finally took the plunge and got into the digital SLR game, and in my usual way did it for a bargain price (new camera, but old model). I figured if I shoot the life out of this camera I can justify buying one closer to the top of the line next time. You can be sure that I will post any good shots I manage to take with Xavier Thomas right here on this blog. For those who know about these things, he's a Rebel XT. Now I need to start saving for some lenses, since everyone seems to review the kit lens as not so hot.

New Look

2008-10-11T11:58:00.003-04:00

With a huge shout of thanks to my advisor Karen, I would like to announce a new blog banner (especially for those of you with blog reader programs that don't indicate new formatting changes). It's not terribly fancy, but I was pretty proud of myself anyhow - not bad for a first effort (well, second, actually...that's why I needed Karen's advice...couldn't figure out how to make it the right size).

LaLe Style

2008-10-05T13:01:00.004-04:00

Just a quick advertisement for my friend MAB's new Etsy site: LaLe Style. She's got some fun things on there if you know anyone who would like to receive handmade gifts (that you didn't actually have to handmake yourself). My personal favorite is Hoo Hoo Puppy (pictured below), for obvious reasons. If you've never visited Etsy, you're in for a treat - it's like Ebay for crafters and artists. You can search based on a variety of criteria - even color (that's a really nifty computer application if you ask me, and I don't use the term "nifty" lightly). Enjoy!

Fantasy vs. reality

2008-10-02T22:47:00.003-04:00

If you have ever gone to Wendy's with me, the following statement should come as no surprise: though I order off the value menu and am a big fan of the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, the Baconator continues to be the sandwich I fantasize about ordering. Sadly, it's not calorically or monetarily feasible for me, seeing as how I'm a social worker who needs to downsize rather than upsize her waistline. But still, the posters lure me into wishing I could afford a Baconator in all respects. That is, until I saw this. Maybe I'll have my Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger with a sample-size Frosty on the side instead.

Cricket legs

2008-09-24T21:58:00.005-04:00

I have always wondered what my cat, Mimi, does during the many hours that I am away from home. I suspect that much of the time is spent taking the catnaps for which her species is famous, but the remaining, oh, say, one hour a day must be spent doing something to entertain herself, right? Perhaps the two cricket legs (no body to be found) in the middle of my living room floor provide us with some clues as to her activities. Of course her demeanor would never betray the fact that she's been spending her time torturing insects - she's mastered the classic look of disinterested innocence that would only fool a dog owner - but the point remains that cricket legs don't lie. Crickets, after all, tend to try to hold on to their legs unless circumstances intervene...

In this picture Mimi is undoubtedly calculating her cricket-attack angle (being the mathmatical genius that she is)...

Photographic evidence of my best weekend ever

2008-09-22T22:46:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Michelle for forwarding this picture from my best weekend ever - I had forgotten that it existed! Please note the look of severe devastation due to transportation issues. Also note an object inside the car that undoubtedly contributed to that weekend being so lovely.

5-year-anniversary of my best weekend ever

2008-09-21T21:27:00.003-04:00

It's funny, I was just telling someone yesterday about my best weekend ever, the one where I was home for my friend Michelle's wedding and my parents were out of town with their SUV helping my brother move into his house, so the only car left for me to drive while I was in town was their Corvette. I was devastated, as you might imagine, to be forced to drive the Corvette all over town. Devastated. It shall forever me known as my best weekend ever. The photo above is of Lydia, Michelle, and I at her reception.

Happy 5th Anniversary, Michelle and Mike!

Junk in the trunk

2008-09-19T22:24:00.003-04:00

Overheard in the JCPenney changing rooms:
Woman 1: Wow, my butt looks good in these jeans, doesn't it?
Woman 2: Hey, it sure does. I used to wear that brand when I had a butt. That was a long time ago, so there's hope for you.
Woman 1: What do you mean? You never had a butt like this.
Woman 2: You're right - I wasn't ever like that. I never had a butt shaped like a North Carolina cured ham.
Woman 1: That's what I thought.

Goodbye

2008-09-09T23:34:00.010-04:00

As many of you know, my Pawpaw passed away on Sunday, September 7 at the age of 91. He had been on hospice for just a week or so after a long battle with cancer. Logically, I knew that we'd lose him soon, but I think part of me just believed and wished that he'd be with us forever, especially since he was so tough and always seemed to give the Energizer bunny a run for his money. I'll miss you, Pawpaw...you were so special to me. Who else do I know in their 90's who will impersonate a rapper AND try the spicy salsa just for kicks!? I hope I have that much spunk when I get to my later years...you did it well.

It's been, like, forever

2008-08-24T22:02:00.005-04:00

Adult: Have you been dating this person very long?
15-year-old: Well, this Monday is our 6-week anniversary, so...yeah, we've been going out for quite a while.

And she said, "Arrrrrrrrrrr"...

2008-08-23T09:42:00.003-04:00

Child (about 8 or 9 years old): I don't think girls would be pirates.
Adult: You don't think they can be pirates? Why not? There were some girl pirates in that movie.
Child: Well, I guess girls can be pirates, but I don't think they want to. And anyhow, I don't really believe in pirates.
Adult: No? What about the tooth fairy?
Child: Mmmmm.......I don't know.
Adult: How about Santa?
Child: Well..........maaaayyybe.

Weekend Caption Contest Photo #1

2008-08-23T01:16:00.001-04:00

Comment with your captions - winners announced late Monday evening. Worthless prizes will be awarded.

Weekend Caption Contest Photo #2

2008-08-23T01:12:00.003-04:00

Weekend Caption Contest Photo #3

2008-08-23T01:10:00.002-04:00

Weekend Caption Contest Photo #4

2008-08-23T01:05:00.003-04:00

Beantown and the Cape

2008-08-17T22:51:00.005-04:00

The recent dearth of blogging is due to some work-related travels in early August (and the obligatory case-note-catching-up-marathon that always seems to precede such events). I'll share more later, but I'd like to leave you with an image from the trip to enjoy until I get around to blogging it. Those lumps in the water happen to be whales!

Laser tag

2008-07-27T18:16:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Sujan and I visited his friends Andriy and Pheba in the big D, and we went to play laser tag, arcade games, and ride go-carts. Now I won't go on and on, but let me just say this: Laser tag, where have you been all my life!? Awesome. I hereby challenge any of you faithful blog readers to a game of laser tag if we're ever in the same city and within driving distance to a laser tag place. But I have to warn you, I might be good...VERY good.

I knew Minnesota was fabulous...

2008-07-19T10:35:00.002-04:00

...and now the world agrees. Three of the top 25 places to live in the US are in Minnesota. And among those three cities are the city I grew up in and the city next to it (with which my parents' backyard shares a 5 foot border). Yea, Minnesota!

Going granola

2008-07-13T20:48:00.006-04:00

So, not sure what hit me the other night, but I was inspired to make a batch of homemade granola. I searched the web for recipes and fashioned my own combination of those available on the net (ingredients were swapped when I didn't have the right stuff on hand). I was amazed at how good it tasted! Then today Sujan and I made two more batches, and the verdict was a tie - he liked the first batch better (when I forgot to put in the cinnamon and vanilla), and I liked the second one, even though I had run out of wheat germ and had to improvise with some extra steel cut oats. In any case, here's the basic recipe we used (you can find the original recipe with its variations on this site). FYI, it's really easy, and I think it probably costs less to make your own than it does to buy it.

Great Granola
2 c. old-fashioned oats
1/2 c. wheat germ
2 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. craisins
1/8 c. maple syrup
1/8 c. honey
3 T. canola oil
1 T. water
cinnamon and vanilla flavoring if desired (not sure how much I used - I just sprinkled)
Instructions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 275 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch metal pan with cooking spray, then set aside. Mix oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, salt, and walnuts in a bowl. Bring syrup, honesy, oil, water and cinnamon/vanilla to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Drizzle over oat mixture, and stir to combine. Pour mixture onto prepared pan. Working a handful at a time, squeeze cereal to form small clumps. Bake for 30 minutes. Stir in dried fruit. Continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool. (Granola can be stored in an airtight tin for up to two weeks.)

Techno kittens

2008-07-10T10:08:00.002-04:00

Have you seen this? Adorable! I'm impressed that they kept up their attention so long.

Early morning language lessons

2008-07-06T22:41:00.003-04:00

At some point in my recent trip to visit family I noticed that Matti is really good at repeating things others say. I thought I'd put this to good use and teach her a few useful phrases, and I was not disappointed - she was a serious student!