POOT 1

That was the name on a license plate we saw this morning. I bet Carey could get it in a California plate.

Chili Cheese fries today! Ok, so it's a little early for them right now, but in a few hours you'll all thank me.

One more dead mouse this morning. This one was in the garage. I think we may have gotten all the current residents.

My sleep schedule is going to be messed up. We've bucked daylight savings time & have been going to bed around 9:15 & waking at 5:15ish. We have to leave the house at 4:30 on Thursday, so that means I'll be up at 3:45 at the latest. ACK!

Misc.

White queso sauce with tortilla chips for your dining pleasure today.

-We have mice. The cats cornered one all day in our bathroom. Chris nabbed it with the bbq tongs on Sunday. Traps were set where we thought they were coming in (in our basement on a ledge). At 4:30 a.m. Loki (cat) was playing with something upstairs. Chris went to see what it was. Dead mouse in trap. The cat brought it upstairs. Ew! One other mouse in the basement and one in the garage were also casualties. We are dealing with the mouse issue more this evening.

-I'm 90% packed for our trip on Thursday. I'm a planner like that.

-We raked leaves for my dad yesterday. It was a massive amount of leaves. I like raking leaves, luckily.

-My boss and I are putting on a conference. It's the second time for this one. Isn't going as well this time. Out of four presenters, each had a personal or family health issue over the weekend.

-GIRL TALK ALERT! I'm trying the new Playtex Sport tampons. I'm in the market for a new kind.

Um, anybody still hungry?

Bacon & cheddar cheese spread today with crackers.

Ali is much better. She even jumped in bed last night & uber snuggled with me. I guess 4 enemas, some IV fluids and a little medicine will help a constipated kitty out. They were initially a little worried about kidney problems given her symptoms, but it turns out she's fine in that regard. Whew! So now we have to deal with what seems like chronic constipation. yay! So, tkit, I definitely sympathize with you & sick Thea.

In unrelated news, apparently someone swiped all the leftover muffins, quiche and fruit from yesterday's meeting. Bastards!

Oh, and I got a new perfume that I like, but Chris said it smells "old." It's Sarah Jessica Parker's new perfume Lovely. I think it smells lovely. :-)

Sick Kitty

No time for cheese today.

I have sick big kitty. She can't keep anything down & has diarrhea (sp?). It's been that way for two days, so time for the vet.

Had to come to work (almost an hour drive here) for an 8:00 important meeting/presentation. Damn it! Now I'm getting ready to head back home.

Hope Nookie has a good flight today (arkie is maybe flying today, too?). Hope Breezy is busy knitting beer bands. Hope the rest of you aren't drowning in self-pity for not being in California today.

Pastrami

An assortment of swiss cheeses for you enjoyment: Regular swiss, Jarlsberg and baby swiss.

So I bought some pastrami from the deli over the weekend. It was on clearance & needs to be used this week. Chris loves rye bread, so I thought he'd enjoy some pastrami sandwiches. Well, the loaf of rye bread is gone & I still have some pastrami. I don't particularly love pastrami, mostly because of the fat in it. Hence, I don't really know what to do with it other than sandwiches.

So if I trim away the fat and cut it up, do you think it would taste good with ravioli or tortellini in a light sun dried tomato and alfredo sauce?

ETA:
These are what Breezy forgot. They are the ones that say "blitzed, bombed, etc" as shown in the upper right. I figured since everyone didn't drink bottled beverages, Breezy could decide who gets to wear which as a bracelet for the evening.

A week late: San Francisco

Roasted veggie and Guyere quiche for your eating pleasure.

Just putting it on San Fran area peeps' radar that I'll be in town with Chris Nov. 2-8th. I hope to see as many of you as we can, so hope you aren't partied out after this weekend!

My dreams have been very vivid lately. Last night I had a few stressful ones. Some guys showed up at our house in a pick up, laughing like that crazy bearded man on LOST, stole our lawnmower and left a bunch of garage sale crap on our lawn. And we were leaving for San Fran that afternoon & didn't know what to do. And I was really pissed at Chris because I got their license plate number at the last second and he wouldn't write it down.

The Shopping Bags

Apparently I'm cranky today. It just hit me when my boss blew into my office with 14 questions all at once. Anyway, let's have cheesecake this morning. It's Monday, we need comfort food.

How did I last so long with only one tv in the house? I LOVE having two tvs! I snuggled under the covers in the spare bedroom Sunday morning & watched two shows Chris would have no interest in.

One of those shows was The Shopping Bags. It's a Canadian show where two hip ladies run around testing products. They, for example, enlist the help of a synchronized swimming team to test shaving products, dancers to test foot baths, men with different beard types to test razors, etc...I love the show. It's on the Fine Living channel if you are interested.

In other tv viewing news, we got our new Dish Network HD box this weekend. The highlight of our new HD channels? Cows Licking Fencepost. There was an hour long show that was just of cows walking around & closeups of them licking fenceposts. Another favorite was Tai Chi at the Golden Gate Bridge. When the show started, it was a little before dawn & you could barely make out the Tai Chi-ers. As the sun rose, you could then plainly watch them. No sound other than what they are hearing (traffic, nature). We had fun checking in on these shows.

ETA: I had a dream that Syren married JD Fortune in Milwaukee. The best man looked like a short Toby Keith and sang "Live like you were dying." I blame watching Tim McGraw on the Today show Friday morning and listening to INXS on my MP3 player last night. It was very odd. I'm not sure what I blame Syren for. :-) Sorry CSTL.

Update & Tortellini

Bacon horseradish cheese spread with crackers this morning.

*gives Breezy aspirin for hangover*

Chris moved the giant tv a little bit & now I like it. Especially after watching LOST on it last night. Muwahhahahaha!

I had cancelled my plans of going to Texas from Nov. 16-20, but now they are back on. Wooohoo!I won't have a ton of spare time, but am definitely up for peep meeting

What should I do tonight with the tortellini in my freezer? Serve with marinara is the obvious choice. I was thinking soup. I'd prefer not to visit the grocery store. Thoughts?

Wapatoolie Party

Hot chili cheese dip and tortilla chips today.

Chris was checking his text messages this morning. His ex-girlfriend (that he still talks to...and it's ok with me) who is in her early-mid thirties messaged him that we are invited to a wap (sp?)party this weekend. People still do this in their 30s? I haven't been to a wap party since I was probably, oh, 20.

I'll just drink the bottle of vodka I bring, TYVM (not that I think we are going).

P.S. I think the new tv is too big and unsightly. And the old tv that's now in a bedroom? Wayyy to big for that space, and hence, ugly. *sigh*

TV shopping and my throat

Squeaky garlic dill cheese curds this morning for my friends. Just don't breathe on me.

Shopping
TV/stereo equipment shopping was funny. We got our store credit card (planning on the 0% financing) and went over to the tv section. First salesman we see was my old boss from high school (at Dairy Queen!). Small world. He is a cool guy.

He gets us pointed to the right tv and then Chris starts looking at home stereo equipment replacements. Decided on 2 slim tower speakers (so we could get the giant, ugly 1980s speakers out of the living room) and a new receiver. Sometime during this, we realized not everything was 0% til 2008 financing...just "targeted" items (none of which we picked out). *frowny face* That was a deal breaker.

Salesman guy hooked us up though and gave us 0% on everything. Yay!

Pill
Is it possible that my tiny bc pill got stuck in my throat on Sunday night and is still there? *gulp cough* Feels like it.

Potpourri

Sticking with the theme, lets have a tray of cheese today filled with provolone, aged cheddar, brick and pepperjack.

Just some random stuff:

1) I love campfires. Friday night was fun with my sister's family. We roasted some chicken & apple sausages (Emeril's) and pizza pudgie pies (hobo pies, camper pies, whatever).

2) My boss keeps flitting in my office...she's been gone for a week. This makes it difficult to finish my blog entry.

3) Our chili only got third place in the chili cookoff this year (the same recipe won last year). Everybody brought their chili cooking up a notch this year & there were some tasty ones.

4) Seriously, that's like 10 times she's walked in during a 20 minute period. Seriously.

5) I'm making mass amounts of egg rolls tonight. Wrappers were on clearance for 50 cents.

6) Chris might be tv & stereo system shopping this week. American TV has 0% interest financing thru 2008.

7) Now she's sitting in my office going through journals.

Guess that's my cue to sign off.

Flannel Sheets

Boursault on french bread slices for our Friday feast.

I bought flannel sheets today for the spare bedroom. Now, if I must leave for Chris's snoring, I will have a toasty bed to climb into. Sigh. We came home & the house was 57 degrees yesterday. We caved and turned on the heat for the first time this season. At least I'm not in New York where they got a ton of snow.

I was grumbling about the yuppies at Target today (while I was buying the bargain $30 Woolrich flannel sheets) and then went & grabbed a cup of coffee at the Starbucks inside (actually, a pumpkin spice latte, skim no whip). If you can't beat em, join em.

Weekend Plans

Fontina cheese & mimosa this morning (non-alcoholic champagne is available for the non-drinkers).

Thursday is the day of solidifying weekend plans. So what are your plans?

Friday
I'll have a campfire & sleepover at our house with my oldest sister's family. We are eating campfire food.

Saturday
Sister is bringing her Kirby carpet cleaner & we are cleaning my carpets. Yay!
Chili cookoff in the afternoon

Sunday
Sleep
Watch football
Read newspaper
Organize junk

Sugar Cookies

We take a break from cheese today so that I may share my sugar cookies with you.

I was home yesterday because of a horrid stomach ache & cramps in the morning. It was a "girl" thing, IYKWIM. The afternoon was much better, so I made sugar cookies. I even made them in fall & halloween shapes: A maple leaf, pumpkin & ghost shape. The leaves are frosted brown, the pumpkins orange & ghosts white. I also sprinkled many of them with chocolate sprinkles.

I used a new recipe which has gotten good reviews thus far:
(Tweaked from Allrecipes.com)

Bakery Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups butter flavored shortening
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour milk (add a few drops of lemon juice to milk to make 1 c.)
3 eggs, beaten (I used one egg & the rest in Egg Beaters)
2-3 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir together 4 cups flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in baking soda, sour milk, beaten eggs, and vanilla. Stir as little as possible, and add the remaining flour as necessary to make dough thick enough to roll out.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Cool on baking sheets.

I hate today...and a shower question.

Someone else has to bring cheese today.

SUCKY MORNING
My day is sucking. It's true what they say: No good deed goes unpunished. Nothing major, I was just trying to be a good sister & get food to my divorced sister. The whole thing has gone haywire from the start. And it didn't get any better this morning. Sometimes the simplest tasks can go so wrong.

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.

SHOWER QUESTION
So anyway, I'm having soap issues. My shower gels are about gone. I can't decide if I want to buy more shower gel or some nice soap.

I like the smells & ease of shower gel storage (not soap buildup or slippery bars), but I also really enjoy the clean smell of bars of soap & sqeaky clean feeling I get.

Which do you use? Do you have any soap vs. shower gel feelings to share?

Friday Fitness Feature

I bought some Laughing Cow light wedges at Sam's this week. They were cheap. So chow down, blog friends.

Tell me your fitness routine. Cardio? Weight training? Fitness videos? Yoga? A daily walk to the mailbox? Getting the chips from the cupboard before Survivor? Honesty is the best policy.

Now that I've committed at least to my treadmill (I bought it in June & have been using it faithfully since), I need to get a better routine down. I'm inconsistent in the amount of time I spend on it and the supplementary exercises.

Differences

Boursin garlic & herb on toast points today.

Take a look around, blogfriends. We obviously share something in common. Enough that we visit eachother's blogs, send emails and sometimes things via snail mail. And, heck, we even visit eachother in person. Some of us have lots in common. Some of us have seemingly little in common other than a sense of humor and being electronically chatty.

The reality is we are all very different people. We come from different social, economic and physical places. We have different lifestyles, education and interests. Different experiences. All that shapes who we are and how we relate to others.

And you know what? That is what I love most. Not our similarities, but rather our differences. We learn from eachother. The fact that I feel comfortable with people that I only share some similarities with is a great feeling.

That Darn Cat

Today we feature my cat Bartleby. He's naughty, but totally lovable and goofy. Have some lacy baby swiss while you look at El Dorko the Wonder Cat. Note that Chris took the countertop pictures...I'm usually too busy scolding said cat to take a photo.

My new toy

Pepper jack, cheddar, Chihuahua and Asadero quesedillas today with all the toppings & fillings you want.

I received my MP3 players last night. It's a Sandisk Sansa M240 & so far, I like it. I did have to convert old music I downloaded from cds from wma files to MP3 files (since MP3 files are smaller). Other than that, it was easy to use. I loved it for working out. I have yet to figure out the playlist feature.

I meant to tell you about the fun, easy dinner I made Monday night. I marinated chunks of chicken, mushroom and shrimp (would've done green pepper and onion if I had any) for about 30 minutes in a teriyaki sauce & apricot jam mixture. Threaded them on skewers and grilled. I then made a soy & wasabi dipping sauce and put them in individual bowls for each of us. I threw the cooked items into one big bowl that we shared. It was just a fun way to have dinner. Would've been better with more sauces and more grilled veggies. I thought it would be a fun way to eat for kids. Not that I have any.

Lost is on tomorrow. Yaaaaay!

Almost finished

Grilled mozzarella and tomato sandwiches today. MMMMmmmm.

We almost finished the patio this weekend. We worked our butts off yesterday. We were short a piece of edging and some stakes, so we'll finish that up tonight. Then we'll have to put more locking sand down. THEN it will be officially finished. Whew!

We dined out a lot this weekend. Saturday night we went to a nice restaurant with friends. I had the worst salmon of my life. Sunday we took a lunch break to our local bar for a sandwich. Good stuff. Brew City fries are some of my favorite things ever. I was good, though, and we just shared one order.

We stopped at some hick bars on Saturday night after dinner (the restaurant was in a small country town). My friend proceeded to get almost angry at the patrons for being "so pathetic." She didn't say anything in public, but ranted in the car about it. I didn't think her attitude was called for. It was extremely judgemental. Of course, I laughed at a mullet and a guy wearing rubber knee boots...and I recently shared the story of my BIL & SIL with the semi trailers in their yard. Am I a hypocrite? I somehow think it's different, but maybe it's not. Whatever your opinion, I refuse to take back my laughing at the mullet.