T-Shirt

Gouda and grapes today!

My t-shirt giver is the smartest person evah, which totally gives away her identity. I could not dechipher my t-shirt (well, I could decipher generally what some of it was referring to, but it was making no sense). But, I figured it out with a little research. Now I'm worried that if people see me wearing it, they will conclude that I'm totally smart and will ask me complicated questions.

I would show you a picture, but I'm not sure if we are supposed to reveal until after Labor Day. :-(

I love my t-shirt, despite my fears.

On an unrelated note, would anyone like to join me on my toenail watch? The big ones and littlest ones are still hurty and purple. Who is betting they will fall off over the weekend?

Appraisal

Pan grilled halloumi cheese today with a side of raspberry honey mustard.

We are getting our house reappraised by the bank tomorrow (The appraiser called yesterday...surprise-I'll be there Friday at 7:30 a.m.!). We are doing some debt consolidation, hopefully. I'm a bit worried our reappraisal won't be much. *worries*

This all means that I'll be cleaning house tonight. The good news? I won't have to clean much this weekend. Friday we are going to the outdoor theatre for a beer tasting followed by "Much Ado About Nothing." If my toes are healed enough, I want to do a 10 mile walk on Saturday and catch up on reading The Memory Keepers Daughter that evening.

Menu planning

Monterey jack quesedillas...extra jalepenos in mine.

I'm feeling much better today. The muscle aches are virtually gone. The blisters are healing, but I'm still gimping a bit because they are tender.

What is your dinner menu for the rest of the week?

Tonight:
NY Strips on the grill with sauteed green beans and grilled sourdough garlic bread

Thursday:
Turkey kielbasa with dipping sauces and a side salad

Friday:
Homemade pizza on the grill (ok, I'm using a packaged crust mix)
*We might be having friends over. Thought this would be fun.

Saturday:
? Our plans are up in the air. I bought stuff to make low fat chili dogs, so maybe we'll do that.?

The 3 Day Recap

String cheese today, because that's one thing we had each day! I apologize for the lack of pics. My camera was burried in my pack and I didn' t have the energy to take it out during the walking part.

Thursday

I was packed and ready by noon, and was super antsy. I didn't have to pick Boo up at O'Hare until 6:00 and it was a three hour drive there. I decided to leave early and avoid rush hour traffic. So I loaded up the car and headed to our hotel for check in. After realizing I forgot a few things and locating a Walgreens near the hotel, I went to grab Boo Boo. I was pacing around the baggage claim area and saw a Cheesehead from the back. I knew it was her! We hugged and laughed at her silliness. Turns out the cheesehead had to be her pillow on the plane, as she'd forgotten her pillow at home. LOL!

We hit the hotel to drop off stuff and headed to the Olive Garden, as that is one of Boo's favorites that she rarely gets to enjoy. And, we needed to carb load. Let's not talk about how far we had to drive to find an Olive Garden, mmmkay? It's ok, though, we had tiramisu, so all was well with the world. We also hit Sears (next to OG) to find her a real pillow. Did you know it's hard to find a pillowcase for under $25 at Sears? We finally found one for $5: Dora the Explorer. How cool did Boo look? :-)

We got back to the hotel later than planned and showered, then hit the hay around 10, so we could get up at 4 a.m. Gulp.

Friday

Rise and shine! We got our gear on...and realized my Camelback hose had a leak (that's a hydration backpack for those that don't know). Thanks, Bartleby (the cat). A little tape fixed it up and we headed to the shuttle and to opening ceremonies. It was still dark as we arrived and wandered around. It was so fun to check out all the crazy outfits people were wearing and chatting with other walkers and crew. Finally, a few hours later, we had group stretch with some zen yoga chick. Luckily, and Owen Wilson look-alike was also leading the crowd. :-) Then opening ceremonies began. We'd already been on our feet for over an hour. Sigh. But opening ceremonies were very cool. Lots of survivors and widows marched through the crowd and onto the stage with banners displaying messages of hope and survival. Lots of tears were shed (by me, anyway). Then, as U2's Beautiful Day blared through the park, we left on our walk. Lots of cheers and high fives everywhere, to the crowd of over 2,000 walkers. Ooooh, and we got 3 Day buffs. How appropriate!

Gus at opening ceremonies & general pic while waiting:

The first half of the day sucked, because everyone was bunched up. We enjoyed the snack stations, where we discovered the best graham cracker pb & j sammiches. There was Gatorade, cold water, "dunk stations" for wetting your buffs with ice water, bathrooms and snacks at each station. Hooters sponsored one station.

Us, new Hooters girls:

We had lots of hot men in uniforms ushering us through crosswalks and cheering us as we walked along. Woohoooo! The crowds of cheering peeps were amazing. There were entire fire departments out cheering, residents in their lawns saying "thank you for walking," and big organized stations of supporters handing out things like popsicles (Boo's favorite) and cheering like mad. Again, I got misty eyed.

Enter: Mile 18 of 23 on Day 1. We hit a low point. Boo's feet were swelling and super sore. I didn't catch my blisters soon enough to mole skin them, and they were bulging. We doctored up, rested and soldiered on. The afternoon terrain was terrible. We were off city streets and onto park bike paths, construction areas where there really were no paths, and rocky paths. We weren't talking much by that point. The pain was intense. Boo found drugs, luckily, and we managed to cross the finish line that day.

THEN IT WAS TIME TO SET UP CAMP! Good cod, that was the last thing we wanted to do. We got our gear and a tent and marched over to the campsite. I got to be the "Boss of (our)Camp" due to Boo's lack of camping experience and she got to be the "Camp Decorator." :-)

We then hit the camp post office for our mail and headed to dinner. Holy Batman! We had lots of mail! Thank you to everyone who wrote to us. After such a hard day, it was so uplifting to have those letters and cards. We gushed to the girls next to us about our friends in the box. :-)

After that, it was shower time (they didn't want us to shower before eating due to peeps passing out). The showers were basically semi trailers. In the trailers there were 8 shower stalls and benches, very specialized kind of thing, not at all makeshift. Kind of weird, but they were warm and had decent pressure.

Then? It was almost bedtime. We were exhausted. I took a pic of my blisters, but I'm guessing you don't want to see them. :-)

Here's a pic of tent city (over 1000 pink tents!). This? Is why the cheesehead and furniture came in very handy:

Saturday

Oh for cods sake. How would our shoes go on? Well, they did. We rolled out of bed at 5 am and had a hearty breakfast. We literally limped through the morning walk. Our moods were a little less light. :-) Still, the cheering sections were even better, since it was Saturday and peeps were free to come and cheer! The pain, however, was excrutiating. There was a cute cheerleader group cheering "We, We want, a cure for your boobies!" at one point. At least that made us laugh.

When we got back to camp, we immediately pulled our sleeping mats from the tent, found some shade and napped. Pure pain and exhaustion had set in. We managed to hang out and read our books and some magazines in the "cafe" area before bed. We also used some great foot massagers that La Croix had set up on site. Yay for foot massages!

Oh, I forgot to mention my hot medic. My heel blisters on Day Two were really, really ugly. They needed to be lanced, so I went to the medic tent. Boo had gone to get an ice pack for her swollen feet and thought she'd meet me outside in a bit. Well, it was taking longer, so she came in the medic tent to find me on a cot, with a hot medic at my feet. :-) She happily sat and chatted while he worked on my blisters. What a good friend that Boo is. *giggle*

We found some time to play with sidewalk chalk at camp!

Then we hit the rememberance tent, a tribute to walkers lost and to others we all have lost. We were invited to sign the official tent of Chicago in rememberance, and to fill in the "memory books." It was an emotional visit. There were several women signed up to walk in this event that passed away before the weekend arrived. Their pictures were displayed. I spent time thinking about my loved ones, and all the loved ones of people that donated and otherwise supported me on this walk.

We went to bed around 9:00, after listening to a horrid "3 Day Idol" contest. Poor girl that was in the final three. "I hope you dance" is not an easy song to sing. It hurt our ears.

2:00 a.m....it starts to rain. I made sure my gear was all waterproofed and zipped the front of our rainfly (it was so hot, we left the screen door open and rainfly door tied back for sleeping). The zipper broke on the rainfly. Oh well. At about 2:30, the crew came around camp, yelling for us to grab our flashlights and evacuate our tents immediately, as there was lightening (stupid policies). By then it was pouring. We found our ponchos and flashlights. Then, I had to put on shoes. I almost cried. Mommy Boo helped me loosen up my laces and get into my poncho. :-) We headed to the college campus's building (we were at Oakton Community College grounds) quite a jaunt away, where we sat for about an hour. Then we could go back to our tents. It was just sprinkling at that point. Our tent was dry, so we thought we'd catch an hour of sleep before having to wake up again. Well, some people decided to start breaking down their tents and getting on the road instead. Bastards! We couldn't sleep, but we laid there til about 4:45, when we got up and broke down camp.

Sunday
Okay, so we didn't make it to the big finish on Day 3. We could barely walk. Period. We took an early exit from the event and headed home, feet in utter disrepair.

It was such an honor to do this walk with Boo. She's a fabulous person with a wonderful heart. I loved to hear her stories of her family. I can't wait to meet them some day. I love that Boo.

Next year, we are thinking of crewing or going somewhere to set up a kick aras cheering station. We'll be inviting you....just wait.

Thank you again for all your support for this event. It means a ton to us.

Ta Ta

I'm in a rush to leave, so I'll bid you a quick farewell. I'll be thinking of all of you as I walk with Boo this weekend. Love you much!

Dating Advice

Not for me, sillies. Chris and I have a friend we'll call Paul. Paul came over last night with love woes, looking for advice. Paul is looking for a long term relationship. Yet, Paul is very guarded about his life he's built, and is protective of his time. Basically, I don't think he likes to let girls into his life very easily.

Paul is in his thirties and never dated much. Everyone thought he was in the closet. Turns out he had some abuse in his past and was a late bloomer. He's very educated, enjoys the arts, has a very interesting and good job, is financially stable, and has a few hobbies. He's tall, thin (but not scrawny), and a good dresser. His most noticable flaw is that he's a bit socially immature. He says silly things and giggles at odd moments.

He is a guy who checks out, emotionally, from relationships very quickly. If there's no spark, he quickly checks out. His only relationship that's lasted more than 6 months was with a girl in Japan while he was living and working there. He's started to date a lot recently and is having trouble. He has two girls on the line right now:

1. A Japanese exchange student, 22, in college in the town where he lives. They had an instant connection and started a physical relationship immediately. She leaves in November. If she were staying her forever, he'd probably be dating her exclusively, as he's excited about spending time with her. In a perfect world, he'd want to spend a lot of time with her between now and when she leaves.

2. A girl he met online, from a town about 1 hour away, who is cute, stable and in her thirties. She's applying to law school and likes similar hobbies to his. He also has a physical relationship with this girl, but spends less time with her. He doesn't feel an excited spark, but likes her as a person and enjoys their time together. He knows he's putting her off because of the other girl that is closer in distance and he's more excited about spending time with the other girl.

He's in knots about trying to juggle both girls. What advice would you give him?

Misc.

Pitas, hummus, fresh tomatoes, olives, and feta for your snacking pleasure.

1. I had a good weekend. I watched three movies (Memoirs of a Geisha, The Forgotten, and The Holiday). The Forgotten sucked.

2. I meant to walk back-to-back distances this weekend, but it rained all day and evening on Saturday. So, I did a few miles on my broken treadmill and worked out with weights and my ball. Sunday I did 14 miles outdoors. I'm tired of training. Good thing the walk is this weekend.

3. Tonight we are setting up new bank accounts. Our current bank sucks. We are going to the place that holds our mortgage. Nice to start the consolidation process to one bank.

4. I need to start packing for the weekend, so that I have enough time to realize what I've forgotten and need to purchase.

Movies

Plain havarti and dill havarti, in honor of Seana, today. Also, there is venison jerky available from Breezy's friend. *munch munch*

So I plan on reading and walking a lot this weekend. I have some minimal cleaning projects to work on, also, but I'll need some entertainment. I don't think more Netflix movies will arrive on time for my weekend, so I might stop at Blockbuster. Any recommendations for newer (last year or so) movies?

We finished The Shield Season 1 last night. Cripes, there are six seasons so far that we need to watch. The seventh and final season is airing this fall. I think we'll skip watching it and just wait to watch that season til we get through the others. It's such a good show.

Working from home

Yummy breakfast pastries for Swami this morning, many with cream cheesy fillings. Take that, Tom!

I'm working at home today because I have a major report to finish. I got up as usual this morning, but had a leisurely breakfast and baked brownies. Not cupcakes? Nope. I didn't have enough liners. Chris will be iritated because I used applesauce for half the oil in the brownies.

They just mentioned the Green Monstah on the Today show, as they are doing a segment at Fenway Park. It's the 7th spot on their "America the Beautiful" list. I waved at Monsty.

I also got to see a rather buff looking Matt Damon. I mentioned elsewhere, I now find him attractive. I never did until Bourne and Oceans.

Maybe I'll go to the post office and mail my t-shirt out today. I also have something to mail my walking buddy Boo, as well as some thank you cards to mail.

Anyone want to bring their laptop and work at my house today? I made a very good pot of coffee and the brownies are fresh.

Weekend

The pizza burgers were yummaaaaaay last night.

Today, we'll have Italian kabobs of provolone cubes, salami and grape tomatoes.

Chris is going away for the weekend. Guess that means I can get two long training walks in. Way to live on the wild side, eh?

What else should I do? I should make cupcakes before the weekend, otherwise, I'll be home alone with cupcakes and eat them all.

ETA:
My donation page (Hopefully Boo will post her page on her blog, or you can click on the "Team Page" link on my page and find her name):
http://www.the3day.org/chicago07/nolet

Love you guys!

Reminder & Stuff

Pizza burgers today! I found those old fashioned pizza burgers with the mozz in the middle last week, so I'm making these tonight. I'm quite excited! Does anybody actually know what I'm talking about?

Reminder-today is probably the last day to send Boo and I a letter for the 3 Day!

3-Day Camp Post Office
[Participants Name]
PO Box 577886
Chicago, IL 60657-7886

Check the comments in my post below about this if you need my last name. If you don't know Boo's name and can't get it on time, just send it to me with a notation that it's for "Boo." Or just write us one letter that we can share. *smooch*

I would like to make cupcakes this week because I have some canned frosting to use. I need an excuse to have cupcakes. Help me out.

Mondayisms

Bacon, leek and guyere puffs today.

1. Your weekend plans sounded fun! Sounds like everyone was out and about. Does Frodis have any cookies left for us?

2. The wedding was nice. Not super fun, but not bad at all. I have a very nice cousin in his 40s from Branson that rented an Elvis suit and showed up during the dance to boogie with the bride. That was very odd, but entertaining.

3. I'm not sure if it was the beer talking or what, but I volunteered our house to be the location of the 2008 family reunion (remember when we went to Branson in 05? That was the last reunion.)...eeek! The good news is that my dad will be eager to help finish some projects around our house that we need help with. :-)

4. I'm still watching Rock of Love, and that is pathetic. I think both psychos should have gone home last night.

Weekend

Baby swiss, thinly sliced today.

So, whatcha' doing this weekend? I know Breezy is driving north to pick up her DD. What's everyone else up to?

We are going to the wedding. My dad is picking us up tomorrow morning and we are coming back early Sunday.

The pregnancy juice is being passed around again. One of my best friends (well, we've grown apart a bit over the years, but are still good friends) moved back to town from D.C. and announced she was preggers last night. She's not the "mom" type, so I was quite surprised! My friend Jen also announced a few weeks ago they are preggers, and she's also not "momish." I'm very happy for both of them, though. They knew it was time for them (well, one thought it would take a year and it happened the first time they tried!). I'll get to spend some quality cooing time with some new kiddos next year! Babies are so darn cute.

A companion to MMs Mom post

I think I might get banned from my first message board! There are some wackjobs at this certain INXS fan board. I have only posted a few times on it, but go there sometimes to look for gossip.

I mentioned on MMs site about the blondebimbo at the INXS concert. Well, she posted on the board about how her kids were great because the band members thought they were cute and gave them souveniers (guitar pick and drumstick). Well that was the tip of the iceberg! One mom took her kids to the airport and waited for the band to walk through and made the band members in sight pose for pics with her kids (none of her and the band). The other...this is great...made her young (10?) daughter hold up a sign that said "JD, Taste My Mom" (as in the song "Taste It," which is very sexual and JD has performed some naughty naughty moves on stage during the song).

So I finally said how that was all a little weird and seemed to be rather irresponsible parenting.

Just waiting to get my notice....

Important News!

If you love Boo and I, send us a letter for our walk! Envelopes only, no boxes and they need to arrive in Chicago about one week before the walk (August 10-12). We'll feel saaaaad if we go to get mail and nobody writes us. *grin* I hope Conner writes Boo a letter. Boo had better drop a big hint to Mr. Boo.

3-Day Camp Post Office
[Participants Name]
PO Box 577886
Chicago, IL 60657-7886

Oh fine.

Bruschetta with lots of shredded parmesan today.

Puffy is right. I'll go to the wedding this weekend. A few of my aunts and uncles health isn't the greatest, and since we only see eachother ~every 3 years, I should probably take this opportunity. Plus, this family came to our wedding. It's only proper. I'm going to look at hotels and possibly Priceline it (ok, just did...$60 total, so that helps). It didn't help that local cousin called (who never calls) last night to see what our plans were.

Random: I'm going to start the Middlesex discussion on OT today.

Another Random: I watched a lot of crap tv last night (Chris was gone at the annual EAA fly in): Rock of Love with Bret Michaels, Age of Love and Hell's Kitchen. My brain is thoroughly rotted.

In other news, Chris likes to watch Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger on the Food Network. He likes that she doesn't try to jam pack things too much with substitutes (a chief complaint of his about my food when I get on a healthy baking kick). So we made her energy bars last night and are eating those for breakfast instead of toast. More calories for me (since I was using butter substitute on my toast), but more filling.

Energy Bars
Copyright, 2005, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

Cooking spray
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds (I also added some flax seeds)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I just used plain whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raisins (I omitted these and substituted dried cranberries, cherries and blueberries)
1/2 cup pitted dried dates (omitted these also)
1/2 cup powdered nonfat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pure maple syrup (I used honey because Chris prefers it)
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Place all ingredients except the syrup and eggs in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined. It will resemble a coarse paste.
Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until just done, about 20 minutes. Cut into 20 squares.

Nutrition Information
Nutritional Analysis per Serving
Calories 133
Total Fat: 5 grams
Saturated Fat: 0.6 grams
Protein 5 grams
Carbohydrates 20 grams
Fiber 2.5 grams

WWBD?

Welcome to this addition of What Would Bloggers Do? Let's have some onion and dill havarti and chat.

I have an aunt, uncle and cousins in southerrn Illinois. It's a big family and it's one we see about every three years. They are the only part of my dad's immediate family still living in Illinois. I like the family a lot, but we aren't particularly close. My cousins are all in their 30s now. My cousin is getting married this weekend. We received an invitation to reception (I'm not sure what they did/are doing for their ceremony). I told my local cousin I was going and she decided to go, too. It's a 5 hour drive, so it would require leaving on Saturday late-morning and coming back Sunday.

Now, we are back from Seattle and have the 3-Day coming up. Money is tight. I know I'd have to end up charging everything for the trip and have been trying to avoid that. So, WWBD? Should I suck it up and go? Or should I just send a nice gift this week with my regrets? There was no RSVP requirement, so my cousin doesn't know if I'm coming or not. The only part I'd feel bad about is that I told my other (local) cousin I was going.

Sigh. Should I go, or should I be honest with local cousin about why I'm not going?

Beautiful/handsome

Caprese salads for this pleasant, sunny day.

Well, my face is slowly returning to normal (for those that didn't catch it on Bob's blog, I cut jalepenos then scrubbed my face with a cleanser...all while having jalepenoey hands). I was able to use a buff puff pad (from my shelf of rarely used products) to gently buff away the dead skin on part of my face. There are still some patches of flaky skin left. I am hoping by tomorrow they will buff away nicely.

Anyway, have you ever thought, "I'd probably be really good looking IF...?"

I've always thought I could be really attractive if I were thin and had great skin. My eyes would still be squinty, but that's ok. Not that being a hottie is the most important thing to me (I'd have made more effort to lose weight if it was). I just sometimes have that thought as I wash my face at night, or do my hair in the morning.

Things & Pics

I'm fighting the germs now, so it's safe to eat. Taco dip with lots of shredded cheese & chips today.

Wal-born (generic Airborne) dissolved in orange vitamin water makes it pallatable.

My facial skin is so wrecked from the jalepeno face washing incident. It was dry already from traveling, so the sear created by jalepeno hands only made it worse. I have been using all my samples up of super moisturizing lotions and gentle cleansers, as most of my regular stuff is for oily skin. This sucks.

Vacation pics!

Our visit to the Olympic National Park:

Pretty Sushi:

Downtown Seattle:

*cough*

You don't want anything I touch, so no cheese today.

Catt & Maroonclown were spreading germs this weekend. Chris and I both fell victim. *evil eye*

Sorry I wasn't checking in on blogs yesterday. I promise to make the rounds today.

I've missed you!

Crab Rangoon today.

I had an awesome trip to Seattle. We'd seriously love to live there. Sharnina's husband got a job there last week and they are pulling up stakes...they are braver than we are. The land is so lush and the mountains are so gorgeous. People can grow the most beautiful flowers with such deep colors in their yards.

We went to the Olymipic Penninsula on Thursday and perused a bunch of port towns. We found some great chili, great bbq, and decent beers.

Friday we hung out with Jim & Chelli until we met up with the whole group in the city. We had a great, casual sushi dinner with yummy cocktails. The waiter even wanted to start posting on SB. *snort*

Saturday we prepped for the bbq (mmmm, sangria) and drove into town. We met up with the Maroonclowns at Pike Place and wandered along the waterfront. The bbq in the afternoon was awesome. Hot tubbin' was divine.

Sunday was our "tour the city" day. We did some serious shopping in Pike Place, did the Space Needle, and wandered around those areas. We then all went to the Crab Pot for dinner, which was so fun and yummy. They just throw the food on the table and you dive in.

I highly recommend trying to make one of these meets. Even if you don't love everyone there, it is worth it to spend some great time meeting new peeps and spending time in a fun location.

I still missed all of you, though.

Randoms

1. Grilled kasseri cheese with french bread today. You'll love it.

2. It is the day before vacation and I'm not wanting to do anything.

3. My BIL? Rocks. He bought me a refurbished i-pod nano after hearing of my MP3 player drowning. Anybody have tips and hints for me? My Sansa was very simple, plug and play type stuff. I'm just getting the hang of i-tunes. Any settings or such I should make sure I have in place? When importing my cds, which encoder should I have it set to? It's default is ACC, but is MP3 encoder better? I'm so confused.

4. My listy of things to do after work: Buy papertowels and tp, buy cat litter, buy an i-pod skin, buy Chris a book for the plane, return things to Target and JCPenny.

5. I take requests: *smooch* MTW during AND after work.

ETA: 6. The new dictionary includes "GINORMOUS!" I LOVE that word!

I went to Jugville *giggle*

Sit back, have some nachos with cheese. It's time for a long story. :-)


Friday


Friday night I met Dragonflies for a drink on my way through Milwaukee. It was her birthday, so we had extra reasons to celebrate. I had a nice, albiet short, chat with her. She gave me two cupcakes and said I had to share with Breezy. *pouty face*


I then hit the ferry terminal. The high speed Lake Michigan Ferry was the first of its kind...not sure if it is anymore. It's about two years old now. It has very ample seating and observation areas. It made the trip in 2.5 hours. Had I gone around Chicago it would've been about 6 hours. This was much better.

Breezy picked me up at the ferry and we headed back to her new digs with the new man. He wasn't very chatty when we got there because he fell asleep on the couch. :-) I changed into my jammies and insited on having a glass of Breezy Slush. *burp*

Saturday

Breezygirl was in a wedding on Saturday...in Jugville...at The Shack. She looked so grown up as a junior bridesmaid! Everyone commented she was getting taller than Breezy. *snort* BTW, Breezy's ex? Looks about 25. I think she robbed the cradle on that one. :-)

Ok, so The Shack was actually a nice place. But it was in Jugville. *snort* And in case you forget, they remind you that you are in the good ol' US of A.

Oh, I should probably give Bravie a PSA on Breezy's driving: Bring a copy of directions with you. She isn't very good at remembering. :-)

We stopped at a fruit stand on the way home so I could buy some Michigan cherries and blueberries to take home. YUM! We headed back home to drink more Breezy Slush. Wheeeeeee! Then I was kind of high maintenance and wanted to go check out the Summer Celebration grounds early. There was a tiki bar area I wanted to check out.

We made sure we looked extra hot (like we need to try *hair flip*), just in case JD wanted to take us on tour with him.

See, Breezy put in curlers and everything:

Oh fine...I'll be nice and save it for later...blackmail. :-)

So it was off to Summer Celebration and INXS!!!!!!!!! We checked out the tiki bar, which had some strange country/bluesy singing man. It was a little strange. So we headed back to the grounds to hear the opening act, Four Finger Five. We realized we could ditch our seats and go stand up front through the whole concert, so I whined until we did. :-) We were situation next to Four Finger Five's lead singer's dad. Breezy made friends with the dad. And we knew he'd leave when the openers were over, so that also meant we could scoot forward another row. Because Glow would want us to have good seats, we moved up to second row. :-) Breezy is good at elbowing her way into things. The people liked being behind us because she was short. Really, they told me that when she went to the bathroom. *snort*


Literally, this was the best time I'd ever had at a concert. We were so close, the music was so good, and my friend Breezy was by my side (<---look, that's the name of an INXS song).
Here's how close we were (I know, he needs a haircut..but his eyes make up for it):









And this was where JD changed t-shirts on stage. *drool*




See those two heads in front of me in this pic? Yeah, that was littleblondebitchymom and her five year old daughter. He son, close to the same age) was standing in front of her, pressed against the metal fence. Because that's where it's safe for kids during a concert. A fight broke out right behind us between some guys and a few girls. A girl got punched by a guy. Yeah, smart move keeping your small children there, lady. And I'm sure their eardrums are fine. *rolls eyes* Did I mention they got guitar picks and a drumstick? And the mom kept rocking her daughter and hitting Breezy. *whack*


Breezy and I at the concert, managing to have a good time, despite littleblondebitchymom (look! We had beads! I'd be happy to give them to JD):


My JD moments:

I got a cup. He passed out cups to pour champagne into. I got a cup, but he got a little excited with the champagne and it exploded all over by the time he got to us.

Then, during Afterglow, I was singing along, with my hands clenched by my heart (more out of sheer crowding necessity than feeling the love). He pointed at me and put his hand by his heart. *dreamy sigh*

After the awesome concert, Breezy took me to a few bars. Unfortunately, at the last bar, I got a queasy stomach and couldn't even drink soda. Breezy drank enough for BOTH of us, though. I got up in the morning and her pants were in the living room. Why? *HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURL* Yep, she puked.


Sunday

She was NOT in good condition the next morning. She meditated in the backseat while her bf drove me to the ferry. I imagine yesterday afternoon made for a long day. :-)

*smooch* to Breezy for showing me an awesome time and sharing my best INXS memories with me.

What was that thing?

*snacks on tray of squeaky fresh curd*

Hmmmm. I swear I was supposed to go somewhere tonight. WHERE was that?

*taps pencil against forehead*

Nope. I got nuthin'.

Happy Holiday Hangover!

I hate going back to work after a holiday.

Let's have some taco dip piled high with cheddar to wallow in our holiday hangover.

I hope you had a fun day off and celebrated in some way, shape or form.

We did yardwork during the day, found out our shower was leaking and did some repair of that mess, and cooked a yummy dinner. Chris made some guac, bacon & cheddar burgers. I made grilled endive with blue cheese and a balsamic vinegarette and dilled potato salad. Our friend came over for dinner and we ate on the patio. Then it was off to the outdoor theatre to see The Merchant of Venice. It was hot out for most of the play. Around 9:30 it started to really cool down. At 10:00 it started to sprinkle. The play finished at 10:15 (reduced Shakespeare this is not) and then it POURED rain. We walked back to the car drenched.

I never realized The Merchant of Venice was so anti-semitic. I knew the general premise of the play, but had never read it, nor seen it performed. Wow, it was sad in many respects.

Picture Day

Sharp and Medium cheddar slices today.
I just downloaded pics from the camera and thought I'd share a few.

The pie (yeah, not picture perfect, but darn tasty). I took this one just for all of you:


Sushi making night, kitty style:

Garden pics:

This post brought to you by Visa.

*picture a serene, tree lined river, a canoe floating along on a sunny, mild day*

Bag of charcoal: $3

Case of beer: $16

*enter motorboat, whizzing by the canoe*

Capsizing your canoe: $325

Priceless my aras. So, apparently I suck at canoeing on rivers where there are motorized boats. We capsized in deep water. Chris lost his $250 glasses and favorite bucket hat. I lost my sunglasses. We had to swim against current, pushing the canoe (there was no getting back in out there) to a sandbar. OH, and my niece was sitting in an innertube behind us. That added a lot of extra drag. But we made it to the sandbar. I realized Chris didn't check the Camelback (water backpack, for those unfamiliar) pocket before he put it in the canoe. I had my MP3 player in there from my Saturday walk. It no longer works.

On a brighter note, I picked a ton of blackcaps (like smaller blackberries) this weekend. I made a pie, and still have a huge bowl of berries leftover.

"If I were single/attached I would...."

Put the shoe on the other foot from where you are right now. Pretend you are either single or coupled up. What would you enjoy about your new life?

I would eat cereal and frozen dinners for more meals, and would thus probably lose some weight.

I would indulge in more craptacular tv.

7/7/07

Cottage cheese for a healthy afternoon snack.


I will be with Breezy on the lucky 7/7/07 day. What do you think will happen to us?

Weekend & Celeb gossip

A salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, and fresh, sliced mozzarella with a balsamic italian vinegarette.

I walked 14 miles on Saturday. I found a great bike/hike path to walk on for these long distances. It's about a 30 minute drive, but hooks up with the state park with the pool. :-) I realized about an hour into the walk that I should've eaten more than a bowl of cereal two hours before the walk. I found some ripe blackberries along the path, though, so all was good.

I seal coated the patio...that didn't go well. I have marks on it that will need to be sanded out. Sigh.

I went pea picking at our CSA farm. Anybody want some snap peas?

I'm loving A Thousand Splendid Suns. Has anyone else started it? I'm not very far, but am already engrossed.

My Celebrity Gossip: I think Playmate Kendra (one of Hef's girlfriends) is related to Bravie. They look a lot alike.

Alone

I am flying solo tonight. Chris is surprisingly heading to his brother's for some evening boating and morning fishing.

Maybe I'll bake tonight. Glow's suggestion of snickerdoodles was good. Wish I hadn't left my book at the pool or I'd read a lot tonight.

Tomorrow, I'm going for a 10 mile walk and then I'll hit the pool.

Wish I had a DVR of shows to watch tonight. :-) *waves at MTW* Maybe he'll invite me over.

Chips!

Fried mozzarella sticks today with marinara for dipping.

I'm at a loss on what to write today.

Let's talk about chips. What are your favorite kinds?

I bought a bag of Trader Joes Hawaiian Style Salt & Vinegar chips last week. I like them muchly. They aren't as thick as most kettle chips, but a little thicker and crispier than standard chips. I never used to like salt & vinegar chips, but found out a few years ago they are yummy.

I'm also a big fan of plain Ruffles and Dean's French Onion Dip.

Habanero Doritos are my favorite Dorito.

Sour Cream and Cheddar Baked Ruffles are yummy.

And is the Cheeto really a chip? I like em crunchy or puffy. *waves to puffy*

Well, I didn't cry

Nachos with cheddar and asadero for today's snacking.

Tuesday afternoon with my nephews was fine. I only had the older two (the youngest went to daycare with my sister). They were on great behavior. We went to Target and I was able to leave them alone to shop with no problems.

Wednesday was our busy day. They were already in a punchy mood when we left at 9:15 for Cave of the Mounds. They listened to my rules of "be quiet on the tour, listen to the guide, stay on the path." However, I forgot about the "do not touch the cave surfaces" rule the guide talks about. Nick has major tactile issues and was about crawling out of his skin not being able to touch & feel things. They shouted numerous nonsensical things during the tour, and that was frustrating for everyone. Nick started making fart noises with his hands. That was bad. Finally, the tour was over and we were in the gift shop. I told them they could get a bag of stones (they collect things like that) to share. CRASH! Nick broke an item (by accident). Sigh. They didn't make us buy it. I could tell he was upset about it. So we quickly bought our rocks and left.

Then it was off for our picnic. Dumb idea since the boys don't eat normal food. Brett only likes chicken nuggets, no sandwiches, nothing. So he brought cold pop tarts, which he won't eat the edges from. That was all he had. Nick wanted pb&j, with crusts off (well, he wanted "Uncrustables" but I refuse to buy those rip offs), and he ate exactly half of that. And one bite of an apple wedge.

The park had an outdoor pool that is REALLY nice. We went. Brett swam. Nick? Screamed and bellered constantly about the water being too cold to get in. Poor people kept having to walk away from him because he was just repeating phrases loudly at them. Sigh. I wanted to be able to wear a sign explaining his behaviors, but of course, I can't. I felt bad for him. But also iritated he wouldn't swim.

Anyway, at that point, I was pissed they didn't seem to like anything we did, and I was out $50 for the day. We packed up and went home (before I could even get in the pool. I was going to tan for 45 minutes & then swim.). The ride was pretty quiet, but suddenly Brett said "Thank you for taking us to Cave of the Mounds and stuff today." I melted. They didn't hate it.

Gearing up for kiddos

*snort* No, I'm not preggers. :-)

Have some cheesy broccoli and cauliflower today. I need some veggies.

This afternoon and tomorrow I'm watching the nephews. You remember them, the three troubled boys of my troubled, divorced sister? Wish me luck. These kids don't like anything we'd normally do with kids (movies, mini golf, bowling, etc), so I'm being creative.

We are going spelunking at Cave of the Mounds near Madison. It's a cave tour and you can do various childrens mining activities for stones. They are big collectors of rocks, marbles, and lots of actual junk, so I thought this would be good. Now, if I can keep them from wandering off the path and hanging from stalagtites, we'll be good.

As a carrot for their behavior, that afternoon we'll potentially go to the nearby state park that has a pool. It's apparently rarely busy during the week in the summer, and they've been complaining about the bullies at their city pool, so this should be a good thing for them. The park also has some cool trails and observation towers.

This afternoon we are just hanging out at their house and planning for tomorrow. Wish me luck.

I'm back and fancier than evah!

Brie wrapped in phyllo for you today.

It's good to be back at work. It was a long week away.

1. Why do so many children fly at night? My flight out was filled with kiddos. It didn't get into CA from the midwest until 11:30, so there were lots of grumpy children when they had to get up. The kid behind me kicked my seat the whole time. On the way home, I had a red eye flight and again, filled with kiddos. It was a full flight and I had mom, ~6 month old twins and a 2 year old boy in my aisle. The twins were great. The boy? Laid on his seat horizontally and kicked me the whole time in my thigh. I didn't have the heart to say something to mom with the two twins with her. After all, they were being great!

2. See's lollipops are great.

3. Bravie was guessed at 32 years old. That would STILL make me younger than her.

4. Chris and I helped shear sheep this weekend.

Baaaaahhhh.

I?

Am sitting on the top floor of the Virgin Megastore in downtown SF. I am at Citizen Cupcake enjoying a mocha cupcake and an iced latte while watching the city. This makes me happy.

Should I audition?

Cheeeeeesy pizza for all of you that were left out on sushi night. :-)

The Mountain Dew Street Ball tour is at our hotel. There are bunches of tour buses and limos and tall men with crazy afros. I didn't know such a tour existed, but apparently it does. http://www.mountaindew.com/sports/streetball/

I had a last minute dinner with Sharnina last night. She took me to an awesome brewpub in downtown Hayward. She was kind enough to pick me up and chauffer me to and fro. We ate the yummiest appetizers: giant jalepenoish peppers, stuffed with cheese and wrapped in phyllo. *homer simpson drool* We had beer samplers and Sharnina got so plowed that she was bumbling and crying into her thrid sample. Lightweight. After she gathered herself, we headed out for a lovely walk around downtown Hayward, which was cute. We finished off the evening with a drink from Starbucks. Perfection. *smooch* to Sharnina.

A new week

Grilled chicken sammiches with your choice of toppings, to include a slice of cheese.

My printer at home is effed up. I'm trying to print my boarding passes. I'm off this afternoon for a quick trip to CA for work. I'm flying in late tonight and leaving on the Thursday night/Friday morning red eye. I'm getting a bit sick of the long flight.

We had a really nice weekend. The sushi turned out great. Making the rice was hard work, but the rolls were delicious. Chris also made some yummy teriyaki chicken wings. My friend that lived in Japan ate his wings with chopstix. I was impressed.

We also went to the county dairy breakfast this weekend. It's a Wisconsin tradition. County farms in June host a gigantic dairy breakfast on different weekends. My county held theirs just a few minutes from our house. We ate a yummy breakfast (complete with frozen custard for dessert..hehe!) and played around on the farm. Wow do I still hate farm smells.

We then went north to visit some friends at their house. It was a ton of fun.

*yawn* I suppose I should pack up the computer and get myself together for the day.

Everybody take off your underpants.

Have some taco dip with lots of shredded cheddar.

Can it be underpantsless Friday?

Remember-sushi tonight-6:00.

*PBBBBBTHTHTBBB*

Ah, that's better.

Now where IS that tainted milk?

Work is such a bother.

Strawberry cheesecake today.

I'm eating fresh strawberries and peaches. Yum! I also had a white chocolate mocha in honor of Boo (ok, it was an iced mocha).

My day is seriously insane and my boss won't leave me alone. I was here at 7:15 hoping I'd get a ton done before she got here. She came in at 7:25. Lucky effing me.

I'm attempting to make sushi tomorrow night. Wish me luck.

Shopping!

Phyllo wrapped brie and herbs today.

I like shopping when I have a mission. Yesterday's missions? Walking shoes and Bath & Body Works.

Shoes
I went to a specialty store in Madison. They are mostly focused on running, but it was ok, they respected walkers, too. :-)

Apparently I don't pronate as much as I thought, so that was good. I tried on 12 pairs of shoes, and tried most of them out on the treadmill and sidewalk. The salesgirl was very patient. It came down to a pair of Women's Saucony ProGrid™ Triumph 4s or the Brooks Radius 6. Both felt good for very different reasons. The Brooks offered more support, but the Saucony offered more cushiony feelings. I was really undecided. I went with the cheaper Brooks. As the girl said, frankly, you can wear the best cushioned shoes on your walk and your feet will still hurt at the end of 60 miles. I decided not twisting and ankle was more important and the Brooks were also less bulky.

Bath and Body Works
*dreamy sigh* I power shopped and it was fun. Here were my grabs:
3 shower gels
2 creamy lotions
2 body butters
2 travel sized things
1 new scent trial size lotion
1 travel sized shower pouf (I've been dreaming of a smaller one and there it was for $1!)
4 packs of Wallflower refills

All for about $50. *dreamy sigh*

Grump Grump Grump Grump

Artichoke dip and bread, because it makes me feel better.

I feel like crawling into a hole today. Nothing really specific, just a series of small things weighing on my brain. It must be in the blogger water.

*grumps off*

Misery loves company. Anything make you grumpy today?

Blogger is working better...

Quesedillas for a mid-day snack!

Blogger is cooperating more these days. I can make new posts without jumping through hoops. Yay!

I love you guys. Just sayin'.

We sealed our garage floor this weekend with one of those Epoxy Shield kits. It was a ton of work to clean the garage out and then scrub the floor with the acid wash, but the "painting" was painless. I was the edger and color chip thrower. I felt like I was throwing rice at a wedding. :-) Pics to follow in the next day or two. Fascinating stuff, I know.

Serious post

Serious posts call for serious cheese. Warm brie with a pear compote and baguettes.

Babies. They are on my mind. A friend just gave birth last week to her first. Another friend is due with her second in a few weeks. MIL read Chris the riot act, telling him we are financially stable, have a large enough home and we are selfish if we don't allow her a grandchild. A grandchild is "her right."

Growing up, I always assumed I'd get married and have children. I never was around children that much when I began to get older. I was the youngest grandchild, and all the great grandchildren lived farther away or we just weren't close. I was also my parent's youngest child and all the family friends were past the age of having more children. I babysat sometimes for a job. I hated it. I liked the freedom of babysitting, but never was able to get into playing with the kids.

MIL is right, all the reasons we put off having kids in our early twenties are behind us now. However, we just went though a really rocky period and some mental health issues stemming from Chris's stressful job. Repairing our emotions and being really self aware of our behaviors have been our primary goal lately. It's not an easy, short path.

However, things ARE getting better. Maybe now WOULD be a good time to have children. But I still don't feel the desire. I like babies well enough. I never really get that yearning thing going on, but I do enjoy babies. It's the 1-8 year old phase I REALLY have trouble with. I DREAD spending more than a few days with children of this age. It's not the kids fault. I just have very little patience for things like squeeling, repeating things, nonsensical things and messy things. And it's not like I'm a stuffy prude. I just have some emotional issue with all that. By 9, it's usually getting to a point where I can find commonalities with kids and have a better relationship with them. Still not great, but better.

I've always thought maybe adoption would be good. And I have always thought controling children's behaviors (like those that bug me above) are easier when there is only one child. Chris was never in favor of either of those things and HE isn't feeling the need to have a child, either.

So I don't know. Maybe it's time to revisit all this with Chris. None of this would be entering my mind if MIL weren't so pushy about it. I understand HER yearning, but I'm not willing to do it just for her. THAT is selfish of her. I don't care if she spent half her life raising her children. That doesn't mean I have an obligation.

So this is what's seriously weighing on my mind right now. I don't know if I'm looking for advice or just wanted to get this out and organize my thoughts, but anything you have to say is appreciated. Just please try not to directly call me a selfish pig. Find nicer words.

8 Randoms

I think I was tagged by Jen(beauty) & Bravie, but I'm old now and can't remember things as well.

1. I generally only buy brown and black shoes. I'm not very shoeventurous.

2. As much as I love to cook, I think I could eat cereal for dinner each night.

4. The garage is my favorite room in my house. If you've never scraped snow, ice and frost from your car, you wouldn't understand. Sure, it's also nice for rain and hail, but the winter stuff is what I love it most for.

5. I bite my cuticles incessantly and need to stop.

6. I can't play softball. The only times I played were in gym class and a few family picnics when I was really, really young.

7. The grade school I went to is closed and my high school was torn down and rebuilt elsewhere.

8. I'm currently researching reasons why I SHOULDN'T support Obama's bid for the Democratic nom. I read his "Dreams of My Father" book this month. I have a few notions that bother me, so I'm researching them and figuring out his actual stance and if it's enough to take my support away. I suspect I will continue to support him.

Bonus Randoms!
9. Monsty mentioned something about respecting her mother and it made me think I should respect my MIL more.

10. I am just average at math. I wish I were above average. If I look at my cumulative college GPA (Bachelors plus a class), it fell to a 3.0. *pout*

Breakfast

Hashbrowns with cheddar cheese and salsa on top for breakfast.

Isn't breakfast great? Our summer plans include finding pancake breakfasts, etc to hit on the weekends. You know, those fundraising ones. June is dairy month, so there are a bunch in WI this coming month. July might be a little more difficult. It will be a fun distraction from working.

I might blog about something more serious later. I'm fine, just rolling over thoughts in my head and could use some feedback.

I'm baaaack

Fondue this morning. Grab some veggies and bread cubes and dip in.

I have had a busy last few weeks! After my final, we hit MILs to put in her garden (two weekends ago). It was back breaking labor. Then, Mon-Wed last week, I put my garden in and did a ton of yard work. I was beat by Thursday morning. However, I still had to pack for camping. We left Thursday afternoon for our annual Memorial Day camping trip. We always hit a state park for a long weekend.

This year we went to Perrot State Park on the Mississippi. It was beautiful. Last year we purchased a bigger tent and I love it. We used to have a small, low to the ground tent (all the better for keeping the warm air in), but to me, it was worth the space to get the new one. There is a certain enjoyment in standing up to change clothes instead of rolling around on the air mattress.

When we returned home yesterday, we took a nap, then hung out on the patio reading the newspaper. It was a beautiful evening.

Sigh...back to work now. I have a ton of stuff to do. That's always the bad part about vacation.

Breakfast and tv

Custom-made omelets this morning....however, they must contain cheese. What would you like?

I had a big breakfast *burp* I love breakfast. This summer, we are hitting pancake breakfasts in the region. We start the weekend after Memorial Day. :-)

AI: I didn't watch it all, but I'm pulling for Blake. I think Jordin is the MUCH better singer, but I'd like to see someone win that would play a creative part in their music. I think Jordin would just take whatever is spoon-fed to her and sing it. I'm tired of that in music.

LOST: The finale is on tonight! I'm making dinner for a guest and will name every dish and drink after the show. *giggle* You can tell I'm on vacation.

Today Show: Angelina Jolie is on shortly. She's being interviewed by Anne Curry (whom I adore) mostly because of her new movie about Daniel Pearl. I somehow missed she's playing Daniel Pearl's wife. Interview is on now...Angelina is crying recalling the Pearl family. I'm looking forward to that. John Edwards was interviewed by Matt Lauer this morning. Not incredibly rivetting.

Off to put bark down in the flower beds.....

Happy Tuesday!

Bacon and swiss puffs today.

Vacation is good. I shoveled half a dump truck worth of dirt at my MILs house last weekend. That hurt.

Yesterday I hand weeded the garden, planted the garden, got some wood out of the woods, shoveled compost, pulled weeds in flower beds and watered lots of things. I could barely move last night. I have a conference call this morning, so thought I'd take it easy and play on the computer. I have cats draped all over me.

Now, who has been misbehaving around here? I know one of you must be causing trouble this week.

Cheers!

Screw the cheese, we are having drinks.

I'm done! I think I did ok. Not stellar, but ok.

I was hoping you'd all wear jeans and a black top to my blog party today.

*hands out feather boas*

Summer planning

Really stringy string cheese today.

I'm going into panic mode about my exam tomorrow. I've done a reasonable amount of studying, but could use another week to do more practice problems.

On a semingly unrelated note, What is ONE thing you really want to accomplish this summer, or a different way you want to spend your time this summer opposed to past ones?

Tick tock!

A cheddar variety tray today. White cheddar, mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, and smoked cheddar.

Two more days til my final and I'll be FREEEEEEE for the summer. Yay! I'm looking forward to my week off next week. I have TONS of yardwork to do and need to get back in walking mode for my training.

I have a cake sitting on my desk. It's from a Sweet N' Low cake mix. I made a white cake with strawberries, sugar free lemon pudding and cool whip for my last coworkers b-day (she's pre-diabetic). For this coworkers birthday, I made a white cake (I had bought two, thinking I'd double the batch last time and didn't) with a few mini chocolate chips and low sugar chocolate frosting. So, you can have two pieces. :-)

Community Supported Agriculture

Herbed goat cheese and thin, crispy crackers today.

Have any of you participated in community supported ag farms by purchasing shares? My health insurance provider offers a $200 rebate on share purchases. My sister and I are splitting a full share and are each getting the $200 rebate (total cost for a share is $470, so only a $35 investment each for the whole season-18 weeks).

We get one delivery each week June-October of whatever is in season. This will be fun! You'll have to help me find ways to use some really strange veggies. :-)

Asthma

WTF? Chris has asthma.

And he'll be getting a sleep study done soon for his snoring issues.

Ye gads.

Great Googly Moogly!

I just wanted to say that.

Appenzeller and crackers today.

I got lots of studying done this weekend. I also pulled some weeds and tried to clean the house. The laundry was stacking up and there was cat fur everywhere.

I made Scotch-a-roos (the peanut butter rice krispie treats) and tried to make them with less sugar. I used some Splenda, reduced sugar peanut butter and instead of the melted chip frosting, I used canned low sugar frosting. Meh. They aren't as good as the full sugar version, but still sugary and yummy.

I use the word "Meh" a lot.

ETA:
I'm creating a new blog for those that want to talk LUSH items. I'm always looking for trustworthy product reviews. You can find it here:
http://otlushies.blogspot.com/

Bravie is irascible.

Cream cheese danishes for breakfast with a rich cup of coffee or bright cup of tea.

TGIF. It's my last day of classes! Yay! My final isn't until next Friday, so I have lots of time to study. Chris is working overtime on Saturday, so I'm going to his office with my books and studying. Better than being at home where I'd study for an hour and wander off.

What are peeps doing this weekend? I'm resisting gardening so I can study instead. Sigh.

I remembered everything!

Gouda and grapes today.

I remembered all my stuff today! Whew!

I thought I was over being sick, but last night I hung out in the bathroom a lot. Which leads me to my totally disgusting question of the day. It's poop related. Maybe Dr. Oz will visit my blog and answer my question.

How long does waste stay in your intestinal system, on average? I'm not talking like the stuff they get out with colon cleansing. I'm talking about how much time elapses between poop development and excretion.

*grin*

WTF Happened to my Brain?

Sharp cheddar and apples today.

OMG, I'm getting so forgetful! I have too much on my mind these days.

Examples from the last three days:

Sunday: In the airport, I realized I'd thrown away (at the hotel) a very, very important piece of paper that will take a long time and a lot of people to reconstruct.

Tuesday: Got to work and realized I'd forgotten to reattach my glob of office keys to my key ring (I like to travel light), so couldn't get into my office. I also forgot to put my Palm and mailbox keys (for work) back into my purse.

Today: I remembered to put everything into my purse this morning! And then walked out the door without my purse.

Sigh.

Whew, feeling better!

Manchego and french bread today for my bloggie friends. It's been awhile since I've posted much of substance.

First, I had a nice time in SF, other than getting sick. Meeting Boo was great. I love, love, love her accent. It most suprised me that she was soft spoken. I know, whodathunk?! I'm excited we'll get to spend more time getting to know eachother on the walk, as our time together last week was very short.

My dinner with Sharnina didn't happen, as my colleagues had other plans for us and I wasn't sure when I'd be back Friday night.

Bravie and I had a lovely time at church on Saturday morning. All that shaking people's hands must have gotten me sick.

I'm feeling a bit better right now. I'm eating cooked carrots. I wasted so much food on Sunday, trying to convince myself I was hungover or just really hungry and needed to eat.

Why do so many people hate cooked carrots.

*groan*

No cheese today. I feel like carp.

I'm home and feeling horrid. I blame bravie.

Diagnosis him

Brie and sourdough today.

So tell me, what is wrong with Chris?
Symptoms are:
Loss of appetite
Sore throat
Chest Congestion
Coughing
Fever of 101, but controllable with ibuprofen (goes down, then back up again)
Chills, sweats

This has been going on for a week and has progressively gotten worse. My thoughts were strep throat or mono.

I leave tomorrow for CA, he's supposed to go fishing (it's opening weekend in WI)...we'll see if he does. I'd like him to hit the doc today or tomorrow.

I have so effing much work to do before we leave, but am stalled right now, as I'm waiting for a piece from my boss (she is the worst procrastinator evah!).

I wanted to get my hair cut, but ran out of time. I might hit Cost Cutters or something tonight. Otherwise, I'll just be droopy hair girl.

Could it BE any more beautiful?

Butterkase cubes today. Grab a toothpick.

What a GREAT weekend! The weather was gorgeous. In the high 70s-mid 80s all weekend and lots of sun.

We watched my niece all weekend. She's such a tween (12). She just started shaving her legs this year and got contacts. *giggle* So cute.

I, with nieces help, landscaped the patio. Poor Chris has been sick, so he wasn't able to enjoy much of the sun on Saturday. Two of my solar lights don't work, so I have to return one of the packs. Too bad we burned the boxes. Ooops. I also put in tikis and some grasses and flowers. I just need more flowers and bark now. Well, and to finish off the deck that will connect to the patio.

My dad came over and we enjoyed a campfire Saturday night. I need marshmallow roasting sticks (metal ones) so I can quit scouring the woods for branches.

Sunday I laid in the sun for a bit (yes, I had sunscreen on!) and took a long walk. I did a little homework on the patio, too, because it was just too nice to be inside.

Did you have nice weather this weekend?

My bath & the curve

Beer and jalepeno cheddar spread with crackers for this lovely Friday!

Heh, the math exam average? 51
We don't have our grades back yet (we get those next week), but the curve was broken down today.

So the other night I used the Sex Bomb LUSH bath bomb. I was grossed out because there were some undissolved gel floaty gobs left in the tub. Since it was a Sex Bomb thing, I couldn't help but think it looked like gobs of youknowwhat in my bath. And you thought bravie's blog was disturbing today.

Enough of my whining

Thanks to all the support, advice and banter in my last thread. There's nothing I can change now about the exam, so I'll soldier on with a good attitude.

Smoked cheddar and apples this afternoon.

I have an important concern. Why can't I find fresh basil anywhere around here over the last few weeks? All the grocery stores are out. This is very strange. I want to make some yummy Thai food tonight, but I need basil! Myabe I should look for a plant. I usually plant one in the summer, anyway. I can nurse it inside for a month.

*sob* I hate Math!

Queso dip and tortilla chips to cure my blues.

I just took a math exam (the last regular one of the semester). OMFG, what the hell?! As one kid said when we finished, "Am I in the right room?" I am going to see if there are any options, as I KNOW I (at best) only pulled a D on this.

On a better note, I have some peep meeting in progress for next week. I think I'll be joining Bravie and Boo for dinner on Thursday. I have to work all day on Friday, so I'll miss out on some other peep meet opportunities. :-(

Misc.

Chevre with garlic and chives on crackers this morning.

The Baby Shower
I forgot to tell you about the baby shower this weekend. We all know how I love showers! We played a thirty minute long candy bar game. Ok, grandma got the question about sex (answer was Skor), so that was good for a laugh! Then it was a nursery rhyme game (30 questions...I quit halfway through). Then it was "taste the babyfood." I've never tasted babyfood and had no desire to start. I looked at it as a foodie challenge and stepped up to the plate. I got 6/10. I'll consider that good since I've never had the stuff before.

Salads!
I'm very into the plan of making more salads for dinner.

Next week
Jeepers, I just got back from a trip. Time to fly out to Oakland again next week (Wed-Sun). Hopefully I'll get to play with Boo and Bravie. My plan is to visit a LUSH store this time.

Project Days
Time to do a little yard work. The patio needs to be de-ant-infested and sealed, grass around the area needs to be tilled up and made into flower beds, mulch added to all landscaping, retaining walls finished and firepit reassembled. The fire pit is too tall. It doesn't produce enough warmth. The fire stays too well contained. Thus, we are taking a layer of stone off.

Smores!
I think we shall have smores this weekend. We are watching my niece and will have a campfire. Wish I'd have bought those coconut marshmallows a few weeks ago.

Argh!

So busy! Baby swiss and mimosas this morning.

I feel like I missed out on a great weekend to walk and do yardwork. I spent all day Saturday flying back. Sunday I had a baby shower that took up half the day. I have an exam on Wednesday, so no outside time for me til after that. *pout* My tulips are blooming, though. That pleases me.

I brought back some Peet's mocha sanini coffee beans and sourdough bread. Come have breakfast with me.

California Dreamin'

California brie and pears, ladies and gents.

I want to live on the west coast. I love the people, I love the landscape, I love the culture.

I went for a drive (in my fun rental car described in post chatter below) when I got in. Had some good Thai food in the business district. I parked and meandered til I found something that looked good. I then drove the Fruitvale area. Interesting international area. I'd like to eat some mexican there. Taco trucks everywhere! I stopped at an ethnic food mart to pick up some snacks for our room. The strawberries are effing outstanding.

I went on a power walk along the marina that runs by our hotel. It was chilly (windy) yet relaxing. The native plants in the park (there are so many city parks!) were gorgeous.

Tonight we asked our shuttle driver for a food recommendation in Jack London Square. He recommended Yoshi's. We had a FABULOUS sushi dinner.

So I'm full, my boss will be arriving soon and I should get some sleep. Til tomorrow...

TGIT?

...or Thank God Tuesday is Over is more appropriate.

Have some gouda cubes and breathe a sigh of relief with me.

These last few days have been killer. So much to do, so little time to do it! I have some piles cleared off my desk. I think there are only ten instead of fifteen now. I've also been a little crabby today. I engaged in some debates on OT that I probably should've just stayed out of because I'm feeling lackluster about arguing points right now.

I leave for CA tomorrow. 6:00 a.m. flight (I need to leave the house by 4:30). Ugh. My plan was to get to CA early and hit the Livermore valley for wine. However, our wine cabinet is stocked and it would just be throwing away money right now. So I'll likely get to the hotel, check in early and take a nice long walk.

I'll check in over the week, I'm sure, so behave.

I need a drink

Chevre and baguettes with mimosas!

It's been a long, busy morning already. Class, working on a presentation and creating a reading list have all be accomplished in a few hours. Whew!

I had a nice weekend, despite a rocky start.

Friday we had pizza after work at a new joint. Service was painfully slow, but it was their opening weekend. I came home and opened my LUSH box. Decided to try the Avobath.

Saturday started out with the laundry room flooding. Chris was soaking beer bottles in the utility sink to get labels off. I forgot about it, and started the washing machine...that drains into the same sink. Doh! I spent the morning cleaning the laundry room (needed to be done anyway) and the spare bathroom from floor to ceiling. Chris then left for man-day (beer brewing). I then went for a six mile walk in LOVELY weather. I vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen and installed some new candle sconces (I didn't even make any mistakes in my drilling). Then I took a long bath with my new Ne Worry Pas bath bomb. Then I watched part of Sideways. Man, that's a deep, depressing movie. I finished the evening with some grilled venison and asparagus and half a bottle of zinfandel.

Sunday was boring. It was nice out, so I did some yard work. Planted my Spring Hill Nursery purchases, moved the compost bin and helped Chris put down fertilizer. We also put down lime to hopefully help our grub/mole problem. Between the lime and moving the compost bin, I hope it helps.

Chris watched the new show Drive. Didn't do much for me, the few times I glanced at it. I watched TAR and the Food Network Awards instead (while doing homework).

Hope you had a lovely weekend. Sorry to the east coasters for all that nasty rain.

Back to work.

Steve Jobs presentation to shareholders

Bacon & blue cheese burgers for this sunny Friday!

Here's an excellent laugh.

http://www.mofunny.com/Movies/AppleIraq.wmv

Cats!

Cojack and sausage with crackers today. I'm going traditional Wisconsin on you.

Just thought I'd show some cat pics today.


Ali:

Bartleby:

Loki:

Product talk

Marinated veggies with feta today.

I have some products on my mind today.

1. Toasted coconut marshmallows.
I did not buy any yesterday, even though they were half off. They are the BEST campfire marshmallows. If were weren't expecting 7-10 inches of snow today, I might have given in. I'm just not in campfire mode yet.

ETA pic of the snow so far today. We came home early.

2. Spring Hill Nursery
I received a shipment of perennials from them yesterday. They have the best looking plants and best packaging of any nursery company I've used. I have to thank OT & Blogland for the suggestion, as I know I asked last year about catalog nurseries and received them as a suggestion.

3. Brown sugar and fig lotion from B&BW
I can't really decide how I feel about the scent. I bought it because it was one of a few major sale scents after Christmas and am using it for my work lotion. It's definitely a wintery smell.

4.Coconut Cream coffee creamer
It's not flavorful enough. I love the smell. And want some coconut cake.

5. Downy Wrinkle Release
I almost bought some yesterday (I spent $40 on paper products and cleaning products at Target yesterday...why do they all run out at the same time???), but am skeptical. Does it work?

I hope my Lush products get here today. It would be a good night for a bath.

Mean people suck

Have some chevre and french bread.

I don't like mean, arrogant people. Luckily, I don't have many of those people in my life. Wouldn't it be nice if we could round all of them up and send them to the South Pole?

Think of five people you'd like to send there.

A great weekend over

Guyere toasts with a tiny dash of nutmeg and parsley.

What an enjoyable weekend it was. Saturday afternoon we had Easter/kid's birthday party at my sister's house. It was a nice time. I got to eat deviled eggs, so it was also a tasty time.

Then it was off to my BIL's place for some family bonding. It was fine. I hate that he rarely plans food unless it's a party, so you have to ask for food if you are hungry (we arrived at 5 and it was 8, so our tummies were growling...the closest restaurants are a bit of a drive). The usual answer is "there's chips and salsa in the cabinet." Long story short, I got a grilled cheese this time and was happy. I love grilled cheese.

Sunday, since we aren't religious peeps, Chris went fishing with a buddy and I did projects around the house. Got some filing done, the regular household cleaning and painted the interior of the door in our four season room...finally. Now I want a couch in there. I want one with a chaise lounge on one end.

I took a long bath yesterday afternoon. Ahhhhhhhhhh. I want my Lush stuff now! I should be here this week sometime.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. And if anyone has the peanut butter M&Ms in mini egg form, I would take some please. *holds out hand*

Well that was a bad idea

Quiche with chevre for this Saturday morning post.

1. My relaxation at Starbuck's was carpy. They had some salsa music blaring. I felt like I was at Chi Chis. Instead, I went shopping.

2. The afternoon of cocktails was nice. Hit some local joints. Then, Pizzaria Unos, which has a great new happy hour.

3. The wine tasting was fun. I was quite chatty by that point.

4. I thought we'd just go home from there and I'd fall asleep in front of the tv. Instead we went to a new Mexican restaurant. I wasn't even hungry, but we ate anyway. The menu looked so good. By that time, I was a bit sloshed. I didn't much of the excellent dinner. Oh, and I was obviously drunk because I tried to speak spanish to the waiter. *snort*

5. Slept all the way home. Walked in the door and didn't quite make it to the toilet on time. *hurl* I so cleaned it up and took a shower. Chris had to clean up some of the yucky stuff, too. Extra points for him.

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any of the phone calls made yesterday.

A letter to my Twenties

Dear Twenties,

I thought I'd write you a letter on our last day together.

Another decade has passed, another set of lessons learned, another set of good times, another set of bad. It's our last day together. I'm ok with that. I'm ready to let you go and hold on to the memories.

I married, I finished college. Two major landmarks in life. I guess babies and retirement are the other two big ones. Not sure if I'll ever hit the baby landmark and the retirement one is so far away. Gosh, if no babies, what else will I do in my thirties that will be a landmark? Guess I should get busy thinking of something. I hope it's not cancer, a divorce, a death or something else bad.

I suppose my Twenties had a highlight reel beyond those major events. I have been lucky to have some great job experiences. Maybe not glamourous, but they have all taught me something valuable. For example, I know what tapes work best for which applications. I also know how vendor coupons get redeemed and got to work in a popular FLLW designed building. I started working for the drain that is the State. However, I found an excellent job making a difference. It's something I always wanted to do...make a difference. I just wasn't sure I'd be able to find a job that paid enough to support my other dreams.

Speaking of those dreams, it's pretty cool that we build a house. And we have a little spot of serenity there.

What am I sad about from my Twenties? Chris and I had a few rough spots. I share some blame for that. I'll always feel bad about that. My relationship with my middle sister is getting harder to deal with each week. My relationship with my MIL has deteriorated a bit. I'm not torturing myself over any of it, though.

One of my favorite things about my Twenties? Meeting a fabulous group of people online. I seriously mean that. It has enhanced my life beyond words. The bonding, the outlet for my thoughts, the broad perspectives and caring people have meant the world to me.

And finally, Twenties, I just wanted to say thanks for all you did over the last ten years. You've prepared me to enter my Thirties in a happy place.

Love,

Me

St. Patrick's Day, 2007

-This Thursday bonus post brought to you by the spongemonkeys

Txmomma is bossy.

Brie and lobster toasts this morning. Mmmmmm.

1. We watched the first two episodes of Entourage last night. I'm giving it time to grow on me. I think the first few eps are really setting the scene.

2. Lost was a bit of a snoozer last night. I'm excited to see Sayid grill Juliette next week. I'm not a big Juliette fan.

3. We bought Epoxy floor coating kits for our garage. Finishing off the drywall in there and getting the floor sealed is our May project. This? Will not be fun. At least we are hiring someone to finish off the drywall.

4. I have a bunch of free lunch coupons to use. Too bad I don't have a car during the day.

5. One more month of class. I can do this, right?


ETA: Better, momma? :-)

Spongemonkeys replaced by coyote

Brie with a chardonnay and blueberries, accompanied by baguette slices for you today.

Coyote at Quizno's...http://www.channel3000.com/news/11517269/detail.html

I'm going to start watching Entourage season 1 tonight. We don't get HBO, so I've never watched it. However, I love Jeremy Piven.

I would like to cook a gourmet meal this weekend. I've been out of the cooking mode for awhile, just tossing easy stuff together. Since we are not attending a family event on Easter Sunday, maybe I will make one then.

I've been feeling quite upbeat lately, although work is dragging me down a bit. My boss is gone and we have three major projects in full swing, plus all that regular everyday stuff. I feel like I'm getting pulled in a billion directions. I just keep taking it day by day.

ETA: I forgot to say something last week about the Sophie/banana thing in MTW's blog. After consideration, I DON'T feel sorry for the picking on Sophie at all. Thank you all for setting me straight on who I should feel sorry for. I feel worst for Nookie. She spend the money, time and effort into getting the banana tour up and running and spent time trying to pry it out of Sophie. Long live Nookie!