Walks

I'm serving bagel halves toasted with tomato & fontina cheese on top. Sounds like a nice way to start the day.

Walks are good. Do you like to take walks? Do you take them very often? By yourself or with someone? Are they more walks or hikes? Where do you go?

I find if I take a walk by myself during the day it puts me in a better state of mind. I found a gorgeous walking trail on campus that I can do in about 30 minutes. It runs right along the lake & then back into the woods. Awesome & peaceful. Of course a gaggle of joggers usually tramples by me and makes me feel uncool for just walking.

I had to walk into work this morning because I'm too cheap to park on campus when I have the car for the day (there are exceptions). I treated myself to a foofy coffee on the way since Starbuck's was on the way. It's a gorgeous morning out.

My nagging headache is still there, though. Why didn't I refill my ibuprofen in my purse?

Am I supposed to feel guilty?

Some snacktastic summer sausage and edam today.

I'm not happy today. I'm tired of being criticzed in RL and indirectly, online. Ever have those times when it feels like you can't please someone/many people? The criticisms and judgments just get really old. I'm feel this negativity surrounding me at every turn. But you know what? The online stuff that is stressing me won't make me take a break or anything. That's not the way I'm going to deal with it. Might make more sense to take a break, but I'm going to continue as usual and hope that if I can retain some happiness & spread it, it might have a good impact all around. The RL stuff isn't so easy to let fly by, but I'm working on it. You know the saying, "you can't change people, you can only change how you react to them"...or something like that. I don't need to force anybody into my mold, I'd just appreciate it if they'd quite trying to force me to stare at THEIR mold & smother me with it.

So, sit, enjoy some cheese and smile. We all need to remember the really good simple things & smile. Oh, and there is some vodka in the cabinet to your left. You may help yourself.

GOP Mail!

Something stinks...Might be the limburger....might be the email below. Don't worry that you don't like limburger. You'll have no appetite left after reading this.

I subscribe to both the Democratic & Republican party emails. Why? To see what kind of propaganda they are both spewing. And it helps me learn who NOT to vote for in various elections.

The one today from the Republican party is a real winner. They'd like me to fill out their survey! I was kind of excited to respond to the items in unexpected ways, however, there is no option other than to leave a comment in the box at the end. But I can't even do that without completing each question...and there is no "other" option to select. Sure, they take away all my fun. Speaking of fun, just imagine all the ways these survey results will be used by the party in future advertising. yay!

1.) Which issues will be most important in determining your vote this November? (select up to three)
Keeping Taxes Low
Immigration & border security
Winning the War On Terror
Growing Our Economy
Improving education
Increasing access to affordable health care
Protecting Social Security
Energy independence
Appointing qualified judges
Strengthening marriage and the family
Morals and ethics in government

2.) What is the most important reason for maintaining and expanding our Republican majorities in 2006? (select one)
To ensure that America continues to stand united and strong in fighting the War on Terror
To help President Bush enact his reform agenda for America
To keep Democrat leaders like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Howard Dean from pushing through their extreme left-wing agenda
To make President Bush's tax cuts permanent and keep our economy growing
To uphold our nation's bedrock values

3.) If the Democrats win control of the Congress in 2006, what is the one thing you would be most worried would happen?
Democrats will try to censure or impeach President Bush
Democrat would raise your taxes
Democrats would cut and run from the central front in the War on Terror
Democrats would sell out American values to Hollywood liberals
Democrats would impose government-run health care

4.) As you know, President Bush has announced a bold reform agenda for 2006. Which of his initiatives is most important to you? (select one)
Fighting and Winning the War on Terror
Comprehensive immigration reform that secures our borders
Making tax relief permanent for all taxpayers
Making America more competitive in the global marketplace
Reducing America's dependence on foreign sources of energy by half

5.) From which sources do you receive most of your news and political information? (select multiple)
ABC News
CBS News
NBC News
Fox News Channel
CNN
MSNBC
News websites
Blogs
Daily Newspaper
Radio
E-mail
News/Opinion Magazines
Friends and Family
Other

6.) On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend voting Republican in the next election to a friend or a colleague?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7.) As an online activist, what features would you like to see on GOP.com? (select multiple)
More ways to connect with fellow Republicans
Volunteer opportunities in my area
Web videos & podcasts with key newsmakers
Online polls
The latest breaking news
Information on the issues important to me
Information on GOP candidates and elected officials
Online Diaries from GOP political leaders
Other

Housework Accomplished

Have some longhorn colby & let me tell you of all I accomplished this weekend.

1. Made wrap sandwiches for Chris's potluck on Saturday (He's a member of the local Experimental Aircraft Association....that's a topic for another day).

2. Did 4 loads of laundry

3. Dusted, vacuumed, swept floors

4. Cleaned bathrooms...even the entire exterior of the toilets.

5. Organized Linen Closet

6. Organized batteries & other carp (hooks, tiny lightbulbs, etc)

7. Pulled weeds in all flower beds

8. Raked gravel out of neighbors yards

9. Raked sticks from our yard

10. Planted Onions

11. Propped up tomato & pepper seedlings with wooden skewers & strips of cloth

12. Made a few loaves of Amish Friendship Bread...someone gave me started last weekend

13. Made 3 nights of dinners...didn't eat frozen pizza nor go out even once.

14. Worked out on my ball...I got a ball injury.

15. Found baby kitttens under our deck. They are from the neighbor's outdoor cats...the guy that just died brought them to his new house from their old farm & took care of them. But he never got them fixed...therefore they keep having kittens. I'm sure the widow will move in July & leave the cats here. So it's now my mission to get homes for the kittens & get the cats spayed & neutered. But only if I can find a vet to do it cheap. The odd thing...the three adult cats all stay huddled with the kittens. They must all be females and are trying to keep any males away...or maybe the other two are kittens from momma kitty's last litter. I'll have to talk to the widow and investigate.

Three Good Things

Wine soaked cheddar today. I could eat it all right now.
Fortunately, I have homemade chocolate chip cookies to munch on IRL.

It's Friday, it's lovely here. I could gripe, but instead, I'm going to focus on the good things today. Name three good things about your life right now.

1. Chris prepped the garden for me so I can play this weekend
2. I love my cats to pieces, they are completely great companions
3. I have a flexible boss

Girly Talk

Screw the cheese & let's have truffles...Men enter at your own risk. I wonder if Chris will be embarassed that his wife is spouting about this on the internet.



**filler***


I'm going on a girly stuff rant:
Why can't I control my period? BC Pills made it lighter, but never controlled my spotting all frickin month long. I've been on them since I was 16 & it's always been problematic. I tried Depo with the same results (plus, I was semi-allergic to Depo shots).

I shave my toes sometimes. This should have gone on my weird things list. I sprout about 3 hairs on top of each toe & they are dark enough to bother me. So in sandal weather, I tend to shave them.

I hate being a girl. What issues do you have? Massive PMS? Cramps? Hair in weird places? Come on girls, let it out. Don't let me be embarassed by myself.

Tagged: 6 Weird Things

Here are the rules-
1. Reveal six weird facts/things/habits about yourself and then tag six people
2. Leave a "You're Tagged!" comment to let the people you have tagged know they have to reveal six things (or the entire blogosphere will explode and it will be their fault)
3. Leave a comment HERE to let me know when you have completed your mission

SIX THINGS
1. I have a crooked pinky. I revealed this oddity in a recent thread of Sonya's. My grandmother also had one. The only way to fix it is to have it broken. No thank you. We like to make fun of it & call it a birth defect.

2. I'm agnostic, but have two ministers as in-laws. I didn't realize I was agnostic until about a year ago, though. I have never broached this subject with the in-laws & very well might keep it under wraps. Obviously they are committed to their beliefs & faith. I'm not going to change them & am in no mood for them to try and convince me. We'd just go round in circles.

3. I hate pickles & olives. All kinds. I can stomach black olives chopped into something (pizza, taco dip), but try to avoid them & pick them off when appropriate.

4. It took me 8 years (not actuall time in school) to get my bachelor's degree. I hit college upon hs graduation in 1995. I went for a year (and one trimester) & then moved back home (basically forced by my family) for a few years because I was broke (it's a longer story than that, but you don't really want to hear about it). Then moved in with Chris & went to Milwaukee for 3 semesters. Then moved to Madison & went here for 5 semesters. So really, I wasn't IN college for 8 years, I just took some time moving around & working in between all those years. As a bonus: The only class I ever failed was a Java programming class. The first 3 weeks were fine..then suddenly I was lost beyond belief. I should've gone for tutoring right away. I didn't, tried to muddle through & ultimately failed it.

5. I sold adhesive tape. I had to cold call framing business & such to sell them adhesive tape. I also serviced an existing clientel. I hated that job sooooo much.

6. My grade school class only had 5 kids (plus me). I loved it. Made it hard to transition to junior high/middle school, but I loved the individual attention and ability of teachers to work with students of varying levels, tailoring lessons to each.

TAGGING:
1. Carey
2. Swami
3. Momma
4. MTW
5. MM
6. Jen

Ode to JD House Owner

Today we are having a boring cheese tray. Cheddar, Cojack & Swiss. Why? Well, it's funeral time.

The cranky ol retired farmer, Larry, that lived in the John Deere themed house next to us died on Saturday. Keeled over at the dinner table, totally unexpected. The good news is that they had an accepted offer come in on the house last week. The bad news is, his poor wife is left with all this farm stuff to deal with and all the finances (which Larry kept in his head). He'd just bought a new giant farm-sized John Deere on Saturday afternoon. So she has to get rid of two big tractors, misc big farm equipment & a shed full of carp. I hope Chris will help her out with organizing an auction.

They both have adult children (from previous marriages) that will be helpful, too. Otherwise, they didn't really have friends. An old couple from Illinois & one guy from a few towns away...that's about it.

I'm not all broken up about this...the guy was an angry ol bugger that seemed to be pretty miserable with life anyway, but I do feel very bad for his wife.

Other good news...the big tractor tire rim in their backyard may soon be ours for making a campfire circle in our backyard. Glad we kept putting that task off...this will be perfect. *hangs head in shame* I look at it as creating a memorial to Larry.

Otherwise, Easter was ok. Nothing too exciting. It rained a lot. The ham was delicious, the deviled eggs were good and my cream puffs turned out delicious!

Thinking about Me

Have some dill havariti & be introspective with me.

I'm a slow thinker. I would say I'm fairly intelligent, but I just take awile to process things. For example, if we are doing an outdoor project together or building something, Chris doesn't understand why he can't just say one word and have me understand what he means within seconds. I thought about it, and I think it's just the way my brain works. I've never been able to quickly do math in my head. On paper I'm fast. I can't spell words aloud. But on paper, I'm fine. I don't get it.

MTW made me think about my anger style again the other day. I'm like him..sometimes I just need 15 minutes to be angry & let it pass. I can't usually think clearly if I'm angry, so it's better if I don't say anything at all.

On an unrelated subject...did you enjoy coloring Easter eggs as a kid? Do you still enjoy it now? Did everyone make an egg dipped in every color (we called it the puke egg). Did you get fancy & do multi colored ones? We often wrote on eggs with crayons before we dipped them. And I liked the stickers that came in the Paas kits. The fuzzy duck was my favorite.

Easter

I've never had Easter Cheese...I think it's Russian, a homemade cheese thing. Maybe we should try it today.

So what is everyone doing for Easter?

We go to my sister's house (only 30 minutes from our house). Chris and my BIL hide plastic eggs in the yard for the kiddos (5 of them). Then we move on to Birthday Party stuff, as 3 of the kids all have birthdays within weeks of eachother, so there is one big family party combined with Easter every year. Then we eat ham, asaparagus & whatever else my sis has decided to cook. For the last few years she's gotten one of those spiral cut honey glazed hams from the special ham store. YUM!

We drink, we make merry and head home, exhausted from crazy children.

I'm hungry for devilded eggs.

I interrupt this pooptacular moment...

....to do a happy dance! Chocolate Cheese for everyone! If you've never had chocolate cheese, well then it's your loss.

I scored decent INXS tickets after I'd almost given up hope. When I first checked, $45 mid-balcony seats were all that were left. Every few days I checked back & the seats kept getting better...still not good enough for me though. Today, I found 12th row floor seats. yay!

Our student worker deleted our 2500 reference Endnote library. It took 3 years to bulid this bible of references lists. Luckily, it was on the server & the server backs up every night. They assure me it can be retrieved. *keeps fingers crossed* My boss is appreciating my sunny disposition throughout this. Really, the INXS find just put me in a good mood that can't be dashed.

Not that my tickets are front row, like Geg's. Pbbbbt. At least they are on an aisle. Chris will be happy about that. He's not a big "crowd" person.

I can't tell you what this post is about

...or you wouldn't read it.

Have some cubes of medium cheddar & prepare to be fascinated....Had enough time to enjoy your cheese?

Under the category of things you never knew (oreos?):

Causes of black colored poop
acidified blood
blood from higher in the digestive tract
iron supplements or foods high in iron
Pepto-Bismol or other medicines containing bismuth
black licorice
large amounts of spinach or other greens
blueberries
aspirin
other foods dark in color such as chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos)

Causes of red colored poop
blood
hemorrhoids
red gelatin, popsicles, or Kool-Aid
tomato juice or soup
large amounts beetsCauses of pale or clay colored stools
lack of bile salt (bile salt gives stool its brownish color)
antacids containing aluminum hydroxide
barium from a recent barium enema test
hepatitis

Causes of green poop
large amounts of green, leafy vegetables
green or purple artificial coloring (popsicles, Kool-Aid, gelatin)
iron supplements
rapid transit or decreased colonic transit time

Causes of orange poop
some medications (such as beta-carotene and rifampen)
foods high in beta-carotene: carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, winter squash, pumpkin, cantaloupe, and mangoes

Seriously, who has all these poop colors??????
Thank you, about.com: http://ibscrohns.about.com/cs/otherdiseases/a/stoolcolors.htm

*kicks feet up*

It's my day off, I don't have to serve cheese.

It's almost nap time. Seedlings are taken care of, a few piles of junk are gone, lunch has been eaten, groceries have been bought & put away.

Now, time for kitten love and napping...have a splendid afternoon!

I have tomorrow off-yay!

Gruyere and baby swiss with apple wedges for your dining pleasure.

Scallops are underappreciated. I like em, but never buy them. Alton Brown had a show on about cooking scallops last night, so now I'm jonesing for scallops.

I'm taking the day off work tomorrow. That makes me happy. I'm looking forward to sleeping in with cats surrounding me.

When did I quit caring about TAR & Survivor? TAR-FE scared me away, I think. I watched a little last night while I worked my ball. Survivor-meh, I've missed 2 eps this season & don't really care. If I'm home, I'll watch. If not, I don't sweat it.

Great episode of Lost last night. I've stood by the fact that Libby was a patient, not a doc since we were first introduced to her. Maybe she WAS a doc, but maybe something happened to put her there. She played a psycho too well on Guiding Light for her NOT to be fishy on Lost.

More Ball Talk & Clothing

White cheddar & crackers today.

Just for my dearest vols, I'll talk more about my exercise ball. Did you know there are different sizes of these giant balls? I didn't. When I bought my set, I assumed the ball would fit me. Pbbbt. When you sit on it, your hips are supposed to be above your knees. Mine are level with my knees (which means my butt actually drops below my knees). Last night I perused balls & found that my size is for people 5'0-5'3. They were out of the next size, but there was one for people 6'0-6'3. So now, I must buy a new ball. Mine works ok for crunches & floor based work, but I could do more if I had a proper sized ball. I haven't watched the video, but have been following the book. The pics in the book are good, but I have to read the instructions carefully, it's very pilates focused, so direction of breathing matters a lot when you are doing the exercises. I like that you don't have to do a ton of reps. You can do a lot of different exercises in a short period of time. I'm not getting bored during the routines...yet anyway.

I can't do the exercise where you put the ball between your feet & raise it overhead (without bending your knees) so your body & legs form an "L" shape. Heck, my flexibility & back muscles are barely good enough to do that without a ball. Instead, I lift it a little off the ground & hold for 5 reps.

After my core is strengthened, I need to focus on some exercises that help my flexibility.

So now on to clothes. Based on my observations at work this morning: Two things that look good on very few people are velour jogging suits and lemon yellow mini skirts.

Ramble Ramble

Beer Kaese today, straight from Wisconsin. It's a nutty cheese, that coincidentally contains no beer. It was made as a salute to prohibition's repeal.

Last night I used my exercise ball. I love it! I found there was one exercise I couldn't hardly do at all & could tell it was because of my weak back (well, and my lack of flexibility). Otherwise, I totally loved it & am looking forward to having a stable, strong core.

I made cheater jumbalaya last night (Zatarain's mix with chicken, smoked venison, extra bell peppers & onions added). I love that stuff.

What did you have for dinner last night? And what's for lunch today?

Daylight Savings Time Sucks

Cream Cheese danishes this morning.

Who is sleepy this morning, our first day back to work after this gawd awful thing called daylight savings time? We slept in a half an hour this morning.

I had an ok weekend, but it was busy. Friday night was my sister's birthday. We ate at Quaker Steak & Lube. I tried real food instead of just wings or appetizers this time. Still not impressed with the place. I'll stick to their soft pretzels next time.

Saturday I had a TS party and then it was off to Wisconsin Dells to have a girls night out. I hadn't seen my best friend from childhood for about two years. It was so nice to see her. Four of us went out to lots of bars and out for dinner, then back to the hotel to babble away.

Sunday I was up early because one of the girls was quite the snorer. I got home at 10:30 where Chris was busy eating leftover frozen pizza. I cleaned a little bit & then we took a nap. Ahhhhh, glorious naps. Then it was off to the bar to meet friends. I must quit drinking so much. Then it was home to cook dinner and work on my TS stuff and regular work stuff til 10. Yuck.

I need a day off.

BREEZY-I tried Peels (the pom/blueberry one). YUMMMMMMM!
CAREY-I think you package should arrive early this week. I think it was Wed. last week that I mailed it.

Favorite Band Meme

Instructions:
Choose a band or artist and answer the questions using only titles of their songs.

Duh, I choose INXS!

Are you male or female? Beautiful Girl
Describe yourself: Devil Inside
How do some people feel about you: Like It Or Not
How do you feel about yourself: What You Need
Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend: Suicide Blonde
Describe your current significant other: Heaven Sent
Describe where you want to be: Devil’s Party
Describe how you live: Don’t Change
Describe how you love: Elegantly Wasted
What would you ask for if you had just one wish: Need you tonight
Share a few words of wisdom: Mystify
Now say goodbye: Good Times

I tag: Nookie, Seana and Swami

String Cheese!

I'm really hungry for some string cheese! Not that rubbery, individually packaged kind either. That good stuff you buy in big hunks & rip off a stick.

Ever been to Joey's Seafood? It's a chain & came into Madison last year. I haven't been yet, but I'm all about the seafood. We are going tomorrow with Chris's dad.

Will there be Canadian Chip Trucks in Niagara?

I'm very food themed this week.

Lighter mood today

Chevrelait today...it's a smoked goat's milk cheese.

I watching The Next Food Network Star this weekend & one of the shows focused on your "Culinary Point of View." As they put it, there is a big map of cooking, where are you on it? For example, Rachel Ray doesn't want to spend more than 30 minutes preparing a meal, Bobby Flay is all about bold flavors, Sandra Lee is all about spending less time and money creating foods by finding 70% prepackaged ingredients, Giada is all about bringing the Italian food she grew up with everyday into your kitchens, etc.

So what is your Culinary Point of View?