EY's Rants and Raves

As is my custom for this time of year, I watched the NFL draft. I had high hopes for a couple of players and was very surprised that a few of the players I thought would do well didn't. I didn't watch the first part of the first round, but did hear much of it on the radio. At lunch, the draft was on in the restaurant and I watched the second half. A baby shower (joy, thrilling) took up most of my afternoon.

Nothing thrilling in the draft for me, but it's the only NFL I'll get until August. Oh well....one more reason to look forward to birthday month.

I've wanted a new dining table and chairs ever since The Boy and I moved into the new house (2003). We traded tables with my Mom because hers is bigger, although not large enough for our dining room, nor large enough for our needs (90% of the time it's The Boy and I, but when we have folks over, we tend to have many). Getting a table made was not something I was looking forward to, but I found a company in a small town nearby that does incredible work, price is fair and they've been great to deal with. I placed my order today, left a deposit and by mid-June will have a nice, large table and some chairs.

I am soooooo excited.

The internet is a wonderful thing. It lets me search for recipes, do lots of research, feeds my news junkie-ness, lets me join communities of like minded folks for discussion and is highly entertaining (at a minimum). But like every medium, it has a downside. For me, the biggest problem isn't spam or pop-ups or porn. It's that my mother believes everything sent to her in email or found on the web.

If I sent her an email right now telling her that GWB is an alien from the planet Moobyville and that his goal is to infect everyone with a virus transmitted through gasoline which will cause their head to explode, she'd probably believe it. Actually, I'd have to get someone else to send it since I'm rather liberal and have gay friends and those gay-loving liberals lie a lot (in her estimation).

I've sent her the urls to snopes.com, the Urban Legends page on about.com, all to no avail. I suppose I'd be more tolerant of her willingness to believe if she were a little dim or poorly educated. Thing is, she's neither. She's otherwise fairly smart and has more formal education than anyone in my immediate family.

Sigh....

A book study would seem to be right up my alley. A book study where we eat and have a little wine would seem to be near-Nirvana for me. So why can't I seem to get my stories read on time? Most weeks, I'm sitting in the parking lot reading right before we start. Sometimes I get the story finished, sometimes I don't. We're reading good authors...tonight was Gail Godwin, we started out with John Updike (who I actually liked for once).

As I do each week, I told myself this week that I *have* to read earlier next week. Maybe I will....

If there is anything better than spring strawberries, Braum's hot fudge sauce and real whipped cream, I don't want to know what it is. Granted, the Boy can "afford" to eat this after his work outside busting up rocks. Still...if I go to the work to prep it, I should enjoy....no?

No, not me...2 friends, Se and L. The birthday girl and essentially, the co-party organizer. Se got a "tramp stamp"...funny name for a tattoo on the small of your back. L got a more complex one on her thigh and abdomen. My "experimental Mexican lasagna" was a hit, our cheese dip was good, we had lots of lovely beverages and lots of fun.

I was very glad that a certain friend of ours got to join in. She's been virtually sequestered for the past few months. Granted, we can be a wild bunch, but that's mostly the boys. The girls are generally safe, even if we are nuts. I'm hoping that her "chaperone" will give us a good report back so that we can see her more often.

I didn't realize I had such a good time until everyone left. I'm still a bit headachy. The Boy said I was "a little groggy" when he got home around 2. "Groggy"....yeah, that's what the kids are calling it these days....

Being an only child, and one who grew up WAAAY out in the country, I crave quiet times. After a very busy, very fun with friends last Saturday, I spent Saturday night quietly--me, my laptop and just a little TV. Right now, it's a beautiful Friday afternoon, I had a great day, plans for tonight are promising. And it's quiet. When I finish this post, I'm heading outside, where I'm always amused by the "not so quiet-quiet". I do, indeed live out (not as far out as where I grew up). There's not much traffic or that many neighbors. And when you go out on the deck, it does seem quiet. Then when my brain slows down, I relax. I hear the trees rustling from wind, birds or a squirrel; a neighbor I can't see through the trees working in his backyard; our dog wandering the yard or whining because she hears me.

My favorite song off the Dixie Chicks CD "Taking the Long Way" isn't the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice" (although I DO like it), but the song before it, "Easy Silence". It's the perfect song for an afternoon like this. Dixie Chicks and a glass of something cold and sweet.

It's my friend Sh's birthday and tomorrow night we're having a Girl's Night Out/Birthday party for her. Usually, we're at L's house, but tomorrow night, we'll be at mine. I'm not sure why I'm so excited about hosting, but I am. I've let birthday girl know that the guest room is an option if she (and her driver, L) have need of it. L doesn't live too far away, but still. I'd perfer to have them both around and in one piece for our next Girl's Night. That and I feel certain that we'll do our normal amount of liquid celebrating.

House is clean because it was visited recently by someone who cleans much better than I do. I do have some picking up to do, grocery shopping and some cookies to bake (dough is in the freezer and no, it's not store bought dough....I made it a couple of weeks ago) and a little prep work. But all in all, not much to do on my part, which is how I like it.

I have to admit, I'm not much for buying a smoothie for lunch or a snack (unlike, say coffee, which I will purchase any time of day or night), but I do like making them at home. We have a killer blender (three pronged plug in, cord as big as my thumb, suction cups for feet), I freeze fruit when it's good and in season and it's fun. I'd bought some frozen fruit and soy milk this week, thinking I'd make a smoothie as I left for work in the morning and would have a delicious treat on the way to BFC. For some reason, I totally forgot that I'm NOT a morning person and that grabbing a frozen South Beach Diet bar as I run through the kitchen is much more my style.

Oh well. The Boy and I have been having smoothies for dessert. He's been working outside after dinner, so about the time he comes in, he's a little warm and in need of a snack. I haven't been doing anything other than sitting on the couch, usually, but I'm generally in need of a snack too. Blueberry has been our primary flavor, mostly because a few will turn the whole batch blue. Blue is my favorite color, so that's cool with me. I like a spoon of ginger in mine, but The Boy is a fan of just fruit.

Powerful though the blender may be, it's not quite getting things "liquidy enough". I can turn the blender upside down and the smoothie will stay intact. I tried putting ice in them tonight, in hopes that the mixture would *pour*. No such luck. Tried blending much longer than necessary. Again, no dice. I suppose I'll keep experimenting....

How fish isn't meat. Yes, I kinda get that it's not RED meat and thus appropriate for eating on certain days if you're a fan of the Pope. But if you're a vegetarian...someone who doesn't eat meat...especially if you don't eat animals because of "moral" reasons....??? Fish are animals. Animals totally different from mammals, lizards, birds. But in the question "animal, vegetable or mineral?", fish fall in the first category, not the second. Nobody plants a big crop of fish in the ground, waits for the fish plant to grow, then harvests a bumper crop of fish. (I'm from a farm family, so I know from farming.)

I know some vegetarians who consider fish to be a "lower form" with a less developed nervous system and function. To me, that's still a dodge. Catch a fish sometime. All that flopping when it's out of the water...that's because it's suffocating and it is responding just like you and I would--not well. Granted, I can be a bit of a reluctant omnivore myself and I know that animals treated well, not pumped full of chemicals, growth hormones, and antibiotics and eating food their bodies can actually process (contrary to popular belief, corn isn't so good for cows) is better for you than factory-made food.

IMHO, however, fish is just as much "meat" as any cow, shrimp, pig, chicken, goat, duck, goose, deer, sheep or other animal you can name.

I hate them. Bleah, yuck, gross. Yet I was confronted with one this morning in my bathroom. I wasn't thrilled to see one in the entry by the front door yesterday, but since that area (ironically named though it may be) doesn't get used much and the bug was far off the traffic pattern, no big deal. This one.....nope, right in the way. My bathroom isn't *that* big, so almost anywhere on the floor and this creature will be within visual distance.

I used to kid around with The Boy that the reason I don't like spider crickets is that I'm concerned one will eat my leg. He would try to trap me with logic like "have you ever been attacked by one?" or "have you ever seen someone with no leg due to a spider cricket attack?" I full well realize my belief puts me in the same category as those who believe in alien visitation. But I'm not scared of aliens.....just bugs. Especially when they're smack in the middle of the floor in the bathroom when I've had no coffee and less clothing.

I love the decisions that new NFL commish Roger Goodell announced today: tough suspensions for Pacman Jones and Chris Henry and holding teams responsible for the conduct of players. For too many years, all professional sports have had serious issues with player conduct on and off the field. Baseball's Barry Bonds will never have his hitting records fully accepted because of the scent of steroids that he can't seem to wash off. Heck, many of the "great" players of the 1990s and today will always be thought of as juicing (one of several reasons I will never love baseball again).

The fight in the stands with Ron Artest of the NBA. A horrible event. True, a player shouldn't have to worry about being hit with cups of beer.

It almost seems that the NFL could have had a team composed of only those arrested this past season. When a Super Bowl player has to get special permission from a judge to go to the game, well, that's just bad. When that player has enough guns and ammo to supply a small army, that's worse (I've been to Chicago a few times....I never noticed that the streets were THAT mean). Many of the players themselves are supportive of the tough sanctions and Commissioner Goodell was wise enough to form a panel of players to look into this issue. Hopefully next season, more players will make headlines for outstanding efforts on the field than stupidity off.

Finally, a shopping trip that was worthwhile. Bought a Rowenta* iron today. Why? Apparently, I killed the old iron (a Black and Decker, for the more brand-curious). I was ironing yesterday and I thought to myself "when this iron that I've had forever dies, I think I'd like a Rowenta. They sure are nice and heck, I think they're on sale at Tuesday Morning." Within 10 minutes, my iron was dead. I turned it on, turned it off, unplugged it, plugged it back in, but no heat. A friend has a related ability in that when she thinks of famous people, they quickly shuffle off their mortal coil. So far she's offed Bob Hope, Johnny and June Cash, Robert Palmer. We all thought it was a fluke of good timing until she got Mr. "Simply Irresistible". Her skill is creepy, but mine could get expensive. (I will be thinking only good thoughts about all other household appliances, since I cannot afford to replace them all.)

Went to my local Tues am and right at the back of the store, two different Rowentas to choose from. I have no need for a cord reel, auto-turn off or a removeable water tank, so the "lesser" of the two was fine (and $30). I'd hoped to iron tonight, but frittered my time away studying. But tomorrow night...I shall devote myself to my new purchase.

Truthfully, I don't like ironing. What I *do* like is a garment that has been well-ironed. And while I will throw money at almost any chore I don't want to do, I can't bring myself to pay someone to do my ironing. I pale at the ridonkulous prices for dry cleaning and laundry-doing ever since our "anything for $1.50" place went out of business. So I iron. In the fall it's not too bad because I iron while I watch NFL games all Sunday afternoon. Going to be in front of the TV all day--may as well be useful. Tomorrow night, I will glide through House with the Rowenta.


*From Rowenta's website "Rowenta, a German top-of-the-range brand, creates high-quality innovative products for harmonious living and well being. It focuses on steam irons, and other home appliances such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, kettles, coffee makers and personal care products." I want to live harmoniously. So I bought their iron.

I've been at it again. Yet another Quixotic shopping quest. This time, my goal was an Easter dress. It's almost Easter, so I didn't think it would be quite such a challenge. Boy, was I wrong. A little background for anyone who hasn't seen me in anything other than jeans--all my dress clothes are black. Black pants, black jackets, one black skirt. Primary for this is that I mostly wear nicer clothes for work or a very nice out to dinner with The Boy. For either of these occasions, black is absolutely appropriate.

For Easter, however, I wanted to have some color. Some bright color even since the event is a happy one and it's spring. I've been on my quest for a few weeks and no luck. I've been casually looking through racks of clothes when I happen to be in a store. Guess what's in for Spring 2007: black and white. A nice combination if you're a personal friend of Truman Capote or going to Ascot, but not really what I'm looking for to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, plus I *have* all the black clothes I currently need.

Another disturbing trend is the number of halter dresses. If you're a size 8 or under, you're 30 and you work out, halter dresses are probably OK for you. However, at my current dress size, age and toning level, they are right out. I don't really know why manufacturers MAKE a halter, strapless or sundress in a size larger than an 8. One of the downsides of being a bigger girl is that you can't dress like you wear a size 4. Women who are a size 4 can't eat dessert. Not the fairest trade in the world, but there you go.

I dragged Friend J along on this effort Wednesday and I had just as much luck as ever. Seeing as how time was getting close, however, I stopped casually browsing. We went to 4 stores and in each, I found a clerk, told them I needed a DRESS for Easter with the following criteria 1.) can't be black or dark 2.) can't be halter-y, strapless or otherwise make me look like a whore (I am going to CHURCH in this dress and it's amazing how much halters are in style this year.) 3.) can't have tiny sleeves because I'd freeze to death (esp since the low Easter Morning is 29 F.) So I struck out at all 4. Of course, everyone suggested a skirt. Skirts, in my book, are just about as dressy as pants, which is to say, not too much and not enough for Easter. Really, I may as well just go in my jammies.

So Sunday morning, I will go to church clad in black head to toe as if I were going to a funeral or business meeting. I will look nice, I will be comfortable, I will be warm and I'll be celebratory in my heart. But I'll still wish I were in a nice dress.

I quit watching soap operas a few years ago and right about that time, my interest in sports heightened. Fortunately, I no longer have to choose one over the other. The University of Arkansas athletic department's two major sports, football and basketball are making lots of headlines, but not for the reasons most fans would prefer.

Football has players and coaches leaving, rumours of unrest amoung the staying. Stories about salacious cell phone calls between a coach and a supporter--a cell phone owned by the University. Stories of parents lied to in recruiting, coaches recruited on beliefs they should have looked at more closely. Granted, this season was impressive....as long as you don't look at who AR beat. Lost by a smaller margin to USC, a school we have no business playing. Lost to LSU, a team we should have beaten and had many chances to, but just couldn't seal the deal.

Basketball was the stable sport and started out strong. Then the real teams started showing up and we started losing. Two SEC road wins. Two. The SEC tournament was key. Lose early in it and coach hits the hot seat. Win or do well.....Hopes were high that if the Razorbacks made it to the NCAA tournament, the coach would keep his job. No such luck. I'm sure few are crying over the $900,000 check he got on the way out the door (as an aside, if Big Faceless Corp wants to hand me nearly a million dollars, I will leave quietly and not raise ANY fuss whatsoever). So the search is on for a new coach. A new coach who will get a new boss come Dec 31, 2007 when the Yoda of the UA Athletic Dept retires.

As rumours fly that Billy Donovan of Florida is being courted by big money in Kentucky, Arkansas goes after a coach at a major school. He flirts with the idea for a few days, then decides that a raise is really all he needs and his school is only too glad to comply. New day, new candidate for Arkansas. Another call to a big name coach and this time, no flirting. Now a mid-major coach looks like "The Man". True, he's from a school many Arkansans have never heard of, but hey....he's a coach. Well, he was a coach. Less than 24 hours after the press conference where he beamed to the cameras and hugged Yoda, he changed his mind.

I would never say that one shouldn't thoughtfully and carefully ponder a job opportunity and not having a coach will hurt recruiting for a bit. A blog entry in NW AR suggests that we have a reality show with the winner getting the coaching job "Who Is Smarter than a 5th Grader and Still Wants to Be the Arkansas Basketball Coach?" Kinda has a nice ring to it.