Thursday, March 27, 2008

 

Best Kevin C movie, Best KC quote

"Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days."

Watched part of Bull Durham last night. Missed that quote, but did see the part where Crash stays with Annie for a few days. Can't say that I'm a huge scotch fan, that I've ever read any Susan Sontag, I don't see the point in soft-core porn (although I can see how it works for a guy....they get to see all the things *they* like in soft-core), but I love that quote and even though I've lost my love for baseball, I do like that movie. I have about the same reaction to the quote that Annie does...."Oh my...."

 

Spam, spam, spam spam

A trip to NYC.....and.....I cannot WAIT! It is going to be so fun......!


YOUR ORDER INFORMATION:

Spamalot - New York City

Friday, April 11, 2008 at 8:00 PM

3 Tickets, Left Balcony Row C, Seats 21-25

Shubert Theatre

225 West 44th Street (Between Broadway and 8th Avenue)

New York NY 10036

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

 

Make you a great deal on an 06 Civic

When I bought the cute silver Civic, I had one thing on my mind: gas mileage. And how cute it is. Took precedence over ease of getting into/out of, practicality of leather seats when you have a dog to haul around. So I roll my eyes when I cram all the groceries into the front seat/floorboard. I swathe the car in towels when E goes to the groomer or vet. I do get a slight thrill when I get 36 MPG and when it's clean, I do admire how completely cute it is.

Purely by accident, I happened on building an '08 Civic. I was looking on Honda's automotive site to give a friend a baseline price on a Civic. In doing so, I discovered that you can get a Civic with HEATED leather seats now. Oh, my, the heated leather seats. The Boy had a Suburban with them a few years ago and they were wondrous to behold and befeel. (Is that a word? Well, it is now.) Especially since he likes the temp much cooler than I do. I'm 6 payments (and one set of braces, ugh) away from my Civic being paid for. No payment for EY, just a gleam in my eye for a NEW (oh, my, do I ever loooooove a new car) gas sipping Civic, maybe even a not-quite-as-sexy sedan with heated leather seats.

Heated leather seats, 36 MPG.....what more could a girl want?

Sunday, March 23, 2008

 

Daffodils

I do love daffodils. Or as I've called them most of my life, jonquils. No matter the name, they're lovely and smell incredible. I got a group of my favorite girls together and we went a' daffodil-ing Saturday.....we had a lot of fun. (And I needed some fun to prepare me for the hiney-kicking I watched this afternoon. NC definitely played like the #1 seed. We played more like seedlings.)













 

My least fav basketball trick

I've watched a few nail-biting games in the NCAA tournament. Here's what I have yet to see work successfully: teams who are behind and immediately foul in the last minute of the game. I understand why you do it. The clock will stop and maybe your opponent won't make their free-throws (TN, who came in averaging 59% beat Butler today because they DID make their free-throws) and you'll get the ball back with time to do something. What seems to happen almost every time is that the clock does indeed stop, the opponent makes at least one shot and losing team gets the ball back down by 2 or 3 scores with far less time than you'd need for 2 possessions.

I've even seen a team down by a LOT pull this little stunt. Why?

Friday, March 21, 2008

 

Yeah! We, uh won......?

I'm glad Arkansas wasn't "one and done" in the NCAA tournament. Well, I guess, I was. Our next opponent is North Carolina. I'll watch Sunday, but I won't be thrilled. Arkansas's win puts them against the #1 seed in the tournament. The #1 overall seed. Yeah us. Not ranked us. Not ranked for most of the season, but we did beat a few ranked teams, including TN when they were #4, Vandy twice at #18, Florida at #20 (although really, FL was riding on last year's laurels most of the season).

If the team that played the last few minutes of the TN game shows up Sunday, we might be OK. If the team that played GA shows up, we're sunk.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

 

so.f'ing.tired

I have been completely worn out for about 2 weeks now. Every day. I hear my alarm at 6, hit snooze and don't hear it again until after 7. I know at that point, that I have GOT to get up. I can't, but I know I have to. After dinner, I feel like all the blood has been drained from me. No matter how loud, how bright, how uncomfortable, I get still for a few minutes and I.am.out.

I'm also freezing. When I touch my skin, it feels warm enough, but I never feel warm "inside". My bones are chilled. Wearing a big fleece pullover, jeans and warm fluffy houseshoes, doesn't matter.

A friend has suggested a few times that maybe, just maybe, I have thyroid issues. The more I read about it, the more I'm conflicted. Much more common than I'd thought, but I also wonder if I either need A.) more sleep or B.) to get up off my ass and stop complaining. I sent a note to an eDoc service about an odd thing I was experiencing. She said "It could be due to a change in your medications or it could be a thyroid problem". What the.....? I haven't changed this medication in over 10 years. I told my friend this. "Oh you didn't believe ME, but NOW since someone else told you, you believe them". Well, that someone *was* a doctor. So I'm paying more attention. I'm not convinced that I don't need more sleep and that I don't also need to get off my ass and move more. But I might also venture to see what my local medical professional says if I keep noticing things.

Monday, March 17, 2008

 

What I want in an Easter Dress....

(apologies if I posted this, say, last April. Apologies also to Clinton and Stacy)
1.) Spring colors. I don't want a black Easter dress. Or black and white. Or brown and white, navy and white or any other colors with black, brown or navy. It's frakking spring.
2.) Sleeves. I'm not 10. And I don't work out like I used to. These arms, they need a'covering. Besides, I live in Arkansas. It's just as likely to be 50 degrees as it is 70. If it's 70 outside, my church will be chilly inside to accommodate the extra heat from all the folks who only show up on Easter. (And Christmas too, but I never get to actually go to MY church on Christmas.)
3.) Shape. Lots o' dresses this year go straight down from the shoulders. That's cute if you weigh less than 100, but for those of us who don't, it's not flattering. I actually *have* a waist. Shouldn't be that hard to find something that highlights it.
4.) A Dress. No Skirts and..... I don't dress up often. I'm just getting comfortable wearing pants to church, but for one of the major holy days, I feel I should do a little more. I should wear a dress. Not a skirt and shirt/blouse/sweater/tank top/shrug. An honest to goodness DRESS.

So what I don't want in an Easter dress is a black/brown/navy, halter/sundress/cap sleeved, straight from the shoulders or otherwise shapeless thing. I also don't want a suit. I'm not interviewing with Jesus when he arises, I'm worshipping.

I went to two stores today and tried not a thing on. For a fan of TLC's "What Not To Wear", you'd think I'd know better. However, it can be hard to make C&S's rules fit into the above. If a dress is black and white, no matter how well it fits, that doesn't say "Easter" to me and while it might be perfect for another occasion, I'm not buying it for this Sunday. I am not wearing a halter or sundress to church. Period. Even if my arms looked like they did circa 1999, I'm not going to pick anyone (or anything) up, I'm there to, uh, be worshipful and I tend to freeze solid in such things. I get cold easy. (I'm not saying if you make the choice to wear a halter/sundress to church that you look like a ho. It's just not the choice for me.) There are certain shapes/designs that I know I don't look good in. I don't need to try them on to get that reconfirmed.

Shopping for clothes has never been fun for me. I can think of about a 4 year span (out of the 30+ I've been alive) when it was. But that is over. So I know that a high waisted dress will look like a maternity outfit on me. No one wants to see that....least of all ME. I know that a sundress is not the wise fashion choice for my current height/weight ratio. Why put it on and feel bad, when I can walk by it and say "no thanks"? Then there's the color issue. Why be distracted by something that may fit when I know the color is all wrong? I have plenty of black to wear. I don't need to spend any money to wear black on Easter.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

 

Chili....yum

Had chili for lunch today. It was the last of a batch I made last Sunday. I make pretty good chili. I wouldn't serve it to a Texan (has tomatoes and beans, both of which I believe are no-no's), anyone who likes their chili to impair their taste buds or I guess, anyone from Cincinnati (I do use a touch of cinnamon in mine, but I'd never serve it over pasta and mine's not watery), but it's quite good for me. I like the endless variations that I can try out in chili. I also like crushing up Rye Wasa crackers in it....also very untraditional, but more fiber and heartiness than saltines.

The unending creativity is one of the things I like about cooking in general. I can make chili with ground beef, cubed beef (chunks of roast, like in the wonderful chili my Uncle George made), ground turkey*, turkey sausage (I used both of these most recently), OR as I often do, no meat at all. Veggie crumbles or just beans and veggies make a fine, hearty and slightly healthier chili. I can use Ro*Tel, diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes that I tear apart over the pot, sun-dried tomatoes or any combination of the above. A little regular chili powder, some ancho, just a little chipotle, a little more cumin, tons of garlic, maybe a little cinnamon, maybe a little cocoa powder, maybe a bit of wine, maybe some beer. Chili accepts all of it.

I'll be trying yet another experiment in a few minutes. In our quest to eat better, The Boy announced that we are still eating too much meat and need to cut back. So we're having burritos this week with a filling of black beans, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed green peppers and onions, cheese and anything else I can think of to throw in. I'm going to make the filling tonight so that dinner tomorrow will be quick. If this works out well, I'll send my "recipe" to Friend S who eats even less meat than we do. Keep your fingers crossed, dear!

* I tried ground chicken in chili one time. It was horrid. Seriously. I pitched it. I shudder to think about how truly bad it was.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

 

Blog response

I'm a very sensitive soul in the mornings and Slashfood threw me a curve. OK, technically, it's not morning in half the US right now and I can see how some people would appreciate the specific post, just not me. It's a post titled "Are you really ready to quit drinking coffee? here's how" My first reaction was "heaven's no, why on earth would you suggest such a cruel and horrible thing to me so early in the morning, especially since I haven't even HAD any coffee yet". Fortunately, there was coffee to be had, so I got up and got a cup to fortify me to read the article.

It starts "In every achiever's life there comes a time to go off the life-source" Really. If you consider (and I do) coffee that important, what are you achieving by dropping it? That you CAN? More verification, perhaps that I'm not an achiever, but a sliding by with as little as I can manage-er. The suggestions are, interesting, I suppose. "Drink green tea." Well, I do drink green tea. It's one of my fav things to drink during the day. I have a box at my desk and several at home. "Address the social aspect of coffee". Yeah, I'm not getting much out of this one. My am (and usually only) cup of coffee is enjoyed by me and me alone. I like my morning routine to be quiet and SOLO. If I've grabbed a Venti Latte from You-Know-Where on the way to work, it probably means I didn't have my am cup, enjoyed while I was getting ready and not only will I not be speaking to anyone until it's finished, you don't want to talk to me until it's absorbed. Seriously. Next is "Avoid the carbs". What carbs? Milk has a little, but it also has protein. I guess this is for folks who dose up their coffee with sugar and crap. No, no sugar for me.

What a way to start a Saturday....

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

 

Cookie cookie cookie

I love to bake cookies. I actually don't eat all that many of them. But there's something about making the dough, dishing it out, the smell of the house, that I just love. I make 2 batches a month, on average. Winter, especially near Christmas, sees the most of my baking. I'm still on the "great spice cookie quest" and every once in a while will try a decorated cut out cookie.

As I've made cookies over the years, I've found some favorite tools. I used to just spray Pam on whatever cookie sheet was clean and bake. Getting the cookies off the pan was pretty easy and I'd just grab any random spatula and I'd put them wherever I could find a spot. Then, a friend who is a gadget guy got me 2 Airbake cookie sheets. I was flirting with parchment at this time, but wasn't convinced. The Airbakes wouldn't fit in the dishwasher, and despite the wastefulness, parchment kept me from handwashing them all the time, so parchment it was. Spatula, still whatever I grabbed from the drawer. Then, one year when I must have been a very good girl, Santa brought me 2 half-sheet pans and two silpats. I'd watched enough Food Network to want an offset spatula. At less than $10, it was a reasonable splurge. They're usually used to ice cakes, but I love it to move cookies from baking sheet to cooling rack, which I finally started using. The more cookies I make, the more I have to use my non-favorite tools. Tonight, I couldn't find my offset spatula and my tiny Pampered Chef one just doesn't do for cookies bigger than my palm.

For all that I like trying new recipes, I never mess with my Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I did ONE time and still remember the chewing out I got. I did, however try a couple of different things with my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip tonight, most notably, the addition of cinnamon. I like cinnamon and oats together, so I hope it turned out OK.

Monday, March 10, 2008

 

My fav Dorothy P

Résumé
Razors pain you,
Rivers are damp,
Acids stain you,
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful,
Nooses give,
Gas smells awful.
You might as well live.

And my fav attributed to her, but not verified....

I wish I could drink like a lady,
I'll have one or two at the most.
Three and I'm under the table,
Four and I'm under the host.

 

Even tempered...to a point

I'm pretty even-tempered. Well, I like to think I am. I weather the slings and arrows of fate pretty well on a day to day basis if they're happening to me. When they happen to a friend, however, I'm not so calm.

In college, a friend and I had finally gotten rid of another friend's noxious boyfriend and then he showed back up. No, we didn't do a "Good-bye Earl" number on him, he was an exchange student whose exchange parents sent him back. They sent.him.back....after 3 days. See, they were smart. C and I drove around until we nearly ran out of gas, her crying and me yelling. It was awful. I'd have put up with a boyfriend who was worse, but for G (our mutual friend) to have to deal with him again, was too much. She was too kind, too fun, too wonderful to deal with this idiot.
Eventually, she dumped him and C and I RE-joiced. Seriously.

In another college episode, my best friend (who has the worst.luck.with.men.ever) got dumped at the ER early one am by her winner of a guy who drove home in HER car. He'd have stayed with her, but he was really just too tired. Yeah, dude, no one's ever too tired to have an appendectomy. If I'd had a car at the time, I would have murderized him.

Fast forward to today. Good friend of mine loses his job. He's been figuring on this for a while. When he told me, it was all I could do to not cry. He really didn't need me crying on him. But I have been since then. Not even red wine and some really good chocolate can fend it off. I know he hurts. I hate, Hate HATE that I can't do anything to help. I can't help, I can't make it better, I can't make him laugh, I can't give him a hug. He's not in the mood to talk, so I can't even talk to him. He doesn't want to hear me blather on and I don't do the Pollyanna bit very well for very long. I suppose I will just worry from afar.

Friday, March 07, 2008

 

Arkansas snow

is very pretty
is never around long
is likely to include a threat of ice
is hard to predict
will cause a run on bread and milk at every store
will make med-large companies turn into ghost towns
will either be nothing or a lot
is an occurance rare enough to be delightful

Thursday, March 06, 2008

 

Arkansas Weather

Warm
REALLY warm
Cooler
Snow (gone by 3 pm)
Moderate (60)
Cooler (45)
Snow
Snow
Little less cold
Moderate (55)

Aaaaaah, Arkansas weather. Where we go through all 4 seasons in one week.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

 

Really old friends

Got a call from a friend yesterday. An acquaintance from high school is having a girlie cosmetics party "and would love it if you would come" or so S alleges. Really? I was never "friends" with R in elementary, middle or high school, although I certainly knew her all those years. It was a small town and small school. We might say "hi" or even have small talk in class or in the hall, but we weren't "friends". It's been puzzling me on why I'd even be invited. I suppose I appreciate the gesture, but I don't quite "get it".

Another big part of it is the driving. To drive 2 1/2 hours and a half tank of gas, sit and pretend to be social for an hour or so and drive another 2 1/2 hours and drain the rest of my tank to come home. Thirty dollars and a whole day gone. Nah, I just don't think so.

 

Bye Bye Brett

#4 you will be missed. For your enthusiasm, your love of the game, the passes that make me cover my eyes and everything about you as a player. Have fun in Mississippi.

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