The Yellow Spoon

A little dab'll do ya

2011-02-25T22:02:00.004-06:00

I've recently developed a patch of weird skin on my mouth (which I can only image is some sort of flesh eating disease or weird lip cancer) and have been trying various home remedies, including psoriasis ointment (expired, naturally), left over dermatitis medicine, and copious amounts of chapstick. Doctor schmoctor! This odd regimen left me with an even larger patch of what can only be described as puffy, dry, and puckered. Lovely, right? I decided that some good ole fashion vaseline was the next best course of action.

I asked Mr. Man if we had any in the house. He said he didn't think so, but I'm not sure why I asked him. He doesn't always have the best handle on how well stocked we are (evidenced by the multiple boxes of panko bread crumbs, cans of coconut milk, etc in the pantry). I rooted around in our medicine cabinet and unearthed the little tub I was looking for. I could tell, based on the label, that we bought before we moved to TX. After a trip down memory lane we decided that Mr. Man had bought this little tub about 10 years ago. And it's only half gone. It made me wonder if vaseline is one of those things you really only need to buy once in a lifetime. I'm pretty sure if I take a peek in my dad's medicine cabinet I will find the same tub that was in there when I was a kid. I'll have to keep you updated.

Back to my lip, the crazy patch seems to have been tamed a bit. And, yes, I am going to pretend that it hasn't been a year since I last posted. Carry on.

Weekly Menu Feb 28 - March 6

2010-02-28T17:33:00.001-06:00

Salmon Cakes
Lasagna
Hot dogs
Chicken breasts with tomato basil sauce
Beef stew with mashed potatoes
Hamburger Helper

nitty gritty

2010-02-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is what happens when your husband is very excited about using the new vegetable brush.

That poor, unsuspecting sweet potato. Well, he sure did get that dirt off there!

the bandit strikes again

2010-02-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

Briscoe has decided that his very important job in the family is to rid our house of any and all buttons. He takes this self-appointed job quite seriously and frequently patrols the commonly infested rooms with fervor. He doesn't ingest the buttons, just bites them off our clothing and generally mangles them beyond hope of reattachment. It is only funny when it doesn't happen to you. For example, when he went on a rampage and pulled 5 pairs of Mr. Man's dress pants off their hanger and took care of every last button on each one of them...pretty amusing. We keep the closet under lock and key at all times now because, while we may be made of buttons, we aren't made of pants replacing money.

Now, when I walked into this...

Not funny! Bad dog. Baaaaad. In his unflappable quest for buttons he pulled my jacket down off the chair and proceeded to do his job. Quite well. Oh Boo-boo, you are such a fluffy pain in my butt. But you do force us to keep a tidy home.

Made of muscles

2010-02-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Living with a self proclaimed "Mr. Green," we have reusable grocery bags. There is a phenomenon I have noticed relating to these bags... Apparently, when you use a reusable bag you get super human strength! At least that is what the people at the grocery store think.

Behold, Exhibit A:

This is what the bagger put in a standard plastic bag. For those of you keeping track, it held a block of cheese, a bag of what turned out to be very gross tasting wheat tortillas (my foray into eating healthy turned my taste buds against me), a can of broth, and two yogurts.

Let us, in comparison, see what they felt was an appropriate amount to stuff into my reusable bag.

Exhibit B:

Get out your score cards. Here we have one block of cheese, one can of beans, one large can of tomatoes, seven cans of broth, a can of diced chilies, one small yogurt, and one jumbo yogurt.

In one bag! I know that reusable bags are stronger than the evil plastic ones, but that doesn't mean I need to stuff half of my grocery list into one! It's not like I see that bag and go instantly into Hulk mode, muscles rippling as I carry my purchases inside. Although, turning green would be a nice compliment to the eco-friendliness of those bags.

Weekly Menu Feb 21-27

2010-02-21T17:33:00.001-06:00

Spanish Potato & Chorizo Tortilla
Steak
Vegetable Tofu Tagine*
leftover soup (probably West African Peanut Soup)
Asparagus Leek Strudel
Butter Chicken

*The tofu tagine is a new recipe, we'll see how it goes!

the view from down here

2010-01-10T13:29:00.002-06:00

Things I learned by lying on by bathroom floor:

The toe kick on our vanity is not painted all the way to the corner
The bathmat has a disturbing amount of my hair on it - I should check myself later for bald spots
Lying on the floor does not help your back feel better
Neither does kneeling, moving, or even breathing
What sounds like the dog being bad upstairs is really the washing machine
The dog is actually outside and has been scratching at the door this whole time to be let in

Groan

Weekly Menu Dec 30-Jan 9

2010-01-01T08:56:00.018-06:00

Since I had the week off and had to do the grocery shopping, I got ambitious and planned two weeks for one trip.

Zesty Black and White Bean Chili
Peanut-Curry Flank Steak
Cheddar Chicken
Indian Ratatouille
Omelets with steel cut oats
Cabbage and Noodles
BBQ chicken with savory sweet potatoes
West African Peanut Soup
Egg White and Avocado Salad
Quesadillas

Oh Nine? Oh Ten!

2009-12-31T10:26:00.009-06:00

This year started off with a bang, quite literally, when I lost my marbles and decided to plow my new car directly into some poor unsuspecting citizen.

My lapse in judgment didn't stop there, as I tried my hand at some DIY decorating in the dining room. Like many of my projects, it started off with grand ambitions, become more work that I wanted, fizzled into a fit of "Why did I do this?" and ended up being okay. This project turned out pretty much exactly how I thought it would. Go me.

Over the summer we went on a wonderful trip to Hawaii with Mr. Man's family. We went to Kauai, which is made up of 1/3 chickens, 1/3 ants, and 1/3 people. You think the ants would be eaten by the chickens which would be eaten by the people, but that's simply not the way it works.

We once again went to the state fair and ate as much fried food as we could. Our favorite was the fried peanut butter cup macaroon. Deeeeelicious! I also had to try the fried butter. Yes, people, fried butter. How could I not try it? I got mine with a cherry topping. While I probably won't eat fried butter again, I'm proud to say I've done it once.

This year did not see me doing any quilting, although I certainly have some unfinished projects that are waiting. Maybe in 2010. I did, however, make my mother a set of ornaments for Christmas, one for each of her children, their spouses, and her grandchild.

What about our fuzzy little friend? Well, Briscoe spent his year going on button rampages and getting fat. He is now on a diet that includes less food and far less buttons. Poor thing is none too happy about it, he has started scrounging around for stray bits of crumbs. Here is is checking out Mr. Man's face for any morsels of wayward candy.

Wishing you and yours a very happy new year!

Weekly Menu Sept 20-26

2009-09-21T19:43:00.003-05:00

Mr. Man was out of town on grocery shopping day so I made this menu. I think it'll be a yummy one!

Steak and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Lentil-Quinoa Salad with Curry Vinaigrette
Tuna sandwiches
West African Peanut Soup
Cheddar and Bacon Quiche

Dr. Me

2009-09-13T18:42:00.002-05:00

Diagnosing yourself by searching for things on the internet is not good for your mental health.

On Friday I noticed pink spots all over body, kind of like pink freckles. I didn't think too much of it, they weren't itchy or puffed up and I didn't have a fever, cough, or other sign of sickness. Saturday night I started doing a little search to see what they might be. And since I am clearly an internet doctor, I decided that it must be either leukemia or aplastic anemia.

Now, I am almost positive it is nothing that serious, as I just had a physical done a month ago and all of my blood work came back completely normal, but the over-reacting hypochondriac side of me can't help herself. The good news is that the spots seems to be going away. Apparently eating copious amounts of Skittles proves itself as an excellent cure!

Weekly Menu Sept 13-19

2009-09-13T17:56:00.000-05:00

Steak
Cheddar Chicken with brown rice
Pasta Pie
Butter Chicken
Smoked Gouda and Sauteed Greens Sandwich

Weekly Menu Sept 6-12

2009-09-06T19:02:00.001-05:00

Pan Fried Cod with Gingered Snow Peas
Carmelized Tofu with Brussels Sprouts
Corn Flake Chicken with Pureed Butternut Squash
Sausage and Lentils
Mesquite Smoked Pork with Ancho chili Sauce and corn bread

Weekly Menu Aug 31-Sept 5

2009-08-31T21:07:00.000-05:00

Beef Fajitas
Risotto with Spinach, Chickpeas and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Hot Tuna and Cheddar Sandwiches with Cucumber Salad
Shrimp Scampi
Italian Mini-meatloaves with Three Cheese Macaroni

yay for summer fruits

2009-08-31T18:12:00.002-05:00

Yummy.

gag

2009-08-28T12:00:00.002-05:00

Airports are interesting places. Mr. Man likes to spend his time reading, but I like to sit and watch people. Sometimes it's very mundane, sometimes it's very interesting. One time I even saw a mouse! A recent trip inspired the following open letter.

Dear Lady at the Airport,

Although I rarely wear open toed shoes because I can't wear them to work and I don't want to buy extra shoes, I certainly understand the etiquette that goes along with wearing them. I understand your desire to keep the nails on your toes trimmed and looking neat. What I don't understand, however, is why on earth you felt the need to pull out your giant toenail clippers in the middle of gate A29 and start clipping your toenails. In public! Was there some sort of toenail emergency that I was unaware of? And why, for the love of humanity, did you not pick up the clipped nails and throw them away. I've heard that you can compost them, but I can assure you that airport carpet did not need your discarded toenails laying around on it. I did not need your discarded toenails laying anywhere near me and am very, very glad you got on a different flight because who knows what you would have started grooming on the plane. Weirdo.

Sincerely,

TYS

I might just put in the kitchen sink

2009-08-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

People, I'm turning into my father. I know you hear that most women turn a bit into their mothers as they grow, and I'm sure there's a bit of that in there as well, but as I peered into my lunchbox the other day I was struck with the realization that this particular habit is definitely from my dad.

Growing up my dad carried a large lunch box that contained about 10% lunch, 75% papers, 5% loose change, and 10% who knows what else. It was a like a filing cabinet/lunchbox hybrid. Some of that has clearly rubbed off on me because, well, here are the non-lunch contents of my very own lunchbox...

Let me detail for you what we're looking at:

glasses
pocket calendar
binder clip
receipt
dr's business card
list of books relating to work
dimensions I needed for a cabinet I was looking for
co-worker's phone number and security code for school
coupon for free bread
change from some petty cash I had
old airline ticket stubs
Schlotzsky's coupon
Quiznos' coupon
Tom Thumb customer service card
shopping receipt
green paint chip
receipt from recent library trip
old notice we sent home to parents

I'm going to be honest, I hadn't realized it had gotten so bad!

delicious metal

2009-08-24T16:57:00.001-05:00

Is nothing sacred? I put a folder on the couch before I left for work and when I got home somebody stuck his big fat head inside of it and proceeded to chew up and lick the metal brads inside. Now, I've learned not to leave pens, pencils, and anything with a button lying around, but it never occurred to me that my innocent folder wouldn't be safe.

Weekly Menu Aug 23-29

2009-08-23T17:12:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted a weekly menu since...well, in quite some time! Mr. Man, having so much faith in me, has diligently kept our lists week after week in the hopes I would once again starting post them. That or he caught a case of the lazies and just never took them off the fridge. Either way, I am in the process of back tracking all of our menus. I am going to backdate them for when they should have come out because I'm sneaky like that. Here is this week's menu

Pulled pork with buttermilk coleslaw
Steak
Pork burritos (with leftover pulled pork)
Gazpacho with greens
Fettuccine with bolognese sauce
Grilled chese

kickin' it van Gogh style

2009-08-23T13:31:00.001-05:00

This is what happens when you buy cheap sunglasses, abuse them, and then have no time to purchase new ones. I've been driving around like this for two weeks. At least I have enough sense to not wear them outside of the car. I'm sure squinting and holding my hand over my face looks much better.

On a side note...it seems to me, upon closer inspection, that the freckles on my face create a large triangle. Very weird.

Weekly Menu Aug 16-22

2009-08-16T17:24:00.002-05:00

Tostadas
Prawn and Coconut Curry
French toast and eggs
Honey Chicken stir fry
Sausages
Cabbage and Noodles

Weekly Menu Aug 2-8

2009-08-02T17:26:00.000-05:00

Baked Spaghetti Frittata
Hamburger Helper
Steak
Rotisserie chicken
Chicken tacos (with leftover rotisserie chicken)

has anyone seen my chapstick?

2009-08-01T10:18:00.002-05:00

Oh, there it is.

And there it goes.

Weekly Menu July 26-Aug1

2009-07-26T17:34:00.001-05:00

Beef tenderloin with Hoisin Plum Sauce
Hotdogs
Caribbean tenderloin with Black Bean Salsa
Salmon Cakes
Baked Spaghetti Frittata

Another one bites the dust

2009-07-23T20:23:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Mr. Man! I was excited to celebrate his birthday this year because I got some pretty neat gifts. The package above has a fancy dark chocolate bar with cherries and almonds and the larger box is a sample pack of rootbeer. Yum! He also got tickets to see FC Dallas (the soccer team). He's taking me, naturally. =)

Each year I also make Mr. Man a fresh raspberry pie. Can you guess how old he is this year?

Despite the incredibly cute dot in the middle of the nine, I have to tell you that this was not a pretty pie. We may have to eat it blind folded! I put foil around the insanely large edge of the crust. It worked very well, as you can see. The middle got quite brown. Poor little pie looks like it was wearing a hat and then got a sunburn! My carefully planned out design is also not centered. I should just pretend I did this on purpose, as it tends to be my trademark. I can't quite seem to line things up. I might as well market it as a specialty. The end result is wonky and splotchy, but I have no doubt that this will be a mighty tasty pie.

Weekly Menu July 19-25

2009-07-19T17:36:00.000-05:00

Teriyaki chicken with Golden Rice
Pork with shredded brussels sprouts and Fruity Quinoa Salad
Quesadillas with Jicama Orange Salad
Orzo with White Beans and Parsley Pesto and Carrot Slaw
Hotdogs

on the road again

2009-07-17T19:19:00.002-05:00

.:blink, blink:.

Oh my, what's this I've found? A neglected blog, languishing alone and seemingly forgotten. Let me just dust off the cob webs and get back to business. Really. I promise. Besides, Mr. Man has faithfully been adding to the collection of weekly menus for...well, quite some time. I better get those off the fridge before the whole thing tips over.

Weekly Menu July 12-18

2009-07-12T17:41:00.000-05:00

Disappearing Pork Tenderloin
Chicken breasts with Oaxacan Style Sauce
West African Peanut Soup
Kim's Beef Bourguignon
Hotdogs

Weekly Menu July 5-11

2009-07-05T17:44:00.000-05:00

Tacos
Steak
Spaghetti with meatballs
Chicken breasts with Oaxacan Style Sauce
Squash Souffle

Weekly Menu June 28-July 4

2009-06-28T17:47:00.000-05:00

Baked Tofu
Pork chops
Hamburger Helper
Hotdogs
Pasta Pie

Weekly Menu June 14-20

2009-06-14T17:51:00.000-05:00

This is a short menu because we are leaving this week for Hawaii!! Yay! We'll be gone for a bit, gorging ourselves on delicious island fare and wishing we didn't have to come back.

Tofu with jicama slaw
Cashew Chicken
Grilled Cheese

Weekly Menu June 7-13

2009-06-07T17:53:00.000-05:00

Hamburgers
Pork chops
Chili with tofu
Rolled Swordfish with Fennel Slaw

Weekly Menu May 31-June6

2009-05-31T17:56:00.000-05:00

Hotdogs
Chicken tikka masala
Pork chops
leftovers/pasta
Fettuccine alfredo

Weekly Menu May 24-30

2009-05-24T17:57:00.000-05:00

Hotdogs
Sesame Tofu with rice
Pork chops
Tostadas
Chicken tikka masala
BBQ chicken

Weekly Menu May 17-23

2009-05-17T17:59:00.000-05:00

Steak
Rigatoni
Hotdogs
Ukrainian Spinach & Noodle Casserole
Fried Rice
Lemony Baked Tofu

Weekly Menu May 10-16

2009-05-10T18:00:00.000-05:00

Rotisserie chicken
Roasted vegetable quesadillas
Beef Bourguignon
Oriental Chicken Salad
Rigatone with Salami and Herbs

free ride

2009-05-08T08:00:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure where this dapper little fellow was going, but he sure does look surprised to be getting there!

the aporkalypse

2009-05-03T19:45:00.003-05:00

People, swine flu is bringing the world to an end. The paranoia! The hysteria! The incessant media coverage! Swine flu is now my go-to answer for anything that's going wrong. Got a cough? Swine flu. Copier jammed? Swine flu. Insane weather? Clearly swine flu has taken that over as well. I mean, here's some proof...

The week started off with a dreary drizzle

and moved into a heavy fog. Can you see the horses? They're there!

This is the lovely sight and sound I woke up to on Thursday morning. Actually, I woke up to the loudest thunderclap I've ever heard. The emergency vehicles came 30 minutes later. I'm still not sure what happened, all of the houses on our street look fine. Swine flu.

On Saturday night we had an incredible lightening storm. It was amazing and lasted for ever. We lost power at one point and the dog was buried under a mountain of pillows. The sky was absolutely lighting up. This picture is a bit blurry, but it shows how much light there was from the lightening, because...

this is what it looked like otherwise!

So, everyone, gather your loved ones and tell them how much you adore them because the swine flu is going to take us all down. Oink.

Weekly Menu April 26-May 9

2009-05-03T17:46:00.004-05:00

As usual, here is our menu for the week. What's that? It seems I didn't post one for last week? Well then, I have great news! You get two weekly menus for the price of one. Lucky you!

Steak
West African Chicken Thighs
Taco Soup
Pasta with sauce
Kielbasa
Rotisserie Chicken
Shrimp scampi

Snapper
Shrimp Newberg
Chicken and Chorizo Soup *
Steak
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ravioli
Indian Ratatouille

* you may have noticed (because I know you read my blog with unfailing dedication) that sometimes we repeat a meal from one week to the next. As is the case this week, it is typically because we didn't make it for some reason and, since we already have all the ingredients for it, we simply schedule it for the following week. Now you know.

Monday Musings

2009-04-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

Does anyone else feel the need to shout "Moo!" when they drive by some cows?

Do you ever feel the urge to honk at people who are walking as you drive by them? No? Oh...erm... me neither.

Should I try the 30 Day Shred DVD again? Have I told you what happened the first time I did?

Will my poster I'm waiting for come today?

How do you get the flavors to stick to air popped popcorn? Growing up we'd just drizzle melted butter over the top and, while my brother Matthew would eat most of those delicious pieces as quickly as he could, it kind of defeats the purpose of having an air popper!

Weekly Menu April 19-25

2009-04-19T12:28:00.000-05:00

Beef tenderloin
Tacos
Johnny Earl's Snapper Fillets
Shrimp Newbury
Chicken and Chorizo Soup
Spicy Tofu

mr. moo

2009-04-15T17:20:00.003-05:00

Here is what is right outside of my doctor's office. Proof positive that I live in Texas. You know, in case you were doubting me.

how low can you go

2009-04-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

A while back I read that petting your dog or cat for 18 minutes a day lowers your blood pressure. It became a little joke in our house and Mr. Man and Briscoe usually spend the evening snuggled up with each other, so Mr. Man always gets in his 18 minutes.

When my mom was here for Thanksgiving Mr. Man was petting the dog and we made some comment about "18 minutes." She wondered what we were talking about, so I said when Mr. Man pets the dog it lowers his blood pressure. She confessed to me recently that she thought I had meant the dog's blood pressure. Ha! So, while she was here she made sure to pet Briscoe too.

Of course, this is my mother...

which may explain some things.

Monday Musings

2009-04-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

What is an Adam's Apple made out of?

It must be really tiring being a baby cow.

Do cows get all the nutrients they need just from eating grass?

Weekly Menu March 22 - April19

2009-04-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

It's been quite some time since I've posted a weekly menu! Rest assured that I have, indeed, been eating. Mr. Man takes good care of us. We got busy with spring break visitors and a short trip to Arkansas. There was a lot of eating out, but he has diligently been keeping the lists we did have on the fridge. So, hold onto your hats, here we go...

Butter Chicken
Stuffed Herbed Tenderloin
Hamburgers
Sauteed Salmon with Creamy Leeks and Tarragon Sauce
Curried Spinach Pea Soup

Zesty Bean and Corn Chili
Caramelized Tofu with brussels sprouts
Hot dogs
BBQ chicken with savory sweet potatoes
Butter Chicken
Pork Tenderloin with Dried Cherries and Rosemary

Macaroni and Cheese
Orzo and White Beans with Parsley Pesto
Curried Chickpeas, Cauliflower, and Spinach
Chicken cutlets with Tomato and Basil Sauce

next time don't wait so long

2009-04-03T18:52:00.010-05:00

Last week I took my stinky dog to the groomer and found myself with an hour to kill so I headed over to Target. I had to go to the bathroom but figured I could wait until I was finished shopping. The bathrooms are not at the back of the store but rather at the front, on the other side of the registers. Now, I'm sure this is so people don't go back there and stuff merchandise down their pants, but it's a bit of a pain for the regular folk. I didn't want to leave my basket of stuff because I was worried it wouldn't be there when I got back (yeah, because everyone wants to take off with some shampoo and a bottle of vinegar bigger than their head). Let me tell you, this line of thinking was a strategical error on my part.

By the time I made a mad dash up to the register I was sure that I was going to die from having to go to the bathroom. I don't know how many people have actually died from having to go to the bathroom, but I wasn't about to add one more to the stats!

I got in there, found a reasonably clean stall, and set my stuff on top of the toilet paper dispenser (I wasn't about to put it on the floor!) only to realize, after I'd already committed to this stall, that there was only about 12 inches of toilet paper left on the roll. Oh well, at least there wasn't pee on the seat.

Shortly afterward someone comes into the stall next to mine. Really, lady? There is a whole bank of stalls and you have to pick the one directly next to me. Me, who was just of the verge of dying from having to go to the bathroom. As if that weren't bad enough, what she did next was weird.

She started spitting into the toilet.

That's right. She spit a few times, waited a few seconds, and then spit some more. She wasn't throwing up, just spitting. What on earth was she doing? Why did she need to spit so much? Why did she have to come next to me and do it? I'm sure she wanted me to leave as much as I wanted her to go. I rationed my meager amount of toilet paper and then got the heck out of Dodge.

a new addition

2009-03-18T18:49:00.001-05:00

Kitchen Items Mr. Man has Cut Himself On

chef's knife
butter knife
cheese grater
zester
vegetable peeler
cans
skewer
microplane zester

and, drum roll please....
food processor blade

I've got to give it to him, at least he's creative!

excellent skills of deduction

2009-03-18T13:50:00.002-05:00

I don't know what you were up to, but I know it was something!

Monday Musings

2009-03-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

It would be really neat if our money glowed in the dark.

If we put the new mulch right on top of the inch tall lantana sprouts will it kill them or will they keep growing? If it does kill them, will the HOA care that I don't have flowers out front?

Why does DSW never have cute shoes in size 9? Is everyone an their sister a size 9?!

Weekly Menu, March 15-21

2009-03-15T12:03:00.002-05:00

Pork Chops with apples
Macaroni and Cheese
Baked Chimichangas with beans and rice
Italian Omelet
Potato, Spinach and Tomato Soup with Prosciutto Panini
Orzo and White Beans with Parsley Pesto

she who shall not be named

2009-03-14T22:39:00.002-05:00

I work on the admin staff at a preschool. One of my various, exciting jobs is to get the children lined up at carpool as their parents arrive. On Friday one of the children brought in gifts for us. The tag on my bag was written to "The lady in the front who calls out people's names." Ha!

2009-03-14T22:37:00.002-05:00

Welcome to my drippy, dreary, waterlogged world. Rain, rain, go away!

consider it christened

2009-03-11T17:11:00.004-05:00

.
.
Note to self: When you take the dog to vet be sure to check the back seat for vomit when you get home. This will avoid any surprises you may find a week later while throwing your ridiculously large umbrella back there.
.
.

a killing kind of day

2009-03-09T18:38:00.002-05:00

I started off the day by waking up at 7:27, a full hour after I am normally supposed to be up. I called into work claiming to be a victim of the time change. Despite the slow (and then frenzied) start to the day, I was quite productive this afternoon. All in all, I...

Stopped by the gardening store to pick up some grass killer
Trimmed the remaining dead ornamental grasses
Sprayed some wayward, devious bermuda grass with said grass killer
Sprayed the back and side yard for weeds
Spend 10 minutes rinsing my hands and arms under water and
worrying about the effects of weed killer poisoning
Started a load of laundry
Brushed the dog's teeth

People, this is more than I usually accomplish in a week. Phew!

Monday Musings

2009-03-09T08:00:00.004-05:00

I wonder if anyone else, upon seeing trash bags on the side of the road, wonders if there is a dead body inside. Or am I the only one that morbid?

What is it about old coffee grounds that makes my garbage smell so funky?

Could the warmer weather be causing my car to get better gas mileage?

Weekly Menu, March 8-14

2009-03-08T12:16:00.003-05:00

Spicy Tofu
Macaroni and Cheese
Tostadas
Snapper
Vegetarian Meatloaf with carrot slaw
Sawnsy File and Eggs*

*I'm sure that is not what the recipe is called, but Mr. Man's writing is completely illegible on this one.

delusions of grandeur

2009-03-07T09:07:00.004-06:00

Each weekend I make a general mental list of things I would like to get done. In my head I am a super woman, quickly blazing through tasks. In reality I'm a bit of a lazy bum. I enjoy lounging the day away, only to wonder on Sunday night were all the time went.

I think the warmer weather might be spurring me into wanting to actually get something done, instead of just imagining it. So, here is my list....

1. Buy some weed killer to kill the weeds in the lawn that have already been sprayed but refuse to die.
2. Browse around a couple shops to see if there is anything that catches my attention for our very sparsely decorated living room.
3. Give some attention to one of the two unfinished quilts that has been calling my name for...well a long time.
4. Finish trimming the ornamental grass in front of the house, because things are already growing and the dead stuff from last year is still there.
5. Buy something to help me wage war against the bermuda grass that has infiltrated our flower beds and is slowly driving me to the brink of insanity.

I'm not sure how much I will be able to accomplish, seeing as it's nearly 10 and I'm still in my pajamas!

yeastie beastie

2009-03-06T17:38:00.003-06:00

My furry little friend does not, as I was mildly concerned about, have a face infection. He does, however, have a yeast infection in his ear. Something to do with allergies, I guess. Texas is terrible for allergies. I think it has to do with all the ups and downs in the temperatures. I have wanted to rip my nose off of my body a time or two.

Anyway, the vet prescribed some ear drops for him. Judging by the price of them, the medication is made out of pure liquid gold. If you ask my dog, I have have feeling he'd tell you it was made from radioactive poison.

Since the weather is so nice today, the yeastie beastie and I took advantage of some outside time.

Monday Musings

2009-03-03T17:29:00.003-06:00

Yes, today is Tuesday. Just roll with it.

I have many weird and random thoughts rolling around in my brain that I thought I would share some of them with you. As such, I am introducing a new installment I am calling Monday Musings. Each Monday (or close enough to it) I'll make a post with some of these thoughts. Here you go...

How much does an arm weigh? I guess my arm weighs 8 lbs. If my arm weighed 8 lbs, how much would my leg weigh? 20?

Does my dog have an ear infection? He's not scratching his ear as much as last week, but he's scratching his face a lot more. What if his ear infection traveled down and now he has a face infection?!

That is a very large and scary grasshopper (think Texas sized) in the bush I'm trimming. I hope it hops out. OMG, what if it does hop out? I hope it stays in there!

Weekly Menu, March 1-7

2009-03-01T12:53:00.000-06:00

Trout with Almonds
Rotisserie Chicken with butternut squash purée
Egg foo yung with trout (made with leftovers from previous dish)
Bratwurst with baked beans
Grilled ribeye with potatoes and broccoli

on the road again

2009-02-25T17:07:00.003-06:00

I saw three things while driving today that made me happy.

1. A man on a reversed tricycle on steroids.

2. It's a gorgeous day outside.

3. Look at the gas mileage. Yay for me. Too bad for the people
behind me when I accelerate insanely slowly from a stop.

Also, I got to hear Pink's song So What twice today on the way home. I totally rocked out, with the windows down and the stereo blaring. I'm a happy gal, indeed.

Weekly Menu, Feb 22-28

2009-02-25T17:04:00.002-06:00

Lentils and sausage
Pasta Pie
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Open Faced Turkey, Brie, and Nectarine sandwiches
Baltic Chicken
Waterzooi de Poulet

Weekly Menu, Feb 15-21

2009-02-15T13:52:00.002-06:00

As I've mentioned, I am on my own this week. I usually eat pretty poorly when Mr. Man is out of town. I've decided to try to do better this time. I've planned a somewhat ambitious menu, including things that need to be grilled. I've never grilled before! I think it should be a good week. Of course, it's 2:00 and I haven't even eaten lunch yet, so who knows!

Quesadillas with black beans and jicama orange salad
Curried Quinoa with carrot latkes
Teriyaki chicken with golden pineapple rice and asparagus
Steak with sweet potatoes (frozen from Thanksgiving) and broccoli
Hot dogs with cheesy noodles and broccoli
Rosemary chicken with brown butter and balsamic ravioli and asparagus

a special note to Mr. Man

2009-02-14T17:10:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

We love you!!

A happy day to everyone else, too! =)

on my own

2009-02-13T20:59:00.020-06:00

Mr. Man is out of town, so I settled down to a ramshackle dinner of fried eggs that I ate with some lima beans, cauliflower, and a piece of toast. To round out the meal I decided to have some potato chips and found, to my delight, a bag of New York Cheddar Kettle Chips in the pantry.

I'd like to take a moment to talk about how incredibly well sealed Kettle Chips are. Have you ever tried to open a bag? I had to bust out the kitchen scissors!

So, I got the bag open and took out a boatload of chips. Then put some back. My fingers were covered in crumbs of cheesy goodness, so I licked them. It was then I realized that my beloved chips were not, in fact, New York Cheddar. They are Death Valley Chipotle! Ack!

In my struggle to quickly get the offending chips (I'm no fan of the spice) back into the bag, my dog decided to make an attempt at my plate, stepping on one of our 40 remotes and changing something on the TV so that I had no picture and only sound.

People, Mr. Man (my technical genius) is out of town until next Friday. As terrible as it may be, I do not want to go an entire week with no television! After a few very tense minutes of me cursing my icky chips, defending my plate of food, yelling at the dog, and frantically pressing buttons I finally hit the magic combo and got my picture back. Crisis averted.

hide and seek

2009-02-09T20:14:00.004-06:00

In a fit of boredom, Mr. Man and I decided to play Hide and Seek with Briscoe. While he is running towards the other person we switch places, so he has to look all over for us. He loves that game. Here are two short videos...

The action is slow to start, he took longer than I thought and I can't edit it shorter. If you listen carefully you can hear him braking in the hallway. Ha!

Here is Mr. Man calling him back downstairs. You can see how excited he is. =)

amber waves of grain

2009-02-09T17:50:00.003-06:00

Here's a picture of the grass we have in our flower beds. At least, the grass that belongs in the flower beds. There's more grass that is an entirely different story. I thought it was a neat shot and wanted to share it with you.

Weekly Menu, Feb 8-14

2009-02-08T11:46:00.001-06:00

Chicken with Tomato and Leeks
NY strip steak with roasted garlic butter
Hamburger Helper (that's right, Hamburger Helper!)
Dressed up Salmon Cakes

This is a short menu because Mr. Man is leaving on Friday for an out of town trip. I think he just didn't want to be here for Valentine's Day!

danger zone

2009-02-07T09:35:00.004-06:00

As you might know, Mr. Man does the cooking at our house. He does a great job with our meals, however, he is not...shall we say... the handiest of people. He has managed to cut/pierce himself with a wide variety of things in the kitchen. Things such as...

chef's knife
butter knife
cheese grater
zester
vegetable peeler
cans
skewer

and most recently...
microplane zester

Let me tell you, the microplane zester works really well. He wanted me to take a picture of his bare knuckle, but I thought I would spare you all the gory details. Literally.

come in, Mars

2009-02-04T17:49:00.003-06:00

On my way home from work the other day I got behind a car that caught my eye.

It's hard to tell, but this little Jetta had 5 ginormous antennas on it. That one is the middle was so large it had two ropes tethering it to the car! It also had two horseshoe shaped protrusions adorning the top of it. I really, really want to know why this car had so many antennas. And why so big? I guess after they but Big Bertha up there adding a bunch of other antennas seemed like no big deal.

Well, I got as close as I could to the car (although with my recent fender bender in mind it wasn't too close) to see if he was a ham radio operator. Nope. Perhaps they run a mobile police scanner business. Or they are weather nuts who chase tornadoes in the hopes of catching a glimpse of a flying cow. Maybe it's joke and they just like to see people ogle their car. Given the little information I have on them, I can only conclude that they are in contact with beings who live far, far away and they necessitate many ridiculously large antennas to keep a signal.

p.s. If my husband asks, I did not take this picture from a moving car.

Weekly Menu, Feb 1-7

2009-02-01T10:27:00.000-06:00

Hamburgers - for Super Bowl Sunday!
West African Chicken Thighs
Risotto with Shrimp and Spinach
Steak
Lasagna
Chicken with Tomato and Leeks

someone's in the kitchen with Dinah

2009-01-31T12:05:00.002-06:00

Briscoe, being the incredibly smart dog that he is, knows the kitchen is where the food comes from. As such, he is always hanging around in there when we are. He's kind enough to pick up anything we drop. Unless, of course, it's a vegetable and then it's left to languish.

Mr. Man was cooking up some Cashew Chicken last night (yum!) and his furry little helper was right beside him.

I like to call this picture "No, I was not sniffing your delicious raw chicken." I'm sure he wishes he were about a foot and a half taller. Or had an anteater tongue.

And here he is, very dedicated in his quest to catch any yummy morsels that happen to fall from above. Sadly for him, I think the only thing that came off the counter last night was some cornstarch. Better luck next time!

A book review

2009-01-30T20:44:00.002-06:00

I have recently joined the neighborhood book club and this month we are reading the book I suggested, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

I have to say, I really liked it! The book follows a young girl named Liesl who lives in Germany during WWII, although it isn't your typical WWII book. The war serves as a backdrop to Liesl and the people in her life. The story is narrated by Death, which sounds dark and gruesome but it is far from it. The author's writing style took a bit getting used to, but after the first couple of chapters I was totally into it. I don't want to give too many details away, because I want you to read this book yourself! I have to admit that after I read the book that I found out it is juvenile literature, but I loved it all the same. If you end up reading it, let me know!

Weekly Menu, Jan 25-31

2009-01-28T17:17:00.002-06:00

It's been awhile since I've posted a weekly menu. The week of the 11th was shot because we had to leave town unexpectedly and then last week apparently I was too lazy. I mean busy. =P

Fajitas
Yellow Spoon Mac and Cheese
Grilled pork chops
Chicken and Cashew stir fry
Rustic White Bean soup

haste makes waste

2009-01-24T16:50:00.003-06:00

I got a new car back in September. When next week rolls around parts of it will be much newer.

Parts like the side mirror...

the door...

the other door, and the rear quarter panel...

I was on my way to work on Tuesday and was stopped in traffic, waiting to get into the left turn lane. The light turned green and I, impatiently, decided to go around the car in front of me to get into the turn lane early. This would immediately prove to be a show of poor judgment, as I did not make it around the car in front of me, trying, instead, to go somewhat through it.

His truck looked far better than my car, with damage only to the tail light (courtesy of my mirror) and probably some scratches on the bumper. The guy was nice and I was embarrassed and mad at myself. Getting to the light early (which didn't even happen) was not worth it!

Things you cannot put in the garbage disposal

2009-01-22T19:05:00.002-06:00

Over the years we have found out (the hard way, naturally) that the garbage disposal cannot handle everything you put into it. As a service to the general public, here is our list of things to avoid:

potato peels
turnips
potato peels (yes, again)
grape leaves

and our newest item...
thyme

You are welcome, in advance. =)

Hooray for me!

2009-01-20T19:07:00.002-06:00

Remember (or not) the post I made about a quilter's giveaway? Well, I won something! Yay! A big thanks to Pat from A Little of This and a Little of Pat for hosting a giveaway. Also, thank to Debi at Quilting with Debi for getting the whole thing going. I am super exciting about winning a prize and will update you all when it gets here!

a quick update

2009-01-20T18:49:00.002-06:00

As you can tell, I haven't been posting recently. I was suddenly whisked out of town. We traveled up to blustery Chicago because Mr. Man's grandpa passed away. Two days shy of his 99th birthday! It wasn't a sad occasion, as he had lived a very long life. His grandma is doing well and it was nice to see family again.

The weather, on the other hand, was not nice. It was in the negatives up there. I'm talking regular air temps, people, not even factoring in the wind chill! The day I left it was -15 at O'Hare. Negative fifteen! Mr. Man's parents left shortly after I did for a cruise to Antarctica and I was amused by the fact that it was warmer there than in Chicago.

The funeral had a short graveside service and, by directive of my mother-in-law, we were all bundled up to a ridiculous degree. Here is some evidence to back that up...

I had, in a bout of shortsightedness, only packed a pair of heels to wear. Seeing as I appreciate my feet and would like to keep them attached to my body, I wore my sneakers and was given "overshoes" to wear on top of them. I had also packed my nice coat and my down coat, to give myself some options. I decided that neither would be warm enough on their own, so I donned both. In total, I am wearing:

-wool sweater
-wool zip-up sweater
-tights
-socks
-pants
-sneakers
-overshoes
-wool coat
-down jacket
-gloves
-mittens
-hat
-scarf

And let me tell you, I do not miss the weather in Chicago at all!

p.s. Tomorrow it will be in the 70s in Dallas. That's more like it.

lazy bones

2009-01-11T13:24:00.003-06:00

This week really flew by! Getting back into the swing of things after being on break for two weeks really takes it out of me. Especially since I used those two weeks to do absolutely nothing! I'm exhausted from doing just a regular amount of work. Poor me, right? =P

I've had some stuff that I wanted to get done this weekend, but I'm still operating in lazy mode. I need to crank it up a notch. Or two. Or four. In fact, I'm burning daylight right now. I think I'll salvage the rest of the afternoon and get my booty into gear. I hope the rest of you are having as lazy or as active as weekend as you need. I leave you with a cute picture of my dog. For no reason other than he's adorable.

Rhombuses are my favorite

2009-01-04T15:46:00.005-06:00

Beware the encroaching army! Just like a kid at the end of winter break, I held off on making these little guys until today. They are Shape Monsters for my school's four year old math curriculum. As their name suggests, they eat shapes while the children chant:

Shape monster, shape monster,
munch, munch, munch!
How about a name of shape for lunch?

It is something I came up with last year based on an idea I saw in Mailbox magazine. My shape monster is a cereal box, turned upside down, with a hole cut out for the mouth and then covered in felt. It has yarn hair, a sparkly felt mouth, a pom pom nose, and giant wiggly eyes. Add in truck loads of hot glue and there you have it. Each one has flaps on the bottom, so when the shape monster gets full you just empty him out and start all over again. The kids adore him. They're easy to please.

Weekly Menu, Jan 4-10

2009-01-04T14:53:00.001-06:00

Steak
Pulled pork (leftovers)
Pad thai
Corn flake chicken
Sauteed pork tenderloin with dried cherries and rosemary
Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Sneaky pinks

2009-01-03T17:58:00.004-06:00

The past few days I've been working on making an apron. It was going pretty well until I hit a patch of very confusing directions. I asked both Mr. Man and Briscoe for some help, but neither one of them could make sense of them either. Instead I just made up my own directions and proceeded, which worked our marvelously.

I needed to trim up some seams and decided to use the pinking shears my mother had passed on to me.

They were a bit awkward to use and were not cutting properly. It didn't make sense, because they are supposed to be very nice scissors. Then it hit me...my mother is left handed. She gave me left handed pinking shears! Not one to be outsmarted by a mere piece of metal, I switched hands and started cutting again. Ah, much better.

Still, my left handed cutting skills leave a lot to be desired. Luckily for me, there happens to be a left hander in my house. Mr. Man very adeptly trimmed the rest of the seams for me. He was commenting on how nice and sharp the scissor are and I told him that I was glad he liked them, as he will be taking care of all my pinking needs from now on!

What is a lang syne, anyway?

2008-12-31T11:33:00.018-06:00

With the year drawing to a close, I have a confession to make...my mind operates on a school year calendar. My "year" isn't over until the summer. Last year, to me, spans from September 2007 to August 2008. Never the less, I will join everyone else in ringing in a new calendar year and taking a look back at the old one. Sit back and relax, it's a long post. I'm a wordy one!

This year we saw our first Texas snow. Twice in one week! It was enough for the kids next door to roll up a snowman, albeit a very grassy and muddy one. It did not make me miss the ungodly amount of snow we got in Massachusetts. Not one bit!

Over spring break we went to Big Bend with Mr. Man's parents. I think my highlight was seeing a javelina munching on some prickly pear. Mr. Man's was hiking up the South Rim trail on the Chisos Mountain. We went up (and then down) around 1800 feet. It took 7 and a half hours, which was a pretty good pace. My legs fell off the next day. It was very sad.

Our other big trip this year was to Vancouver, which made me want to move to Vancouver immediately. Except that it is expensive to live there and we'd probably have to move into a box. It was beautiful and we loved it. We also went up to Whistler Mountain, where the 2010 winter Olympics are being held. All I can say is good luck with the traffic!

We survived our first Texas summer without too much trouble, thanks to the glorious invention called air conditioning. Then, I started my a new position at my preschool, moving out of the classroom and into the office as an administrator. Trust me, it's as exciting as it sounds. =P

Briscoe had surgery in September, to take care of a luxating patella (knee cap that won't stay in place) that was bothering him. He was quite a trooper and the recovery process was not as much of a hellish nightmare as we were predicting.

We painted our living room. Twice. On the same day. I swear, they are different!

I also...

celebrated one year in our house,

saw my baby brother graduate from Army boot camp,

bought a new car,

started a blog,

finished a quilt,

met a hideous bug as big as my thumb,

hosted Thanksgiving,

and will be finishing out the year sitting quietly at home. Thanks for coming along with me on this journey. I hope to see you more in 2009.

A very happy new year to you and yours!

Trimming the tree

2008-12-30T10:30:00.003-06:00

This morning I was sitting in the office, doing my thing, when I heard a suspicious noise. I got up to investigate and found out that it was my dog. On the couch. Eating an ornament. After having our tree up for weeks, Briscoe finally made his move. Those delicious looking ornaments just proved too much for his willpower. This, of course, led me to a lot of yelling and picking out of ornament bits from his mouth, feet, fur, my couch, and the blanket he was sitting on.

Being the good sport that I am, I decided to take some pictures to share with everyone. As I was downloading them I heard a, now familiar, crunch from the living room.

He did it again! Further proving that he has absolutely no self-preservation instincts. At all. Christmas is officially over!

Weekly Menu, Dec 28-Jan 3

2008-12-28T15:04:00.004-06:00

I can't believe we're heading into 2009!

Ham with sweet potatoes*
BBQ Pulled Pork
Pork burritos
Pesto Gnocchi with Green Beans
Chicken pot pie
Tilapia

*This with leftover ham from last week. We have a lot of ham leftover. I might make some sort of bean soup to freeze for later.

I love me some freebies

2008-12-28T10:13:00.006-06:00

As you may or may not know, I consider myself a bit of a quilter. Now, I don't quilt as often as I think I should, but I have finished a few over the years.

I have a few works in progress (WIPs) that are really leaning more towards unfinished objects (UFOs), but really, who doesn't?!

I am tickled to say that I have stumbled upon a quilting blog that is hosting a giveaway. Let me tell you a little something about quilters...they love fabric. The only thing they could possibly love more than fabric is free fabric! I was very excited to see that this blogger was giving away a jelly roll. I am fairly new to jelly rolls, but I have fallen completely head over heels for them. I bought one on a whim (which I never do) and have gotten two additional rolls since then.

A jelly roll is 40 strips of fabric, about 42 inches long and 2.5 inch wide. That means a ton of the cutting is already done for you. Can you believe it? Coordinated fabrics that have some of the work already done so you can dive more quickly into the fun part, which is the piecing!

In order to be in the contest I have to post a cute little snowflake with a link in my side bar and that's it. Easy peasy.

I've been tagged!

2008-12-25T11:53:00.005-06:00

Janelle over at Through the Looking Glass has tagged me. Thanks Janelle!

This tag is all about Christmas traditions. MH and I don't have any true traditions, aside from putting up the tree, so I'll share some of my childhood traditions with you.

1. We had a box of ancient candy canes we put on the tree each year. They were really big, thick ones and we used them year after year.

2. Each of us kids had our own mini tree that we decorated with lights, mini ornaments, and mini candy canes (plastic). We kept them in our rooms and thought they were the greatest!

3. Invariably we woke up before our parents and snuck downstairs to check out our presents. We weren't allowed to wake our parents up until a certain time, so we would play with the presents, still wrapped, usually making forts and houses. When the time came we would put all the presents back and then wake our parents up.

4. My mom, I mean Santa, would always put an orange in our stockings, except for my youngest brother who didn't care for them and got a pear. We would always stick the fruit directly back into the fridge. =P

Christmas so so fun for us when we were kids and I loved the magic of it all. Okay, now here are the blogs that I am tagging:

Evangaline's Vine

Leslie G.

Hmm...I need to start reading some more blogs!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T09:20:00.002-06:00

A very merry Christmas to all! At least to all who celebrate. =) Mr. Man got a stocking full of dark chocolate candy, I got some beading supplies (a new hobby I'm trying out), and Briscoe got some delicious treats. Which he ate too fast and then proceeded to try and yack up. Yay, the joys of Christmas! Now I'm off to eat some french toast, which we tried to dye red with questionable results, and then lounge the day away. Enjoy your day!

Weekly Menu, Dec 21-27

2008-12-24T17:05:00.005-06:00

Better late than never! Here is this week's menu.

Brats and latkes*
Beef tenderloin
Fried rice
Ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans**
Cabbage and Noodles
Beef Enchiladas

*This is for Chanukah. What? You didn't know brats are a traditional Chanukah dinner? =P
**Christmas dinner for 2

Skunk in the barnyard

2008-12-24T11:45:00.004-06:00

.:sniff, sniff:. Can you smell that? It's my dog.

He smells like, well, like a dirty dog. Don't let that cute face fool you, look at those stink waves coming off of him! Pee yew! Now, I do get him professionally groomed, but he needs a touch up in between. Let me tell you, bath time is not his favorite time.

Here is Mr. Brave trying to hide behind the toilet. Perhaps he thought he would be camouflaged into the wall. No so luck, as I deftly swooped him up and put him in the tub. I have found that giving him a shower is actually much easier than giving him a bath. My method consists of aiming the shower head towards the bathtub wall (to minimize the amount a bath I get) and then shoving the dog under the spray. Between thwarting escape attempts I quickly lather him up and rinse him off. When I take him out of the tub he acts as though I have doused him in radioactive poison that he must immediately get rid of by shaking, running, and rubbing.

And since I don't want him to walk around wet for hours I am kind enough to blow dry him. I know that the shaking and trembling is out of appreciation and that when the whole ordeal is over his little doggy heart is filled with love. Can't you just feel it?

My gift to me

2008-12-21T13:27:00.004-06:00

Well, folks, I have decided to make a bold move. I am giving up on the Project 365. It's been pretty difficult to keep up with (evidenced by the fact that I haven't posted in several days) and often times I just look around the house for some random junk to take a picture of. And then when I don't take a picture I feel guilty. I think of things to post and don't post them because I feel bad that I haven't put my 365 pictures up. You deserve better! Some people might call it giving up, but I call it knowing when things aren't working (it sounds less lazy that way).

Dry your eyes, dear hearts, there's no reason to riot because I will still continue posting photos here and there. Let's face it, posts are more interesting when there's a picture to go along with it! Thanks for understanding and I hope to continuing "seeing" you around.

A Giveaway

2008-12-21T13:08:00.002-06:00

This comes to us courtesy of Ravings of a Mad Housewife, who is giving away 4 sets of Fiestaware. Head on over to her blog and check it out! She's picking a winner at random on Christmas Eve.

Weekly Menu, Dec 14-20

2008-12-14T20:06:00.006-06:00

Steak
Honey and Black Pepper Beef stir fry
Chicken and Chorizo Soup
Curried Chickpeas, Cauliflower, and Spinach
Canadian Cheese Soup
Bratwurst
Macaroni and Cheese

37.365

2008-12-14T18:13:00.002-06:00

We finally got our Christmas tree up today. Hooray! We even have presents to put under the tree. Of course, most of those are Chanukah presents from Mr. Man's family, but that's okay. We also took pictures of the dog covered in lights. He did not like it and took revenge by eating two light bulbs at the same time. Nothing says the holidays like fishing glass out of your dog's mouth.

36.365

2008-12-13T10:20:00.001-06:00

As promised, I am updating about the gingerbread cookies I was going to make. Unfortunately, they would not cooperate with being rolled out. I managed to get two snowflakes cut before giving up on that. I rolled the rest into balls and then flattened into circles. I planned on drawing an icing snowflake on top. Until I tasted one. I did not find them enjoyable and they didn't pass the taste test with Mr. Man either. I scrapped the whole idea and am making French butter cookies instead.

35.365

2008-12-12T10:13:00.002-06:00

I went to an ornament exchange this week and got this little cutie. At first I was unsure if I liked it, as it's a bit more rustic than my normal taste. However, I love birds and this was handmade by the giver's friend, so it has certainly earned a place on my tree. When we eventually put it up.

My dogs are barking

2008-12-11T19:00:00.003-06:00

In the quest to find a snowflake shaped cookie cutter, I went shopping after work today. After a long day I went to Jo-Anns, Michaels, and Office Max (that time for paper, not a cookie cutter). As I was crossing the parking lot a song suddenly formed in my head. It is sung to the tune of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland."

Oh my feet, they are dyin'
'Cause my shoes are so stylin'
Why do I buy
heels so high?
Oh my feet really hurt.

32.365-34.365

2008-12-11T18:49:00.002-06:00

This is what happens to your car if you let your aunt wearing a sparkly sweater sit in it.

I picked up these supplies today after work in preparation for a cookie exchange party I'm going to this weekend. I plan on making gingerbread snowflakes like these. I have my doubts that they'll look even halfway decent, but we'll see. I'll post some results when I get them made. Wish me luck!

This is the moon today, as I drove home from after work shopping. I wish I could accurately capture how large it was. It was really neat.

31.365

2008-12-08T20:07:00.004-06:00

I had to go buy more dog food today, as our old bag is nearly out. Usually I buy a 6 lb bag. This hefty guy is a whopping 15 lbs. Apparently our pet store stopped selling the small bags. Briscoe, who weighs 8 lbs and eats half a cup of food a day, will be eating this until May. Of 2010.

Candy hole

2008-12-08T18:56:00.003-06:00

A conversation with Mr. Man

Me: "I did so much running around after work today. I went to blah blah blah and Pier 1 to get an ornament for Bunco."

Mr. Man: "Yeah, I saw that."

Me: "Did you open the box up?"

Mr. Man: "Well, I thought there might be candy inside"

As I mentioned below, candy and I have a special relationship. It can't hold a candle, however, to Mr. Man's love for candy.