just for fun

Thursday, May 31, 2007







thirteen reasons why dishwashing is my least favorite domestic chore

1. i have soggy food issues. i do not like soggy cereal or cookie crumbs in my milk. i do not like the last third of my pancake after the syrup is all soaked in. i'm not a fan of open faced roast beef sandwiches with gravey poured over to make the bread soggy. i would rather die than eat a french dip sub and actually dip each bite in au jus or break up crackers to float around in my soup. so take all that and add to it rinsing off plates with leftover bits on them. or worse, the things that won't go down the drain and you have to pick it out of the sink with your hands and walk over to the trash to throw it away and what if the trash can is far away, then its just squishy and soggy in your hands for maybe fifteen seconds. *aaiigghh* *heebby geebbies*

2. i can never get all the things to fit into the dishwasher

3. i forget to put in soap and actually start the dishwasher. i have good intensions. i think to myself, i'll be a responsible desert dweller and instead of running a non completely full load, i'll put in the breakfast dishes before i start it. and then i forget to start the dishwasher after breakfast. fast forward to dinner and there are no clean plates.

4. because i do not do a good job rinsing, things don't always come out of the dishwasher exactly clean.

5. if i try to unload the dishwasher right after its finished, the dishes are increadibly hot and burn my fingers.

6. if i wait to unload, i forget for days and think there are no clean glasses.

7. sometimes i accidentally run it a second time because i forgot it was clean and managed to put a couple more dirty things in there, usually on top so that the icky food dirtiness splashes around on the once clean dishes.

8. i can never get the pots to fit in proerly.

9. i'm not sure if you should put sharp knives on top with the spatulas or in the silverware cubby.

10. when i was younger, my two sisters and i divided dishes into three tasks. three sisters, three tasks. washing. rinsing. drying AND putting away. being the youngest, guess which task i always got? drying and putting away. how is that not two tasks? how did i always get stuck with two while they only got one?? being the youngest sister had its drawbacks.

11. i am bitter that paperplates aren't good at all for the environment or the budget.

12. i think that doing the dishes should probably also involve washing the counters and stove top but there is always stuff burnt completely foreverly onto the stove tops.

13. i think that doing the dishes should probably also involve running the garbage disposal and sometimes when you flip the on switch it all goes glup and sputters up and the most foul things fly through the air and you always have to lean over it all in order to flip the switch back off. fate demands that something land either in your hair, on your face or on your shirt.


Wednesday, May 30, 2007

protocol

what is the right thing to do when you see someone with a physical handicap who needs a little help?

someone i know was diagnosed with parkinson's but didn't share that diagnosis until there was no longer any way to hide it. therefore i believe he is very private about it and wants to go on about life like nothing has changed.

then today i saw him fumbling with a plastic container of fruit. one of those already cut and washed packs from the grocery. there is a plastic ring/seal around it all that you have to cut off. and the lid itself is wedged in. you've wrestled with them before; you know what i'm talking about. so on the one hand, he's really struggling with the stupid thing and there i am, sitting nearby trying to look like i'm not watching. and on the other hand, i might have struggled just as hard with it; i know i have before and had to hand it over to andrew before i accidentally cut my arm off or something.

i'm probably going to hold the door open for anyone who happens to be near by when i go through, no matter how they happen to be getting through the door. so i'm not talking about just basic common courtesy. but where is the line? what if it hadn't been a silly thing from the grocery that is made purposefully extra hard to get into? when does helping people make them feel helpless and when does not helping people make them feel like no one cares?

a real action shot

ms zoe finally decided to play with her new toy. its a cozy cubie with lots of holes and dangly strings and things. her favorite part is the velcro inside. you are supposed to be able to attach several together to make a whole little play area. she likes to chew on the velcro instead. weird beast.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

i like dead animals cooked with fruit

i really like cooking meat and fruit together. donno why. but i think this is at least the third recipe i've posted here that fits that discription. i also enjoy recipes where everything is cooked in one pan or skillet or crockpot, etc. it just seems like its all easier if you only need one pot.


skillet pork, apples and sweet potatoes


2 T. butter
4 boneless pork loin chops
¼ t salt
2 medium dark orange sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into ¾ inch pieces (or one can of sweet potatoes, but add later in recipe, because they will get super mushy)
1/3 cup apple juice
¼ t thyme leaves
1 medium apple, peeled and sliced
¼ cup sliced green onions
2 T brandy or apple juice
½ cup whipping cream

melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. add pork chops, sprinkle w/salt. Cook 3-5 minutes or until browned on both sides. add sweet potatoes, apple juice and thyme. bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 10 minutes. add apple, onions and brandy; cover and cook an additional 10 minutes or until pork is no longer pink in center. remove pork chops, sweet potatoes and apple from skillet; place on serving platter. cover to keep warm. add cream to skillet; cook 5-6 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. serve over pork mixture. you don't need too many side items with this since its already got potatoes and apples. a nice crusty bread and salad will round it all out. enjoy!

Monday, May 28, 2007

memorial day

in honor of those who serve, we:

put the flag at half staff until noon and then up to full (today is the only day that you do that, recognize those who have made sacrifices in the past and honor those making them today/future);

drove out to boulder city to visit the veterans' cemetary, watch the color guard, and listen to the vfw presentation;

made a trip to the mall and walmart (since it does not get more american than that) purchasing dvds, grilling charcoal, watermelon and new toys for the cat.


action shot of the cat enjoying her new toys...maybe someday she'll play with the things we buy for her...


Sunday, May 27, 2007

i am a complete jerk

it was just one of those mornings when you snap at everything.

andrew is amazing and fixes breakfast for me nearly every morning. some days its putting the cereal box near the milk and some days its crepes with a variety of toppings and fillings. today was egg sandwiches.

i got into the kitchen to make my coffee about the time the eggs were sizzling in the skillet. i watched rather confused as andrew poured some egg beaters on top of the real eggs. and then i went off to find my shoes and lip stuff and whatever else. meanwhile andrew finished the eggs, melted the cheese, toasted the bread, etc.

i couldn't get the entire extra big egg to fit right on top the toast and the stupid melty cheese kept sliding around and i burnt my finger. so i snapped at him. you've seen the sitcoms; it was an instabitch moment complete with fiery dragon breath and burning lazor eyes. i was a wild maniac and hollard things like, "i hate it when you use egg beaters!" and "my sandwich is ruined!" when i came to my senses and felt quite terrible, i mumbled something about being awfully sorry.

he looked at me and his huge brown puppy dog eyes started to water. "you always get so hungry around ten so i thought if you have a little more eggy protein in your sandwich, you would have a better morning..."

i don't know if you sat and thought for days, if you could come up with something to say that would have made me look like a bigger jerk. i already felt like a scumbag before he explained how he is the most thoughtful human being i know.

so i'm a complete jerk. and i need to come up with something wonderfully special to do for him.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

twice baked squash

there are only so many times i can have buttered corn or buttered peas with my dinner. which leads me to my current status of a lets-try-new-ways-to-cook-veggies kick. then you factor in how i hate brocolli and andrew dislikes carrots. he says carrots are little arrows pointing down to hell, which always makes me laugh. i gues carrots are somewhat arrow shaped and i suppose they grow downwards pointing to the center of the earth. i think it is fairly hot in there. maybe he's on to something. i do however feel perfectly free to try out any recipe that suits me (as long as it does not have the afformentioned brocolli or carrots). mostly because andrew will eat just about anything you put in front of him. he'll eat the carrots. he'll just snarl at them with every bite. he is in the army after all: you eat what is put in front of you or you die tomorrow. its just that simple. we were both a bit hestitant on this one, but i think it turned out quite nice actually.



twice baked squash

2 med acorn squash
1 1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer)
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup maple syrup (sugar free maple flavored syrup works just as well if you are watching carbs)
2 large granny smith apples
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 T chopped walnuts (optional)
2 cups shredded chicken or 1 pack cubed tofu (i've tried both and like both)
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t cornstarch
sour cream

cut each squash in half, lengthwise; scoop out and discard seeds and fibers. place halves, cut side down, in a 9x13 pan. add broth. bake at 350 until squash is tender (about an hour). meanwile, in a small bowl, combine fruit and syrup. let stand until fruit is softened (about 10 minutes). peel, core, and thinly slice apples; place in large bowl. add lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmag. stir to coat. in a frying pan, combine apples, fruit mix, and 1/2 cup water. cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until apples are almost tender when pierced (3 minutes). add chicken or tofu and cook just until headed through. in a small bowl, smoothly blend vinegar and cornstarch, add to the apple mix and cook until sauce boils and thickens slightly. remove from heat. once squash are cooked, carefully scoop out cooked squash and add to apple mix. stir everything together and refill squash skins. place back into oven 5 minutes. garnish with walnuts and a dollop of sour cream. i would pair this with a salad and some type of creamy dessert like cheesecake. enjoy!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

dirty dishes

andrew and i apparently have a vastly different definitions of how well one needs to rinse the dishes before one puts them into the dishwasher. i'm the sort to wave the dirty plate in the general direction of the sink while he is the type to scrub until the plate is already actually clean and then put it into the dishwasher. i've started to have discussions about this. i have nearly uttered sentences that start with: why bother putting the plate into the dishwasher, its already clean. and then i come to my senses and remember that he is a boy and is volunteering to do the dishes and unless i want to do them all, i should let him do the dishes in whatever manner he sees fit.

the problem is that i can't always tell if the dishwasher is filled with clean or dirty dishes. you don't have to wonder or think or guess when i'm filling the dishwasher. so while andrew was getting lunchy sandwichy stuff out of the fridge, i set about getting plates and forks and such. for whatever reason, i got the glasses and the forks from the cabinets and got the plates from the dishwasher. we had our lunch. then andrew walked over to the dishwasher, and after having throughly completely scrubbed, i mean rinsed, the dishes, he put them back into the dishwasher. at which point, i tried to ever so casually ask, "oh, is the dishwasher clean or, um, dirty?" and he looked at me and replied, "so, from where exactly did you get the lunch plates?"

obviously if they were clean enough that we ate on them a second time and didn't realize they were dirty, then we should either rinse less or skip putting them into the dishwasher all together.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

random updates

third time's the charm. i got my third las vegas hair cut today and i don't wish to weep. i'll go back again to style america in the boca park strip mall.

andrew is finally participating in las vegas national guard today. last month was his first weekend and he went to the capital for in processing. he had to be on base and ready to workout today at 0630. first off, he had the nerve to turn on the bedroom light while getting dressed. and then he had every intension of leaving the light on once he was finished. he thought i was going to get up too and go to the apartment gym to work out. he was mistaken.

there are two people in my department at work. the other woman outranks me, but only minimally. i've often wondered how she spends her day. turns out that was a good question to have. she was out of the office all this past week and productivity did not decrease. chaos did not ensue. actually, i managed to finish some of her projects after i finished mine.

a few weeks ago we bought the game of life. we are currently at: christen 4, andrew 1. last night he finally beat me (but only by some pidly amount like five cents while my four wins were by millions) and so he is toying with the idea of retiring the game now.

i guess that's really about everything.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

run out and buy skippy!

yeah, i know, i'm a thin person. most people assume that i weigh much less than i do. truth be told, i'm about 150lb and a size 10 (its nice to be tall). i am an active healthy adult: i work out some and i eat my veggies everyday. there are so many people out there that have no concept of what size a normal, healthy person should be. i'm thin but when i look through the magazines, its hard to find women who are as big as my size. does that make me want to skip lunch? heck no! i'm at that point in life where i'm excited i found matching socks this morning. i don't really care what the women in the magazine look like. but i'm also 29 and not 14. so i'm excited that another huge global manufacturer has set some boundaries on their advertizing.


for the full article: Skippy manufacturer bans skinny models

Unilever has adopted a new global guideline that will require that all its future marketing communications should not use models or actors that are either excessively slim or promote 'unhealthy' slimness," Ralph Kugler, president of Unilever's home and personal care division, said Tuesday.

Unilever, which makes Lipton teas and Skippy peanut butter, said all brand directors and agencies would be expected to use a Body Mass Index (BMI) of between 18.5 and 25 as a guideline for models and actors.

BMI is a measure expressed as a ratio of weight to height. The World Health Organization considers anyone with a BMI below 18.5 underweight. A BMI below 17.5 is one of the criteria for the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and a BMI nearing 15 is usually used as an indicator for starvation.

Unilever ranks just behind Nestle and Kraft among the top global food companies and spent more than €5 billion ($6.77 billion) last year on advertising and promotion, according to Dutch media.



Sunday, May 06, 2007

go baby go!

so friday afternoon i was pretty blah. you might have noticed from my last entry. but things have worked out ok. i was driving home on friday when it started to rain. (now, back in kentucky when there was a forecast for lots of snow, everyone made a mad dash to the store for milk and bread. here, when it rains, i really think everyone runs out for beer and cigerats.) so anyway, driving home, starts to rain. its really sunny here. every day. really sunny. so nearly everytime it rains, there is a rainbow. i'm driving home. i see the rainbow. and i swear to you, it really looked like it was coming straight out of the suncoast hotel and casino. i'm telling you that's were the pot of gold is. and that's where we ended up watching the derby. and that's where i bet on the derby and my horse won. i've practically never won anything in my life. i'm about the most unlucky person. but my horse won! i sang the state song, i yelled go baby go, i collected my winnings and promptly spent them at wallmart, i had a great derby day after all.

Friday, May 04, 2007

tomorrow is the derby and i'm so far from home

i don't have a hat to wear. i don't have this year's derby glass. i can't pick up the right channel with the bunny ears on my tv. so this kentucky girl is a little distressed. and of course, betting aside, no one here in nevada really cares.