Zeo's Thoughts and Wanderings

Cooking for Two

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:51:51 GMT

So, I may have mentioned this cookbook before, but I've started using it again this week. All the recipes made exactly two servings. It's been working well; I make the dish for dinner, and have the second portion as my lunch the next day. So far this week, I've made cheese'n'beef bundles, zucchini and beef casserole, and zucchini frittata from it. Some notes for my own reference:

cheese'n'beef bundles: since we're using very lean ground beef, I can probably leave out the egg and the bread crumbs (or in my case, flaxseed), which would make the small patties easier to handle, and not taste so "slick" when cooked.

zucchini and beef casserole: make sure to cook the ground beef finer, so it distributes more evenly. Layer the thin-sliced zucchini in the casserole dish rather than mixing it in with the beef and tomato sauce. Leave out the macaroni, as it doesn't really add anything to it.

zucchini frittata: get a new non-stick skillet so there's a better chance of it staying a frittata and not becoming scrambled eggs.

Next week, though, if I want to continue the trend, I'll have to double the recipes, so Matt can have some dinner, and lunch the next day, too. Although, with the frittata, it's going to be breakfast rather than lunch, and I'm not sure what to take for lunch. Maybe I should see if the veg soup in the fridge is still good.

A mistake

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:45:49 GMT

I made what seems to be a costly mistake yesterday. I gave in to a craving, let myself have half of an Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard, because I had a coupon, and I oh so dearly missed Oreos and cookie dough in soft serve. I was tired last night, but that happens on the weekends, when I'm out in the heat more so than during the week.

But today....today, I am paying dearly for that simple, forbidden indulgence yesterday. I'm trying to make gluten-free donuts for breakfast. It's a new recipe, and somewhat complicated in the procedure. I was disjointed when I started, getting easily distracted by simple things ("Oh, we never put away the new batch of paper towels....Oh, I need to clean this up in the kitchen...."). But then came the time to cut the 5x5 squares of parchment paper needed, and things blew up. The paper's on a roll. It likes to roll back up as I'm trying to measure (with a measuring tape that ALSO likes to roll back up, crushing and crunching the paper as it does). The dough is so sticky, it pulled the spatula apart. I ended up practically in tears, screaming, "These had better be the best fracking donuts EVER!" and "The next time I get the stupid idea to make these fracking donuts, I'm buying parchment that doesn't come on a fracking ROLL!!" I gave up. Matt's finishing them now.

He is so good, so patient. He knows when I have a lapse of judgment in food choices, that the next day is pretty much shot. But he lets me do it anyway, possibly hoping that this time, I'll learn my lesson, and not give in to the forbidden temptation the next time.

...and he's having fun in the kitchen. I hear him in there, giggling, before he exclaims, "You know, if you don't do it the way you're supposed to, it's kinda fun." The recipe wants you to pipe donut-shaped circles onto the 5x5 squares of parchment. He thought the dough was too thick to pipe, so he's just shaping it by hand. "How many are these supposed to make?" he asks. Two dozen. He laughs, "Then I did _something_ wrong."

I'm feeling better now, having washed my hands of the whole donut-making endeavor. I'll have a cup of coffee later, let the caffeine and sugar work their magic. Hopefully, I'll feel up to going to meeting. Right now, I don't. Right now, I just want to go back to bed and hope everything's different when I wake up.

So annoying

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:33:41 GMT

So, it's Saturday. I figured, since we didn't have a lot of grocery shopping, we'd go, get that taken care of, get a flu shot, plan what to take for lunches, get the kitchen cleaned, get Dave & Tammy's box in the mail...

No. Matt wanted to get the brakes checked on the car. So, he went to Just Brakes, where we had them fixed before. I think he left around 8:30 or so. It's now two hours later and he's still not back. We don't have cell phones, so I can't call him to find out what's up and how much longer it's going to be.

So since I don't know how long it's going to be, I can't start anything, because I want to leave for grocery shopping as soon as he gets back.

This is one day when 2 cars would be SO convenient.

I blame TV Tropes...

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:55:10 GMT

So far this month, I've read the entirety of "Cable & Deadpool," and "Agent X." Not that "Agent X" was that long a run, only 15 issues, but all 50 issues of "Cable & Deadpool"... (shakes head) That, and I've gone back and re-read most of C&D, too.

I wish I'd known about these back when they came out. Then again, no one in my friends tier was into comics, so there's no real way I would have found out about them.

Waiting...

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:48:53 GMT

Ashes to Ashes starts filming series three soon. April 2010, it starts airing on the BBC. I'm hoping the person who posted series 2 on YouTube can post series three, too. The finale of 2 was such a total mindscrew.

Ganked from Summer on Facebook

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:26:10 GMT

1. You can ONLY answer Yes or No.

2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks. -- and believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming nothing is exactly as it seems. Now, here's what you're supposed to do. . . Copy and paste this, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag as many of your friends as you'd like to.

------

Kissed any one of your Facebook friends? yes
Been in an accident? yes
Kissed someone you didn't like? no
Slept in until 5 PM? yes
Fallen asleep at work/school? no
Held a snake? no
Ran a red light? yes
Been suspended from school? no
Experienced love at first sight? no
Totaled your car in an accident? no
Been fired from a job? yes
Fired somebody? no
Sang karaoke? no
Pointed a gun at someone? no
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? yes
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? no
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? yes
Kissed in the rain? yes
Had a close brush with death (your own)? no
Seen someone die? no
Played spin-the-bottle? no
Sang in the shower? yes
Smoked a cigar? no
Sat on a rooftop? yes
Smuggled something into another country? no
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? no
Broken a bone? no
Skipped school? no
Eaten a bug? no
Sleepwalked? no
Walked on a moonlit beach? yes
Rode a motorcycle? yes
Dumped someone? yes
Forgotten your anniversary? no
Lied to avoid a ticket? no
Ridden in a helicopter? no
Shaved your head? no
Played a prank on someone? yes
Felt like killing someone? yes
Cross-dressed? no
Been falling-down drunk? no
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? yes
Eaten snake? no
Marched/Protested? no
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? no
Puked on amusement ride? yes
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? yes
Been in a band? no
Knitted? yes
Been on TV? no
Shot a gun? yes
Caused someone to have stitches? no
Eaten a whole habenero pepper? no
Ridden a surfboard? no
Had surgery? yes
Streaked? no
Taken by ambulance to hospital? no
Passed out when not drinking? yes
Peed on a bush? no
Donated Blood? yes
Grabbed electric fence? no
Eaten alligator meat? no
Eaten cheesecake? yes
Eaten your kids' Halloween candy? no
Killed an animal when not hunting? yes
Peed your pants in public? no
Snuck into a movie without paying? no
Written graffiti? yes
Still love (or really like) someone you shouldn't? yes
Think about the future? yes
Been in handcuffs? no
Believe in love? yes
Sleep on a certain side of the bed? yes

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:38:10 GMT

IO9 recently created a (admittedly very subjective) top 100 scifi shows list. How many of them have YOU seen?

( ) 100 - Dead Set (British Zombie Big Brother like show)
( ) 99 - Ghost in the Shell: SAC
(X) 98 - Dark Shadows (70's scifi soap)
(X) 97 - Thundercats
(X) 96 - Aeon Flux
(X) 95 - Warehouse 13
( ) 94 - Serial Experiments Lain
(X) 93 - He-Man and The Masters of the Universe
(X) 92 - Primeval
(X) 91 - Static Shock

7/10

(X) 90 - Surface (sea creatures sci-fi)
(X) 89 - Transformers
(X) 88 - Smallville
(X) 87 - Airwolf (80's super-helicopter)
( ) 86 - Jake 2.0
(X) 85 - ALF
(X) 84 - Heroes
(X) 83 - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
( ) 82 - Dead Zone
( ) 81 - Pushing Daisies

14/20

(X) 80 - Jericho
(X) 79 - Eureka
(X) 78 - Land of the Lost
(X) 77 - Planet of the Apes
(X) 76 - My Favorite Martian
( ) 75 - Jekyll
( ) 74 - Kyle XY
(X) 73 - Incredible Hulk
( ) 72 - Journeyman
(X) 71 - Star Trek: Voyager

21/30

( ) 70 - Survivors (Terry Nation post-apocalypse)
(X) 69 - Lost in Space
( ) 68 - Being Human
(X) 67 - Get Smart
( ) 66 - Flash Gordon (50's)
(X) 65 - Bionic Woman (70's)
(X) 64 - Earth: Final Conflict
( ) 63 - Thunderbirds
(X) 62 - Seaquest DSV
(X) 61 - Jetsons

27/40

( ) 60 - Starblazers (anime)
(X) 59 - 3rd Rock From the Sun
( ) 58 - Greatest American Hero
(X) 57 - Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
( ) 56 - Ultraviolet [BBC Miniseries folks, not the Milla Jovovich movie]
(X) 55 - Sliders
(X) 54 - Red Dwarf
(X) 53 - Space: Above and Beyond
(X) 52 - Knight Rider
( ) 51 - True Blood

33/50

(X) 50 - Battlestar Galactica (original)
( ) 49 - Star Cops
(X) 48 - Torchwood
(X) 47 - Mystery Science Theater 3000
(X) 46 - Invader Zim
( ) 45 - The Six Million Dollar Man
(X) 44 - The Outer Limits
( ) 43 - The Adventures of Superman
(X) 42 - Stargate Atlantis
( ) 41 - Space Island One

39/60

(X) 40 - Andromeda
( ) 39 - Quatermass
( ) 38 - The 4400
( ) 37 - Supernatural
(X) 36 - Alien Nation
( ) 35 - Robotech
( ) 34 - Lexx
(X) 33 - The Avengers
(X) 32 - Roswell
(X) 31 - Quantum Leap

44/70

(X) 30 - Mork and Mindy
(X) 29 - Batman Beyond
( ) 28 - Venture Bros.
(X) 27 - The Middleman
(X) 26 - Angel
( ) 25 - Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
( ) 24 - The Prisoner
(X) 23 - Cowboy Bebop
(X) 22 - Space: 1999
(X) 21 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

51/80

(X) 20 - Farscape
(X) 19 - V
( ) 18 - Fringe
(X) 17 - Stargate SG-1
(X) 16 - Dollhouse
(X) 15 - The Tick (animated)
(X) 14 - Futurama
(X) 13 - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
(X) 12 - The Twilight Zone
( ) 11 - Blake's 7

59/90

( ) 10 - Lost
(X) 9 - Battlestar Galactica (remake)
(X) 8 - Babylon 5
(X) 7 - The X-Files
(X) 6 - Buffy The Vampire Slayer
( ) 5 - Max Headroom
(X) 4 - Star Trek: The Next Generation
(X) 3 - Firefly
(X) 2 - Doctor Who
(X) 1 - Star Trek

67/100

Better than half, so not too bad. The older shows killed me. And Outer Limits, but no Twilight Zone?

Tomorrow...

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:43:29 GMT

Tomorrow, I will have a pile of ticked-off cats.

You see, this morning, the bedframe in our bedroom broke. It was on its way; three of the four casters had already split, and this morning, the leg that still had an unbroken caster buckled. So, to remedy this situation, we took the bed from the front bedroom, the "spare bedroom," and moved it into our bedroom. Once we did that, we also rearranged some, and in the rearranging, decided to keep the front bedroom closed off for now. Since we get, on average, one visit a year that requires the spare bedroom, keeping it a full-time guest room is really an inefficient use of space. We're planning on moving the television system in there, and making it our "entertainment room," possibly getting a fold-out couch in there for that one visit a year. The living room will become the computer/sitting room.

But anyway, as to why the cats will be ticked off. The front room was sort of "their" room. No one else was using it. And now, "their" bed is gone, and the room is closed to them. For one thing, they abused their privileges. It needs a serious top-to-toe cleaning. So now, both bedrooms are closed to the cats, and we closed off the garage, too. This leaves them living room, bathroom, kitchen...and the entire freaking backyard. But I can guarantee, we're going to hear at least one of them crying at the door tonight, trying to get into either the front room or our bedroom. And when that one's not allowed in, he or she (probably she) will take it out on the other three.

And that is why all four cats will be grumpy tomorrow.

"Pretend Shopping"

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:46:15 GMT

The other day at work, Matt was looking around his company's website, and his coworker said, "Oh, how cute, you're 'pretend shopping.'"

In days past, it was called "window shopping," back when you could walk down Main Street, looking at store window displays and daydreaming about items therein. Now that a large portion of Main Streets are empty, being replaced with shopping malls and big box stores, the "window" portion of window shopping has become an artifact of language. To window shop, one must actually enter the store and stroll the aisles now.

Online, there aren't even aisles to stroll. I went through the pages of the MMS catalog today, adding items to my cart, just to see how much the order would be. It was very easy to quickly get over $100, just with a few fixed oils and a bunch of flavor oils. The colorants took it up, too. But, instead of completing checkout and spending money earmarked for something else, I just printed out the page, so when I _do_ have money to spend (and when the weather's cooled enough that the waxes and butters won't melt in transit!) I'll remember what I wanted to get.

Pretend shopping. Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes, it's depressing.

Cooking experiments

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:11:33 GMT

So, the other night, I wanted fried chicken. Since it was a work night, that meant no stopping at Frys or Safeway to pick some up. I had to create my own, gluten-free. Success! I used the recipe from my old Betty Crocker cookbook for buttermilk fried chicken, and instead of the all-purpose wheat flour it called for, used 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup tapioca starch, and 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum. Also, I didn't have buttermilk on hand, so I used a cup of milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice instead. It actually looked, tasted, and crunched like regular fried chicken. I was so pleased, that this morning, I got some chicken out of the freezer to thaw, so we can do it again.

Stuff and randomness

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:17:37 GMT

--The headache salve is working well. Another week I didn't take any Excedrin.

--Another round of thrift stores this weekend. Matt wasn't as lucky this go-round; he only got a pair of pants, a tie, some tie tacks, and 2 pairs of cufflinks. I got a skirt and a VERY nice black lycra dress that actually looks good on me. We also hit WalMart, where I picked up 5 colored semi-nice t-shirts (high scoop neckline with a gathered neckline detail) for $5 each (solid colors to wear with my patterned skirts), and a black jersey-knit cardigan for when the weather cools off. I also picked up a book for a friend.

--It rained Friday night. Like, RAINED. Once again, in a three-block drive, I watched the temperature fall 25 degrees. We sat in the driveway for about ten minutes or so, waiting for it to slack off. Hey, it's Arizona. Rain doesn't last long here, even in monsoon season.

--I went in early to work three days last week. After coming home from grocery shopping yesterday, I took a four-hour nap. And still went to bed around 9.

--Not sure how, but all my fingernails seem to be stained black. I'm thinking it was dye leakage from either the dress or the tights.

--I am so ready for a nap right now. Or ice cream.

Week in review

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:48:59 GMT

Or something like that.

Okay, so, Matt's working again, which is a big yay. He got his shift moved to start at 7 rather than 6, another big yay. I got a 9-inch fan that runs off the car battery to use while I nap in the car in the morning, yet another big yay.

Notable things I remember:
Last week, I hit a small storm cell on the drive from Matt's workplace to mine. It's only a six mile drive, and I'd say this only hit maybe one or two miles in the middle of the drive. It was so surreal watching the ambient temperature readout on the dashboard fall from 98 to 78 and then climb back up to 98.

Cranergy "energy juice drink" contains caffeine. A 12-oz bottle has more caffeine than a can of Red Bull, according to energyfiend.com: http://www.energyfiend.com/caffeine-content/cranenergy I was not aware of this, and it hit me by surprise yesterday morning. I was feeling fine, then just started _shaking_. Not good. So now I know.

I experimented and made a batch of headache salve. 1 ounce beeswax, 1.5 ounces shea butter, 2 ounces almond oil, and essential oils of peppermint, eucalyptus, spearmint, and vanilla. I don't have measurements on those, because while I started with "drops," I wasn't getting strong enough scent, so I switched to "dropperfulls," and didn't keep track. But, it works well, at least so far. When I feel a headache coming on, I grab a bit of the salve, and rub it on my forehead, temples, and on the boneline just under my eyes (the sinus bones?). It does help.

We went thrifting Friday and Saturday, and got a lot of pants and shirts for Matt.

Finally, my period started today, after a four-month absence. Here's hoping it's not a horrible torrential one.

Drinkin' the night away.....

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:26:06 GMT

Starbucks liquor. A little too strong on its own for my tastes, but not too bad with milk. Has something of a chocolate taste to me, moreso than coffee. Matt doesn't like it; the alcohol's too strong for him. It'll probably end up like most of our liquors, forgotten in the back of the fridge.

Oooh, wait, I wonder how it is mixed with Coke......I wonder if it's caffeinated. I may have to do some research into this.

I think my eyes are crossing on their own.

Around the world? No, just cross the country....

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:47:45 GMT

My dad retired this year. July 1st was his first official day of retirement. To celebrate, Mom and Dad are taking a giant trip with the truck and camper. St Louis, MO; Carlsbad Caverns in NM, visiting us; Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons; visiting Dad's cousin Bill in Indiana, and home. They're about a week into the trip now, in their Phoenix layover.

Last night was their first night in Phoenix, so Matt and I took dinner over to them. Carnitas, cilantro-lime rice, salad, tortilla chips. They went over well. We visited for a while; Mom sent back some of my stuff from home, that I now need to figure out what to do with. Some interesting highlights I received include:

--My great-great aunt Arlene's pocketwatch. I'm not sure why it's called a pocketwatch, as it has a chain like a necklace, not a fob like most pocketwatches I'm familiar with. It's a windy-one, so I'm going to have to remember to wind it (gently) and I need to ask Mom if she knows how to set the time on it. I don't want to fiddle with it and accidentally break it. It'll be nice to wear to meetings; the clock's at the back of the hall, and I'm one of those chronic watch-checkers.

--a decent-sized bottle of Starbucks liquor. Mom said the saleslady said to drink it like regular coffee. My confused reply, "With milk and sugar?" Matt's reply, "With donuts?"

--a box of ties. Since Dad retired, he doesn't have to wear a tie every day anymore. So, he went through, thinned the collection. Matt's always happy to get more ties. Most are just standard fare, patterns, but one has brightly colored lizards (boy, did his eyes light up at that!!) and one has Bugs Bunny in an airplane.

Today, they're bringing me my rocking chair, and Mom and I are going grocery shopping. Ajo Al's for dinner later tonight.

Blah

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:39:23 GMT

I really should be making my lunch. I just don't feel like it. What I really want to do is go back to bed for an hour or five. Not happening, though. Got work today, and a LOT of it. I'm even going in early.

Matt starts his real schedule next week, sort of. Monday and Friday are on his actual schedule times, 6-2:30. Tuesday is 8-5 for orientation, and Wednesday and Thursday are 9-5 for more training.

Six am he has to be there. I don't start work until 9. We carpool. It looks like it's going to be back to napping in the car in the morning.

Blah. It's already 90 degrees that early in the morning. Although, once October or November hits, it should start cooling off, making those mornings easier.

Also, I started researching Sedona hotels last night, half-heartedly planning an anniversary trip. When $119 is listed as a "low nightly rate," I know I'm in for trouble.

ETA: I got paid Tuesday, and we do have coffee in the house again...that will make it all better.

Dewey Decimal

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:24:40 GMT

From sweetcrumpet

..and I went with all three options, name, birthday, and favorite number

Jennifer's Dewey Decimal Section:

608 Inventions & patents

Jennifer = 05449658 = 054+496+58 = 608

Class:
600 Technology

Contains:
Health, agriculture, management, public relations, buildings.

What it says about you:
You are creative and inspired to make the world a better place. You can work hard on something when it catches your interest. Your friends have unique interests in common with you.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Jennifer's Dewey Decimal Section:

004 Data processing & computer science

Jennifer's birthday: 10/27/1977 = 1027+1977 = 3004

Class:
000 Computer Science, Information & General Works

Contains:
Encyclopedias, magazines, journals and books with quotations.

What it says about you:
You are very informative and up to date. You're working on living in the here and now, not the past. You go through a lot of changes. When you make a decision you can be very sure of yourself, maybe even stubborn, but your friends appreciate your honesty and resolve.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Jennifer's Dewey Decimal Section:

112 [Unassigned]

Class:
100 Philosophy & Psychology

Contains:
Books on metaphysics, logic, ethics and philosophy.

What it says about you:
You're a careful thinker, but your life can be complicated and hard for others to understand at times. You try to explain things and strive to express yourself.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Slow going

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:01:16 GMT

I'm working on going through my dolls and figures, to put a sale post together. It's just so tiring...once I find them all, then I have to go through and photograph them, then get the pictures online, and make the post, figuring out what to ask for each of them....I got through 2 boxes of sorting, and was ready to give up. It's hot, I don't have a tall enough table to work at without killing my back and neck, and the thought of taking pictures of them, finding a spot with enough decent light to get a good picture, is exhausting me.

What I've found so far:

"Sky" PB 1.0, broken right ankle cup.
"Sky" CG 1.0, complete
Pale-pink CG 1.0, no head, hands or feet, broken ankle cup
Numerous Max Steel figs
Numerous Power Team figs, including blonde female
Numerous Ultra Corps figs
ballerina-body Barbies
pointed-toe horserider Barbie bodies
various Generation Girls
Happy D, redhead incarnation, Flavas
Midge
Diva, from the second-line of Barbie and the Rockers
Captain Sisko, DS9
Stacey-sized knockoff, jointed arms and legs, one arm broken at shoulder pin. Held together with screws, good for Frankensteining?
Kelly and Tommy dolls

And that's just in the two boxes in the bedroom. I have more in the garage. This is going to be a long, tiring day. But I have motivation: the bank account went negative again, I don't get paid for another 10 days, we're out of coffee, and I'm going to need gas before I get paid again.

Memeage

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:38:44 GMT

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" (or you can just ask for the meme, I won't mind) and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

Meme from marsdejahthoris

Power Rangers
- I can see that, as MMPR was what started our friendship on its current course. I started watching it my senior year, and taping it since you didn't have cable or satellite yet. We stuck through MMPR, Zeo, Turbo, Space, Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force (where we started the short-lived tradition of getting together for the premieres), Wild Force, Ninja Storm, DinoThunder (featuring the return of Tommy Oliver!)....and then tapered off, as they started to just really lose cohesion.
PR reminds me of long nights at sleepovers, running through scenarios and rp sessions that would become part of our universe fanon, yet never be written down. Notebooks being swapped at homeroom, lunch, gym class and chorus. And of course, the immortal conversation ender, re: why Jason was the leader: "Because he has the biggest Zord."

Writing
-Heavily tied into the above. Yet, the first "story" I wrote was back in Limestone, when I was in Girl Scouts. It was about a troop with my friend Kelli Schoonover, going to a makeup shop. All the other Scouts in the story bought green makeup (to match their uniforms) while Kelli bought different colors.
I wrote fanfiction before I knew it had a name. I remember jotting down an opening to a sequel to Tad William's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series in the blank spaces around the church bulletin. Those were always favorite scribbling spots. Yet, I managed to quickly write a poem that my mother gave to the minister, to see if he wanted to perhaps put it in the church newsletter. We didn't stay for the service that day, so you can imagine my shock the next week when I found out that Gary read it, and decided it fit the sermon he was giving that day. And he read it aloud, during his sermon. That's something I kind of wish I could go back and hear, to see what was said about it.
I miss writing cohesive fiction. I haven't written anything complete in ages.

Bicycles
-Really? I haven't ridden one since high school; Jeff appropriated mine to use with his friends. Then again, seeing as I ran over one of his my senior year (he had two)... My high school boyfriend was obsessed with bicycles, wanting to be the next Greg LeMond (I think Lance Armstrong beat him to it). Although, I was thinking about that yesterday morning. My clock radio is set to the classical station, and the announcer was talking about the movie Breaking Away, and the Italian Symphony that was used in it. The movie inspired Dana to shave his legs...too bad he chickened out after only shaving one. And then wore shorts to school.

Sailor Moon
-Ahhh, the anime gateway drug. I recently sold my DVDs of the movies, and if I can get in touch with Scarlet Otter, I'd send him the rest of my 6" and 12" dolls for his Vixen-Alpha series. But, because of Sailor Moon, I have my username (also related to Power Rangers), even if it did make the guys at MWD think I was in the Navy. :-P Without Sailor Moon, I never would have found Fushigi Yuugi, Revolutionary Girl Utena, or even really ventured into the anime sections at Blockbuster, Movie World, Hollywood Video, or Netflix.

Usenet
-Just the other day, I was thinking about Usenet: afs-m, rssif, The Sandbox.... Otaku Wars; finding both The Strong & the Sequined and On the Edge at rssif, which inspired me to write/post Designs of Greatness; how continually asking about female action figures at The Sandbox led to an invite to Men With Dolls. If YSU's news server had carried afp-r, I'd have been around there, too. I sort of miss Usenet; it seems to have been replaced by message boards and blogs.

Perception of Value

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:51:24 GMT

Is it odd that for a brief moment, I thought $8 for 5 pieces of chocolate was a good deal?

I signed up for Godiva's rewards program, because of the free piece of chocolate every month. So now I get their e-mails. July's e-mail is talking about their limited-edition ice cream flavored truffles. Their special deal for Rewards members is a 5-piece sampler for $8. Considering that this is normally $11, not a bad deal.

But then I thought about it more. That's over a dollar per piece of chocolate. That's over a dollar and a half per piece of chocolate. That's...not really a deal. I can get a full-size Snickers bar for 50 cents. For $8, I can get 16 Snickers bars.

"But this is GODIVA chocolate," will come the argument. "This isn't some mass-produced candy bar available at every convenience store."

True. It's Godiva, and Godiva is a luxury brand. This is why Starbucks can charge as much for a cup of coffee as I pay for a whole bag of coffee beans. Perception. Now, I'll agree, Godiva is good. I thoroughly enjoyed the free piece I had last month. It was the Open Oyster, hazelnut praline between 2 milk chocolate shells. But when asked to describe it, well... "A nugget of Nutella between chocolate shells."

If the five-piece sampler price ($11) is a guideline, that makes one piece $2.20. Going by Google, I can get 2 13-ounce jars of Nutella for $7. Throw in a chocolate bar from Fresh N Easy ($0.50), and I can get a similar experience, in a larger quantity.

So while compared to its original price, the sampler deal is a good one, compared to alternatives, not so much.

I will admit, though, that if I had the $8 to spend frivolously, I'd probably get it.

Temptations

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:34:47 GMT

Even though I'm gluten-free, there are days...usually Friday nights or Saturdays...where I just want something _normal_. A donut. A brownie. A slice of cake. Something breaded. Something baked that I didn't have to make. And because I don't work on Saturdays or Sundays, I'll give in. I'm not celiac, so it's not an intestinal issue. I don't worry about having debilitating cramps or being tied to the bathroom after eating wheat. What I worry about is my mental state, which is why I only allow myself these temptations on days where I don't have to be at my best the next day.

This is on my mind because last night, I allowed myself a Brownie Batter Blizzard from Dairy Queen. It was good, but I think it was a little too much, because this morning, all I feel like is throwing up. I was going to do a ton of baking today, in preparation for next week, but...there are several contributing factors.

1. Matt found out yesterday that this weekend is the end of his temp job.
2. That bummed him out, so he didn't get the kitchen clean.
3. I cleaned so much at work yesterday that I'm out of cleaning energy.
4. Since he's not working next week, I don't have to make grab-and-go breakfast bars.
5. My stomach is killing me.

I'm still going to get a batch of bread going in the bread machine, and probably start the dough for hamburger rolls, since those are necessary. As to whether I'm going to make the milestone bars or the date bars, well, we'll see.

Sugar Scrub

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:24:55 GMT

I know I've made scrubs before, but this time, I wanted just enough for one shower. I love sugar scrubs, but then, I love a good, harsh, scratchy exfoliant. Matt doesn't like them; he thinks they hurt. I guess it could be a little painful, but to me, it just feels oh so good. Anyway, if you're like me, and like a good, deep scratchy scrub, this is awesome:

2 TB white sugar
2 TB vegetable glycerin
small squeeze of Banana Boat aloe vera gel

Mix well.

I like to use this before I even get in the shower, on dry skin. Just scooped some up and scrubbed away, head to toe. Had enough for everything but my back, but since I couldn't reach it anyway, oh well. Then rinsed off in a warm shower, loving the freshly-soft feel of my skin. I'm still occasionally rubbing my forearms to feel how smooth they feel.

Next time, I'll up it to 3 TB of sugar and glycerin, and get Matt to scrub my back for me. As it is, he should be home fairly soon; I'm going to try to get him to use the lotion bars on me for some extra moisturizing. :-D

Body Butter Bar

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:01:36 GMT

Okay, so my lotion/balm/butter obsession isn't dying down yet. I recently purchased a bottle of avocado oil to add to my teeny supply stash. I've been using one of my tubes of cocoa honey lip balm almost obsessively all week (yet surprisingly, not at all yesterday....). And today, I made body butter bars.

What I made isn't _quite_ exact; I was about half an ounce short on the cocoa butter, because the jar I bought last week was exactly 4 ounces, and I used some of it in last week's lip balm. Which means I'm now out of cocoa butter. :-( Also, I have learned from this not to buy a one-pound block of beeswax. It's too hard for me to cut it to size, and then getting it into smaller pieces to melt quicker. I thought today, "Hey! I have a spare grater!" But damn, grating four ounces of beeswax takes a long time. I also learned that while the one-cup Pyrex measuring cup may be a fine size for lip balm batches (small lip balm batches), it's too small for this recipe. I instead used a small glass mixing bowl and the microwave.

I don't have any molds, so instead, I'm using the silicone food cups I bought for my lunch boxes, set in a muffin tray to keep their shape. I keep wandering out to the kitchen to see how the bars are solidifying. It's strangely fascinating.

Playing around at Mystic Mountain Sage, I put together an order of basic supplies. It's over $100 before shipping. But, if I cut out the lip balm tubes, caps, and lotion tubes, it'll be...no, it'll still be over $100, but _just_ over $100. Matt's supposed to be allotting me $100 "play money" out of his next paycheck, which is in two weeks. So I guess we'll see what I feel like then. I could always cut the sizes of most of the supplies in half, 8 ounces rather than 16, see what that totals to.

Then again, in two weeks, I may have a totally different obsession. :-)

Randomness from today

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:19:31 GMT

I was sitting at the workstation, preparing to redo a mailing project, when I noticed something. Now, to set the stage, one must know that my bangs are long. Long as in, I should have trimmed them last week. They hang about half an inch over the upper edge of my glasses, so yes, they are most definitely in my field of vision. So. As I was working on the computer, I noticed something odd, something clumpy-looking, in my bangs. I took a moment, focused, then swept my fingers through that section of my bangs. I expected to see a clump of thread or some other fabric-based bit of fuzz fall to the desk. Instead, I had to take a few moments to process what, exactly, fell. It was not a bit of fuzz.

It was an ant. A small, black ant. While my brain tried to rumble into gear and figure out just how I ended up with an ant in my hair, my right hand moved of its own accord and squooshed it.

------------------------

At the grocery store after work, I noticed the display of Swedish Fish. Just a dollar for an eight-ounce bag. I like Swedish Fish; I haven't had Swedish Fish in a long time.

"Fish are good for you," I told my husband as I added the bag to the basket. "They're brain food."

Random Favorites

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:52:38 GMT

A quick jotting-down of some of my favorite gluten-free foods and resources:

Pamela's Products: chocolate cake mix, ginger cookies with almonds, basic bread mix.
Glutino: crackers, pretzels, wafer cookies, rice macaroni
Kinnikinnick: KinniToos sandwich cookies
Gluten-Free Pantry: chocolate truffle brownie mix
Trader Joe's: brown rice spaghetti and spirals, ginger snaps, licorice scotty dogs, rice sticks (noodles), gf granola
Ancient Grains: quinoa macaroni
Authentic Foods: superfine brown rice flour (necessary for good cookie texture!)
Red Bridge: sorghum beer
Bob's Red Mill: specialty flours and gums, also has recipes (their snickerdoodles rock)
Ener-G: specialty flours
Barbara's Bakery: Puffins cereal
San-J: wheat-free tamari (soy sauce). This is what Pei Wei and PF Changs use as their gluten-free soy sauce, as well
Dynasty Foods hoisin sauce
Thai Kitchen noodle bowls and packets

Living Without Magazine: great resource for anyone with food allergies. Their all-purpose flour blend is my standby.
Recipezaar: has a category for gluten-free. I've found some great recipes there (funnel cakes!)

The bread machine I have also came with a batch of gluten-free recipes. The Country White Bread is my mainstay bread; I like to replace the oil with ground flaxseed, and add sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and poppyseeds for a great tasting, multiseed bread. Much better than the few commercially-prepared gluten-free breads I've tried.

There are a few other resources I use, like the Gluten-Free Club, but its recipes are not as reliable as Living Without's. Plus, if you only sign up for the free recipes, you have to deal with the constant barrage of "Join the club! Join the club! Join the club!" So far, only one recipe I've used from there has become a standard in my stable, and that's the bread/roll recipe. I use that when I'm making a full batch of hamburger rolls.

Also, before spending money on Bob's Red Mill and Ener-G flours, take a look around any neighborhood ethnic markets. This suggestion was made to me back when I first started complaining about the costs of flours, and I've just now gotten around to it, thanks to a LARGE ethnic grocery opening nearby. I found white and sweet rice flours, soy flour, garbanzo flour (gram), tapioca starch, potato starch, and arrowroot starch, to name a few, for much cheaper than at the health-food stores. I also buy my thick rice noodles there, rather than at Trader Joe's.

Crafty

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:52:27 GMT

Today, I was in the blahs, and really wanted to do something creative/crafty, something that could be done quickly, something I haven't done yet but have wanted to.

So, after a jaunt to pick up supplies, I made lip balm. To be specific, Chocolate Honey lip balm.

I now have 8 tubes and 2 jars cooling on the kitchen counter. I smeared a little of the overflow on to test it; it seems nice and smooth, and has the definite lip balm feel on, but right now, I don't taste the cocoa or the honey.

I made the tube version, but want to try the pot recipe later.

I've been wanting to get into balm/soap/lotion making for a while now. This is a good first step, plus I still have most of the supplies left (other than the containers), so I can try some other variants of lip balms, too.