Kitchen Chronicles November 16, 2009

This weekend was chock full of cooking! It started out innocently enough. I received invitations to a grad school friend’s associate’s dinner party on Saturday and a Caribbean grad student potluck on Sunday. They both sounded great, but I really didn’t care to be around the plethora of mooching, drunk (and possibly underaged) undergrads that always show up to this guy’s event and the thirsty and somewhat pathetic, leeching grad student guys that follow them at the Saturday shindig. I didn’t go to the Sunday affair because… Hell, I just didn’t feel like being bothered with a bunch of folks or making new friends. I have trouble keeping up with the few friends I haven’t managed to piss off or ostracize. So, I did the next best thing… I cooked up a scrumptious meal for my honey and my surrogate townie family. The fam came over and grabbed to go plates – just like a bunch of negroes- leaving Mr. and I to enjoy a quiet evening of island goodness made by yours truly. What did I make, you ask?

 

Well…. Ahem! I did another round of some Boricua (Puerto Rican) faves like pastelillos (beef turnovers) and arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas). New to my repertoire was the Oxtail Stew I made from a friend’s recipe and the apple crisp (served a la mode) recipe I found online. Yum! and Yum! I put in a lot of effort trying to make that food and I’m glad it turned out well. I’ve also learned something very important. Grocery stores in small midwestern towns have very crappy ethnic food aisles. The Meijers here used to have a Caribbean foods section, but they did away with it a few months ago. Lucky for me the Mexican market down the street from my house had all of the goodies I needed and it was reasonably priced. I’m tempted not to shop anywhere else but there now. Cilantro that usually costs me $0.99 a bunch was 2 for $1 – and much fresher than the other places. They had just about every GOYA product you could think of. I didn’t even know Sazon came in 1) that many varieties and 2) was sold in super mega family packs. Yassss! I even scored an awesome 5 liter caldero (heavy aluminum pot used in many cultures the world over) for $18.99. The allspice berries I needed would have cost me $4 for a jar in the regular store, but was only $0.99 in a basic bag there. Who needs fancy packaging? Not me. And I finally found oxtails at a small meat market a few blocks away. Though expensive, I’ve never seen them so fresh.

 

I’m really not that good at following recipes to a tee, but I think that’s what makes your food your own. No, I don’t horribly butcher the dish – except for that one time with peach cobbler, but in my defense I’d never eaten that stuff before and the woman only gave me a haphazard list of the ingredients without preparation instructions… I know, feel free to revoke my negro card at any time. Anyway, I, like most folks, follow the instructions and add my own twist according to my tastes or what I have on hand. What follows are the links to the recipes I used and what I did to tweak them. The tweaking is usually done on the fly, so don’t expect any measurements – I’m an eyeballing chef.

 

Arroz con Gandules – I skip the ham and opt for more garlic and half a packet (or cube) of chicken bouillon instead. I also add small spanish olives stuffed with pimentos and lots of fresh cilantro in addition to the recaito. I used long grain rice this time instead of medium (you’ll have to play with the water and cooking time if you do this). I doubled this recipe, but the rice was a bit mushy so I had to let it sit and simmer a while longer to dry out. Still had great flavor and I even got a bit of pegao (the crispy rice you find on the bottom of the pan that every boricua loves dearly) by using this method.

 

Pastelillos – I double the meat and add potatoes and olives to this. I also fried them in a mix of veggie, olive, and coconut oil (see note about using what you have on hand).

 

Jamaican Oxtail (Stew) – I made it in a big pot and it worked out just fine, so no worries if you don’t have a pressure cooker. If you can’t find Jamaican browning sauce, just make it yourself. Take a pot you aren’t too attached to and burn brown sugar with a few tsps of water in it. You should season your meat and let it sit for an hour to overnight in the fridge first for better flavor. My friend told me she also adds chopped garlic, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tbs of brown sugar, and 2 chopped tomatoes to this recipe. It still tasted off to me so I added 1tbs freshly ground black pepper, some dry jerk seasoning I had on hand, more allspice, another tomato, and more paprika. Like any stew, this tastes even better the next day. I prepared it on Saturday night, let it cool and sit in the fridge while it loved on itself some, then reheated and served on Sunday night.

 

Apple Crisp – I used about 4 apples (I think a combo of Macintosh/Empire that my Mom sent me from NYC and Granny Smith purchased from here) and an 8×8 glass pan. I was actually following 2 recipes (here’s the other one) so I only used 3/4 cup brown sugar and a tbs over 1/2 cup of flour. Lastly, instead of 3/4 cup oats, I used 1/2 cup oats and 1/4 cup Kashi Apple Orchard Spice granola. YUM! I topped it with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and had an orgasm in my mouth It made 4 servings and I would use only Granny Smith next time, as they seemed to hold up better in the baking process. Then again, the other apples were a bit mealy and old from sitting around in my apartment for a week or three. Oops!

 

Hope you try one of these out. Let me know how it goes.

School November 16, 2009

School still sucks! Research at a big school like the one I attend is definitely OUT! Am still considering leaving with or without a PhD. Unfortunately, that may also include leaving with or without a job lined up. Doh! Doing Peace Corps or some other living/working abroad for a year or two is back on the list. <— Mr. doesn't know about that one and I don't think he needs to know until… Well, when my apps are completed or it randomly comes up in conversation again – whichever comes first. Teaching at a small liberal arts or community college is also very much on the list now. Of course, this can only happen if I have a PhD. Ah, the irony.

 

There were some students visiting my school on Thursday from HBCUs and the lovely island of Puerto Rico who were interested in grad school. Being the only HBCU alum left in my department, I volunteered to take the psych students on a tour and have candid conversations about my experiences here. Yea, this may or may not have been the best idea given my current disdain for grad school, but I gave what I thought was an unbiased opinion about grad life here at Cornfields U. Funny that I was the only brown person present at their departmental lunch with grad students. There are at least 6 others in the department, but I guess they couldn’t be bothered to show up so the white students came in and ruined what was supposed to be a candid conversation between “US” and noshed on free pizza while dispensing the generic grad school advice. No worries, I gave the kiddies the real deal after lunch and on our very truncated tour of campus (because you know none of us really cared about seeing old buildings) which was pretty much a visit to the nearest Starbucks.

 

I think my 4 enjoyed their visit and I did my best to not let my pessimistic outlook on my own life affect the glimmer and excitement they all had in their “I think grad school is sooo cool” eyes. I shared with them some tidbits about social life – the abundance of cheap liquor at a strip of bars on campus – and promised to go out with them for drinks later that night. Somehow, only 2 of my four remained for drinks, but they brought along 4 others with them. Four double shots of some concoction that looked like a tequila sunrise in a test tube and 4 pitchers of what I can only assume to be Keystone Light later, I ended up with all 6 of those folks in my truck headed to the only dance floor in town to meet up with the other colored grad students and their visiting folk. Fun times! And while I only had 1/4 of what those kids had to drink (I rarely turn down free drinks, but I was driving), I was still sluggish the next morning. I can’t imagine how trashed those guys were as they headed to the airport bright and early the next day. When I dropped them off at their hotel, they all thanked me for a good time and said the sweetest thing… “You’ve made Cornfield U much more personable.” Hmmm. Sounds like they were served the Okeydoke or that Getchagotcha that got many of us here. Damn! Ah well. Guess my job is done. LOL!

Tchoukou Tchoukou November 12, 2009

You guys know how much j’adooooooore les Ivorians, oui? If any of you have ever seen a bunch of guys from Cote D’Ivoire dance coupe decale you would understand why. I’m often just standing there in amazement as these brothers get down. But tonight one of my FB friends, and fellow Ivorian lover (she’s married to Mr’s cousin), sent me this gem. I cannot stop watching it. These asian guys definitely did their thing. They’re no Ivorians, but dammit if they didn’t give a good effort. Keep your eye on the guy on the right.

 

Booo to FB for not letting you embed their videos. Anyway, here’s the link:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=173472726781&ref=mf

 

For those of you wondering. The song is Tchoukou Tchoukou by DJ Kedjevara. I’m told Tchoukou Tchoukou is a position for… ehem… segzy time. So now the whole a tiny part of the song and dance makes sense (the guy says 1 in the morning, 2 in the morning, 3 in the morning, 4 in the morning. Yea, he’s an all-nighter, ladies.) No wonder why I go crazy every time I see the guys do these moves. *hangs head in shame*

 

Here’s the real video. How can you NOT want to get up and dance to this?

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year November 5, 2009

… in about a month Is anyone else as excited about the holiday season as I am? I even started shopping for gifts in October. I’ve decided to stick to a firm budget of $300 – though I’m tempted to bring it down to $200. This Christmas will be all about creating memories because next Christmas will be all about me being on somebody’s tropical island chilling very hard. Mmmmm. Sun, sand, and pina coladas…. Anyway, back to this year. I have a large family that I see every year for Christmas and I like giving gifts. I think it adds up to about 25 folks – 1 grandparent, 12 cousins, 6 aunts and uncles, 2 nieces and nephews, 3 brothers and sisters, and my Mom. Unfortunately, my family also has a tendency to be pack rats. We keep everything, so I won’t be giving them much “stuff” this year. Instead, everyone will be getting something with which they can have an experience. My Mom is the only one who will be getting a big gift because, you know, she had the nerve to be born 2 days before Jesus’ birthday. That, and she did carry me around for 9 months, breast-fed me for a few more months, then put me through private school for a decade or more. I’m thinking she deserves a big ticket item like a GPS system for her truck. Any suggestions for a good one around $100?

 

All of the others will homemade themed gift baskets. Here’s what I plan on giving:

 

Sweets and Treats
Thanks to the awesome ladies on Crafster, I’ll be making lots of baked and candied goodies to induce sugar rushes for everyone. Who will refuse homemade chocolate covered pretzels, popcorn balls, candied apples, oreo truffles, nuts, hot cocoa cones, chocolate or mint spoons, and cookie bouquets? I might throw in a homemade fruit basket as well for the health conscious. For “baskets”, I’ll use the decorative chinese takeout boxes that I scored some from Michael’s today. They were on clearance for 78 cents and look a little Fall-ish, but I’ll make them work. I’ll also use cookie tins, popcorn boxes, and other baskets from the dollar store. Supplies and packaging for this project shouldn’t cost me any more than $50.

 

Basket Personalization
Everyone will get some combination of goodies from the sweets section above, but I will add in additional items to personalize each basket. Here are the themes I’m thinking of doing:

• Movie Lover: Popcorn box with a few small bags of assorted treats and a $10 movie gift certificate. I think I’m only doing this for my other brother.
• Cheers!: Chinese takeout box filled with a nip or 50ml mini bottle of liquor (aka airplane liquor) and some treats. I’ll probably need about 7 of these since I come from a family of lushes. Does Sam’s Club or BJs sell these in bulk?
• Bookworm: Chinese takeout box with either a book purchased on the cheap or a Barnes and Nobles gift certificate for $10. My cousin loves to read and her son loves Maze books, so I think I’ll do a special family pack for them with this theme.
• Tea Time: Pretty self-explanatory. One of my cousins lurves tea – all kinds of tea. So I’ll splurge on boxes of this for her.
• Family Fun Night: No more individual gifts for each family member – I’m going the group route this year. My oldest brother’s family of 4, my Aunt’s family of 5, and my cousin’s family of 4 will get one of these. The theme is centered around a night in with the family and baskets will include either a board game or DVD (if Redbox did gift cards this would be even cheaper). Baskets will also have the ingredients to make a meal that is cost effective (for me) and kid-helper friendly (for them) like pizza, pigs in a blanket, or mini cheeseburgers. I’ll cellophane these up with some of the treats above and include a tag describing the contents and its use. I’m thinking no more than $40 for 3 baskets should do it.

 

I started writing this post last week, so now I have no clue how I wanted to end it. LOL! So let’s say this shall be continued…

Relationship Release November 4, 2009

My Mom was (technically, she still is) in the Chi for a business conference today, so Mr. and I drove up there to have dinner with her and one of her co-workers. This was their first face-to-face meeting. They’ve Facebooked (yes, it’s now a verb), but that’s it. I haven’t gotten much feedback from either of them yet since we didn’t get home until almost 2am. I think it went well. I’m not putting too much stock in it though, because the last guy I introduced to my family was history 2 weeks later. *shrug*

 

Funny tidbit, while we were waiting for dessert to arrive some country song was playing that apparently everyone else knew but me. My Mom and her co-worker were talking to each other about work stuff when Mr. grabbed my hand and asked me to dance. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT. Sure. He had me get up and play booboo the fool while he sat down looking like Joe Cool for 3 seconds, but once he had his fun, he got out of his seat, grabbed me by the waist and tried to teach me some two-step or dosey-do. *SWOON* I’m not sure if he knows just how much that meant to me. It’s something silly that I’ve always imagined doing and longed to do with a man who loves me dearly. How did he know? Just when I think he doesn’t get me, he does something like that to show me that he does. It may take him a while, but eventually he’ll get it spot on.

 

Often on this blog I put up a front like he and I don’t have as many rough times as we do. They’ve been plenty lately. I don’t like admitting that we have problems because it makes me feel like a failure. And you know there is nothing worse to a perfectionist control freak than failing, right? I’ve even prayed for the strength to be able to walk away from him repeatedly, but something keeps pulling me back in his arms. Is it the idea of him or is it him? Have I gotten too comfortable being in a relationship? I’m scared of being hurt again. This is getting pretty serious now. The only thing I know how to do is to push people away when I feel vulnerable. The harder I push, the more cemented he becomes. He makes me work through my problems. We scream, cry, cuss, speed off, and when we’ve calmed down we figure out a way to make it work… until the next hurdle comes our way. I don’t know. It’s all very confusing.

 

All I know is that I truly do enjoy having him around (when it’s good it’s great!). I suppose I miss *us*. You know, that newness that comes in the beginning of a relationship. The butterflies in the stomach knowing he’s going to call or you’re going to see each other. The shiny promise of adventures together and building something bigger than either of you would have ever imagined or been able to build on your own. Now? Now it feels like we’re on pause. On hold waiting for something to either move us forward or eject us from each others’ lives. It’s crazy. There are times when he makes me soooo mad that I seriously consider hitting him upside the head with a hammer. There are times when he deeply disappoints me and I want nothing more to do with him. But then there are times like tonight when he does something so unexpected… Something to remind me that there are adventures still to come. That the shiny newness of us isn’t completely gone. Who knew love would be this… hard? complicated? beautiful? frustrating? challenging? awesome? Not me.

Yadda Yadda Yadda November 2, 2009

I’ve had a… hmm… craptastic weekend. What do you do when you’re in a situation that you feel you just can’t find a way out of? You’re not strong enough to leave, yet staying makes you weaker each day. Yea, welcome to my life, people. I could go on ad nauseum about what’s ailing me, but I’ll spare you. I’ll continue my personal pity party for a little bit longer all by my lonesome. Just me, myself, and my splitting headache that I’ve had since Saturday. Grrrr!

 

Anyway… Here are some pics I stole from this weekend’s Halloween party. I was a “Vintage Vampire”. Think the Queen from Tru Blood… Actually, I just wanted to wear the brown dress again and finally make use of the feathers I bought last year (see cute fascinator made by moi). Enjoy the pics.

Werk! Cover Girl! October 27, 2009

Hmmm. Well, not quite. LOL! This post shall be about my, seemingly, never-ending battle of the bulge.

 

Calories Shcmalories

 

My weight loss goal has been modified. If I can drop just 12 pounds, as opposed to the original 20, by December 31st I’ll be happy. Why the change? Well… Errrr…. Um…. Dammit, I don’t want to work that hard! I was going to try the Weight Watchers method of counting points, but that’s too confusing (when you’re not actually paying for WW and sort of winging it) and doesn’t feel accurate to me. Instead, I’ve been going the old-fashioned way of tracking calories. I use an app called Lose It for my iPod Touch (thanks, Mr.) and also a website called Fatsecrets.com to keep track of calories in and out.

 

Snackage (Yes, I’m aware that it’s not a word ) will be the death of me

 

I’ll admit, I’m not the best at tracking. I slacked off for a few weeks days, but I’ve been consistent as of late. When I am logging my food and exercise, I’m more conscious of what I’m doing. Guess that’s the plan, huh? I mean, let’s take yesterday as an example. I went ice cream and snacks crazy by having 2 WW ice cream bars in addition to my other meals and snacks. That little binge put me 300 calories over my limit, so I spent 40 minutes in the gym trying to burn those suckers off. Did I mention that yesterday was supposed to be my day of rest? Never again! The next time I go over my calories, it will be for something really decadent and satisfying that I’ve earned by running before eating. Curbing my late night cravings has been a constant battle. I’ve been advised to try going to bed earlier, drink more water, eat more fiber, etc. Any other tips you want to share are much appreciated.

 

Fitness

 

I’ve kind of gotten bored with dance class, so I stopped going. I’m not the quickest learner, but waiting around for another student (or students) to figure out the routine every class is not the business. Well, that and I’m also getting tired of driving the distance for class. It was cool in the summer, but now that the sun goes into hiding a whole 4 hours earlier, driving home on the dark highway for an hour when you’re exhausted is no fun. Thank goodness my apartment finished remodeling our fitness center last week. The elliptical and I are becoming fast friends. I’ll be reinstating my semi-regular running schedule as well. One of my TNT sisters convinced me to sign up for a 10K run/walk on Thanksgiving morning. Proceeds go to feed families or something. Bonus! I’m thinking the calories burned in the race will earn me a big slice of cake or an extra glass of wine. Double Bonus!

 

We’ll see how this goes. If I stay on plan, I should be losing 1.5 lbs a week by sticking to my allotted calories alone. Working out will burn off extra. Wish me luck!

Mama Mia October 23, 2009

OK. OK. OK. So the musical was actually pretty good. Honey really enjoyed himself. He was singing along and dancing to almost every song. I may or may not have forgone being Ms. Curmudgeon (I just wanted to use that word) and joined him a few times. He fought back his apparent fatigue to sit through 2+ hours of Abba. Poor thing would nod off the second a song or dialogue got kinda slow. I got him an energy drink and a granola bar during intermission and he was much better. Let me say this, though, the sound people tonight get a big fail from me. There is no reason why I should hear the band over the performers’ voices. There is also no reason why I should have to strain to hear what’s being said or sung when I’m about 20 rows away from the stage. I suppose someone told them during intermission, because it did get a bit better. We had our picture taken by the girls sitting next to us. They then began to coo over how “adorable” of a couple Mr. and I were. “And we were just wondering what cologne you were wearing. It smells great!” Yea, it did, but you got one more time to put your hand on or rub my man’s arm while you speak, “Becky”, before I drop kick you. I keed. I keed. Sorta. But, really, that perky little thing could have gotten it with one more touch. And now I have a few of those damn songs stuck in my head. I suppose it could be worse. And by worse I mean a whole musical of Soulja Boy. Abba ain’t so bad afterall.

Catch 22 October 22, 2009

It may pan out to be nothing in the end, but you guys know that I worry about things 30 years ahead of time so here goes…. There is a very strong possibility that Mr. may get a wonderful new career opportunity. I’ve been praying that he gets it because he needs it. However, I didn’t really think about what him possibly getting this opportunity would mean. Well, today I realized that if he got this position, he won’t be leaving the Cornfields any time soon. Knowing him, he very well may not leave. Knowing me, this ain’t gonna work. I refuse to stay here. It’s cold. The people are extra lame. It’s too far from my family. Did I mention how cold it is here? And the prospects for jobs for me aren’t that promising other than teaching at one of the universities here. Not sure that’s what I’d like to do. Either way, I have no intention of staying here after my lease is up next summer – degree or not. Dammit! What to do when growth for one would likely mean settling for another?

Brain Dump October 21, 2009

I’ve finally found a healthier(?) alternative to my favorite Rocky Road ice cream. It’s still missing some of the nutty crunch and marshmallow goodness that is inherit to my fave flavor, but it’s helping to satisfy most of my chocolate ice cream cravings.
I may have to go back and stock up on these before they go off sale at Tarjay this Saturday. Yum!

 

I’m supposed to go see Mama Mia tomorrow night with Mr. I am really NOT excited about it at all. I bought the tickets because he loved the movie. He also loves Abba. Me? Not so much, but I like him a lot (and when I’m not being a punk I’ll admit that I love him), so I’ll grin and bear it. Don’t get me wrong, the story line is pretty funny. I just think a whole musical full of cheesey Abba songs is a bit overkill. This is what happens when you date a foreigner from a totally different generation. More on that later.

 

I’d really like to get my hair done, but I don’t have the energy to research a good loctician. I also don’t have the energy to do it myself, but it’s looking like a hot garbage mess, so I’ll work on it tonight. There are quite a few social events coming up this weekend that I want to attend. I haven’t really seen most folks since… Labor Day. Nothing worse than coming out from hibernation and still looking like a grizzly beast.

Debt October 18, 2009

I hate it! All I’ve been thinking about lately is money. It’s driving me mad, folks. Graduation or quitting time is coming pretty soon, so that means I will need a job. Why? Because I’ve got ridiculous bills to pay. I got my free credit report and then paid for my FICO score. Phew! It’s not looking too good for the kid. Most of the problem is my very short credit history (nothing to be done about that I’m only 25) and that I’ve run up my credit card recently with vacations that I technically couldn’t afford. Yea, I’ll be honest about that one. That trip to TCI? Had no business going, but I just didn’t have the willpower to say no.

 

Regardless, I’m now in a position where I need to be very serious about improving my credit score. I’m wondering if the best thing I can do right now is pay off my credit card. I have a few different store accounts that I use only for their associated shipping or other discounts that I pay off immediately. However, I have a balance of $7,459 (out of $10,500) on my major name credit card – which is also the account that has been opened the longest. With the additional money I’m making this semester teaching an online course, my original plan was to pay off the balance on my car loan $4,889. My thoughts were that this would free up some more money for my savings and CC debt. Also, I thought this would be one less payment I would have to worry about making in the event that I no longer have a source of income after May 2010 because I’m not guaranteed summer funding. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to teach another distance learning course next semester, but that would really help.

 

Back to the issue at hand. I’ve been reading up and it appears that paying off my CCs would be best because it would drastically improve my credit score. Great! It would also deplete most of my savings and still leave me with about 10 more payments on my auto loan. Hmmm. While improving the credit score is nice, I don’t know that it should be a major priority for right now. Meaning, maybe I should take my time to pay off my CCs and free up some more cash for my savings and such by paying off the car. I’m not planning on making any big purchases such as a car or home in the next 24 months, so maybe I should use some of that time to my advantage and do it slowly. I only feel rushed because I’m panicked about not having a job when I graduate or drop out of my program (I’m giving it until Dec 2010). My car note is 2x as much as my minimum payment for my CCs and around $100 less than my rent (oh the joys of buying a car with no credit history fresh outta college). Not having to pay that anymore would be a huuuuuuge help. I’m sort of talking in circles now, but I’ll figure it out soon. In the meantime, I will continue to put the money away until I know my next move.

Pic Heavy Philly Post October 17, 2009

I dare you to say this post title 3 times fast. Hehe!

 

Last Friday through Sunday was spent in Philly with 2 of my girls from Hampton.

 

My goals were to eat, be merry, and go shopping. I did a lot of the first two, while the latter sort of fell by the wayside. That’s OK. I realized I hadn’t visited this city as an adult yet. Most of my trips to the Philly area were for some school trips as a child. This time, I got to do real grownup things like…

(Unofficial) beer tasting at Tria for Saturday brunch. The bartender was more than helpful when I told him I wasn’t a beer person and wanted to choose something I’d never tried before. I liked Dog Fish Head Pumpkin Ale, but really enjoyed the Aventinus something or other I had because it had a slight hint of chocolate to it. Yum!

 

Later on, we went to a place called Rum Bar. They had a 4 page booklet (because Menu doesn’t even do this thing justice) of rums and rum concoctions. I tried the house mojito that included a blend of their own cucumber-infused rum. It tasted like crisp spa water and not at all like I was downing mostly likker Then the bartender pulled out what looked to be a chip and dip serving platter, but instead of chips and dip, she filled it with rum. The dip part was 151 which was set on fire, and the chips part contained at least 3 different alcohols. It served 8, but they required you to have at least 4 people to order it. Curious, I went over to the table she served it to and asked them if I could take a picture of their drink.

 

They agreed and then invited my girls and I over to help them finish it. “It tastes like Hawaiian Punch”, one of our new friends explained. I watched the bartender make that drink and I was certain that this chick was exaggerating. Turns out, she was absolutely right. I tasted no alcohol whatsoever. (Sidenote: I wonder if communal drinking is how I got the flu. But alcohol kills germs, right?) So, you know how that goes. We were very tipsy before 5 o’clock.

 

A few hours later we met up with some other folks for dinner at this cute little Italian spot called Buena Cena. Yum! It was a BYO spot and we brought and finished 3 bottles of wine for 4 women. We each had an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert for $88. The food was delish!The service was great. No one complained as our dinner party of 4 turned into a dessert and more wine party of 7. They just added more chairs and gave us more wine glasses. Our server also gave us complimentary Lemencollo shots after our meal and we were all stuffed and drunk.

 

But that didn’t stop us from picking up 5 more folks and heading back to Rum Bar for that Hawaiian Punch drink.

 

The rest of the night was filled with randoms and I enjoyed every second of it…. Well, almost every second of it. This random cowboy from Florida, named Wolf (yea. let that simmer in your thoughts for a bit), invited himself to our party. He was kinda cooll, but I was over the whole I’m a country boy tryna party in the big city with the cool kids thing very quickly.

 

Sunday was a bit more calm as the group dwindled down. Only four of us made it to Brunch where I had the best Tomatillo soup ever (although it’s the only one I’ve ever had, it was quite tasty). We took a group pic before we parted ways and I took pics of the flowers blooming outside my friend’s house in the unseasonably warm weather.

 

The End!

Randomness October 17, 2009

Today I found 3 more grey hairs… down there. Yikes!

 

Do you wash your hands before or after you pull up your pants? Yea, think about how gross your pants and belt are.

 

Have you guys seen the show Scare Tactics? Tracy Morgan hosts it on the Syfy channel. It’s like the haunted or spooky version of punked or something. I’m made to watch it every time Honey comes over here. Every. Single. Time. He’s determined to get me on that show. Little does he know, he won’t have to go through all of that because I get scared every time I see another grey hair… down there. *shudder*

 

I feel much better and really loved right now. My fever is gone. Honey has been up here 2 days in a row to check on me. My Team in Training buddy made and brought me some soup this afternoon. It doesn’t take much to make me happy.

 

I just watched that My Phone (or whatever it’s called) commercial with all the comedians on it and realized that my doctor looks like Chevy Chase. I always knew he looked like someone, but never could place it until now.

 

It’s grey, cloudy and cold here again. You know what that means, right? I’ll be battling depression and the urge to quit grad school until the sun comes back in the Spring. Lesigh.

 

I had a revelation today. Honey gets on my last nerves, but I’d really like to keep him. No one else puts up with my threats and tantrums. And no one else has done many of the wonderful things he’s done for me so far. He told me today, “I don’t sleep well at night when you’re sick because I’m at work and not there with you. I don’t like knowing you’re here by yourself; you shouldn’t be alone.” Sweet, huh? But you know I reminded him that I’ve lived alone for 4 years and have been sick plenty of times. “Yes, but that was before you had me.” I stopped talking and hugged his neck with tears in my eyes.

 

My Uncle married his live-in girlfriend of the past 5 years today. I’ve always thought of her and introduced her as my Aunt, but I guess it’s official now. I wonder what made them finally go down to the courthouse and get hitched? I’ll call them tomorrow and wish them marital bliss.

Damn Damn Damn! October 15, 2009

After 25 years, I’ve finally caught the friggin flu. I guess that’s what I get because just 2 days ago I was bragging about how I’d never had it before in my life. I was so sure that I wouldn’t get it that I went against my doctor’s advice from last year and didn’t get a flu shot. Haha! Jokes on me. On Tuesday the aches and pains, coughing, and asthma problems began. By Wednesday night I was battling a rising low-grade fever. 100.4…. 100.6…. I tried some ibuprofen, a room temperature bath, and soaked my socks in white vinegar. The fever broke for all of one hour. And then it came back with a vengeance sometime around 3 this morning – 101.6. By the time I made it in to the doctor’s office this morning, I was up to 101.7. Considering that my normal body temperature ranges somewhere between 97.something and 98.5, this bad boy needed to be broken quickly. The doctor took all of five minutes to tell me I did indeed have the flu. He prescribed Tamiflu and some more steroids (to treat my asthma) for the next 5 days. I’m told that I’m pretty much contagious until I’m done coughing up sputum (look it up) and am fever free without meds for 24 hours. So, that means no working in the Baby Labs for me. Luckily, I don’t have any experiments to run until next Tuesday. Right now, a large dose of Ibuprofen is the only thing keeping this fever down.

 

I’d like to end this one with a bit of comedy by telling you that my honey is a damn clown. He came up here to clean my house and check on me after work today. I guess he also came to cheer me up because I’ve been fighting back laughter at his antics (it hurts when I laugh and laughter is usually followed by deep coughs). I bought some rocky road ice cream today because I wanted it. It’s cold, chocolate, and makes my throat feel better. I took all of 3 bites from the container around noon. When Mr. came in this evening I warned him, “You’re not gonna like it, but I don’t want to hear your mouth. I’m going to eat my ice cream now.” He protested and proceeded to follow me into the kitchen nagging me about how the ice cream wasn’t good for me bla bla bla. How about when I went in the freezer, my ice cream was gone. He kept saying that he didn’t take it because he didn’t know I had any until I mentioned it. He sat there chuckling as I whined about not finding my ice cream. “But I JUST bought it today and only got 3 bites. Wheeeere is myyyy iiiiice cream?” I will not say whether or not there were tears after this outburst. He then watched as I proceeded to empty all of the contents of my freezer to find not one trace of the ice cream. He smirked as I had to pause to catch my breath (why didn’t y’all tell me the flu makes your strength obsolete?) before I dug in the trash to make sure he didn’t throw it away. Nothing! This whole scene lasted all of 15 minutes with him cracking up, “That’s what you get. No ice cream for youuuu.” Turns out, this bama had my ice cream in his coat pocket the whole time. Funny how now I don’t really want it anymore. Mr. – 1. Aunaptural – 0. I’m currently listening to him snore on my couch. He deserves it.

It’s That Time Again October 9, 2009

As the holiday season quickly approaches, my niece and nephew have begun writing their Christmas Lists. Remember the ridiculousness that came from my darling nephew last year? Yea, I’m trying to forget that as well. This year, my niece was the first one to share her list. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Stile six
Monopoly board game
Bratz Healy’s (size 4)
Bracelet with Princess on it
Jewelry box
2 pears earrings
2 necklesses
1 bracelet
Small chalk board & chalk
Toy box
Rain jacket
Umbrelia
Sun glacess
Remote toy car
Christmas dress (red or green)

Please note that I am typing the list as it was written. What do you all think? She’s 10 years old. I’m thinking instead of jewelry and toys the girl needs a tutor and spelling workbook. Don’t think I won’t do it. It’s killing me to see that she’s not up to par. I mean, seriously! You’re 10 years old. Why don’t you know how to spell necklace, umbrella, or glasses? Maybe I’m overreacting, but I think I could spell all of these things when I was 10. What gives? Do you guys know any computer or Wii games that would help her with her spelling?