Pray
Posted on 13 January 2010 | No responses
In light of what has happened in Haiti today, I can’t even begin to think of something to write.
I will make a donation to the Red Cross.
After that all I can do is pray.
My heart goes out to all those affected
Drink
Posted on 12 January 2010 | 5 responses
This photo is okay at this size, but to really get blown away, follow it to Flickr and check out the largest size (those of you with Flickr accounts, otherwise you are out of luck, duck) that I posted. I scaled it down from the SOOC shot, but the detail is amazing. And anybody that has shot Hummingbirds will tell you that this was not easy to get – they are FAST suckers. I camped out on the back deck of my parent’s house last August for about 30 minutes and stood motionless as I took as many shots as I could to get maybe four acceptable images.
My favorite thing about this photo is that if you look at the hummingbird’s eye, it’s like I caught him looking at the camera.
Let me know what you think.
Here’s Ridley
Posted on 11 January 2010 | 7 responses
Or as I like to call him, El Diablo. His favorite activity lately is perching upon the toilet seat (when we forget to put the lid down) and splashing around in the water. This morning, he fell in and I laughed my ass off.
Sunday
Posted on 10 January 2010 | No responses
I am struggling with what to write today – There are many topics that I plan to write about but I just haven’t made the time to do it tonight. So I am just going to fill you in on what I did.
Rohan and I stayed up late watching Funny People and I actually liked it. I am not a HUGE Adam Sandler fan, but this had a bit of a serious tone to it (the first part anyway). It was almost like Apatow couldn’t decide if he wanted to make a serious or funny movie. There were too many penis jokes for my taste in the comedy bits, but other than that, it was a good rental.
So we slept in (my personal form of heaven) then I went out to run errands. It was a balmy 27 degrees out today. I threw caution to the wind and left my scarf and gloves in the Pilot while I shopped. It was a satisfying equivalent of the middle finger to the bitter cold weather we have been having. I felt so bold. We are supposed to be above freezing this entire week so I am hoping that most of the snow melts. There will be also be a line at the Carwash a mile long for the entire week as well.
A la Chez Target, I thought I scored big time with a half price Dyson Root 6 hand vac. After testing it out a bit, I am content, but not that super-duper over-elated feeling I thought I would have. It is a good little vac, but I wouldn’t pay full price for it. I will leave it at that. I also got two clamp-on halogen lamps for my easel. By the time I get home from work, the sun has long since set, so these will be handy indeed.
We made the Sunday Night Veggie Rescue and threw all of the veggies left from the week into a quick stir-fry with Chicken and oyster sauce. I made brown rice with it – Normally we go with Jasmine, but I am trying to be a bit more health conscious. I like the nutty flavor and chewy texture. Just imagine me in Birkenstocks. Yep, you get the picture. Acutally, I had Betula clogs on. I am fully in touch with my inner Hippy.
I also finally made hotel reservations for the quilt convention that I am going to in April with a friend of mine and my Mom in Paducah, Kentucky. I don’t quilt, but I thought it would be a fun road trip. The closest hotel we could get is 40 miles away. Apparently, this convention is kind of a big deal in that circle. I am impressed that these quilt chicks are seriously hardcore.
Two last things – I am REALLY excited for the next season of Big Love to be starting next week (Need to fill the space now that Dextor is done!) and I don’t watch the Tudors, but I love the music featured in Showtime’s teaser for the 4th Season. Due to the magic of the interweb, I have determined it to be a song called “Howl” by Florence and the Machine. Totally dig it. The girl’s got pipes!
Good night!
In Which I Whine Yet Again About The Cold
Posted on 9 January 2010 | 2 responses
I know I keep prattling on about how cold it is, but people, I had to get out a SPADE to out to get out of our driveway today. Not just a snow shovel, but a friggin spade. And then I had to use it again to get to the other side because the plows have been so busy. The mail pedestal for our neighborhood was encased on three sides. It’s literally across the street and down one house. It’ took me 20 minutes to get the January edition of ‘Art in America’, one Netflix, one insurance bill and a whole lot of junk mail. DElightful.
And just to add a little ambiance, here is a picture I took from two years ago – I wouldn’t dare take my camera outside because I am afraid the cold would do some damage. It might not, but I just don’t want to take any chances.
I actually got a great workout shoveling our driveway but I am already feeling the muscles that haven’t been used in a while make an appearance.
And I do think the sinus crap that I have been in denial about is getting the best of me. I have been commandeering the NyQuil in an effort to stave off making a visit to my doc. She is actually all kinds of awesome, but the less I see of any medical professional, the happier I am. I might try to make some chicken soup tomorrow to see if it will do its voodoo. I should call it Sataria Soup.
How is y’alls weekend?
Sherlock Holmes
Posted on 8 January 2010 | 3 responses
I love all Guy Ritchie movies, but I give this a B-.
I love Robert Downey Jr. forever, but he mumbled so much that even Rohan (who as an Aussie, thinks he is British as part of the Commonwealth [hee]) couldn’t understand much of what was said in the movie.
Robert and Jude Law had great chemistry. Robert and Rachel McAdams did not. I almost wanted Robert and Jude to kiss, they were so fun to watch together.
The movie had a fantastic explosion scene and the movie had much of the physicality that you’d expect from Ritchie’s movies. He also knows how to build tension, which I lurve. But it was hard to get ‘into’ the film as I spent too much time trying to figure out what was going on, or what people were saying.
And my biggest gripe – Where was the music? I love the music of a Ritchie film. I don’t care if it’s a period piece, that’s part of the fun for me.
I liked the movie – The sets were amazing and I would see it again just to browse. But if I look at my watch during a movie, it’s not a winner.
And now, I must go to bed. I think the Nyquil is kicking in.
One last thought: Damn, it’s COLD.
Goodnight!
Current Bests
Posted on 7 January 2010 | 2 responses
I kind of got away from the ‘Best’ theme, and, more than likely, will stray again. Because that’s how my brain works. I thought I would post some random bests. These will probably change next week, too. Again, I tend to have the attention span of a gnat.
So my good people, I give you some of my current bests:
- Non-Alcoholic Drink – Iced Tea
- Alcoholic Drink – Amaretto Sour
- Nail Polish – OPI’s It’s a Doozi, Says Suzi
- Book – The American Painter, Emma Dial by Samantha Peale
- Movie – The Big Lebowski
- Day of the Week – Saturday
- Hour of the Day – 10PM
- Color – Red
- Pattern – Checkerboard
- Dessert – Cheesecake
- Breakfast – Egg on toast
- Auto – Honda Pilot
- Music – Andrew Bird
- Comedian – Robin Williams
- Kitchen Tool – KitchenAid Food Processor
- Cookbook – Laurel’s Kitchen, a sentimental choice
Leave some of your current Bests in the comments!
Easiest Dinner Ever – For Real
Posted on 6 January 2010 | 2 responses
Today we had another shitload of snow dumped on us. Needless to say, it’s cold and a warm dinner after work sounded good. The problem is that I don’t feel like cooking after work a whole lot. We are trying to cut down spending so I am looking to get creative.
My only requirement is that it’s relatively healthy and doesn’t have a lot of salt or processed ingredients. I have been sober for 46 days post-treatment for my Velveeta addiction and I ‘d like to credit my dairy sponsor for giving me the courage to abstain from adding any gooey, melty processed cheese product to my meal. Amen.
So, we are ALL busy, so I thought I’d share – here’s what I did:
At lunch, I dumped a pork loin roast in the slow cooker with chopped garlic, rosemary, sliced onions, 1/2 cup white wine and 1 cup of beef broth. This took all of 6 or 7 minutes. I set it for seven hours and left to go back to the office. When we got home, the yummy smell almost killed us, but we needed to wait another hour.
When it was done, I trimmed fresh broccoli and steamed it. I dumped a package of cheese ravioli in boiling water to cook for three minutes. I arranged the ravioli and broccoli on a plate and sprinkled with grated parmigiano reggiano,then added sliced pork. This entire process took 10 minutes.
I am amazed at how easy this was and I can tell you our crockpot will be getting a workout this winter! You will have to forgive me if you’ve got these meal things figured out, but since we don’t have kiddos, regular meals for us aren’t, well, regular. I tend to make significant efforts on meals when I have time to, which is weekends or holidays. Otherwise, we are pretty low key – We eat cheese and crackers sometimes, or ceral in bed. And yes, I curse the bed crumbs, but that’s how we roll.
What are your go-to recipes for fast winter meals?
How Do You Show L-O-V-E?
Posted on 5 January 2010 | 4 responses
THIS kills me – An Iowa Farmer provided birthday greetings to his beloved wife – In MANURE.
I mentioned on Twitter that if my husband did this for me, he had better have planted a shitload of flowers under that manure. For real. But I guess everybody has different ways of showing affection.
My Mom made us pancakes in the shapes of cartoon characters and the letters of the alphabet.
My brother makes grand, sweeping gestures for his wife – Dozens of roses, a surprise cruise vacation, real woo-inducing stuff.
My Dad always asks me how my car is ‘driving’ – He’s an engineer and it’s his way of making sure that I am alright.
Mom shows affection to my Dad by handing him his towel when he gets out of the shower. She spices it up with a different pose each day.
My niece makes dramatic art masterpieces and presents them with interpretive dance as only a six year old girl could.
My nephew runs and gives tackle-worthy bear-hugs and then runs back to whatever it was that he was doing before he loses his concentration.
My grandfather pinched my grandmother’s butt whenever he walked by and thought no one was looking.
My husband carries my bags to the car each morning. He makes kissy noises whenever he thinks of it as he walks by. Sometimes it is obnoxious but mostly I adore it.
So while everyone may have different methods, it’s all good, right? The world needs more of it every day.
How do you show LOVE?
Today’s Questions
Posted on 4 January 2010 | 6 responses
Well, today was one of those days where I just wondered about everything. Here are my ‘best’ questions for the day:
- Why do women wear shoes that are not good for our feet? Men wouldn’t survive one hour in a pair of heels.
- Why doesn’t the Press AND PEOPLE EVERYWHERE, celebrate people that do things ‘right’ instead of sensationalizing those that do ‘bad’ things (And yes, I am talking about Tiger Woods!)?
- And one further, why is Narcissism celebrated?
- Who must Ann Coulter be so condescending? Is she incapable of uttering sentences without overt hostility?
- Why, if I know that I don’t have to go to work the next day, can I stay up all night? But if I have to go to work, my brain magically starts shutting down around 11pm?
- Why aren’t women’s pants sized like men’s (with waist and length measures)?
- Why in the world are the Black Eyed Peas popular? I can see why their music might want to make you move, but the lyrics? What the heck, people?
- Why can’t American women stop straightening our hair?
- Why are the Arts not valued like Sports are in schools? Like people honestly think their little Bruiser’s football career is going to extend past highschool?
- Why is it almost criminal in the US to go on vacation? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we were all more relaxed?
- Why aren’t there Purity Balls for Boys? Hello, Religion: MASSIVE double standard!
- Why doesn’t Sushi magically appear in my kitchen every day?
- Why do people use Facebook to share the most intimate or inappropriate details of their lives (i.e. post pictures of themselves in bikinis or obviously inebriated, or talk about marital problems or employment situations), especially after the age of 25?
- Why are people ashamed to ask for help?
- Why is Alec Baldwin a sexy, ‘distringuished’ man now that he’s pudgy and grey -and yet if a woman in Hollywood put on 7 pounds or if she didn’t cover her greys she would be ‘letting herself go’?
That is all. What are your questions?