It's my favorite time of year, when all the flowers die & I can breath again! Also, I love it when there's just enough chill in the air to warrant wearing a sweatshirt. And I love the colors of the leaves changing.
I'm hoping to go apple and/or pumpkin picking with Vid in the next few weeks; I would like to try my hand at making pies. Growing up we'd usually go down to NJ over Columbus Day weekend to visit my mom's parents. My grandma was quite the gardener; she also had an apple tree in the front yard. We'd pick, peel & cook the apples, then make pies en masse. She'd put a bunch in her deep freezer to save for the holidays & usually send us home with a couple as well. I don't know if I'll be able to replicate her pies but I'll sure try.
So, work is still work; I'm still looking elsewhere but given the economy nationally & even more so locally I'm not holding my breath. I'm also thinking about going back to school to get my BSN (I know, I know) which will only take me 1 & 1/2 years to complete since I already have a college degree. I'd double my salary (at least) & actually be able to use my brain, which is something I miss a lot. We'll see.
Vid is loving 2 out of his 3 classes; the students in 1 class are PITAs but his dean has been really great so far. He's so grateful to have a job but very paranoid about keeping it given the 8 months of unemployment he recently experienced.
He should be fine since he works for a private university, but with the state going in the toilet a lot of other agencies similar to mine (non-profit community mental health) are seeing staff being let go. While we were told there are no plans for lay offs at my place, I can't say I believe them given the news we got last week that there will be no raises next year.
Anyways, I will try to think lovely thoughts & enjoy the crispness in the air.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sick
I think I have the flu. My husband came home from work 2 days ago with a cold; he's better now. But whatever he had he gave to me in some mutant form. I've gone through almost 2 boxes of tissues in under 24 hours.
I came home last night thinking I had caught his cold; no big deal. I had dinner & watched Ghost Hunters like I do every Wednesday. By the time 10pm rolled around I felt like death warmed over. Full sinuses, a rip-roaring headache, body ache, a slight fever & chills. I took a Nyquil which lasted me until about 4am when I woke up with (pardon the graphic description) snot dried on my pillow case. I called in sick at that point, took another Nyquil & went back to bed until about 10am. And I still feel tired.
So I'm at home in bed spending quality time with the dog. It was a challenge taking him out for a walk earlier this afternoon; I had vertigo big time. I'm hoping to be better enough to go to work tomorrow so as not to burn through what little sick time I get at my suckass job. But it's now almost 6pm & let's just say it isn't looking good.
Blargh.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
100 things to eat before you die
This is stolen from a friend's blog (http://tastybaby.blogspot.com). I've eaten 46 of the following 100 items (bolded):
1. Venison
2. Nettle Tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak Tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black Pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
15. Hot dog from a street tart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Fois gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna Cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly - aka, Jello shots
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whiskey from a bottle worth over $100
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed donut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umbeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV.
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, Elephant Ears, funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and Blini. .
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu or shaojiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose Harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
Obviously the ones containing meat were eaten before I became vegetarian at age 14. Well, with the exception of #42 (insects); I did try a fried locust dusted in chili powder in Niger in 2004. And as I'm a lover of all things spicy, I'm going to try & find #30 (bagna cauda) after learning what it is on Wikipedia.
How many have you eaten?
1. Venison
2. Nettle Tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak Tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black Pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
15. Hot dog from a street tart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Fois gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna Cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly - aka, Jello shots
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whiskey from a bottle worth over $100
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed donut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umbeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV.
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, Elephant Ears, funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and Blini. .
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu or shaojiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose Harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
Obviously the ones containing meat were eaten before I became vegetarian at age 14. Well, with the exception of #42 (insects); I did try a fried locust dusted in chili powder in Niger in 2004. And as I'm a lover of all things spicy, I'm going to try & find #30 (bagna cauda) after learning what it is on Wikipedia.
How many have you eaten?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Moving...still...
*sigh*
So we're still not completely in but should be by the weekend. The people who lived there before us were supposed to be out on 9/1 but really weren't until 9/3 which was fine since I didn't have the moving truck rented until 9/6. But they left the place a mess; my mother & I have been cleaning all weekend. I'm talking epoxy spilled & dried into the sink & tub among other things. I called my landlord & he came to look at the damage done. Let's just say he is not happy about having to fix all this since the former tenants made no mention of things that needed repairing, etc. He's not giving them their damage deposit back but meanwhile we're stuck with the clean up.
Because we've spent so much time on cleaning we're not done assembling the new furniture we bought from IKEA. Seriously, we'd already be in if it wasn't for the massive amount of cleaning. And the cable guys are coming Thursday since they had to cancel for Saturday with the tropical storm we had. I swear nothing is ever easy!
With all this added stress I've also fallen off the Weight Watchers bandwagon a bit. I'll get back on once we're settled in & I have a kitchen to work in again.
So we're still not completely in but should be by the weekend. The people who lived there before us were supposed to be out on 9/1 but really weren't until 9/3 which was fine since I didn't have the moving truck rented until 9/6. But they left the place a mess; my mother & I have been cleaning all weekend. I'm talking epoxy spilled & dried into the sink & tub among other things. I called my landlord & he came to look at the damage done. Let's just say he is not happy about having to fix all this since the former tenants made no mention of things that needed repairing, etc. He's not giving them their damage deposit back but meanwhile we're stuck with the clean up.
Because we've spent so much time on cleaning we're not done assembling the new furniture we bought from IKEA. Seriously, we'd already be in if it wasn't for the massive amount of cleaning. And the cable guys are coming Thursday since they had to cancel for Saturday with the tropical storm we had. I swear nothing is ever easy!
With all this added stress I've also fallen off the Weight Watchers bandwagon a bit. I'll get back on once we're settled in & I have a kitchen to work in again.
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