Man, the last two days have been COLD! We went from 100º heat to 70's in only a few days and the change in the barometer has brought me a headache ... but nothing I can't handle. Just another reminder that winter is just around the corner. I'm not really a fan of the cold if I have to be outside, but I love bundling under blankets and drinking hot tea while watching t.v. I also like wearing layered clothing, and in the California valleys, winter is really the only chance you get to do that comfortably.
My dad quit his job a few weeks back and already started his first day on his new job in Turlock. I'm so excited for him. The hours are going to take getting used to as he now works Sunday through Thursday, but we're so thankful he was able to find employment in this crazy job market. The blessings definitely outweigh any downsides to this situation, if there even are that many. My brother also starts his new job on Monday. My family is full of likable, talented people. I am so proud of them all.
October is a great time of year, and tomorrow is the first day of it. I just can't believe I'll be 27 this year. It's just so close to 30. I wish you could still celebrate birthdays without thinking about age. *sigh* Oh well. It's fun to grow old with someone at least. And I'm glad that someone likes carving pumpkins with me. :)
Oh yeah, I was finally able to get an appointment with the dermatology center and I have a skin screening on Tuesday. I'm a little nervous. I know I have two moles that need to be removed but I'm not sure if they're going to do them the day of my appointment or if I have to reschedule a time. It's not going to be pleasant. One of them I've had since birth and it sits right on my lovely butt cheek. I was told by a dermatologist in 2006 that it needed to be scooped out and stitched up. I ask Neil "what if they have to remove half my ass?" He tried to make a joke about hoping they don't do a half-assed job of it. ha. haha. ha.
Anyway, that's the news for now. Such an uneventful update.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
One more for the road
So, just after I say that I rarely have dreams I can recall ... I go and have another one last night.
In this dream, a friend of mine decides to tell me the secret that she has been having an affair with a friend's husband. So we both talk about how she's not to blame because the guy was the married one ... the one with now-pointless vows. I'm sure in real life I would have gone on to ask other questions like "well how do you think she feels?" but I guess there wasn't enough time. There were more pressing matters at hand. We were discussing the shoes we were wearing. Apparently we thought it was amazing we were both wearing Toms shoes (tomsshoes.com) and actually had the same pattern.
Talk about a gigantic dose of randomness. ?!?!
Or was it?
In this dream, a friend of mine decides to tell me the secret that she has been having an affair with a friend's husband. So we both talk about how she's not to blame because the guy was the married one ... the one with now-pointless vows. I'm sure in real life I would have gone on to ask other questions like "well how do you think she feels?" but I guess there wasn't enough time. There were more pressing matters at hand. We were discussing the shoes we were wearing. Apparently we thought it was amazing we were both wearing Toms shoes (tomsshoes.com) and actually had the same pattern.
Talk about a gigantic dose of randomness. ?!?!
Or was it?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The path in the forest
I had to sit down and get this out before I forget it all.
In my dream last night, Neil and I were walking in a forest, along a path. Only, I was Neil and he was me (but he didn't look like me). He was frumpier than me and I hope to geez that it's not how I look through his eyes. ha. Anyway, I digress ...
So we're walking down this path and up ahead of us skips a little girl wearing a white sundress. She's one year old. She has pudgy cheeks, a pudgy body, an adorable smile and slanted, twinkling blue eyes. Her hair is pale blond, thin and wispy in the wind. She's ours. And obviously she must be pretty amazing if at the age of one she can skip and sing at the same time.
I have dreams all the time, but they rarely allow me to remember them. I usually just wake up feeling pleasant or curious without knowing why. When I actually do recall a dream, it sticks with me. Like the set of recurring dreams I used to have when I first met Neil ... I'm sitting on the exam table in a OBGYN office and the doctor is telling me I'm infertile and will never have children.
Maybe this new dream was my psyche's way of telling me that the first dream was a liar. Or maybe my woman hormones just need to lay off the juice.
In my dream last night, Neil and I were walking in a forest, along a path. Only, I was Neil and he was me (but he didn't look like me). He was frumpier than me and I hope to geez that it's not how I look through his eyes. ha. Anyway, I digress ...
So we're walking down this path and up ahead of us skips a little girl wearing a white sundress. She's one year old. She has pudgy cheeks, a pudgy body, an adorable smile and slanted, twinkling blue eyes. Her hair is pale blond, thin and wispy in the wind. She's ours. And obviously she must be pretty amazing if at the age of one she can skip and sing at the same time.
I have dreams all the time, but they rarely allow me to remember them. I usually just wake up feeling pleasant or curious without knowing why. When I actually do recall a dream, it sticks with me. Like the set of recurring dreams I used to have when I first met Neil ... I'm sitting on the exam table in a OBGYN office and the doctor is telling me I'm infertile and will never have children.
Maybe this new dream was my psyche's way of telling me that the first dream was a liar. Or maybe my woman hormones just need to lay off the juice.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Friday ramblings
There's nothing like a basset serenade to make your Friday morning start off right. Lola is singing up a storm right now! ha.
I slept so soundly and deeply last night that by the time Neil was leaving for work at 7:30 I was rested and ready to get to work. So I walked the 20 steps to my home office. This work-at-home flexibility is the best thing about my job. I have to appreciate it, because it was in lieu of a pay raise this year.
My wrists are killing me today. I'm not really sure why. I wore my braces to bed last night so you'd think they wouldn't be as hot as they are. They feel like they're burning ... or being stung over and over, and this time it's all the way up my forearm to my elbows. I don't want this to get much worse. I definitely can't afford the surgery on even one arm, much less both of them.
On another random note ... today is Friday and to celebrate the 4-day work week I am having whipping cream in my coffee this morning. I think it's about the best cup of coffee I've had in a very long time. Too bad it can only be an occasional thing and not a habit!
I slept so soundly and deeply last night that by the time Neil was leaving for work at 7:30 I was rested and ready to get to work. So I walked the 20 steps to my home office. This work-at-home flexibility is the best thing about my job. I have to appreciate it, because it was in lieu of a pay raise this year.
My wrists are killing me today. I'm not really sure why. I wore my braces to bed last night so you'd think they wouldn't be as hot as they are. They feel like they're burning ... or being stung over and over, and this time it's all the way up my forearm to my elbows. I don't want this to get much worse. I definitely can't afford the surgery on even one arm, much less both of them.
On another random note ... today is Friday and to celebrate the 4-day work week I am having whipping cream in my coffee this morning. I think it's about the best cup of coffee I've had in a very long time. Too bad it can only be an occasional thing and not a habit!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Mexican Meatloaf Recipe
This has been one of my favorite recipes to make since starting weight watchers. You can either make it in one large "loaf" or you can make them in individual muffin tins. I double the recipe, make then in a 12-spot muffin tin and call them "meat muffins." Just a little piece of meaty heaven.
MEXICAN MEATLOAF:
Serves 6 (double the recipe to feed 12 or for leftovers)
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
1/2 pound lean ground turkey breast
2 large egg whites
2 oz cornbread stuffing dry mix (about 1 cup)
1 medium chopped onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 oz canned green chili peppers, diced
8 oz canned enchilada sauce
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a broiler pan (or muffin tin) with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix beef, turkey, egg whites, stuffing mix, onion, chili powder, cumin, chilies and half of enchilada sauce together in a large bowl. Shape into an oval with your hands and place on prepared boiler pan, or portion equally into the muffin tin. Cook for 1 hour, top with remaining enchilada sauce and bake for 5 more minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.
MEXICAN MEATLOAF:
Serves 6 (double the recipe to feed 12 or for leftovers)
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
1/2 pound lean ground turkey breast
2 large egg whites
2 oz cornbread stuffing dry mix (about 1 cup)
1 medium chopped onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 oz canned green chili peppers, diced
8 oz canned enchilada sauce
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a broiler pan (or muffin tin) with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix beef, turkey, egg whites, stuffing mix, onion, chili powder, cumin, chilies and half of enchilada sauce together in a large bowl. Shape into an oval with your hands and place on prepared boiler pan, or portion equally into the muffin tin. Cook for 1 hour, top with remaining enchilada sauce and bake for 5 more minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Hollywood or Burbs
I saw Revolutionary Road the other day. I hated it. Figures that Hollywood reveres a movie with Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet portraying a miserable suburban couple. How trite, how boring, how cliché.
Basically this movie says "if you live in the burbs, you're pathetic and obviously sold out on your dreams ... you are undoubtedly living a lie. You should just kill yourself."
It suggests that if you have a family, you need to settle in the suburbs and make nice with the neighbors and play house. But of course this is such a horrid existence that you should argue with your spouse and blame your misery on them. You should make extravagant plans to escape to a foreign country where they've got life figured out and your existence actually means something to society. But if you can't make it happen, and there's no way out .... aborting your soon-to-be-miserable baby and killing yourself is definitely the way to go. It's the only humane thing to do.
Yes Hollywood, let's blame our crappy lives on the closely built houses and friendly neighbors. They're all just as miserable as we are anyway, right? However, let's NOT blame ourselves for getting married to the wrong someone too quickly. Let's NOT blame ourselves for our lack of family planning and let's certainly not blame ourselves for buying a house in a place where we weren't forced to. That's much easier than dealing with personal issues.
If my life were different and I weren't so dependent on a populated area, no I wouldn't be living in the suburbs. I'd be out on a ranch living on the land, and making the land work for me. There would be a stream within walking or horseback distance on my property and I'd go fishing every day. Sure that may be one of many dreams I have, but my happiness is not made or lost on that notion.
My happiness is made by me. My situations are not burdens, but rather purposes ... tests. I am happy because I choose to be happy. My heart does not rest in a building or on a piece of property. My heart rests within me and within those I love.
My home, is where my heart is. So we live in the suburbs for as long as it takes. And I am a-o-k with that.
Basically this movie says "if you live in the burbs, you're pathetic and obviously sold out on your dreams ... you are undoubtedly living a lie. You should just kill yourself."
It suggests that if you have a family, you need to settle in the suburbs and make nice with the neighbors and play house. But of course this is such a horrid existence that you should argue with your spouse and blame your misery on them. You should make extravagant plans to escape to a foreign country where they've got life figured out and your existence actually means something to society. But if you can't make it happen, and there's no way out .... aborting your soon-to-be-miserable baby and killing yourself is definitely the way to go. It's the only humane thing to do.
Yes Hollywood, let's blame our crappy lives on the closely built houses and friendly neighbors. They're all just as miserable as we are anyway, right? However, let's NOT blame ourselves for getting married to the wrong someone too quickly. Let's NOT blame ourselves for our lack of family planning and let's certainly not blame ourselves for buying a house in a place where we weren't forced to. That's much easier than dealing with personal issues.
If my life were different and I weren't so dependent on a populated area, no I wouldn't be living in the suburbs. I'd be out on a ranch living on the land, and making the land work for me. There would be a stream within walking or horseback distance on my property and I'd go fishing every day. Sure that may be one of many dreams I have, but my happiness is not made or lost on that notion.
My happiness is made by me. My situations are not burdens, but rather purposes ... tests. I am happy because I choose to be happy. My heart does not rest in a building or on a piece of property. My heart rests within me and within those I love.
My home, is where my heart is. So we live in the suburbs for as long as it takes. And I am a-o-k with that.
Remind me again why I try?
I got the urge to cook a soup today. My favorite is butternut or acorn and I happened to find an "easy" weight watchers recipe that was only 2 points a serving. So I thought I'd give it a go.
I made sure I had all my ingredients that I needed; even drove all over town looking for parsnips ... which for some reason are hard to find? I roasted the veggies while simultaneously whipping together the beginnings of the frozen peanut butter chocolate pie I had planned for dessert (another weight watchers recipe = 4 pts). Everything was going so well. A little too well. Ease in the kitchen is not my MO, so I knew something wicked was coming my way.
The next step was to purée the soup. Sounds simple enough. I stared at the food processor, thinking long and hard about what I was soon to attempt. I knew the basics of how to use it, but had only previously operated the device under tight supervision. This was a big leap of faith in my own abilities. Har har. First, I made sure the bowl was locked in tight. I poured in the veggies and liquid. But as I tried to lock the lid onto the bowl, suddenly the fresh-from-the-stove hot liquid started seeping out the bottom of the bowl. WTF? I have never felt so helpless ... watching 3 cups of chicken broth and 1 can of evaporated milk flood my counter top.
After practicing a few more times with water in the cuisinart I realized where I went wrong. I had the bowl latched the wrong way so that when I snapped on the lid, it was forcing the liquid out. Once I got that part settled I was good to go. It just wouldn't purée the soup as finely as I needed it to. I was in no mood to keep fooling with the food processor. My next step involved the blender. Which had a puree button on the front. Simple as pie. I was so happy that it was able to fix my poor soup.
In the end, my kitchen disaster ended up righting itself. But not before a few things were thrown across the room and a few cuss words were said. I never said I was a lady in the kitchen.
Neil shared this article with me and I thought it was funny. http://www.slate.com/id/2226512/
Mostly because one of our friends made us a recipe from the Julia Child cookbook. But it's not something I would ever have patience for. Especially if I can't even handle a recipe just 2 sentences long.
Also, seeing as how I dirtied two outfits during the cooking process today, I foresee a cute apron in my future.
I made sure I had all my ingredients that I needed; even drove all over town looking for parsnips ... which for some reason are hard to find? I roasted the veggies while simultaneously whipping together the beginnings of the frozen peanut butter chocolate pie I had planned for dessert (another weight watchers recipe = 4 pts). Everything was going so well. A little too well. Ease in the kitchen is not my MO, so I knew something wicked was coming my way.
The next step was to purée the soup. Sounds simple enough. I stared at the food processor, thinking long and hard about what I was soon to attempt. I knew the basics of how to use it, but had only previously operated the device under tight supervision. This was a big leap of faith in my own abilities. Har har. First, I made sure the bowl was locked in tight. I poured in the veggies and liquid. But as I tried to lock the lid onto the bowl, suddenly the fresh-from-the-stove hot liquid started seeping out the bottom of the bowl. WTF? I have never felt so helpless ... watching 3 cups of chicken broth and 1 can of evaporated milk flood my counter top.
After practicing a few more times with water in the cuisinart I realized where I went wrong. I had the bowl latched the wrong way so that when I snapped on the lid, it was forcing the liquid out. Once I got that part settled I was good to go. It just wouldn't purée the soup as finely as I needed it to. I was in no mood to keep fooling with the food processor. My next step involved the blender. Which had a puree button on the front. Simple as pie. I was so happy that it was able to fix my poor soup.
In the end, my kitchen disaster ended up righting itself. But not before a few things were thrown across the room and a few cuss words were said. I never said I was a lady in the kitchen.
Neil shared this article with me and I thought it was funny. http://www.slate.com/id/2226512/
Mostly because one of our friends made us a recipe from the Julia Child cookbook. But it's not something I would ever have patience for. Especially if I can't even handle a recipe just 2 sentences long.
Also, seeing as how I dirtied two outfits during the cooking process today, I foresee a cute apron in my future.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Life Is Good
This year is getting crazier. It's September 1st already. 2009 is almost over and I'm just getting used to saying it.
So recently ........
It seems fertility is in the air. I have several friends popping out little ones in the next few months. I'm just glad I don't have to go through the pain but can still get my fix buying them all cutesy things. There isn't enough money in the world for me to buy all the fun stuff I'd want to buy if I had a child. Maybe it's a good thing I don't.
It seems quitting your job is also in the air. Again, several friends, family and acquaintances are walking away from jobs, my father included. I'm happy for him. For all of them. Especially if they're lucky to find something better. I don't have the guts to do that just yet. But I like my job, so maybe that's why.
It seems spending money is in the air as well. Friends are buying fancy ladders and new cars. We got a new tv, other friends got new windows and are going on vacations. Recession? What recession?
It seems healthy living and weight-loss are in the air. I have a few friends who are also on the healthy kick and making vows to treat their bodies better. That's always fun. Especially when you have good company to enjoy while exercising and discussing recipes. It's nice to know that I'm learning to make new things, while still staying within my limits. I like that.
........................................................................
This has been one of the fastest years of my life. But it's also been one of the greatest so far. I think I say that every year. Life is good.
So recently ........
It seems fertility is in the air. I have several friends popping out little ones in the next few months. I'm just glad I don't have to go through the pain but can still get my fix buying them all cutesy things. There isn't enough money in the world for me to buy all the fun stuff I'd want to buy if I had a child. Maybe it's a good thing I don't.
It seems quitting your job is also in the air. Again, several friends, family and acquaintances are walking away from jobs, my father included. I'm happy for him. For all of them. Especially if they're lucky to find something better. I don't have the guts to do that just yet. But I like my job, so maybe that's why.
It seems spending money is in the air as well. Friends are buying fancy ladders and new cars. We got a new tv, other friends got new windows and are going on vacations. Recession? What recession?
It seems healthy living and weight-loss are in the air. I have a few friends who are also on the healthy kick and making vows to treat their bodies better. That's always fun. Especially when you have good company to enjoy while exercising and discussing recipes. It's nice to know that I'm learning to make new things, while still staying within my limits. I like that.
........................................................................
This has been one of the fastest years of my life. But it's also been one of the greatest so far. I think I say that every year. Life is good.
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