- Travel size conditioners come with flip top caps that require little effort. Travel size shampoos come with screw off caps that require great effort. I can see myself in a tres chic French hotel uttering bleeps cuz I dropped the shampoo cap. Then, ow, shampoo gets in my eyes. Bleepity bleep. I really wonder why travel shampoos can't have flip caps like travel conditioners. They could distinguish the packaging between the two and keep the ease/comfort. What a bleepin great idea!
- Is it wrong that I wish guitar hero had more outfits and rockers to buy? Sometimes I'd much rather shop than rock.....
- Today I read two books from my childhood that I hadn't read in years and I understood the context of them a lot more:
One is called "The Road From Home" and it is a fictional account of Armenian massacres and marching them to their deaths in Turkey. Pretty heady stuff for me to read as a kid, but I loved the book. I liked it a lot more today when I could grasp the reality of the plight.
The second book is called "Death Be Not Proud." This was my favorite book as a kid..as evidenced by the almost-falling-apart copy I have (with the "Happy Birthday Stacy! Love, Jessica" inscription. I wonder what b-day I got this for and, no, I don't even talk to Jessica anymore!) The book is the father's account of the son getting a brain tumor and the eventual death. As a kid I would read the book at least once a year and really reflect on things I have to be thankful for. It is so well written and shows that even a kid dying can be a great hero.
I really liked books about kids and thought-provoking topics. (haha... the beginnings of my becoming a "book/literature elitist" ??) Part of my realization in college that International Studies fit me was thinking back on all the books I had devoured and how much I wanted to know all about world topics. These books have helped shape a lot of who I am and it was really interesting to read these two books today.
- I did something to my upper back/neck and they really hurt today. I must go over all my arm excercies and make sure I am doing them correctly. cuz, ow. bleep.
- I am getting really annoyed calling customer service lines lately and having them not wait for me to talk before they jabber off something I already know. Please wait for me to get out my whole problem. AND, if you hadn't jabbered off, we could have ended our call 6 whole minutes ago and you could have been 5 minutes further into your dissection with your cubicle buddy of your current nail polish and if it really is the right color for you.
- I cannot play an online game called "text twist" past 3pm in the day. If I do, I can't fall asleep because all I see in my brain are words rearranging to form other words. Drives me absolutely batty.
(drives: dire, rid, rids, red, reds, rev, revs, side, sider, ride, rides, ire, ires, die, dies, vie, vies, vied, sir, dive, dives, dries, etc.... BATTY)
- Is there a wrong side of a bed? because SOMEONE in this two person household sure woke up on THAT side today and it wasn't ME! oh, bleep.
- I think there is a goat chewing up clothes in this apartment. I did "all" our laundry today and cannot locate certain items. That or someone likes to "hide" dirty clothes away from a hamper. I guess tomorrow is a bleepin scavenger hunt. I hope I don't find the angry goat.
- Bud light came out with a lime beer. I still won't drink it. Bud is bleepin nasteee. I'll stick with my Miller Chill.
- go listen to the song "Cast Away The Clouds" by Rose Melberg. I *heart* it.
- I want Mario Cart for the Wii .... want want want. OMG. want.
- 46 days until vay-cay
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
It's Tuesday already. (Time to talk about Monday behind its back.....)
Monday, April 28th, 2008. I know my day was very uneventful here, but, hooo-eeee did it surprise my dear family (and most of northern Wisconsin).
This is what they woke up to:
My poor husband didn't even believe my mom's email! (Until I pointed out in another picture the "SPRING" flag my mum has hanging outside the house. covered in snow.)
Isn't it pretty? All the trees outlined in white and so crisp and clea....Wait, isn't it just caps-lock CRAZY?!?!?! It is 3 days before May! I literally sun-burned my face fishing the day before. We all know Wisconsin sometimes gets these April snow showers, but I've never seen one that is a certifiable STORM with snow sticking to the ground in certifiable inches.
It didn't snow or rain here at all yesterday...If it had I would have channeled my little sister's dramatics, grabbed my hair dryer, melted the snow right off our porch, and spend the next 6 years in denial.
So on to weekend recappage and other odds n ends.
Bubs and I spent the weekend in po-dunk hometown at my parent's house. I had one task in mind: fishing. The bubs had two tasks in mind: shooting pesky varmins and fishing. Wisconsin has turned the bubs into quite an outdoorsman. Me? I just really like fishing.
Saturday was really horrible weather. Super windy and cold. Decided to take the more comfortable car even though it is twice as costly. If we had taken the "Less Comfort, 1/2 Off Gas!" Saturn, we would have spent the whole drive yelling to each other and not being able to make phone calls to the in-laws. I do have to lament that gas is making trips costly. I know almost everyone is having the same lament as me, but it really does suck...I never really gave going home a second thought like I do now.
So we get to Clintonville and first have to get our fishing license. Actually, I got the fishing license and the bubs got a "sportsman" license. The man has developed a need to hunt/fish multiple things in this fine state. The funny thing about going to Fleet Farm in Clintonville is that I still know most of the people working there. You see, I used to work there in high school. Which is now almost 10 years ago that I worked there. Are you putting this together? People work at that Fleet Farm forrrrrrrrever.
Next we have to go pick up the bub's deer sausage from an even littler po-dunkier place called Pella. Great. We become the proud owners of 10 two-foot long venison garlic summer sausage sticks. The summer sausage is delicious, but I have no idea how to incorporate summer sausage into any recipes. I know it makes a mean sammich....hmmm... Any suggestions? It would also make a mean weapon... you try to mess with me and you might get a mean sausage slam to the head!
Next we have to go pick up the ever adorable Jonahbebe. I decided to kidnap him and had glorious visions of fishing with the little bugger. Too bad the wind up and blew the little tike away. The End.
....errr...I mean I just had to come up with indoor activities for the day. (but the wind was REALLY strong. I had to hold on to Jonah tight to wrestle him into the car) We decided to go see the sturgeon on the Wolf river. Usually they would be right on the Embarrass river next to our house, but this year is just wacky and they won't be on the Embarrass for another week or so. Seeing the sturgeon is a very cool experience. For one, they are HUGE and CREEPY. Another is that they are always close to the shore rocks. The males are trying to push the females up on the rocks so the females will deposit their zillions of eggs. A gross, but fascinating, time. It was really windy, but we did get to see them:
Jonah yells "SHARKS!!!!!!!!" ...then later backtracked and proclaimed them "a wittle wike sharks." If you are ever on the Embarrass or Wolf river in April, be sure to check at places for the sturgeon.
Saturday we spent the rest of the day indoors. The final highlight was my sister n law bringing Caleb peanut when she came to pick up Jonah. He's smiling now (at 2 months old!) and the crazy hair is still crazy adorable:
(I'll wait for your collective "awwww")
Sunday we started out with church. The parish administrator lady talked about her experience at Yankee stadium seeing the Pope's mass. She described it in great detail and talked about how it was "just like heaven." We promptly decided that a bagillion screaming people at Yankee stadium was not our idea of heaven. Just because they were holding doves, had practiced coordinated movements for a few months, and had jazz hands just wouldn't cut it for me. Pretty bitchin? Probably. (I would like to see the Pope) We sang "Shall We Gather At The River" and my inside-brain was going, "Yes, Lord, to go fishing!" My inside-brain is mischevious like that.
(OH BETH, sidenote: last time I was at church in C-ville we sang the "Alien Band" song and I had to stifle my inside-brain laughs. It was very difficult.)
We then got home and wasted no time getting fishing stuff ready. We decided to fish the Embarrass river. BOOM, Zach gets a HUGE sucker fish right off the bat (haha, ok, not that big but just as ugly). Then, nothing. A lot of fishing is nothing-ness, but the anticipation is the exciting part. I just think it wasn't a good time for fishing suckers yet as they tend to be right with the sturgeon and the sturgeon weren't even there yet. It's just too bad because we were fishing suckers last year in March.
The weekend concluded with a trip to Culvers. I got chicken tenders and ate them with honey. Am I the only one who likes chicken with honey?
The bubs was happy he got to shoot varmins (and I think a certain hawk was kept happy too as the "graveyard" was robbed several times throughout the weekend from its inhabitants...) and I was happy I got to see my family and see at least one fish get caught.
Oh, if you are keeping track:
- Friday I melted, had to have all windows open, contemplated busting out fans, and had clown hair from the heat and humidity
- Saturday I froze. Snuggled up in blankets, contemplated turning the heat back on, dressed in layers, almost blew over from the wind, and had no hairstyle (kept it under a kerchief from the wind)
- Sunday I was in-between everything. Cold in the morning, warmed up to mid 50s, sunburned my face, and overall had a fabulous hair day.
- Monday was a snowstorm for my parents and cold here. The bubs caved and turned the heat back on. I hate you Monday.
Wisconsin rulez. lol.
This is what they woke up to:
My poor husband didn't even believe my mom's email! (Until I pointed out in another picture the "SPRING" flag my mum has hanging outside the house. covered in snow.)
Isn't it pretty? All the trees outlined in white and so crisp and clea....Wait, isn't it just caps-lock CRAZY?!?!?! It is 3 days before May! I literally sun-burned my face fishing the day before. We all know Wisconsin sometimes gets these April snow showers, but I've never seen one that is a certifiable STORM with snow sticking to the ground in certifiable inches.
It didn't snow or rain here at all yesterday...If it had I would have channeled my little sister's dramatics, grabbed my hair dryer, melted the snow right off our porch, and spend the next 6 years in denial.
So on to weekend recappage and other odds n ends.
Bubs and I spent the weekend in po-dunk hometown at my parent's house. I had one task in mind: fishing. The bubs had two tasks in mind: shooting pesky varmins and fishing. Wisconsin has turned the bubs into quite an outdoorsman. Me? I just really like fishing.
Saturday was really horrible weather. Super windy and cold. Decided to take the more comfortable car even though it is twice as costly. If we had taken the "Less Comfort, 1/2 Off Gas!" Saturn, we would have spent the whole drive yelling to each other and not being able to make phone calls to the in-laws. I do have to lament that gas is making trips costly. I know almost everyone is having the same lament as me, but it really does suck...I never really gave going home a second thought like I do now.
So we get to Clintonville and first have to get our fishing license. Actually, I got the fishing license and the bubs got a "sportsman" license. The man has developed a need to hunt/fish multiple things in this fine state. The funny thing about going to Fleet Farm in Clintonville is that I still know most of the people working there. You see, I used to work there in high school. Which is now almost 10 years ago that I worked there. Are you putting this together? People work at that Fleet Farm forrrrrrrrever.
Next we have to go pick up the bub's deer sausage from an even littler po-dunkier place called Pella. Great. We become the proud owners of 10 two-foot long venison garlic summer sausage sticks. The summer sausage is delicious, but I have no idea how to incorporate summer sausage into any recipes. I know it makes a mean sammich....hmmm... Any suggestions? It would also make a mean weapon... you try to mess with me and you might get a mean sausage slam to the head!
Next we have to go pick up the ever adorable Jonahbebe. I decided to kidnap him and had glorious visions of fishing with the little bugger. Too bad the wind up and blew the little tike away. The End.
....errr...I mean I just had to come up with indoor activities for the day. (but the wind was REALLY strong. I had to hold on to Jonah tight to wrestle him into the car) We decided to go see the sturgeon on the Wolf river. Usually they would be right on the Embarrass river next to our house, but this year is just wacky and they won't be on the Embarrass for another week or so. Seeing the sturgeon is a very cool experience. For one, they are HUGE and CREEPY. Another is that they are always close to the shore rocks. The males are trying to push the females up on the rocks so the females will deposit their zillions of eggs. A gross, but fascinating, time. It was really windy, but we did get to see them:
Jonah yells "SHARKS!!!!!!!!" ...then later backtracked and proclaimed them "a wittle wike sharks." If you are ever on the Embarrass or Wolf river in April, be sure to check at places for the sturgeon.
Saturday we spent the rest of the day indoors. The final highlight was my sister n law bringing Caleb peanut when she came to pick up Jonah. He's smiling now (at 2 months old!) and the crazy hair is still crazy adorable:
(I'll wait for your collective "awwww")
Sunday we started out with church. The parish administrator lady talked about her experience at Yankee stadium seeing the Pope's mass. She described it in great detail and talked about how it was "just like heaven." We promptly decided that a bagillion screaming people at Yankee stadium was not our idea of heaven. Just because they were holding doves, had practiced coordinated movements for a few months, and had jazz hands just wouldn't cut it for me. Pretty bitchin? Probably. (I would like to see the Pope) We sang "Shall We Gather At The River" and my inside-brain was going, "Yes, Lord, to go fishing!" My inside-brain is mischevious like that.
(OH BETH, sidenote: last time I was at church in C-ville we sang the "Alien Band" song and I had to stifle my inside-brain laughs. It was very difficult.)
We then got home and wasted no time getting fishing stuff ready. We decided to fish the Embarrass river. BOOM, Zach gets a HUGE sucker fish right off the bat (haha, ok, not that big but just as ugly). Then, nothing. A lot of fishing is nothing-ness, but the anticipation is the exciting part. I just think it wasn't a good time for fishing suckers yet as they tend to be right with the sturgeon and the sturgeon weren't even there yet. It's just too bad because we were fishing suckers last year in March.
The weekend concluded with a trip to Culvers. I got chicken tenders and ate them with honey. Am I the only one who likes chicken with honey?
The bubs was happy he got to shoot varmins (and I think a certain hawk was kept happy too as the "graveyard" was robbed several times throughout the weekend from its inhabitants...) and I was happy I got to see my family and see at least one fish get caught.
Oh, if you are keeping track:
- Friday I melted, had to have all windows open, contemplated busting out fans, and had clown hair from the heat and humidity
- Saturday I froze. Snuggled up in blankets, contemplated turning the heat back on, dressed in layers, almost blew over from the wind, and had no hairstyle (kept it under a kerchief from the wind)
- Sunday I was in-between everything. Cold in the morning, warmed up to mid 50s, sunburned my face, and overall had a fabulous hair day.
- Monday was a snowstorm for my parents and cold here. The bubs caved and turned the heat back on. I hate you Monday.
Wisconsin rulez. lol.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Mellow Rainy Jukebox Friday
Ugh... I didn't get much sleep last night due to rainstorms so I'm mellow today. That's all I really gotta say.
I present a mellow French song:
And my favorite dark/gloomy mellow tool song:
I present a mellow French song:
And my favorite dark/gloomy mellow tool song:
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Polish Sausage!
I'm going to throw in some disclaimers, a shout-out, and a short insight about me.
1) I do better when I just list out thoughts in list-form than true recappage. So, I'm going to list thoughts out below about last night's Top Chef episode
2) I really wasn't going to blog every week about Top Chef until Bethy went and had to tell me that she's "looking forward to my recap" last night when we were taling on the phone. That's a lot of pressure Bethy! oof oof! I promise I'm going to do one more full-on recap blog at a later point.
3) (and almost most importantly) I'll leave the recapping to the pros...
I'm really pretty new to cooking and knowing about good food. Through the wonderful influences of my foreign husband, dinners at the Johnsons, installments of baking with mums, watching the Food Network, and reading blogs (like Lorraine's!) I've really started on a journey of cooking. I'm not good, but I have a desire to cook really good food for a husband with a really excellent taste for food. He's not snooty about anything (hello, the boy loves him some spam. ew.), but he's grown up the Lebanese way: amazing female cooks that work hard, spoil him, and have the best mediterranean ingredients all on hand. That's a lot of pressure (!!), yes, but it has been ENJOYABLE pressure. The most important ingredient for cooking for me is the desire. I desire to have a good/healthy diet, cook really good food, and really make an effort to work on it. It helps when you have a friends like Bethy. It doesn't help when you have past failures.
I'm not really too good at baking. My brownies turn into gross dry cakes or rocks. I can't remember how many scoops of things I put into batters. It's just not pretty. My cookies turn out well, so at least I have a fall-back recipe I can always make. (Until it snows, I'm trapped, and cannot go get milk for icing!!!! grrr!) My mom and grandma are the bakers, so I actually grew up baking more than experimenting with cooking.
My baking anecdote leads into Top Chef this week.
The quickfire is to make an impressive dessert. The chefs freak and I get angry. HI! You are going on a cooking show called "Top Chef"! If you don't brush up on some things that you will encounter on the show, you are just screwing yourself!
- Richard really is a force to be reckoned with.
- Even though Richard fell into my category of "stupidity" for not practicing a dessert before going on the show, his creativity pulls through. I still think it's weak that he just cut bananas to look like scallops. How is that baking? How is this pastry? How does this win the quickfire?
- I still like Dale even though a lot of people don't out in blog world
- Lisa was all "telling herself" ridiculous things about "never making pastry" and "sticking by that." She's basically just saying, "Hey, Top Chef! Go F' yourselves!" (which she likes to say. a lot.)
(( Perches on soapbox: Again, I get angry. It's not like they pull these people off the streets and deposit them into the Top Chef kitchens. Wouldn't you want an advantage and do everything in your power to be the BESTEST and DOMINATE?? And, no, having a molten chocolate cake recipe memorized doesn't count (was this Spike?). I'd be bustin up some mean petit somethins, researching restaurant openings, blind tasting, using (and breaking) lil smokers, researching spices, learning to toss large croutons from dishes, learning to cook with 2 ingredients, etc. Gah. /end soapbox ))
- I think it is HILARIOUS that Jen predicted her own "packing of knives" and got eliminated for having a dumb piece of bread on her plate. They did the demo of how to eat their asparagus, so I didn't see the need for making a phallic plate of food. So much for "winning this for Zoi"
- The improv happened and the audience yelled "Polish Sausage." Antonia and Lisa then thought they had to "improv" further. No. Your job was to use the audience's improv. I think Lisa should have been eliminated... well, I WAS still bitter about her quickfire comments.
- I wondered what "salted basil ganache" tastes like
- Awwww, Spike got to do his soup. How precious. Now go home. (actually, he's gotta be out of recipes/ridiculous hats by now. Vietnemese spring rolls, check. Soup, check. Yep, he's done)
- Mark was really weird with Spike again this week. I swear something went on in the bathtub. Ew.... but didn't you pick up on it too?!
- Chilean Sea Bass must be on sale at Whole Foods a lot. It's been featured too much.
- The judges were correct: if you serve a dish and call it a "ménage a tois" it better stick to THREE ingredients. TOIS. No more.
- HAHA, unnecessary bread is many a top chef's downfall.
- The tequila shot by Lisa and Antonia was AWKWARD when they didn't have any for the guests. I repeat, AWKWARD!
- ANDREW! FOCUS! put down your sugar. stop hopping up and down.
Overall, I liked this episode. Not too much bitching and no fighting and only about two swears from Lisa (50 cents into the cookie jar bitch!).
See a much funnier/more official recap HERE
1) I do better when I just list out thoughts in list-form than true recappage. So, I'm going to list thoughts out below about last night's Top Chef episode
2) I really wasn't going to blog every week about Top Chef until Bethy went and had to tell me that she's "looking forward to my recap" last night when we were taling on the phone. That's a lot of pressure Bethy! oof oof! I promise I'm going to do one more full-on recap blog at a later point.
3) (and almost most importantly) I'll leave the recapping to the pros...
I'm really pretty new to cooking and knowing about good food. Through the wonderful influences of my foreign husband, dinners at the Johnsons, installments of baking with mums, watching the Food Network, and reading blogs (like Lorraine's!) I've really started on a journey of cooking. I'm not good, but I have a desire to cook really good food for a husband with a really excellent taste for food. He's not snooty about anything (hello, the boy loves him some spam. ew.), but he's grown up the Lebanese way: amazing female cooks that work hard, spoil him, and have the best mediterranean ingredients all on hand. That's a lot of pressure (!!), yes, but it has been ENJOYABLE pressure. The most important ingredient for cooking for me is the desire. I desire to have a good/healthy diet, cook really good food, and really make an effort to work on it. It helps when you have a friends like Bethy. It doesn't help when you have past failures.
I'm not really too good at baking. My brownies turn into gross dry cakes or rocks. I can't remember how many scoops of things I put into batters. It's just not pretty. My cookies turn out well, so at least I have a fall-back recipe I can always make. (Until it snows, I'm trapped, and cannot go get milk for icing!!!! grrr!) My mom and grandma are the bakers, so I actually grew up baking more than experimenting with cooking.
My baking anecdote leads into Top Chef this week.
The quickfire is to make an impressive dessert. The chefs freak and I get angry. HI! You are going on a cooking show called "Top Chef"! If you don't brush up on some things that you will encounter on the show, you are just screwing yourself!
- Richard really is a force to be reckoned with.
- Even though Richard fell into my category of "stupidity" for not practicing a dessert before going on the show, his creativity pulls through. I still think it's weak that he just cut bananas to look like scallops. How is that baking? How is this pastry? How does this win the quickfire?
- I still like Dale even though a lot of people don't out in blog world
- Lisa was all "telling herself" ridiculous things about "never making pastry" and "sticking by that." She's basically just saying, "Hey, Top Chef! Go F' yourselves!" (which she likes to say. a lot.)
(( Perches on soapbox: Again, I get angry. It's not like they pull these people off the streets and deposit them into the Top Chef kitchens. Wouldn't you want an advantage and do everything in your power to be the BESTEST and DOMINATE?? And, no, having a molten chocolate cake recipe memorized doesn't count (was this Spike?). I'd be bustin up some mean petit somethins, researching restaurant openings, blind tasting, using (and breaking) lil smokers, researching spices, learning to toss large croutons from dishes, learning to cook with 2 ingredients, etc. Gah. /end soapbox ))
- I think it is HILARIOUS that Jen predicted her own "packing of knives" and got eliminated for having a dumb piece of bread on her plate. They did the demo of how to eat their asparagus, so I didn't see the need for making a phallic plate of food. So much for "winning this for Zoi"
- The improv happened and the audience yelled "Polish Sausage." Antonia and Lisa then thought they had to "improv" further. No. Your job was to use the audience's improv. I think Lisa should have been eliminated... well, I WAS still bitter about her quickfire comments.
- I wondered what "salted basil ganache" tastes like
- Awwww, Spike got to do his soup. How precious. Now go home. (actually, he's gotta be out of recipes/ridiculous hats by now. Vietnemese spring rolls, check. Soup, check. Yep, he's done)
- Mark was really weird with Spike again this week. I swear something went on in the bathtub. Ew.... but didn't you pick up on it too?!
- Chilean Sea Bass must be on sale at Whole Foods a lot. It's been featured too much.
- The judges were correct: if you serve a dish and call it a "ménage a tois" it better stick to THREE ingredients. TOIS. No more.
- HAHA, unnecessary bread is many a top chef's downfall.
- The tequila shot by Lisa and Antonia was AWKWARD when they didn't have any for the guests. I repeat, AWKWARD!
- ANDREW! FOCUS! put down your sugar. stop hopping up and down.
Overall, I liked this episode. Not too much bitching and no fighting and only about two swears from Lisa (50 cents into the cookie jar bitch!).
See a much funnier/more official recap HERE
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Planz
*does happy dance*
Depart June 15 Chicago to London. Spend 12 hours in London on June 16 (ahem, sleeping). Depart London to Beirut on the eve of June 16 and arrive in Beirut at 4:30in the morning on June 17. Lebanon: June 17-July 10.
Depart Lebanon July 10 and arrive in London around noon. Spend one week between London and Paris. Depart Paris July 18 back to Chicago.
I'm so excited!!!!!
....and I thought I'd post the goodness that is the Daily Show:
Depart June 15 Chicago to London. Spend 12 hours in London on June 16 (ahem, sleeping). Depart London to Beirut on the eve of June 16 and arrive in Beirut at 4:30in the morning on June 17. Lebanon: June 17-July 10.
Depart Lebanon July 10 and arrive in London around noon. Spend one week between London and Paris. Depart Paris July 18 back to Chicago.
I'm so excited!!!!!
....and I thought I'd post the goodness that is the Daily Show:
Monday, April 21, 2008
I LOL AT CATS. OMG <3
I just got back from gym class and I feel like I need kitties to cheer me up. I don't own a kitty right now, but I will someday. Until then, I use the internet to fulfill my need to giggle at them.
This video has over 8 million views (so you may have seen it already), but I never discovered it until this weekend:
my favorite lol cat picture lately:
see more crazy cat pics
This video has over 8 million views (so you may have seen it already), but I never discovered it until this weekend:
my favorite lol cat picture lately:
see more crazy cat pics
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