Tuesday, February 24, 2009

People Make Me Sick!

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Suck: My throat hurts. I feel weak. I'm hungry but I do not feel like eating.

Rock: I managed to get my books from the library. I have something to do while I lay around doing nothing.

She Forgot All About The Library?

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I have to admit I had sort of forgotten about the library myself. Until they built a new one right here by the local high school. God Bless America, I love that place.

What would we do without the library? Do you use yours? We use ours regularly. We always have several books checked out. My favorite thing about the library website is putting books on hold. If our local library does not have them, we can still put them on hold. We get an email telling us when we have books ready for pickup. They put them in a special section where we gather them ourselves. Our library, while it has a good sized staff, is also totally self serve. (If you want it to be)

My husband likes to use the website to read books online. I want to hold a book in my hand. I want to hear and feel the crinkly library book cover and smell the pages. These things are an important part of the reading process to me. And before you all leave 11, 238 comments asking: No, I do not lick my library books.

Today we went and picked up this bunch of books we had waiting on us. What a luxury. Don't get me wrong, I love to sit all day at Barnes & Noble. I also love being able to bring everything home without adding more burden to our already overstressed bookshelves. With the big cd and dvd collections available, we could almost give up Blockbuster and Netflix. Almost. We watch about a thousand hours of Netflix downloads a month, though. So we are keeping Netflix.

Our library has a reading room with a nice big fireplace and comfortable overstuffed chairs. They also have a machine with coffee and tea and cocoa. I love our little library and hope you have one you can enjoy as well.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Let's Go To The Movies

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Suck: Revolutionary Road. And it's sad, really. I had expected something great.

Rock: Australia. Another great work for Nicole Kidman. I went from not liking her, to tolerating her, to looking forward to what she will do next.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Savory Goodness From Leftover Roast

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Do you often have leftover roast? Me either. So when it's on sale I have a roast-a-thon. I make four or five roasts and freeze them. When I get in a groove I just keep going. I am the poster child for inertia. (Especially the 'object at rest' part, I have that part down pat)

Here's how I make my roasts:

Get a 3.5 - 4 lb. English Chuck Roast (Or whatever size and type you want)
Get out the crock pot
Get out a big saute pan

Turn the burner on medium-high. Get the pan nice and hot and add the roast.
Get some Kitchen Bouquet. I put it on with a brush.
Let the first side get half way seared then flip.
Brush the side which is now up with Kitchen Bouquet.
Let the bottom really sear (this is what gives it yummy color and flavor)
*If you don't know what seared means think 'tiny bit burnt'.
Flip over and let the other side fully sear.
Now do the edges. Don't be lazy. You'll thank me later.

DO NOT drain the fat - now or ever. If you do I will hunt you down and taunt you for messing up something so potentially delicious

Put it in the crock pot with nothing. No water, no anything. You will not believe the flavor this will have done just this way.

When it's done store it in a good Tupperware container with all the juices. I freeze mine.

Now... back to the leftovers. Since we don't have those I go to the freezer and take out a frozen roast I already cooked as detailed above. Pop it in the microwave to thaw it out. It can get warm or even hot, but that is not necessary.

Take the roast, which is so tender it shreds as you lift it out, and put it in a saute pan. No oil, no butter, trust me on this one. Add some of those drippings you saved. Then add twice as much as you were going to originally. If you are using the whole roast use all the drippings. Do it!

Cook this over medium heat with your choice of any/all of the following:
*Fajita seasoning
*Cumin
*Garlic
Cilantro
Tomato
Onion

*With just these three I am always very happy. Go ahead and add whatever else you think will make you happy.

While your whipping all of this up on one side of the stove, use the other side to make your tortillas. Heat about a quarter inch of oil in a small saute pan over medium-medium high heat. Lay in one corn tortilla at a time. Mine usually stay in for about 15 seconds per side. But I like mine to be pliable. You do yours to suit yourself.

You really should fry your own corn tortillas because this is going to be just messy enough to run juice down to your elbow. It's definitely a two-napkin event.

Spoon Some roast (and a little of the sauce, because that's what we are calling it now) into a tortilla. Repeat. I like to dab a little sour cream and/or guacamole on my plate for dipping, but it will be out of this world, even without them.

This is so good I usually end up eating twice as much as I should. Okay, three times as much on a good day. Save the sauce because if you are out of roast and nobody is watching you can fry some tortillas and dip them in the sauce like I did yesterday. It's good down to the last drop.

My theme is not 'healthy' or 'fancy'. It's more like "Once you have this you will both love and hate me forever."

And... you're welcome!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Crazy Fried Tacos

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I'll preface this entry by saying: I know this sounds weird and unhealthy. It may be both of those things. It's also delicious.

Brown 2 pounds of ground beef (You can cook some chopped onion in here if you want, or season with cumin)
Make a big old bowl of mashed potatoes
Mix together the mashed potatoes and ground beef.

Put 2-3 Tablespoons of the mixture in a flour or corn tortilla and fry in hot oil. I prefer to deep fry it, myself. I fry it until the corn tortilla has 'cooked' and become a little crispy.

When you remove the friend taco from the oil I recommend standing it on end in a heat-resistant strainer to let the excess oil run out. I choose to sprinkle them with salt now.

My current favorite way to fry is to put the mixture in a corn tortilla and wrap a flour tortilla around the corn tortilla before frying. I'll add pictures next time I make some.

(I think these are best sprinkled with salt and dipped in sour cream.)

I know they sound odd, but I've never had anyone eat them and not crave them again later.

Friday, February 13, 2009

I Have The World's Greatest Husband!

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Anyone who knows me already knows how lucky in love I am. I have an award winning husband. He supports whatever crazy dream I have from moment to moment. He swims through the ocean of my moods and manages to stay calm all the time. He's passionate. He's not afraid to be who he is. He has patience for my many, many mistakes. He's intelligent. He's charming. He's sometimes funny. He's a great father. He's a good son. He is kind to people a lot of people would not be kind to, and that's very important to me. He lets me drive. He invites me everywhere, even though I'm not smart enough to say "Yes" nearly as often as I should. He reads to me. He listens when I read to him. He enjoys sunsets with me. He shares desserts with me. He can cook! He can eat! He loves the library and the book store as much as I do. He's not afraid to sing. He's a great kisser. He knows how to make a girl feel loved. I often get the feeling I'm the luckiest girl in the room and everyone knows it. I am still not sure how I got so lucky, but I'm not one to question good fortune. He's taught me when I'm offered something I want to say "Thank you" and grab it! Did I mention he's a good teacher?

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Kitten Goes To Hollywood

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On my other blog I tell about going to Hollywood. (except it isn't posted yet) There I tell only the truth. Here, though, I give the rest of the story. A story which can only happen to me, or some kindred spirit. (bless their heart)

Hollywood is terribly overrated. Down by the theaters they were trying to get us to go in for the David Letterman show. Obviously not, since he is not in California. The Late Show? I don't even know. Some late night talk show. We couldn't, because in Typical "Kitten Goes To Hollywood" fashion, well, here goes the story:

We went on a Warner Brothers in the morning. As we were leaving they gave us a list of nearby restaurants. Like, restaurants within a mile or two. One of them was actually a place we planned to visit while in L.A. But The Lion acted as if he didn't even see it and said we were going to Hollywood. We went to Hollywood. The Lion wanted to go to Chateau Marmont. We circled the place like hawks waiting for a parking spot. There seemed to be some sort of garage, but there were Town Cars sitting in the entry, and they never left. After chasing our tails for about ten minutes we decided to try something else. We found out the Peruvian place we wanted to eat was very close, so we went over there. It took forEVER to go a mile. Like more than 30 minutes, maybe nearly an hour? When we arrived, the place was closed. Typical Peruvian restaurant - opens for lunch, closes, then opens later for dinner. We drove around for a long time, again. When we finally got out of the car I told The Lion we had to really hustle because I needed a bathroom NOW.

Want to know what's a bad idea? Having sex when you know you are having your period! What's worse? Periods and orgasms are an interesting combination. (Yes, let's get that uterus contracting all day!) Then, for fun, let's go more than an hour without being able to get to a bathroom!

I ran into this donut shop where I saw a woman working. I asked her where the closest ladies room was. She said she didn't know. I asked her "You don't know where there's any ladies room around here at all? She was really hateful and said she didn't. I asked again "Seriously? You work here and you don't know anywhere with a ladies room?" The whole time she had this look on her face like she was just forced to eat a skunk or something. A couple of really nice guys told me there was a bar next door and I could run in there to use the facilities. I ran in there and I had bled through my Spanx and my pants. Lovely - I'm wearing pink pants and things are a mess. Luckily, it was colder in L.A. than Ohio that day and I had my coat. But it's hot when you're walking, you know (and also when the hot flash/panic attack sets in again) - and I couldn't even open my coat to cool off. So of course we couldn't take the guy up on his invitation to see David Letterman. Because I couldn't sit down and also ruin my white coat.

And because I can never let anything go? On the way back to the car I stopped and took pictures of the exterior of the donut shop and the "No bathroom" lady. She saw me on the sidewalk taking her picture and gestured frantically, shouting at me. I continued snapping photos and she continued shouting and gesturing. I waved at her and took more pictures. When I was done I gave her the good old thumbs up sign.

I'm so glad I made her mad by taking her picture and waving to her. She can rot. With her attitude I'm sure her life has to suck.

I went back to the hotel and scrubbed my pants and spanx, drying the spanx with the hair dryer, got dressed and went to dinner.

One Margarita, well earned.


Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Super Smart Strikes At The Airport.

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Try not to be jealous, okay? We arrived to the 'C' terminal and are thinking about two things:
1. Finding our gate
2. Finding breakfast.

If you know me well you know which one is more important to me. We were looking for our gate, but there was no indication of gate 21, let alone gate 21F. Because they whole trip had been enchanted there were, of course, three employees just sitting there (on a break) to answer any question I may have. They were all cheery and so was I. "Where is gate 21F?" I inquire. They look puzzled and said they really didn't know. Am I sure it's 21F? Even though I was (sigh) I opened my purse to get my boarding pass. As I was doing this I realized... My seat was 21F. My gate, on the other hand, was 50B, and not at all difficult to find. They laughed, I laughed, and The Lion laughed.

Breakfast was imminent. The gate could wait.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Revolving Doors

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Suck: We were kicked off a public street where they were filming.

Rock: We were invited into a taping of "The New Adventures of Old Christine.

And the street shoot turned out to be a tire commercial. Bor-ing!

Friday, February 6, 2009

California Here I Come!

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Suck: Sooooo much work to be done.

Rock: When my head hits the pillow tonight I will be in California!

Product Review: Smooth Away

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I got the Smooth Away kit in the mail last week. It's got a large and small paddle, four replacement pads for each paddle, and a nice carrying case. I also got Smooth Away Hair Inhibitor Moisturizer.

I took out the paddles and applied the first microcrystalline pad to each one. The paddles are flexible, and formed to the shape of my hand and legs. Following the directions, I rubbed in small circles both clockwise and counter-clockwise. I will admit right now, I tried a similar product circa 1998, with very unimpressive results. Those things tore up my legs! I was a little worried these would do the same. I am very pleased to report they were different. These are soft, flexible, and leg-friendly. The small one worked nicely on my ankles and around my knees.

After this I used the Hair Inhibitor Moisturizer. So far, so good. It felt nice going on and was not greasy. It has a very light coconut scent. It did not smell like strong coconut to me, it smelled fresh. After using it for 61 days it says it will "Make a noticeable difference in coarseness and density of hair." I haven't had it that long, but even if that wasn't a factor, I like the way it made my legs look and feel.

The hair was removed from my legs, my skin was exfoliated in the process, and my legs looked great! What more is there to tell? I give it two big toes up!

Smooth Away is safe on almost every hair type. (It is not recommended for stiff beards.) It seems like a good idea for a young lady starting to 'shave' her legs, or anyone who hates to use a razor. (Include me in the list of people who don't enjoy razors) It's also a way to remove hair from your face or arms without it growing back in prickly.

Smooth Away is easy to find. It's available at CVS, Rite Aid, Sally beauty, Walgreens, and WalMart, to name a few. The kit retails at $9.99, the moisturizer at $7.99, which I think is a great bargain.

That's PFCPB To You, Punk

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The best/worst (take your pick, I'm exhausted) part of today was when I took my 34B self to Victoria's Secret to be fit for a new bra. I knew I needed a fitting so I just acted all bold. I walked right up and asked for one. But that guy really only wanted to buy something for his wife, go figure. So I asked some gal who works there. She was glad to do it. After measuring me, which is never awkward or humiliating, she gave me a whole box of bras to try on. Thank God I carry pony tail holders in my purse because after a few I was getting what I'm pretty sure are the hot flashes combined with a full-fledged panic attack. I keep having her come back to show her how my boobs are suffering some kind of elephant man syndrome in these things. I tell her my old bra is better than these.

After much examination of my person she decides I need to go up not just one cup size, but two. I give her the hairy eyeball and thrust my boobs up towards her with my hands and exclaim "These boobs are NOT 34Ds! Look at me!" She tries to talk me down by talking about how I have this thing called a "Full Cup" and I should celebrate it because it's why my boobs are so perky. I have to admit, it sort of worked when she started saying stuff like "Perky". In the end she helped me a lot and deserves way way wayyyyy more than they paid her today. I can promise you that much.

I bought a bra and she wrote down the other style that worked for me so I can order more brases online. I now have a love/hate relationship with her, though. It's because the pink/pink striped bra I wanted to buy just didn't work for me. I wanted something greatly fabulous and that was it. But I couldn't have it. I think it's a conspiracy against people with cute little freckles on their shoulders or perky breasts. Or both.

For spending so damn much money they gave me some Godiva chocolates and I AM NOT EVEN LYING. Godiva chocolates from Victoria's Secret! They're sucky because I'm picky about my chocolates but I'm going to be a good perky breasted sport and eat them anyway.

From now on I would liked to be addressed as Princess (Full Cup) Perky Breasts, okay?

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Full Cup

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Suck: I went shopping for a bra today. (Are you with me, ladies?)

Rock: I found a couple which actually fit!

Tripped Up On Details

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Suck: I have about seventy-bazillion things to do today.

Rock: In preparation for a trip!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Way To Go, Bravo!

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Bravo restaurant wants health code violations?

They must, they just emailed me asking me to, and I quote; Love my Valentine at Bravo.

Some people are just looking for trouble.

Wasted Space

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Suck: The wasted space with Blogger templates drives me nuts.

Rock: They are still a thousand times better than anything I could do.

Suck/Rock, Except Backwards This Time

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You'll understand why in a minute.

Rock: I just smelled sugar cookies in the oven!

Suck: The lid was off the sugar scrub in my bathroom.

Backwards day brought to you by:
The Letters B, U, M, M, E, R ... and!
The number Zero. (for how many cookies I got)

This is clearly a tragedy. Please send your generous disaster relief efforts through Paypal.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Suck/Rock

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Suck: I'm hungry. Again.

Rock: I made Migas today and they were delicious!

*I used the recipe for Migas @ The Pioneer Woman.
My family was in heaven.