Theoretically, I know how to work a microwave. I mean, I use one all the time. Frozen pancakes, frozen lasagna, frozen rice. I can make all of those. But popcorn? Well, at home I can make popcorn fine. Hit popcorn button - popcorn comes out great. But at work, it's another story. The popcorn button at work basically just doesn't work. It pops approximately 1/2 of your bag (which does not work for me, because when I'm eating popcorn I'm looking for volume). So, I've been experimenting to get it right and I just right now, this very second BURNED yet another bag of popcorn... I'm still eating it... but ugh. Can it really be that hard?
More news from the office - I have a good friend here (we'll call her Ponyo) who has recently been re-released onto the dating scene. Man can this girl date. There is a steady stream of large flower bouquets paraded into the reception area from her many, many suitors. But those flowers cannot compete with the guy who (WARNING - this is not PG) after an especially passionate night asked Ponyo if he could keep her underwear (which, by the way were new, cute and expensive). After some negotiating (I can only imagine what that entailed) she acquiesced and he kept the undies. Upon their next date, he presented her with a lovely wrapped package. She opened it up and found a brand new pair of the "souvenir" underwear. Let's just say that I found all parts of this story to be quite entertaining! I am a little in awe of Ponyo.
And lastly, I just got my haircut. My haircut girl (who I've been with for 7 years now) and I had a long and deep discussion about the ways my hair has changed recently due to the onslaught of gray coming... Seriously? Am I that old? And you know what the worst part was? I had A LOT to say. I found the conversation gripping. I evidently have no shortage of things to say about my hair. The good news - we're gonna figure this thing out. We're trying some new products. Some new color techniques. It'll be bouncy and shiny and new looking in no time!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
My thoughts on rodents and homeschooling
Here I am, and no--I will not be bringing my children to meet Racer. I don't know how it is at your house, Jill--and maybe your kids are good about taking care of their animals, but mine are not. The frog, the fish, the disastrous dog...it all falls to me. I'd be okay with another dog. Even a snake would be fine. But no rodents. That's my rule despite Ted's pleas for rats for the kids ("I had one, and they're really smart and friendly...") Insert shudder here. It probably is due to the fact that my parents' backyard and neighborhood is overrun with rats. Years ago, my parents hired an exterminator who was very successful. So successful, in fact, that we would find dead rats all the time. Like when we went outside during my eighth birthday to play games and found not one, but two rats; one dead and one in the midst of his/her death throes on the lawn.
This is my last official week of spring term, and therefore, my last week of required math. I am deeply relieved by this. My panic at the beginning of the term seems kind of silly but I was truly afraid that I would not be able to do it. I'm also winding up the second term of A&P. You do meet all kinds of people at PCC; strangely, many of them have been homes chooled. I have three lab partners and out of the 3, two have been home schooled. They are 17 and 18 and while they are lovely girls, they are finding that actual professors are a lot harder than their parents in terms of grading. One of the girls keeps to herself and the other is bubbly and outgoing and I feel very maternal towards her. She claims that she didn't need to go to high school because she was socialized through her involvement in a downtown theater group. She is by turns very mature and very naive. On Friday we were at open lab, studying the circulatory system in a dissected cat, looking at models, and preparing for our lab exam. We were examining a pliable model of the liver, trying to figure out where the hepatic portal vein would be and eventually giving up. She picked up another model and said to me and our other study partner, M, and said, "What is this, I wonder?" M and I looked at each other and he said, "Well, C, that's a penis." The best part is that she actually had grabbed onto the penis and waved it aloft. I am now very suspicious of homeschooling, and the fact that the two top homeschooling texts have eliminated any mention of Darwin does not do the movement any favors. I worry for these kids. Just because you pretend something doesn't exist, doesn't mean that's the reality. -- Emily
This is my last official week of spring term, and therefore, my last week of required math. I am deeply relieved by this. My panic at the beginning of the term seems kind of silly but I was truly afraid that I would not be able to do it. I'm also winding up the second term of A&P. You do meet all kinds of people at PCC; strangely, many of them have been homes chooled. I have three lab partners and out of the 3, two have been home schooled. They are 17 and 18 and while they are lovely girls, they are finding that actual professors are a lot harder than their parents in terms of grading. One of the girls keeps to herself and the other is bubbly and outgoing and I feel very maternal towards her. She claims that she didn't need to go to high school because she was socialized through her involvement in a downtown theater group. She is by turns very mature and very naive. On Friday we were at open lab, studying the circulatory system in a dissected cat, looking at models, and preparing for our lab exam. We were examining a pliable model of the liver, trying to figure out where the hepatic portal vein would be and eventually giving up. She picked up another model and said to me and our other study partner, M, and said, "What is this, I wonder?" M and I looked at each other and he said, "Well, C, that's a penis." The best part is that she actually had grabbed onto the penis and waved it aloft. I am now very suspicious of homeschooling, and the fact that the two top homeschooling texts have eliminated any mention of Darwin does not do the movement any favors. I worry for these kids. Just because you pretend something doesn't exist, doesn't mean that's the reality. -- Emily
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Fudge
We got a second guinea pig. His name is Fudge. How could I say no when Sophie offered to use her birthday money to buy her brother his own guinea? So now there are two.
In other big news at our house, almost all of the girl scout cookies have been delivered. Thank God. I have one last destination. It'll be good to have that monkey off my back. I did open a box of tagalongs last night... it wasn't pretty. They go down so easy. And then suddenly the box seems to be gone... and I feel sick.
This isn't much of a post, but I can't think of anything else to say. It's like I sit down, look at the screen and suddenly my mind goes blank. It's the same way I feel when I try and do the crossword puzzle. I look at it and my mind goes totally blank. I can never come up with any of the crossword answers, which is irritating because I know I must know SOME of the answers... but it's like the missing sock from the dryer. You know it must be somewhere, but that doesn't matter - you can't get your hands on it.
In other big news at our house, almost all of the girl scout cookies have been delivered. Thank God. I have one last destination. It'll be good to have that monkey off my back. I did open a box of tagalongs last night... it wasn't pretty. They go down so easy. And then suddenly the box seems to be gone... and I feel sick.
This isn't much of a post, but I can't think of anything else to say. It's like I sit down, look at the screen and suddenly my mind goes blank. It's the same way I feel when I try and do the crossword puzzle. I look at it and my mind goes totally blank. I can never come up with any of the crossword answers, which is irritating because I know I must know SOME of the answers... but it's like the missing sock from the dryer. You know it must be somewhere, but that doesn't matter - you can't get your hands on it.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
253 Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies
We had a banner year for Girl Scout Cookie sales this year. Feeling pressure to perform as a new member of our troop, I really pushed sales. We dressed Sophie up in her cute Brownie uniform vest, brushed her hair, practiced our speech and hit four offices downtown: my current firm, my old firm, my favorite client and my favorite brother's office. And we cleaned up. 253 boxes sold!
Then pick-up day came. What I'd gotten myself into really hadn't hit me until pick-up. We arrived at our troop leaders house and the kids and I filed in to pick up our cookies. Our troop leader pointed to an entire wall of cookies in her living room and said, "those are yours." Huh? Which ones? "All of them" she said (laughing).
So, we loaded them into the SUV and I signed my receipt - agreeing to be on the hook for over $1,000 of GS cookies. And it's been stressing me out since then. Just driving around with $1,000 worth of cookies is stressful. On top of that is the overwhelming task of delivering the cookies and gathering all that money. And then to just add insult to injury, this unseasonally warm weather has thrown me for a loop. I suddenly realized the cookies were likely melting yesterday afternoon. I sprinted out to my car and pulled it into the garage. Phew!
Today I started the delivery process. I may be smart enough to practice law, but I am not sure I'm smart enough to organize the logistics of delivering 253 boxes of cookies to 4 offices and over 55 people. So far, I have delivered the wrong cookies, I have shorted someone and I am evidently not good at making change.
And I've been sweating.
I hope to be done tomorrow. My personal goal is to resist eating an entire sleeve of thin mints in any single sitting. Over two sittings? Well, maybe. That seems reasonable. Just not in one sitting.
Then pick-up day came. What I'd gotten myself into really hadn't hit me until pick-up. We arrived at our troop leaders house and the kids and I filed in to pick up our cookies. Our troop leader pointed to an entire wall of cookies in her living room and said, "those are yours." Huh? Which ones? "All of them" she said (laughing).
So, we loaded them into the SUV and I signed my receipt - agreeing to be on the hook for over $1,000 of GS cookies. And it's been stressing me out since then. Just driving around with $1,000 worth of cookies is stressful. On top of that is the overwhelming task of delivering the cookies and gathering all that money. And then to just add insult to injury, this unseasonally warm weather has thrown me for a loop. I suddenly realized the cookies were likely melting yesterday afternoon. I sprinted out to my car and pulled it into the garage. Phew!
Today I started the delivery process. I may be smart enough to practice law, but I am not sure I'm smart enough to organize the logistics of delivering 253 boxes of cookies to 4 offices and over 55 people. So far, I have delivered the wrong cookies, I have shorted someone and I am evidently not good at making change.
And I've been sweating.
I hope to be done tomorrow. My personal goal is to resist eating an entire sleeve of thin mints in any single sitting. Over two sittings? Well, maybe. That seems reasonable. Just not in one sitting.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Posting just a little bit more...
I've decided I will try and post a bit more. Maybe not every single day, but closer to that. And maybe not every post will be the bestest most wellest written thing ever... but hopefully it'll have at least something worth your time.
We went to Lauro Kitchen Saturday night to celebrate the day of my birth and to begin to tackle the new year's resolution list. I give it two thumbs up. First of all, there is a lot going on on SE Division these days. We passed ridiculous lines at Pok Pok and Whiskey Soda Lounge as we approached Lauro. And we were thankful to have made reservations at Lauro earlier, because the bar was pretty full with people waiting. You can make reservations for small parties in a convenient on-line form at Lauro. I love that. Why the phone call seems so hard and so much extra effort, I do not know. But it does. I love an easy on-line option (www.laurokitchen.com).
I started with a French Fizz which was some sort of special champagne cocktail. It had champagne (duh), creme de cassis (is that raspberry? I think it is...) and lillet (no idea what that is). It was delicious. Ben had his usual - crown royal on the rocks. We proceeded to do a little people watching while our table was being prepared. We made some funny observations. Not to be repeated here.
I ordered the butter lettuce salad with blue cheese and candied pecans. The thing about a salad with candied pecans and blue cheese is that it cannot be bad. It was delicious. I think you could put blue cheese and candied pecans on cardboard and I would still eat it with joy.
For the entree I went with the goat cheese stuffed chicken breast with quince sauce over a bed of sauteed spinach. Despite the way it makes your teeth feel, I love spinach. And the nice couple next to us ordered the same thing first - I could hear them making happy grunts as they ate, so it seemed like a good call. Ben got the braised short ribs in some sort of red wine sauce over mashed potatos and broccoli. I'll be honest - it may have been better than mine. Mine was really good. But his was crazy good. But I love him and I did not feel jealous (I also ate half of his....).
For dessert - brown sugar ice cream with a warm bourbon chocolate sauce, peanuts, cherry and whipped cream. Need I say more?
Then I rolled myself home.
We went to Lauro Kitchen Saturday night to celebrate the day of my birth and to begin to tackle the new year's resolution list. I give it two thumbs up. First of all, there is a lot going on on SE Division these days. We passed ridiculous lines at Pok Pok and Whiskey Soda Lounge as we approached Lauro. And we were thankful to have made reservations at Lauro earlier, because the bar was pretty full with people waiting. You can make reservations for small parties in a convenient on-line form at Lauro. I love that. Why the phone call seems so hard and so much extra effort, I do not know. But it does. I love an easy on-line option (www.laurokitchen.com).
I started with a French Fizz which was some sort of special champagne cocktail. It had champagne (duh), creme de cassis (is that raspberry? I think it is...) and lillet (no idea what that is). It was delicious. Ben had his usual - crown royal on the rocks. We proceeded to do a little people watching while our table was being prepared. We made some funny observations. Not to be repeated here.
I ordered the butter lettuce salad with blue cheese and candied pecans. The thing about a salad with candied pecans and blue cheese is that it cannot be bad. It was delicious. I think you could put blue cheese and candied pecans on cardboard and I would still eat it with joy.
For the entree I went with the goat cheese stuffed chicken breast with quince sauce over a bed of sauteed spinach. Despite the way it makes your teeth feel, I love spinach. And the nice couple next to us ordered the same thing first - I could hear them making happy grunts as they ate, so it seemed like a good call. Ben got the braised short ribs in some sort of red wine sauce over mashed potatos and broccoli. I'll be honest - it may have been better than mine. Mine was really good. But his was crazy good. But I love him and I did not feel jealous (I also ate half of his....).
For dessert - brown sugar ice cream with a warm bourbon chocolate sauce, peanuts, cherry and whipped cream. Need I say more?
Then I rolled myself home.
Monday, February 15, 2010
New Addition to the Family
We are the proud owners of a new guinea pig. His name is Racer. He is white. Two of his paws are pink and two are gray. He makes an adorable noise that I can only describe as a cross between a cat purring and a mouse squeaking.
Racer also has red eyes.
Yes, it's a little scary. But my sweet and kind daughter picked him out and with a lot of heart explained to me that she was probably the only one who would love him and give him a kind home. Because she loves ALL animals, regardless of how they look. How could I say no? So we brought the possessed looking albino guinea pig home.
In the short 5 hours since we've owned him, he's grown on me. I'm over the red eyes. He's really quite adorable. But be warned - if you drop by our house be ready to meet Racer with the red eyes. You'll probably be won over by him in a short time and find that you ignore the red eyes. And if you're not, you can be certain that your children will. And will spend the whole drive home wanting their own guinea pig...
Racer also has red eyes.
Yes, it's a little scary. But my sweet and kind daughter picked him out and with a lot of heart explained to me that she was probably the only one who would love him and give him a kind home. Because she loves ALL animals, regardless of how they look. How could I say no? So we brought the possessed looking albino guinea pig home.
In the short 5 hours since we've owned him, he's grown on me. I'm over the red eyes. He's really quite adorable. But be warned - if you drop by our house be ready to meet Racer with the red eyes. You'll probably be won over by him in a short time and find that you ignore the red eyes. And if you're not, you can be certain that your children will. And will spend the whole drive home wanting their own guinea pig...
Thursday, February 11, 2010
2010 New Year's Resolution
Screen Door
Apizza Scholls
Queen of Sheba
Foster Burger
Le Pigeon
Fire on the Mountain
Lauro Kitchen
Acadia
Autentica
DOC
Grilled Cheese Bus
Apizza Scholls
Queen of Sheba
Foster Burger
Le Pigeon
Fire on the Mountain
Lauro Kitchen
Acadia
Autentica
DOC
Grilled Cheese Bus
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