If you're one of my FB friends, you may have noticed, I've heard some "unpleasant" things this week. But first I must include a disclaimer: If you are one of those people who can't stand when people complain about winter, then I advise you to stop reading this blog, or at least skip to Unpleasant Convo #2. Go ahead, I won't be offended, but don't say I didn't warn you.
Unpleasant Convsersation Starter Number one: I recently heard there's more artic sub-zero weather and snow coming this week. Many people say that if you don't like the weather you should move. Ahh, if only it were that easy. Have you seen the housing economy or the job market lately? Plus truth be told, I like living here, well, 9-10 months of the year anyway. I have not ruled out becoming a snowbird when I retire. And if I moved I'd miss my friends (and maybe my family hee hee). Plus, I (mostly) like fall and spring, and I love summer. I kid you not, give me one of those 95 degree days any time over what we're having right now, just remind me to put on sunscreen and a hat. So I'm not going to complain about how for what I paid for my heating bill, I could fly someplace warm, or that I hate driving in the snow, or standing outside in sub-zero temperatures for recess duty because you've heard all that. Instead I'm going to ask, where the heck are the plows going to put the snow? Although they do a decent job where I live, if we get as much snow as they're saying, there is no more room for the snow. It's a struggle to get out of the driveway without hitting a snowbank now and if we've really got another foot coming, I don't know where they'll put the snow. I tried to shovel my driveway Friday afternoon and could barely lift the snow as high as the snowbank. This is not because I'm a lazy fool and I consider myself to be average height, but those snowbanks are getting taller than me. I'm also wondering if I should get a roof rake or whatever they're called, but the snowbanks are so high, I'm not sure I could get through them to get to the roof. I'm hoping the fact that none of my neighbors have shoveled/raked/whatever their roofs means the roofs can handle this snow. And you all ready know I HATE being cold so I'll spare you my thoughts on the upcoming temperatures or the fact that I fear I'll be going to school year round since we've had three snow days in two weeks and it looks like one more on the way.
Unpleasant Convo #2: "You're at that age where you should..." WHAT?! As you may remember I had a mini-crisis about turning 30, but I got through it and truthfully, I don't feel any different than I did in my 20's. I'd like to think I'm wiser now, but that's a crock of poo. Okay, maybe a little, I do know more about short sales than I ever wanted. So yes, when my doctor simply told me to take a daily vitamin, she wasn't really trying to tell me I was old, but instead of hearing take your vitamins, I heard "you're getting old."
Unpleasant Convo #3: "Are you pregnant?" Now this was asked in a joking manner (I think), but just because I didn't drink at a social event the other night, I guess I'm "at that age" where people assume it's because you're pregnant. No, I am not pregnant and no, I'm not a recovering alcoholic (apparently another assumption). I just wasn't supposed to drink before I had some lab work done. A friend of mine recently said no one should ask a woman if she's pregnant unless he/she can see the baby's head crowning. Sounds like good advice to me.
I wish you all a good week. In the mean time stay warm, take your vitamins, and leave the non-drinkers to not drink in peace. :) Two more months 'til Spring!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Try Not To Think About Elephants
Is it just me or do you find the more people tell you not to think about something or the harder you try not to think about something, the more you end up THINKING about it instead of NOT thinking about it??? Like normally, I wouldn't think about elephants, but as soon as you tell me not to think about elephants, suddenly, that's all I can think of. Zoos, words that start with the letter e, jungles, or anything else elephant-related suddenly pop into my head. Okay, so that's a silly example since this blog has nothing to do with elephants, but I think I just thought of a title for today's blog, but I digress.
When I get my annual physical, my doctor has me get lab work too. As you're probably aware you're supposed to fast for 12 hours before you have lab work done. Normally, I try to get that done in the morning before work, but not this year...Last year the lab was so late taking me that I was a lot later for work than I thought I'd be (thankfully I didn't get in trouble) and I get stressed beingn late. Additonally, since I had to leave work early for the doctor's appointment the following week, I didn't feel comfortable asking if I could come in late one day and leave early a few days later. So I decided I would just go after work, around 4ish. So the night before, I had a lateish dinner then had a snack at 9:00pm and went to bed between 10 and 11. Got up and got ready, skipped breakfast and went to work. I did fine until snack time. Then I kept staring at my student's food, thinking how great it looked (normally I see what they have, but think nothing of it). Then at lunch time, I saw two of my colleagues in the hall with their lunches and I was so intrigued by their lunches I kept staring at them like they had something amazing. Thankfully, they didn't notice. They may have thought I was crazy (well, crazier than they all ready know I am anyway). Then when I had a meeting, two of my colleagues brought their lunch and I kept staring and thinking wow, that looks so good. What a nice lunch, etc. And then I couldn't get food off of my brain. "How many hours 'til I can eat? I'm so hungry. Look at that piece of candy on my desk. " So instead I drank water like it was going out of style, which made for some uncomfortable moments as in my profession you can't always go to the bathroom when you need to and may have to hold it for a while (sorry, you probably didn't want to know that). Post-lab I haven't given a second thought to anyone else's lunch or snack, but as soon as you tell me I can't eat again, I'm going to be suddenly interested in your meal. In the mean time, try not to think about elephants. :)
When I get my annual physical, my doctor has me get lab work too. As you're probably aware you're supposed to fast for 12 hours before you have lab work done. Normally, I try to get that done in the morning before work, but not this year...Last year the lab was so late taking me that I was a lot later for work than I thought I'd be (thankfully I didn't get in trouble) and I get stressed beingn late. Additonally, since I had to leave work early for the doctor's appointment the following week, I didn't feel comfortable asking if I could come in late one day and leave early a few days later. So I decided I would just go after work, around 4ish. So the night before, I had a lateish dinner then had a snack at 9:00pm and went to bed between 10 and 11. Got up and got ready, skipped breakfast and went to work. I did fine until snack time. Then I kept staring at my student's food, thinking how great it looked (normally I see what they have, but think nothing of it). Then at lunch time, I saw two of my colleagues in the hall with their lunches and I was so intrigued by their lunches I kept staring at them like they had something amazing. Thankfully, they didn't notice. They may have thought I was crazy (well, crazier than they all ready know I am anyway). Then when I had a meeting, two of my colleagues brought their lunch and I kept staring and thinking wow, that looks so good. What a nice lunch, etc. And then I couldn't get food off of my brain. "How many hours 'til I can eat? I'm so hungry. Look at that piece of candy on my desk. " So instead I drank water like it was going out of style, which made for some uncomfortable moments as in my profession you can't always go to the bathroom when you need to and may have to hold it for a while (sorry, you probably didn't want to know that). Post-lab I haven't given a second thought to anyone else's lunch or snack, but as soon as you tell me I can't eat again, I'm going to be suddenly interested in your meal. In the mean time, try not to think about elephants. :)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I'm Not Moving and as a New Englander It's My Right to Complain
People often say if you don't like the winter, move. Well, it's not really that easy. To just pick up and move now is not practical for me. I'd need a bigger savings acount, a new job, a place to live, you know little things like that. Plus I'd miss my friends too much. I do wonder about these people though. Are they rich? Because when it's -8 degrees outside, my heating bill gets rather high. Do they have people that shovel for them? Or perhaps they enjoy shoveling? And what kind of cars do they drive? Because even if you have 4-wheel drive, which I don't, driving in some of these conditions can be difficult and dangerous. Or maybe they have really tall cars so they can see around the 800 snowbanks they have to see around to get to work. Don't they ever get cold? Perhaps they don't have jobs that occassionally involve standing outside on cold days. Truth be told, I like living in New England, I just hate winter. Actually, I shouldn't say that, I hate the frigid temperatures. I can deal with those 40 degree days. And if I don't have to drive in the snow, I don't hate it as much. It's pretty for the first week or two of winter, but then I'm done. Winter does make me appreciate spring that much more. And on a final note, I believe as a New Englander it is my right to complain about the weather, isn't that what we New Englanders do, especially those of us that never learned how to ski???
Saturday, January 8, 2011
In a previous blog, I gave myself a goal of cooking/baking something new each week. Well, I didn't exactly reach my goal, but I came close. See some weeks, I made two news things to make up for the weeks I didn't make anything new. And some of the new things, well, they weren't really new as I'd made them before, but it was the first time I'd made them here or in recent history. So I should at least get an A for effort, right? I continue to believe that I am a much better baker than cook, but I think there is still some hope for my cooking skills. Anyway, here's how it went.
Week 1 (way back in Sept) Chicken Parm--surprisingly good (good enough that I made it again the following month for my mom's birthday dinner)
2. Pumpkin Bars (yum!, )
3. Apple bread (yum! I'm biased, but I got good feedback on this)
4. Crab dip (I liked it, but of the three groups of people I made it for, it was only a big hit with the last group so I guess I may only make this for work events :))
5. Apple dip (loved it and got good feedback on that too)
6. Stuffed zucchini (tasted good, but gutting a zuc while trying to keep the rest in tact was no walk in the park, mine perhaps should have been called partially stuffed zucchini with most of the stuffing on the side, it tasted good though)
7. Cupcakes (I've totally made cupcakes before, but not for a while and it was the only "new" thing for that week, and the first time I made them in the new home so onto the list it goes and my friends liked them so it's staying)
8. Quesadillas (I made them on a quesadilla maker, does that even count? so good though)
10. Brownie pie (not bad, but not as good as I was hoping, mostly it just tasted like brownie with a pie crust)
11. Broccoli Cheese Bake (I've totally made that before, but not for ages and it's good, think I may make it again this week)
12. Mozzarella (sp?) balls; well, the two that I didn't burn were good, but yeah, most of these end up in the trash because I didn't think the heat was up high enough so then I turned it up too high and burned them and my condo was nice and smoky to greet my college friends the first time they came over, what a lovely first impression, thankfully most (but sadly not all) of the smoke had cleared by the time they got there
13. Chocolate Chips Cheesecake (mixed reviews; Mom and I liked it, Mike didn't)
14. Baked chicken with stuffing (no idea what it's called, someone at work gabe me the recipe, but since it includes chicken and stuffing that's what I'm calling it for bloggingn purposes); really good, had someone else try it too and he liked it
15. Oreo balls (yum! although they didn't look as pretty as they should have, they tasted delicious and I'm not just saying that, my family kept eating them on Christmas and even the ones who don't give out a ton of compliments told me several times how good they were)
17. Cream Cheese brownies (hadn't made them in 5 or more years so I'm counting it and they were good)
16. Apple chicken (not bad, but a little dry and I didn't get to eat it 'til almost 10:00 at night because I had a crockpot recipe for it and someone gave me a crockpot for Christmas so I figured I should probably use it, but I didn't get to eat it 'til almost 10:00 at night (okay so that was also technically made it 2011, not 2010, but close enough)
Week 1 (way back in Sept) Chicken Parm--surprisingly good (good enough that I made it again the following month for my mom's birthday dinner)
2. Pumpkin Bars (yum!, )
3. Apple bread (yum! I'm biased, but I got good feedback on this)
4. Crab dip (I liked it, but of the three groups of people I made it for, it was only a big hit with the last group so I guess I may only make this for work events :))
5. Apple dip (loved it and got good feedback on that too)
6. Stuffed zucchini (tasted good, but gutting a zuc while trying to keep the rest in tact was no walk in the park, mine perhaps should have been called partially stuffed zucchini with most of the stuffing on the side, it tasted good though)
7. Cupcakes (I've totally made cupcakes before, but not for a while and it was the only "new" thing for that week, and the first time I made them in the new home so onto the list it goes and my friends liked them so it's staying)
8. Quesadillas (I made them on a quesadilla maker, does that even count? so good though)
10. Brownie pie (not bad, but not as good as I was hoping, mostly it just tasted like brownie with a pie crust)
11. Broccoli Cheese Bake (I've totally made that before, but not for ages and it's good, think I may make it again this week)
12. Mozzarella (sp?) balls; well, the two that I didn't burn were good, but yeah, most of these end up in the trash because I didn't think the heat was up high enough so then I turned it up too high and burned them and my condo was nice and smoky to greet my college friends the first time they came over, what a lovely first impression, thankfully most (but sadly not all) of the smoke had cleared by the time they got there
13. Chocolate Chips Cheesecake (mixed reviews; Mom and I liked it, Mike didn't)
14. Baked chicken with stuffing (no idea what it's called, someone at work gabe me the recipe, but since it includes chicken and stuffing that's what I'm calling it for bloggingn purposes); really good, had someone else try it too and he liked it
15. Oreo balls (yum! although they didn't look as pretty as they should have, they tasted delicious and I'm not just saying that, my family kept eating them on Christmas and even the ones who don't give out a ton of compliments told me several times how good they were)
17. Cream Cheese brownies (hadn't made them in 5 or more years so I'm counting it and they were good)
16. Apple chicken (not bad, but a little dry and I didn't get to eat it 'til almost 10:00 at night because I had a crockpot recipe for it and someone gave me a crockpot for Christmas so I figured I should probably use it, but I didn't get to eat it 'til almost 10:00 at night (okay so that was also technically made it 2011, not 2010, but close enough)
First is the Worst, but I'm not really sure second is the best
If you've ever been around children of a certain age or you ever were a child of a certain age, you've likely heard the expression that starts, "First is the worst, second is the best..." Well, in terms of the months of the year, I'd have to agree. I've decided that January is the worst month of the year. Sorry all you January lovers, but I can find few good things about January.
Now the month does start with a holiday so it's certainly nice to have a day off, but for me, that day off also means the end of a vacation since I have a few days before New Years off too (I know, I know, I should be thankful that I have time off, not depressed that vaca is over).
But then you have to take down Christmas decorations. I STRONGLY DISLIKE taking down Christmas decorations (you should have seen me trying to dismantle my tree this morning, I have several nice cuts to show from my efforts). I love Christmas and always put my decorations up Thanksgiving weekend, but taking them down, ugh, I dread it. It's not fun and then the place goes from festive to depressing. It's too early to put up Valentine's Day decorations (well, the retail world would probably disagree with that statement) so it's back to non-festive stuff, no more pretty lights to look at when you drive home, no nice tree to greet you after a long day. sigh
January also means cold and snow, two things I despise (I realize other months bring those things two, but since I don't dislike those months as much, we're just not going to talk about that right now). It's also when those post-Christmas shopping bills come in and let's not even talk about how high the heating bill is (for that price it should feel like the tropics in here 24/7). And there's the dreaded January paperwork I have to do at work every January. I'm getting stressed thinking about it so let's move on. One thing this January has going for it that 2010 didn't is I get MLK Day off. Yay! Last year, I got to drive to work in a snowstorm on MLK Day and you know how I feel about snow.
But in 23 days it'll be Feb, which is only slightly better than January if for no other reason than I get a week off and it's one month closer to nicer weather. Am I pathetic or what? (Don't answer that!). Wishing you all a happy January! Stay warm and be careful in the snow. :)
Now the month does start with a holiday so it's certainly nice to have a day off, but for me, that day off also means the end of a vacation since I have a few days before New Years off too (I know, I know, I should be thankful that I have time off, not depressed that vaca is over).
But then you have to take down Christmas decorations. I STRONGLY DISLIKE taking down Christmas decorations (you should have seen me trying to dismantle my tree this morning, I have several nice cuts to show from my efforts). I love Christmas and always put my decorations up Thanksgiving weekend, but taking them down, ugh, I dread it. It's not fun and then the place goes from festive to depressing. It's too early to put up Valentine's Day decorations (well, the retail world would probably disagree with that statement) so it's back to non-festive stuff, no more pretty lights to look at when you drive home, no nice tree to greet you after a long day. sigh
January also means cold and snow, two things I despise (I realize other months bring those things two, but since I don't dislike those months as much, we're just not going to talk about that right now). It's also when those post-Christmas shopping bills come in and let's not even talk about how high the heating bill is (for that price it should feel like the tropics in here 24/7). And there's the dreaded January paperwork I have to do at work every January. I'm getting stressed thinking about it so let's move on. One thing this January has going for it that 2010 didn't is I get MLK Day off. Yay! Last year, I got to drive to work in a snowstorm on MLK Day and you know how I feel about snow.
But in 23 days it'll be Feb, which is only slightly better than January if for no other reason than I get a week off and it's one month closer to nicer weather. Am I pathetic or what? (Don't answer that!). Wishing you all a happy January! Stay warm and be careful in the snow. :)
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