Asparagus Risotto with Lemon and Basil

Dinner 4/30/07
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

A nice, fresh risotto for spring, and my first submission to Sweetnicks' ARF/5-a-Day roundup!

Asparagus Risotto with Lemon and Basil

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock (approx) - you can use vegetable stock for a vegetarian meal, but I like it with chicken stock
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces and steamed (I steamed it over the chicken stock while I was making the rice)
Zest from half a lemon
1 tsp fresh chopped basil (or one cube of TJ's frozen basil, which is what I used)
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat butter & oil together over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent and soft. Add some salt & pepper. At the same time, heat the chicken stock until simmering, and then keep it simmering during the rest of the process.

Add the rice to the onions, and saute for a minute or two until coated with oil & butter and slightly toasted. Add the white wine and let the alcohol cook off, about 1-2 minutes. Add a big ladle or two of simmering chicken stock, and stir. Let the rice absorb most of the chicken stock (it will take a few minutes), stirring frequently, until you see the bottom of the pan for a moment when you stir, and then add another ladle or two. Continue this process for about 20-25 minutes, until the rice is creamy and tender but with a little bit of bite (al dente), and you've used up all (or most) of the chicken stock. Add the basil and lemon zest. At the last minute, throw in the asparagus and stir it all together. Check the seasoning, and add more salt & pepper if needed.

Serves two generously (or two modestly, plus enough leftovers for one lunch the next day). Enjoy!

Addendum

One thing I forgot about when doing my good news/bad news roundup yesterday: ultimate temptation.

Sunday, when I was digging around for the end cap for my little iPod shuffle in my gym bag, I came across a fresh, unopened pack of cigarettes. Instead of swooning lustfully over them and driving myself crazy, I immediately turned to Rugrat and told him to take the pack to the next door neighbor (who smokes, and used to bum cigarettes off me on a semi-regular basis) and ask if he wanted it. There was a split-second of temptation, but I immediately dismissed it.

This is good, right? Because I didn't even entertain the thought of actually smoking one. I can't remember feeling this way after quitting since...well, since I quit when I was pregnant with Ryan. I don't feel deprived or resentful when I see other people smoking, either. I just feel like it is not an option for me anymore; I don't want it. And the fact that I actually forgot to mention it yesterday? Shows what a non-issue smoking is for me now.

So, in short: bad news - I found some cigarettes and was momentarily tempted. Good news - I totally didn't smoke!

Good news/bad news

Good news: I called AAA today and my car insurance is only going up $30 a year!

Bad news: I am still a snot factory and I'm getting really freaking tired of being sick.

Good news: I'm not pregnant! (Unless of course you are my mother, in which case this falls under the "bad news" category, because lord knows, she'd love to see me get knocked up again. Which I honestly cannot understand, considering the fact that I had an awful pregnancy & delivery, and am not exactly "earth mother" with the one child I do have. His ADD drives me completely fucking insane at times, and I frequently lose my patience and my temper with him.)

Bad news: I've got cramps.

Good news: D met Rugrat yesterday! We surprised D with some homemade chocolate chip cookies (his favorite) as a "sorry you broke your toe" present. I was a little worried about just springing it on him like that, but I figured we'd just stay for a few minutes and keep it really casual, because I knew D had things to do. However, D's plans sort of fell through, so we ended up spending a while at the park together. Anyway, they got along well despite the fact that Rugrat was in rare form, hollering at the top of his lungs and just generally completely on edge. He claimed to like D very much though, so I'm not sure what all that was about. But it has been like 5 or 6 years since I last introduced Rugrat to a boyfriend; maybe it was just strange for him.

Bad news: The "get it all over with at once" party isn't happening this weekend. D's friend Dave, who is one of my Myspace buddies now, is having a birthday party this weekend. D & I and D's daughter were all going to go together, which would have tackled a couple of issues at once: 1) I'd meet D's daughter and 2) D & I would "come out" to his extended group of friends. Well, the extended group of friends consists mainly of a whole lot of people I haven't seen for 10 or 15 years, including my ex-husband and my ex-best friend. The ex-best friend was once D's girlfriend, and is now married to MY ex-husband, and they have two kids together. So I was fully expecting this to be much like a Jerry Springer episode (but hopefully with less cursing and fewer flying chairs). Except that now, it turns out that D has a prior engagement at his sister's house this coming weekend, and will not be attending the birthday party. Which means that 1) I'm not meeting his daughter this weekend and 2) I'm not getting this incredibly uncomfortable meeting-with-the-exes over with any time soon.

Good news: I see D tomorrow night!

Bad news: I miss him so much and wish I could see him RIGHT NOW.

Good news: D's schedule is fantastic for us this week. He has an early schedule tomorrow, so he'll be off early and at my house around the time that I am finishing work. On Wednesday, he doesn't have to be to work until 2:45 PM, so we can sleep in together and have a lazy morning.

And that seems like a really good note to finish up on. :)

New Car!

20070427_newCar
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

Guess what I did yesterday?

After five years of lusting heavily after the Toyota Highlander, I finally bought one. It has LEATHER SEATS and a premium sound system and a moon roof and a roof rack and it fucking kicks ASS. Remote keyless entry with some fancy-shmancy ignition disabling security system. V6, so my baby's got some getup and go. Power every-fucking-thing. And I got a fantastic price, it's only a year old, and it has less than 20K miles on it.

Sweeeeeeet!

Three little words

It's funny, I didn't think it was going to be a big deal. I mean, I know how he feels about me. I've known for weeks that he is crazy about me; he'd show me in every possible way, except by saying those three little words.

But then last night he said it. "I love you." And I thought my heart was going to burst, I was so happy.

I had convinced myself that it really wasn't important to hear those three little words, but yanno what? It is. And the fact that I knew how he felt, that I could tell in the way he looked at me, touched me, talked to me, called me three or more times a day, sent me flowers for no reason, just everything...it doesn't detract from the fact that my heart leaps when he tells me he loves me.

Pork and Veggie Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Dinner 4/26/07
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

I based this stir fry on Rachael Ray's Asian-Style Pork and Vegetable Noodles, but made a few substitutions. I'm not a big fan of bell peppers, so I threw in some chinese peapods instead of the red pepper strips. I used some rice noodles, because I had them on hand. I put a little honey in the dressing to cut the heat and the super-salty elements. And I left the green onions out until the very end, because I wanted them to keep their fresh, green color and flavor.

Overall, it was fairly tasty, although I think it needed more heat (maybe a little chili oil in the dressing?) and I way overcooked the pork. Lesson learned - have all your elements in place, and no matter how long she cooks the meat on her show, do NOT stir fry meat for more than a minute or two before you throw in the rest of the ingredients.

So much to say

OK, so last weekend? Was totally fabulous until Saturday morning, at which time it took a distinct nosedive. I flew out Friday afternoon to visit Dad & Stepmom in Arizona, and as expected, I shriveled up into a raisin as soon as I stepped off the plane. It is just SO damn dry out there, y'all.

Friday night we had a lovely scotch-tasting party, which consisted of four people getting royally hammered and ended with Dad and I variously 1) giving D hell on the phone (Dad actually used the words "I hear you're fucking my daughter" - I was mortified); 2) playing cribbage (at which I had a few spectacular hands although I think he still beat me twice, or maybe thrice); and 3) getting all fucking maudlin and crying and telling the other person how much we loved them. You know. Much alcohol is imbibed, and the world's problems are miraculously solved. Or at least the past problems between my father and I, which are generally rehashed each time we get sloshed together. ;-)

Saturday morning dawned with a loverly hangover, and me waking up at about 8 and unable to get back to sleep. The hangover went away, but in its place I developed a nasty cold which kept me up shivering half the night and only getting about 2 hours sleep before my flight home on Sunday. I do not ever recommend flying when you have a fever. It is brutal. I was completely discombobulated, and it took about 2-3 hours after I landed in Oakland to FINALLY get my ears to pop.

So then I spent two days laying on my couch, and in bed, and trying to recover some sort of normal life. Of course I called D on Sunday and told him it wouldn't be a good idea for him to come out, unless he was actively trying to get sick. Turns out his daughter was sick too, and he ended up keeping her home with him Monday anyway, so the usual Sunday night meetup wasn't going to happen anyway.

And now we get to the real meat of things which is the fact that things are going SO well with D that it is downright frightening. We had a little discussion last night in which he told me that he's not going anywhere, and I told him how good he makes me feel (get your mind out of the gutter) and that he makes me want to be a better person. Blah blah feel-good-cakes. And today there was some discussion of meeting our respective progeny. I think it would be better (less pressure on the kids AND on us) if we are able to get together, all four of us, in a way that makes it seem more like a casual playdate and less like "OMG, I'm meeting my mom's boyfriend." You know? So it may still be another month or so, because our schedules still conflict. And there was some talk about pets, and how Rugrat really wants one, and I really DON'T want the responsibility to fall on me, because dammit, I just don't like animals. And he said something about how he could help out with the cage cleaning & feeding and stuff (we were discussing lizards). And I just stopped the conversation right there, because he was going to have to go back in to work and there is a whole thing here that I just wasn't ready to open up for discussion and be able to deal with in like five minutes.

And that thing is: commitment. Because that is what is going on here, isn't it? And we've only been dating two months. It feels like forever, and it feels right, but it's still only been TWO MONTHS. And I cannot make plans based on things someone says only two months into a relationship. I cannot get a lizard for Rugrat based on the fact that D says he will help me take care of the thing because who knows what's going to happen in six months or a year? We have not seen each other at our worst yet. We are still in that googly-eyed sex haze where the other person is the most fabulous human being on the planet. You know? We haven't pissed each other off yet. So as much as I would love to just float and let myself believe that these feelings will last forever, I am too cynical now (or too pragmatic) to just live completely in the moment. I have a child to think of, after all, and I cannot allow my hormones to override my common sense.

Family updates

My sister called me this afternoon, and after only a couple of months in Portland, they're ready to buy a house! Their offer was accepted and they're hoping for a really short (30 day) escrow. She sent me a link to the real estate listing, and WOW! It is HUGE! It's over 2000 SF, in the area they love, with the school district they wanted, and it's only costing them a little more than my 1400 SF house cost me four years ago. *sigh* The bay area is so damned expensive, y'all. I'm really happy for them, though, and can't wait to visit. (Except I'll wait until the sun makes its annual brief appearance.)

Babydaddy and I talked a little more about putting Rugrat in school where he lives, and apparently he's very gung-ho about it, because he picked up a registration packet. (And brought it to me to fill out. Of course.) Turns out that the daycare is actually going to be cheaper than where we've got him now, but then again, he won't be in daycare when he's "off track" because there won't be any "tracks." He'll just be off for the summer (and likely here with me full-time).

I'm off to visit Dad tomorrow, hopefully smuggling some of the really awesome $200 scotch with me in my carry-on luggage. What? I'm bringing it in a container that is less than 3 oz., per airline regulations. We really need to have the fantastic scotch there, for the fabulous scotch tasting party. I plan to get my drink on with the papa-san. We'll probably sit up playing cribbage until the wee hours, and then bitch and moan Saturday about our raging hangovers.

I'm still not smoking. 19 days and counting!

And as for D....I am still smitten. Every day he says something or does something that just makes me melt. Today he told me that he saw a bunch of hot women in the grocery store and thought how lucky he was, because his girlfriend was hotter. Awwww. How can you not love that?

Orange and maroon

My heart goes out to all the students of Virginia Tech, and their families and friends. What a horrific tragedy: thirty-three lives cut short. It's just unimaginable.

Today, I will make a point of telling the people I love just how much I care about them. Because the best way I can think of to fight against the darkness in this world is to counteract it with joy. Hug your family, your friends. Smile at strangers.

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love." Thank you, Carpenters.

Flowers!

Flowers!
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

Oh. My. God.

D sent me these gorgeous tulips. My favorite!!

*swoon*

Could he be any more awesome?

New blog

I've set up a new food blog, Table For Two, since my passion for cooking just keeps growing. I figured it's time to give back to the food community, as I've been so inspired by those fabulous Internet chefs that graciously take the time to photograph their latest culinary masterpieces and pass on the secrets to us.

I've got to get better at taking digital photos though; the last one came out really blurry. :-P

Mohawk!

Mohawk!
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

Guess who got a haircut this weekend?

Open-Faced Burgers with Gorgonzola and Sauteed Mushrooms

Dinner 4/15/2007
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

I made this fantastically yummy dinner tonight because I had a craving for something beefy and fattening, but I wanted to use up some of the veggies and the French bread I had on hand.

Open-Faced Burgers with Gorgonzola and Sauteed Mushrooms

2 slices pepper bacon (or regular bacon, but make sure it's GOOD bacon)
1/2 lb ground beef
2 Tbsp diced red onion (or whatever, to taste)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp steak sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp crumbled Gorgonzola
1 1" thick slice French bread, cut in half
1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
Salt & pepper to taste
Mustard Vinaigrette

Preheat oven to 400° and put a saute pan over medium-high heat. Pop the bacon in the pan and let it crisp up slowly. While the bacon cooks, gently mix together the ground beef, onions, garlic, steak sauce and salt & pepper to taste. Form into two 1/4 pound patties.

When oven is preheated, put the french bread in on a cookie sheet. Let it toast for about 10 minutes, turning once.

When the bacon is just this side of burning, remove it and drain off most of the bacon fat. Add the olive oil to the hot skillet and slide in the burgers. Cook about 3 minutes on each side, until just done in the middle. Put a half-slice of toasted french bread on each plate, then top with the burgers. Immediately put Gorgonzola on top of burgers. Saute the mushrooms in the pan for a few minutes, until softened and golden brown, then put the mushrooms on top of the burgers and cheese.

Add some spinach to the plates. Top the burgers and spinach with crumbled pepper bacon, then drizzle everything with the vinaigrette (see below). Sit down and enjoy with a nice tall beer!


Mustard Vinaigrette

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Put mustard, vinegar, salt & pepper in the bowl. Add the olive oil in a slow steady stream, whisking the whole time, until oil is incorporated.

French Onion Soup

French onion soup with a glass of wine - the perfect combination for a rainy day.

I got the recipe from Williams Sonoma's Paris cookbook (this is not the same as the recipe on their website). It's super-easy, but it takes about two hours to make. Luckily I always have lots of leftovers, so it's always worth it. :)

Croque Monsieur

Lunch 4/14/2007
Originally uploaded by jperkins98.

Croque monsieur: French for super-freaking-awesome ham and cheese sandwich!

Croque Monsieur

4 slices white sandwich bread
Dijon mustard (I used whole grain)
6 deli slices ham
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cup milk
1 c shredded Gruyere (or thereabouts)
Salt & pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg (or jarred, in a pinch)

Preheat broiler.

Toast the bread lightly, and cut off the crusts. Thinly spread mustard on the bread, then top two slices of bread with three slices of ham each. Place open-faced sandwiches on cookie sheet (you might want to line cookie sheet with foil or something for easier clean-up). Top the sandwiches with some of the grated cheese (about a quarter cup total), then the other slices of bread.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the flour, mix well, and let the flour cook for a minute or two. Add the milk, stirring constantly, and cook until the sauce is thickened slightly (it should coat the back of the spoon). Season with salt & pepper and a sprinkling of nutmeg. Add about half a cup of the grated cheese, stirring until completely melted. Pour some sauce over the sandwiches and top with the very last quarter-cup of the grated cheese. Pop it under the broiler until bubbly and golden brown. Or, if you're impatient like me, just wait until the cheese is melted, then pull it out and scarf.

Note: You may have too much cheese sauce. I always do. Just dip another piece of bread in the sauce and snack on it while you wait for the sandwiches to finish in the oven. ;-)

CPSIL, defined

Diagnostic criteria for 301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

(1) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

(2) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love

(3) believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)

(4) requires excessive admiration

(5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations

(6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends

(7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others

(8) is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her

(9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

Major changes?

Babydaddy and I had a discussion last night, and we're considering putting Rugrat in school in WC, where Babydaddy lives, for the next school year. It would be a really big change for us; Rugrat would live with Babydaddy most of the time and I'd go out to pick him up a couple of times per week and every other weekend (essentially the same schedule we have now, but reversed). We'd have to look into karate classes out in WC instead of here, and we'd have to get him set up in daycare and GATE out there too.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I'd kind of like to get Rugrat out of here because the situation in my town is getting more violent and volatile by the week, it seems. There's gangs of teenagers roaming the streets, starting riots and shooting each other. I definitely don't want Rugrat going to school out here when he gets to Jr High. But he's only going into third grade, and it seems like we've got some time before we really need to get him out of here. Additionally, we were considering taking him OUT of daycare next year, and just letting him come straight home after school. It would save us $200+ a month, each, which would be a nice chunk of change to have back in our pockets. That wouldn't be possible if Rugrat was going to school near Babydaddy, because Babydaddy doesn't work from home.

Also, I just don't know how I'd feel about him living apart from me so much. I was kind of resistant to changing our schedule when Babydaddy first moved to WC, but I actually like it now (especially since I get that all-important night off during the week to spend with D). And I think I'd really miss Rugrat a lot if he was spending most nights with Babydaddy. I'd miss our silly songs in the morning while we're getting ready. I'd miss the hugs and spontaneous "I love you Mommy" moments. I'd miss putting him to bed every night with Monster Spray and our four-language "I love you" routine. I know Babydaddy is a wonderful father and would be totally great with him, but I'd miss him soooooo much.

And the hell of it is, I'd love to sell my house and move out there to WC. But I can't, because nobody is buying houses in my town right now. (See above re: crime wave) If I put the house on the market, it might stay on the market for a year, even if I priced it under comps. And if I was able to finally sell it and move out to WC? I'd probably have to buy a condo rather than an actual house because I'd never be able to afford a real house out there. Especially not with the reduced price of THIS house, and how much I'd likely get out of the sale. It's very frustrating. So I'm kind of leaning towards having him stay in school here for another year or two, at which time the market will hopefully have picked up a bit, and I can sell and move out to WC and we'll be able to work things out a little more equitably with regards to custody sharing and so on.

Dysfunctional

I'm wondering: just how strange is it that I go on vacations with Rugrat and Babydaddy? I mean, I know it is extremely unusual for exes to do that, but is it completely incomprehensible? D and I had a post-coital conversation the other night that started out with the ever-so-popular theme, "Who was your first?" So of course I mentioned that I found my "first" on myspace a couple of years ago, and I told D about going to meet him for a drink in LA when I was down at Disneyland with Rugrat & Babydaddy. D kind of does a double-take: "Wait...you were at Disneyland with Babydaddy and you had a DATE with GG?" And I explained that we just went on a family vacation, but it's not like we were TOGETHER on the vacation, we were just sharing hotel costs & such.

And of course that just opened up a whole new can of worms. "You were sharing a hotel room? Did you share a BED?" OMG, no. But...we have. Like, on Christmas Eve when he stays the night so he can be here first thing on Christmas morning. And I suddenly realized how incredibly WRONG that sounds. Like, just massively dysfunctional. But seriously, I feel nothing for Babydaddy now, except friendship and fondness. There's no lust there at all. He's a hot guy, don't get me wrong. But too much water has gone under the bridge for me to ever want him back in my life in a romantic (or even just a sexual) way.

And obviously I would not do anything like that if I was in a relationship. I wouldn't want to make my partner uncomfortable by having my (admittedly hot) ex stay the night, whether it was in my bed (platonically!) or on the couch or in the guest room. So...does that make it less dysfunctional? If I wouldn't have a sleepover with the ex while I'm in a relationship with someone else? Or is the relationship thing irrelevant, and it's dysfunctional no matter what my romantic status is?

Romance is NOT dead!

This is one of those totally off-the-wall things you get on craigslist sometimes.

Romantic Gift

Thanks to Dooce for bringing this to my attention and brightening my day.

Crash

I think I really need to get back on the patch. I was so exhausted yesterday that I fell asleep on the couch at about 8:15 while the Rugrat was watching cartoons. When I dragged my ass off the couch and bundled the Rugrat off to bed, I went to bed too. And I slept until the Goddamn Roosters™ woke me up at 6:30 as usual. But the thing is, I don't feel rested. I still feel exhausted. And I'm pretty sure it's because my body is no longer getting its regular dose of stimulant, in the form of nicotine. I'm craving more, too.

In all of this drama though, D has been amazing. He's just a bright spot in my life, and I feel very blessed to have him. He calls me at least twice a day now...sometimes three times. I look forward to hearing his voice; it's almost as necessary to my daily life as breathing. How did he become so important to me in less than two months? It's pretty scary, actually. I've been so independent for so long, that having this in my life again is a shock to the system. He makes me feel cherished, and dammit, I don't want to depend on feeling this way. Shit happens, yanno? And I don't want to get so wrapped up in this feeling that I forget how to be happy on my own. Because when it ends, as it inevitably will, I don't want to fall into a massive depression. This is just SO good....and I know it can't last. Even if we spend the rest of our lives together, it won't be like this forever. He'll disappoint me, I'll disappoint him; we're human. And when the crash comes, it's going to be a big one.

Stunned

This is downright frightening. I think the fact that this book was popular enough to require multiple printings says an awful lot about our society 50 years ago (and none of it good):

On Becoming a Woman

I mean, seriously. Female circumcision touted as a cure for masturbation??? Fucking fucktard. Obviously the author had no confidence in his sexual prowess, if he had to run around telling girls that they only want to make out to "please their boyfriends" and that masturbation makes you stupid and lazy.

So in love

I am completely smitten. D came over yesterday evening after dropping off his daughter at her mom's, and he spent the night again. I am practically overdosing on love here - I just want to be with him all the time. Of course it's totally impractical, but it feels so good to have him around. Last night we vegged out on the couch, watched a little TV and worked on our knitting (did I tell you he asked me to teach him to knit? He's working on his first project: a scarf). My sweater is coming right along now; the front is nearly finished and once that's done all that's left is to knit the sleeves, sew it up, and finish off the neckline.

You know, I haven't been a snuggler since the early days of my relationship with Babydaddy. But for some reason, with D I just want to be rightupclose to him, even when I'm sleeping. And of course I want to make love with him all the time. We can't seem to spend the night together without having sex at least twice. I cannot believe that this kind of intensity will last, of course, but it feels damn good right now. It's the early part of the relationship: the other person hasn't disappointed you yet, and you're still getting to know all their little quirks and such.

As for the rest of the weekend, I went over to K's house on Saturday for a BBQ. C came over as well, and between the three of us, we polished off four bottles of wine. Dear GOD, that was a lot of effing wine. For some reason we went to Meenar's and I'm pretty sure someone slipped something in K's drink, because all of the sudden she was completely unable to stand on her own. C and T (C's cousin, who joined us later in the evening) and I all got her home safe & sound and held her hair back while she threw up. *sigh* I spent the night at K's, and on Sunday we attempted to go shopping in WC, but apparently just because some "dead" guy crawled out of a cave 2000 years ago means everyone has to stop their normal routine and go eat deviled eggs and ham all day. In other words, the shops were closed. I was pissed, and totally went off on a rant about "fucking Jesus" and his "fucking resurrection" and "goddamn showoff"...blah, blah, blah. What can I say? I really wanted to buy a new bra yesterday. Thank goodness downtown WC was like a ghost town, because I was in rare form. I am SO going to hell.

Even Target was closed, which I discovered when I tried to go get some more nicotine patches. Surprisingly enough, even with the HUGE amount of wine I drank Saturday night, I still managed to stay on the wagon and didn't have so much as a puff off a cigarette. So, yay for me! Nearly 8 days off the cigarettes now (and the last 24 hours without any nicotine at all).

96 hours and counting

Four days have passed since my last cigarette, and...I don't really miss it. I guess I really was ready to quit this time. My mood swings have calmed down a bit, and I seem to be entering the "stuff your face" portion of the program. Heh.

Period started this morning. Yay, for not being pregnant. Boo, for being on my period.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Goat Cheese

Last night D came over and I made a FANTASTIC dinner: chicken breasts (bone in, skin on) with a goat cheese/herb mixture under the skin (garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, parsley, a little olive oil), olive oil and salt & pepper on top. Roasted asparagus, with olive oil, salt & pepper. Couscous with green onion and currants. We demolished it all.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Goat Cheese

2 chicken breasts (with skin & bones)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 handful parsley
2 oz. fresh goat cheese (half a small log)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°.

In food processor, chop garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and parsley. Add in the goat cheese and a little salt & pepper, then spin again. With the processor running, add just a little olive oil, enough to make it more "spreadable." Loosen the skin on the chicken breasts and put half the goat cheese mixture under the skin of each breast. Smooth the skin and then coat with olive oil, salt & pepper. Place chicken breasts in a roasting pan on a flat rack, and roast for about 35-45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer measures 160 at the thickest part (without touching bone). Let the meat rest for 5 minutes or so under foil, and then dig in.

Day 4

Feeling much better today. Last night D came over and I made a FANTASTIC dinner: chicken breasts (bone in, skin on) with a goat cheese/herb mixture under the skin (garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, parsley, a little olive oil), olive oil and salt & pepper on top. Roasted asparagus, with olive oil, salt & pepper. Couscous with green onion and currants. We demolished it all.

Then we watched American Idol (I know! He HATES Idol!) and went to bed.......mmm....got to sleep pretty late though. ;-)

Today I woke up feeling much better (probably due to all the orgasms, LOL) and worked for a while this morning while he watched TV. Had a nooner (on the couch and then the stairs!!), then some lunch (and he watched AMC with me!), and he just left a little while ago. God, it is SO hot between us. I want him all the time, y'all.

He said he's falling for me.

I have lost my everlovin' mind

The roosters woke me up at 6:30 this morning and I put on my robe and slippers and stomped next door and banged on their door for about ten minutes. Even though there are two trucks in front of their house, nobody answered the door. I don't know if they just don't answer their door, or if there really was nobody home. So I came back and called Animal Control, but the phone line doesn't even open until 8 AM. So I called the police non-emergency line. And I completely lost it. Started sobbing and freaking the fuck out and the dispatcher said they could send out a policeman to talk to the people but that the police couldn't cite them or anything because it's under the jurisdiction of Animal Control. Then she hung up. And I thought they were going to actually SEND A POLICEMAN OUT, so I called back so they'd know where to go, and the supervisor answered. She said, no, they WOULDN'T send anyone out, because there's really nothing they can do, and of course I lost it again. She just kept telling me to call Animal Control when the phone lines opened at 8 AM.

So then I called my dad, and begged him to come out and bring his rifle and shoot the goddamn roosters. And I started sobbing again, and told him that I quit smoking, and he's all "Ooooohhhhh, so THAT's what this is all about." And he talked me down from the ledge a little bit.

I finally made Rugrat's lunch and took him to school and then I started putting away clean laundry and changing the sheets on my bed. D called while I was in the middle of this, and thank God for him. He always knows how to make me laugh. I warned him that I am completely insane today, and told him what happened this morning and he laughed and joked me out of my funk.

So then I came back downstairs and called Animal Control again, since it was after 8. Joy! They sent out a letter yesterday to the neighbors, and they should get it today or tomorrow. Thank GOD.

So, I took a shot & a half of codeine cough syrup, and started watching Prison Break online. The helpful folks at DeltaPOST reminded me that it's available free, uncut & without commercials, online. Duh. I knew that. So my little temper tantrum last night was all for nothing.

Oh OF COURSE!!

Of course today of all days my TiVo decides to crap out on me. OF COURSE it does. Not like I'm not already on edge. Not like it isn't the fucking season finale of Prison Break!

Losing my shit

These goddamn roosters are going to drive me to drink!

Rugrat is not helping. I asked him over and over to be quiet, that Mommy just needed a little silence, and he kept pestering and harping at me. Then I told him to do his homework and he sat there at the goddamn table and farted around until I came and yelled at him, and he started whining and said he couldn't do his homework because he needed paper and a pencil and THERE WAS A FUCKING GODDAMN PENCIL AND A STACK OF PAPER RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM!!!

I am totally fucking losing it. So much for the patch being helpful.

Day 2

I quit smoking yesterday at 11 AM. I know, on April Fool's Day! How weird is that? So far, so good, but if I remember correctly, it was about day 2 or 3 that I started really feeling the cravings. Hopefully I won't get all sick with the flu this time. I'm using the patch, so it should alleviate the worst of the withdrawal symptoms. Not the cravings, of course, but the physical withdrawals. And tomorrow night D is coming over to spend the night while Rugrat goes to Babydaddy's house. So I'll have awesome sex to distract me. :)

I tell you what, though...that fucking rooster is driving me batshit. I think there's two of them. Since 9:28 this morning I've been logging on an excel spreadsheet every time they crowed...it's been 104 times. One hundred and four!! In just over two hours!! I called Animal Control again and they said it usually takes about 2-3 weeks for them to check things out. *sigh* There's 105.

CPSIL update, again

The latest news in the CPSIL saga is that she's thinking about moving to Boston - WITH the kids - and living with some guy, who is apparently going to support her and yet not expect her to sleep with him. She is completely insane if she thinks that some guy is going to pay for her room and board (not to mention supporting her children as well) without expecting something in return. And the fact that shortly after abandoning her children she's decided that she needs to uproot them from their family and take them all the way across the country, away from their father who's been the only stable parent in their short lives...I am just speechless.

On a happier note, I went out to D's house last night and spent the night. It was so nice to snuggle up and sleep with him, but it was horrible torture not being able to have sex! (Although I did manage to help him out a bit. Ahem.) Thank goodness on Tuesday I'll be done with the BV treatment, because he's coming out here to spend the night, and I am going to pounce on him. :)

By the way...

When I went to the doctor's office yesterday, they weighed me, and I am down to just under 130. Dude! Seriously! I have met my goal, in only about 2 months.

But now I'm getting kind of worried. It is not normal for me to drop ten pounds in two months. Maybe my thyroid is going batshit? Or maybe it's a side effect of the cholesterol medication or something. Because seriously, the pounds just MELTED off of me, and I can't believe it was all due to just knitting in the evenings. I've only been to the gym like twice in the last two months, so it's certainly not that. And I'm not eating any healthier than normal, other than just not snacking as much at night. Is it really possible that I dropped 10+ pounds in two months just by not snacking in front of the TV?

iTunes shuffle as oracle

This is a meme that's probably really old in the blog world, but I found several instances of it when Googling "iTunes shuffle oracle" after reading Sars' iChing piece.

Go to your music player of choice and put it on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud, and press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question. NO CHEATING.

How does the world see you?
I Shall Believe, Sheryl Crow -- so the world thinks I want to be lied to? Not sure I'm liking this.

Will I have a happy life?
Just Another Day, Oingo Boingo -- that....is not very encouraging.

What do my friends really think of me?
Spanish with Michel Thomas, lesson 8. Wait, that makes no sense. Re-try: Black, Sarah McLachlan -- ouch!

Do people secretly lust after me?:
Baby I Love You, Aretha Franklin -- now that's more like it!

How can I make myself happy?
I Wanna Be Like You, Jungle Book Soundtrack -- OMG ROFLMAO

What should I do with my life?
Everyday Is Like Sunday, Morrissey -- OK, honestly I first got Elvira saying "Hello Darling," but that couldn't possibly count right? So if this is the "real" answer, I should...curl up in a ball and feel sorry for myself?

Will I ever have children?
God Don't Make Lonely Girls, The Wallflowers -- well, that seems pretty straightforward to me. Because, yanno, women can always get laid. Of course this is all a moot point since I already have the Rugrat.

What is some good advice for me?
If I Can't Have You, Yvonne Elliman (Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack) -- so I should just give up and become celibate if it doesn't work out with D? WTF?

How will I be remembered?
Don't Phunk With My Heart, Black Eyed Peas -- Hmm...so I will be remembered as a tramp?

What is my signature dancing song?
Wolfman's Brother, Phish -- ummm, yeahhhh.

What do I think my current theme song is?
She's Got a Way, Billy Joel -- aww, that's nice.

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Peaches & Cream, 112 -- damn, I really WILL be remembered as a tramp, won't I?

What song will play at my funeral?
The First Noel, NSync -- God, let's hope not.

What type of men/women do you like?
Live To Tell, Tori Amos -- so I like guys who are liars and and will fuck me over? iTunes really doesn't think much of me, does it?

What is my day going to be like?
Moments of Pleasure, Kate Bush -- I can live with that. :)

Correction

Not a yeast infection, it's the goddamn BV again! Jesus H Christ on a fucking pogo stick.

So...diaphragm is out. It would cause the same bacterial infection. I'm going back on the pill. *sigh* I really quite liked being in touch with my body's rhythms & changes, but chronic BV is totally unacceptable.

Gosh diddly darn it

Stupid sponge gave me a raging yeast infection. Arrrrrgh. And today I go for my diaphragm fitting. Well, at least I can get the doc to give me diflucan.

The big weekend

I am SO sore. Seven times in one weekend? Yeah, I'm a little bit beat. ;-)

We had a great time though; went on a couple of wild goose chases in the car, had fabulous jambalaya on Friday (that took much longer to cook than it should have) and went out to dinner with K on Saturday night, so she got to meet him. (And of course she totally approves; thinks he's really cute and sweet and is very happy for me.) I barely smoked at all because the cough was driving me batshit, and I was drugged up on codeine for much of the weekend, but...all in all, I'd say it was a success. Even if I did blurt out the "L" word during our last...*ahem*...session. He was very cool about it and didn't even flinch. Heh. It appears that I have some sort of hangup about it though, because I was trying to repress it all weekend and it was having an adverse effect on my...um...enjoyment of certain activities. Once I said it, I pretty much exploded. So while I may not be totally head over heels in love with him in every respect, my hormones think they are and apparently the hormones must have their way.

Oh, and on one of our wild goose chases, we went to SF. We went to the Ferry Building and I got to go to the Cowgirl Creamery shop, which...OMG. Nirvana. Absolute heaven. I bought $40 worth of cheese and am totally pigging out on it.

Today's the day

Or, perhaps I should say, tonight's the night.

So...I think I'm ready. Almost. The sheets are in the washing machine and my house is still pretty neat & clean (amazing), legs & armpits are freshly shaved, I've got all the food to make the jambalaya...what am I missing? Oh yeah, hair. Bad hair, but it's OK because I'm going to take another shower at lunchtime so I can be super-fresh and clean, and so I can exfoliate and moisturize the hell outta my skin. I'll do my hair after the shower. The iPod playlist is complete, and I've been listening to it for days.

Oh HOW am I going to get through the next nine hours???

Holy Mary Mother of God

I finally figured out what was dragging my computer down. I've been having horrible problems with my computer in the last couple of months. Things have just gotten slower and slower until finally I was waiting actual MINUTES for my computer to respond to stuff, especially on Firefox. Today I realized (lightbulb moment!) that it wasn't happening with IE. Just with Firefox. So I went into the Mozilla forums, and lo and behold, what do I find but a bunch of threads talking about how Panda (anti-virus software) is conflicting with Firefox. It seems that Panda kept thinking that the web pages were throwing out spyware, and so it was slowing down my computer to a crawl. No, not a crawl. it was worse than a crawl. It was slowing my computer down to almost a full fucking stop. So, that's it. No more Panda for me. I finally uninstalled it and installed the free AVG anti-virus software, and my computer is like brand-new. There may be a hiccup or two but NOTHING like I was dealing with for the past few weeks. And it's probably only slightly slow now because I am running the scan - and yet I'm still able to work and get decent response times while the AVG is scanning my entire computer.

Speaking of irritations, I got my first bikini wax yesterday. Preparing for the coming weekend that will consist of mass quantities of sex, I hope. And actually, the bikini wax wasn't bad AT ALL. I'm thinking about getting a Brazilian next time, because this was really nothing.

Much more irritating is the damn cough that is still hanging on for dear life. I finally went to the doctor this morning because I just cannot take it anymore. He hooked me up with an albuterol inhaler (which doesn't seem to really do much of anything for me, thanks) and cough syrup with codeine. I took a shot at about 11:30 this morning, and to be honest, I'm not feeling much decrease in the coughing, but at least I'm high as a kite and I don't care. Heh.

Tuesday night I went out to visit D. We went to a new Vietnamese restaurant in town, a little hole in the wall place in Springtown, and it was FANTASTIC. Really excellent food, especially the curry chicken soup (which I tried to sort of duplicate last night with the Thai red curry paste; it turned out pretty good!). Then we went back to his place to drop off the leftovers. I met his roommate, who seems like a pretty cool guy. Apparently he remembered me from high school; he was a year behind me at LHS. I had absolutely no clue who he was. Heh. Then D and I drove out Patterson Pass and "parked" - how high school is that? Totally made out in the car for an hour or so. It was awesome, but we were both so goddamn horny afterwards, it's not even funny. We'd made a pact to refrain from...um...releasing our passion...until our big night on Friday, but we decided to take a night off from the celibacy pact because it was just too hard. No pun intended. ;-) So anyway...tomorrow night! In fact, he'll be here in 26.5 hours. And it will be fabulous.

Girlfriend????

I miss D. I haven't seen him for over a week now. But the other night, while we were talking on the phone, he referred to me as his girlfriend. I didn't really react to it, because he just threw it out so casually like it was understood. Is it understood? I mean, I guess it is. We have agreed that we are dating exclusively...but we haven't even slept together yet! It just seems so odd. Anyway, it was a nice surprise. I think. Am I becoming commitment-phobic? Maybe I'm just out of practice, because I haven't had a boyfriend in about three years, and that was my second go-round with Babydaddy, which...we were not exactly exclusive. Well, I was, but he wasn't. Not that he was running around behind my back or anything; I knew he was dating other people and I was OK with it, God only knows why. Anyway...tangent. Yeah. So: girlfriend. I'm somebody's girlfriend!

I am trying to keep my footing here, but I feel myself really falling for him, and I don't know that I'm ready for it yet. I've been single for so long that I'm kind of struggling with how much to let him in, and how far I should go, emotionally. It's been a long time since I've depended on a man for anything. Well, you know, except for the rare one-night-stands, where all I'm expecting is (hopefully) an orgasm. And Babydaddy, for fixing stuff around the house. Heh. But I haven't depended on anyone for emotional support since...I can't remember when. Probably the first time around with Babydaddy. Even Bob (not B.O.B., but the actual guy) was all about mindblowing sex, not emotional support. Not that I'm not hoping for mindblowing sex with D - I am! Very much so! But I feel comfortable with him, and I think about him ALL. THE. TIME. He's the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep at night.

I miss him. I miss...my boyfriend. There, I said it. :)

EIGHT!

I went to the gym last night to try and work off some of this nervous energy. It's been a while since I've been there; I don't think I've been since Mom was in town and we went together. It felt good to get back in the swing of things, but the best part? The BEST PART? Was when I weighed myself after I showered and changed. I have lost eight pounds! EIGHT!

I had no idea that the evening snacking was quite as insidious as all that. I'll never go back to it, never. Eight pounds, y'all! I am two pounds away from my goal and I've only been to the gym twice since I started the "knitting diet."

And to top it all off? I came home and managed to squeeze into my skinny jeans last night. Gap size 2. I've still got a bit of muffin-top when I wear them, so I won't be taking them out in public just yet, but...they zipped up! Skinny jeans! EIGHT POUNDS!

Best day of my life, y'all.

Holy frijoles!

Damn, my house is clean! I mean really super spic-n-span clean. Yesterday I called a cleaning lady who came highly recommended by someone on the local parents' mailing list. She came this morning with her sister and cleaned the FUCK outta my house for three hours. They did the windows and the blinds. They cleaned the grody shower door track. They made the beds and neatened the place up. They even got the cobwebs that hang out in the highest reaches of the two-story cathedral living room ceilings. They folded all the toilet paper rolls into little triangle ends - and the paper towel roll too! And the woman only wanted to charge me $100! I gave her $200 - seriously, they cleaned the place so well I think I could happily eat off the floors. I asked her to start coming every other week and it is going to be so nice to have it done professionally on a regular basis. Because, yanno, I am a total slob and lazy to boot.

Oh, and my computer is dying a slow, painful death. Last night the speakers went all wonky, and so I ran the anti-virus software, thinking maybe it was a virus. Halfway through the scan, I got the Blue Screen of Death. *sigh* Boss is meeting me tomorrow afternoon to take the laptop and have the hard drive replaced - hopefully that will help a lot.

Resorting to bribery

Last night I bribed Babydaddy with meatloaf and smothered mushroom gravy. I made one of Rachael Ray's 30-minute meal recipes but sort of altered it, because I didn't want mashed cauliflower; instead we had roasted cauliflower with a little shaved asiago cheese. The little individual meatloaves were quite good - you cook them in a skillet instead of baking them, but I think they needed a little something extra. Babydaddy suggested throwing in a little horseradish next time, which sounds fantastic to me.

Anyhoo, I made him this special dinner and then hit him with my request - I want a night off each week. A real night off, where he takes Rugrat back to his house and I get the whole night to myself. I asked for Thursdays, but he pointed out that it's difficult when he's got Rugrat for the weekend, because it means he has to drop him off out here at school in the morning on Friday, go to work, and then get back out here in time to pick him up. It's just too much commuting, especially with the horrendous traffic we have out here. He suggested Tuesdays. We finally compromised: Thursdays one week, Tuesdays the next.

I haven't been horribly unhappy with the custody arrangement this past year, but now that I'm seeing D pretty regularly, it's disappointing to have to finish a date at 9:00 pm so I can get back home and let Babydaddy go home before it gets too late. And it also means that I am always going out to visit D, rather than him coming out here sometimes, because Babydaddy and Rugrat are here at the house so we'd have no privacy (and I'm not ready for D to meet Rugrat yet anyway). So...this will give me some more options, and Rugrat will get to spend some quality time with his dad, and I will get to sleep in an extra hour once a week. Nice!

Wonderland

So I have been tasked with creating the "soundtrack" for our first big night. In a little less than two weeks, D and I will have a free weekend together - and by free I mean: no work, his daughter out of town on vacation, my son at his dad's house, a full freaking weekend in which we will both have our test results and nothing to stop us from getting totally jiggy with it.

It can't come soon enough for me. After Sunday night I seem to be in a permanent state of arousal that B.O.B. and the shower massage cannot seem to quench.

So...the soundtrack. He wants me to create an iPod playlist for background music, and I am struggling. I mean, there are some obvious choices (Sexual Healing, heh) but some that may be too mushy. I don't want a whole bunch of lovey-lovey crap because quite frankly I don't think we're there yet. And should I stick with a slower theme or should I mix it up with some higher energy, do-me-up-against-the-wall kind of stuff? *sigh* Choices, choices.

Suggestions would be very welcome. :)

Oh. My. God.

D came over last night after dropping his daughter off at her mom's. We spent two hours making out, and I have never been so freaking horny in my whole entire life. I can think of nothing but his lips, tongue, hands...

Test results came in the mail this weekend, and I have the all-clear. Woohoo! Now just waiting on the diaphragm. D will have a whole weekend free in two weeks as his daughter is going to Disneyland, but I won't get the diaphragm until 2 days later. So...I'm thinking about the sponge. Anyone used it? All I know about it is from that one Seinfeld episode where Elaine hoards them and will only sleep with men that she deems "sponge-worthy."

Oh, and I packed up FOURTEEN boxes of books over the weekend! About 1200, boxed and scanned.

Eeeeee!

I am so excited. Earlier this week I was perusing the chicklit boards and one of the threads was about organizing your books. Now, my books are decided UN-organized. Ever since I put out the word among family & friends that I'd like to open a used book store, I've been inundated with loads of books. I have thousands - taking up practically every square inch of storage space in my home. There are bookshelves in nearly every room, with books double-stacked on most shelves. There are boxes and bags filled with books in the garage. There is no sense of order or reason; everything has just been shoved willy-nilly, wherever it will fit when I acquired it. My two-car garage barely fits my little old Honda Accord anymore, because it's so overrun with books. And to make matters worse, I set up a database with the intention of cataloging all those books in order to keep track of what I have and what I plan to sell it for, but I couldn't keep up with it because: thousands of books, yo. All having to be entered by hand. NOT HAPPENING.

So on Tuesday, when I was reading through that thread about organizing your books, I got a bug up my butt. I found some great, cheap software from collectorz, and ordered it as well as a BARCODE SCANNER! The scanner will store up to 500 codes in memory. Then you just hook it up to your computer, and it downloads the barcodes into the book collectorz software. It automatically puts in the details of the books (author, title, cover price, etc), and you are free to go run off and scan 500 more books. Is that freaking awesome or what?

So the barcode scanner just came in the mail, and I am totally jacked. I'm spending the weekend organizing my book stash, y'all! Scan the books, put them in boxes, tape 'em up, and store them OUT OF SIGHT. Ahhh...I am so looking forward to less clutter.

Difficult conversation

Last night D & I had our fourth date - a mellow evening on the couch with Borat and some supermarket salad & rotisserie chicken. The movie was hilarious, in a totally cringe-worthy way. And the food was tasty. And the making out was excellent.

Mom, Grandma...y'all might want to stop reading here. HUGE oversharing ahead.

Since it was our fourth date, I kind of expected that the sex issue would come up. And I totally chickened out about initiating The Talk, but gently stopped things from going too far anyhow. Almost immediately after I got home, he called to make sure I got home OK, and I took a deep breath and jumped in. Now, I've never had The Talk before. In the past several years, sex has been a very casual one-off kind of thing, with condoms playing an integral part of the equation. Before that, I was in a couple of short (<6 months) relationships that also featured condoms. And before THAT, well, I was with Babydaddy, and I was on the Pill (until I wasn't...and we know how that turned out, don't we?). But with D...OK, let me just say it. I hate condoms. Hate, hate, hate. Yes, I realize that they are a necessary evil in today's society, and they have certainly kept me safe for many years. But I've waited almost two decades to have sex with D, and I really don't want anything between us (literally) when the moment arrives. So, I kind of blurted out that last week, when I visited the doc, I got tested for the whole lineup of bad juju. Results are not back yet, but I'm not exactly concerned about it; I'm fairly certain I'm in the clear here considering my track record and previous test results. And I set up an appointment to get fitted for a diaphragm, because I've gone that route before, it's non-invasive, and doesn't play havoc with my hormones, so it's a good option. And...he was totally cool. Very reassuring, told me he would get tested himself (yay!) and assured me that he is not seeing anyone else, and would not do so while we are in a relationship. So...once we have our test results & diaphragm in hand (so to speak), we will be free to forge ahead with what I sincerely hope is going to be some totally kickass sex.

Quick Veggie Pizza

We made homemade veggie pizza for dinner last night. I bought one of those premade thin-crust pizza shells, and we filled it with ranch dressing (instead of marinara, because neither of Rugrat nor I like tomato sauce on our pizza), baby spinach, mushrooms, olives, marinated artichoke hearts, slivers of onion, garlic, and standard bagged "pizza mix" shredded cheese. Rugrat's side only had spinach & olives, but my side had all the goodies. And BOY was it tasty! It earned one and a half thumbs up from the Rugrat, although he said that next time he'd prefer it without the ranch dressing.

Weekend notes

This weekend I got a bug up my butt about the yard. On Saturday, I spent five (!!) hours outside - weeding, putting down bark, cutting off dead leaves from the elephant ear plant thing near the front door (which left no leaves at all; we'll see if it survives), planting stuff in the pots in the backyard, and cutting back the fuschias on the other side of the front door that were also doing quite poorly thanks to the hard freeze we had a few weeks ago. On Sunday I had someone come out to dethatch and aerate the front lawn, and they will be reseeding it today. So at least the front yard will look presentable in a few weeks. I'm also definitely getting a gardening service, because God knows I don't mow often enough (or fertilize, or weed, or anything).

As a result of working my butt off on Saturday, I was pretty sore yesterday. But I dragged Rugrat out to get some new clothes (pants are a particular issue with him, as we have a hard time finding jeans that fit the length while still being small enough in the waist to fit his skinny bod), and to the grocery store. Rugrat's friend K came over for a little while to play, and when I told the kids that it was time for her to go home, Rugrat shouted "Oh, shit!" He is EIGHT. That is way too young to be cursing at the top of your lungs. Soooo...to punish him I made him not speak for an hour (and if you know my Rugrat, you know that this is very difficult for him, since he's a major chatterbox). I told him if I heard him curse again, he'd be getting his mouth washed out with soap. Of course it doesn't help that I'm a complete hypocrite and curse fairly often myself; when he brought this up I told him that when he is twenty-five years older than someone (as I am older than him) he can curse all he wants. Heh.

The weekend ended on a good note though, as we made homemade veggie pizza for dinner last night. I bought one of those thin-crust pizza shells, and we filled it with ranch dressing (instead of marinara, because neither of us like tomato sauce on our pizza), baby spinach, mushrooms, olives, marinated artichoke hearts, slivers of onion, garlic, and standard bagged "pizza mix" shredded cheese. Rugrat's side only had spinach & olives, but my side had all the goodies. And BOY was it good! It earned one and a half thumbs up from the Rugrat, although he said that next time he'd prefer it without the ranch dressing.

Clarity

I am no longer uncertain about D's intentions towards me. They are most definitely of the naughty variety. :)

By late Monday morning I could no longer deny the existence of the head cold. It took over and beat me into submission, so D & I rescheduled our date for Thursday. Luckily, due to the glorious combination of Cold-Eeze, NyQuil, and Babydaddy bringing me chicken soup and orange juice Tuesday night, by Wednesday I was feeling much better. And yesterday, Thursday, I was basically back to normal.

D & I met up in my hometown (where he lives), about half an hour away from me, and had Mexican food for dinner. Then we headed out to play pool, which...I honestly am not very good at, especially since I don't play often. But it was my suggestion, because it's fun and doesn't preclude conversation. And it gives me great excuses to bend over, putting my assets (so to speak) on display. Heh.

At the end of the night, he walked me to my car and finally, FINALLY kissed me. It was very sweet. He asked me, "How shy should I be right now?" and I promptly responded, "Less shy than you've been so far!" Hee. And...yum. Very good kisser. Plus he has an incredibly strong upper body that just makes me want to melt. I don't usually go for the muscle bound type but holy god, do I feel safe and squishy in his arms.

I woke up in a really good mood this morning, bounding out of bed before the alarm clock even went off. Wonder why? ;-)

Laughed until I cried

Sars' latest essay over at Tomato Nation just killed me: iTunes as prophet. I loved, loved, loved the section about her haircut. And the ending? Priceless.

Befuddled

I'm a little confused as to what's going on with D. Is he just taking it really really slow? Or is he only interested in being friends? Every once in a while he'll say something that makes me think he is interested in me (as more than a friend) but now we've seen each other twice and there have not been any unequivocal signs that he's warm for my form, as the saying goes.

OK, back up.

Yesterday evening as I was chillin' on the couch watching American Beauty and transferring it from TiVo to DVD, D called. He was heading out this way to drop his daughter off at her mom's, and I suggested he swing by on his way home. He called again at 9:30 to get directions and was here moments later. I was definitely not smokin' hot or anything - hair pulled up in a clippy thing and glasses on (although I actually think those are hot) and we hung out on the couch chatting for a couple hours. Not once did he make a move to get a little closer on the couch. At the end of the night, though, we had the patented hug...he is truly the most amazing hugger on earth, all full body contact and everything. And I swear there was a zing - a little split second when I thought he was going to kiss me, or I was going to kiss him, but then he left. Arrrrgh!

But...we are going out on Tuesday. So...? I'm starting to think that if I don't make the first move it will never get made. But at the same time, it is kind of fun not knowing. I'm enjoying the anticipation. My blood pressure, on the other hand, is sky high because I'm totally freaking out all the time over whether he likes me or not. Heh. I feel like I'm back in high school again.

And the bad news is that I'm coming down with the wicked cold everyone's been getting. Lloyd's had it for a while now and I am pretty sure he's the one who gave it to me. I am frantically taking Cold-Eeze (zinc lozenges) and NyQuil at night, hoping to stave off the inevitable. At least until Wednesday. Because I don't want to cancel my Tuesday night date with D!

Party time

Yesterday was Babydaddy's birthday. I cannot believe this is his last year in his 30's. Poor guy was sick and feeling like crap but he took Rugrat to karate class anyway, while I made him a fabulous birthday dinner of thick boneless pork chops (brined, natch), roasted asparagus, and cauliflower with gruyere cheese. Funny, was going through some old blogs yesterday and discovered that I made almost the exact same meal for him last year on his birthday.

Today is K's birthday, and to celebrate we (a fairly large group of us) are going out to dinner at some Italian place in D'ville, and then climbing aboard the party bus to SF, where we will imbibe copious amounts of booze at the Bubble Lounge, and possibly go elsewhere for dancing/whatever. I will be bringing sleepover stuff, because I'll undoubtedly be unable to drive home after such a night of debauchery.

But the best news of all is that I have lost almost 4 pounds over the last couple of weeks, thanks to the knitting diet. The knitting diet consists of knitting my sweater in the evenings while watching TiVo, instead of stuffing my face (which was the usual routine). And the icing on the cake is that I've made about 6 inches of progress on my sweater so far. :) I fully expect that it will be finished long before Christmas. I am racing along! Can't wait to start something a little more challenging next time (like a ribbed v-neck or similar).

Fear & Insomnia

I've been dealing with some wicked insomnia the past week. My usual routine is to go to bed shortly before 11 and read until I get sleepy. This usually takes about a half hour - less if the book I'm reading is particularly boring. But in the past week, I haven't been getting sleepy, or if I do, then as soon as I put the book down and shut off the light my brain starts going a million miles an hour. Yes, it's been a busy week for me, but I'm not under a lot of stress or anything.

Anyway, last night I tossed and turned for probably an hour before finally falling asleep. A few times I started to drift off, and then I realized I was drifting off, and of course that woke me right back up. I finally fell asleep and then at about 2:30 I woke up to a banging, rattly noise. There's been quite an increase in crime around here lately, so my first thought was that someone was trying to break into my house or the neighbor's. I went to the window and peeked through the blinds but couldn't see anything suspicious out front. I lay back down and the banging & rattling continued. I listened really hard and decided that since there weren't any human noises (like cursing or whatever) that it was probably an animal getting into the garbage cans. This isn't normal, although we do get quite an assortment of wildlife in the backyard. Finally I realized that the problem was that Rugrat had pulled the garbage cans in yesterday evening, but neglected to close the gate all the way and the gate was banging against the garbage cans. Of course a couple hours later, the noise woke Rugrat up and he climbed into bed with me. *sigh*

So all in all, not a great night last night.

Today has been better though: D called me about an hour ago and we made plans to meet up next Tuesday again! :)

Miracle Worker

Yesterday I got a haircut with K's hairdresser, J. I have been going to JW for a couple of years now (and was quite happy with her), but one night a couple of months ago I got totally frustrated with my newly short hair and could not do a freaking thing with it. I was at K's house, and J was there with his wife as we were all going out to celebrate something or other. Anyhoo, J styled my hair and made it look darn good, so I swore that he would be getting a visit from me the next time I needed my hair cut.

I sit down in the chair with my hair all up in the clippy thing and proceed to tell him that I don't really want it any shorter, because I like it better long, but SOMETHING has to change because I hate the current haircut and I get these weird lanky bits in the front that don't do anything. An hour later, I walked out of the salon looking like a freaking goddess, because J is a TOTAL FUCKING ROCKSTAR. My hair looks SO good. And just like that, I've found my new hairstylist. I don't even care that the salon is half an hour away in WC.

Also last night, I met up with D, the guy I hadn't seen in ten years. It was great - we met up at the Cantina for Taco Tuesday, had a couple of drinks, a couple of tacos, and talked nonstop for almost four hours. He was just as I remembered him - except that he's shaved his head! It was quite a change, but it looks good on him.

Mom came to visit last weekend and we had a lovely time. Saturday we went grocery shopping and I made her the fabulous Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole (which I am getting pretty darn sick of now, heh). Aunt L came over to visit in the afternoon, and then the next day, Sunday, we went to the movies (Bridge to Terabithia - sob!) and then to Aunt L's for dinner. My cousin K was there with her boyfriend as well, so we all had a nice visit. Then on Monday (President's Day holiday) I dropped Rugrat off at daycare in the morning so Mom & I went to the gym and then to the salon for pedicures. And then, unfortunately, it was time to take her to the airport. As usual, the visit was too short. :( But it was nice while it lasted.

Old Skool

I found an old friend on myspace a couple weeks ago - a guy I haven't talked to in ten years. Turns out he lives only half an hour away from me, and also has an 8-yr-old child. We've talked on the phone a couple times but haven't yet gotten together; it will be interesting to see him after all this time. He was a really great friend to me back when I was young and stupid and in a very self-destructive phase, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him again.

I found the high-end yarn shop in WC this weekend, and spent a good hour and a half in there, browsing the gorgeous yarns and finally settling on some skeins of lovely brown and olive-green wool to knit my first sweater. I also got a set of double-pointed needles and a circular needle, and I'm off & running on the project. I hope it turns out OK; this is my first non-scarf project so I'm hoping I don't screw it up too badly. It's about an inch long right now, so I figure I might be done with it by next Christmas. Heh. Unless, of course, it goes the way of my counted cross-stitch project (the stocking that will probably not be finished until my first grandchild is born).

Rugrat is losing teeth left, right & center. He's almost got more gaps than teeth, these days. Doesn't do much to help his babyish pronunciation either. ;-) He's doing well in karate though, and currently is the only one in his class (gold belt), so he's getting some great one-on-one attention with the instructors. He'll be moving up to orange belt in about another week, so we're enjoying the individual instruction while it lasts.

And mom is coming to visit this weekend! Yay! Which means I seriously need to clean the house. Boo!

HP7!!

The seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, has an official release date now: July 21, 2007. You can bet Rugrat and I will be down at our local B&N for the release party the night before!

Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole

My sister and her family came over yesterday for a visit. They are moving from Phoenix to Portland, and I was sorta kinda on the way. ;-) It was great to catch up with my sister, because I just don't see her very often; once a year is about all we can manage. Her daughter, who is autistic, has made a LOT of progress since the last time I saw her, and I was really enjoying spending some quality time with my niece. I didn't get to spend as much time with my BIL and my nephew, as they took off to visit BIL's Bay Area friends shortly after they arrived.

Anyhoo, I thought about making chicken enchiladas but then discovered that I didn't have enough tortillas to make enough for us all. So Sister & I improvised, and came up with the NOT DIET-FRIENDLY Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole:

2 cooked chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 jar enchilada sauce
2-3 tortillas, cut into strips
Shredded cheddar (or Jack, or Mexican Mix - whatever you have) cheese
Fritos
Sour cream (optional - for serving)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Take the 2 chicken breasts & shred the meat with forks. Mix together the can of soup, plus 2 or 3 chiles (minced) and a little of the adobo sauce (you will have TONS of the chiles left over; save them for another recipe). Mix enough of the soup/chile sauce in with the shredded chicken to make it like chicken salad or tuna salad consistency. You don't want your chicken swimming in the soup stuff, but you need enough to keep the meat moist & tasty.

Spray a 9" square casserole dish with nonstick spray. Pour in enough enchilada sauce to lightly coat the bottom of the dish. Lay slices of tortilla over the sauce to cover, then carefully spread the chicken/soup mixture over it. Top with more sliced tortillas. Pour more enchilada sauce on top (you'll probably have a lot left over - I think I used half a jar). Then add a layer of shredded cheese. Finally, crunch up some Fritos and put them on the very top. Pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the cheese and sauce is bubbly. Then broil the casserole for a couple minutes to make the Fritos golden brown. Serve with sour cream. Will serve 4-6, depending on how often you go back for more. Heh.

Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole

My sister and her family came over yesterday for a visit. They are moving from Phoenix to Portland, and I was sorta kinda on the way. ;-) It was great to catch up with my sister, because I just don't see her very often; once a year is about all we can manage. Her daughter, who is autistic, has made a LOT of progress since the last time I saw her, and I was really enjoying spending some quality time with my niece. I didn't get to spend as much time with my BIL and my nephew, as they took off to visit BIL's Bay Area friends shortly after they arrived.

Anyhoo, I thought about making chicken enchiladas but then discovered that I didn't have enough tortillas to make enough for us all. So Sister & I improvised, and came up with the NOT DIET-FRIENDLY Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole:

2 cooked chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 jar enchilada sauce
2-3 tortillas, cut into strips
Shredded cheddar (or Jack, or Mexican Mix - whatever you have) cheese
Fritos
Sour cream (optional - for serving)

Take the 2 chicken breasts & shred the meat with forks. Mix together the can of soup, plus 2 or 3 chiles and a little of the adobo sauce (you will have TONS of the chiles left over; save them for another recipe). Mix enough of the soup/chile sauce in with the shredded chicken to make it like chicken salad or tuna salad consistency. You don't want your chicken swimming in the soup stuff, but you need enough to keep the meat moist & tasty.

Spray a 9" square casserole dish with nonstick spray. Pour in enough enchilada sauce to lightly coat the bottom of the dish. Lay slices of tortilla over the sauce to cover, then carefully spread the chicken/soup mixture over it. Top with more sliced tortillas. Pour more enchilada sauce on top (you'll probably have a lot left over - I think I used half a jar). Then add a layer of shredded cheese. Finally, crunch up some Fritos and put them on the very top. Pop it in the oven at 350 or so for about 30 minutes, until the cheese and sauce is bubbly. Then broil the casserole for a couple minutes to make the Fritos golden brown. Serve with sour cream. Will serve 4-6, depending on how often you go back for more. Heh.

*sigh*

The lockout karma is apparently still in full effect. I went out back this morning to have a smoke, and *somehow* the sliding glass door LOCKED behind me! How do I get into these situations? I was still in my jammies and robe (actually robeS, plural, for warmth) and had to go next door to the neighbor's to borrow a cheap butter knife. I managed to pry the damn door back open but this is seriously ridiculous, y'all. I couldn't use my hidden spare key because I have one of those slide-bar lock thingys on the front door (that I lock before going to bed) so there was NO other way to get back in the house except through that f'ing back door.

In other news - New Year's was meh, but I did manage to get myself laid at just about exactly the one-year mark (two days before New Year's). I basically set out to have meaningless sex simply to break my unending dry streak, and achieved exactly that: meaningless sex. Not great sex, but hey, it served the purpose. I couldn't leave 2006 without having sex at least once. It's just...unnatural. Mom asked me the other day when I'm going to have another kid. Ha ha, Mom. First I have to find someone I like, then I have to actually sleep with him. These days that's a herculean task in and of itself. So I'm pretty sure my childbearing time is far, far behind me.

On the plus side? 24 last night rocked. I was waiting for Jack Bauer to mention "fava beans and a nice Chianti." Yay for the new season of fabulous no-repeat TV!

HAAAAATE

I am FURIOUS with the fuckers over at Integrated Alarm Services. I called back in July, wanting to cancel my account with them because I never use the damn thing, and they told me "Oh, your contract doesn't expire until January 16, so you can either pay us a big ass block of money now to get out of the contract, or wait and send a letter and cancel it then." So I opted to cancel it later. They told me to send a letter 30 days before the contract expires. Fine, I sent off a fax today - yes, it's a couple days late, but it's JUST a couple days. Now they're telling me that I needed to send the letter 90 days before the contract expired. NINETY days. No. They are giving me the fucking runaround and I am sick of this shit. It's not like they didn't know I was going to cancel. They did have notice, y'all. I am FUCKING PISSED. I am considering actually changing my bank account to keep them from getting their grubby fucking hands on any more of my money. Haaaate!

And if that's not enough, Rugrat's GATE teacher is retiring in January, and nobody seems to know what's going to happen to the program. They're certainly not hiring anyone yet. They are taking this time to "re-evaluate" the program. Translation: they can't afford to do anything and they are stalling. Haaaate!

This is not a good day. Not good at all.

CPSIL update

OK, CPSIL has gone off the deep end. Babydaddy tells me that she told PBIL she "made a mistake" when she left him. So she...wants to get back together now? After being separated for over a year. And after having vicious screaming matches with him all the time, in front of the kids. And after deciding that her kids are expendable and she doesn't want to deal with them anymore. And after making every excuse she could think of to get more money out of PBIL and at the same time spend less time with HER OWN CHILDREN.

And now she wants to get back together?

I hope PBIL tells her to go take a flying leap. The woman needs to be institutionalized.

Books, books & more books

Last year I started keeping track of the books I read. This year, so far, I've read 133 books (although seven of them I either did not finish, or am still reading). I knew I read a lot, but more than 11 books per month, on average, is probably a little excessive. Maybe I should cut back next year and do something a little more productive with my time, like keep up with housework or, maybe, find a date. Heh.

Anyhoo, the standouts on my list this year were (in the order I read them):

• The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini - this book was fabulous and heartbreaking
• Something Borrowed and Something Blue, both by Emily Giffin - fun chick-lit fluff, but with substance; taken together, the books form two sides of the same story
  
• A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey - not exactly non-fiction, but VERY well written and compelling
• Undead & Unwed, by Mary Janice Davidson - another fun fluff piece, this time about a rather shallow young woman who becomes a vampire
• The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls - disturbing non-fiction memoir
  
• Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger - a coming-of-age story about the bonds of family and duty
  
• A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving - another lovely coming-of-age story, focused on faith
• A Dirty Job, Christopher Moore - more fun stuff: a man who becomes one of Death's helpers (Christopher Moore is always a good bet for offbeat, humorous "horror" stories)
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer - powerful story about a boy searching for clues to his father's past after he dies in the 9/11 attacks
• Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro - creepy but hopeful at the same time

I hope one or more of these books ends up on your 2007 list, if you haven't read them all already!

Pulp Fiction...the really short version

You must click here.

I laughed for a full five minutes after watching this. Because I am twelve years old.

Gossip

Remember crazy pseudo-SIL (CPSIL)? I haven't talked to her in a year, at least. But the other day, Babydaddy told me her latest psychotic tale. She's decided that she "can't handle" her kids anymore and is foisting them off permanently on her ex-husband, my pseudo-BIL (PBIL). Apparently, CPSIL is convinced that the kids hate her, they don't appreciate anything she does for them, and she's certain something is wrong with A, the youngest, although the doctor has told her repeatedly that he is fine.

I have major, major issues with this. First of all, knowing CPSIL as I do, she's probably just got a boyfriend who doesn't want her kids around and so she's dumping them. Or maybe they just cramp her style - she can't go out and party as often as she'd like with her friends. Doesn't matter, really, the point is: you don't get to delete your kids from your life and still be considered a decent human being. Those poor little boys are being abandoned by their mother and her excuse for doing this is that they don't appreciate her? THEY ARE LITTLE KIDS. Of course they don't appreciate what she does for them, no child under the age of 18 appreciates what their parents do for them (you know, not until they move out and have to fend for themselves). That is no excuse. And they probably do act up more around her, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. She's high-strung, impatient, and obviously not responsible enough or emotionally invested enough in her children to put them first. I'm sure they pick up on that. But what REALLY galls me, what absolutely horrifies me, is that she was desperate to have children. She pushed PBIL into it, she went through fertility treatments to get pregnant with those little boys, and now she is ready to throw them away like they're trash. And what will happen to those boys when she decides in six months that she misses them, or (more likely) her parents guilt her into trying to get the boys back? It will completely fuck with their heads, and then she'll throw them away again when she gets tired of being a mommy.

I...have no words. Just NO FUCKING WORDS. She is inhuman. I hope PBIL gets sole custody of the boys and a restraining order against the bitch.

Oh, and CPSIL was trying to get PBIL to carry more than his share of the load before this, and she somehow used ME as an example -- something about how Babydaddy and I have things worked out, and how CPSIL and PBIL should do things differently (obviously something to her selfish advantage) because what works for us must work for them. Ummm...no. I don't know what point she was trying to make, but she made it sound to PBIL like CPSIL and I are still great friends and talk all the time, when...no. Not happening. And for her to try and use me as leverage in her fight with PBIL is just totally fucked and completely irrelevant. What works for one family is not necessarily going to work for another family. And what she doesn't seem to get is that I LOVE MY SON and would NEVER abandon him, and both Babydaddy and I are committed to making things easy on Rugrat and therefore we get along and are flexible with each other. Plus Babydaddy is a good friend and a great person. Whereas CPSIL is completely fucking out of her mind.

That is all.

Vegas recap

I went to Vegas this past weekend for a reunion of sorts - a bunch of people that I used to work with all got together to get drunk and gamble and stuff.

I arrived just before 10 PM on Friday and waited at the airport for a while as the people I was meeting up with were all on delayed flights. We caught a cab together to our hotel (the Strat, way at the far end of the Strip) and dropped off our bags and jumped BACK in a cab to the Bellagio for our midnight meetup with the group. Had a few drinks, some late night food, and back to the hotel to sleep at around 4 AM.

Saturday morning I awoke bright and early at 8 AM, not even hung over. Yay! We cabbed down to the Luxor for a semi-group breakfast buffet, and then folks went their separate ways. I did a little shopping at the Venetian, then headed for the Mirage and my spa day with A, one of my old project managers. She and I got luxurious pedicures, then I hung out at the spa (AWESOME steam room) until my 4:30 massage. Took a shower, did my hair, then hopped a bus back to the Strat to change for the evening into the lovely lavender silk top I bought at BCBG that day. I got ready in ten minutes (I know!) and jumped in another cab with the guys at the Strat, and we went to Ellis Island for a BBQ dinner with the whole group. Fantastic BBQ, by the way. Juicy chicken, delish beans & corn on the cob. Plus microbrew beers that were pretty damn tasty. A group of us left Ellis after a couple hours and headed to Mandalay Bay to drink some more at House of Blues, and then watched the guys play Pai Gow (while we drank some more). Had a nice conversation with JL, who managed to fly in from LA after his motorcycle broke down and he missed his meetup with JW, who was driving from LA. Then we moved on to the Monte Carlo, which was kind of funky because I was following part of the group and didn't realize that they were heading back to sleep at their hotel - the Luxor. I ended up cabbing separately to the Monte Carlo and meeting up with the group again as they played...craps? Blackjack? I dunno. I put three dollars in a slot machine and drank some more. There was (obviously) lots of alcohol involved in this evening, but I don't think I embarrassed myself too much. ;-) Stumbled back to the room around 3, I think.

Sunday morning I woke up around 7 AM and couldn't get back to sleep because H was snoring like a truck driver. LOL. Grabbed some coffee and biscuits & gravy at the cafe in the Strat and then headed to the airport with a group of folks. The airport was a mob scene, but I managed to check in & get through security in about an hour. I got separated from the rest of the group and they didn't make it to the gate until it was almost time to board! And...that's it. Flight home was uneventful. I took a nap when I got home, and Ryan was wonderful - played quietly in his room while I slept for a couple hours. Then I went to bed early. Ahhh, bliss! Sleeping in my own bed...

Bragging

Whose son is a freakin' genius? MINE! Rugrat was accepted into the Gifted & Talented Program last week. Students have to score 98% or higher on the exam to get in, and my kid did it! Wooohooo! Classes are held once a week - at another school, dammit - and it should be interesting to see what he thinks of it.

Yay, Rugrat! Way to go!

Ha ha, suckas!

The Republicans are scrambling now...vows of "bipartisan cooperation" are being made all over, now that the Dems are back in town. House? We got it - hell, we ROUTED those muthas in red. Senate? They're still counting (and recounting) the votes in Montana & Virginia, but it's looking good, y'all. Real good for the folks in blue. Finally...an end to the right-wingers running roughshod over the rest of us and our civil liberties.

And Rumsfeld resigned! Good lord, the joy just keeps on coming.

Two more years, y'all. Just two more years until we take back the White House.

And in other news, Britney finally, FINALLY lost 170 pounds of asshole and dumped that idiot K-Fed. I'm not a big Britney fan, but watching her sliding down the slippery slope from angelic, virginal teeny-bopper to sleazy, white trash, gum-poppin', Cheeto-eatin', overweight married mother of two was painful. Talk about disillusionment. In fact, I think it sort of mirrors the state of our nation. The last two years have been awful, but lo & behold, yesterday we pulled it out. We took the first decisive step towards turning it around - both the country and Britney.

Did you vote?

I cast my ballot this morning around 11 AM. I'm not going to get all "patriotic! woo-woo" on you, but I do think that it is a wonderful blessing to be able to vote. I'm not very active in politics - I don't go to city council meetings or anything - but I do believe that the ability to let your voice be heard, via voting, is an incredible honor and privilege. And a duty. It is your duty as a citizen of this country to learn about the issues on the ballot, to learn what the different politicians stand for (or purportedly stand for; we all know that once they gain office all bets are off), and to make the best choices based on your values and beliefs.

With all that said, WOOOO f'ing HOOO! Looks like the Dems are taking back the House...and the long, hard reign of the elephant will finally be over. For now, anyway.

Here's hoping for an Obama-Clinton ticket in '08!

Halloweeeeeeeeen

Guess it's time to play catch-up. I haven't done much in the last month, just same-old same-old. I did meet an old friend in Livermore last weekend - someone I hadn't seen since high school. He has gorgeous eyes, but a jacked-up grill. I totally forgot about that. Plus right now he's pretty much starting over in life - no car, living in a friend's "spare" room, working a low-paying job, etc. It was nice to chat though, and catch up on the last fifteen (!) years. I found out a bunch of people I knew in high school are dead now. God, that's depressing.

Rugrat's going as Blade (a vampire, who's a vampire hunter) this year for Halloween. The obsession with all things monstrous continues. He started karate classes at the beginning of the month and he loves it. It also seems to be helping quite a bit with his bossy-ness and his acting out at daycare. There haven't been any issues now at daycare or school for almost a month. Thank goodness.

The weather's turned cold, suddenly. It was in the 80's just last week, and now all of the sudden it's not getting above the mid-60s. Freakin COLD at night, too.

Dad & stepmom moved to Arizona last weekend. They bought a place in an "active senior community" and sold their house and moved. Active senior community. Gah. Hard to think of my dad as retired, but there you go. Time marches on, I guess. And it does sound like a pretty damn cool place, what with their state-of-the-art computer lab and fully stocked woodworking and pottery rooms and all that. There's a full gym there, and just all kinds of rooms geared towards specific hobbies. It's all included in the homeowner's association fees, and guests get free access too, which rocks. But, damn. Now I'm the last one left in the bay area. Sister & Dad both in Arizona, Mom in SoCal, and I'm left here all alone. :-(

So for Thanksgiving this year, since we won't be at Dad's partaking of the fabulous gourmet feast, Rugrat and I are going to volunteer at a church-sponsored soup kitchen. It should be an interesting change of pace. And it means that I won't be making a huge T'giving dinner for just the two of us. I need to talk w/Babydaddy and find out what his plans are for T'giving.

And lastly, I'm heading off to Vegas in a month. The people I used to work with, at my last (now-defunct) company, are organizing an alumni reunion there, and it should be loads of fun. A weekend of booze & gambling & partying with some great folks, hopefully celebrating the Democrats retaking control of Congress and leading us out of the Valley of Darkness that has been the US for the past several years. VOTE, y'all!