Thursday, January 28, 2010

i did not, part one

I did not encourage my 19 year old sister to move out of the family nest and into a dank, minuscule basement apartment in the Avenues with or without her amazing boyfriend to help pay bills and protect her in the night. I don't want my baby sister to grow up and have to start learning how to be a grownup in a shit hole that reeks of cigarettes and, well, lurking danger in the form of bad skanky girls and stoned losers. "Save your pennies", I think to myself, "and move into a nice place where there is no crime or bad people". What, do I think I can talk her into living in a padded room? Sheesh! Oh, I just need to drop it for now.

Yesterday, I did not open a shaken Dr. Pepper bottle in my car. It did not explode all over my leather gloves, the steering wheel, and my right side- coat sleeve, pants, seat, gearshift, etc. And then I did not go grocery shopping at Target with huge dark wet spots on my jeans and a sopping wet sleeve. I certainly did not try to dry my pants in the bathroom with the high powered hand dryer. Not me.

And I did not proceed to finish off that Dr. Pepper on the way home. I did not use half a container of Clorox wipes just on the steering wheel, to no avail. Still sticky.

When I got home I did not forget that I left my coat to soak in the washer until midnight. Then I did not let it finish it's cycle and then put it in the dryer for over an hour while it clanked and clanked so it would be dry the next morning so I could wear it to work. And the clanking did not keep my wonderful I Don't Have To Take 2 Different Medications To Fall Asleep Like You Do So Let's Just Hope That Our Future Kids Get All Of My Genes And Not Yours husband awake into the wee hours of the night, while I peacefully slept with the Cow on my head. (that stream of Capitalized Words is an product of MY brain, not Danny's. Just sayin.)

Today I did not go to the grocery store after work and buy a slice of cake and a small bag of salt n pepper pistachios for lunch. And I did not eat the entire bag of nuts while watching a whole disc of Buffy Season 5 because our cable was broken.

Then I did not pour liquid laundry detergent all over the recycling bin and some of the recyclables when I tried to fill the cap to the appropriate line. I did not previously wash the cap with the laundry so many times that it cracked and formed a huge hole in the bottom that I wasn't aware of. I then did not spill dissolved Oxyclean all over the washer lid and my hand when I overfilled the jar with hot water to dissolve it in. And I definitely won't get gross, dry and cracked fingertips and painful peeling cuticles that take forever to heal from being exposed to Oxyclean.

And finally, my downstairs neighbors did not hire a dude that they don't know to "hook up cable for a year for $40". (too good to be true, you say? No!) And that dude did not buy a cable splitter from radio shack, unscrew our cable, attach it to their cable, and then forget to screw ours back in. And Danny did not spend 45 minutes on the phone with ***cast, trying to convince them it was their fault, all the while they were trying to convince him that it was our fault. And Danny did not have to go outside with a flashlight in the cold to find what he thought to be a deception on our neighbors part. Nope. (but we worked it out. Danny was nice and told them that he didn't mind if they kept the splitter on and got our cable for free. I am not so nice and reminded him of the few times he has tried to convince me to live without cable so he could stop paying an arm and a leg for bad t.v. and Internet.)

And to top off? I did not watch half of the lame Should Of Gotten Cancelled Instead Of Conan Jimmy Fallon show, where the lamest Beatle of all was on- Ringo Starr, while I am talking to the t.v. telling Ringo to shove it and Jimmy that he sucks and that I hate him, when Danny says this:

Ringo Starr, just buy an island and leave the world alone.




I love my husband.




Thanks Allisen, this is a fun way to blog!


* just a little side note, after posting this, I got a comment from a ***cast representative inquiring why our service for cable and internet is bad. Big Brother is watching. I had no idea they pay people to watch blogger. Never making that mistake again!

(sorry if I offended any Ringo fans, I just don't like him. And then when he butchers a freaking Beatles song on t.v.? And he is a freaking Beatle? No excuse.)

Friday, January 22, 2010

five

5 things I always have in my fridge:
Dr. Pepper
water
butter (salted & unsalted)
lemon lime gatorade in a pitcher (danny's thing)
cream cheese




5 things I always have on(or in) my nightstand: (next to the bed, I don't have a nightstand)
burt's bees chapstick
sleep mask
tiny bottle of spikenard & lavender essential oil blend
bath & body works black amethyst body cream
heating pad




5 things I always have in my bathroom:
sensodyne toothpaste
md skincare daily alpha beta peel
md skincare blemish solution
q-tips
dial foaming handsoap in plum



5 things I always have in my car:
my re-usable shopping bags
cd's I never listen to
bath and body works car scent thingy
candy wrappers
deposit envelopes for the atm



5 things I always have in my purse:
my iphone
a little bottle of bath & body works black amethyst lotion
advil
burt's bees chapstick
nail clippers

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

m. i. a.

I am still here.

I haven't fallen off a cliff.

I have been busy, with *new* sewing tuesdays, housecleaning, sleeping in, and working.

Sewing Tuesdays are awesome. My mom and her friend Hazel invented it so that we would all get our gazillion projects that we started years ago finished.

So the last 2 tuesdays I have packed up my sewing room and gone over to her place for some quality mom/daughter time, as well as getting some serious sewing done. I got a whole pile of aprons done, but I have been too lazy/busy to take photos of them. I will...later.

Clucky
(photo from melly & me website)

Yesterday I worked on a silly little project called Clucky. It's a little chicken that has 4 little chicks that go in her "wing" pockets. It was supposed to be an easy little project in between aprons. No so. I had to take apart what I had sewn according to the instructions, and finish the project using just my amateur skills. (translation: the instructions are crap. this lady makes super cute patterns, but obviously does not make her own stuff from her patterns.) The beak is crooked, and if you look hard, a lot of mistakes. I won't be making another one anytime soon, but the one I made is very cute. (I will post a photo later.) I have a few more aprons to make, and then I am done for awhile. With aprons, at least. When I am done, I will have 15!

My next project is going to be a quilt. It is just in the planning stages for now...but it's gonna be awesome!


Oh and BTW, have you seen the new commercial from Mc Donalds?

Barf.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

all things considered (2009)

I made it my new years resolution to follow my new cookbook- All Cakes Considered, to make a new cake every week for all of 2010. But I am second guessing that one. Almost everyone I know has the resolution to eat less, meaning next to zero cake. So a whole cake every week just for Danny and I? Nah. We would end up wasting a lot of cake. So- I dunno, I am gonna have to think about this one a little longer.

I have a few other resolutions, but if I tell you, I won't do them. Even a little bit. See, I am kinda strange with stuff like that. When I decided to quit smoking, I didn't tell anybody until I had quit for over a week. And I quit cold turkey, and haven't smoked since. So see, it works for me to keep those goals a secret.

(I have been meaning to do this since the 31st (!!) but I have been a slave to my new Zelda game. Which I am frustrated with at the moment (I absolutely hate that train!) so I am working on this here post.


Here is a photo essay of 2009:

January: Ginseng Peppermint Tea to keep warm...

February: Wedding in Vegas- I wore a pencil skirt, heels and red lipstick. I was cold, my feet hurt, and red lipstick is really limiting. I realized that I had to limit my facial expressions, lest I have old lady/reporter lipstick teeth.

March: Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes. And it finally felt like spring!

April: 1 year Anniversary! I love my bearded fella!

May: Loo loo's Birthday with the Singing Homer Card.

June: Garlic Buttercream Plane Cake Fiasco, haven't made a cake since.

July: My Beautiful Sister Maloree and her baby kitten Iris, photographed on our super old, rusty, paint peeling, not-so-steady anymore swing set.

August: Danny's Birthday and Calvin's Funeral. This year, the birthday part will rival my own Amazing 30th Birthday Bash, I promise.

September: Painting (most of the walls), Moving (upstairs- gained a bedroom, lost a bathroom, gained a driveway and garage) & The Pie (for dinner, and lunch, and dinner again...)

October: Sandy Gauze...

& Beetleguise.

I loved making my ladybug costume, and working on Halloween with all the adorable kids and parents during the candy parade at Foothill Village. And Loo-loo got to hand out candy- it's her new favorite place to greet trick or treaters!

November: Olives on fingers, must be Thanksgiving! It was so much fun to have dinner with all the family in the new kitchen!

December: Best Birthday Ever, I love love love my new lens, Christmas with family, and Sleepy Cow takes a test run yawn on the new chair.

Happy New Year!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

adventures in grocery shopping


I was brave (only cause I was a little scared) and went to the new Winco Foods today. With Albertsons gone, and my refusal to shop at Maceys or Reams for low prices, I decided to drive all the way out there (it really wasn't that far) to check it out. And I have to say that I was impressed.

Impressed by the prices, not the store itself.

If you ever went to Food 4 Less back in the day, then you will have deja vu when you walk into Winco. I found most of what I usually buy on my 2 week food trip, so that was nice. I always have to go to multiple stores though. But that is mostly because I am picky, and not because the store's selection sucks. (example: I only like King's Basmati Rice. And the only place to get it is at Smith's Marketplace. Silly, silly me.)

A few things to take note of if you choose to try them out- They take debit cards and cash only. (I think I heard the guy behind me being mad when the cashier told him no checks. But I may of heard wrong.) You have to bag your own stuff, which is fine, but next time I will organize my cart better so that I can bag quicker. I love my reuseable bags even more now that I have to do it myself! And if you are looking for a very lame and kinda ugly pinata, they are in the soda aisle.

Here are a few things that I always buy every time I go grocery shopping, and the price differences between stores.

  • Coconut Milk: Dans $2.49, Harmons $3.19, Winco $1.98

  • Eggs: Target $2.89/dz large Eggland's Best, Winco $1.89/dz large Oakdell's organic vegetarian fed (when I used to only buy this kind before I was trying to save money, they were usually over $3! This one really surprised me. Yea! We get organic eggs again!

  • Philly Cream Cheese: Albertsons $2.49, Winco $1.48

They did not have: Horizon brand organic milk, Land o' Lakes butter, One A Day Prenatal's (yes I am taking them, no luck yet)

Their bulk section is amazing. I haven't seen a bulk section like that since Wild Oats first opened. (in Utah) I used to buy a lot in bulk when I was vegan, and only cooked for myself. So if you are baking something wholesome, no need to buy a huge bag of whole wheat flour, you can just buy it buy the cup. But they also had pastry and cake flour too. Oh, and fructose. So if you want to use something better for you than sugar, try that. (I think it's better for you, anyway.)

They have a huge spice bulk section- I am so refilling my bottles from now on! Of course they didn't have everything (like smoked paprika) but they have all the basics.

And, they have a TON of candy in bulk! Remember the Candy Barrell? Not as nice, but they had quite a few things that I haven't seen in bulk since forever. They even have cheetos rip offs in bulk. Gross.

I usually go to Dans & Target for most of my list, and I go to Costco once every 2 months or so.

I like buying ground beef at Target because they come in completely sealed, 1lb packages. So easy to freeze and defrost with no bloody gross juice to deal with. I also like to buy my shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, soap etc, and prenatal vitamins at Target. At Albertsons, Dans, and Smith's Marketplace, One A Day Prenatals are around $19.99. At Target, they are $14.99, and thier Up & up brand that has exactly the same ingredients is $10.99.


I like Dan's produce the best. And the sheer convenience of working right next to it. And they have Horizon organic half & half and heavy whipping cream. Organic dairy products taste better to me and they have a longer shelf life.

So I will still be shopping at 3 different grocery stores for my bi weekly list, but I really do think we will save some cash shopping for most of it at Winco. Now I totally understand why Albertson's fled the state, and why Associated Food Stores are shaking in thier boots. I am a little sad to not be supporting a local business, but for those prices? Even if I have to drive kinda far, saving that much cash is worth it.