On Wednesday don't you sorta feel like everyday from that point on will be Wednesday and we will never make it to Friday? My inner melodramatic voice has a very lengthy pout midweek and then some how all of the sudden it is FRIDAY!
What I am listening to: Queens of the Stone Age single - My God is the Sun. Can't wait for the album to drop. On My Way by Billy Boy Poison - need to open road for this one. Tenuousness by Andrew Bird, instrument assortment gets me every time.
What I am craving: Some kind of salad with a spicy peanut dressing, refreshing limeade and a brownie or dense chocolate cake
What I am reading: (or not reading at jury duty) A Million Heavens by John Brandon. Picked it up for the unbearably gorgeous cover and then realised it was a desert novel... sold. Includes story telling from the perspective of a wolf.
Do you ever get jealous of other people's talent? Sometimes literature makes the center most part of my brain tingle and flash like a sparkler on fourth of July. I have a novel idea for a girl who experiences something traumatic or maybe amazing but it is scene through the perspective of her cat and somewhere between the back and forth perspectives the girl switches consciousness with her kitty and I'm not sure what happens after that but the girl enjoys curling up in the sun.
What is in my bag: At the end of the week is your purse exploding with a weeks worth of crap?
Currently I have the following lip products: (it is out of hand)
Softlips Strawberry
Maybelline Color Whisper - coral ambition
(2) Revlon JBK Balm Stain - charm & darling
Fresh Sugar - honey
Clinique Lip Smoothie - strawberry bliss
What am I doing this weekend? I dunno. Some cat time, maybe some free-decorating the living room cause we still haven't put things back after Christmas and there may or may not still be a holiday scentsy warmer out....
Friday, April 26, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
civic doodie
In fourth grade our gifted and talented program debuted a dramatic rendition of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. I was Juror #3 and the jury had two lines; rapping "Here comes the judge" as she entered stage left (sometimes we'd say here comes the fudge in rehearsal) and the last lines of the play "We've heard the story but we don't know, lock him up or let him go? YOU be the jury and YOU decide!" I still remember. Gifted AND talented.
That was my only time to serve on a jury until this Tuesday.
So Tuesday I packed up early from work (downtown) and hauled my butt to the UofH area and there was no one in the parking lot. Not another car, not even a bird picking at trash. Eventually a couple other cars started to show up, and employees parked in their reserved spots. I reluctantly left the happy solitary quiet of my car and walked into Place 1.
There was no office, no information window, no doors leading to sad government offices, nope. Just the court room. Just.the.courtroom. hmmmmm. So I went inside, turned in my summons, sat down on an unoccupied pew and waited. Some people were reading, some were chatting about their kids and standardized tests. I brought a book... but there was some pretty dang choice people watching opportunities... I couldn't focus.
We sat there for an hour. Then the clerk told us there all the cases scheduled for today settled and we could go home when the judge released us. Judges must be busy people cause we waiting forever for her to come talk to us. When she did she gave me a speech about my civi duty (bla bla bla) and officially released us.
Before we left she said
Aren't you glad you didn't have to come all the way downtown?
That was my only time to serve on a jury until this Tuesday.
A couple of weeks ago, I was having a terrible, very bad, no good, horrible day. I came home and actually bent down to get the mail and saw an official looking letter. Earlier that week, my coworker had received a refund from HCAD saying she had overpaid on property taxes. Could it be?! Money?!!
No.
It was a jury summons.
I crumpled it up and threw it with all my might to the gound, flung my flip flops of my feet, tossed my purse an alarming distance and ran crying to the bedroom. Straw meet camels back.
I wasn't sad or frustrated I was ANGRY. Furious. And spare me the civic duty speech, dp tried that and was almost murdered. To make matters worse, I was not summoned to the nice, new, fancy downtown jury facility with wifi and new holding area... I wish.
Instead, I was summoned to Justice of the Peace Court 7 Place 1. My fancy jury holding room was in a building called Place 1. hmmmm and they shared the building with a teen health clinic. hmmmmmm. And there was zip information on this random place online.
 |
| Place 1 |
There was no office, no information window, no doors leading to sad government offices, nope. Just the court room. Just.the.courtroom. hmmmmm. So I went inside, turned in my summons, sat down on an unoccupied pew and waited. Some people were reading, some were chatting about their kids and standardized tests. I brought a book... but there was some pretty dang choice people watching opportunities... I couldn't focus.
We sat there for an hour. Then the clerk told us there all the cases scheduled for today settled and we could go home when the judge released us. Judges must be busy people cause we waiting forever for her to come talk to us. When she did she gave me a speech about my civi duty (bla bla bla) and officially released us.
Before we left she said
Aren't you glad you didn't have to come all the way downtown?
Thrilled.
Friday, April 19, 2013
life hacks
I did something crazy last night. Not as crazy as misspelling my first name on my boss's birthday card this morning, but close.
I ate mushrooms.
On purpose.
HUSBAND TEST -- David's delicate pallet detected no taste difference. None. He said the tomatoes overpowered the mushroom. I could probably hide real slugs in his meat sauce and he wouldn't notice...
I ate mushrooms.
On purpose.
Mushrooms are a no go for me. It is a texture thing. I prefer not to eat cooked slug. But I saw a recipe that added mushrooms to ground beef to stretch it. We normally half a pound of ground beef anyways and adding a little more veggies and bulk to a meal is great when you are feeding a giant man.
 |
| Source - Iowa Girl Eats |
IGE instructed me to grind up my button mushrooms in the food processor and toss them in with my ground beef. She also SWORE I wouldn't be able to taste the difference. We cooked up a full pound of ground beef/mushrooms and divided it, saving 1/2 for tacos later.
VERDICT -- I could taste the difference. There was a distinct earthiness in our meat sauce. Texture was perfect. And if you hadn't told me I would have thought there was just a strange spice. Would I make it again? Probably. But I wouldn't use a full 8 oz package. For a non-mushroom eater it was a little to overwhelming at first and I might need to slowly increase the mushroom flavor. If you like mushrooms, what are you waiting for?
HUSBAND TEST -- David's delicate pallet detected no taste difference. None. He said the tomatoes overpowered the mushroom. I could probably hide real slugs in his meat sauce and he wouldn't notice...
Monday, April 15, 2013
Well...
we have been waiting
stuck in difficult territory - stressed and overwhelmed
lately dp and I have begun to get impatient
discouraged
I really believe that these struggles are refining and grinding our jagged edges and clearly we have quite a lot to smooth. It is because dp and I are both hard headed, stubborn, emotional and apparently slow learners.
Last week was rock bottom - one of those weeks where you are ready to give up
we canceled our Montana trip
terrible drama at work left me burnt out (understatement)
my toe nail fell off
We had been taken to the edge when all of the sudden
I got a promotion!
Not a life changer, but a morsel. A dang tasty morsel. It felt so good to have good news to tell my parents for a change.
To celebrate
Saturday we went to Baybrook Mall to the H&M and giant Forever 21. I warned dp in advance that he would need to be in a easy going mood on Saturday and he tends to freak out when we step foot in any store other than Macy's. But he did great! I found two shells, a blouse, a yellow-striped cardi, and a couple of necklaces. AND I found two dresses for Brynn Leigh at H&M, well I found lots more but only bought two. I could spoil the mess out of that kid...
Then we went to Jurassic Park 3D. I am so used to watching the VHS on a 13 inch television, so it was unbelievable how crisp and clear and excellent sound.
We went home after that. And I had a fever and didn't feel good for some reason and rested.
I felt better the next morning... random. But slept in till 10am.
The kitties were climbing all over me, I figured they missed me, so we had some snugly cuddles time. All four of us got in the guest twin bed. Very often I feel like I need a third kitty, but there was no way another cat could have fit on that pile of people and felines.
We went to Aldi in Pearland. Kind of a drive from our house, but my mom already went and I was curious. It is a tiny little grocery store with just basics, bread, meat, dairy, produce. I would definitely like one in our area.
Hear that Aldi? I write HEB once a year telling them how much our area needs another grocery store. We must have the most Randall's stores in all of Houston.
On the way home we stopped by to say hey to mom & dad. And invited ourselves over for dinner and Game of Thrones.
In the last 4 or five months our weekends usually go like this
sleep
netflicks
frozen pizza
sleep
repeat
Boredom and frustration were overwhelming. Wanting to do so much but not having the money or the energy. It was unbelievably refreshing to DO something this weekend. All of life's problems are not fixed, and we still have a full plate. But getting a little break is what we needed.
stuck in difficult territory - stressed and overwhelmed
lately dp and I have begun to get impatient
discouraged
I really believe that these struggles are refining and grinding our jagged edges and clearly we have quite a lot to smooth. It is because dp and I are both hard headed, stubborn, emotional and apparently slow learners.
Last week was rock bottom - one of those weeks where you are ready to give up
we canceled our Montana trip
terrible drama at work left me burnt out (understatement)
my toe nail fell off
We had been taken to the edge when all of the sudden
Not a life changer, but a morsel. A dang tasty morsel. It felt so good to have good news to tell my parents for a change.
To celebrate
Saturday we went to Baybrook Mall to the H&M and giant Forever 21. I warned dp in advance that he would need to be in a easy going mood on Saturday and he tends to freak out when we step foot in any store other than Macy's. But he did great! I found two shells, a blouse, a yellow-striped cardi, and a couple of necklaces. AND I found two dresses for Brynn Leigh at H&M, well I found lots more but only bought two. I could spoil the mess out of that kid...
Then we went to Jurassic Park 3D. I am so used to watching the VHS on a 13 inch television, so it was unbelievable how crisp and clear and excellent sound.
We went home after that. And I had a fever and didn't feel good for some reason and rested.
I felt better the next morning... random. But slept in till 10am.
The kitties were climbing all over me, I figured they missed me, so we had some snugly cuddles time. All four of us got in the guest twin bed. Very often I feel like I need a third kitty, but there was no way another cat could have fit on that pile of people and felines.
We went to Aldi in Pearland. Kind of a drive from our house, but my mom already went and I was curious. It is a tiny little grocery store with just basics, bread, meat, dairy, produce. I would definitely like one in our area.
Hear that Aldi? I write HEB once a year telling them how much our area needs another grocery store. We must have the most Randall's stores in all of Houston.
On the way home we stopped by to say hey to mom & dad. And invited ourselves over for dinner and Game of Thrones.
In the last 4 or five months our weekends usually go like this
sleep
netflicks
frozen pizza
sleep
repeat
Boredom and frustration were overwhelming. Wanting to do so much but not having the money or the energy. It was unbelievably refreshing to DO something this weekend. All of life's problems are not fixed, and we still have a full plate. But getting a little break is what we needed.
Thursday, April 04, 2013
uninvited
Have you ever showed up at a dinner party and the hostess had no idea you were coming?
Embarrassment and anxiety swirling around every guest. Shifting eyes. The hostess is gracious and welcoming and finds a tattered chair for the corner of the dining table.
That's how I feel about my life.
I showed up without an invitation and ruined the energy of the party.
Everyone wants to comfort me and say the more the merrier, but there clearly isn't room at the table.
Embarrassment and anxiety swirling around every guest. Shifting eyes. The hostess is gracious and welcoming and finds a tattered chair for the corner of the dining table.
That's how I feel about my life.
I showed up without an invitation and ruined the energy of the party.
Everyone wants to comfort me and say the more the merrier, but there clearly isn't room at the table.
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