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(those of you new to the fray may not know that I have been with my current employer since mid-September after spending two+ years with a previous employer.)
My boss comes up to me, causally puts his elbows on my perch* and says, “So, are you joining us for lunch today?”
“Murah?”
“We have an extra ticket [for the Mayor's State of the City Address]. Would you like to come?”
I look to the left, to the right, you know, in case there’s someone behind me that he’s talking to. “Me?”
“Uh, yeah…” he says, smiling, sensing my confusion.
“Yeah, um, okay, I mean Yes! Thank you!”
Holy crap, I mean, gosh, I’m sure it’s “nothing exciting” but someday I will find the words to express how much it means to be included.
*the top area of my desk where people leave coffee, pens, junk faxes, etc.
Some people (looking at you CWG) seem to think that I’ve gone completely joyless.
To prove you wrong, here are some happy things.
1) My changed lifestyle-contingency medication is “so far so good”. Since Sunday, I have not had a headache so bad that I gave serious consideration to taking an ice pick to my temple; thus the reason for the change.
2) My friends and I went out to dinner at Melting Pot last night with $5 of each of our dinners going towards cancer research. Plus, there were drinks.
3) Afterward, one of the girls and I went to Penny’s and I let her dress me up. “I’m the Anthony Bourdain to your Stacy London!”, I exclaimed as we made our way toward the register.
My purchase?
Something I NEVER EVER EVER considered.
Not actually me, nor the actual vest (mine is grey with pin striping)
I purchased a vest.
“I feel like a project!”, I said. “You ARE my project!”, she giggles.
And today, I have donned the vest. Thought I don’t have a “real” photo as it’s hard to take photos of myself and I’m not going to any of my co-workers to ask them to take a photo because that sounds like a can of worms I don’t want to open.
4) With last weekend’s near-sub-zero temperatures, I thought I would give a science experiment a go.
In case you’re not familiar, when it gets to be booger-freezing cold out, bubbles are supposed to freeze.
I.E.
Seeing as we do not have any “real” bubbles in the house, I decided to concoct some.
(For the record, “catnip bubbles” suck)
Also remembering that it’s been years since I’ve done any bubbling and that it was like, 2 degrees out, I opted to practice before heading out.
Bailey was amused.
Soap is tasty!
waiting
so close!
vicious!
It is here somwhere...
look, I sparkle
(P.S. bubbles didn’t freeze but I did)
5) And this gem just came into my office.
Tis the season that packages start flowing into the office.
One of the project managers opted to share his booty with the entire staff, so naturally, we all flocked to the kitchen like we had never seen food and may never see food again.
Fawning over the items, it’s a scavenger hunt and we’re shouting out what we’ve grabbed.
“Tea Biscuits!”
“Peppermint Pillows!”
“Truffles!”
“Carmels!”
“English Toffee!”
“Chocolates!”
“Olives?”
Seeing as it’s Apple Season here in WNY…
*wiggly lines of The Time Machine*
… created an apple pie from scratch without a recipe. I just though about what would taste good in my head.
Mind you, previous attempts at cooking had turned out rather, um, disastrous. If you ever run into my dad, mention “Care Bear Cake” and start timing a gag reflex. (FYI: “Care Bear Cake” was sugar, eggs and milk, microwaved until it became solid and served in huge chunks.)
However, Stephanie’s Apple Pie was far, far less awful.
In fact, Stephanie’s Apple Pie would have “certainly” won an award (as per the nice old ladies running the event) at The Annual Apple Festival, had we not arrived two hours late for judging.
So Dear Reader, tell me about the time you made something without knowing what you were doing. Don’t leave out the hilarious results either; sometimes those are better than the food itself. Maybe someone made something potentially deadly for you… either way…
I read once, somewhere, a while ago, that different regions of the world have different comfort foods.
Also, I’ve noticed that men and women have different comfort foods.
My challenge to you, dear reader, is to tell me/us where you are (general geographies are okay) and what your comfort foods are. If the food is situation dependent, say that too.
I’ll get things going:
I live in Western New York
Sick: Chicken noodle soup
Down: Egg Noodles with peas and butter
Bored: Grilled Cheese
Hungover: Tacos
Mid-Winter Trapped in the house: Spicy Black Bean Soup
(man, I love me some carbs)
Last night, being the only night that fits into The Misters unrestricted schedule, we went to the County Fair.
Basically, we just go to laugh at the trash, pick up some homemade goodies for Bailey and overpay for beer; we did all three.
If you’re saying, “That looks l like a monkey riding a dog…” then you would be correct.
The “new” “show” this year was Banana Races, in which organ grinding monkeys ride shelter dogs.
I shit you not.
After that THRILLING attraction, we headed off for another beer and started counting how many booths were selling “ultimate jewelry cleaner!” and custom made t-shirts.
The people at the “Your birthday moon phase in a necklace” had me hook, line, sinker and ascending 1…
(it’s hard to take a photo of your own chest.)
Another beer later, we’re back at the creative arts building (which still smelled like grandma’s basement) so I can show me showing my photos.
“But Stephanie, where is your ribbon??!”
Yeah, that’s right, I’m a loser. And a number of the winners were losers, so that didn’t help.
(BTW, the beads came with our first beer and they’re for Bailey)
However, as Steve mentioned, at least I got displayed, so it wasn’t a total loss. And he liked my photos. I hope he wasn’t saying that because he’s sleeping with me.
Sorry for the glare on this one, but the alternate photo kinda looked like someone surprised me with an enema.
By now, it was dark and I love the midway all lighted.
By now, Steve said I should just have a plastic bag following me around.
Am I the only one kinda frightened by the fact that the rides look like a 1970’s throwback? I think that’s what makes me nervous to ride fair rides, though there is something romantic about the ferris wheel.
On our way out, we stopped to see “Santa’s Reindeer”. And seeing is about all we could do, as dictated by this sign.
I think that next year, I’m going to wear a t-shirt that tells the reindeer not to hassle me.
He totally started it.
Thanks to the good folks over at Self magazine, I have this deeeeeeelicious recipe for popsicles to share. Pretty sure that they’re healthy, but what do I know?
(and if you’re grossed out by having seeds in your pop, well, it’s tasty…)
“They” say you need:
2.5 cups of Strawberries, halved and de-stemmed
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup RAW, UNsalted sunflower seeds
Banana
What I put in:
1 “clamshell” of strawberries (you know, those little pint things)
2-3 handfuls of Blueberries
3 segments of orange
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup of RAW, UNsalted sunflower seeds
Regardless of which recipe you choose:
* Put the oven on to 300 and roast the sunflower seeds in a shallow pan for 6 minutes. Shake pan and cook for another 4 minutes.
* Meanwhile, simmer your fruit with the pineapple juice for about 5 minutes.
* Let everything cool down. (I removed the oranges before the next step because I don’t much care for orange skin)
* Put the fruity juice mix into a blender and well, blend, until smooth.
* If you’ve opted to use the icky, gross, disgusting banana** then add it and re-blend.
* Mix/stir in seeds.
* Portion into your molds OR 3oz cups and put a craft stick in the middle.
* Freeze for 6+ hours
* Take into the car as breakfast and then get mad at yourself when a piece of blueberry mush falls onto the jeans you were finally able to squeeze your butt back into.
** I HATE, LAMENT, DESPISE Bananas with this exception:
The final mark in my week-long triumphant adventure came this morning.
I sat for the Notary Public exam.
Within a week or so, I should know whether I’m a success or a failure then I get to apply for my license.
Good times.
Best part (of the traffic, the test, the parking, the people…) was getting a GOOD gyro. Dear sweet baby Jebus, how I miss downtown food.
Oh drat, I lied about the final mark… I’m partaking in the final mark now. Trying a sugar-free yogurt.
Why are you laughing?
Lemme ’splain:
Exhibit a) Sugar has a lot of calories (for someone who loves sweets and has carbs go straight to her hips)
Exhibit b) Splenda and Sweet-n-Low make me feel spacey
Exhibit c) If someone can point me in the direction of a stevia-flavored yogurt, that’d be great.
Exhibit d) Nutra-Sweet, Equal, and the like give me WICKED headaches.
I figured with everything else I’ve overcome, the least I could do is try.
Besides, the fat-free Yoplaits have totally better flavors then the reduced-fat versions.
I raise my Boston Creme Pie yogurt cup to you Tylenol, hope we don’t have to meet later.
Seriously.
Who else is feeling REALLY out of whack this daylight savings time?
It feels like I should have sprung ahead two hours (meaning that it’s 9:50 now and if feels like it should be 10:50, but this time last week it was 8:50)
My internal clock is off-kilter and that’s why I had to eat Wegman’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream.
However, it seems as though my plan is flawed as my personal time shift has not shifted.
Seemed like a good idea at the time.
Tangled somewhere in the internets, I found an article about bacon cups at notmartha.com.
I went back a few days later and found a gaggle of articles about creative uses for bacon. Including this recipe for Beer Cheese Muffins with Bacon Cream Cheese Frosting.
Being snowed in (well, preferring not to venture out…) and having some guinea pigs friends over, well, you can guess what happened.
right, so (as far as I know) no one is sick or dead yet and my house still smells delightfully like bacon.
BACON!
Although I would use less then a cup of bacon for the frosting, it was a bit bacon-y, which I know sounds like an impossibility, but it kind of overpowers all the INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS tastes.
I didn’t tell the guinea pigs what they were eating, but the intrigue was increased after I told them that that was indeed bacon in the frosting.
My next quandary, is it a breakfast food (bacon, cheese, eggs), a brunch food (bacon, beer, cheese) or a dinner food (beer, cheese).
Oh, I’m sure I can sacrifice few more to science.
nomnomnom.
FOLLOW-UP
consensus agrees, less bacon in the frosting. I brought the muffins into the office where it is well-known that some of the shop guys will eat anything, and many thought there was just too much bacon in the frosting.
Peeps is sayin'