This is not how I remember campus dining...

A sample of this week's lunch offerings from Engrained:

Redbird Farm's cage free chicken breast, provolone & prosciutto on toasted ciabatta roll with hand cut garlic fried. I distinctly tasted olive oil from Queen Creek Olive Oil in the ciabatta.

Leek potage with roasted cippolini onion and half a cheddar pesto panini.I am impressed.

breakfasting

I feel like I'm eating frosting straight out of the Betty Crocker container. There is no possible way this is good for you.

Borrowed

Grandma & a 1936 Dodge













a rum ball recipe with no rum?









Joey- you will have to send over the Gallo rum ball recipe, I beleive it calls for 5 gal of Bacardi. :-)

Observed on Rural Rd

Mom- Is that you?

I blame it on the football.

The other day I found myself flipping through a rack of sweaters at the mall. I stopped at one that was an arresting shade of red and felt the fabric. Warm, thick, wool. It felt luscious. I picked it up, intending to head towards the dressing room. I made it no more than two steps when I remembered it was still over 100 degress outside. The sweater went right back on the rack.

I did it again last night, surfing NFL.com I picked out a cute new Raiders hoodie I had to have. Before clicking 'buy now' I looked out the window. Yep, still 100 degrees. I closed to NFL.com window.

I do this every year. Every year about this time I get sick of sun dresses & flip flops. But I love sun dresses and flip flops! Why do I yearn to bury them in my closet?

It's all the TV's fault. I see sweeping scenes of midwestern campuses as the announcer talks about the promise of fall in the air. I worry about if a Southern quarterback will be able to make it through an early December game right outside the beltway. I wonder how it is that every year, without fail, the Raiders get scheduled for a late December game in the Northeast.

So even though I was outside this morning cleaning the pool in my bathing suit, once I'm inside it's 80 degrees, and that is fall weather.

Your daily pussy.

Another quiet day here.

I have never met felines who are more curious about water. Everytime I go in the bathroom at least one of them follows me in. Found this one in the shower the other day, then the sink.

Your daily pussy.

Things are quiet around here.

Wake up.

Scoop cat litter.

Nap.

Feed cats.

Nap.

Swim.

Eat.

Sleep.

Your daily pussy.

I have been housesitting since Sunday and this is the first time this cat has come out of hiding.

He's fat.

Permanent Vacation

Let's face it, if you're unemployed, single, and have no children or pets, you really have no reason to get out of bed in the morning. No one will miss you at the office, no one will want you cleaning the house all day, and there will be no big brown eyes at the foot of the bed begging for a walk.
I could conceivably stay in bed for 2 days at a time. I have already developed a penchant for late night shows & sleeping until whenever I feel like getting up. I have no routine, I'm not exercising, and I have little ambition.
In an effort to act like a productive member of society I have decided I need to get out of the house everyday.
Today me & Cosmopolitan have taken up residence in a club chair at Steve's Espresso. I feel better already since I'm not the one here wearing orange jeans and cat-eye sunglasses nervously bouncing my leg.
The guy to my right I think is homeless. He rode up & parked his bike in front of the window, then ordered a coffee, sat down with a newspaper & fell asleep. Every time my phone beeps with a text message he opens his eyes & glares. Hey man, we're not at the library. Now that I look at him he has gold rings on each hand & an ipod. Is that the face of homelessness in America now?

Drink: Iced triple mocha; Eat: Mini cinnamon roll, made in house, from scratch

I decided to get out of bed today.

This is what I found outside.

Hello Lover!

It's the little things in life that make me happy.


The box said pink, but I think it's more of a lilac. What should I name her?

Breaking Up is Hard To Do

By the time I graduated from college I had moved in with & subsequently broken up with two different boys. The “breaking up” portion of these relationships usually entailed begging friends for help moving & dragging all of my worldly possessions around in the back of a borrowed pick-up truck.

So, I made a promise to myself about nine years ago. (Crap, has it been that long? I’m old!!) I promised myself I would not move in with another man until I was married. I was over moving.

I broke that promise I made to myself, accepting a beautiful platinum & sapphire ring as a substitute for an actual marriage.

Recently, I have discovered that you make promises to yourself for a reason!!

Today I am living in a friend’s guest room. I am moving all of my furniture into storage as I wait out the lease I accepted letting a couple live in my condo.

I think to myself that I knew better than this, the whole time, I knew better.

Markie reminded me this weekend that I needed to switch around my bracelet. I need to have the open end facing out, to indicate my heart is open. Yeah, like I have time to worry about that. It's one of those things things they sell to tourists in the Caribbean. Obviously, Markie's heart is always open, especially late at night.

you know you live with a packrat when.....

You find this in the back of a cabinet.....
And realize it's 10 years(!) past it's expiration date....

now hiring

Actual excerpts from help wanted ads:

"If you could include a photo that would be great as I get so many responses and it is easier for me to put a face with their resume."

"we are not interested in a person whose dog eats their homework or gets sick frequently enough that the person misses work. We hold ourselves to a high standard of commitment to our customers and expect the same from the person applying for this position. With the economy as tight as it is, we are not interested in excuses.
Therefore, if you tend to oversleep, have a broken alarm clock, have frequent deaths in the family causing you to attend frequent funerals for persons who were deceased years ago, have a chronic illness that typically acts up at 8am on Fridays, have frequent car accidents, have a day-care solution that fails every week, or you are a pathological liar; you need not apply. Have a nice day. "

"I am looking for someone who lives a fairly unscented (in regards to man made fragrances/chemicals) lifestyle or is interested in developing one."

I'm pretty sure I won't be sending my resume off to any of these ads.

Reorganizing

At Fred's request my center of operations has been moved down a floor.
We are still trying to figure out where everything goes, so everything has it's own space....
Right now this is my view. No lake, but much more sun.

Observed in the Arizona Republic

I want a mimosa tree!

Observations at BevMo

If you are too lazy to make your own simple syrup, I probably don't want to be your friend.
On a side note- gainful employment is bad for both my attitude & my blogging.

Gardening 101

So I wanted an herb garden. How hard can that be?
Step 1: Gather all ingredients: pots, seeds, soil, wooden pot stand that Fred made in high school, gloves & hat, refreshing beverage, and gnome.Step 2: Put hat on & wonder if trying to grow anything at 100 degrees is a good idea.
Step 3: Wonder why you had to buy 10lbs of potting soil when you really only needed 3 cups. Think Lowe's is out to get you.
Step 4: Curse when you realize you bought the only bag of potting soil that doesn't have the proper equipment to just "slide open".
Step 5: Plant & pray.
I'll keep you posted.

a little bit of West Virginia

Because like pepperoni rolls, they just don't make tomato salad West of Parkersburg.

breakfast

Today is National Doughnut Day.
Today is also my last day of unemployment. Back to the grind on Monday.

Dressing the Part

I had been blaming my lack of physical activity on a lot of things- chiefly among them a job that kept me busy for 8 hours a day.
Since that excuse is now null & void I decided to begin working out. Since the weight room here is under construction I decided to swim some laps. Here is how it's going:
Day 1- Lost right contact lens before completion of lap 1. Bikini bottoms not staying on as I swim. Accidentally moon pool full of moms & kids after swim practice.
Day 2- Bought goggles. Couldn't find the top that matches bikini bottoms that fit. Not mooning anyone, but very much looking like crazy person.
Day 3- Bought one piece suit. Feel like I should be able to swim better than I actually do.
Day 4- Imagine swim team moms are mocking me & thinking their 5 year olds can out-swim me. Really, they can.

lazy days of summer

It's hot already. Me & the dogs hide in the house most of the day & soak up the A/C. The dogs are getting so lazy they didn't even notice the visitor we had napping out back yesterday afternoon.

Observations at the 99 cent store

If you use the 99 cent condoms, you will need 99 cent pregnancy test.



PS- Why don't computers have a cent button?

pink slipped

Image from flickr user : trulysomething :: RedToque Photography(Swamped..wi's

the sweetest thing

So on Saturday morning Fred went to Lowe's and came back with the best thing ever...A fruit harvester!!!Fred demonstrates.

So on Saturday I picked all the lemons off the tree, and as many of the oranges as I could reach.
I juiced about 100 oranges to make mimosas with on Sunday.... Still have hundreds more to go.

Observed on the Food Channel

Ummmm, isn't that what all her shows are about?

ch-ch-ch-changes

I woke up this morning:
I go to bed tonight:
10" of hair will be mailed to locks of love tomorrow.

The problem of having a lake-front estate:

Sometimes ducks get into your pool. Then your dogs bark like mad & run in circles around the pool. At 8am on a Sunday.


PS- Sorry for the poor pic quality of late, I had to send in my digital for service so I've been using my cell phone cam.

Observations at Target

When did Shag carpeting come back? While looking for a kitchen rug I ran across this piece of heaven.






OHHHHHHH... can't you picture it now? One great furry gray & silver rug to break up the monotony of our white carpet & black furniture? I did not put it in my cart since it would probably exceed the amount of color allowed in this house. BOO.



But awaiting me around the corner was this beautiful rug.
(Yes, I was now in the children's furnishings section?)
OHHHHHHH.... maybe I could get away with it in the bathroom? It does come in smaller sizes that would be bathroom appropraite.... Alas, I left it on the shelf as well. BOO.




One last observation: If you feed your dogs bacon every Sunday, they will not eat bacon flavored dog treats. Don't waste your $2.39.

Observations at Bashas

What could you possibly need this for?
Why not just use real butter?

Baking Blind

My lemon tree seems so much happier after I pick fruit off of it. It stands up much straighter.

So yesterday I picked a bunch of lemons. I took some to Lynn to make into Lemoncello, and then I went into the kitchen with a few.

waiting for stiff peaks to form

I think my meringue could have been poofier, but overall I am satisfied with my first attempt at lemon meringue. Next time I will not cook the crust as long. The boys in the office ate it all, tho.

Observations at Fry's

Don't run into the big pole in the middle of the wine aisle.

Observations at CVS

Among the birthday cards, cards for your wife, your dad, and your grandmother, there is a small section labeled 'TROUBLED RELATIONSHIP'. I'm guessing if you should be shopping in that section you don't care that it's your partner's birthday.
In the pool toy section there is an inflatable tube with a 6-pack cooler built in. The picture on the box shows a smiling 6-year old with some bottles of water sticking out of the cooler area. I'm guessing that's really not their target market.

Back to the Grind

I was back in the office at exactly 7:00 Monday morning.

I wish I could have been drinking cerveza on the beach.

Or, watching March Madness from this sports bar.









Tonight after work the dogs were happy to go on a stroll around the neighborhood. As we past one house I could hear the tinkling of a water fountain from the courtyard beyond their gate. I glanced over & saw a small sign on their gate 'BEWARE KILLER FROGS'. I wonder if you can call Frogbusters for that?

Vacation

Tomorrow we head off. 2 nights on Isla Mujeres & then 7 days at the Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort. That should be just a little relaxing. I have been packed since Tuesday. Fred looked at me and said, "You can't wait to get out of here", and it's true. And he has begun to mope... what will he do without me for 10 days? Most likely the same thing he was doing for the 45 years before I moved in....
Sorry I'm a bad blogger & haven't posted in nearly a month. But I promise you Facebook is not killing the blog. :-)
I plan on running my office March Madness pool via the internet while I'm gone. Can't wait for beach, booze, and basketball at 9am.

Image from Flickr user Domini Nair.

boxed in

There is a wonderful mailman here. He walks in shorts year round and wears a hat with the neighborhood's logo on it. (Yes, this neighborhood deemed itself cool enough for it's own apparel.) He has a pocketful of dog treats & a new corny joke everyday. However, when he goes on vacation the substitute carrier does not have dog treats, jokes, or even a faintly pleasant demeanor. She will not deliver mail here because of the dogs. We will not get mail for a week or so at a time, then when the regular guy comes back from vacation we receive all that mail rubber-banded together. And the dogs will receive a week's worth of treats.
And what if one day I need to run form the authorities? I don't want them to know where I live.
So, I got a PO Box today. This may be fun, going to the post office once a week to see what treasures lay in my new bronze box. The dark paneling & the smell of musty paper there remind me of a library. And you always have fun at a library, right?