Random Tuesday Stuff
I’m actually kind of glad to have a break from three day weekends for a bit. They really throw off the rest of my week. I spend all day Monday thinking it’s Sunday and well, it just goes down hill from there.
I whipped up a batch of veggie fritters this weekend. The recipe is up over at Foodie Parent. I’d love it if you took a moment to go over and read and comment. Some big stuff happening over there, none of which I can talk about, but your support there would be truly appreciated.
After spending three years saying “I have absolutely zero interest in watching Glee” I was forced to eat my words this weekend. I stumbled on it by accident, as some network was running a marathon and well, I fell down the rabbit hole. I have now watched almost the entire first season on Netflix and I *may* have even bought a song or two on iTunes. *cough*
I was housebound for a lot of my three day weekend, in part due to the BIG HUGE snowstorm of 2012. Never mind that we’re barely 2 weeks into the year. It’s been mostly a non event..oh don’t get me wrong, we got about six inches of snow so far and a lot more than that has fallen and melted, but I fail to see anything to get super worked up about. My only concern is that I live on top of a hill and getting either to or from my house can be, um, challenging if the roads get too slick. So I mostly stayed home under my warm blanket. I did venture out last night to take Ava to dinner. She was delighted by the huge snowflakes that fell and landed on my head.
Somehow or another, my case for my phone is broken. Well, cracked. But I’m just OCD enough that the crack is making me crazy. Also making me crazy? The 80 bazillionmilliontrillion different patterns and styles of iPhone cases out there. Too many decisions. Can someone just mail me one?
I downloaded the beta for Lightroom 4. For those who don’t know, it is a photo editing software. Simply put, it’s freaking amazing. Totally blows Photoshop out of the water in terms of quality and ease of use. I will cry when my trial period is over, because I’m not shelling out $300 to buy it outright. What can I say? I’m cheap. Why, hello, Picnik.
And just for funsies, a random pick of the Avacakes. Because this kind of cute just has to be shared.
My Tale of Insanity
You might not realize this about me, but I’m a curmudgeon about Halloween. Fall in general really. I hate that summer is over and I despise the dark coming so early in the day. I cringe at the thought of the upcoming SIX MONTHS OF RAIN RAIN NOTHING BUT RAIN. All my favorite food bloggers are obsessed with pumpkin bread, pumpkin pies, pumpkin soup, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere. Oh yeah, and I think pumpkin must have come from Satan’s anus, because that shit is nasty.
As for Halloween itself, meh. After working 8 hours and dealing with people all day long, the last thing I want to do is open my door 80 million times and toss candy at strange children. Most of whom won’t even have the good manners to utter a thank you as they trample across your newly planted fall pansies. I normally spend the evening holed up in the back of my house with all the lights off, hoping none of them will even sense movement inside, and thus, pounce on me.
See? Curmudgeon. Get off my lawn.
Ahem.
So it came as a huge shock to me to find myself purchasing Halloween lights, fake spider webs, pumpkin lights, cardboard cut outs of bats, spider, owls and vampires last night, and spending an hour decorating the front of my house. I strung lights, ran fake “crime tape”, put stickers on windows and taped decorations to even more windows. And? While it might not look like I give a shit about it, my three year old came home from dinner with her dad to a house that was all lit up and squealed “It’s Halloween!” and “I love dese pumpkins!”
And that my friends, is why I went bat shit insane last night and turned my house orange.
P.S. Yes, we are taking her trick or treating. She’s going to be Strawberry Shortcake. Stay tuned for adorableness of that costume.
Dudes. I Got Nuthin. So Here Is a Contest
I have a serious case of writers block. I mean nada. Zip. Zilch. But it’s not like me to just let the old blog languish about doing nothing, so until I figure out what to write about again, here’s a contest for you.
**Side note** Yeah, I know I just said I don’t do contests. Normally I don’t. This isn’t sponsored by anyone. Prizes given out are paid for by little old me. I can promise you this won’t be a regular feature, so if you like contests, now is your chance. If you don’t like contests, this is where you click the little X at the top of the screen and come back next week.
Ok. Rules. 3 pictures. I need a caption for each. Person who comes up with best one for each pic gets a $25 Gift Card of your choice. iTunes, Starbucks or Target.
Entries to be judged by myself and my bff, Issa. Contest open until Friday, May 7. Winner Announced Monday May 10.
And, GO!
How To Drive Me Crazy
Issa posted yesterday about things she hates. I jokingly stated that I should write a list like that, but I was afraid if I started, I might never stop.
However, it being Friday, and sunny outside, I don’t feel like writing anything serious or deep today.
So without further ado, here’s a list of a few of the things I especially dislike. Hopefully, I won’t have to start another blog just to contain it all. 
Websites with videos that automatically start. Some of us are trying to stealthily surf the net (OMG, that sounds SO 90′s) from work, yo. How am I supposed to hide the fact that I’m really searching for recipes when I’m supposed to be doing something for which I get paid, if the minute I open a web page a loud ass theme song or advertisement starts blaring?
Olives. Who the fuck ever decided to eat these things? Even after curing, brining, stuffing, they are inedible. Not to mention, you can’t even eat them straight from the tree. And really, how desperate was someone for something to eat that they spent THAT much time trying to make them palatable. It’s the same thing with a lobster or a crab. Both of which I like, btw. But don’t you wonder who was the first person to look at that and go “Let’s eat it!”?
Eggs on cheeseburgers. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s because I really don’t care much for eggs, unless it’s egg salad or deviled eggs. But the thought of a runny yellow egg yolk on my cheesburger is gag-arrific.
Fake buttons and zippers on baby and toddler clothing. Either make it functional, or leave it off. It drives me nuts, and more importantly, it frustrates my daughter to no end when she tugs and tugs at a zipper that isn’t going to move.
Soy sauce. Just the smell makes me nauseous. Its the main reason I have such an aversion to most Asian cuisines. Well, that and the fish sauce. And again, WTF? How did fish sauce come about? Hey, what should we do with all these leftover tiny fish? Oooh, I know! Let’s leave them out in the sun to dry and then we’ll pulverize them. And THEN! We’ll add water and let it ferment until the next town complains about the smell. Then we’ll bottle it up and sell it. People will LOVE it.
People who constantly Re-Tweet. I’m not talking about someone who occasionally does it. I’m talking about the person whose stream is 90% other people’s tweets. I mean, if you can’t come up with ANYTHING to say that’s original? Maybe Twitter isn’t for you.
People who expect more of you than they are willing to give. I’ve run across that several times lately. I don’t get it. How can you expect people to do something for you that you aren’t willing to do for them? Relationships have to be about give and take. If not? Not worth my time.
Smoking. I don’t understand how someone can enjoy something that smells so bad and is SO detrimental to your health. Also? I know I’m gonna get flack here, but…I wish there was NO smoking in public period. I’m all for freedom of expression and individual’s rights, but smoking harms people around you. Not just the smoker. I have asthma and there have been many times I’ve had to use my rescue inhaler courtesy of someone’s need to consume some nicotine.
Beer. Again, I don’t get the appeal. It takes like piss. Or what I assume piss would taste like, never having actually imbibed that particular liquid. I can’t stand the smell, the taste, none of it. I think I’d rather eat an olive. Maybe.
Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin anything, really. I know, I know…that makes me look anti-American or something, but I just don’t care for the flavor. I dread Thanksgiving coming around because I will have to make the dreaded pumpkin pie just so the family will be happy. Me? I’d rather have chocolate cake. Or cherry pie. Or chocolate cherry pie cake.
Turkey. I may have to turn in my citizenship and move to Canada after this AND the pumpkin pie thing, but I hate the smell and taste of turkey. Again, I make it every Christmas for my family. If I didn’t there would be a revolt of epic proportions. So I make Darin do most of the work. Like prepping. And putting it in the oven. And carving it. Ok, so I make him do all of it. If it were up to me, we’d have a big pan of lasagna, a salad, and some garlic bread.
Mmm…now I want pasta. Wait, where was I? Oh yes, being a hater.
Actually, I probably should stop now. So there you have it. A tiny fraction of the things that drive me crazy.
Let's Play 20 Questions
Because it’s Friday, and I have a colossal headache, not to mention writer’s block – also known as mental constipation….
Let’s Play 20 Questions.
Submit a question to me. I’ll do my best to answer it.
Maybe there is something about me you want to know.
Maybe there is a burning, age old question in your mind, but didn’t know who to ask..
I may not give you a text book answer, but I’ll do my best to fill in the gaps of your education.
So…what’s on your mind?
Weekend Roundup
Disclaimer: This is a cop-out post. The one that is going in place of anything deep and meaningful because I don’t have the energy. I am coming to terms with some things that I had hoped weren’t true, but in the end I can’t deny reality. It’s sad and it hurts, but I’m facing it at last. I just can’t write about it yet.
So, because I know every single one of you got up this morning with the same burning question on your mind “What did Jenna do this weekend?” I am here to answer that question.
Things that happened this weekend:
I scoured the clearance racks of clothing looking for overalls for Miss Avacakes. She has hit the “I’m stripping all of my clothes off and running around naked” stage of toddler hood. The two things she can’t strip out of are footy pajamas and overalls. So guess what she’s wearing today?
I got my oil changed and car washed. The car washing was long over due, seeing as how I couldn’t remember what actual color my car was anymore. I’m also pretty sure there are cheerio plants sprouting in the backseat, too. What? Cheerios don’t grow on trees? Dammit!
I discovered Ava likes meatloaf. Not my, yummy, bacon and cheese filled meatloaf. Oh no. The meatloaf that comes from the grocery store, shrink wrapped and microwave ready. Yeah. Stab me in the heart, kid..it’d be less painful.
Things that didn’t happen this weekend:
I still didn’t make it over to Sears to pick up the prints of the Christmas photos we ordered. In November. Yeah.
We didn’t take the Christmas lights down from the ledge in our living room. Hey – at least they’re not on the outside of the house. Only we are aware of our redneck-ness.
Me relaxing. I guess one weekend a year is good for that, right?
Spending enough time playing with Avacakes. There never seems to be enough time for that. Each weekend is filled with laundry, trips to the grocery store, cooking and napping (her, not me) that I always end up feeling like we just didn’t spend enough time just being.
So now that I’ve filled you in on my fun filled weekend – What did you do (or not do) this weekend?
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