Random thoughts

It's cold outside. I had to yank on my car door to get it open. Yet another way to talk myself out of taking a walk.

My plants are almost dead. I just haven't had the slightest amount of motivation to water them. Except for today. I finally watered them. They'll look fine by the time I leave today, I guarantee it.

Speaking of plants, I need to repot my aloe. It's had about 7 baby aloe plants and is growing out of its pot.

Why do I feel so lazy when it comes to watering plants?

I keep putting off looking at my bank statement because I'm afraid to look at the damage. I remember doing that in college. It was a lot less stressful that way. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

I realized today that I'm a morning person and Zach is a night person. In the morning, I'm usually hyper and wanting to kiss and hug him, and he's that way in the evening.

Yesterday I was cranky, and I don't know why. Today I'm going to court to try to get the points lowered on my tail-gating ticket.

Today's Lunch:
Leftover venison with mashed potatoes
Leftover green beans

Miss White

That's another nickname for Kitty. Here's a new picture of her. Check out her front paws!


She wasn't particularly thrilled with all the "invaders" in her territory over the weekend. Even though they left at 8:00 sunday morning, she wouldn't leave her closet all day. Chicken.

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich with yellow mustard and cranberry sauce on whole wheat
Apple

A crazy Thanksgiving

My parents, brother Joe and his girlfriend Mary, and brother Tom (aka Chico) spent the Thanksgiving holiday with us. Even though I prepared some foods ahead of time, thursday and friday were pretty much devoted to cooking. We celebrated Turkey Day on friday, since my family drove over on thursday. I followed the Cook's Illustrated plan for putting together a Thanksgiving feast. If you like cooking, I'd suggest checking out Cook's Illustrated. It's the shiz-nat.

The Menu

Hors d'ouvres

• Chex mix
• Veggies with ranch-dill dip
• Mary's chipped beef dip with Triscuits
  

The Feast

• 18-lb grain-fed, home-raised turkey, brined then roasted
  
• Roasted venison
• Mashed potatoes
• 3-hour gravy
  
• Homemade apple and bacon stuffing
• Green beans sauteed in onions and vermouth
• Brussels sprouts cockaigne (from the Joy of Cooking - it's brussels sprouts for people who think they don't like brussels sprouts)
• Pecan-crusted butternut squash
• Mom's cranberry-orange-nut sauce
• Homemade rolls
• Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc

The Pie

• Mom's blackberry pie
• Mary's gingersnap-pumpkin pie
• Apple pie
• Strawberry-rhubarb pie

Some pictures

Cooking the bacon for the stuffing (wednesday)

The never-ending gravy-making process (thursday)*

*The gravy involved cooking the turkey's neck, heart, and gizzard with onion, then straining. The strained juices were used to make a broth. The broth is then thickened and allowed to simmer for a long time. Then, on Turkey Day, the broth is added to the roasting pan and the drippings are used to make the rest of the gravy. The process was long and grueling, but the gravy was very flavorful and what I would consider a great example of umami flavor.

Brining the turkey with Chico*

*The green bucket contains the raw turkey soaking in a salt solution. We placed a piece of concrete rock in the pot and set it in the bucket to hold the turkey underwater. We then placed the bucket in the cooler, surrounded it with ice, and let it sit overnight. Brining the turkey results in rich, juicy, flavorful meat and is highly recommended!

On Turkey Day, we set the bird in a roasting pan with a V rack, dried it off with paper towels, and Mary massaged it with butter (and no, you pervs, she didn't give it a "happy ending.")

I'm really bummed we didn't get a photo of the cooked turkey in its entirety. It was very beautiful. It's just that things in the kitchen became VERY hectic during the last half hour.

And last but not least, the finished product:

I'm happy with how the meal turned out. Mom, Mary and I were seriously busting some tail getting it on the table. Everything tasted great. And now I won't have to cook all week because Zach and I have tons of leftovers!

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce and yellow mustard
Leftover brussels sprouts (yummy)
1 Peanut butter cookie and 1 Ranger cookie

Free thoughts

I have nothing to write about today, and I had nothing to say yesterday. Work's pretty quiet with the holidays just around the corner; all sorts of people are using up vacation time, not to mention taking days off with all the colds that are prevalent this time of year. I spent yesterday holed up in my office, and by the end of the day I was utterly exhausted. It really helps to get out and move around a bit. Social interaction is a good thing, too.

I'm trying to scrape together some motivation to start some number crunching. Normally, I like crunching numbers, but the numbers I need to crunch aren't easy to find, so it's difficult for me to get started. I'm just feeling lazy, I think.

And I've been having a lot of thoughts about my career and my life. Where do I want to go next? I figure, if I don't do what I want to do, what's the point in living life? I am the only person who has the power to shape my future, and if I don't change things, no one else will for me. If I am unsatisfied with the way my life is working out, I am the only one who can make it better. Not Zach, not my parents, not my employer. It's just me. We alone can control our lives. It's so easy to put the blame on someone else for our problems, but really, we're the only ones who can control them. In our attitudes, in our decisions, we create and solve our own problems.

I think life should be enjoyable. I used to think that if I could plow through life, make it through my job, and retire at the age of 55, I could retire and that's where life would really begin. But I have begun to realize my own immortality, and I know that I could die young or develop a serious illness or injury. And if I do, I'll regret not enjoying my life while I could. I don't think we should wait to retire to live life fully. If I could find something I really enjoy doing and be able to live that way, I'd definitely do it. And I'm asking myself - what is that?

I just know now that I want to explore my world, explore my self, explore who I really am. I know that I like working with food. And I like computers. And I enjoy knowing exactly what needs to be done and coming up with ways to do it. I like puzzles, everything from crosswords to jigsaw puzzles. And I like nature. I think I like people, but that may just be a survival skill - if I talk to people and make friends, I am a happy person; but do I really like people? This is a new thought, something I'll have to spend some time considering.

At this moment, I want to live out in the country on a Wyoming or Montana ranch, cooking for people and spending a lot of time reflecting. I also want to be on a PBS reality show where people have to live in a different century. I dream of being a frontier woman, but I need to know if I'm cut out for the daily grind that's involved in that lifestyle. It's like a way of testing myself. I just need to know.

I want to join the Peace Corps to get a chance to see another part of the world, another lifestyle, another culture. I want to see firsthand just how cushy my life is here in the U.S. I don't think it'll really hit home until I live a life that's harder. I want to say to myself, "Wow, I really had it great back in Wisconsin. Why did I leave?" I also want to learn another language, learn the arts of another culture, and help people if I can.

There's just so much going through my mind right now. I am almost overwhelmed by the thoughts swirling in my brain at this moment. I almost feel like crying; anything to clear my mind.

My therapist says all this is good. It's good to be confused, because it means I'm getting closer to following my path. I like that metaphor. My therapist says we all have a path, and at the end of the path is the place we really want to be in our lives. It's almost like the Buddhist goal of finding total enlightenment. Everything we do can either bring us closer to our path or take us further away from it. I feel as though I'm wandering around in the woods, trying to get on the path. I hope that once I'm on the path, I will be doing what I enjoy and will find ways to stay on it. I may stray from my path every once in a while (like when I was in college), but I know I can get back on it.

This has been a blog entry of free mind association - just writing down what I'm thinking, without trying to make a point or find purpose in it. It's really helping me clear my head.

Today's Lunch:
Ham sandwich on whole wheat with yellow mustard
Mixed frozen veggies (green beans, peas, carrots, corn, lima beans)
Hershey's kiss, Hershey's mini bar, 2 Starbursts

Peace Corps

Sooo... I've been thinking about joining the Peace Corps. I want to do some traveling, learn some things, see new countries and cultures and ways of living, and challenge myself. This isn't my first time thinking about it, either. If it weren't for this job I have now, I could have already served somewhere.

My fourth year of college, I didn't know what to do when I graduated. The job market was in rough shape, and my fellow wood science and forestry students weren't finding any job openings. I had always wanted to go to grad school, and I learned that the Peace Corps had a master's degree program, where they'd help pay for students' education after serving overseas. I had turned in my entire Peace Corps application - fingerprints and everything - and was only short one reference letter. The application could not be processed until that letter was handed in.

Somewhere during this time I met my future boss, Bob. He was presenting a poster at the Lake States Logging Congress, and he met my dad. Here's how I envision their conversation:

They first found out that they both went to school at Michigan Tech, and were both in the forestry department. Holy crap! Then Bob says that he was actually a wood science major, and my dad goes on to say that his daughter (that would be me) was in the wood science program, too. Wow! So Bob asks what year I'm in, and my dad says, "Oh, she'll be graduating this spring." Then Bob says, "what does she want to do when she's done with school?" and my dad says, "Oh, she's not sure. She just really likes research." Suddenly, a light goes off in Bob's head - wood science major? Female? Michigan Tech grad? Likes research??? Perfect candidate for the Lab!

So he tells my dad about this program the Forest Service has, where students who want to be scientists can get their education paid for and are guaranteed a job with the Forest Service upon graduation. My dad called me a few days later to tell me about it, and that is how I ended up at the lab. My Peace Corps application was never fully completed, and now I've realized that the Peace Corps is something I really want to do.

So I'm going to start applying. The biggest problem I can see right now is selling my house. We have some unfinished projects that need to be completed before putting the house on the market. Zach needs to clean up the basement, and I'd like to re-do the bathroom. And then there's all my furniture.. where could it go? I'm reluctant to put it in a storage locker because from what I understand they're not insulated and I'm afraid the wood will do crazy things in the humidity. And then there's my truck payment. Maybe when I sell the house, I'll make a killing on it and can pay off my truck. But you never know. And then there's Zach. We'd have to split up. I'm not really sure he's "The One," but that doesn't mean I'm ready to let go of him by any means. So that's a little scary, too.

So many things to think about...

Today's Lunch:
Leftover beef stroganoff over egg noodles
Apple
2 gingersnaps

Curtains

Well, it's about time I finished those curtains for the bedrooms. I made roman shades similar to those in the living room, but this time I did not put dowels in each layer - there is only one on the bottom. As a result, the shades kind of bunch together when pulled up, but I think it looks cool.

Here are some photos:





In other news, I'm going to Menard's today to get Z's birthday present. He asked for a reciprocating saw. Very exciting, I know. I am also stopping by JoAnn Fabrics to look at patterns and fabric. I'm hoping to make a dress for an upcoming wedding.

Today's Lunch:
Ham sandwich on whole wheat with yellow mustard
Banana
I realize my lunches aren't very exciting any more. I will have to work on that.

A whole bunch of stuff

First of all, I'd like to show off the great cake I made for a baby shower. It took a lot of time and effort, but I am really happy with how it turned out. The cubes on the bottom say "Twins," on the sides of the top blocks they say "Congrats," and on the top of the blocks "Baby."

What I'm NOT happy with is the fact that two of the cubes fell off during transit, and the frosting got smushed and looked like crap. However, my customer was my friend Pam, and she's very understanding so it was okay.

But I think I will avoid making specialty cakes like this in the future, because they take up sooo much time and I'm not very good at them. When they don't turn out the way I expect them to, I get really bummed out. And I'm not sure if I want to put a lot of time into something like that. This baby shower cake easily took 30 hours to make.

Here are some photos from the girls' weekend at Randi's house.

I seriously never thought I could get sick of eating chocolate, but it really did happen at the Chocolate Extravaganza. My favorite part was the cooking demonstration. I had about a million questions for the chef, but contained myself and only asked 2.

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, and Alexis ordered some pretty spicy wings. She had tears in her eyes as she tried to choke them all down.

In other news, Zach has been working on our kitchen and I'm finally finishing the curtains that have been sitting on our dining room table for 3 weeks. Tonight I'm going to mount them. I will post photos of the final product.

Today we have a bake sale at work, but since I worked on the baby shower cake all last week and left town for the weekend, I didn't contribute much. I brought in half a pumpkin pie (leftovers) to sell by the slice. We also have salads at our bake sale for those "healthy" folks, and I made a greek salad.

I'm getting fired up to make beef stroganoff tomorrow for dinner. We always seem to have a good dinner on wednesday. The rest of the week is just leftovers.

Today's Lunch:
Ham sandwich on whole wheat with yellow mustard
Apple
Hershey's Kiss

Walk to Picnic Point

It was 68° and sunny yesterday, so I decided to take a walk out to Picnic Point. I brought along my wonderful digital camera to take some photos along the way. I'm still learning how to use it.

I climbed a gnarly tree to try to get a good shot of Lake Mendota. That didn't work out too well, so I got a picture of a blue heron with a couple of ducks.

The path leading to Picnic Point. It's woodsy, and I like how it isn't paved. Some parks have asphalt paths to "prevent erosion," but it just ruins the experience for me.

As I walked further down the path, I could see a nice view of the Madison skyline from the lakeshore. It took a few tries to get it right, but I finally got a picture of the skyline.

After I took the picture, I looked at my hand and realized there was a thorn stuck in my palm. I had no idea how it got there or how long it had been there, as the thorn only pierced the skin and didn't hurt. So I played around with the "close up" feature on the camera.

I thought it was really cool how you could see all the scary lines and dry spots on my hand.

A nice scenic shot.

Ducks

A fly-fisherman. I felt like a creep crouching in the bushes to take this dude's picture without his knowledge.

I did a TON of baking last night, from the second I got home (4:30) to when I went to bed at 11:00. Here's what I made:

• Roasted turkey breast (for dinner)
• Chocolate frosting
• 2 pumpkin pies
• Vanilla cake
• Chocolate cookie dough (baking again tonight)

Okay, written down that doesn't seem like much, but it really was, I swear. :)

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with yellow mustard
Banana

Oh no she DIT-INT!

This was Faith Hill's reaction to Carrie Underwood winning the award for Female Vocalist of the Year at the CMAs:



Her publicist later wrote an email to her fan club saying that she was "joking." Suuuure.

The adventures of Hay Zeus

Before we follow the adventures of Hay Zeus, we need to review the current home situation. I snagged these photos from Joe and Mary's Facebook pages.

The lovely couple:

The apartment:

Mary and Molly-dog, the first pet:

And now, ladies and gentlemen - the adventures of Hay Zeus.

Here he is, the little baby:

Uh-oh! He got his first bath. He's thinking, "what the heck was that?"

"I know the dog had something to do with this."

Looking at dog: "What the F are you??"

The stand-off continues.

He's a cute little guy. And Mollydog's pretty cute, too. Heck, they're all cute.

Joe said the dog and cat are totally afraid of each other. But Molly will stand kind of next to Hay Zeus without looking at him, and Joe says it's because she wants him to know she's a friend, not a foe.

Today's Lunch:
Leftover pork sandwich with yellow mustard on wheat bun
Pear

Miss Floppy-Flop

That's what I call Kitty when she's flopping around on the floor. One of these days I'll try to get it on video.

I know this picture kind of stinks, since her ear is cut off, but it was the best I could get. After I took two pictures, she became irritated with the flash from the camera and slinked away.


I can tell I'm getting depressed again because I'm really looking forward to going home and laying on the couch with the cat. I look forward to going home when I'm not depressed, but not for the sole purpose of petting the cat and lounging on the sofa. :)

Today's Lunch:
Leftover roast pork sandwich on wheat bun with yellow mustard
Pear
2 ginger cookies

"Hay-zeus"

I received a phone call from my brother Joe today. I picked up the phone with my usual perky and professional, "Forest Products Lab, this is Crystal," and Joe goes, "Listen to this!"

In the background, I could hear tiny, high-pitched, pathetic-sounding mewing. It repeated continually, like a broken record (or "skipping CD" might be the right way to say it for this millennium). "Mew. Mew. Mew. Mew. Mew."

Joe and Mary were bringing home their new baby, Jésus.

I know from personal experience that most kitties don't like riding in the car. Joe and Mary had just visited the Humane Society to look at the cats, and after they looked at Jésus they filled out an application, expecting to come back another day to get the cat. Well, the Humane Society person said, "okay, here's your cat," and they left with bewildered looks on their faces and a new family member.

They're pretty excited to have little baby Jésus in their family. He's blonde with white chest hair (the stand-out color of the chest hair has me convinced he's a Don Juan, just like his daddy) and blue eyes. I can't wait to see the pictures!

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with yellow mustard
Banana

A better day

My day vastly improved when I went to the dentist. I told the dental assistant that I was nervous about getting my cavities filled, and she promised me it wouldn't hurt. The dentist proceeded to rub my gums with novacaine, then give me a shot of something. They left for a few minutes to let the numbness take effect. As I stared out the window, I realized my heart was just pounding in my chest (from nervousness, not the shot). Soon, my lips and tongue felt like marshmallows, and after that I didn't feel a thing.

The procedure didn't take long and was actually kind of relaxing. They put a thingy in my mouth to keep it propped open so my jaw wouldn't hurt. And there were stickers of planets on the ceiling. I noticed Pluto was missing, but so were 3 other planets. The dentist and his assistant kind of chatted while they worked on me, and I realized how routine my fillings were. They could probably do them in their sleep!

When they were through, I felt relaxed and sleepy as I climbed out of the dentist's chair. I am so grateful to my healthcare providers for always taking good care of me. The dentist I saw probably had the best bedside manner of any dentist I've ever been to. And his assistant was really sweet. They really made an effort to make sure I was comfortable and happy. The office played jazz over the PA, but it wasn't the crappy soft jazz you hear at the grocery store. It was very hip, like Ella Fitzgerald jazz, and was relaxing and entertaining at the same time.

I spent the rest of the afternoon browsing at the Humane Soceity store, Menard's, and a dollar store. Then I went home and we had roast pork with carrot-parsnip hash and an iceberg salad for dinner. I told Zach about my poopy morning and he was appropriately sympathetic. I worked on my curtains, watched my shows, and went to bed.

It can only get better, it can only get better...

That's my mantra today.

The day kind of started out badly.

1. Zach and I got into a little tiff this morning. We worked it out, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
2. I got pulled over on my way to work and cited a ticket for tail-gating. I guess I was driving too close to the car in front of me. $109.
3. I overheard a coworker talking about me, and it wasn't in a positive way. I cried in the bathroom.
   
4. I'm getting my cavities filled. $239.

However, it can only improve, because:

1. I'm going to lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant with some coworkers to celebrate a birthday.
2. After my dental appointment, I get to take the rest of the day off.
3. The Office and Grey's Anatomy are on tonight.

Today's Lunch:
Something yummy from Mediterranean restaurant.

Shopping!

I'm very excited that I get to go shopping today. Living in Evansville has its benefits, but abundance of retail is not one of them.

I have to get groceries at Woodman's, then go to Menard's and buy a few things, then off to - yes! - Target. I'm going to pick up a Wonder Cup, the best thing for bakers since sliced bread. It's used for measuring shortening, peanut butter, other sticky items, and it kind of plunges the substance out of the measuring cup. That way, you don't have to dig and scrape with a spatula.

I realize my dorkiness shows when I get exicted about things like this.


We had a bunch of trick-or-treaters last night. I was kind of surprised at how many kids showed up at my door. Some of them were really cute and little, some of them were surly high school students out for some free candy, and there were a couple of families with crying little ones. I had a nice time handing out candy, but I also got annoyed when kids would dig into my bowl of candy and try to take their OWN pieces. I also became annoyed when they would demand a certain thing. I was tempted to say something like, "why, back in MY day, kids were given crappy candy and they appreciated every little morsel! You kids these days don't know how to be grateful." Hee hee.

I visited the doctor about my ears, and she said I just have wax buildup (again?) in my ears and that's what's making them itchy. And the feeling of fluid in them is because my eustachian tubes (the tubes that allow stuff in the ear to drain into the nose) are plugged. So I have to use nose spray and put hydrogen peroxide in my ears to loosen the wax.

After carbo-loading on sugar the last couple of days, I'm making an effort to lower my intake of sugar and sugar substitutes. However, I will allow myself one sugary dessert a day, and tonight it's going to be German chocolate cake!

Today's Lunch:
Leftover spaghetti with spicy-basil sauce and feta cheese
Apple (honeycrisp)
Popcorn ball