In a few days, Mike and I are flying to San Francisco. Land of the Giants. And the Tanner family. Mike has to go for a conference, and I'm tagging along because work is really wearing on me. It takes a lot out of a person having to come to work four days a week and occasionally make tables in Excel. I need a break!!
In truth, this vacation is making me a little anxious. First of all, we have to fly. That means airports, which I love (they're so bright and open!), but it also means airplanes, which I'm just okay with. This will mark flight number three for me, ever, because I am a sheltered person who's never been anywhere you can't get to by car in a reasonable amount of time, although certain bus drivers and I have very different definitions of what that amount of time is. I'm not afraid to fly by any stretch, but I'm not wild about having to sit and entertain myself for more than a few hours at a time. My other flights were only 3 hours, and it was only about an hour into them that I started to split my chewing gum in half and chew half on each side of my mouth, and if that's not a sign that you've run out of ideas, I don't know what is. And I may well be the last person in the US who has a portable music player that sits empty on my nightstand because it's too daunting to operate.
Second of all, did you know about time zones? I'm going to be waking up at 6:30 like I do on weekdays, ready for breakfast, only it'll really be 3:30 (please let that be right) and there won't be anyone to make me waffles. Do you think my carry-on luggage can be a cooler full of frozen waffles and a toaster with a strap that I use like a purse? Also, it's our first trip to the West Coast! I don't even know if it should be capitalized! We have no idea what it's like over there, but I get the feeling that if there was such as thing as the opposite of South Carolina, California might be it. So if you have any suggestions about anywhere we should go while we're there (just for a long weekend), I'd love to hear them. But you should know that my friend Johnny has already told us about the guy at Mission Dolores Park who sells the ganja treats.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sustaining lives is so complicated.
On Monday night we made dinner at home. An undertaking which has become exceedingly rare as of late, possibly because we've quit going to the grocery store. San Jose is on the way to the grocery store, and we'll get home too late to fix dinner, so let's just go ahead and eat first. Yum tacos. Uhhhk. I am too full to move please don't make me go in that grocery store full of foods I need to lay down. Does this happen to anyone else? Is it just because it's summer? Maybe it has something to do with me being at work for an extra 2 hours every day and not having any energy left to open the refrigerator door when I get home, let alone prepare a meal and clean up afterwords. Luckily my hours will change back come fall, but then I'll also have to go back to working Fridays. I tell you I don't know how moms do it. I can barely get myself fed.
Cooking and eating at home was a very welcome change from what we've been doing lately, that is for certain. We fixed chicken and twice baked potatoes and brownies AND we made banana bread. As far as the east is from the west, was this banana bread from my last dreadful attempt. And all I did differently was barely help at all while my mom did the work! Evidently that's the trick. In order to make tasty things, I need to not really play a role in their production. There isn't a show on the Food Network where somebody does that, so I believe I may have stumbled onto a million dollar idea here.
Then yesterday my friend Johnny came over and we ate at home again. This time there wasn't a lot of culinary investment, since Mike and Johnny just ate sandwiches, and all I did was boil some noodles and heat up frozen chicken. But it was nice not to have to drive somewhere and pay money to eat. If I go back through my bank statement, almost every entry is money we've spent at restaurants. Not exactly a wise investment. And probably not a healthy one either. So from now on I'm aiming to have more meals at home. It isn't that challenging if we can just slap together a meal plan and shop on the weekend for what we'll need all week. Fairly simple, in fact. But someone else will need to do the grocery shopping because every time I try, I only come home with a stomach ache. Which you can't bake or freeze for later.
Cooking and eating at home was a very welcome change from what we've been doing lately, that is for certain. We fixed chicken and twice baked potatoes and brownies AND we made banana bread. As far as the east is from the west, was this banana bread from my last dreadful attempt. And all I did differently was barely help at all while my mom did the work! Evidently that's the trick. In order to make tasty things, I need to not really play a role in their production. There isn't a show on the Food Network where somebody does that, so I believe I may have stumbled onto a million dollar idea here.
Then yesterday my friend Johnny came over and we ate at home again. This time there wasn't a lot of culinary investment, since Mike and Johnny just ate sandwiches, and all I did was boil some noodles and heat up frozen chicken. But it was nice not to have to drive somewhere and pay money to eat. If I go back through my bank statement, almost every entry is money we've spent at restaurants. Not exactly a wise investment. And probably not a healthy one either. So from now on I'm aiming to have more meals at home. It isn't that challenging if we can just slap together a meal plan and shop on the weekend for what we'll need all week. Fairly simple, in fact. But someone else will need to do the grocery shopping because every time I try, I only come home with a stomach ache. Which you can't bake or freeze for later.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
What do I, run places?
For the fourth, my parents and Emily and Mike and I went up to Mike's parents'. We had much tasty food and hung out at their pool all afternoon, and then we went up to Simpsonville for an outdoor symphony concert and fireworks display. It was really fun and enjoyable to be with our families. Said everyone in attendance. Boy do folks like to take their kids to outdoorsy summertime festivals. And it makes them all so HAPPY! And they are so cute when they dance! And find a cricket and put him in a bag with some grass and name him Silly and ask their dads to take pictures of Silly the cricket! It almost made me want to go home and dump a bunch of quarters in the Polly Pocket jar.
But only almost. Because shortly after Silly's photo shoot, I saw the funnel cake booth and desperately threw all my quarters at them instead. I couldn't believe they wanted five dollars for a funnel cake, but you better believe it was worth every penny. And now I'm going to run the whole way home to burn off all the calories!
Which, if you were to picture it, would make you laugh very hard if you know me at all.
Seriously, how does anyone ever stay in shape? Do they not KNOW about funnel cake?
Also this weekend I saw Away We Go, and at one point Jim makes Maya promise that she will love their daughter whether she is fat or skinny or short or tall or anything else so long as she is happy, and at that point I wondered whether it is awful of me to hope my children are skinny. But if they are I will probably just be jealous and feed them pies.
But only almost. Because shortly after Silly's photo shoot, I saw the funnel cake booth and desperately threw all my quarters at them instead. I couldn't believe they wanted five dollars for a funnel cake, but you better believe it was worth every penny. And now I'm going to run the whole way home to burn off all the calories!
Which, if you were to picture it, would make you laugh very hard if you know me at all.
Seriously, how does anyone ever stay in shape? Do they not KNOW about funnel cake?
Also this weekend I saw Away We Go, and at one point Jim makes Maya promise that she will love their daughter whether she is fat or skinny or short or tall or anything else so long as she is happy, and at that point I wondered whether it is awful of me to hope my children are skinny. But if they are I will probably just be jealous and feed them pies.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Home is where I'll be at!
1. Boy am I lazy. This applies not only to not blogging for a week and then copping out with a list, but also to the fact that I am deliberately not drinking enough water simply because the bathroom is too dang far away, and I have to stop by a coworker's office to let her know I'm going to the bathroom every time I have to go, because we're the only two who can answer the phones. I won't get into how we're also the only two gals, lest I start some kind of nasty rumor about sexism or some such. This is 2009!
2. My governor is a bit of a schmuck. And I'll tell you why. Utilizing an outline. Without the Roman numerals because I never really learned those so well.
A) He disappears for a week, and no one knows where, and he can't be reached by phone
1. He's got a wife and four boys
2. He's gone on Father's Day
B) Staffer says he's hiking in the Applachian
1. Senators, Representatives, and citizens freak out. "We can't get a hold of him if we need him! Who'll run our state further into the ground?!"
2. Staffer reports that governor will cut trip short to appease us
C) He wasn't in the Applachian! It was Argentina!
1. SO different
2. Oh no, I do not like where this is headed
D) Press Conference
1. He says sorry about all the travel-related fibbing
2. Oh yeah and about the affair
3. Who neglects her blog all week, comes up with a pathetic two-point list, and then darts out the door before quitting time because it's only logical that I should be GONE by 5:00 so that means I have to get to the car at 4:50, right? I do. Next week my boss(es) are all going on vacation, though, so I should have plenty of time to devote to updating this poor blog. And/or watching tv online. Do you have any favorite shows that are available online that I could maybe latch on to? Any blogs I can read through the archives of? Any sentences I can end in prepositions?
2. My governor is a bit of a schmuck. And I'll tell you why. Utilizing an outline. Without the Roman numerals because I never really learned those so well.
A) He disappears for a week, and no one knows where, and he can't be reached by phone
1. He's got a wife and four boys
2. He's gone on Father's Day
B) Staffer says he's hiking in the Applachian
1. Senators, Representatives, and citizens freak out. "We can't get a hold of him if we need him! Who'll run our state further into the ground?!"
2. Staffer reports that governor will cut trip short to appease us
C) He wasn't in the Applachian! It was Argentina!
1. SO different
2. Oh no, I do not like where this is headed
D) Press Conference
1. He says sorry about all the travel-related fibbing
2. Oh yeah and about the affair
3. Who neglects her blog all week, comes up with a pathetic two-point list, and then darts out the door before quitting time because it's only logical that I should be GONE by 5:00 so that means I have to get to the car at 4:50, right? I do. Next week my boss(es) are all going on vacation, though, so I should have plenty of time to devote to updating this poor blog. And/or watching tv online. Do you have any favorite shows that are available online that I could maybe latch on to? Any blogs I can read through the archives of? Any sentences I can end in prepositions?
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Crap.
Yesterday I spent an hour and ten minutes listening to Alex and Gus demonstrate all the ways I will now be able to utilize their company's econometrics services. Don't ask me what those are, because all I can tell you is that this job gets further and further over my head with every passing day. I had to log in to a training seminar online where my screen became Alex/Gus's, and I had to call in to the company to get the accompanying audio, so they could show me around the wonderful world of economic forecasting. And if that doesn't sound like a keen way to spend 70 minutes, I don't know what does. Nevermind that for the most part, I had no idea what anyone was doing or saying, and about twenty minutes in my stomach started growling so bad that I had to mute my phone so I could eat my almonds without everyone hearing. Almonds: not the best idea for people who need to be stealthy.
Then after work I went home and cried over how much weight I haven't lost. I just don't understand how I can eat as much bread and cheese and consume as many empty carbohydrates and diet Cokes as I do and not lose any weight. Clearly I should have asked Alex or Gus for a quick nutrition lesson while I had them. Anyway I resolved to get my act together and quit messing around at meal times. I haven't earned myself those 30 tortilla chips just because the bathroom is on the opposite side of the building from my office and I walk to it quickly. So for dinner I ate a salad and a bowl of vegetable soup. And only 1.5 croutons and 4 of Mike's chips. And a little piece of bread to get rid of the weird taste that those croutons left in of my mouth. Leading me to believe that all of the carbs have banded together and crafted some sort of elaborate plan for how to do me in.
Aaaaand my coworker just brought me some bread.
Then after work I went home and cried over how much weight I haven't lost. I just don't understand how I can eat as much bread and cheese and consume as many empty carbohydrates and diet Cokes as I do and not lose any weight. Clearly I should have asked Alex or Gus for a quick nutrition lesson while I had them. Anyway I resolved to get my act together and quit messing around at meal times. I haven't earned myself those 30 tortilla chips just because the bathroom is on the opposite side of the building from my office and I walk to it quickly. So for dinner I ate a salad and a bowl of vegetable soup. And only 1.5 croutons and 4 of Mike's chips. And a little piece of bread to get rid of the weird taste that those croutons left in of my mouth. Leading me to believe that all of the carbs have banded together and crafted some sort of elaborate plan for how to do me in.
Aaaaand my coworker just brought me some bread.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Still working on that hobby...
Just want to share a recipe real quick. I made these yesterday morning for the new small group Mike and I are attending at church. They are easy and portable and a nice alternative to boring old breakfast casseroles that can be messy and that you have to eat with a fork.
Breakfast Casserole Muffins!!
1 lb. sausage, browned and drained (can add onion, peppers, or sub. bacon or ham for sausage.)
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup biscuit mix (Bisquick or whatnot)
2 cups half-and-half or milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups shredded cheese
Preheat the oven to 350ยบ F. Brown and drain the sausage, adding in whatever you like. I used maple sausage, and God bless Jimmy Dean for that treasure, and added in somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of an onion, though ultimately I shoveled out about a tablespoon of that because it just looked too oniony. I have onion issues. Too many diced onions and I feel like I'm eating a happy meal that somebody forgot to order with NO ONIONS IN SIGHT PLEASE MY DAUGHTERS ARE FREAKY ABOUT THOSE TINY DICED ONIONS.
Grease 2 muffin pans and distribute the ground sausage evenly into all 24.
Mix together the eggs, biscuit mix, half-and-half (or milk, whichever you use), salt and pepper. Pour this evenly into the tins. Then put all the cheese on top. Stick those suckers in the oven for 25 minutes and you are good to go.
Breakfast Casserole Muffins!!
1 lb. sausage, browned and drained (can add onion, peppers, or sub. bacon or ham for sausage.)
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup biscuit mix (Bisquick or whatnot)
2 cups half-and-half or milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups shredded cheese
Preheat the oven to 350ยบ F. Brown and drain the sausage, adding in whatever you like. I used maple sausage, and God bless Jimmy Dean for that treasure, and added in somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of an onion, though ultimately I shoveled out about a tablespoon of that because it just looked too oniony. I have onion issues. Too many diced onions and I feel like I'm eating a happy meal that somebody forgot to order with NO ONIONS IN SIGHT PLEASE MY DAUGHTERS ARE FREAKY ABOUT THOSE TINY DICED ONIONS.
Grease 2 muffin pans and distribute the ground sausage evenly into all 24.
Mix together the eggs, biscuit mix, half-and-half (or milk, whichever you use), salt and pepper. Pour this evenly into the tins. Then put all the cheese on top. Stick those suckers in the oven for 25 minutes and you are good to go.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Can I bum a hobby off of you?
**Updated: Stainless steel is the solution to my garlic problem in item 6. NOT sterling silver. Who am I, the queen of America? I don't have sterling silver spoons.
I thought I'd use this post to share some very useful/important/pretty things with you. That way we can bond over a love of said things, or I can at least get up another post and not feel as bad about going so long without posting. Not too much going on a lot of the time, so sometimes I just don't have many words to say. So today, instead of sharing thoughts or ideas, let's just talk about stuff! Ready?
1. I love these tank tops. (Caution: the model in the link is adequately covered, but the shirt is pretty dang tight. Maybe don't show that to a kid.) I probably have 15 of them. I wear one under everything. They're long (even on me, and I'm tall) and thick enough that you can wear them alone, and they fit nice and snug and suck in any pudge you might worry about. They are especially great under low-cut sweaters and dresses, and I wear them under virtually every top I have. They come in about 30 beautiful, vibrant colors. I buy lots of the brightly colored ones because they're so pretty, and then most mornings I throw on a white one. So I have 4 in white. I just can't say enough good things about them. I will likely never buy another brand of tank top. Maybe after Jillian is through with me, I'll be able to wear the brightly colored ones by themselves. Incidentally the workout is still going great, and I'm starting to notice my pants being a little loosey, and also in addition to the shred, this week my sister and my mom are doing the Sacred Heart diet. Yikes. Notice the complete lack of cheese and starchy carbs, and on an unrelated note, I am never, ever going to do that diet ever. Anyway I like these tank tops. I highly doubt you would regret buying (at least) one. Though they are usually buy 1 get 1 half off, so you may as well get two.
2. Mexican food. Who doesn't love Mexican food, is what I'd like to know. I cannot get enough. Tacos, quesadillas, nachos, taco salad, queso, rice and beans, even the dang chips and salsa. I get so bummed when we go to San Jose because I want to order some of it all and I never have enough room to eat everything I want. I wind up eating half a basket of chips and then all I have room for is one measly taco. Guys. What is the deal? I could really, truly go every single day. Are they using some kind of drugs in the cooking? ARE THEY?!
3. Are you familiar with haystacks? Birds' nests? Beaver dams? Chinese noodle cookies? Whatever name you know them by, your life is bound to be better because of them. Except when you can't wear your beautiful pink tank top because you ate too many haystacks. But then you can comfort yourself by enjoying another haystack. I made these for a cookout recently and had lots of leftovers, and I have been preparing all week for the fight I imagined Mike and I would have regarding who got the last one. He let me have it without a word. I love that dude.
4. Bon Iver. Ack. If you don't have his cd(s), I feel sorry for your ears. This guy has the most wonderful voice. My sister Emily introduced me to this music, and she gets to see him play at Bonnaroo in a few days. I'm so jealous. (note: some of the songs have PG-13 words in them)
5. Cake Wrecks. Not only are the cakes hilarious, the blogger who maintains this site is hysterical. She cracks me up. Particularly when she uses the word flotsam. That word is a riot. I've read all the archives. Hoo boy, some people are just not bright. Cause it takes a special kind of bakery employee to turn 'happy fatherhood' into 'happy falker satherhood.' A special kind.
6. Last night I fixed a pork tenderloin marinade that requires minced garlic. I don't know about you, but I dread dealing with onions and garlic because they make my hands smell dreadful. For days on end. I can't get away from the smell, it gets all up in my fingernails and on my pillows and makes me a little nasueated every time my hands get too close to my face. So unpleasant. Well it turns out there's an easy remedy. A really easy one. Stainless steel! Maybe you already knew about this, but I've been wandering in the Hand Stench desert for years. Come to find, all you have to do is rub your hands all over a stainless steel spoon (or sink, in the event that you really manhandled the garlic). The smell isn't totally gone from under my nails, but it was so great to discover such a simple remedy. And that pork is going to be extremely delicious. Not long ago I was preeeetty intimidated at the thought of cooking pork, but I found some recipes online that seemed fairly straight-forward, and here we are 1 year later and we have pork at least once a month. The recipe I use is here.
I'd say that's enough linking for one weekend. Saturday we're going up to Mike's parents' house to hang out by the pool and eat. I will use that time to consider taking up a hobby of some sort, because if you asked me right now, Erin what is it that you like to do in your free time?, the answer is eat and sleep. And somehow I feel like life is meant to be about more than just the things that, you know, everybody has to do or else they die. What do you like to do? Can I do it?
I thought I'd use this post to share some very useful/important/pretty things with you. That way we can bond over a love of said things, or I can at least get up another post and not feel as bad about going so long without posting. Not too much going on a lot of the time, so sometimes I just don't have many words to say. So today, instead of sharing thoughts or ideas, let's just talk about stuff! Ready?
1. I love these tank tops. (Caution: the model in the link is adequately covered, but the shirt is pretty dang tight. Maybe don't show that to a kid.) I probably have 15 of them. I wear one under everything. They're long (even on me, and I'm tall) and thick enough that you can wear them alone, and they fit nice and snug and suck in any pudge you might worry about. They are especially great under low-cut sweaters and dresses, and I wear them under virtually every top I have. They come in about 30 beautiful, vibrant colors. I buy lots of the brightly colored ones because they're so pretty, and then most mornings I throw on a white one. So I have 4 in white. I just can't say enough good things about them. I will likely never buy another brand of tank top. Maybe after Jillian is through with me, I'll be able to wear the brightly colored ones by themselves. Incidentally the workout is still going great, and I'm starting to notice my pants being a little loosey, and also in addition to the shred, this week my sister and my mom are doing the Sacred Heart diet. Yikes. Notice the complete lack of cheese and starchy carbs, and on an unrelated note, I am never, ever going to do that diet ever. Anyway I like these tank tops. I highly doubt you would regret buying (at least) one. Though they are usually buy 1 get 1 half off, so you may as well get two.
2. Mexican food. Who doesn't love Mexican food, is what I'd like to know. I cannot get enough. Tacos, quesadillas, nachos, taco salad, queso, rice and beans, even the dang chips and salsa. I get so bummed when we go to San Jose because I want to order some of it all and I never have enough room to eat everything I want. I wind up eating half a basket of chips and then all I have room for is one measly taco. Guys. What is the deal? I could really, truly go every single day. Are they using some kind of drugs in the cooking? ARE THEY?!
3. Are you familiar with haystacks? Birds' nests? Beaver dams? Chinese noodle cookies? Whatever name you know them by, your life is bound to be better because of them. Except when you can't wear your beautiful pink tank top because you ate too many haystacks. But then you can comfort yourself by enjoying another haystack. I made these for a cookout recently and had lots of leftovers, and I have been preparing all week for the fight I imagined Mike and I would have regarding who got the last one. He let me have it without a word. I love that dude.
4. Bon Iver. Ack. If you don't have his cd(s), I feel sorry for your ears. This guy has the most wonderful voice. My sister Emily introduced me to this music, and she gets to see him play at Bonnaroo in a few days. I'm so jealous. (note: some of the songs have PG-13 words in them)
5. Cake Wrecks. Not only are the cakes hilarious, the blogger who maintains this site is hysterical. She cracks me up. Particularly when she uses the word flotsam. That word is a riot. I've read all the archives. Hoo boy, some people are just not bright. Cause it takes a special kind of bakery employee to turn 'happy fatherhood' into 'happy falker satherhood.' A special kind.
6. Last night I fixed a pork tenderloin marinade that requires minced garlic. I don't know about you, but I dread dealing with onions and garlic because they make my hands smell dreadful. For days on end. I can't get away from the smell, it gets all up in my fingernails and on my pillows and makes me a little nasueated every time my hands get too close to my face. So unpleasant. Well it turns out there's an easy remedy. A really easy one. Stainless steel! Maybe you already knew about this, but I've been wandering in the Hand Stench desert for years. Come to find, all you have to do is rub your hands all over a stainless steel spoon (or sink, in the event that you really manhandled the garlic). The smell isn't totally gone from under my nails, but it was so great to discover such a simple remedy. And that pork is going to be extremely delicious. Not long ago I was preeeetty intimidated at the thought of cooking pork, but I found some recipes online that seemed fairly straight-forward, and here we are 1 year later and we have pork at least once a month. The recipe I use is here.
I'd say that's enough linking for one weekend. Saturday we're going up to Mike's parents' house to hang out by the pool and eat. I will use that time to consider taking up a hobby of some sort, because if you asked me right now, Erin what is it that you like to do in your free time?, the answer is eat and sleep. And somehow I feel like life is meant to be about more than just the things that, you know, everybody has to do or else they die. What do you like to do? Can I do it?
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