itch

I am so stressed I am itching... this job BS needs to be over soon.

"Hurry up and wait" is now turning into mental cruelty.

my latest addiction

The husband is working late - he's in tech.

So I have been watching House Hunters, followed by House Hunters International for a week now.

Someone stop me.

At least tonight I had a glass of wine.

The Potlatch Effect

So, I have been reading this book. And there is this section about "why we are good". One of the theories had me supressing an uncomfortable giggle.

"Altruistic giving may be an advertisement of dominance or superiority".

This made me think about people I know who tend to give random gifts for no apparent reason. I always feel a little bit guilty about not being able to afford to give them a gift back. I always wonder - "do they feel they need to buy my friendship?" or "do I need to buy them something too?"

I wonder if it is subconscious - their need to feel some kind of dominance... hmmm...

Now - I'm all for a nice card, flowers, etc. But those are usually for an occasion - get well, birthday, mother's day, get out of your funk, thank you, congratulations, new jobs, new babies, you rock, apologies. And yes - the occasional "I was thinking about you and thought you would like this" is fine.

A bottle of wine for doing a huge favor gets big points in my book. But showing up to see someone and they have a gift for you (for no reason) is just socially awkward.

Also, if they pick up the check too many times... I have to wonder "are they keeping score?" Should I start carrying around a notebook so I know how many times they buy? Will this be used against me later?

Then I thought (here comes the uncomfortable giggle) - have I done that?

banana bread

The kid and I made banana bread tonight. we wont get to sample it until morning. It bake while she took her bath and I took it out of the oven in between Curious George stories (I had to read three tonight). So - let's hope the boy dog doesn't eat this loaf before we get a chance to try it...

pancakes and latte

Every Saturday morning we (me and the kid) make pancakes. She mixes the dry ingredients - I do the wet. Then she watches me put them on the griddle and flip them. I had been using a recipe from THE JOY OF COOKING. Pretty standard. But in my quest to make things a bit more healthy I have started changing the recipe around a bit. My inspiration has been coming from my gal pals who have wonderful culinary expertise...

The Recipe from JOY
1 1/2 cup flour
3 tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt

3 tbs butter
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

My modified version:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax seed
1 1/2 tsp baking power
1/2 salt
cinnamon (I let the kid handle this - sometimes its really cinnamon-y - like a big tablespoon)
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
same wet ingredients as above.

She gets a nice cup of chocolate milk (aka Ovaltine) and I enjoy a latte. Yep I have finally (after 7 months) figured out my espresso machine. I was putting in too much coffee...

more animal encounters

Today I saw this in my patio. So, I looked up Dragonfly in one of my books...

There is a legend that a dragonfly was once a dragon. Coyote tricked Dragon by having him showing its art of magic and illusion by changing form - into a Dragonfly. By showing off his power, Dragon lost it.

"Dragonfly is the essence of the winds of change, the messages of wisdom and enlightenment, and communications from the elemental world."
It goes on to say...
"...it may be time to break down the illusions you have held hat restrict your actions or ideas..."

hmm...

riding the wind of change and other cliches that seem to work for me today

Things change.
We all evolve.
Re-birth is important.
Out with the old and in with the new.
the more things change the more they stay the same
money can't buy happiness

ya whatever

and we saw...

...this as we were driving home today. There are mountain lion warnings all over the campus. I saw a mountain lion last year. But this is a bobcat. It was a BIG one too. I saw it walk across the road - no one was behind me, so I slowed down and let the hubby and the kid get a peak.
It was beautiful.

I didn't take this picture... thanks to the University for having this on their site...

refried beans

When I was a single gal - I would sometimes for dinner have chips, refried beans, salsa and sour cream. Now the beans we cooked with a lot of cheese. Oh and I always used (and still use) Rosarita's Vegetarian Refried Beans.

Tonight the kid and I met the husband on his dinner break and went to our favorite Mexican joint. Mexican food (good mexican food) is hard to find in this city. Since we lived near he border for so long - I have very strong feelings about which restaurants we can go to. So I was pleased when we discovered the little hole in the wall.
I had some enchiladas - yummy. Beans on the side. They were so good - and yes - I know they use lard. But once in a while ya just gotta a go for it... and man oh man was it tasty.

I've started making chicken fajitas at home. We've found some pretty yummy whole wheat tortillas. Nothing beats a hand made corn tortilla though... but when you're trying to be healthy (which occasionally we do) - its better to have the whole grains in the house. With the fajitas - refried beans, sour cream, salsa and avocado...

sugar

We've been big advocates of the South Beach diet. But the big problem has been sugar. South Beach has you use Splenda for all sweetening needs. I have never been able to use Sweet and Low and those other artificial sweeteners. You can just taste the chemicals.

So - I get cutting down on the sugar intake. But, I don't think a little pure cane sugar is bad. It is probably better for you than the artificial stuff. Right?

Maybe its because I hang out with some gals who grow their own food, and go organic... but I am worried about the amount of fake food out there - additives and other "stuff" in food.

So I have started reading labels.

It's eye opening and a good thing.

drinking and the dentist

I went to the dentist this morning to fill a cavity. After a shot of Novocaine, he began drilling. I almost immediately screamed in pain. Yep, I needed another shot. And even after #2 I could still feel it. Anyway - Shot #2 numbed my tongue and lips for about 4 hours. It made drinking and eating so much fun. Drinking was the best - since I couldn't tell where the liquid was...

salsa

I went to see my sisters on Saturday. My older sister and I took our kids to the water park and then we were invited to my little sister's house for lunch. Little sister made burgers and hotdogs. But then there was this large vat of salsa. She married a man from Mexico a couple years ago and since then has been cooking Mexican food. This salsa was fantastic - made from scratch. I ate so much of it that she offered to send some home with me - I said - yes. It was gone by Sunday. She should sell that salsa - she'd make a lot of money. I'm now addicted to it.

meat

Okay. Meat. Cooking it.

I have a fear of undercooked meats. Thus, I tend to overcook things to the point of dryness. I am working on this phobia. I am.

The pork chops I made the other night in the broiler looked a little pink - so I kept them in a minute longer - only to have them overcook while they "rested."

I remember a Christmas get-together at my grandmother's. She made chicken. It was NOT cooked all the way. My mother said "just eat it" - I looked at her like she was from outerspace and showed her the breast. She immediately took it away.

That was the first step towards becoming a vegetarian (which I was for about three years). But the rawness of the meat really made me ill.. okay thinking about it is making me feel ill too... excuse me a minute...

okay

My mother cooked red meat until it was more than "done done." Since hooking up with the husband (14 years ago) I have now acquired a taste for "medium well" and sometimes "medium" whereas he lives in the world of "medium rare". The kid - she's her father's daughter. I never knew meat could be moist and at time be as melty as butter.
I also thought, as a kid, that all fish tasted like fish sticks.

So - I tend to leave the meat (beef and fish) to the husband to cook. I can handle the poultry and am working towards keeping it moist.

The last 10 years (since getting hitched to the fella) has been spent expanding my culinary repertoire. I am now more adventurous and actually know what foie gras is! Thanks Top Chef and Food TV.

I order Pho with rare steak on the side and cook it myself in the broth. yummmy.

Sushi doesn't count. I have no problems with raw fish...

Damn it.

Now I'm hungry.

pizza

Pizza is my downfall...
I love it.
but I always feel really gross after eating it.

food

Looks like the topic for the month is food...

today I spoke at a men;s club which is part of a retirement community.

I was the guest for the luncheon.

Lunch was a beef patty-like thing. With a rich sauce on it and canned mushrooms. On the side was over cooked steamed veggies and a scoop of mashed potatoes.

The man to my right commented on how fabulous the food was.

I just nodded.

It's a good thing I'm not a vegetarian.

They were all worried that I didn't touch my apple pie.