Bad Shoppers

I got knocked down today by a little old woman. I turned the corner to walk up a crowded store aisle. I tool about a two steps in and looked up to see her coming toward me. I swear she football-style stiff armed me. Got me right below the sternum. I fell back on my butt. She didn't even bother to acknowledge me.

I yelled at her, "What the hell is wrong with you, lady?" She turned around looking as innocent as possible through these frog looking glasses and said "what?" as if I were the crazy one. I told her, "You just shoved through, hit me and knocked me over." She just stood there staring at me for a second and then had the balls to say, "Well, I couldn't get through." I was just dumbstruck. No sign of an, "I'm sorry," or an, "oh excuse me," or even an, "I didn't see you" (This would have been an all out lie but still...) At that moment, every last lesson I was ever taught and ingrained in me, that told me to respect my elders, went to hell. I said, "Wow, you're just as rude, mean, old bitch." Threw my basket on the ground and left the damn store. I don't exactly know why I did that last part. I suppose it was the last bit of decency left in me taking over, to keep me from hitting an old lady square in the face. I'm not even kidding either. I wanted to take that horrible, fuchsia jacket over hers, pull it over her head and frickin channel my inner Hanson brother (please tell me you've all seen Slap Shot) and let the fists fly.

So yeah, that was the start of my Chirstmas shopping season.

I Forgot to Pack Underwear!

See! Even though I frickin thought of it and had them out, my underwear never made it into my bag! I frickin knew it. Luckily Target was open to save me.

I got to my brother's place on Wednesday by about noon. I meant to get there sooner but I got caught up watching "Hoarders," on Tuesday night. This is quite possibly the single most disturbing program on television. It's about people with hoarding disorders. Holy cow, gross. I mean, just gross. I had to watch. It's like a bad car accident. So yes, I stayed up too late watching a marathon.

In my rush out the door, the last thing I packed was my overnight bag. I had everything laid out and somehow I missed my underwear. I also forgot to pack a box of pasta and half of the ingredients I needed for my cornbread. Luckily it was still early enough that it didn't cause a panic.

Within an hour of getting to my brother's I began cooking. I have enough experience in doing this to know what needs to be made the day of and what can be prepped early and set aside to chill out. I gave everything a time table and staggered the order of the dishes so that everything would be done and coming out of the oven by the time the turkey had rested enough and was ready to be carved. Things almost worked out perfectly. I told Stella at the very beginning of the day that it was going to be a Murphy's Law kind of a day. I was right. One of the simplest dishes, roasted acorn squash, got burnt to unservable (Not my doing, Alvin manned the grill outside) and the mashed potatoes that Stella was making took unusually long to make. Those held things up. Ah well. Whaddaya gonna do? Luckily, there was still plenty of food available that the squash wasn't missed and the potatoes, once they got done, were actually amazing.

So here's what was on the menu.

Roasted Turkey
home made mac and cheese
sauteed green beans
sauteed Brussels sprouts with garlic and shallots
cornbread (my cousin's baby girl loved this stuff. I can't blame her. So do I)
stuffed mushrooms
stuffing with morells (yep I did get my hands on some. My brother had a pack of them)
grilled polenta with a morell infused sherry vinaigrette
garlic mashed potatoes
biscuits
candied yams
olive loaf (so darn good)
gravy
two different kinds of homemade cranberry sauce

Appetizers:
assorted cheese and cured meats platter
crackers
mixed nuts
dried fruit mix

desert:
my Mom's homemade flan
Cherry pie (from my eldest brother's cherry tree)
Pumpkin pie
Key lime cheesecake

Drinks: Mulled cider spiked with rum (my saving grace)



I dunno, think we had enough food? I think we'd be good to go if we had to run a marathon.

And So It Begins

At this time tomorrow, I will most likely be covered in food bits that have flown off the knife or cutting board. Damn I'm excited.

I spent most of the day today hopping from one supermarket to another looking for all the damn ingredients I need for The Big day. I'm still missing one. Morel mushrooms. I can't find them. Those bastards are pretty hard to find. Ah well, I suppose I'll have to go with Shiitake instead. I'm making a mushroom infused vinaigrette reduction to go over roasted acorn squash.

But that wasn't the worst part of it. I went to four different supermarkets looking for fricking sherry vinegar. Finally I found the last lonely bottle at a supermarket in Rye (three towns away from my parent's in New Rochelle). So what happens the moment I get home, the stupid bag broke and the bottle fell out. It cracked! The effing bottle of vinegar that is about 10 oz and runs for $12 cracked! Luckily I was able to salvage most of it. I had to sacrifice half a bottle of red wine vinegar to save it, but it's worth it damn it. Aaron almost had a heart attack. He wasn't sure why I was so mad. I told him that I specifically told the checkout girl to double bag. She didn't and I didn't notice. He still didn't get it. Then I told him how much that small bottle cost. He asked me to repeat it a few times. He then understood.

Ah well. So now my kitchen is a staging point for tomorrow. I the two boxes for all my tools and equipment packed up and all the bags are lined up, ready to be walked out to my car. Now I just have to make sure I remember stuff I'll need like, oh say, clothes and underwear. Wish me luck.

Teehee

It just dawned on me. I've now met or been in the same room with all the men in Twilight except for Rob. I've met Jackson (so incredibly nice and pretty talented) and Peter (and his lovely wife, Jennie). Been in the same room with (under two feet from) Kellan and had a mini interaction with him. One more and my collection will be complete. Sigh...

I'm Such A Twerd

So last night Twilight Moms had an early movie screening for New Moon and got to hang out with Peter Facinelli and Kellan Lutz for a little while.

Yep they dropped by our little gathering and a few lucky women bid on dinner dates with the two men. I was in on the bidding till it got to $800. Both dinner dates sold for well over $3000. But yes, I was one of the volunteers and got to meet some of Peter's friends. I was also one of the few who knew we were having special guests showing up. Kellan was a surprise even to me. I have to say, the two men are so much more adorable and sweet in person than they are on screen. Sadly, when they passed by (right by me) I saw so surprised to see Kellan in all his hotness, that I went dumb. I didn't put my hand out for the high fives down the aisle. Damn. :( Ah well.

Oh yes, when I got out bid the three times Kellan gave me a sad face and mouthed a, "sorry." Teehee.

So yes, the movie. SO much better than Twilight. The special effects actually worked in the movie and the acting wasn't as cardboardish. Getting rid of the last director was the correct decision. The new directorial direction made all the difference in the world. And of course, the part of the book that made me cry the hardest, actually made me get a little misty-eyed in the theater. The girl next to me was bawling. Really. Crying hiccups and all. All I kept thinking was, 'woman, you read the book. You know what happens.' Ah well. I suppose some people are a lot more emotional than others.

Feeling Good

This week has gone better than I anticipated. So far I have sent out, I don't even know how many applications and e-mails to jobs. I was able to hit a mall and not shop. I handed Pony off and drove a friend to the airport. I have three drawings to deliver to a friend and tonight I am going to check out New Moon with the Twilight Moms and am helping run the event. Not bad for one week.

Lets hope next week is as productive. I only have to juggle the job search and the big food show. Woo!

C'mon, c'mon...

Sigh... I am so excited. I'm getting to the point where I can almost feel my body tense every time I turn on Food Network, I keep eyeing my knives in the kitchen and all thoughts are turning to food. Yep, I'm ready to take on Thanksgiving.

I'm the head chef when it comes to the big food holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I now accept the assistance from a sous chef from time to time but that's only been very recently and I'm trying to be a lot more patient with them, rather than chase every one out of the kitchen. I like things done a certain way, I can't help it.

So yes, Stella and I have created the menu for the big day. She's doing most of the sauces and some of the side dishes. I'm making the stars (ie, the Turkey, homemade mac and cheese, roasted acorn squash, candied yams, sauteed Brussels sprouts). And this year, like most other years I am indeed adding to the menu. I can't help it, it needs to be done. I am adding a lovely polenta dish. I've been playing with the stuff a lot lately and I think I can trust my skills enough to bring a dish to the big day table. I swear this day is like the Superbowl for me. I already have a game plan and I know what I'll be bringing to my brother's.

Once upon a time I remember clearly only needing to bring a handful of recipes and a few dishes over. Now I have to travel alone in my car. The back seat and the trunk usually end up packed with tools and an bags of groceries. I normally have to bring a lot of the basics because Alvin and Stella have a tendency to use up stuff in their dishes and not remember that there is a whole conga line of stuff I still have to make.

Traveling this year for the first time, my cast iron griddle, and several of my pie dishes. I was thinking about bringing my freshly sharpened knives, but I think I'll leave them at home. I don't want to leave one behind by accident. It would make me cry. I normally bring two boxes of equipment, but I think I may need another box this year. As it is I'm already bringing a roasting pan, my thermometers, my 3 baking sheets, pastry cutters, biscuit rounds, several serving dishes, rolling pins, possibly my fondue set and a bunch storage bowls for the overnight stuff. Oh yes and my gas torch. Yep you read that right, a butane gas torch. It's for spot burning such as the cheese on French onion soup, the tops of marshmallows or for the sugar on Crème Brûlées. Yes, I have one. Aaron also said, "Oh my God. Are you kidding?" when I first told him I have one and when he actually saw me pull it out.

I would bring my smoker pan. I didn't really allow much room in the menu for a smoked item. But had there been room, I would have had a nice smoked fish of some sort. Ah well.

There is one thing that's getting me pretty annoyed. And that's the fact that Food Network's site is so overloaded that it is running slowly as can be. Oh holy crap is that every getting old. But it's not just them. Epicurious and Allrecipies.com are the same way. Grrr... ah well luckily I have other ways of getting the info I want.

One Year Ago Yesterday

One year ago, yesterday Aaron and I got married. Good lord it's been a year already. It's been a great year actually. We've discovered that after ten years we actually still like being together.

We meant to do stuff over the weekenbd. He actually wanted to go for a hike and perhaps a small picnic, but we got rained out. So we had a nice time at home watching movies. Not the most exciting, but it was very nice to just spend a weekend together chilling.

"Eat Them Up Yum"

Earlier this evening, on Iron Chef, Ted Allen said, "Rolly Polly Fish Heads," and I stated laughing. Evan didn't get it. That told me one thing. He's never seen the frickin Fish Heads video and has never heard the song. So I just had to show him.

And just in case there are any others out there. Here you go. I'd say, "enjoy," but really this isn't a song you enjoy, per se. It's just one of those things that once you see or hear it, it'll stick with you. You just can't unsee it.



So there you go. From this point on, any time you hear a reference to this song, you won't be able to help immediately recalling this song/ video. You may one day even laugh. Who knows.

Yay For Winter

I started getting e-mails from OnTheSnow and SkiTown.com and it's making me happy. It means before too long, it'll be ski season. And hopefully I'll be able to hit the slopes this year. I'm not kidding the thought of getting out there in the snow actually made me giddy. Tee...

Cures to Feeling Mopey

The whole unemployment thing has been getting to me lately and so I've been working on a few things to kind of help me feel a bit better. So now I'm sharing them with you.


Cleaning. Sure it sounds kind of odd, but it keeps your mind off things for a while. Sometimes it serves as a mental reset.

Watching funny movies when really needed. No explanation needed. I can not thank Aaron enough for getting me the complete collection of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Yoga. Again no explanation needed. You end up all limber, perhaps a touch sore but centered. Ahhh

Eating one kind of candy. I normally go for a good ole snickers bar. For obvious reasons I try not to do this one too often. I actually use it as a reward for getting a predetermined number of applications out. I roll dice every morning to determine how many I'll reply to.

Playing Guitar Hero between applications. Send out one, play a song.

Allowing my self time to get lost in a Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray magazine and/ or show.

Go on a cursing spree. Yep. When I get into a real funk, I just let it rip. I go into a room, occasionally punch something and curse like a sailor. Getting the frustration out that way, is actually shockingly invigorating. I like to call it a having a Ralphie moment.

My Poor Noggin

I don't know where it came from, but I think it all goes back to falling asleep while reading a magazine. For the past two days I have had a hell of a neck ache. Last night it turned to a massive headache. I was almost tearing up. This morning, my whole upper to middle back felt like someone took a bat to it and my head has been pounding. Ouch!

The Aleve and a super hot shower helped loosen me up, but damn. It's gotten to the point where I am really thinking of wearing sunglasses to try to look at the computer screen.

The Season

Every now and then when i just can't stand watching the news during the day, I'll switch over to the music stations on TV. Not the MTV's or VH1's but the stations that play nothing but music and put up random factoids about the artists and show still photos of some sort. Basically, radio on TV, minus the commercials. Today I came across the "Sounds of the Season" channel. Normally, they play relaxing instrumental pieces. Today, they were playing Christmas music. Now, i don't mind the Christmas music. I mean lets face it, if I could I would be a full time resident of Christmas Town. But really, Christmas? Isn't it a touch early for it? What, did they start playing the stuff after Halloween?

Ah well, I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised. Most stores started putting up the Christmas stuff out a few days before Halloween. Heck, downstairs on the street, they already have the big Christmas wreath and last week, they put lights up on the trees.

Eh, I don't mean to sound like a Scrooge, but I for one, wait till the week or weekend after Thanksgiving to decorate. It feels kind of odd to get into the mood for Christmas when it's 65 degrees outside and some houses still have ghosts and goblins out on their front yards.

Mind you, I'm still going to be heading to Michael's in a wee bit to check out their Christmas stuff, so I suppose the music (which I actually kept on) is kind of working. Slightly susceptible to outside influence much? Ho, ho, ho.

A Fun and Informative Clip

This evening I watched Zombieland with Evan. Yes, this is my second time watching this film and yes, I do like the movie that much. Afterwards, I went to one of my favorite movie review sites, Spill.com

I went there to check out reviews for a few other flicks I've been thinking of seeing, but because their reviews are usually pretty funny (and surprisingly pretty spot on), I checked out the one for Zombieland (didn't need it but was curious to hear what they had to say about it). Attached to said review was this little clip. I now share it with you.

Enjoy.

Now, I swear....

Why does one get pooped on so often?

Sigh. I finally got the chance to go to the Ticketing office to fihgt the tickets I got last week. I would have though that at least one of them would have been dismissed. I had the registration for frick's sake. Nope.

The double parking ticket got reduced. The clerk said he could reduce the registration ticket too or I could take it before the judge. I said, I'll take that other ticket to the judge since it should be dismissed. Nope. I have to pay the full amount on it. Feck me. The judge said that I should have had the sticker on the car or shouldn't have double parked. I told her that this was indeed my first chance to do so. She said she understood why I did it and even though they didn't get the tag to me until after the date expired, I still should have had it on immediately.

Is it me or does that kind of sound like a, "fecked if you do, fecked if you don't," situation. Ah well, I suppose it serves me right for trying to do the right thing. I should have driven around with the expired tag, just so that the parking agents don't get me.

Couple's Game Night

Every now and our friends get together for game night. The usual games include, Taboo, Cranium, Scene It, Scategories, Trivial Pursuit, and once in a while we even throw in Wii Bowling. These started off as just a friendly gathering of random friends but since we have all slowly paired off the game nights kind of became a couple's thing. And as for the, "friendly" thing, yeah, not so much, we're all kind of competitive and a bunch of sore winners. So over time, even with the marriages and introduction of new people, the competitiveness, has by no means diminished. I think we've actually gotten worse. We gladly throw our significant others/ spouses under the bus at the drop of a hat and get into all out verbal disputes that often require a thesaurus, dictionary or encyclopedia to sort out.

One example of a typical argument and coincidentally, of the longest arguments was over transportation and train. During a game of taboo, the word was "transportation," I said, "trains are a mass form of this, especially in NYC." "Train" was not a taboo word, but I got buzzed for it. The rationale was that "train" is in the word, "transportation." I informed our friend that he was a dolt. He argued he was correct because you transport things and that train was at the root. I repeated my initial argument that he was a dolt. I then broke down the word transportation and that a train is actually a noun and the proper technical name of said thing. He didn't get it. He then argued that the two words begin with the same root, "T.R and A." I countered with, "so do car and carp, and carpet but they aren't the same thing and one is not the root of the other words." Needless to say, the argument went on for a good half hour. His fiancee, a teacher, sided with him. This fact made one or two more people side with him. Most of the people there agreed with me. The argument was finally settled when we looked up both words on the Internet and an encyclopedia. Our friend, still insisted he was correct. I maintained that he was a dolt and demanded a new buzzer person.

So yes, last night we had another game night broken as a battle of the sexes. We had a new couple there and we gave them plenty of prior warning that things can get a bit crazy. They said they were warned and seemed a bit wary, but by the end they said they wanted in for the next game night. Surprisingly, we didn't have a huge arguments although there was quite a bit of backstabbing and poking fun of each other. All in good fun though.

Caution: Student Driver

For all those in the Tri-State area, please be warned that Evan now has his learner's permit. I would advise you stay off the sidewalks as he is actually going to be on the road, driving.

For those who can not avoid remaining in your homes with all the doors and windows securely locked and preferably barricaded, here are some signs that you are in imminent danger:

You hear my voice screaming, "brake, braaaake, BRAKE!"

You hear the, "Mission Impossible" theme blaring, immediately followed by a very slowly moving car that will likely be jerking to stops and swerving every five feet.

A male voice from a car says, "Oh hey (insert name here)" He may be driving right toward you.

And lastly, If it looks like the wolfman is behind the wheel of my car and I'm not in the passenger seat, run. I mosly likely already dove out of it for my own safety.



Nah, really I don't think he'll be as bad as Aaron is behind the wheel. I'm not saying Aaron can't drive, I'm just saying that since he became a cop, driving rules don't seem to apply to him any more, so he drives like a jackass.

And We're Breathing... Breathing... Breeeeeathing...

So after taking a few days off to recoup and try to regain a hold on things, I've decided to say 'Eff it.' I'm going to try my best to regain order but if order insists on being elusive, then so friggin' be it. Those with strong faith in God will also call this, having faith. I'm one of these people, so God, I hope you're a reader. :)

Yes, I've decided that perhaps things will not get to me so much if I try to take a more laid-back, Zen-like, if you will, approach to things. So far it's working. Despite the DMV and ticket thing and not hearing word one from any of the numerous job applications I've sent out, I've yet to reach for a single, solitary cigarette. I have, however, increased my hot chocolate intake and Yoga practice time. So you know, by the time I do end up gainfully employed again, I'll be limber. Chubby wubby, but limber and very relaxed.

Sigh... Hey, does anyone out there know someone who's good at rejiggering resumes? I sent mine to JobFox.com and Careerbuilder's resume revamp services and they said I have a lot of good stuff to work with but it needs to be spruced up and "streamlined" in some areas. While I agree, I refuse to pay ~$400 to have to retool it. And by refuse to pay, I mean, can't afford it. So yes, if anyone out there would like to take a crack at sprucing up my resume or know someone who would be willing to do me a solid, I would be eternally grateful and would more than likely give them some sort of nifty gift in exchange.

WooHoo!

Yay I won!

I got all the answers to LivingDeadNurse's Halloween Horror Objects quiz!

I can't wait to see next year's quizes. I can't believe I botched up on the creepy kids quiz. Woops. Ah well. It's nice having happy pockets like this on a craptacular day.

And So...

NARRATOR: And so Arthur and Bedemir and Sir Robin set out on their
search to find the enchanter of whom the old man had spoken in Scene 24.
Beyond the forest they met Launcelot and Galahad, and there was much
rejoicing.

ALL: Yay!

NARRATOR: In the frozen land of Nador they were forced to eat Robin's
minstrels. And there was much rejoicing.

ALL: Yay!

NARRATOR: A year passed. Winter changed into Spring. Spring changed
into Summer. Summer changed back into Winter. And Winter gave Spring
and Summer a miss and went straight on into Autumn.



I don't know... I felt like putting something funny up. Besides, after a morning like I've had today, I needed something like this to make me laugh.

This morning I got up nice and early to take Evan over to the DMV to finally go for his permit. We got there, waited on line, got his number, waited to be called and then nothing. He didn't have enough ID (to this point I hadn't realized he only brought this non license ID). Fine. We went back home and got his passport and a bill. He couldn't find his Social Security card, but I though having a non-driver's licence (issued by the DMV) a bill with his name and address, and a passport would have been enough. Nope. We went back, waited, got a number, waited till he was called and still they insisted he bring more ID. Apparently, having a document given by them, two photo ID's and a passport. which has his SSN on it. wasn't good enough. So now we have to go back on Thursday, provided of course, that he finds his Social Security card.

I was also going to go to the ticket office to fight a ticket I got yesterday morning on my way to church. I got in my car and remembered that the registration sticker which I got a day after my old one expired was upstairs. I ran upstairs to get it and came back down, in under five minutes. In that span of time I got two tickets for an expired registration and for double parking. Feck me! I had to double park because I didn't want to just take off with the expired sticker and because there wasn't a single spot to be found. So I found the cop and explained. His response was, "talk about ironic." Yeah, feck me, I got hit for trying to do the right thing. Assholes! So he told me that I could get the expired registration ticket waved as long as I showed them that I got it renewed and showed them my new card. He wasn't sure about the double parking ticket, but I could try. So yes, after the waiting game at the DMV, I got in the car, drove to the ticket office and realized I switched purses this morning and that the stupid card was in the purse at home.

Ah well, at least I'm finally feeling better.