I had unofficially decided who I was voting for in the next Presidential election. Of course, I knew full well it was possible that the candidate I’d selected wouldn’t make it that far. Well, as it turns out, Edwards is dropping out of the race. Now who will I vote for? I’d threaten to move to Canada if McCain is elected (like I did a few years back, though I can’t remember who I was protesting at the time), but I’m not sure I could convince , and living in Canada without him would pretty much suck. I had already decided not to go to my caucus next week, but this was definitely the final nail in the coffin. I have no party loyalty, so the caucus didn’t really tempt me.

Sad. I like none of the other candidates.

Have I noted how cold it is today? We got home last night and the house was 54*! cajoled the furnace into working and we woke up nice and toasty this morning. But it was -14* outside upon leaving for work. I let my car warm up a good long time in the garage before leaving. It will not be happy when I arrive back at the Transit Center tonight and want to use it to get home.

I’ve got about 50 pages left in Darcy and Elizabeth: Days and Nights at Pemberley, and I really want to know how all the ends of the plot lines are going to be wrapped up. I mean, I would sit here at my desk and read until I finished it if I thought I could get away with it. I’ve definitely been enjoying this book. It’s not nearly so much smut as some people think (though it has its share, I think the contrast is in to the original Jane Austen, which is beyond chaste), and I have appreciated how many plot lines there are and the intricacy of the story. I’m wondering if there will be a third book, but I’m not exactly sure what else the author could do with the characters at this point. It may be time for it to end.

It has been painfully dry this winter. We have a humidifier in our bedroom which has helped my sinuses significantly, but my recent skin sensitivity to lotions and soaps has made keeping my skin happy quite difficult. (Most recently, Dove Sensitive Skin shower wash and Eucerin, both hypoallergenic, have been rejected by my skin.) I’ve been alternating between baby oil, baby lotion (which is not that moisturizing), and Eucerin (even though my skin isn’t that happy with it, I have yet to break out in a full-scale rash). Yesterday morning I just didn’t have the time to put anything on, and thought nothing of it. Last night after getting back from the gym, I checked my legs and noticed that not only did I need to shave, I had turned quite amphibious during the day and it was a little painful (that was the polite way of saying my skin was dry and scaly). I attempted to remedy that situation and after showering coated my skin with Eucerin, sensitivities be damned. I avoided showering this morning and put on another coat. I decided that little red bumps and even an itchy patch or two would be worth it and probably healthier for my skin than for it to be that dry. My hands and cuticles have cracks and so forth all over. Papercuts are dangerous in this weather, in that they could easily turn into something much worse that won’t heal until spring. [Author pauses to put on Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream.] has it much worse, however, since she has to wash her hands about a billion times each shift she works.

A coffee break is calling out to me. It’s really more of a hot cocoa day, but I think I’ll get coffee anyways.

popularity: 59%

As it turns out, germophobia is not always irrational.

popularity: 51%

My host thinks they have found the problem with the server and that the “error establishing a database connection” has been fixed. This means I can get back on track with updating the archives and getting the site ready to move (again). Don’t worry - it’ll still take me a while, and when it is done you won’t even notice.

The fourth attempt at a baby blanket for Danny (’s baby born on our wedding date) has also gone horribly wrong. It’s “beyond 3-dimensional.” Crocheting in the round just isn’t for me. I’m OK with that though. I just need to find a good knitting pattern that will knit up fast and not be too boring. I think I’ve narrowed it down to a few and I just have to make up my mind and get it done! I was complaining to one of my co-workers last week about it and lamenting the fact that the kid is getting old, and she said that the baby wouldn’t care and it takes them a while to want/need things like that anyways. That’s helped me relax about this and realize that I would like something that’s actually good, not just passable. This is especially true when gifts are for people who are at least familiar with knitting, like and who have both done it themselves. Neither of them are people I would consider critical, and they’re both too sweet to say anything, but they would probably notice glaring errors.

I am tired this week, which doesn’t make sense, even though it comes around every month. It would make sense to me if I was tired for the weeks before my period, as that’s the time when my body is supposedly going to all this work to prepare a lovely, cozy home for a baby. But this week, all my body is doing is getting rid of the padded walls, right? So why does this make me exhausted? Does anyone else have this problem? It seems backwards.

I have to work on contracts today, blech. I’ve been avoiding them for… months, which is clearly wrong, but no one has really seemed to care. Today has told me that they are now top priority and she wants them done within 24 hours of receiving. Perhaps this means that soon the system will be… streamlined and that all of the parties involved will be on the same plan? Someday, I hope. They drive me crazy right now. Four different people giving me contracts and all of them have a different way of doing it, including paper copies, electronic copies, routing slips, etc. There was a standardized way of doing it, and then they all decided it would be OK to do their own thing, which has made my life miserable ever since (hence my avoiding the task). But we recently hired an additional person (the 4th, actually, who is nice and fun, it’s the other 3 who were mucking things up) who’s lighting a fire under them in some ways, and hopefully that will help as well.

Off to go deal with a contract-database system….

popularity: 48%

I made a rather large decision yesterday, and I didn’t even mean to.

The FM radio in my car has been mostly “out” for the last few weeks. So I’ve been limited to AM radio, an experience unto itself. My choices at the moment are: the true oldies channel, more spirited radio, and the Patriot. I’d already decided that The Patriot was not for me - I am not an older or middle-aged white male with strong conservative ideas, political or otherwise. That was sealed when I tuned in briefly to hear one of the hosts repeatedly refer to a US senator as “demented” and then proceed to make up a story about her that was beyond inappropriate. I’ve been listening to oldies when possible, but the station turns into a Toronto-based channel after 5pm (no joke). So last night as I was out driving between craft stores, I was listening to KKMS, which I’ve previously half-enjoyed.

Did you know it’s pro-life week? Yeah. (Coincidentally, yesterday was also Pro-Choice Blogger day. Not really a coincidence. It’s the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on January 22nd.) And in the hour or so of radio I heard between commuting and searching for yarn, they were quite persuasive. (Stick with me here and let me further explain.)

I’ve been on the fence on this issue since… well, since I was conscious of being a woman. My relatively conservative Christian background wants me to be pro-life, and my feminist leanings want me to be pro-choice. Since I’ve never needed to really argue the issue or decide, I haven’t, other than the singular decision that I wouldn’t personally have an abortion (barring medical necessity). And I was really quite fine with being undecided. I’ve got plenty of opinions on other controversial subjects that if people want to argue with me, there’s lots of ways to go.

Last night, however, the multitude of voices on the subject pushed me over the edge. I’m officially pro-choice. Why? Because when it came down to it, it first and foremost needed to be my choice. I’m not going to be a good one to argue with on this because I fully understand both sides of the issue and will never be able to let go of the pro-life arguments. Life is life and I do believe that it begins at conception (just ask any parents who have miscarried). But… I still think choice wins out. This won’t win me any friends in some of the conservative circles I’m familiar with, but we don’t usually talk about stuff like that anyways. Or, really, we don’t talk much at all, so I don’t think it’ll be an issue.

One of the radio hosts was a self-admitted middle-aged father of 9 children and 3 foster kids. (My mind immediately went to the “excessive childbirth” argument from the early 1900s when birth control was not yet legal.) He basically told me that I was supposed to be having sex for procreation only, and that being on birth control for reasons other than medical or financial ones was “morally objectionable.” Because I enjoy sex and have no desire to give birth to a child right now, I am selfish and, ultimately, a bad Christian. He doesn’t care that I don’t want children right now or that it might not be the right time in my life. I’m selfish. Heck, maybe I am. But I think it’s very responsible to avoid having children when you don’t want them. And I’m pretty sure God isn’t going to strike me dead for 1) enjoying sex with my husband, the only man I’ve ever had sex with, and only within the confines of our marriage, 2) not bringing unwanted children into this world, and 3) not wanting to have kids right now. (And I think that not having sex with my husband because we didn’t want kids was also not allowed. Gotta have sex. Gotta have kids. No birth control. It’s not even a Catholic radio station! I didn’t realize how far some conservatives went on this!)

And that’s basically when I realized… there was no way this man had the right to decide for me whether or not I was having kids. His moral damnation of me because I wasn’t jumping on the motherhood bandwagon the moment I was married was beyond offensive. Far beyond that of the women doing the Bible study at ’s baby shower who just assumed that every little girl dreamed of becoming a mommy.

Perhaps I’m just overly sensitive about it, but I am almost always fully aware that I may or may not be able to have children. It’s a self-preservation technique, really, not getting my hopes up for something that I’d be devastated about if it didn’t happen. Unlike some women with infertility problems, I don’t get sad when other people start talking about babies or long for my own. I sense this… melancholy towards the issue in regards to other women’s responses. I… get angry. Perhaps that’s not healthy, but I get offended when the world assumes that it is my dream to become a stay at home mom to billions of children that’s all I’ve ever really wanted and needed to feel truly fulfilled in life.

At any rate, I’m pretty sure that hopping off the fence on the pro-choice side was not exactly what the planners of Sanctity of Human Life week had planned, but that’s the results of the actions of a few individuals.

Lesson? Be careful what you say on the radio or when lots of people might be listening. You have no idea where they might be coming from, and your words may very well have the opposite effect than you wanted if you’re not thoughtful and considerate.

Related links:

• On coffee and miscarriages (from Salon.com)
• All of a sudden I get it (from “A Little Pregnant”)

Feel free to respectfully disagree or otherwise comment, so long as you try to be as least offensive as possible. Does it need to be said that making the blog owner cry will get you banned from further commenting? I didn’t think so.

popularity: 55%

I’m thankful I found this article after my current cookie obsession.  I mean, we don’t need me thinking, craving, and making both cookies and cake all the time.  So I’m gonna stick with cookies.  They’re much easier to bring to work and let co-workers consume the extras than cake.

popularity: 48%

I was supposed to make Super-Sized Ginger Chewies on Sunday (from Big Fat Cookies), but never really got around to it. That was alright, since I had Monday off for MLK. Monday was an extremely productive day. I got all of my homework done for the week, and made (or at least attempted) two batches of cookies. I also did some laundry (which still isn’t put away, making for three loads of laundry folded in my hamper sitting in the spare bedroom getting wrinkles and permanently creased), and did some other small cleaning things.

The second batch of cookies, Fudge-Filled Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches (from Big Fat Cookies), turned out horribly. I made them after dinner, and they just didn’t turn out well at all (which makes two attempts at chocolate chip cookies from that book that have gone wrong). They tasted like cake, which is surprisingly not a good thing for a cookie. I baked a dozen, let test them, and then tossed the rest of the dough. Perhaps the fudge for the filling would have been good, but I didn’t get around to making it. I was complaining to and she said that sometimes when cookies spread out too much (which these and the other ones did), it’s the fault of butter, and I should try margarine. I might have to give another one of the book’s chocolate chip cookie recipes a try this weekend with that suggestion. We’ll see how much energy I have for that. Of course, if it’s still friggin’ cold outside (it’s been below zero or in the very low single digits for the past week each morning - this morning it was -12*!), making cookies sounds like a good way to pass the time. That and getting work done on the new (I know, I know) baby blanket for Danny.

Fortunately for Big Fat Cookies, I had already made a successful batch of cookies earlier in the day, and the weekend prior as well. I spent my afternoon on Monday making Super-Sized Ginger Chewies. Think Gingersnaps without the snap - the author of the cookbook clearly states in the introduction that she likes large, chewy cookies, and supposedly that’s what her recipes make (though as previously mentioned I’ve had some difficulties getting the chocolate chip versions to work). Here’s a little illustrated story for you on that….

I got out all my equipment and ingredients,

which included getting out the stepstool to reach the flour (great Ikea purchase if anyone needs one - Bekvam, $15).

I’ve found that getting everything out beforehand really helps me follow the recipe better. Plus, it allows for easier clean-up. I just put an ingredient away after I’ve measured it and the kitchen gets cleaner as I go instead of messier.

I got to use my flour sifter again. I’m really enjoying that small little task, even if it is basically non-essential. (To note, however, my cookbook only sometimes tells me to sift the ingredients together, which, to me, lends validity to the idea of following that instruction.)

While the cookie dough left on the batter is usually one of my favorite things, perhaps Ginger Chewies are not the best way to enjoy that particular treat.

A far less fussy recipe, this one just called for all the ingredients to be mixed together and no extra refrigeration or other steps. The one additional step before baking was essential, and therefore not considered “fussy.” Balls of dough were rolled up and then coated in sugar. These are pretty big cookies, as you can see from the fact that only 6 fit on a cookie sheet. This, of course, meant that I spent basically the entire afternoon making cookies, and washed my hands about a zillion times, between the 14 minutes of cooking time, 5 minutes of cooling time, and then making another sheet….

But it was all worth it, because I had this beautiful result:

See how perfectly they crackled and how the sugar coating did exactly what it was supposed to do? These are perfect cookies! They are slightly crisp around the outside but the inside is chewy. I stored them in Ziploc baggies and now the outsides aren’t crisp anymore, which could be good or bad.

I’ve decided this is my favorite angle from which to photograph cookies:

More of the finished product. They were so good, I almost didn’t let eat one (he didn’t know if he liked ginger cookies or not, and I didn’t want to waste a perfectly good cookie on someone who wouldn’t appreciate it, but in the end he liked it so it’s all good).

I might make up another batch of these over the weekend to bring in for my coworkers, since the fudge-filled ones were supposed to be for them. If I do, I’ll make smaller versions, since I don’t think anyone will want the really big ones. (Or, rather, they’ll complain that I’m trying to make them fat.)

popularity: 48%

• Pickle-Tini (even though doesn’t read this blog anymore, if he did, he’d get a kick out of this)
• Bacon Vodka (, this one’s for you, though it may very well be composed entirely of forbidden ingredients at this point)

popularity: 70%

1. President :: -ial address
2. Stare :: rudely
3. Embrace :: Loving
4. Movie :: quote
5. Everything :: must go!
6. Profile :: strong
7. Satire :: —
8. Erratic :: mischief
9. Costume :: -d ball
10. Secretary :: of State

popularity: 49%

When I get home tonight, I’m pouring myself a small glass of Bailley’s. You know why? Because today has been rough. I never do that, but today I’m going to. So there.

How does stay friendly and helpful all the time? I don’t know how she does it. People demand more absurd (and small) things of her, and she is far more important than I am.

popularity: 46%

This day is really long. How is it only 2:44? I swear it should be 4:15.

I have two co-workers who are making my work-life miserable this week. Separately, they’re bad enough. One is scattered and unorganized and the other is … well, she’d lose her head if it weren’t screwed on. Seriously. I know sometimes people say that in jest, but this woman actually would. So then together, you can only imagine the h*ll I’m experiencing this week. Last week the unorganized one tried to ruin Friday. Today he’s at it again. Same project. Now he needs mailing labels. I know that sounds easy, but it was a pain in my [rapidly expanding] rear end. His co-worker has come to me at various points in the day requesting things and asking if she’s requested things and then forgetting that she should have… And you know what, they’re working on the same project. There’s a meeting next week on Thursday and Friday of about 20 people and you’d think this was the hardest, most complicated thing in the world ever. And what happens? “Staff” decide that they want to do these “cool” things (like have meetings) and then realize all the work that’s going to need to happen, and then realize the other layer of work that’s going to have to be done by “Support Staff” and we just get screwed. I hate being support staff. Seriously.

It’s a good thing that had already made arrangements for me to not have to be present at this meeting taking notes for two days straight (after taking notes all day Wednesday), because by now I just need these people and their stupid meeting to be far, far away from me.

I need some grown-ups to work with, please.

On the plus side, one of my newer co-workers who is always cheerful just came in and was thrilled with the cookie that I’d set aside for her. She got one of the really pretty ones, the Christmas trees, and she’s having a hard time deciding if she should eat it or just stare at it.

Today’s bad news (no, the earlier paragraphs are just a rant, and do not qualify as “bad news”): I have angered something that lives between my rib cage and pelvic bone. I don’t know if it’s my stomach or my intestines or some lesser-known organ, but that general tummy area has been unhappy for the last week. Yesterday afternoon and this afternoon I have had heartburn (which I almost never get). All week I have been dealing with… nausea and gas and general feelings of ickiness (as well as some other symptoms that I’m less apt to discuss). I’m not sick (in the cold and flu sense, that is). I can’t tell that it’s triggered by a specific food (or lack thereof). I don’t know what’s wrong. I haven’t discovered any triggers nor anything that can get rid of it. I’ve tried a variety of OTC meds (most notably Advil, Tums, GasX, and Pepto-Bismol) and none of them have worked.

Anyone have any ideas? WebMD is just confused by my list of symptoms and gives me a mile-long list of things that could be wrong with me. (And no, smart alecks, I am not pregnant.)

I do, however, really want to go home now.  Or spend the next little bit of time working on my blog archives, but my server is being really slow and I don’t feel like being additionally frustrated.

popularity: 41%

Of the new design?  I think Heather did an awesome job!  I’ve moved some things around, found some new plugins that will hopefully make life easier (or at least make the blog more readable), etc.  I’m still plugging away through the archives fixing images and links, and have about 3 years worth still to go (the 3 years that I blogged a lot, unfortunately), but I’ll get there.

I’m curious what you think of the “on this day” plugin below.  Hate it?  Love it?  Could care less?  Like the idea but wish it were different somehow?  Please let me know.

If you came here looking for more entertainment, I’m sorry I don’t have it for you today.  But you could try the “links” page (look over to your right…. see it under pages?) for some blogs I enjoy reading.

popularity: 31%

Well, it took two emails to my web host (the second of which was not as nice), but my site’s back up! Plus, my new site design is ready! I’m very pleased with how it turned out - I should be updating things over the next few days. I’ve been going through the archives (yes, again) fixing links and updating images (since nearly everything is on Flickr now) and so forth… I was stalled slightly by yesterday’s database errors, but now I’m back and needing an escape from some of the work I’ve been given….

Tonight is date night, and for those of you keeping track, it is also, give or take a day, the anniversary of when proposed to me. (It depends if you’re going for calendar date or day of the week, because technically it was the 18th, but it was a Thursday night, so… you decide.) Not that we’re celebrating or anything, but I noticed it today and thought I’d share.

I successfully de-stashed some knitting books today. Sold two of them on Ravelry, which was exciting. Well, sold one of them, and traded the other for a discount on some yarn someone else was de-stashing. Still exciting. Two books that I was probably never going to use. I’ve got at least one or two more I could dump as well.

popularity: 37%

and I haven’t gone for coffee yet.  Well, 1/2 ain’t that bad for this week, right?  I’ll try again tomorrow.

I am, however, extremely annoyed with one of my co-workers whom I normally like.

popularity: 36%

There was a veritable cornucopia of bookmarks just laying around in my browser, muddying up the toolbar. I thought I’d get rid of them, and what better way than by sharing with you all?

Recipes:

• Crab Stuffed Artichokes (Food Network)
• Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Portobellas (Food Network)
• California Artichoke Advisory Board (click on “Recipes and Such”)
• Orange-Chocolate Chunk Cake (Smitten Kitchen)
• Cake In A Jar (Angry Chicken)
• Chocolate Espresso Pudding (Cooking.com)
• Ferrero Rocher
  • Homemade (ABC Queensland)
  • -Ish (Recipe Library.net)
• Homemade Soft Pretzels (Food Network)
• Classic Pound Cake (Baking Delights)
• Fresh Herb Sauce (Real Simple)

Decorating Cookies:

• Royal Icing Butterflies (Mad Baker)
• Cooking School (Kuidaore)
• Gingerbread Cookies (Mad Baker)
• Snowflake Cookies (Kuidaore)

Home Crafts:

• Paper forest (Wisdom of the Moon)
• Fun for renters (Design*Sponge)
• Refrigerator facelift (Design*Sponge)
• Soap Making (Teach Soap)
• Pacman Quilt (Craftster)

Instructables:

• Ghetto Greenhouse: Seed Starter
• Literary Clock (yes, AMANDA, this is where I got the idea for your still-unfinished Christmas present)
• Mint Chocolate Chip Valentine Card
• T-Shirt Mod
• T-Shirt Mashup
• Make your own bras I’m not sure why….
• More DIY lingerie
• Tetris Shelves
• Mexican Hot Chocolate

Miscellaneous:

• The Mark Twain Guide to Better Blogging (what could Mark Twain possibly have to say about blogging? A lot, apparently)
• To 10 Web Design Mistakes of 2005
• Ultimate Flickr Tools List
• Great Flickr Tools Collection
• Donate your cell phone to prevent domestic abuse
• World Freedom Atlas
• Catalog Choice (opt out of getting junk mail catalogs)
• Dive Into Accessibility (creating a more accessible website)
• Clean Sweep Assessment

Need I say that I haven’t actually tried to make or create any of these things? They’re on my wish list of sorts, in case one day I’m ever really bored or feeling crafty or whatever. Hope you enjoy!

popularity: 100%

So far today…

• “They’re too pretty to eat”
• “Works of art”

Glad my co-workers are enjoying the cookies, or at least think they’re pretty.

popularity: 37%