I don’t know about you, but I occasionally have days where everything seems to annoy me, and I’m not talking about people (well, I have those days too, but this is different). I mean, every single physical sensation has an annoyance factor nearing painful. So far today, I’ve had to remove my rings just to be able to use my computer, I’m regretting wearing my hair in a ponytail because it’s swinging against the back of my neck in an oh-so-aggravating way (I could easily be convinced to chop about 5 inches off at the moment), and I’m about to rip the tags out of my shrug because they’ve been scratching the hell out of my back all day long.

Do you have days like that?

Perhaps it’s just because I’m an HSP* and today more sensitive than most. I don’t know. All I do know is that I’m about to scream, rip off half my clothes, and shave my head, all of which would be entirely inappropriate for the workplace.

*HSP: Highly Sensitive Person. More information after the jump… read the rest »

popularity: 37%

We did plenty of other things and kept quite busy. And to take ’s perspective on things (she recently said something about this regarding Mother’s Day), it’s not always necessary to do the remembering or the appreciating on a holiday, when one should really be doing it year-round (in responding to some of her fellow church-goers who were sad that neither of her daughters were coming over to her house for Mother’s Day, when in fact we have good relationships and sent her gifts and she feels quite appreciated). I have a grandpa who served in a war (which probably contributed to his alcoholism), and an uncle, and a cousin who returned from Afghanistan last summer so that he could get married (and he’s not going back), as well as a surprisingly large number of youth group kids who went into the service. I fully appreciate their contribution to our country, especially since I really don’t want to do it and obviously somebody has to (barring the debate about whether or not we should be at war, blah blah blah). So no Memorial Day cookouts for us, no visiting gravesites or anything. I touched a flag on Saturday, but it was attached to a boat and really had nothing to do with the upcoming holiday.

So what did we do this weekend? Well, we finally got some projects done! I know! Amazing! More exclamation points! I only have pictures of some of them, though. More pictures coming later this week, though.

We finally got the light fixture in the bathroom replaced. This involved patching, sanding, priming, and painting, but the end result is very worth it:

(Top: old light fixture; bottom: new light fixture.)

did most of the work, but I helped. Specifically, I painted.

Also, the last of my houseplants went outside to catch some sun, and I got the corner unit cleared off. Now, however, it seems too empty. I’m not sure what to do with this space:

I cut out a lot of fabric. I mean, a lot. Three skirts, two pairs of shorts, a pair of pants, and three tank tops, to be specific. Of course, I can’t do anything until my sewing machine is returned to me. I anxiously await that time. I’m trying not to be impatient, but I don’t have much more I can cut out. I ran out of patterns. I would have cut out another skirt and a dress, but the patterns I have were the wrong size range, so I’ll have to get different ones (curses on the system that is totally and completely different sizing from store-bought clothing - I know that it’s the store-bought clothing sizes that have changed, not patterns, but it still means that I wear a 6 at the Gap and a 14/16 in patterns, and that’s just… wrong).

And, of course, I made cookies on Monday. Black and Whites, to be specific. I’ve never had one, and certainly never made any. They’re an interesting cookie. Cake-like, almost, in flavor and consistency. A very different dough than regular cookie dough. I hope to post recipes sometime this week, but I don’t have the cookbook with me here at work, so that makes it quite difficult. You’ll have to survive on photos of yumminess, and in the knowledge that if you’re coming to SNB tonight, I’m bringing a cookie for you.

popularity: 37%

1. Referral :: Source
2. Indiana :: Jones (duh)
3. Foil :: Aluminum
4. Horizon :: On the
5. Event :: Sale
6. Sailing :: Boat
7. Footage :: Film
8. Sunday :: Church
9. Breathtaking :: View
10. Dude! :: Seriously! (actual quote from this weekend)

popularity: 39%

The tree at our house is blooming, which usually results in many photos being taken. Here’s my favorite (click on it to go to Flickr where you can see a bunch more):

The amaryllis is grow-grow-growing! And finally, it sprouted what will be a flower! I was getting worried that it would just be leaves this year, but all that worry was for naught, since this sprouted up within a few days.

I made more cookies on Sunday (through Tuesday). I also made banana bread, but it wasn’t photo-worthy. I made up Oatmeal Cream Pies (recipe linked earlier in a linkfest post, from Tarheel Table) and they were yummy. I made up the dough on Sunday but by the time the banana bread was done baking (who knew it took an hour in the oven?) it was 9:30 pm and we really needed to do grocery shopping. So, into the fridge the dough went and sat until Monday night. Even after sitting out and warming up for a bit, this dough did not respond well to being refrigerated, so I don’t suggest trying that. Still, they were delicious, if not the best-looking cookies in the world. The cream filling recipe made up more than I needed, so they got extra-filled, which, as it turns out, makes eating them very messy. It made up a plate full, which is more than enough since I can handle about one a day, and I love sugar. These are very sweet, however, and made me feel a little old. Delicious, and something you should try and bring to a party or in to work for your co-workers or something.

One day soon I’ll have a pictorial update on the garage, as well as the new light fixtures we bought over the weekend. Alas, those projects aren’t actually finished, so no update just yet.

SNB on Tuesday was just and myself, so we ended up at the mall and didn’t do the Shrinky Dinks craft we were planning on. It’s been postponed until next week, when hopefully more people can come. If not, her and I will have a ton of fun by ourselves.

Last night I stopped at Target and one of my purchases was some new underwear. Perhaps you didn’t realize this, but if your pants don’t fit because you’ve gained a little weight, it’s most likely that your underwear doesn’t fit either. And the combination is, well, just awful and embarrassing and I can barely believe I haven’t been arrested by the Fashion Police in the last few weeks (at least that’s when I started noticing it - who knows how long before that?). Well, the new stuff I bought fits and is super comfortable, but definitely nothing that Vicky’s would sell, if you know what I mean. Well, who cares about cute underwear anyway? I have it on good authority (aka my husband) that men really don’t care about that stuff. They especially don’t care if it matches. So if he doesn’t care, why should I? And who else is seeing my underwear? No one, that’s who. So Hanes is working fine for me.

That was probably TMI for you. Oh well. Maybe I should make it a regular blog feature, TMI Thursdays. Thoughts?

popularity: 46%

Do you need more motivation to use your kitchen, to make food and consume it, thus adding to your waistline, or to make food and give it away, thus upping your karma? Here are some more suggestions….

Chocolate and Peanut Butter, a timeless classic

• Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
• Peanut Butter Munchies
• Brownie Peanut Butter Cups
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Sundae

Banana (I have maybe a half dozen more of these that I printed off for for his birthday, but don’t have them linked here at work anymore, so if I make any of them up I’ll have to share)

• Banana Bread
• Banana Split Coffeecake

Other Dessert Items (because if I don’t fit into my pants, no one else should either - on second thought, forget that, because a world in which everyone walks around pantless is in no way a good idea)

• Frosted Marshmallow Brownies
• Bow To Me Brownies
• Margarita Ice Cream with Picante y Dulce Almond Brittle
• You Call That Pudding, Grandma? (Not specifically a recipe, but an article in the Food section of the NYTimes)
• Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake (worth clicking over to even if you don’t like cheesecake or caramel, just for the description of making the crust)
• Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake
• Cubes of Colossal Cheer
• The Famous Chocolate Icebox Cake
• Chocolate Mocha Cake
• 50 Easy Chocolate Snacks to Make
• Lime Bars
• Valerie’s Hazelnut-Orange Tea Cakes
• Make your own Marshmallows
• Mini Cheesecakes
• Lemon Cake

And with that, I have cleared out the majority of my bookmarked pages to share with y’all. Oh, there’s about half a dozen right now, but that’s so minor to the… 150 or so that had built up.

popularity: 47%

Either I’m hungry all the time or I have a newfound love of food (or at least preparing it) due to there being a television in my kitchen. Methinks it’s a bit of both. Either way, I had about a jillion bookmarked recipes that I’ve decided to share with you. Hopefully, they’re in small enough chunks for you to digest (please complain in the comments section if it’s still too much). Oh, and I probably found most if not all of these recipes via Tastespotting, my new Internet addiction.

Granola

• Honey Maple
• Granola Bars

Honey

• Greek Honey Lemon Cake
• Honey Cake

Bread

• Honey-Vanilla Challah
• Rosemary Olive Oil Bread
• Basic Sourdough Starter
• Whole Wheat Oat Bread
• Soft Pretzels

Chicken

• Ginger, Soy and Whiskey Grilled Chicken
• Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic
• Slow-Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken
• Malaysian Tumeric and Honey Wings

Other Dinner Items (Entrees, veggies)

• Pancetta-Wrapped Asparagus
• Martha’s Macaroni and Cheese
• How to Make a Basic Vinaigrette
• Sage Involtini
• Seafood Pockets
• Anelletti Pasta with Sausage and Greens
• Chickpea Salad with Arugula and Roasted Garlic
• Chinese Stir-Fried Flank Steak
• Roasted Asparagus

Bacon (Otherwise Known As… Foods That Should Never Have Been Invented)

• Dark Chocolate and Bacon Cupcakes
• Candied Bacon Coffee Ice Cream (I kid you not)

Cookies

• Oatmeal Cream Pies
• Alfajores (Caramel Sandwich Cookies)
• Mayan Chocolate Sparklers
• Dark Chocolate Crackles
• Chewy Coconut Cookie Crisps
• Vanilla Kipferl

Cupcakes

• Mocha Cupcakes (1)
• Nutella Cupcakes
• Mocha Cupcakes (2)
• Shortbread Tartlettes with Mocha Frosting

Pies and Pie-Like Deserts

• Chocolate Mousse Tartlettes
• Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie (second recipe down)
• Earth Day Mud Pie
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

OK, I’ve got 3 more categories, but I’ll save them for another date (but just so you know, they’re “Chocolate and Peanut Butter,” “Banana,” and “Miscellaneous Desserts”).

popularity: 49%

Do you know how tired I am today? I am so tired that I have Restless Legs before 9 am. That, my friends, is a serious pain in the behind. If you haven’t experienced restless legs, then you don’t know the torture that it is. Perhaps you’re familiar if you’ve ever lived with someone who gets them, since I’m sure understands at least partly what it’s like. I’ve been known to describe it as wanting to rip my legs off so they can go do laps around the house to work off the extra energy while the rest of me lays on the couch and quickly falls asleep. Conveniently, I’ve found a nice over-the-counter remedy that seems to work for me, and I don’t get them all that often (though I am on my third bottle of the OTC remedy), and they’re not all that strong ( used to wake up with hers, and now she wakes herself up with them because she’s a lighter sleeper than she used to be). I think I’ll be finding some to take momentarily, to avoid the insanity that comes with feeling this way in the middle of the day (or middle of the morning, as it were). I don’t think I can adequately describe how crazy it feels to have restless legs in the waking hours - it just doesn’t seem right, and it feels much worse when I’m stuck here in a cubicle all day.

Why am I so tired, you ask? Well, I was tired yesterday because I didn’t get to bed until 12:30 on Sunday night (which means 5 hours of sleep, far too few in my opinion). Last night I got to bed shortly after 11, so that wasn’t that bad. But in all truthfulness, it’s because it’s that time of the month for me to be exhausted. For some reason, it’s very tiring to sit here and without any conscious thought at all shed the lining of my uterus. I wouldn’t have known such an activity requires so much energy, but it does apparently. I’m going to go get some caffeine shortly, and maybe some food of some sort.

I’ll post a weekend update sometime today, or at least I’ll try. For now, it’s taking all my effort to stay awake.

popularity: 42%

Why I’m not voting for McCain (surprisingly, it’s not his environmental policies, which are amazingly forward-thinking for a Republican), and another article on feminism and the election.  I was going to comment on these, but… I think you can pretty much guess what I would say, and it’s nothing new or original, so I’ll just let the pieces speak for themselves.

Cute article entitled “Everything I Know About Women … I learned from my niece” - no, it’s not entirely accurate, but there are some gems of wisdom in there

Trying to get pregnant?  Good news if you were on the pill.

This CNN story on Islamic schools in Africa tugged at my heart strings.

Are first borns more organized? DeClutter It discusses.

This website… I don’t even know where to begin. There’s too much. I’m overwhelmed.

Trying to give up caffeine and still feel awake in the morning?  7 Tips. Me, I thought briefly about trying it except that I wasn’t willing to deal with two weeks of headaches.  I’ll save that for when it’s necessary.

Clean Sweep Assessment, if you’re looking to simplify your life, or just feel… balanced in your space.  I’m not promoting all the ideas, but some were helpful.

popularity: 44%

1. Concentration :: Classic
2. Relocated :: Office Space
3. Clot :: Blood
4. Joints :: Pain
5. Satellite :: Office
6. Money back :: Guarantee
7. Kittens :: Cuddly
8. Shady :: Tree
9. Drain :: -o
10. Stroke :: Heart Attack

popularity: 41%

Things to make:

• Reusable Sandwich Wrap
• A purse like this or this
• Fruity Button Napkins (from How About Orange)
• A small photo album using an accordion fold kit
• Shrinky Dink Rings (from PlanetJune), which we’ll be making next week at SNB - if you’re in need of the plastic, you can try the ReadyMade store (though I bought mine at Michael’s)
• Free Sewing Projects (from About.com)

Tutorials:

• Bias Tape (from Angry Chicken)
• All the tutorials on Craftster
• Sewing even corners (like on homemade napkins), from Crafty Daisies)
• Easy Paint Makeovers (from Real Simple)
• Easy Window Transformations (from Real Simple)

Fun home decor

• Wall tree silhouette (from ApartmentTherapy)
• How to Photograph Your Garden (from Lifehacker)

Fun fabric to use on any of the above:

• Hippos
• Scandinavian Sketch of Flower Bouquets
• Scandinavian Sketch of Butterflies
• Cherries on White
• Cupcakes on Blue
• Garden Glory in pink or green
• Butterfly Stripes
• J’aime Paris
• Swedish Kitchen
• Parisian Cat
• Green Stripes
• Green Plaid
• Green Hawaiian Print
• Brown Carnations
  
• Daisies on Blue
• Ginger Blossom line of fabrics
• Coffee Break Trim

popularity: 39%

Block Poster - a free service to create really big poster prints for your walls. From this post on IkeaHacker about a cool headboard / wall mural idea that I love (second photo down). Think we can do that in our next house? I think the key is having the right photo.

More fun wall graphics:

• Monkey
• Flowers
• Owl
• Birds in a Tree
• Alphabet
• Ovals - doesn’t sound all that exciting, but a pretty cool picture
• Prose

Flat-Fold Grill, for those of you who might need such a thing.

Some things from Anthropolgie I liked lately (because I can’t put them on my Wist due to their site being Flash-based):

• Headboard ( would never go for this, but I can still like it)
• This Is Paris
• Audrey Hepburn: A Life In Pictures
  
• Cooking Outside The Box
• Butterfly Half-Apron - not to purchase, but I’d like to make one similar to it if I could find the fabric (and my machine gets fixed)
• Juicer, you know, in case I ever needed one, this is the one I’d want (but I’ll never need one)

Got a cat hair problem? Or dog? Get the FURminator to take care of it.

And lastly…

Always coming up with new ways to wake us up in the morning, ApartmentTherapy tipped me off to this product that can only mean your pillow is more uncomfortable than it already is (but theoretically you’d get out of bed sooner). No worries, it’s only conceptual.

popularity: 34%

Yes, I know I hate the phone and answering phones and blah blah blah, but it doesn’t usually make me physically ill. I just strongly dislike it.

But then every once in a while, I get a call from one of those people. It’s fairly common in my industry, which is probably why I dislike answering the phone. You never know if it’s going to be someone who just wants a phone number and a referral, or if it’s someone who’s mentally or emotionally unhinged and wants to ruin your day.

This afternoon, it was the latter, unfortunately. And no one is here. Finally I got a manager to take the call, but not before listening to a sob story (that is theoretically untrue) for about five minutes. And now I just feel nauseous. Blech. The manager is still talking to him. I felt bad schelpping him off on the manager, especially this late on a Friday afternoon, but I really couldn’t do anything for him, and neither could our complaint agency, since the caller wasn’t actually a consumer/client/whatever.

The bummer is that this caller sounds very nice and is somewhat apologetic, not at all harassing (unlike some calls I’ve taken), but there were significant communication issues, I think mainly in his head and interpretation of events, and that is really quite difficult to deal with.

And this is why I’m not going into special ed. Or becoming a counselor within my agency, both of which people have suggested instead of becoming a teacher. I understand junior highers. I get it. I can communicate with them on a level they understand too.

It is seriously time for this week to be over, don’t you think?

We’re going to buy lighting for our house tonight. Woo-hoo! (OK, not that exciting, but it’s one more thing checked off our list, and that’s always a good thing.) Maybe we’ll finish the garage this weekend too.

popularity: 32%

I spent some time (an hour maybe) earlier in the week creating an “appreciation card” for a co-worker that would be reproduced for 25-ish people. She gave me the text and the theme, and said that they weren’t settled on the wording yet.  No big deal.  So I did a mock up for her. Then yesterday she asked for another copy of the mock-up, they decided to change the wording and the theme, and they’d get back to me. This morning I get new text as well as a mock-up of what they want, including new graphics (not the ones I’d spent time searching for on the internet). So again I do mock-ups, three this time because they requested font options, and because I couldn’t decide exactly what complementary graphics to include. Because the graphics they requested were, well, crappy, I had a terrible time trying to find complementary graphics and a border (as requested) and fonts. I spent easily 2 hours on it today (because I’m a perfectionist and like to make things pretty, especially when it was requested that I “pretty it up”). And then they came into the office (the two co-workers actually working on this project), made up another mock-up (”this is what I came up with when I was working on it last night” - um, why didn’t you specifically say what you wanted then and give me that?), and asked me to again change and make a new mock-up. Then there was a 5 minute discussion of paper color. So I made the requested changes (which included installing yet another font on my computer because it was demanded I use “mufferaw,” a caps-only font which I can’t even begin to explain how wrong that is), begrudingly, because as far as I could tell it was now officially a really crappy project that I wanted nothing to do with and certainly didn’t want my name associated with (it looks… juvenile, and like it was designed in Word, because it was). I printed off the mock-up and as I was getting ready to bring it to them, one of them comes over and tells me I’m “off the hook” because someone else down in Communications is going to do it for them.

WTF?

Seriously, that is so wrong I didn’t know what to say. I gave her the mock-up and walked away.

This means that the next time one of them gives me a project, I’m going to have to explain a “new” policy to them (it’s not really a new policy of mine, but it’s new to them and they seem to be breaking it all the time) that they not give me projects to work on until they’ve made up their freaking minds because I don’t want to waste 3 hours creating a thank you card that is never going to be used. Because that’s ridiculous. And on a day like today when there’s almost no one in the office and I’m on phones all day and no one else is around to do anything and I’d really like a vacation day but everyone else is on vacation so I can’t call in sick, it’s really not the day to mess with me.

I probably could have explained this policy to them right now, but I don’t think the use of profanity would have helped my case, and at the moment that’s what would fall out of my mouth. So I’ll refrain until I’m feeling better natured.

popularity: 32%

Some links I’ve saved up for you lately on things related to food….

Hungry Girl - the author has been making the rounds lately on television and some blogs I read.

10 Commandments for Dropping 10 Pounds and 10 Years (DumbLittleMan)

How to use Food Baths to Cool Food Safely (ApartmentTherapy) - since it was unknown to me, I thought I’d share it with you and make the world a safer place.

What to Eat When to Sleep Better (LifeHacker) - in order for me to utilize this information, I think I’d have to become a morning person, and wake up even earlier than I already do, which I find unacceptable.  But maybe in my old age when sleep is more elusive and I’m already waking up at 5 am (instead of the blissful 5:30 or 5:45 that I currently get to “sleep in” until on weekdays), perhaps I’ll give this a try.  At the moment, I think my goal needs to be to get to bed earlier so I get more sleep, because I’m getting way less than I used to and it makes me crabby and unhappy and potentially fat.

Small Step (.gov) - Trying to eat healthier?  This government website is going to help you do that, one tiny step at a time.

and lastly,

Australian Rieseling (ApartmentTherapy) - considering my love for Rieseling, maybe I should try to find this wine and give it a shot.  It can’t hurt to have more than one label that I like.

popularity: 36%

I’ve had several partially-formed blog posts in my head for the last week. None of them really make up a full post on their own, and they’re probably too random to make up a meaningful post, but they’re cluttering up my head, so it’s time to get them out.

read the rest »

popularity: 32%