Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for July, 2014

What I’m Into – June 2014

Posted in Books, Story Sessions, What I'm Into, Work, Writing on July 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Oh, June.  I’m into you.  I didn’t expect to be.  Maybe the surprise of it is what makes it so mesmerizing.

photo 2 (2)

The snow cones don’t hurt, either.

Words:

Poetry, food, and friends.  Even with two jobs in full swing, June demands vacation reading. I moved my reading lamp to the bedroom, so I have been drenching myself in the poetry collections I keep on my bedside table every night and every morning.  Suddenly, waking up isn’t so hard to do.

Chocolat – Long-time lover of the movie (because Johnny Depp.  And chocolate.  But mostly Johnny Depp), I knew I’d love the book as well. This book will make you hungry…in so many ways.

Ruth Reichl’s debut novel Delicious! was wonderful.  I am biased, because having collected most of her other books and tried most of the recipes within them, I love her and sort of want to be her when I grow up, but Reichl knows how to tell a story.  Also – don’t worry – the gingerbread recipe is at the back of the book.

And my friend Beth Morey’s The Light Between Us was launched this month.  I ordered a paper copy but I couldn’t wait for it to get to me, so I grabbed an e-copy as well. It’s a fast read, because you don’t want to put it down.  This book + beach + mai tai = perfect day.

Friends:

June was full of fun.

Our Supper Club went to Wine Squared for Sumptuous Sundays on Father’s Day. We enjoyed a wonderful three-course meal with wine pairings for each course which included the most glorious pork loin I’ve ever eaten and a port I actually enjoyed. We, of course, hastily signed up for their wine club.  We’re hooked.

Summer seems to be the time for transitions. Several friends have moved/are moving/got new jobs, so I got to celebrate with them. My old boss Dennis got a job at another school, so the Dean of Students office (where he worked at UNT) had a farewell party for him. Lisa from my book club moved back to the east coast, so we had a special book club meeting (read: night of wine and Texas-themed food/presents) to send her off.  And Jayne and Connor are moving to Juneau soon, so I got to see her last week and will see her again at their garage sale on Saturday.  Added bonus – I bought this adorable thing from them, which is the perfect cabinet for my liquor:

photo 4 (2) photo 5

Dear Savvy turned two.  What she’s into?  Daniel Tiger and butterflies.

Savvy

 

(And cake.  And Daddy.)

Because none of us could make the in-person Story Sessions retreat in Austin, the DFW Story Sisters decided to have our own party.  Adela hosted us for an evening of wine, food, and conversation, and it was a balm to my soul.

Products:

Um, who knew about Arbonne and failed to tell me?  Kim lured me to a party one Friday with the promise of wine (pretty much the only reason I’ll ever leave my house on a Friday evening), and I’m so glad she did.  I tried all the things, and I AM NOT ALLERGIC TO ANY OF THEM. This never happens.  I ordered the daily face regime for sensitive skin and the deodorant, but I want to buy everything.  I’m having a party in August, and I’m at least going to sign up to be a preferred customer.

Equal Exchange’s Red Cherry Challenge -in addition to their already stellar business practices that ensure a livable wage and a workable business model for coffee farmers, Equal Exchange is donating ten cents for every pound of coffee purchased this year to the Red Cherry Fund, a grant program for farmers in El Salvador and Guatamala, where climate change has wreaked havoc on their businesses. I pledged to buy five pounds of coffee a month (which is actually a pretty conservative estimate for me).  Will you join the challenge?

TV/Movies:

The first weekend of the month, I did a little dogsitting, which means I also did a lot of Netflixing.  In one weekend, I watched Season 3 of Sherlock (!!!) and both seasons of Orange is the New Black (also !!!). The dogs were incredibly calm, aside from during that pesky storm incident, and I like to think it had something to do with my good taste in programming.

Well, I say they were calm.  This is the look you get from Maddie when you suggest that she “go outside” during OITNB:

photo 1 (2)

No one gives side eye like Maddie.

I also watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  I liked it, but I don’t know if I would have liked it as much as I did if I hadn’t been chatting about it via Facebook with the Story Sessions while watching it. It was clever.  You should see it.

The Internet:

– Women ignoring men as art

– June 4 was National Hug Your Cat Day, and The Bloggess encouraged all of us to celebrate.

– This was followed two days later by National Donut Day. Mmmm….donut….*salivates*

– Addie Zierman wrote The Non-Blogger’s Guide to Blogging series. This is the first blogging series that hasn’t made me want to throw my hands up in the air (and wave them like I just don’t care) and erase everything I’ve ever done online because why bother if I’m not going to be perfect at it. If you want to improve your blog but can’t stand advice on how to improve your blog, go give it a read.

So you can see why I have such a crush on June this year.  Link up with us over at Leigh Kramer’s blog to let us know what you were into in June!

Read Full Post »

Renew

Posted in Getting It Together on July 2, 2014| 3 Comments »

I originally planned to call this week of Getting It Together Cleanse, but that reminds me too much of funky temporary diets that make my sweat smell odd. Renew is a better word for what I want to accomplish in the targeted spaces – the bathroom and the laundry closet – for this week. These two areas generally stay well-organized, but I still want to make some minor improvements.

I say “generally,” because they are a terrible mess right now.  The picture of the flower on the bathroom counter (which, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit died weeks ago and thus is not even there anymore) is the only picture I’m willing to share with you right now.

In the laundry closet:

  • I want to put up a bar where I can hang clothes straight from the dryer.
  • I need to take the recycling that has taken over the top of the machines (where I usually stack clothes as I fold them) to the recycling center so that I have a place to fold (on top of dryer) and a place to store my ample collection of coolers (on top of the washer).

My original plan for the bathroom was a new color scheme.  It was going to be plum and silver, with varying shades of gray as a backdrop. Two problems arose:

  • When at all possible, I like to make choices that exhibit ethical consumerism and good stewardship of resources. This isn’t always possible.  Sometimes, need + budget restrictions = compromise.  I can’t justify that excuse here, though.  I don’t need new towels.  I already have more towels than I have space to store them, and they’re in good shape.  Having matching bathroom linens and fixtures would be nice, but it’s unnecessary.  It would be frivolous spending.  Now, I’m a fan of frivolity, but I’m also working on becoming less of an asshole, so if I’m going to engage in rampant, needless consumerism, the very least I can do is engage in it ethically. After more hours than I care to admit of searching for four sets of bathroom linens that 1) are the color I want, 2) are ethically sourced (i.e., fairly traded, sweatshop-free, made from sustainable materials, etc.), and 3) are within even the most liberal stretches of my budget, I am sad to report that no such items exist IN THE WORLD.
  • I don’t own the apartment I live in.  So even if I changed everything I could to make a new color scheme in the bathroom, I would still be stuck with cheap tan flooring, brass-colored doorknobs and light fixtures, and plain white walls. This would significantly diminish the effect, which gives me a big case of the why-bothers.

All of that to say…I won’t be buying new towels.

So let’s move on to what I will be doing:

  • Cleaning and organizing the cabinet under the sink, the medicine cabinet, and the small storage buckets on the counter.  This includes getting rid of all expired items and making a list of what needs to be replaced.
  • Finally putting up the towel rack that I bought the first month I moved in.
  • Deep cleaning the whole room, especially the shower.  I need to clean up as much of the rust from the air conditioner overflow as possible (ongoing saga – the short version is that the cheap bastards refuse to fix it despite it being reported as a problem several times – one of which was a report from the outside contractor whom they had to call to completely replace it because, according to said HVAC professional, the same problem that causes the overflow/leak situation was what also caused the old unit to rust and fall apart) and try to figure out a way to channel the apparently inevitable leak in order to minimize the extent to which it compromises the structural integrity of the property, thus also hopefully minimizing the likelihood that someday I will fall, naked and wet, into the apartment below me.
  • Replacing the plastic shower curtain liner with a new, rust-free one and dyeing the current shower curtain to mask the rust stain that appeared when the current liner tore. *sigh*

That’s a lot of work for such a small amount of square footage. I need a nap just thinking about it.

Read Full Post »

Nostalgia is a Liar

Posted in Food, Getting It Together, Roots on July 1, 2014| 3 Comments »

When I went through my mom’s recipe collection in order to find things to make, I told her, “I want a variety of things – comfort food, desserts, main courses, side items, etc.” I came across the recipe for Western Salad, and I remarked, “Oh – Western Salad – good!  This gives me a healthy option, too!”

She gave me the oddest look.  I was confused at first, but then I read the recipe.

It started well:

  • 1 head of lettuce
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 1 can ranch-style beans

But it derailed from there:

  • 2 cups shredded cheese
  • 1 cup Catalina dressing
  • bag of corn chips

You mix everything except the chips. The chips are added as you serve, to avoid sogginess. And you end up with this:

photo 3 (2)

I did leave out the onions, because when there are raw onions in something, that’s all I can taste, and I doubled the amount of tomatoes. But I followed the rest of the recipe exactly.

Calling it a salad is an exercise in willing suspension of disbelief. I can picture the creator of this marvelous foodstuff debating whether or not s/he could actually call it salad and get away with it, finally ending with the deciding factor – “Does it have lettuce?  Yes!  Okay, then – salad, it is!”

So I’m giving in to my nostalgia, deceptive as it might be, and sticking to the name Western Salad. Just nod along, everybody.  Be cool.

My memory of this dish is that it was light and healthy.  The reality of this dish is that it is the sort of thing one might buy from a concession stand. This explains why Mom never actually served it as a meal but as a decadent side item in an otherwise healthy, balanced dinner.

As I have mentioned before, I am not my mother.  Totally ate a large bowl of Western Salad as a meal.

I regret nothing.

Read Full Post »

Two things

Posted in Rants on July 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Okay, two things regarding the SCOTUS decision, then I’ll get back to talking about food, coffee, and the ridiculous amount of possessions I have shoved into my tiny, tiny apartment.

First, since I still don’t have nice words, I am going to direct you to someone else. This article sums up my disappointment nicely. The only time I ever took medicine traditionally used for contraceptive purposes, it was not for contraceptive purposes.  I had abnormally large cysts on my ovaries that exploded every month.  They were not cancerous, but every month they just kept getting bigger. And exploding.  The last month it happened, I landed in the emergency room because we thought something vital had ruptured. The impact so distressed the inner workings of my abdomen that I was on a mostly liquid diet (on good days, I could keep down vegetable soup) for six months. My doctor prescribed a hormone therapy drug because it regulated the hormone imbalance that was causing the abnormal growth. It probably saved my life.  This decision denies that life-saving opportunity to others. I take this personally because it is personal to me.

(I could also make the argument that birth control used as birth control is also life-affirming and life-saving, but I won’t. Oops.  Guess I just did.  But you can pretend you didn’t see this, if it makes you feel better.)

Second, this is a minor annoyance, but still…I’m annoyed that we keep referring to the money the company pays to insurance as the company’s money.  Frankly, I’m shocked that my highly conservative Facebook feed is doing so, given their usual proclivity to jump on the get-out-of-my-pocketbook train. This is a not a case of a company using its resources to engage in unethical practices (like sweatshop labor, for example. But if it were such a case…*cue pointed glance*…but I digress).  This is not a case of a company using its resources to encourage certain behavior. This is not a case of a company using its resources for anything. Dear Hobby Lobby, when someone works for you, the money you pay in insurance?  THE EMPLOYEE’S MONEY.  Not yours.  THEIRS.  Payment – in the form of benefits, sure, but part of the compensation package all the same – that they EARNED by working for you.  You know how you can tell it’s theirs?  If you would stop providing it when they stop working for you, it falls in the category of payment for services rendered.  It’s theirs. No corporation – regardless of their tax status – should have any more right to tell employees what to do with their benefits than they do to tell employees what to do with their paycheck.

Okay.  We now return to our regular programming.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts