Has anyone else noticed how the vet on the PedMeds commercial looks just like the beagle he’s examining? Seriously, the vet looks like a beagle.
This morning LL Cool J was on the Today show and I remarked that “all the ladies do love cool James” because how could we not? He’s talented, handsome and he brought a big fat check to donate.
The other day I complained that it was too warm for December. Today we’ll be lucky to get to 30 degrees. The wind is adding to the chill. And, there’s a dusting of snow on the ground. Ah, Winter, welcome back.
We had homemade Miso Soup for dinner. And, I whipped up a dish to use up the leftover tofu. I can’t abide wasting perfectly good tofu. I made some white rice to go with.
These measurements are approximately since I just sort of squirted and added the following to a bowl:
1 tablespoon Tempura Sauce
2 teaspoons Sriracha (chili sauce)
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 -1 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
6-8 oz of drained, firm tofu, sliced into 4 pieces
Mix the sauce and marinate the tofu for a couple of hours.
The better-half used the grill pan and sautéed the tofu while adding some of the leftover sauce. We served over rice. It was awesome. I think the next time I make it I’ll cut back on the tempura sauce or use soy–it was pretty salty.
Last night we put up the Christmas tree. It is in the dining room this year because we didn’t want to re-arrange the den and make that room look any smaller to potential buyers. Putting the tree in the dining room means you have to move around the table and chandelier to have a clear look at the tree. It doesn’t matter much though because the tree is beautiful. And, it smells divine.
While the better-half strung the lights, I went through our boxes of ornaments and decorated the mantel in the den. Our other decorations this year are very limited. We normally put a lovely pewter Christmas train on the cabinet in the foyer but since some snot-nosed brat stole a domino from our nice domino set (yeah, parents, when you are visiting a house don’t let your kids steal) we’re not decorating any surface at kid level. Steal something off my tree and I’ll find out where you live–you’ve been warned.
This morning around 6am I woke up because the UPS was beeping. The better-half and I stumbled out of bed. He turned off the UPS and I called the power company. We have their 800 number written in the front of our phone book so we never have to flip to the correct page–think we’ve called that number enough? I checked the temperature and it was 19 degrees outside. We’re not filled with confidence that our power company will be doing much for us in the coming winter months.
We got back in bed and listened to generators chugging to life all around us. I’d be surprised if there is anyone on our road that doesn’t have a generator. We turned ours on around 7 so we could start the heat, water pump, etc.
We were without power for about two hours. A critical two hours though–the two hours that most people get up and head out the door.
While my sister and I were on the phone, she told me that the kids had been helping her dust. The kids=The Niece and a little boy my sister is babysitting this school year. The Niece has been helping with dusting for ages and I suspect at 2 1/2 she’s really quite good at it. Too bad she doesn’t want to come over to my house and help me dust. Maybe when she’s 3 she’ll take her act on the road.
Anyway. Where was I? Oh yeah, the little boy keeps slipping and falling whenever he goes into my sister’s kitchen. My sister suspects that one of them dusted the linoleum floor. I guessed it was The Niece. My sister said it probably was since The Niece hasn’t slipped once. I laughed and told my sister that I was so proud of The Niece and that piece of mischief just warmed my heart.
The better-half and I toyed with the idea of having family members over on December 26th to celebrate Boxing Day. My sister and her husband thought they were going to have to come over and box up our stuff for our impending move. My sister said “yeah, but they are going to feed us”. I explained that it really is a holiday and she only has to box up our stuff if she wants to. She declined. Wise choice, sister.
Yesterday the better-half made two trips to Best Buy to first exchange the cable/wireless/gateway/router thingy that he purchased last week and then to exchange the one he just exchanged. The boxes are a confusing mishmash of jargon. We finally have what we need and the wireless devices connect to the internet at the new house. Whoohoo. Now if we can just work out the issue with jagged digital cable we’ll be square.
We told the floor refinishing guys to put the new hardwood flooring boxes in our new master bedroom so that the new flooring can acclimate to the house. As it turns out the new carpet is being installed at the beginning of next week. The better-half and I will be moving boxes of hardwood to another room and then moving them back. It seems that our flooring jobs will all be done by the end of the year.
I had an appointment with the endocrinologist this morning and while waiting I cracked myself up. I took off my jacket and then sat in the chair with my feet scrunched up in my shoes and I sat on my hands. Nothing like being the poster child for hypothyroidism while sitting in the endocrinologist’s office (cold extremities are a frequent complaint).
My doctor’s staff is awesome. They are incredibly friendly and really do a fine job. I was telling the better-half that I get slightly different treatment there than other patients though. Shocking as it may seem, it must be my stunning personality because it is all “hey how are you, what’s going on, let’s chat” when I’m signing in and when I’m booking my next appointment. This is not business as usual because as I was sitting there trying to warm up my feet and hands, another patient walked in and it was just a polite “Good Morning”.
Maybe I score extra points because in the seven years I’ve been a patient, I’ve never whined or complained once. The other patients I’ve seen there are not usually in an obvious good mood. My only piece of advice for them is that whatever is wrong with your system wasn’t caused by the staff so lighten up.
After working for a company for six years, I’m cut off from all systems without advanced notice. Especially troubling since I’d been very upfront and proactive regarding a contract ending. Not really all that surprising since the company has had its head up its nether regions for years. Sick of the years of BS but not at all sick that our relationship is over.
Sick of spending money. Wish everyone who has ever owned a house would just do the minimum to keep it in working order. This includes making sure your toilets don’t leak and that your kids, spouse or pets don’t destroy basic infrastructure. That includes taking a hammer to the front door.
I went to the grocery store this afternoon and here are two examples of why I hate grocery shopping.
A woman was on the spice and flour aisle. She stopped and started several times at one end of the aisle. I moved to go around her and the freak sped up. Like she couldn’t believe someone would pass her in the grocery store. I’m not kidding when I say I thought I was going to have to break into a run to get down the aisle.
While in line an older couple got behind me. The woman in front of me had a cold and I don’t believe in crowding someone at the register. I know everyone knows how much everyone else spends at the grocery store what with the big register display screens and all, but I like to pretend that there’s some privacy when the total comes up. Plus the woman had a raging cold. I was not going to step any closer to her until I had to. This was not good enough for the old bat behind me. She pushed my cart into me in excess of ten times. Had I been just a little testier (like I was yesterday) she would have had her ears burned off with my rage.
