Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I think I’ve finally realized that my situation at work is just never going to get better. It doesn’t matter if I’m grumpy or elated at work the shit just keeps sticking to the fan. Thanks economy for tanking. Get better around May 16th, won’t you? Because then I’ll have my paper and I’ll be free.

I could list all the crap that’s happened in the last two weeks but I’m afraid without hours of time explaining why it’s so bad the list will just sound like a whiny, cry baby thing and I’ll even be bored.

Posted in General Spleen Venting | 4 Comments

Irritated

I got to work at 7:11 this morning. It’s 9:32 and I have no idea if my entire unit is going to come to work or not. I’ve worked what amounts to 1/4 of my day already and I have no idea if anyone I work with is going to be here today or not. And, people wonder why I’m cranky.

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Virginia Weather Is Whack

This morning it was cloudy when I walked out to put bird seed in the feeder. Then when I went out to throw coffee grounds and egg shells into the compost a light drizzle was falling. A few hours later and the sun started to peak out. Then dark clouds. Then a few peaks of sun. Then snow. The sun is out again. I’m thinking a thunderstorm will be next.

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Rock Me, Antonio

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Short

I’m going on a school field trip tomorrow. Things that will be different from the last time I went on a field trip:

  • I do not plan on chewing 8 different flavors of Bubble Yum to see what color they turn or what it tastes like.
  • I will eat something decent for lunch and not some crap that I packed the night before.
  • A parent did not have to sign a permission slip.
  • I will probably have alcohol which was a definite no-no when riding a school bus.
Posted in Generic Thoughts | 4 Comments

Food Roundup

Friday night we marinated a salmon fillet in salt, pepper and lemon olive oil. Then it went into a hot oven. Half-way through we took it out and slathered it with the pineapple-habanero jam I made last weekend. The jam isn’t quite thick like jam but it’s thicker than a glaze. The combination of heat and the fattiness of the salmon really worked together. It mellowed out a bit and was absolutely delicious on the salmon. Good tip, Liz.

Because it did mellow a bit on the salmon, we dipped our spoons into the jar yesterday to see what was going on and I’m happy to report the jam is still quite spicy and sweet. A good combination.

For Valentine’s Day, the better-half baked me a loaf of bread. That trumps flowers any day.

For Valentine’s dinner we made fried oysters as an appetizer. Messy oil everywhere but awesome. We ate them as we made them. I made a chipotle mayo to dip them in (mayo, chipotle flakes or powder and lemon juice).

As we finished off the oysters we realized, yet again, that our dinner plans were too huge for the two of us so we decided not to have bread with dinner–although one piece was taste tested–and we decided to split a tenderloin rather than cooking both. In the end we both felt pretty full at the end of dinner but no one had to unbutton pants or lay on the floor–success!

We tried a healthier version of Steak Diane. We usually use a recipe from the NY Times but I saw the “lighter” recipe in Eating Well. Our go-to cut of beef for steak are NY strips so we swapped in the tenderloin instead so it would be a bit fancier. The better-half took care of the steak and I made garlic mashed potatoes and swiss chard. The leftover mashed potatoes will be making an appearance at breakfast in another hour or so.

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In a t-shirt

As you may have heard it’s hot here in the mid-Atlantic region. What makes it difficult is the ancient building I sit in when I sit on our campus is heated by the bowels of hell. Every time I get here I crank down the heat whether it’s 20 degrees outside or 100 degrees outside. Then the person who “owns” the thermostat gets to her desk and I begin to sweat. She’s older and doesn’t care that it’s hot. Today I wore a t-shirt under my regular shirt and aside for when I’ve been outside to get lunch, I’ve been sitting in my t-shirt. If I could take off my shoes I would. It’s so warm in here that I managed to pry a window open and have slammed a tape dispenser into the space so that a breeze can come in.

Of course when I pried the window open, I realized that all the busted wood from the frame and all the lead based paint a girl could ask for started falling into the room and outside into the courtyard. Oh well…at least there’s fresh air riding in past all that funk.

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Shouldn’t there be a moratorium?

If I only see you once or twice a year, at best, I think it would be a great idea to not be invited to your wedding, baby shower, whateverthefuck. I think I can say that I’ve reached a point in my life that I should be past weddings and baby showers unless I get hoodwinked into some workplace celebration of either.

Since I’m going to be 41 years old this year, it’s safe to say that my friends and close family members are either married or have spawned by now. I don’t need to celebrate with people in their 20s or early 30s because, seriously, I really doubt I have one thing in common with you other than some distant familial bond or not even that. So, if I have little in common with you, why on this earth would I want to spend an afternoon or an evening standing around making small talk about how beautiful the bride is or how cute the baby will be with your friends? Whom I’ve never met? I can tell you that I care NOT ONE WIT about any of it.

Get back to me in 30 years when I have absolutely nothing to do and would love to shove tiny bits of cake in my mouth because sitting at home watching Dr. Phil has lost it’s spark.

Posted in General Spleen Venting | 2 Comments

Sweet, Spicy and Sticky

When I got the hot water bath canner out of the garage this morning, I’m sure the canner thought, “hey, it’s not summer”. No, it’s not but it is a balmy 63 degrees here.

I chopped up a pineapple, a red bell pepper and five habanero peppers and buzzed them in the blender. Then I put them in a largish pot, added copious amounts of sugar and began to boil. I was following a vague recipe for Pineapple Habanero Jam.

I made enough for four pint jars which all popped as soon as they came out of the canner. It’s been at least five years since I made jam so I’m a little worried about it setting up correctly. If it doesn’t set up enough, we’ll pass it off as glaze for chicken or ribs or whatever.

This is what greeted the better-half when he got home last night and opened the refrigerator (yes, I crack myself up):

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I have it on a feed

The new administration is cool.

Not that you didn’t already know that.

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