A Year in Numbers

Total exercise minutes recorded: 12, 253. Most minutes exercise in one week: 520. Most minutes in a month (May): 1, 830. Yoga classes taught this year (for pay): 88. Weeks I've had my piercing: 17.5. Weeks since Ross was laid off: 9. Weight at the start of the year: 154. Weight this am: 144. Inches lost off of my waist this year: 2.125. Amount of money we've spent this year on the wii: $217 (ouch!). Trips I took this year: 4 (Arizona, San Francisco, Las Vegas, El Paso). Computer deaths this year: 2 (the laptop was under warranty, the desktop just died). Number of posts to my blog this year (including this one): 184. Miles on the Saturn: 140,685. Miles on the Subaru: 57,461. Number of pairs of free VS underwear I have gotten (just in the last couple of months): 7. Number of jobs I have: 3. Number of cakes I baked this year: ?. Number of pounds of butter I've used this year: at least 25. Number of times I had my hair cut: 3. Pairs of new shoes I bought this year: 3? Completed knitting projects: 0. Can't think of much else....

You Dropped a Bomb on Me, Baby...

I saw the woman whose name shall not be mentioned making bath bombs on her show a long time ago. I was flipping channels--that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Since then I have always wanted to try making them. A few months ago I found a couple bath bomb recipes online and bought all the ingredients. The ingredients then sat in a box untouched for at least two months.
Sunday night (possibly inspired by my visit to Lush) I decided to go ahead and try to make the bombs. I ended up making two batches. The first one was lavender scented (and possibly tea tree, oops, I might have used the wrong essential oil). The second batch was black chamomile--my mom bought me the oil at B&BW on Black Friday.
The ingredients are relatively inexpensive, and the mixture is easy enough to make. The hard part is getting the balls out of the molds. I enlisted Ross's help and he was a lot better at it than I was. He was able to make perfect little globes. I'm going to make some more soon. I need to find a better source for the citric acid. It was kind of expensive at the store where I bought it.

Bath Bombs

1 c baking soda
1/2 c citric acid
1/3 c epsom salts
1/3 c cornstarch
1/2 tsp Borax
1 Tbl. oil
essential oil
water
glycerin
spray bottle
globe molds

Mix all dry ingredients together. You might want to grind up the epsom salts and citric acid if they are in large crystals (luckily mine were fine crystals).
Add oil and essential oil. For the first batch I used a lavender scented oil. In the second batch I just used plain old veggie oil, but the recipes suggest almond oil. Mix thoroughly.
I put about a half and half mixture of water and glycerin into a small spray bottle. I shook it up, then I sprayed the mixture a few times to moisten it. Caution: too much glycerin can start the fizzing reaction. You might not see the reaction, but when the bombs are used they will be duds and not fizz.
Mold the mixture (which will be powdery/crumbly) with the globe molds. Ross said the trick was to way overfill the mold so that the edges of the mold never touched when he squeezed really hard to pack the mixture together. He let the mold sit for a minute or two then tapped on the mold to help release it. Careful--the globes like to break in half. Gently lift off one half of the mold, then the other--no twisty!

Pose of the Week: Side Crow

Is this the pose you were thinking of Valerie? I have long legs, so the head of my (left) femur is on my left elbow and my knee is on my right elbow. I did manage to do it once without resting my hip on my elbow, but I think instead I had my elbow jammed into my ribs. I need to practice this one (and so many others.)

Presents

I received more than 2 presents this Hanukkah. Ross bought me season three of the Venture Brothers. I'm really excited about watching that. Ross also bought me a calculator. Long story there, but I'm happy to have it. I got a new cozy robe from Ross's mom. Tejal gave me a tea chest with a few tins of tea and a very nice tea strainer in it. Right now we are trying out the wii game that Ross got me--Okami. We have it for the PS2 and I love it, so he bought it for the wii. I also bought myself a couple of things. Let's see--that red velvet jacket, soap from Lush, and a new naked man calendar. Out shopping yesterday Ross bought me a really comfy hoodie and some thigh high socks. I really like the socks. They keep me warm and he thinks they are sexy. I've gotten so much stuff in the last 8 days I'm sure I forgot something.
I'm trying to think of a pose to post tomorrow. I don't think it will be nearly as exciting as last week's.

Breaking My Rules and Doing My Part

I avoid the mall in December. It is one of my rules. I broke it yesterday to see if I could find a good deal somewhere on long sleeved T-shirts. I realized that I don't really have any long sleeve T-shirts. I have plenty of long sleeved shirts, but I can't see myself wearing my Ann Taylor button downs to the gym on cold days. So I did my part to stimulate the economy by going shopping. I did buy 2 long sleeved shirts for myself, a couple of shirts for Ross, and red velvet jacket that I didn't really need.
So there, I helped the economy by buying something I didn't really need. I joined in with the "holiday spirit."
Yesterday I read an article that said that 30-50% of retail sales occur during the holiday season. Ha! Our economy is strongly based on people going out and buying each other useless, unnecessary crap during the last 7 weeks of the year. Yep, I was moved by the spirit of shopping to buy even more junk at the galleria. But how could I resist buy-one-get-two-free deals at Lush?
My husband is unemployed and I barely make enough to buy groceries, but yesterday I was doing my part to stimulate our crap-based economy. I'm a little disgusted with myself.

Best Gift Ever!

Tejal bought us gifts. She's such a sweetheart. She got Ross the best gift ever. We were standing in the kitchen and Tejal handed Ross a Gamestop bag. He peeled back the bag a little and saw that it was a wii game. Cool. Ross started to feel bad, issuing lots of "aaaaw"s and "Tejal you're too nice to us." He started to pull out the game and saw the words "All Star." Ross thought it might be a karaoke game. Okay....But then he saw the "Cheer Squad" part of the title. Thoughts like "Oh, shit, what did she do?" and "Oh God, I hope she doesn't want me to open this and play it right now." started to shoot through Ross's head. Of course he was thinking "Maybe I can return this."
Tejal had a big grin on her face. Ross stood there for a few seconds just staring at the game. Tejal handed him the gift receipt and said "The look on your face was a lot more fun than just buying you a gift card!" We all busted out laughing. Tejal is so cool. She regaled us with the story of her buying the game and making triple sure they were going to give her a gift receipt. We had lots of good laughs on Wednesday night. At one point we were laughing so hard Tejal shot water out of her nose!
Ross now has to go through the embarrassment of returning the game.

Holiday Card

So, I'm too lazy to buy/order/send out holiday cards. I decided this year to try and do a holiday E-card. Easy, right? I searched for a long time for a customizable e-card. I finally found smilebox, which allows you to upload your picture(s) to the card and send it for free. When I opened the program I noticed that it automatically imported the last two things I had scanned and some random photos of the space shuttle. After I chose a design the program put the space shuttle photo in. I deleted the photo. The space went blank and it said drag and drop photos into space. Okay. Seemed easy enough. We took a family photo and I put it in the card. I gathered a bunch of emails and sent it out. Woohoo. For some reason not everybody got the card. Whatever. When chatting with Dishi last night I asked her if she'd gotten the card. She said yes, with the photo of the shuttle and my CPR card and stuff. What?! Yep, I sent out a card with a family photo, random photos of the shuttle, scans of my CPR card and YogaFit certificate. Damn! I feel like a total idiot. I previewed the card. Yes I did, but I didn't press play for the photos because I thought I had only put one photo in the card. I did only put one photo in the card. The program just loaded the other photos in for me. Whack. I still feel dumb. So if you received my holiday E-card and actually went through the animation and pressed play...sorry. Have a good laugh. I didn't mean to send those photos. I suppose I should feel good that there weren't any BAD photos in there. Oh well, I tried.

Pose of the Week: Bound Equestrian

I found this pose on the web recently and thought it was so insane I just had to try it! I'm nowhere even near decent at this pose. Today's photo shoot was a real hoot. I fell over plenty of times (and Ross got photos). I was just trying to get the legs right for now. My shoulders aren't at all where they are supposed to be. Ross was totally grossed out by this pose. He says my calf looks like a turkey leg. I'll have to work on this one. My head isn't even where the guy's is in the photo.

Butter Cookies

My latest quest was for snowflake cookie cutters. My quest completed, I decided to make some cookies. I'm not a cookie person, I'm a cake person. I'm also not a decorator, but I have always wanted to make some really simple iced sugar cookies. I found a really simple recipe for butter cookies and icing and tried it out yesterday. Simple enough and they were a big hit at Otto's football gathering last night. Damn, I can't believe the Cowboys lost. Just sad. The one time I decide to watch the game it was totally lame.

Butter Cookies

1 c. softened butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 Tbl. lime juice
1 Tbl. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder (or is it soda)

1. Cream butter and sugar
2. Beat in egg, lime juice and vanilla.
3. Mix in flour.
4. Divide batter into thirds, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate 3-4 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
6. Working with one batch of dough at a time (leaving the others in the refrigerator), roll out dough on lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness.
7. Cut cookies out of dough and place on baking sheet.
8. Bake 7-10 minutes--just until edges start to brown (thinner, smaller cookies cook faster).
9. Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes then remove from pan.
10. When cookies are fully cooled--decorate as desired.

For the frosting I just mixed together some butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. I think next time I'm going to try a more traditional royal icing recipe with egg whites. Knowing his love of sculpture I gave the last lump of dough to Ross to play with. He made a Wall-E cookie and and Eve cookie. The Wall-E turned out really well. No secrets here--this recipe is from Land o Lakes. I just changed the oj to lj. If I make another batch this week with a different frosting I'll be sure and post the results.

Igor

Last night we went to the dollar theater (okay, 2 dollar) to see Igor. We really enjoyed it. It was very funny. Scamper (pictured left, Steve Buscemi) really stole the show. I highly recommend it.

Hot Yoga

Just a quick post to say that I survived my first Bikram yoga class. I can definitely say it isn't going to become my new thing (especially at 20 bucks a pop). I liked the heat, I think it really helped me open up my hips. I am just glad I made it through the whole class without having to stop or leave (I've heard that leaving ruffles feathers). Tomorrow I'm going to make cookies. I'll post photos.

Neelima Smiles

When I worked in Maryland I had the privilege to work with Neelima Reddy. She is one of the sweetest, smartest, most beautiful people I have ever met. I always think of her this time of year and it makes me smile. What makes me think of her? Eggnog. Neelima discovered eggnog the year we worked together. She couldn't get enough of it. It made her smile and she made all of us smile. When she found out that eggnog was seasonal she was crushed. Well, Neelima, wherever you are I hope you are enjoying your eggnog and smiling. I am.

The Business of Going out of Business

So many retail stores are closing these days. I scored some deals at Mervyn's in El Paso over the Thanksgiving weekend. Linens-N-Things has been liquidating its stores for a while now. Even at 50% off I don't think a lot of the merchandise is a good deal (Circuit City was only offering 30% off on most items). My mom pointed out a fixture at Linens and Shit (that's what we call it) that she liked. I'm sure you've seen that the stores even sell their fixtures. I thought $150 was too much. I saw a bunch of the fixtures at the store near Tiffany's house when we (she) went looking for a clothes hamper. I couldn't tell if the rack was still $150 or down to $75. Apparently Ross had been thinking we needed a baker's rack or something to go against the bare wall in the kitchen--so he was all for buying the fixture to go in the kitchen. I am tired of using my kitchen stool as a shelf. On Sunday we went to the store near our house. The manager/liquidator was really rude and we couldn't find any of the racks in the store...but we left with two sets of 750 thread count sheets. Monday after our work out we went to the store in Burleson. Again, they didn't have the fixture I was looking for, but we left with a storage case for our wine glasses (the old one is disintegrating). I worked in North Fort Worth last night and while I was teaching Ross went to the Linens and Shit up there. They had lots of racks and shelves so he picked out the best of each and spent $81 (with tax) on it. Score. Now we have a place to put my cast iron and my stool has gone back to being a stool. I really like how the rack has wheels, so we can just wheel it out of the room to run the scooba. Woohoo.

Toe Sox Pose

Okay, so Lisa Diane bought Toe Sox and sent them to Ross for his birthday with a photo of a naked woman doing elephant trunk pose. The idea was that the Toe Sox were actually for me, and me doing the pose naked would be Ross's present. I spent a considerable amount of time in front of the space heater getting warm before I did the pose today. Ross took several photos. Happy Birthday, Ross. He took a pretty good photo and then accidentally deleted it, so I had to do the pose several more times. Here is the original photo that came with the socks, and a photo of me doing the pose.

Numbers

I become fixated by numbers. 1--pound I want to lose by Wednesday am 2--number of sheet sets I bought today 3--number of bagels we bought this morning 4--times I taught my yoga lower body routine this past week 5--number of classes I'm teaching this week 6--number of days I exercised this week 7--rows I've knitted on the second half of my shorts 8--minimum number of cups of water I drink each day 9--number of work outs I did this week 10--the number I always think of when I read the word December 11.94--gigs of music I have in iTunes 12--number of ice cubes I've used while writing this (in very hot tea) 13--number of yoga music mixes I've made 14--eggs in the fridge 15--weeks I've had my Madison piercing 16--years I've been with Ross 17--prime number 18--ounces of chocolate in double chocolate torte (I think) 19--degrees the temperature has dropped since I've started this post 20--age when I graduated college 21--age when I started drinking (hahhahaha, just kidding) 22--age when I got my first car 23--classes on my schedule this month 24--I got married 25--quarter 26--minutes I soaked my piercing 27--I birthed a baby (not mine, duh!) 28--cents I paid for underwear this weekend 29--types of tea I have in my tea cabinet (at least). I could go on and on. Easier if it is random numbers. That is what I should have done. Next time.

New Dishes

The blue and white plates that my mom got us for our first anniversary are in bad shape. Two of the six plates recently broke, two of them are chipped, and two of them are still okay. I had been eyeing the colorful plates from Crate and Barrel and my mom bought a set for us for Hanukkah and our anniversary. When we received the plates we noticed that some of them were severely scratched on the back. Because of how the plates are made, the scratches show on the front. We exchanged the scratched ones and now have a set of nice colorful shiny plates. The plates aren't microwave safe with all that gold leaf and gold swirl on the smaller plates. The back of the plates reminds me of soft nail polish--easily marred. I feel like I'm going to have to treat them as museum pieces. I kept out two of the old plates to use in the microwave. We also have an old set of cream colored dishes that I use as milk plates. I know that's silly, since I don't follow the milk-meat rule, but whatever--they can also go into the microwave. Well, it is nice out--73 degrees according to Yahoo, so we are going for a walk.

Space Shuttle

The space shuttle landed here in Fort Worth yesterday because of inclement weather. It took off this morning on its way to Florida, and Ross was there to see it.

Oh, They're Mine

Ross started knitting these blue gloves a long time ago. He finished the gloves last New Year's eve. Well, all except for the thumbs. So the gloves have sat as thumbless tubes for almost a year. This week Ross finally knitted the thumbs and finished the gloves--and gave them to me! They are made out of soysilk yarn and are very soft. I'm sure I'll use them a lot now that the temperature has dropped.

Look What I Can Do!

I love it when I ask a student to try something in class and they are able to do it. They get so excited and usually say "I didn't know I could do that!" This happened to me in class a couple of weeks ago when I tried flying crow, but my response was "Oh, shit!" Since I've improved my upper body strength I decided recently that I'd try astavakrasana. This has been one of my yoga goals for a long time. Tea Leoni does the pose in the movie Spanglish and I thought it was hot. I could actually do it! Only for a couple seconds at first, but I'm getting better at it. I also tried one called bound equestrian, but I'm going to have to really work on that one. Check out the photos.
Bound full lotus. I saw this one on the web on Sunday and I have no idea if I'm doing it correctly.

Flying crow.

Astavakrasana. Yippeee!

Let There Be Lights!

On Sunday we strung up the lights and came up one box short of making it all the way around the roof. Yesterday we stopped by Hobby Lobby and picked up a box of lights. Ross hopped up on the roof and finished afixing the lights. Around 7 pm it was dark enough to turn on the lights and check them out. I think they look pretty cool. Man, it is cold and windy. I think Ross is going to make some hot eggnog-milk. Yum.

Ross's New Pastime

Since Ross got the digital TV converter box he has been desperately trying to get all the channels tuned in at the same time. He turns the antenna this way and that and steps back to see the picture. He constantly flips between the analog channels and the digital channels. He flips through all the channels to see how the latest antenna tweak affected the rest of the channels. It is sort of amusing. I must admit, the episode of the Simpsons we watched on the digital channel last night was the clearest picture I've seen (on our TV) ever. I hope he gets it all straightened out. The digital channels are nice (when they come in).

Traditional Ghetto Dessert

When he was growing up, Ross's mom would make yellow cake cookies. Apparently it was an inexpensive easy dessert that she learned to make as an Army wife. Ross used to call his mom every couple of months and ask how to make them until I finally wrote it down in my cook book. A few times he just winged it--bad news. Over the years the cookies have really grown on me. I didn't used to like them until I discovered how wonderful they are after 10 seconds in the microwave (I prefer soft, chewy cookies.). Yesterday at Target I bought a box of yellow cake mix (Duncan Hines is apparently the Brown family brand of choice) and some chocolate chips. I think it might have been the first time I actually made them (it's a Ross thing). So here's the recipe if you want to try the Brown family traditional ghetto dessert:

Yellow Cake Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 c. oil (sometimes we use melted butter, but I was too lazy last night)
1 egg
chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Thoroughly mix first three ingredients
3. Stir in chocolate chips. Don't add too many...as I discovered last night, this makes it difficult to form the dough into balls.
4. Form dough into balls and place on cookie sheet
5. Cook for 10 minutes.

Cookies will be fluffy and soft when first removed from the oven. Allow them to cool about 10 minutes before removing from baking sheet--they will collapse and harden slightly. This recipe makes approx. 2 dozen cookies.

Bah-Humbug

Today we went out. I don't go to the malls at all in December. Today was a clear reminder why. Traffic was terrible. The stores were crowded. There were long lines at all the check outs (and we weren't even at the mall). Oh, and worst of all: Christmas music. I walked into one store to look for one specific thing. Christmas music was blaring. I left and went into the next store just to look around. The line to check out was lengthening down the side of the store and the same exact song was blaring in there. I left. Was I safe outside? Of course not. That shopping area has music piped into the parking lots! It was crazy. We came home without buying anything. I guess that's good.

After dinner we ventured out again. To Target. Ross wanted to pick up a digital converter box for the TV. On the way there and back we drove through the neighborhood and saw lots of Christmas lights. I actually like Christmas lights--at least ones done tastefully. What we saw was mostly crap. We did find a couple of houses on August St. that were really cool. They had their trees completely wrapped in white lights. It was a lot classier than all the trees that we saw with the bottom 3 feet hastily wrapped in lights (we saw blue, yellow, green, red, white, and multicolor stumps).

Christmas in Italy was so different. No Santa. Three days of everything being dead because everyone was home with their families. There are some things I do like about the holidays. All food: panettone, stollen, eggnog. I suppose I'll spend the rest of the month at home--eating cake and washing it down with eggnog. Ha!

Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse Chinoise

We have seen a lot of movies in the last couple of weeks (thanks mostly to the Roku). I put a Japanese anime film in the queue, and that turned out to be just plain messed-up. I watched Thunderbolt--a great old Jackie Chan film--with my parents, but unfortunately it was dubbed. I watched Caramel with my mom. It was a Lebanese movie about a group of women that work in a hair salon. It was very much like the French film Venus Beaute (institut). Ross watched an animated Hellboy movie on Monday. We have seen two movies at the dollar theater. Burn After Reading was strange. We didn't really like it. This week we saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. We didn't really like that one either. We can't complain though--going to the dollar theater is cheaper than renting a movie.

The best movie we've seen lately was Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. We both really enjoyed it. It inspired me to start reading again. I'm not kidding when I say that I read children's books. I haven't read a grown up fiction book in a long time (years). I checked the library catalog online and one of the branches has a book of Balzac's short novels. I went ahead and asked for it to be sent to my branch so I can check it out and read it. I still haven't finished the B.K.S. Iyengar book I checked out forever ago. Oh well, maybe I can finish chapter two (of four) and then give it a rest. If I finish the Balzac book maybe I'll feel like reading other books that they read in the movie. Maybe I'll turn back into the little reading machine that I used to be.

Oh Roku, I Want You!

So over the Thanksgiving weekend I tried out my dad's Roku box. My dad subscribes to NetFlix and my parents have been dowloading movies through them and watching them on the computer for a while now. The Roku box allows them to download the movie and watch it on their TV. It was so easy! I added a few movies to the queue online, then turned on the TV and selected which movie to watch. After 3 or 4 minutes of buffering the movie started. No problem. I couldn't tell it was downloading. We watched several movies over the weekend. Now I want a Roku box. First we'd have to get faster internet, and NetFlix, and a new TV (why not). Maybe we'll have all that by my birthday. Oh, Roku!

Thyroid paranoia

I'm sure most medical students get their TSH levels checked. Medical school syndrome symptoms parallel hyperthyroidism symptoms: nervousness, exhaustion, hair loss, increased bowel movements. And of course thyroid problems are the root of all weight issues. Haha. I had my TSH checked at some point hoping that a little pill would be the cure for my fatigue and extra weight. No such luck. My mom had hyperthyroidism and had her thyroid radioablated. She now has to take synthroid every day.
When I was home over the weekend I let my mom wash my hair. It isn't a pleasant spa-like experience. She scratches and scrubs my scalp as if it was going to be inspected. One speck of dirt or dandruff and she fails! My mom commented that my hair was falling out. I always lose hair when I wash it or when I brush it. I lose a lot, but I guess I have a lot to lose. So anyway, I kind of ignored her until I saw a huge clump that had come out. That morning I lost a lot more hair than I normally do. It got me thinking....hair loss, weight loss, nervousness, increased BMs. Am I hyperthyroid? Probably not. My heart rate at the dentist last week was 68. Slightly high for me, but completely normal. Still, maybe the next time I go to the doctor maybe I'll ask him to order a TSH and T4 level...just to make sure.

Tune Up

Bailey doesn't purr like other cats. Most of the time if she purrs you can feel it if you have your hand on her, but you can't hear it. When Bailey does purr audibly it is like a jalopy. Her purring is rough and uneven and doesn't last very long. This morning she was sitting on the bed next to my head and I could hear her purring. Normal smooth purring. Bailey is 9 and that is the first time I've ever heard her purr like that. It's like the old jalopy got a tune up! We'll see if it lasts.

Pumpkin Mousse

I made pumpkin mousse for the dessert party. Tejal wanted lots of moussey things, and I thought all week about how to make this. I whipped it up on the morning of the party and I was really pleased with how it turned out. Ross's sister likes all things pumpkin, so I made some for her this weekend. At the party I topped the mousse with crushed gingersnaps. It is good plain or with the gingersnaps.

Pumpkin Mousse

1 14 oz. can pumpkin
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
3/4 c. sugar
nutmeg
ground cloves
cinnamon
allspice
cardamom
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
crushed gingersnaps

1. Whip pumpkin, mascarpone, and sugar together for several minutes until sugar is dissolved and mixture is fluffy.
2. Add spices and mix thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl whip cream until stiff peaks form.
4. Fold whipped cream into pumpkin mixture.
5. Sprinkle crushed gingersnaps over the mousse (optional).

The photo doesn't make it look very appetizing, but I think it tastes pretty good.

Well, we won't be going there...

My mom was going to take me to a cupcake place here in El Paso so that I could check it out. I was really curious. The last bakery I tried here was gross. I bought all sorts of cakes and pastries, and they were terrible! Well, the cupcake place is closed today AND tomorrow, so I'll have to wait for my next visit. Uh, I might drive by anyway, you can't trust people's websites lately. Oh, I suppose I could call.
We used to go to Juarez to go grocery shopping. You know, pick up some Mexican Cokes and some produce. We were joking about going to the pharmacy over there and my dad mentioned that 8 people were shot in a restaurant on Friday. He said that at least 40 people have been killed since last Monday. There are shootings every day. I guess we'll just stay close to home.

Cycle Two

Yesterday my dad and I went for another ride. We started out on the levee and then moved into a new neighborhood (lots of empty lots and unsold houses). I was only able to manage three trips around the neighborhood. The levee was kind of cool. We could see the Rio Grande to one side and horses to the other. When we got into the neighborhood there was a truck with two dogs. So silly. People drive their dogs out to a semi-remote area and let them run round and poop everywhere while they just sit in their truck. There was dog poop everywhere in the park. We rode nine and a half miles, but it seemed like twenty. There weren't really hills, but some uphill areas, and we seemed to be going into the wind on those streets. It kind of reminded me of the ride Ross and I did in San Francisco. I was really worn out at the end of the ride. I also managed to do some weight exercises yesterday before the ride.
I was much better yesterday. I drank over 100 oz. of water and didn't binge eat. I don't think I even had one chip! We went shopping some more and mom bought me some work out tops. I think I'm all set for working out and for teaching now.

Black Friday

Well, Thanksgiving was swell. I ate way too much. I've been eating way too much since I got here. I think a big part of the problem is that I'm dehydrated and instead of drinking water I keep eating. I'm also eating out of nerves...and sheer opportunity. There is so much food in the house.
Today I went shopping with my mom. She ended up getting some stuff at Mervyn's because they are having a going out of business sale. I went shopping later with Ross. He got shoes and I got socks. We all got things we pretty much need. Well, we don't need those two video games we bought, but nothing else was frivolous.
Oh, I went to Wally World with my mom. That was a mistake. Apparently if you want any of the sale items you have to stand in a very long line. Forget that. I only bought some febreeze and used the self check out because there was no line.
I'm behind on my sleep, and on my water intake. Tomorrow I'll have to make a point of drinking 100 ounces of water, taking a nap, working out (cycling), and not over eating. Yesterday my dad and I went for a bike ride. We were going to go in the morning, but it was raining. We did about an hour of loops around the strip mall. There was only one store open, so we didn't have any problem with traffic. We rode a loop around Best Buy (where there were folks already camping out), Target, and Barnes and Noble. Since it had rained we had to avoid some puddles. I got splashed a few times. I think I've mentioned before how much I love the smell of the desert after a rain. It was wonderful. I hope tomorrow we can go riding down by the river.

Text Invitation

1:21pm: So tonight my baby will become my husband. 6 o'clock at ... It's a little chapel. Awh.

Yeah, so that's a text message wedding invitation my mom got yesterday. Only in El Paso.

I love Texas

Today I saw a really great bumper sticker. I'm not a huge fan of bumper stickers. I've never put one on my car. Today I saw one that I would actually consider putting on my car. The sticker said I Love TEXAS. So simple and sweet, and my sentiments exactly. It is November and a few days ago the high was 72. Some of the best manicured lawns in the neighborhood have dandelions in them. November and people are still wearing shorts. November and there was a ladybug outside today. I love Texas. I love not having state income tax and I love the weather. I love the people and I love the land. I love Texas.

12 Weeks

I can't believe it has been 12 weeks since I got my piercing. I have a second piece of jewelry, and it seems to be fitting nicely. I got really lazy before and after the dessert party and did not soak it regularly (if at all). I've started getting a lot of goo and blood out of it this week. I got unlazy and started soaking again and taking my vitamins. In the photo it looks like there is a cyst forming again, but I don't think there is. The pink area just above the bottom bead is just scar tissue.
I weighed myself this morning, despite my friend Hugo being here and eating a ton of salt in the last few days. I was 3 pounds up from my low (which happens to be where I was 12 weeks ago). I seem to just bounce between here and my low of 142.5. Grr. This week was not a good work out week for me. Next week is going to be crazy. I've told my dad that I have set a goal of biking 50 miles with him over the Thanksgiving weekend. I think that is completely reasonable.
There are five and a half weeks until the end of the year. I hope I can end the year at or below my low. I seem to have hit a wall, but Lord knows I'll bang my head into it until I break through or pass out. I'm nothing if not stubborn.

Speaking of Wrecks

I visit Cake Wrecks for a daily laugh. The other day I saw this ad in the sidebar and couldn't stop laughing.

Possible Cake Wreck

Okay, so I'm totally in love with Cake Wrecks. If I ever get around to putting up my blog roll it is going to be first on the list. I know that I could go over to City Market (formerly known as Minyard) any day of the week and photograph something to send in to the website (but I'm lazy). Today we were in Kroger and I saw some real cake wrecks (giant cupcakes decorated as snowmen and turkeys, not to mention plenty of the dreaded CCCs), but then I spotted this cake. I actually kind of like it. It even had black laces piped in on one end. The best part is that Ross says it had a roast chicken sticker/UPC code on it with "chocolate cake" handwritten in.

Singer Sewing Table

Remember those Singer sewing machine pedestals I bought a while back? Well, Ross cleaned ours up (the other one is for my mom), painted it with clear spray paint, and bought a slab of marble to make the top of the table. I really like the way it turned out. Now we have a side table for outside. It will be perfect for when Ross uses the grill.

My Birthday Boy

We went and celebrated Ethan's birthday today. Tiffany, her parents, Robert, Ethan, Ross, and I went and ate at a Hibachi restaurant in Lewisville. Tiffany bought Ethan an airplane lego set for his birthday, so we got him a bucket of legos for him to add to his lego collection. Ethan was so excited today. For lunch he ordered ne-ow row (beef)... just like his uncle Ross. The waitress brought Ethan some orange sherbet and we sang to him. He then declared that he needed cake. He's just like his gunma (me). I wish we could have spent more time with him. I had to work this afternoon. Anways, my supercute boy is now 4!

Ross's Birthday

I went to the gym for a couple of hours while Ross did some handyman stuff around the house. On the way home from the gym I ran a couple of errands, including a stop to get Ross a present. I haven't had many chances really, since he's home all the time now. When I got home he proudly showed me the things he'd done and I proudly gave him his present--which came with a free tote bag and T-shirt because the guy who helped me was really cool. Ross continued work on one of his projects (I'll post a photo later) while I sat in my own filth and watched my soap/wrote an email. Now what did Ross want for dinner? You only get one guess. Pizza. We rented The Mummy and ate pizza, chips, then popcorn. I'm not going to weigh myself for a couple of days. That much salt will probably push me up over 150. I think it was an odd birthday day for Ross, but he's happy. A couple of people, including our favorite aunt Judy, remembered without any sort of reminder.

No More Squirrels!

Squirrels started moving into the area between the ceiling and the roof over the back room a while back. It may have started a year ago. The boards that make up the eaves started to rot away and a hole formed. The squirrels squeezed in and started dragging tree branches and stuff in through the hole. The dang squirrels would scurry around up there and drive me and Bailey nuts. I trimmed back the tree branch that they were using to climb over to the house and Ross tacked up a couple of boards to cover the hole. It was a temporary measure and it worked temporarily. The hole got bigger than the patch boards, and one of the patch boards just fell off. The squirrels came back. Ross ripped off the boards that were rotted and bought some new wood. Ross put in new joists and today we finally finished boxing the eaves back in. I got to use the nail gun. That was fun. So now the squirrels can't move back in. The boards on either end of the area we just put in need to be replaced. Maybe we can do that tomorrow afternoon. We'll also need to paint the boards soon. I'm just glad I won't have to listen to the squirrels scratching around up there anymore.

You are Dismissed

I was called for jury duty yesterday. I was selected as juror number 4 in a civil case. It was all very interesting. Yesterday was kind of mind numbing. One of the lawyers was not well prepared. The Judge, Bob McGrath, was an awesome, cool guy. The lawyer for the plaintiff drove me nuts with English grammar faux pas and his general inability to present and submit evidence. Yesterday around 4 the Judge adjourned and said we would reconvene at 9a. Heather agreed to cover my class for me today. This morning I headed back to the courthouse for another day of sustained objections by the defense lawyer. Around 920 the Judge came into the jury room and announced that the case had been settled out of court, so we were dismissed. Everyone, including the Judge, breathed a sigh of relief. The judge said he was sorry that we had to sit through such an incompetent presentation of evidence yesterday. Because it was all over we could discuss the case amongst ourselves while the bailiff went to get our checks. We didn't really discuss the case so much as the plaintiff's lawyer. On our way out we (the jury) ran into the defendant. She thanked us for our time and service. I asked her if she made out okay. Her (very confident) lawyer announced that they walked away without paying anything and the plaintiff was paying half of her lawyer's fees. So yeah, she made out okay.
I learned a lot yesterday. I learned that the lower your juror number is when you are assigned to a court, the more likely you are to be selected. I learned a little about contracts. Always get a contract in writing. Get signatures. If circumstances change, draw up a new contract. Keep very good records. Keep detailed records. Keep receipts and invoices to back up your checks. I just hope I never end up in a lawsuit. Oh, and if you do, get a good lawyer.

Burn Out

I am exhausted today. We made it to the gym and I manged two hours of working out. That makes 350 for the week. Not bad for such a busy week. Last week I got in 435 minutes. I'm hoping to hit that again this coming week. I'm not sure what I'll do for a work out tomorrow. I've got jury duty in the morning. I packed myself some reading material and a couple of snacks. I hope I'm not there all day. Parking is very far away and seems complicated, so Ross is going to take me and then pick me up. I have been only lifting weights with my left side (upper body)because I am lopsided. I'm not sure what is the best way to fix that--so I just decided to only work my left side for a couple of weeks. Like I said this morning--I've managed not to gain any weight with all the desserts! I need to get rid of all the leftovers so that I won't eat anymore of them. I'm at my low. Maybe by Thanksgiving I can hit 140. I'm going to keep trying.

Dessert Party 2008

This year's dessert party was awesome! We had a great turn out. Everything was ready by noon, and I didn't spend the entire party in the kitchen. I don't think that there was anything that turned out to be a TOTAL dud. Let's see. Starting from the left we had: zabaglione with optional cherries, red velvet cupcakes, lime cupcakes, triple layer fudge, panna cotta with chestnut honey, chocolate Guinness goodness (pudding), pink peppercorn chocolate cake, ciambella alla menta (mint cake), mixed berry pie, tiramisu, and chocolate pear cake. Not pictured: pumpkin mousse.

Ross made the zabaglione, fudge, and the pie crust. I'm not sure how the cupcakes turned out. I thought the lime frosting was better than the actual cupcake. The red velvet cupcakes seemed to go over well. No one commented on the tiramisu, but it went very quickly. The consensus seemed to be that that regular panna cotta is better than this one with the chestnut honey flavor. I like the flavor, but I think it was a little strong and turned out too sweet. I think my favorites were the mint cake and the pumpkin mousse.

Ethan and Anir ran around the house like a couple of, well, little boys. Ethan found one of Bailey's old mouse toys and had fun chasing people around with it. Then he decided the mouse needed a nap. He made a bed out of a plate, gave him a napkin blanket, and made him a T-shirt out of an old rag. Bailey slept on our bed during the entire party.

Ethan was in a great mood. He didn't eat much, but he really dug into a cup of the chocolate Guinness goodness.

I somehow didn't gain any weight (maybe because I haven't tried everything yet). We are headed to the gym today, and I've got jury duty tomorrow!

Difficult Week

Monday I felt as if I'd been run over by a truck. I skipped my work out. I have struggled through every work out that I have managed to make it to. I have no energy this week. We did make all the desserts we were supposed to yesterday. I would be finishing up right now, but I messed up a batch of cupcakes. I didn't think they looked right. I realized I had skipped a step. I do this all the time. It happens especially when I'm tired. Even having to make another batch I'd be done already if I hadn't signed up to teach a class tonight. I'm exhausted and struggling. I'll make it. I will finish what I need to do. I'll get the house clean. We'll have a good party. I'm just hoping that things are easier next week. I think I might be fighting some sort of bug. I'm so grateful that Ross has been able to help me. He's washed so many dishes. He's washed the same dishes over and over. Roux frosting calls....

Getting Started

Today I started baking for the party. I have made some cupcakes--they didn't dome up. I have no idea why. I made a cake, and I also made chocolate pudding. I'm taking a break before I make the frosting for the cupcakes. Tejal came in today and we got to have dinner with her. It is so good to see her. Woohoo!

Mamma Mia!

We went to the dollar theater and saw Mamma Mia! last night. We enjoyed it. Ross's favorite song was in the movie (Does Your Mother Know) and we even sang during the credits. Seeing Pierce Brosnan sing cracked me up! The bride looked about 12 and the groom was ripped! It was a fun movie. I'm glad we have seen it live. I'm also glad we didn't pay full price for it. Some parts were just so cheesy, but I guess that's to be expected with a musical. Today I have to get down to business. I'm going to the gym and then its time to make desserts and clean house. Oh, I miss Greece.

New Jewelry

Today I went and got a shorter piece of jewelry for my piercing. It fits a lot better now and hasn't slipped out at all so far. I wasn't happy with my experience at the tattoo shop. Ross and I did have fun looking at the Chinese characters and what they supposedly meant. Ross found plenty of characters with incorrect English translations. Never get a Chinese character tattoo without a lot of research. The shop charged me 5 extra dollars for putting in the jewelry and five more for using a credit card! I'm going to dispute the 5 dollar credit card fee with my credit card company. I know my neck isn't sterile (I managed to get some goo out of it before going to the tattoo shop.)--but please try to maintain some semblance of sterile technique! The guy put some gloves on, then touched the bottom of the Mayo stand. He then decided to lean me back, and touched the back of the chair! As soon as I got home I cleaned up with hot water and antibacterial soap. That red lump looks really bad in the photograph. I think it is a collection of goo. I'm going to soak it for a long time tonight and start taking my vitamins regularly again. I hope I don't have any more major problems with this piercing. I guess I should be happy that I have made it this far. If I got another piercing I have no idea what I'd get, but surface piercings are a pain in the butt! I've got 6 pounds to lose and 3 months after that before I should even start thinking about another piercing.

Waterflow

When I drove home from work today water was gushing down the big hill near our house. It seems some sort of pipe broke and water was flowing out of the asphalt and down the street. We had a lot of rain last night. That might have something to do with it. When I got about a block away from home I saw a river going down Trail Lake and crossing the street to flow down my street. Then when I drove down Dryden I saw water bubbling out of the street right in front of Otto's house. The asphalt is cracked and pushed up and there is a hole in the street. At first the water was bubbling out, but now it is just seeping out. Several water department trucks have driven by. A couple have even stopped. The babbling brook sounds nice, but we have no water inside. I'm thirsty. I guess I'll drink bottled water.

Shopping List

I just completed my shopping list for the week. The dessert party is this weekend so the list includes:
3 dozen eggs
3 pounds butter
8 c cream

I have 15 bars of chocolate in the cabinet, so I don't have to worry about buying chocolate this year! I'm going to have to make some room in the fridge.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things....

Driving in from Austin last night I leaned it towards the air vent as we passed the Miller plant. Oh, one of my favorite things. When I drive past the Miller plant and the Mrs. Baird plant (which are right next to each other) the wonderful smell of fresh baked bread fills the car and I know I'm almost home. For some reason I can only smell it at night. I work in Crowley on Wednesday mornings and never smell bread on my way home.
This morning I woke up at 445. I couldn't sleep. My mind was racing. I tried to think of my favorite place. Il Duomo. The top. In winter. The moment I step outside. I laid in bed and imagined the feel of the 441 stone steps under my feet. The wind whipping in through one of the tiny windows on the way up. I remembered the familiar feel of the stone center column in my right hand as I push myself toward the top. I could feel the heat building up. I closed my eyes to imagine the paintings on the ceiling. In my mind I could see the steps that lie between the layers of Il Duomo. I went up the tiny ladder-like steps and burst outside into the cold. The wind cuts through my clothes and my sweat is suddenly cold. I'm on top of the world. Nothing can touch me here. I'm happy.

New Smoothie

Lisa Diane emailed me a smoothie recipe and I tried it out. Of course I added junk. Here's the smoothie I made:


Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

1 banana
1/2 c. raw old fashioned oats
whey
fiber
milk
ice

I was going to add vanilla, but I forgot. It was tasty. It really held me over all morning and I didn't feel super hungry after my class yesterday the way I normally do.

Updates

Yesterday Ross took Ethan to see Wall-E. They both liked it. After dinner Tiffany and I went to the gym and worked out. The class had too much jumping. We won't do that one again. While we were working out the boys were playing Mariokart. We joined them after we got back from the gym (and had some chocolate and wine). Ethan was in a great mood and was having a ton of fun. He kept laying on Ross's outstretched legs and saying "Comfy!" I wish I'd gotten a photo. He also came and sat next to me and said "How about you tickle me?" It was the funniest thing. I said no, because I didn't know where he was ticklish so he was kind of confused. Then I tickled him all over testing to see where he was ticklish. He tickled me back and we had a go round of "juicy leg!" I grab his leg and say "Juicy leg, juicy leg, juicy leg!" then he does it back to me, then he went around and did it to everyone else. He was so excited that we were visiting.
I've been really good about working out. I think I have 380 minutes so far this week. We will go to the lift class tomorrow. My muscles are sore, but I suppose I'll get used to it. I was too beat from last night's class to go to this mornings weights/cardio class, so I only went to yoga. Robert has me totally flipped out about the teacher touching people and now I notice it and it creeps me out. I did all right. It was good to stretch out a little. Shelby did a beautiful king pigeon pose and the teacher helped her practice scorpion! I did a couple of headstands during our rest periods. My weight was almost down to my low yesterday am, but I had soy sauce last night... so I'm back up today. We are having sushi with friends tonight, so I'm going to drink lots of green tea and try to avoid the soy sauce. I am so tired....
My piercing doesn't fit anymore. I'm going to see Justin tomorrow to see what we can do about that....I can't wait! I have so much to do today and tomorrow, but I feel like being lazy. I suppose I should make a to do list and see what all I have to tackle.

Pancake Quest

I've decided on a new quest: pancakes. Well, I guess I mean a good pancake recipe. I never really liked pancakes. Strange, I know. Maybe it is because I have never liked pancake syrup--I know I'm a freak. I want something healthy, yet tasty and fluffy. I made pancakes last weekend, and I'm really tired of the recipe I use. Sure, it is healthy, but they don't really taste like an indulgence. Pancake has the word cake in it. It should be like a flat breakfast cake, no? I'm going to experiment until I can come up with a good pancake. Here is the recipe that I normally use:

Whole Grain Apple Pancakes

1 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. rolled oats
1/3 c. flax meal
1/3 c. all purpose flour
2 Tbl. whey powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 Tbl. butter, melted
2 Tbl. light molasses
vanilla
ginger
nutmeg
cinnamon
1 large apple, peeled and shredded

1. Combine dry ingredients, including spices.
2. Whisk eggs, add remaining wet ingredients, including vanilla.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients.
4. Cook on skillet over medium heat.


Well, this weekend I made a few modifications. I cut out the butter and used vegetable oil, only because I was lazy and didn't want to melt the butter. I also cut out the molasses--not to cut out sugar, but because they tend to burn. Instead of apple I used 2 really ripe pears. I just used 2 percent milk, not buttermilk. These pancakes tend to turn out dense and heavy. I'll work on it--I have a few ideas.

Two Months

Here's a two month photo of my piercing. The cyst is getting better. The only problem now is that the bar isn't sitting right. Maybe it will settle in once the cyst goes away.

Meat Art

Ross likes meatloaf. He always sculpts the meatloaf. Today he made Luigi. It's in the oven now.

People are Gross

Trash piled up floor to window. Not the first time I've seen this. Just gross.

Double Take

Gassed up today at Costco. Wow.

Working Out

This week I worked out 420 minutes. Same as last week. Ross went to the gym with me a couple times. We are both trying to get in shape. I didn't meet my Halloween weight goal. I think that's because I didn't stick with the program. Pretty early on I abandoned my checklist. I just made a new checklist for this month. Tomorrow I will do weights and measurements to see where I am starting. I'm hoping I'll be able to make my weight goal by November 15th. I have to work out AND eat right. It seems like each week I do one or the other. If I can manage to do both I think I'll be successful.

Bailey's Trick

Bailey does one trick. She sits when I give her the hand signal (which isn't shown in the photo) and give her the command, and then when I tell her to stick 'em up she jumps up. Most times she tries to grab the gun. Such a hero. We only do this on the weekends and she gets special food (wet food) as her reward.
Bailey is the cutest thing on Earth. Lately Ross likes to tease her with other "S" words. Yesterday he said "other people's stupid kids" and "scrumptious." She just flinches. He doesn't fake her out. She waits for him to say "Stick 'em up!" before she jumps up (but sometimes she complains loudly that he's making her wait).
Anytime we sleep in she thinks it is the weekend and gets excited. She's been rather confused lately. Yesterday she cried and cried when she realized it was finally the weekend.
This morning I slept in and didn't get a photo of Ross getting her to do her trick, so I put some treats on her plate and had her do it again for photos.

The Impressionists

The plan was to go to the museum today and see The Impressionists art exhibition. When I checked the hours and ticket prices online yesterday I found out that Friday nights are half price. Score! We headed to the Kimbell and checked out all the paintings. Ross actually enjoyed the exhibit. We saw paintings by Renoir, Manet, Monet, Gauguin (I'm not a fan), Seurat, Sisley, Pissarro, van Gogh, and more. We both loved one particular painting by Monet of a branch of the river Seine (I can't find a photo that does it justice). We both also marvelled at Gustav Caillebotte's famous painting Paris Street; Rainy Day. That painting was huge! The place was buzzing with people. We got the audio tour for free, but didn't listen to much of it. I just like to look at the art. I don't like people telling me what it means or why it is significant. I am a big fan of impressionism, so I really wanted to go. I'm so glad we went. After the special exhibit we took a look at the permanent collection. Nothing I couldn't live without, but there was a Picasso that made me chuckle. It was a good way to spend Halloween I guess.

BOO at the ZOO

Yesterday evening we went to BOO at the ZOO. The admission ticket comes with 6 coupons to get candy at various candy stations set up around the zoo. It was a different experience seeing the zoo at night. The big cats were all pacing and the birds of prey were eating. We got to see baby lions playing and a couple of foxes all curled up under a heat lamp. We got to see some animals much more close up than usual, including a penguin, the bobcat, and a screech owl. After the zoo we had very yummy pizza at Mellow Mushroom. Ethan started on the candy early. Actually, we all did.

The white Bengal tiger was pacing.

This is a 6 year old Eastern screech owl.

Nightmare Before Halloween

Last weekend we went and saw The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D. It was good. I didn't remember the movie at all, so I really enjoyed it. I thought Ethan would like it, but he refuses to see anything in 3D because he had a bad 4D experience at Sea World. The 3D was a bit pricey, but I'm glad we went.

V for Vendetta

I couldn't sleep the other night, so I got up and finished reading V. I liked it. There were some differences between the movie and the book. I know I liked the movie. The main thing I feel was left out (that changed the story somewhat) was the neo-holocaust. In the book all darkies, yids, queers, and radicals had been rounded up and put into camps. I didn't get that from the movie. Maybe I just missed it or don't remember it. I think the movie flowed a little bit more smoothly than the book, but considering how the book was written that is understandable. I was confused at the end of the book, but I think I was able to figure it out. Natalie Portman did a great job portraying Evey Hammond in the movie and was a lot better looking than Evey in the book! Now I need to get back to that heavy reading...

Pumpkin Carving 2008

Saturday we had our pumpkin carving party. Ross made cream of poblano soup and crispy tuna sandwiches and I made guac and a pumpkin cake. We didn't get around to eating any cake until Sunday. After the food we started the routine...wash, dry, open, scoop, scrape, scoop, scrape, transfer pattern, then cut out pattern. Well, that is the routine for the more complicated patterns. Some people skipped the whole pattern transfer and just drew on the pumpkin (all the pumpkins in the first photo). Ethan took a shine to Heather and told her a really long story about pumpkins. I think everyone had a good time. Now I'm getting excited about the dessert party.

Leana's, Tim's and Terri's pumpkins.
Heather's Pumpkin.
Tiffany carved Ethan's Jack pumpkin and Robert caved the one on the right.
My beheaded cheerleader pumpkin.
Ross's sad Toad pumpkin. He doesn't want to try again because that would mean more scraping, scooping, peeling, chiseling, and carving.