New Hair Cut/Do

I got my hair cut last night. Then the guy styled it by blowing it out. It's so strange. It has a kind of 70s vibe to it. It's interesting, because I've never seen my hair this way. Either it is curly, or stick straight. This is what straights do with curlers and curling irons. It seems silly for me. I'm going to flat iron in on Monday night and see how it looks straight. The bottom line is I will never wear it like this because I can't blow out my hair like this. The alternative I guess would be to flat iron it and then curl it, and I am NOT going to do that. I don't even own a curling iron. Why would I?!?

Okay, I think this shot makes me looks extremely Jewish. My nose looks big.

It kind of looks like a wig on me because it is so odd.

 It does look nice from the back, but overall I think it makes me look like an old lady.

Some Good Things

Despite the never ending list of things that I don't like about Maryland there are some good things. A bill recognizing/legalizing gay marriage passed the House and Senate here. The governor will sign it into law next week. Sad, but I can't imagine that ever happening in Texas.

It's Been a Long Time

With highs nearing 65 lately snowboarding plans went out the window and we went hiking. I tried to take photos, but the camera was completely dead. I need to get that charged before our trip to NYC. I really can't remember the last time I went to Susquehanna State Park. We didn't go swimming in Deer Creek there last Summer. It has been a long time. Anyway, we spent a couple of hours hiking a couple of miles. It was good to get out and be active. I didn't feel totally out of shape, which is good.

Critter spotting: cows, geese, various small birds, a chicken, sheep, a small snake, flies, and other winged insects.

I didn't see any horses or deer, but I did see their tracks.

I need to make sure and get back there again soon and keep going back. We should go swimming and berry picking there this Summer.

Funny Chinese Movies

 Kung Fu Mahjong

Kung Fu Mahjong was a silly movie with the same couple from Kung Fu Hussle. It was funny, over the top slapstick, but did have a couple of serious moments. A good instant watch on Netflix for a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do.

The Butcher, The Cook, and the Swordsman

The Butcher, The Cook, and the Swordsman was a better story and a little less silly than Kung Fu Mahjong. A little. There is a ridiculous scene where a bunch of whores rap a dumb song to the Butcher.  I really enjoyed this movie--also available on Netflix instant watch. They spoke slowly enough that I could catch a word here and there. Both movies were subtitled, but I couldn't understand anything in Kung Fu Mahjong because it was Cantonese.

I Love Her So Much it Hurts

Valentine's Day Marshmallows

 The Valentine's Day marshmallows are cute. They are interesting cause they are soft, but crunchy because of the sugar sprinkles. They taste good. They might be a little softer and a little less fluffy than the last batch, but I don't notice a difference in taste. It seems the corn syrup substitutes worked just fine. I brought a whole plate of them into work, but not many of them have disappeared.

I cut a couple of Texas shaped marshmallows out just for Ross.

Happy Valentine's Day

I think this Valentine's Day decoration I made at work looks like a Lucha Libre mask.

Way of the Dragon

The Way of the Dragon has been playing a lot of TV lately and I decided I should watch it. Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris--it has to be good right? Wrong. Firstly--it was dubbed. I don't like dubbed movies. I really don't mind reading subtitles. Secondly--it took place in Rome, which I thought was odd. Bruce Lee was fast, and ripped, but not a good actor at all. Chuck Norris was barely recognizable. It was really funny when they took of their jackets and Bruce Lee was all perfectly sculpted and smooth and Chuck Norris was fat padded and hairy. This movie was a dud.

Another Corn Syrup Alternative

I found myself at Whole Foods lately with some time to kill. Wandering up and down the aisles I found another alternative to corn syrup: brown rice syrup. I used half Lyle's golden syrup and half brown rice syrup when I made marshmallows yesterday. The mixture started out a little brownish, but by the end it was pretty white. The marshmallows look so cute with the colored sugar I put on them. Pics to come soon--along with a report on taste.

Weight Loss Challenge -- 6 week weigh in

Today was the 6 week weigh in for my weight loss challenge. I won! I lost 8 pounds in 6 weeks, so I won 75 bucks. Most days I was able to keep my calories in check, and I've been able to figure out how to work 110g of protein into my diet each day. I've been doing the firm work outs and going to yoga regularly. I have lost inches, but I'm still not at my peak. I'd like to lose about 10 more pounds. My copies of p90x are messed up, so I haven't been doing those. I just need to keep up eating right and doing other work outs. I've agreed to continue the 30-40-30 diet through April with Val. If I keep up with things that long I'm sure I can lose the 10 pounds.

Brit's to the Rescue!

I decided to look for an alternative to corn syrup and found out that the Brits make a cane sugar syrup that can be used as a substitute. Yes, I could just make this on the stove, but after reading some horror stories and wanting something NOW, I decided to try to find the syrup at the store. I tried Wegman's last night and they had it! I'm definitely going to make more marshmallows with Lyle's Golden Syrup for Valentine's day.

Maybe when I run out of the syrup I'll try and make my own. Until then I've found one more way to cut corn out of my diet. I wonder if the Brit's eat as much corn and high fructose corn syrup as we do. Doesn't matter. I'm just glad they make this and I was able to find it so easily.

Minted Personalized Paper Stuff

I won again! I won a $250 dollar shopping spree on Minted.com from Lucky magazine.  Minted has all sorts of personalized paper goods. I love paper. Not as much as I love cake, but I do love me some paper. I liked the personalized journals they offered, so I bought a load of them and a set of personalized cards. And, I managed to share....I didn't get them all with my name on them. The cards are mine, and so are a couple of the journals, but the rest of the journals I got for Ross and some friends and family. Ethan's turned out great. I can't wait to send them to him. I'm tickled pink with my loot. It's the best prize I've won so far.

If you join minted now they will give you $25 toward your first purchase. Also, shipping is very reasonable.

Pizza Eggs!

I read an interview with Kristen Bell and she talked about making pizza eggs. Basically, you scrape the cheese, sauce, and toppings off day-old pizza and you mix it with scrambled eggs. She said it sounds gross, but it's really good. I wanted to try it for myself. The problem is, I don't think Ross would let me buy pizza just to try this out--he'd say that's a waste of good pizza. Free pizza to the rescue. We had pizza at work the other day, and there was a lot left over, so I brought home some cheese pizza to make pizza eggs. I liked them, but thought they only slightly tasted like pizza, and Ross thought they needed more pizza sauce. I wanted veggies--and it was only cheese pizza, so I cooked up some spinach and mushrooms the night beforehand and chopped up some garlic too. The veggies are probably what made it taste less like pizza because they didn't taste like pizza topping veggies. Still, I'm glad I tried it, and I'd eat pizza eggs again.

 My additional toppings.

 Free pizza!

 I used 4 eggs.

 The cheese and sauce scraped off the pizza.

Yeah, it didn't look pretty.