Pickle Trays and Green Bean Casserole

It's been a busy week but I was glad that Thanksgiving was on the horizon. It meant a lot of yummy food. The dog and I headed to my Mom's house a bit early on Thanksgiving to help out. She had already done the pickle tray, which I love. I have a particular love of anything pickled so a whole pickle tray is a treat! I pitched in with the cheese and cracker tray. The dog enjoyed the scraps! It smelled so good in her house. There is nothing like the smell of turkey. I went a different route for my pumpkin contribution this year. I love pumpkin, except in pie. It's the texture I am not a fan off. As one friends says, it's too much like mousse in a crust. So I made a pumpkin upside down cake with cranberries and pecans. It was very good, though I will make some tweaks to the recipie the next time I make it.

My mother was in her entertaining element on Thursday. And to top it all off, she had three other Green Bean Casserole fans at dinner. I am not a fan at all. In fact I dislike all Campbell's Soup based casseroles, which is weird since we never had them as a kid. My mother was good that way. I love green beans but add that can of fried onions and cream of mushroom soup and yuck. No thank you.

Addictive Site

Combining my love of words and altruism is the ridiculously addictive game located at Free Rice. The premise is simple. They give you a word and four possible meanings. You choose the right one and viola you win grains of rice. You get enough right and the grains add up. Added bonus is if you get a word wrong, they will give you the right answer without penalizing you. Plus you get to add new words to your vocabulary! Play now and play often.

House Guest

After a week of miscommunication and cultural differences, my house guest arrived this weekend. It was nice to see him though it's always a bit nerve wracking having someone to your home for the first time. I cleaned so thoroughly that I can't seem to find anything!

We had a great weekend with sunny but cold weather. We went to the beach and saw some great waves, to a great breakfast place/maple barn and of course to the main event - The Police concert. What a great show. They were amazing. They played so well and we had great seats. Sting looked so hot that I am ready to take far more yoga classes! And it's not often that you get to stand next to someone playing air guitar. The man next to me found his sad attempt at rhythm. His date seemed properly horrified. He was playing so forcefully he kept bumping into me. So I had to keep moving closer to my date thereby almost pushing him into the aisle!

The time flew by. It was a good trip as we really got to talk. While email, IM and texting are handy sometimes you really need a good face to face conversation even if it does go into the wee hours of the morning.

Family Time

After enjoying a quiet, rainy day at home on Saturday today I spent time with my family. I met my Mom to head over to my 98 year old Great Aunt's house for tea. Mom and I stopped and picked up my other Aunt along the way. My Aunt, my Mom's older sister, has been stricken with MS. Her legs do no work anymore. Looking at my Aunt you would never know anything is wrong with her. This once very active woman is now trapped in a body that doesn't cooperate. It's beyond tragic. She is pretty much confined to a wheelchair in a non-wheelchair friendly world. It's very difficult getting her from point A to point B. As tired as I was, I can't even imagine how she gets around. I would be so depressed. But she has the strongest spirit that is just amazing. My Great Aunt is amazing too. She is healthy, lucid, active and lives alone. Not many other 98 year olds can say that. She's a tough cookie that you don't want to make angry. I think part of her longevity can be attributed to this!

My Dad and Stepmom had a football party today too. I stopped by after tea with my Aunties. All in all, given I am still trying to recover from my cold, I had enough. I was exhausted and though I love them, had my fill of family today.

Happy Halloween!

Well once again it's that time of year for costumes, pumpkins and candy. If you look back to the pagan roots of this holiday, it's approriate that it's a time of ending in terms of harvest as it's usually coincides with our killing frost. It's also believed that it's the time of year that the boundaries between the living and the dead are thin. Halloween is the modern name for Samhain, an ancient Celtic holy day which many Neopagans — especially Wiccans, Druids and Celtic Reconstructionists — celebrate as a spiritual beginning of a new year.

So with that, enjoy your Reese's Peanut Butter cups and beware of the spirits!

It's All in the Telling

As I sit here on my couch with a nasty cold and a raging case of laryngitis, I do appreciate the slight irony of the subject of this entry. As I sip my umpteenth cup of tea with honey, I was reflecting on some interesting events of the last few weeks.

I am a person who will tell you anything you want to know about me. Occasionally this has gotten me into trouble, but the positive effects of it far outweigh the negative. For some reason, some people in my life are taking different paths lately and it makes me wonder why.

I have a man in my life who tells me about his life in great detail, but then balks when I try to share similar details with him. There is the friend who just completely pulled away in a puzzling silence that has yet to be broken. Another friend has taken to not keeping me in the loop, but then tells me events with a look that makes it clear to me that he thinks he already has told me.

From my experience, if a friend isn't being upfront and honest with me it means there is something to hide. I consider myself a good friend who is always around to listen but it's hard to listen when people won't talk. Given my current condition, I should be talking again by midweek!

Hello Again Big Apple!

After trying to get together for most of the summer, I finally headed back to NYC to see the girls and catch up. I also was meeting a new friend courtesy of my Mother's intervention.

It was a gorgeous weekend, just oddly warm for October. I dropped my bag off at the hotel and headed off to meet the girls. Walking towards our lunch spot, there were an odd amount of puddles. I tried to avoid one and managed to splash right into it. I got water into my shoe and let out a rather loud "Dammit". As I looked up, I saw the two priests and a nun waiting for the light staring at me. It was like the start of a bad joke!

The girls are well and we had quite a few laughs. I found out my dinner date was earlier that I thought so I had to go back to hotel to check in and get ready. I was a little nervous since I don't have a great blind date track record, but he called me about an hour before dinner and we got to talk. He had a good voice so I figured I'd be ok.

Dinner. Oh. My. God. He took me to Nobu. As my friends know, this was the best place to impress me the foodie. He was funny, charming, smart and eats the way I eat. We started with Fig Martinis that were so very good and got a few dishes to share and then our entrees. It's rare for me to want to lick the plate but with the Kobe beef I was prepared to. Words can't even describe how good this beef was. Or the oysters. Or the yellowtail with jalapenos. Or the salad with lobster and shrimp. Or my black miso cod. Butter fish indeed! It was a great date of amazing food and wonderful conversation.

Spice of Life

Like most people, I can procrastinate like the best of them. So when faced with studying I should be doing, often I can find about twenty other pressing things that need to be done. Take my spice cabinet for instance. While I should have been doing something else, I got the brilliant idea to organize my spices. They are nice and neat now. I will admit to a love of Penzeys and spices that seems a bit excessive, I do indeed use them all. I also am a fan of what I term procrastibaking. It's when, once again I should be studying I decide I want something sweet. So I bake cookies, brownies or a cake from scratch. I will say that it could have been worse. At least I didn't arrange them alphabetically or by region!

To the Top

In spite of the rather summery weather of last week, it is autumn here in New England. Given that, my friend and I decided to go for a hike and see the foliage. We got up early on Saturday and with coffee in hands, headed north to the White Mountains. It was a pretty drive but we weren't sure if the foliage would be peak or past. Well after a fun, yet really vertical hike, we got our answer. Perfect peak and a tremendous view to eat our lunch by. It was gorgeous. And the weather could not have been better. Though showers were called for, they did not appear until we headed back down. After such physical exertion, of course we headed for a brewery and the coast.

Shunning the 45 minute wait outside in the rain, we plunked down at another grill and had the most perfect Pumpkin Ale and burgers. It was such a good day but once I got home and showered, I was beat. I slept like a log.

More Work Dysfunction

So while it's known that I do have the boss from hell, one of my friends actually has me beat. It's sad but true. As evil as our bosses are, they do have something in common. Apparently they went to the same management school since they are inept at communicating anything or giving direction. And when you somehow can't figure out what exactly they want you to do with a project and you give it your best shot, all hell breaks loose. With my charming boss, she runs to HR and spreads lies behind my back. This is bad, but my friend has a better story.

After yelling at her team about a job he feelt they did poor (mind you while receiving no direction) he, as a creative professional, decided to draw how angry he was. That would be the hysterical drawing you see here. It's him being the leader and dragging the rest of the team behind him to bring them up to his standard. You can be sure that any time any us has an emotional response from now on, we are going to draw it!

Urban Chick

Well I survived my week away with the chickens. It was fun but I don't really think I'm going to give up my city life for the farm life anytime soon!

It was such a crazy week last week that I am still trying to get caught up. But it's very nice to be home. I started watching the PBS series The War. I am not normally a fan of Ken Burns documentaries but for some reason I got hooked. It's always odd to me to watch historical films. The suspense should be gone since we all know how WWII turned out by now. But watching all the archival footage and stories it has been enthralling. The stories these men, mostly boys really, have to tell are incredible. The horror they had to deal with day in and day out is just unimaginable. It makes me think what the troops in Iraq are going through.

Displaced Person

Well I am not at home this week. Instead I am house and chicken sitting for my Dad and step mom in my hometown. It's been a horribly stressful week (yes I am aware that it's only Wednesday) and I really just want to go home.

When I read Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love, I identified with her description of crying on the bathroom floor. I've been a bathroom floor cryer for a long time. It's not that I find the bathroom particularly comforting but it's generally the one room in a house that you have complete privacy for a meltdown. It's also actually really efficient since you are not out of reach of things to wipe your tears on.

So after a nasty, angry, vicious phone call with someone who has been a friend for far too long, I find myself sitting at my Dad's kitchen table in tears. And it doesn't feel right because this is not my home. Once again I am in tears, having a cry, sitting on a bathmat. I am angry that this person made me feel this way. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm stressed beyond belief right now. How dare he.

Roses Are Red, Pineapples Not So Much

Being single, I am firmly involved in the dating game. Though it may seem a bit old fashioned there is something to be said for getting flowers. I love roses, only if they actually smell like roses, orchids, peonies, and really any cut flower other than carnations. I've gotten flowers before the date, after the date, just because, and they always manage to make me smile. It's a clear signal that someone is interested in you.

Trying to account for regional or gender differences in dating styles I still can't stop laughing at a male friend of mine and his choice of what to send a girl he is interested in. No mere roses for him. Nope. He's going with the Fruit Bouquet choice. Yes indeed, fruit on a stick. He was thinking about not signing the card and sending it anonymously. Can you imagine getting anonymous fruit?

I think he might have gotten a bit offended that I laughed at him (still laughing by the way). I have gotten some odd gifts from the men I have been involved with but if any of them showed up at my door with a fruit bouquet that would be the end of that date. Red roses say "I really like you". A fruit bouquet says "Good luck Grandma with that cataract surgery" or "So sorry that sinkhole ate your car."

Brain Static

There has been so much going on I can’t even begin to see straight this week. Today at work was the group announcement to those affected that we are undergoing a reorganization”. My boss from hell is no longer my boss which is great. I did not get laid off (darn) but got reassigned to a different boss. I’ve worked with him in the past with no problem but I still want out of that company.

So I head home with a brain full of so many thoughts I feel like I have a hive of bees up there.

As I got off the train I thought

-I need to get gas oh and oj still need that book for book club what am I going to wear to the party Friday boy it’s really getting dark early it’s chilly I am definitely wearing pants tomorrow I need to send out some more resumes where are all my pants anyway I cannot believe how early I have to go to work tomorrow stupid meeting what the heck is that woman wearing I still have to do that data mapping project at work you know she is being a bitch to me where are my keys I could really go for a pizza do I have $2 for parking tomorrow god I do not want to go to work tomorrow is that my phone-

SMACK
I managed to not open the car door as wide as I thought. As I went to get into the car I smacked the left side of my jaw on the top of the door so hard I thought I had cracked a tooth. Both the real ones and the ones I paid for were fine. It hurts to open my mouth (so much for pizza). I can’t even touch that side of my face it hurts so badly. As one with jaw issues (TMJ) this is not good. Plus it will be a very oddly placed bruise.

*sigh*
So I have decided, since I have a busy weekend, to take Monday off and try to get myself back to center.

There but for the Grace of God

My Dad is a recently retired firefighter in my hometown. After hearing of two firefighters killed in a fire last night in Boston and two others killed in New York my heart just goes out to their families. I know that it could have so easily been my family. And I feel selfish because I offer a huge prayer of thanks that it was not.

I would get phone calls from my Dad after roofs would fall on him or he got heat exhaustion while being on a roof battling a blaze and my heart would just sink at what could have happened. Then there would be a sigh of relief that he was still able to call me on the phone and tell me what happened.

Neither my brother nor I became firefighters. I think it's truly a calling to perform a job like that. One that I did not get. I am so proud of my Dad. As we get ready to celebrate his retirement, I reflect back and thank the heavens that he made it out ok. And I wonder how long it will be until hearing the sirens stops my heart for a moment.

Balls of Hamburger, Bowl of Gouda

Well it was another Friday of fun! The food and drinks we had to start our evening were very good. The inattentive waitress and vinyl covered seats were not so good. It was an evening of confusion over a purse (which made me wonder just what that purse was made of!) and a pseudo-frat/college party. Oh and the round about ride to the liquor store that gave us a chance to explore :-)

While I am quite comfortable with my mind being constantly in the gutter, I was certainly not alone on that car ride. I will admit the talk of "man nipples" actually caused me to stall my car. On a hill. At a light.
I plead the 5th on why ;-)

It was truly fitting when we arrived at the party I did actually park in the gutter. I did appreciate the appropriateness of it.

All in all another good Friday after another difficult week at work.

Reason #145 Why My Boss Sucks

So one year ago, in typical hurry up and wait fashion, my boss asked me to build a database for some contracts we had received. No problem. I created the database, populated it and filed the contracts away. As per our agreement, she needed to look over the database and make sure it was what she wanted. Fast forward to a week ago.
She finally started looking at the database. Took her a whole year to do so.

It seemed from the beginning that there may be other contracts that went to our legal department that should be in the database. I had no proof of this, just a hunch and was not getting any confirmation from legal.

My boss decides there must be more contracts so she asked me to make a list of all the ones we do not have. So, she wants me to make a list of files I don't have. I have no copies or paperwork stating what files are missing but yet I need to list them. Once again she seems to be under the delusion that I have ESP.

It took me pointing this out to my highly educated, yet clueless, manager from hell, that maybe it would make more sense to make a list of the ones already in database and ask legal if they have others above and beyond that. Maybe I just have too much common sense.

So even though I threw my back out and was is some serious pain, it still was better than going in to work. Yup, time for a new job.

Best Moat Themed Party Ever

So as a means to show off her art, my friend decided to host a party. But what theme to pick? Of course. Moats. There is a back story to the whole moat thing (of course there is). And here it is.

Out at our usual Irish pub Friend One says "My dad loves boats". Friend Two says "Moats?". And that was it. We were off and running. Now we have a Moat Song (to the theme of Mr. Ed), a drink (Moatini of course), a cake and many other "moat-ments" of silliness. It was a great party of good snacks (mmm, cheese), fun, witty and occasionally lewd conversation, amazing artwork, and a ton of laughs.

It was a weekend of good drinks. The Moatini is a lovely mango concoction that goes down far too easily. The night before was an amazingly perfect lemon drop. It was perfectly sour and sweet and icy cold. Those went down far too easily as well.

Open mouth, insert foot

So I met this older man on the Red Line one evening. He was handsome and we shared one of those common public transportation moments at the expense of the very inebriated girl berating her poor boyfriend. We both got off at the same stop and started chatting as the train stopped. We exchanged numbers outside and spoke the next day. Turns out he's divorced (seems like not by his choice) and has 4 kids. So this puts him out of my dating range. But he's really interesting (pilot, artist, chef, designer) and I wouldn't mind grabbing a drink with him and being friends.

Anyway, so we spoke after my recent trip and he made the comment about my work ethic "you are just like my ex-wife". Uh, ok. Awkward. I surmised that he meant it in a positive way so I let that slide as a slip of the tongue. The next comment he made threw me for a bigger loop.

We talked for a few more seconds and he said "Who knows, you could be my future ex-wife". Oh boy. Lucky me.

Away

Well I was lucky to be able to head out on a much needed but very impromptu vacation. I desperately needed a change of scenery after the hell that work has been for the last few months. A week recharging in San Diego was too good to pass up, especially with the person I was invited by. I got the invitation on a Monday and had my ticket by Tuesday at lunchtime to leave on Saturday. I think some of my friends and family were a bit shocked especially since my travel partner is a new entrant into my life.

So with a little bit of nerves and maps in hand, I headed out. I received quite a nice welcome upon my arrival. In spite of still being on East Coast time we stayed up far too late catching up with each other on many levels.

San Diego was a blast. Since my friend was attending a conference, I had the days free to roam. I had a great time at the beach just people watching (hot surfer guys and alarmingly tan women) and body surfing in the ocean. The zoo was so much fun. I saw a lot of interesting animals and for some reason, all the big cats were on. The gorillas were zonked out in the heat pressed up against the glass. I always feel like I am in a Far Side cartoon when seeing gorillas like the display is reversed and we are actually the exhibit! Balboa Park was amazing and I stumbled into a great rose garden in full bloom. The bees were drunk on the fragrance, as was I. The Desert Garden was beautiful but the people using it as a jogging path were far braver souls that I.

I spent one evening in La Jolla. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is home to Children's Beach that has been taken over by Harbor Seals who have no inclination to give the beach back. They were fun to watch zoom out of the water like bullets and become less sleek once terrestrial.

The food was great and I ate very well. I wandered into one cute trattoria an evening I was solo for a quick bite and had so much fun. The bartender has a sister up here and the man next to me was a New Yorker. We chatted about everything under the sun and the food was fabulous. I had a great arugula salad and gnocchi that were everything gnocchi should be but often aren't. It was such a great meal that we went there again right before I had to catch the red eye. The other meal that stands out was just amazing food and a great view of the water and the little military planes engaging in a faux dogfight.

All in all, a great trip to explore a new city and to learn much more about a new friend.