Retail Rants

The boyfriend complemented my cooking the other night, he said that he's always liked my cooking but it has improved in the last year that we've lived together. I had to laugh. I've always enjoyed cooking but living with Matchu I never really had to cook. I think in the two years that I lived with him, I cooked twice. Both times on Cinco de Mayo. And he made the Pato Beans o' Death (soo yummy!) while I made the chicken enchiladas.

At any rate, I have tried very hard to keep boxed food (i.e. hamburger helper) out of our diet. I think I have, for the most part, succeeded. The closest to boxed food that gets in my grocery cart is perogies, pizza, and hot pockets. Not bad. I cook alot of chicken, ground turkey and have incorporated some pork into the diet. Red meat graces the gullet in the form of stir-fry meat in the Valerie-concoction (stir-fry steak, soy sauce, onions, garlic, chili flakes, sugar, spaghetti, and pesto sauce). Trust me, it's good.

Tonight's dinner was marinaded chicken and a spinach salad. I put the chicken in the 'fridge yesterday afternoon so it could defrost safely (?). I poured on the marinade and let it sit in the 'fridge whilst the oven did its preheat thing. Chicken goes in for about half an hour, I figure it's done, don't check the meat like I usually do. I go to town and eat at least half the damn thing congratulating myself on how moist the chicken is. Hmm, it's pretty damn moist and chewy, even for chicken, even for some Damn Good Chicken. Right before the boyfriend sits down to eat I turn on the light and tell him to check his dinner. Yeah, it's still really quite pink.

I'm sitting here an hour later, my stomach doing flip-flops, telling myself it's all in my head. I eat sushi, I order my steaks medium rare (not rare Uncle Buck style which was "wipe-the-snot-and-shit-off- and-throw-it-on-the-plate" but still rather pink. I can handle this. I threw his serving and what was left of mine back in the oven to complete cooking/germ-killing. He ate his after double-checking that all was cooked. I left my serving in the pan.

Maybe that compliment came a little too soon.

1. I haven't played hockey in a few weeks, chalk it up to not feeling well physically and mentally. I played tonight, in a championship game. The 'captain' wanted to put me in as a center so I could chase the puck, I told her no. I had no wheels tonight. I believe that your muscles atrophy much faster than they grow. My back is killing me.

2. It sucks not having your head screwed on straight. No matter how many times I tell myself to 'snap out of it', I just can't. I hate feeling like this. I have nothing against meds, I just want to try and kick this with exercise. Wish me luck.

3. The Phoenix Coyotes are screwy. They can't seem to win enough games to get to the playoffs and they can't seem to lose games so that we can get a good draft pick. I don't mean to say that they should throw the rest of their season but why couldn't they come up with this intensity earlier in the season?

4. I enjoy cooking and baking. I don't want to quit my job and do these things full time, I just really enjoy making food. I think part of my problem is that I want to entertain people with the food that I make, I just have no one to entertain. Or maybe I should say we have no one to entertain.

5. I am the coolest grown-up around. Tyson's daughter got a no-name mp3 player as a gift. No one knew how to get songs on it. Except for me. I hate PC's but am glad that I know how to use one. I rule.

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My dad and I played 18 holes at Rolling Hills in Tempe this morning. It was neck and neck the entire way but he ended up winning by two.

Rachie: 97
Dad: 95

I BROKE 100!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Baroness Rachie the Ovine of Chortling Chesterton Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I feel like I should be a character in a Terry Pratchett novel!

Thanks, Wood!

I made Paula Deen's red velvet cake tonight.

I hope none of the guys at work who are taste-testing the recipe for me have diabetes. I'm not sure about the cake, but the frosting is SWEET. It has 8 oz of cream cheese, 1/2c of butter, approx. one pound of powdered sugar, and approx. one cup of marshmallow cream. Dear. Bob. The cake came out really red. Like a nice, healthy poinsettia red. I was thinking it would be chocolate-y with a red tint. Nope.

I'll try to post a picture tomorrow.

I hope the guys like it, I have to make another one tomorrow for turkey day.

3 smells that I love:
flour tortillas being cooked
clean babies
aqua di gio cologne

3 smells that I hate:
vomit
extreme body odor
rotten food

3 jobs that I have had in my life:
security at a gym
toys r us
concert stagehand

3 movies that I could watch over and over:
Princess Bride
star wars (any of the first 'original' three)
Indiana Jones
(I am not really the type to "watch movies over and over")

3 fond memories:
when I got into the UofAz
snowboarding with Hov, Jeff, and Ryan
holding my sister for the first time.

3 jobs I would love to have:
Bartender at a chill beach bar
the person who paints the lines on the road
a job w/ few or no fires to put out

3 places I have lived:
S. Korea
Washington State
Texas

3 things I like to do:
play hockey
read
cook

3 of my favorite foods:
homemade flour tortillas
pizza
bread

3 places I would like to be right now:
a house I own
Tacoma/Wa
a warm beach

3 websites I visit daily:
my email
oceansidenevada.com
somewhere on the masthead

3 things that make me cry:
parts of my past
rememberances of soldiers who have died in the Middle East
death of loved ones

3 friends that I am tagging:
Consider yourself tagged if you care to participate...

In the spirit of Wood, I've decided to post a list (his were/are? on the fridge) of my B-day wants. So, in case you were planning on getting me anything and are stumped for ideas, here's a list of things I would like (in no particular order):

Red vs. Blue DVD (season two at least)

The Tex shirt on RVB (medium is a safe bet)

A kitchen-aid mixer

Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

A gift card to Ikea

A massage at http://www.thehealingartsdayspa.com/home.html

Several rolls of hockey tape

A new hockey bag

Honestly, I don't expect anything off of this list. Here's what I am expecting: dragons and pears. Not that I'm complaining, I just know what to expect by now. :)

But I had fun!

I've noticed that I see the ice now instead of just the puck in front of me. This is a major improvement.

After the game there was a gathering of people and drinking of beers in the parking lot. Hooray for bonding off of the ice. I like my team and I seem to be one of the younger people on the team. I think this will be a fun few months for me. I sure hope so.

In case you were wondering; I didn't score, I didn't assist, and we lost. 4-1 I think. And I'm number 19 (I think, we had to give the jersey back after the game). One of the ladies playing D had 13, she offered up a challenge: when/if I score I can have her jersey. Sweet.

I've received a raise. I've paid off two of the three credit cards. I want to buy a house. I want to buy a nice house. You know what kind of house the 'calculators' say I can afford? $66K worth of house.

That means I can buy a single wide trailer in Maryvale.

In the off chance you haven't heard, I'm going to be playing hockey again.

Tonight is the first game of the 'season'.

Woo hoo!

I really do hope it's as fun as I remember.

I've started going to the gym again. Two days doesn't quite qualify but if I can keep it up through October and into November, I should be good to go. I know it's working if I want to actually do cardio. Know this, I HATE straight cardio. I would rather lift for two hours straight than do 30 minutes on the treadmill/bike/elliptical, etc. Hockey was an exception due to the stop/go, back and forth nature of the damn game. Two trips up and down the ice still kicked my ass, believe me you.

I kinda miss being so sore that it hurts to move. Kinda. But the payoff will be worth it, the upkeep will be the hardest part.

As of Tuesday evening I will have paid off one of my credit cards.

There's an extra $300/month or so that I can put in my savings.

Wahoo!

Because:

My mother aced her big scary test!

I remember how to un-install crap on a P(O.S.)C. Since the battery or power cord died on the itty-bitty ibook, and I'm trying to save my pennies, the boyfriend has graciously let me use his PC. It does that thar internets, so I'm happy. I'm much happier now that I un-installed programs he doesn't even know how to use. I did the solitaire test, it's much better now. Trust me.

I hopefully taught one of my employees a lesson. Which is? I will help you, but I won't do your job for you. Hopefully he will move faster from now on. Loading a truck which is parked outside, on blacktop, at 1530, in August is about as much fun as walking to school 20 miles uphill (both ways), in the snow, barefoot, in winter.

I survived Monday at work.

The cat still loves me even though I forgot to feed him this morning.

( A meme to kill time )

Happy Monday!

And when it rains, it pours.

Example:

*Power source cord/battery charger for the itty-bitty ibook died.

*Battery in the truck tried to die today, I recieved a jump from one of the guys at work, hence tried. I'm still probably going to buy a new battery.

*Homeless guy digging through the dumpster for papers = buy a shredder.

*Wedding in OR = flight, hotel, rental car $$. I'm glad my best friend works in the travel industry. Still not the cheapest quick trip.

Hopefully, it will only continue to sprinkle/rain. I'm attempting to avoid the pour. Wish me luck.

If not, they should. Stevie Jobs should call them, or at least write them a nice little note for buying yet ANOTHER Apple product.

There are four mostly adult-ish people residing there. If memory serves, there is at least one piece of Apple hardware per person. With another one or two on the way (hardware, not people). This doesn't count all the nifty wired and wireless accessories that are throughout the house/kitchen.

My two pieces of Apple hardware were received courtesy of Oceanside, Nevada. Me thinks that since I am a responsible adult who can afford to live on my own, I am left out of the hand-me-down computer loop, but that's okay. If I buy my own MacBook, I won't feel bad about putting a this decal on that one.

Also known as things that I cook, on occasion:

Breaded chicken (chicken breasts, mayo, italian bread crumbs)

Peorgies out of the box

Mama's green bean casserole

Pesto, beef, and soy sauce mix of stuff

tacos/burritos (sorry mom, I go with the packaged seasoning)

chicken enchiladas (special occasion only, mom's recipe)

pork chops with italian seasoning

Well. I just realized I have a rather limited repretoire. Ideas?

Come home safe.