I'm feeling a surge

This withdrawal is the strangest thing. I'm at a place now where half the time I am a basket case, and the other half of the time I'm feeling better than ever.

My appetite is back. I'm not nauseous all the time. In fact, I got a hankering for favorite of mine and made the most excellent meal the other night.

I've been exercising again, and spending a lot of time in the sun outside (I have the poison ivy to prove it).

I'm staying ahead of my work. I'm back to cranking out cookie-cutter models. It's easy money compared the financial aid models I do in the fall and winter. I have better concentration too. I'm less ADHD-like when working; I actually stay on task and am less easily distracted by twitters and blogs and email. Sometimes my workday, which starts at around 7:00am, is wrapped up by 11:00am. It used to be, for lack of focus, that the same amount of work got stretched over the entire day.

On the down side, I find being around people a challenge. I am exceedingly impatient and crabby. I am prone to meltdowns. Conversations frustrate me. I also have frequent days where crying comes way too easy. I could do with a lot less of all this. I don't like being a bitch.

I just hope I won't end up like this

We're throwing a keg party this weekend. The forecast is for sun, temps in the mid to upper 80s, and low humidity. That's perfect weather for volleyball and horseshoes, beer on tap, and burgers and brats on the grill.

I haven't been to a keg party since my early years in grad school.

What Trop's cooking for dinner

I love when this is on the meal plan.

I like bake sales

I like bake sales. I generally support them.

Growing up I worked a lot of church bake sales. I have a weakness for them.

Most times I'm really happy with my purchase. Sometimes a purchase will disappoint.

I met Court today for lunch at a Ma & Pa Indian buffet right next to City Hall. Court knew a youth organization was having a bake sale inside City Hall, so we decided to get dessert there.

We bought three cookies apiece for me, Court & Amanda. They were toll house cookies.

Only they weren't.

They were awful.

It wasn't a case of bad baking. It was because the cookies came from here.


Can you believe that? I bought cookies I won't even put in my compost, they're so bad. What's worse, I'm pretty sure they were long beyond their expiration date too. Disgusting.

Just don't swallow

Cooking with semen.

Even vegetarians can't resist it

Hat tip

Do you?

I confess. I eat it raw.


Court thinks it's completely disgusting.

Yum

One of the nice things about being a stay-at-home mom is that I get to make great lunches for all of us. Today I made the best roast beef sandwiches EVER (from yesterday's leftover post roast). OMG were these babies good.

I used half as much butter.

Kudos to Court for putting these to-die-for sandwiches on the meal plan. Yum!

The cure for lesbian bed death

Reading Salon.com this morning, I happened upon an antidote for lesbian bed death: The Bacon Bra:

It's going to be a scorcher today

It's a good day for one of these.

My new brew

Court and I are trying to live high-fructose corn syrup free. I gave this stuff a try today and it's pretty good.

It looks disgusting, but how does it taste?

This is the third and final installment. Part one is HERE. Part two is HERE.

Now for the taste test. This is a perfect time to involve Trop. She's grumpy on account of getting only three hours sleep...




Now the ever-perky Courtney...



Court's green smoothies are delicious. REALLY. We've been drinking them every morning this week.

How did it turn out?

Part one is HERE.



To be continued...

I didn't burn all of them

Unlike the disasters I posted on Fickr, this one turned out just about right.

There's no such thing as a free lunch

Unless, of course, you steal it.

And that's exactly what someone did with my lunch (and Court's) today.


The nerve!

Bits & Pieces

Seems like my days are filled with conference calls and doctor's appointments.

Our monthly budget for co-pays rivals some people's heating bills.

Things were moving along well, and then this weekend happened. Nothing big, just a reminder that we live with a moody teen. Things blew up today. Luckily, she also saw her shrink today. Timing is everything.

Afterward I took her shopping; a little retail therapy for good measure.

The college wasted no time; my job is already listed in the Chronicle. It's been downgraded from "Director" to "Dean," and will report to Bully VP instead of the president. The president floated that idea past me at my annual evaluation in November, and that's when I knew I needed to get out. Thank God the consultants came through with an offer. I am saved.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter. Our forecast for tomorrow is 73 degrees.

Courtney had her first taste of venison tonight. She liked it. This is good; we got a ton of the stuff from my brother.

Wasn't the superbowl the best game ever? [especially on a 42-in TV]

Hotflashes suck.

I saw Superbad the other day and loved it.

Congratulations to all newly recognized domestic partnerships in Oregon! Someday, maybe, Virginia will see the light.

I can dream, can't I?

NASCAR starts this weekend. Life goes back to normal.

Would you like fries with that?

Preparing for the sporting event of the year

I'm not talking about the Super Bowl.

We are planning our Daytona 500 party. Court has been cruising the web for ideas, and thanks to that other event of the year, she's found some great recipes.

Take, for instance, these bacon treats. I haven't eaten one, but I can already tell I'm going to love them! Pioneer Woman has the recipe.

With the overwhelming demand for HD satellite installations (that damned Super Bowl), we won't have HD until Feb 9th. Fortunately for me, it will be just in time for the Budweiser Shootout!

BTW, y'all are invited to the party.

A great day

Court and I had a great day today. We drove north to Loudoun County VA to pick up our beef [we buy beef by the quarter cow from an organic farmer there].

It was a beautiful day. Loudoun County rivals nearby Albemarle County for Virginia at her most beautiful. Both areas feature beautiful farms, rolling hills, and plenty of forest. Sadly, Loudoun County is being gobbled up by development but the rural areas that remain are simply stunning.

We stopped for lunch at Beautiful South, where we had an incredibly delicious fried cranberry and cinnamon goat cheese salad. I also had a crab cake and steamed vegetables; Court had fillet mignon. The food was perfection!

The leaves are past peak in Virginia, but there was still plenty of color and brilliance. I love autumn; it's my favorite time of year.

She must be pregnant

Every morning Court and I stop by the faculty/staff lunch room to put our lunch in the refrigerator. It's not unusual to find one or two employees, usually from Buildings & Grounds, having breakfast at that time.

This morning we came upon a woman, someone unfamiliar to the both of us. She was seated at the table eating Spanish olives straight from the jar.

Court and I both looked at each other in disgust. As we left the room we uttered a collective "Eew!" And then Court said,

"She must be pregnant."