plans change don't they?

The ginger glazed carrots were just nixed from the menu. they are easy enough to add if I change my mind again, but there is plenty enough without them and E agrees it is time to enjoy the day.

the shels are all stuffed

Well, not exactly all of them. The pan held about 30 and there are a few more left in the strainer. And I bought three boxes because I used three boxes of manicotti noodles. So the one box I actually used would have been enough.

I tweaked the recipe a little and it is a good thing as I still used all the stuffing. The sauce part of the recipe always seems not enough, but it covers sparingly. Maybe I will make my own sauce recipe next time to have 'enough'.

I still need to make the potatoes and carrots as well as the poast pork. The brownies are fantastic and as I was putting them away in the freezer I saw the rolls, good thing, too. They are thawing nicely on the counter.

what the...

I just checked my email and it says Stuart Levis has left a comment her on the old bloggerooni. The comment was, "Excellent, that was really well explained and helpful ." and it was anonymous as far as an email address ore blog link.

Who are you stuart and what was helpful? I can't find the comment on my blog and I am not going to look further than the first archive.

Thanks?!?

Whatt time was that?

Nothing like starting Thanksgiving morning by licking the batter bowl from some scratch brownies. They are in the oven at this very moment. I really need to get better about looking at the clock when I put something into the oven.

Next up?

Spinach and pine nut stuffed shells.

448 AM

Lilli Munster was up bright and early and she just finally conked out again on the pillow next to me on the couch. I could put her back into her crate, but then I have to get up again in about thirty minutes anyway, and that back to bed for a few winks sleep does far more harm than good.

I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Well, I guess I can believe it because the salon was chaos yesterday and will certainly be more chaos again today. I am gladd the boss laedy will be present. I printed 80 some odd travelers last night which means 80 some odd appointments already booked for today. usually on a Tuesday night I print 35-40. Let the games begin.

Last thanksgiving we went to California. E made a travelog I was going to link but her new blog does not have it up that I could see. It was a fabulous vacation and we had a lovely T-day dinner with the women we stayed with and some of their friends. We decided we should always be traveling for T-day if for no other reason than to avoid holiday drama.

The best laid plans and all, we are home this year. I sent out the following group email to those invited:

We are doing an open house style thanksgiving this
year. I am still not sure what is on the menu., but
you all have eaten here before so be assured, it will
be delish. If there is something you want in
particular, bring it with you. We are very fond of
casual dining so there is no definite time. The only
thing really definite is that we will be hosting a
classic Star Wars marathon on Thanksgiving day so
there will be no football.

Please feel free to arrive any time between 3 and 6 in
the afternoon.

See you Thursday!

No football might just keep the guest list short.

I might be brilliant.

The menu this far includes but is not limited to:

pork tenderloin
St. Andre mashed potatoes
ginger glazed carrots
scratch onion dip
spinach and pine nut stuffed shells (can you believe Randalls does not sell manicoti noodles?)
wine
cake reminiscent of our wedding cake from Costco (if E gets there today to get one)

Who knows what else might turn up between now and then?

Opening 7 am Saturday for the JCP Mega Sale

Don't miss it! I am working 1-9 so i get minimal chaos as I will be overlapped by two other receptionists at peak time. I think I might rather have the chaos solo.

Today was rather productive. I went first to Specs to get some pasta and tea. I did not actually go for the tea, but they do have a good price for Republic of Tea. TRepublic of Tea rep was there today as well. Two of them all whored up in their power suits. It must have been rep day at Specs because the place was full of themstanding around admiring their respective product lines. Rep one was gabbing with rep 2 while standing in the middle of the aisle right in front of the tea selection. I was pretty obviously looking to choose some tea and they noticed and didn't move. Then one finally noticed me giving them the hardline stare. "Can we help you?"

Yeah, you can get the hell out of the way so I can buy your product.

I got some ginger peach and some blackberry sage. Yumm.

Then it was off to the pasta section. I got a bag of pappar delle nests and a couple bags of pearl pasta for my latest in pantry cooking. IT is not the same as the last pearl pasta I got there, not quite as big, but E assures me it was still delish.

In a large pot lightly saute some chopped onion in Olive oil til translucent. Then add a can of diced tomatoes a can of tomato sauce, a can of chiclken stock and a tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Bring this to a boil and let it cook together for a bit. Add plenty of fresh cracked black pepper, too.

Then add thinly sliced raw (mine are usually frozen) chicken breast. I have them prepacked frozen in twos. Let it come back to a boil and cook for a while more. The acidic tomatoes will make the chicken really tender. Then right before you are ready to eat you throw in a cup or two of the pearl pasta. It really depends on how much liquid you have left. I normally add about 2 cups.

Stir.

Cover.

Stir some more.

When pasta is done remove from heat and allow it to sit covered to soak up any remaining liquid. If you still have a lot of liquid call it soup.

Always tres yumm.

After specs I went to Yarns 2 Ewe and got some yarn for my scarf exchange pal. It is gorgeous and as soon as E dumps the camera, I will be taking some pics.

From there I stopped at Costco where I officially began my xmas shopping getting a new cd, Diana Krall Christmas Songs hwich I just ripped and am listening to now. I got a gift too and some holiday cookies as well as some other stuff.

Wendy came for a haircut and the evening after that has been totally lazy, one of watching tv and knitting. Time for bed.

Anyone Can Knit

I had to open up a livejournal account to be listed as a friend for someone, so I decided to see if I can keep work in progress updates on that journal. It will be its own work in progress, I guess.

Linked to the left.

At the carwash...

Who knew that E had a thing for doing it in the carwash?

oh...mi...god...

Reason number 7,543,869 why youshould always have a can of whipped cream in the fridge.

I decided to have some oatmeal for breakfast. My regular recipe is one packet of Maple and Brown sugar instant oatmeal, a tablespoon of butter and an additional heaping tablespoon of brown sugar. Add enough water and give it a stir. Enough is a relative term to how thick you like your oatmeal. I usually add an amount that looks like it might be too much. Experiment with this.

Next step is to nuke it for 1.5 minutes. Give it another good stir. At this point I usually add some milk to make it a little creamier. The last time I made oatmeal we were out of milk and I used soy. It was ok, but not as good as I wanted it to be. I was not sure about the milk in the fridge, so I was looking at the soy and then I saw the whipped cream.

Lightbulb moment here. I have used whipping cream when it has been in the fridge with good results so I opened the can and gave my oatmeal a liberal squirt. Then I patiently stirred it in. Worth every second of the wait for the fluffy, creamy oatmeal I just enjoyed.

Make it. Eat it. Love it.

Woohooooo It's Wednesday!!!

So excited over hump day? Umm, no. Dear Sweet Elizabeth returns today, Finally.

The beach on Sunday was fun. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sitting in the sun for about an hour or so and no burning. I definitely want to get back soon. Lilli had a fun time but she really does not like getting her face wet and when the water approaches, she just can't out run it. It was a comedy. I also found a whole sand dollar. Sweet.

I remembered last night to reschedule my jury duty. It is now in MArch rather than today;. A little less hectic all around. IOf only I could reschedule work today.

Not only do I have to work 9-6, I also have a client right after work so I won't see E until about 8 or 830. I think she needs to call in sick tomorrow and slug with me.

off like a dirty shirt

Going to Galveston this morning and Nola must be intuiting that Lilli Munster is going and she is not. She is being needy and wants to be right up my ass.

I am sure she understands something is up as it was barely light out and I was up letting them out and then not going back to bed. Any day we don't go back to bed for at least a little while, well there is something inherrantly wrong with that picture.

The plan is to pick Beth up at 930 and then hit the beach for an hour or so stopping at McD's. Since Beth is not a Starbuck's fan, I will get my fixon the way to her house. Simple eneough, all of it. No shower needed, find my hat or add more product to my hair, brush my teeth and then out the door.

I put most of the laundry away already this morning. Last night I went to watch a movie and the one I wanted is still in my car from the hurricane rita evacuation. My car is parked on the street three yards down because of road construction which means walking across 3 yards to get to it. That was not something I wanted to do at 10 oclock last night in the dark when one of the yards is particularly ungroomed. When I get home I need to remember tog rab them from the trunk. I might unload some other stuff too depending on how much I can carry.

The only other thing on the agenda is locating my jury duty summons so I can get the number to postpone it. I am going to go my 8 weeks out which takes me to the first week in January. I hope the date is after the jurors pay increase. Currently it is 6 bucks and in January it goes to 40. I am not sure if it is January 1st or not. Pushing it back that far also gets me through the holidays at work not requiring my boss to juggle schedules when we are already pretty much maxxed out on hours as it is.

Yesterday at work was the first Saturday of the holiday season. It was all I could do to knit a few rows of my sweater. My coworkers should realize that the knitting keeps me sane and stable which makes me a more pleasant coworker. They nearly collectively plucked my last nerve yesterday. Clients were rude and rushed and I even 'accidently' hung up on a few that were particularly rude. It is a well known fact how fucked our phone system is, 6 lines in, one phone, one receptionist most of the time handling the phone and ringing clients and independent sales, so them getting legitimately cut off happens. Gotta take the joy where I find it some days. And as the big day-o-jesus comes nearer, it is only going to get worse.

Woo.

I remembered yesterday to ask for switching to an early shift on Dec 3 and 31. I am scheduled late both days and the 3rd is Carol's party, the lesbian social event of the season and quite possibly the year. $25 donation gets you in and the $$ go to a local lesbian charity. It gets you heavy hos d'oeuvres and an open bar as well as 300 or so lesbians milling about Carol's house. for New Year's we have been invited to the faux chateau, Beth's lake house up outside of Austin. Ok, so it's a trailer on a lot in the woods with a creek. I still think lake house is accurate enough. I have not been yet, but it would be nice tog et away with some friendaroonies after the holiday madhouse in the salon.

I think I will sit and knit a few rows before leaving as my morning meditation.

More later perhaps.

just wondering

How much trouble would you (or would I) get into buying furniture while your (or my) dear wife was out of town? I have managed to control the impulse this far, but I still have a few more days to get through, and she did agree that the chairs, etc that I am lusting for are lovely.

Must think of Taos vacation next fall...

I guess I am not really lusting after them so much as I like them and we just need more furniture. I know in my rational mind that I need a room plan before I purchase more furniture with ot without E. But that is my rational mind. MMaybe the yarn shop on the way to work is in order.

130 more hours

Sigh...She's been gone just over three hours. Miracle of miracle's she left the house on schedule. Should my countdown for her return be days? 6 including today. Hours? Roughly 130.

Regardless of wanting her to have a good time, just...don't...like it.

I think I need to go make some cookie dough.

ut-oh...

I just sent E to Taco Bell drive thru...What was I thinking?