Sunday: Grilled skirt steak; baked sweet potatoes; green salad.

Monday: Italian sausage with peppers; rice; green salad.

Tuesday: Vegetable beef stew in the crockpot; green salad.

Wednesday: Chinese chicken dumplings (late night supper)

Thursday: White Chili

Friday: Eat out

Saturday: Harmony's Flame Yule Party

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Life has been very stressful recently. I've been trying to take care of my father-in-law, who moved here unexpectedly and promptly broke three bones. Life was pretty full to begin with; this has put me in the state of having to work very hard not to shut down completely. I do not handle chronic stress very well. :(

So, time to impose structure again. Here is the menu for the week. It's simple. I like simple these days.

Sunday: Eat up the leftovers

Monday: Pulled pork sandwiches and cole slaw for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Barley vegetable soup.

Wednesday: Tuna salad on tomatoes.

Thursday: Buffalo chicken legs in the crockpot; salad.

Friday: Family dinner at Mom's house for Sukkot

Saturday: Eat out (at fundraiser dinner my sister is organizing for her synagogue religious school)

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Sunday: Graze on leftovers

Monday: Corndogs for Magic Night

Tuesday: Pot roast in the crockpot; beet salad; lettuce salad.

Wednesday: Cajun Shrimp Soup.

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner -- eggs, turkey bacon, fruit, whole wheat bagels.

Friday: Grilled salmon; broccoli; quinoa.

Saturday: Chicken soup with spinach and white beans.

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"What's the name of that pub we didn't eat at because there were people smoking there? It was the Blind... Something. The Blind Minister?"

"I don't remember, something clerical. The Bishop's Bluejeans?

We drive past it, and call out in chorus...

"The Bleeding Deacon!"

I used up three batteries with the weed-whacker this morning, doing the mid-week hit on weeds growing up through the lawn and then doing some more edging. The lawn had crept a good six inches over the concrete in places. I had to keep hitting further and further back, looking for the edge. But it's aaaaalmost done now.

The weather is great for gardening this morning. In a little bit, I'll probably water the front flower beds and check for weeds there. But first, it's time for breakfast and internet. :)

Yesterday Eitan kept melting down over his bottle. He's attached to his bottle, it's his lovey, and that would be fine except that when he can drink milk out a bottle he doesn't want to eat anything else. Also, he's three years old. Other kids his age aren't cruel enough to make fun of him yet, but they will be soon. I'd rather he not get teased about carrying a bottle around. So, yeah, he's not getting milk from a bottle anymore.

Yesterday he kept pushing me to see if he could get it from me after all. At one point he sobbed dramatically, "I want to be happy again!". Poor kid. But he did manage to be happy enough -- and hungry enough -- to eat a good lunch. Including an ice cream sundae for dessert. I'm not going to repeat the ice cream bribe today. I hope we make it through this afternoon with a minimum of tears.

Oh! Just as I was writing this, my ex-husband called. He's driving through town on his way to Indianapolis and wants to spend a few hours with Eitan. As long as Jo and Adam agree, he'll watch E this afternoon instead of me. Heh. Ex gets to deal with the bottle melt-down. Oh, what a shame. :)

I see that I've planned on making swiss steak tomorrow. I guess I'd better thaw the meat for that, shouldn't I?

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/100696.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Against all common sense and for absolutely no good reason, I have named my new android phone "Priscilla".

Priscilla is an energy hog. I frequently have to recharge her in the middle of the day. Or maybe I'm just playing with my new apps too much. Pandora! NPR News as podcasts! I love it!

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/100362.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Sunday: This evening we grill for meals throughout the week. Tonight's dinner: Grilled rib tips, cole slaw, potato salad.

Monday: BBQ pork steaks for Magic Night!

Tuesday: Tandoori chicken, aloo mattar

Wednesday: Thai beef salad

Thursday: Swiss steak in the crockpot, cauliflower and broccoli

Friday: Salmon with horseradish cream, tomato salad

Saturday: TBD

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/100262.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

I'd been using my beat-up pink flip phone for seven years. Our family plan gave us a total of 100 free texts a month, and no internet access.

About two weeks ago, Woof and I entered the 21st century. Now I can't remember how I survived without my Android. It has GPS. It has my calendar and email, todo list, grocery list, and maps. I use the Kobo app to read a little further in my current book. I interact with my friends on Facebook and Twitter. I look up actors on IMDB, miscellany on Wikipedia, the latest deals on Craigslist.

And, hey, I've just found the Eljay app for posting on DW and LJ. Oh, I love this phone!

Android needs a name. Not "Mr Data", not "Golem". Suggestions?

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Woof and I are sitting at the dining room table with our friend Holly, who's visiting from Chicago for the weekend. Each of us has a laptop open. Each of us is sharing fun stuff from the internet with each other. I love being with people I feel so comfortable with that I can just be myself. Holly squee!!

We went out to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner, then walked across a parking lot to see Captain America in 3D. I <3 the new 3D tech. The subtle effects make movies seem more realistic without jolting you out of your seat. And Captain America was a good comic-book movie. We've also seen Thor, and The Green Lantern. Are there any Avengers movies we've missed so far?

This weekend Holly has to do some publicity work for her book, The Patient Safety Perspective. Woof has to finish up his online summer course. And I have to read lines and go to rehearsal for a staged reading I'll be in later this month. (It's Birth, and it's awesome, and I'll plug tickets later.)

Tomorrow night we're going to see a musical that my daughter is in, She Loves Me. And we're going to barbecue pork steaks. And Holly and I want to go see "Cowboys & Aliens", since Woof isn't interested in it. And we want to get out on our trikkes, and muck about in the garden, and talk with Holly, and and and THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME!

Worst part about being a grown up: Time goes by too quickly.

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I keep thinking about things to post about, and not sitting down to write them up. But I post on Facebook daily. It's very easy to fall into the quick, one-line update habit. You don't have to think about it much -- just write, "It's too hot!", get 23 Likes, and you're done.

It's easy to write something that short. It's also easy to babble on and on, listing minutiae or recounting conversations. What's difficult -- for me -- is to write a good, one-screen blog post. Generally I have to take the time to babble first, then go back and cut. And, while I may have the time, I don't generally have the patience.

But I do love the DW/LJ format! I love reading my friends' posts. I love the conversation that goes on in the comments. Facebook feels like water cooler conversation. DW/LJ can feel like a good indepth conversation with friends and some fascinating people you just met at a convention.

So I'm going to try to post more regularly. NAG ME if I don't, OK?

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It was silly-easy to get out of the habit of planning our meals. We were busy, it was too hot to cook, and I dropped it. But every day six o'clock would come, we're hot and tired and hungry, and there would be no dinner because I hadn't planned anything, and I was too hot and tired and hungry to want to think about what to cook.

So -- it's back to planning!

Over the weekend I'm going to prep some salads for the week, to have for lunches and snacks. I'll make a tabbouleh, a bean salad, a whole-wheat pasta salad, and a tuna salad. Here's the rest of the plan:

Saturday: (tomorrow) Chicken-broccoli casserole; lettuce salad.

Sunday: Family dinner at Mom's house

Monday: Magic Night! Make-your-own sandwiches with lean deli meats, cheeses, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce.

Tuesday: Tuna/avocado salad; lemon-buttermilk sherbet

Wednesday: Knit Night, graze on salads.

Thursday: Fish gumbo in the crockpot.

Friday: Grilled meat (whatever is on sale); grilled mixed veggies; grilled fruit.

Saturday: Eat up the leftovers; black bean brownies.

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Feeling sleepy, lazy and unmotivated. It's summer!

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Sunday: Shakespeare's Pizza, on the way home from the Magic Grand Prix in Kansas City. The best pizza in the country, in my opinion.
Monday: Hotdogs and cole slaw for Magic Night.
Tuesday: Chicken breasts roasted with garlic and chili; roast cauliflower; lettuce salad.
Wednesday: Turnip greens with pinto beans and bacon; sliced onions, cucumbers, and hardboiled eggs.
Thursday: Barbecue chicken legs; grilled chiles stuffed with guacamole; salad.
Friday: Chicken thighs baked with lentils (tone down the recipe by substituting turkey bacon and shredded cabbage for pancetta and radicchio); lettuce and cucumber salad.
Saturday: Undetermined....

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I won't have a menu for next week until I see what's on sale at the supermarket next Monday, but here are some notes:

* Sunday dinner will probably be eaten on the road.
* Monday will be barbecued hotdogs; I'll have to pick up buns and maybe cabbage for cole slaw to serve with.
* Tuesday should use the cauliflower I have in the fridge. I don't want to make a cauliflower cheese, though. This chicken/cauliflower curry recipe looks interesting. I ought to get a 10-pound bag of chicken leg quarters out on Monday, thaw it in the fridge over night, and use the thighs from it for the curry. If I were smart, I'd make a note of that.
* If on Tuesday I use the thighs from a 10-pound bag of chicken leg quarters, then on Wednesday I ought to use the legs. Barbecue chicken legs? Will that be too much barbecue this week? Naw, there's no such thing as too much barbecue. I'll definitely need cole slaw, though!
* Thursday, how about breakfast for dinner? Omelets, and maybe some whole-grain muffins.
* Friday will be a family dinner at my Mom's house. (Or is it my daughter's house? Must check.)
* Saturday is undetermined as of yet.

Summer fruit, all week. Lots of it. And good fresh vegetables.

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Here's what we had this week:

Sunday: Ate out, after helping at reannon's booth at Pagan Picnic.

Monday: Hotdogs for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Ham and beans.

Wednesday: Sauteed chicken and bok choi.

Thursday: Zucchini/ricotta bake.

Friday: Eat out, at Magic Grand Prix in Kansas City.

Saturday: Eat out, at Magic Grand Prix in Kansas City.

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Woof doesn't know it yet, but he's going to be "arrested" here at Con, for the crime of Egregious Punning, which is a Capital Offense.

I'm cackling with anticipation. Between the Luke Ski concert last night, the Woof arrest, and my new really good hat, this is the Best Con EVAR.

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/97504.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Didn't stick all that well to the plan last week, but we had a good time while eating well anyway, so I'm satisfied.

Here's what the menu plan is for this week:

Sunday: Eat up the leftovers.

Monday: Buffalo chicken wings for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Whole wheat penne pasta with mushrooms and shrimp; spinach.

Wednesday: Cheese, crackers, wine and salad.

Thursday: Curried chicken with peas; quinoa; indian roasted cauliflower.

Friday: At ConQuest in Kansas City.

Saturday: Con!!!!!

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Our trikkes were delivered today! So exciting! I can hardly wait for it to stop raining so we can try them out.

Riding a trikke uses much the same motion as skiing; but I've never been skiing and its kind of tricky. Woof caught on right away but it took me the whole two hours of our demo lesson last month to get the hang of it. That evening the muscles in my legs and shoulders ached -- but I had no joint pain at all. This is the thing I need, an exercise that will not hurt my knees and ankles.

Since it's too wet out to garden or fix the garage roof either, I've spent the morning goofing around on the internet. Also planning the coming week's menus and grocery shopping, done a day early instead of a few days late, yay for me. :)

This afternoon it's munch with our friends at Cici's, followed by a Magic booster draft... looks like I'm still not going to make a whole-wheat pizza crust. We'll probably eat out tonight. Mmmm, maybe at Raja's Rasoi, I like that place. Life is going well.

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It's cool and drizzly now, but we were up in the 90's this week. With summer coming in, I'm planning on using the grill and crockpot as much as I can, instead of the oven. Here's next week's menu plan:

Sunday: Marinated grilled chicken; grilled vegetables; bean salad. (Grill extra chicken, onions and mushrooms for Tuesday's chicken salad.)

Monday: Meatballs for Magic Night

Tuesday: Grilled chicken salad; tomato salad.

Wednesday: Gazpacho.

Thursday: Whole wheat penne pasta with mushrooms and shrimp; spinach.

Friday: Curried chicken with peas; quinoa; cucumber salad.

Saturday: Chalupas topped with chopped onions, tomatoes, and cheese.

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/96745.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Got behind here a little, didn't I? Here's what I'm cooking this week:

Sunday: Corn and ham chowder

Monday: Fishapalooza for Magic Night! Last week our friend Leigh brought lots of fish for us to cookup, but the fish was still frozen, and another friend had also brought a lot of fried chicken to share, so... the fish went into my freezer to wait for this week.

Leigh and I cooked it up on Monday, and it was good. Most of the fish went under the broiler with a sweet/hot glaze made with the fabulous lime jelly Leigh brought, soy sauce, ginger and cayenne. This was a good glaze. But even better were the pollock fillets that I brushed with butter and parmesan, then baked for 20 minutes before finishing with a minute under the broiler for them too. What good fish! I'll have to get pollock more often.

Tuesday: We ate out last night, to celebrate the end of Woof's semester at school. We went to Sweet Tomatoes and had lots and lots of salad.

Wednesday: Chicken and broccoli in tomato sauce; asparagus; green salad.

Thursday: Baked omelet; Israeli salad

Friday: Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs; chickpea salad

Saturday: I keep trying to make pizza and keep getting sidetracked. Pizza today, maybe?

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I was so excited about the low price of ham at Aldi's on Easter, I bought three of them. Mistake! This is the fattiest ham I've ever seen. The next time I cook one, I'll cut off the thick blanket of fat and render it for lard, at least it won't be so much of a waste that way.

Live and learn.

Sunday: Baked ham; baked beans; zucchini.

Monday: Fishapalooza for Magic Night -- one of our regular players is bringing fish to grill, and I'll have supplementary fish, and we will eat fish off plates and everything.

Tuesday: Hamburgers; lettuce salad; corn salad (corn, black beans, tomato, green pepper, lime juice and cilantro).

Wednesday: Graze night (eat up leftovers).

Thursday: Ham and bean soup in the crockpot.

Friday: Dinner at Mom's house; bring a dessert.

Saturday: Cheeseburger pizza with whole wheat crust (top with frozen sloppy joe mix, mustard, and shredded cheddar cheese).

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I wasn't surprised when Woof didn't want much to do with Eitan when he was a baby. Woof isn't really comfortable with babies and small children. His little sister is too close to him in age for him to have taken care of her when she was small, and he never had babies of his own. (His one foray into step-parenting started when his first wife's youngest child was five.)

"I'll spend plenty of time with him when he's old enough for me to teach him something", Woof used to say.

But now that Eitan's nearly three, big enough to talk with and play with, Woof would like some of those sunny smiles and sweet hugs coming his way. But Eitan doesn't really know or trust this big guy with the beard. He'll shyly approach Woof to grab a proffered cookie, but doesn't want much to do with him otherwise.

This morning Woof and I took Eitan to the Butterfly House. For Eitan, this is a place to chase butterflies for half an hour or so, then play with the toys in the gift shop before getting a butterfly-shaped lollipop to admire on the way home before dropping it, sticky side down, on the floor of the car. For me, the butterfly conservatory is a fairyland of beautiful flowers and clouds of butterflies. It relaxes me to walk through it, even when constantly reminding a toddler to NOT TOUCH. For Woof, it was a pretty place with a bench where he could sit and read. I was happy to see Eitan join him on his bench for a moment! Eitan even spoke to Woof, which he doesn't readily do.

But one morning's positive interaction wasn't enough to warm up their relationship entirely. When it was time to go and Woof approached with Eitan's sweater, the little boy anxiously grabbed the sweater away from the big man with the beard and asked me to put it on him. Poor Woof, he felt so unloved.

We went to Emperor's Palace for lunch, our favorite Chinese buffet. It was a little too much for Eitan. After a few pieces of chicken and a slice of chocolate cake, all he wanted to do was go see the carp and run up and down the stairs in the back. Woof and I took turns supervising him. Eitan let Woof carry him on his shoulders without a fuss. For a little while, at least. Woof helped him drink his milk. Then we took Eitan home.

For a short morning, it was surprisingly tiring. The little boy had a meltdown at his front door; Woof and I fell asleep as soon as we got home.

Eitan doesn't yet squeal with delight when he sees Grandpa Woof. But he will one day. We're working on that.

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Last week's menu plan was a guideline, really. Instead of roasting the boneless leg of lamb, I cut it up and made two different stews with it: a rogan josh (ladled over quinoa instead of rice), and a Persian lamb and asparagus dish that also went well with quinoa.

So, no quinoa tonight. And I think I'll leave the meatloaf for later, too. Instead, we'll eat yummy leftovers. (There's some great spinach curry, too.)

And here's the plan for the coming week:

Sunday: Set up the barbecue grill for the first cook-out of the season! Grilled steaks, grilled onions, corn on the cob, salad, flourless brownies. (Grill chicken breasts for later in week, grill hotdogs for lunches and snacks.)

Monday: Chicken nuggets for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Pizza for the end of Pesach; green salad. (Whole-wheat crust, bbq chicken topping on one and turkey pepperoni with veggies on the other).

Wednesday: Larb gai on a bed of lettuce. (I just bought some galangal and I'm dying to cook with it!)

Thursday: Meatloaf; baked vegetables.

Friday: Mediterranean fish; brown rice (or quinoa); broccoli.

Saturday: Chicken pot pie with whole wheat crust (top only); green salad.

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It's holiday menu week at Winnebagend. I love spring!

Sunday: Corned beef with cabbage and carrots

Monday: No Magic tonight because it's Pesach. :-) I will make the charoses and halaq (Iranian charoses) for the Seder at Mom's house tonight.

Tuesday: For second seder at home we'll have roast duck; acorn squash; asparagus; salad.

Wednesday: Eggs with sausage and spinach.

Thursday: Soup (use frozen soup from fridge, adding leftovers and vegetables ad lib)

Friday: Lamb roast; cannellini with parsley; zucchini.

Saturday: Meatloaf; quinoa pilaf; peas.

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So, it's been a long time since I did a pointless meme, and this one is short, so, ta-da!

1. What is your middle name?
Jean

2. If you had been born the other sex, did your parents tell you what your name would have been?
Mark (which, as it turns out, is what they named my brother a few years later). Although my Mom once mentioned "Robert" as a name she'd considered.

3. Do you have children and if so, what are their names?
Johanna and Maia

4. If you were to ever have a child or more children, what would you name them?
Not freaking likely, but they'd have to be Lillian Ruth (after my grandma Lilly and Woof's grandma Ruth), and Noah Jeremy (Noah is Woof's Dad's last name, and Jeremy is my late father's name).

My daughter Maia was named by her Dad; if it had been up to me I think I would have named her Jessica. But "Maia" fits her very well!

5. Most people know their mother’s maiden name, but do you know your grandmother’s maiden name?
I know both of them: Warwick and Kaminsky

6. Did you have an imaginary friend as a child?
Nope

7. What was the name of your first pet?
When we lived in Omaha, we had a green parakeet named Petey.

8. What was the name of the first person you ever kissed?
Gah, I remember exactly what I was wearing but I don't remember the boy! I think it was Jack.

9. What was the name of the school you attended as a child?
The Omaha Hebrew Academy (K), The Epstein Hebrew Academy (1), Hilltop Elementary (2-6)

10. Do you name your vehicles? What are the names?
Always! My current car is Orlando.

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Our local zoo is something I am grateful for.

I spent yesterday morning at the St Louis Zoo with my two-year-old grandson Eitan. This is the zoo for him: the train, the big slide, the sand table in the Children's Zoo, the penguin house. He sometimes tolerates me haring off with him to see the elephants. He's really not interested in the animals at the zoo. And he has a great time there.

As an adult, I wish the zoo had more animal displays, closer together so I could see them better. But as a parent and grandparent, I've got to admire how well the place is designed to appeal to children. And it's free! Amazingly free -- even entry to the Children's Zoo is free before 10:00 AM. (It's packed every morning by 10:00 AM, too.)

The only thing I don't like so much is how expensive parking is. Next year I think I'll get the extra-fancy Zookeeper membership. For $175 I'll get free parking for the entire year, plus 60 free train rides. That will keep Eitan happy over the summer. :)

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Friday night I was just getting dinner started when I found out that my Mom had taken a bad fall and was in the emergency room. I got my sister Liz on the phone, to learn that Mom had tripped over a curb and had fallen hard on her face, hands, and new knee and would definitely need stitches. They were keeping her in the ER for x-ray and CT. Woof told me, "We're going to the hospital, aren't we?" I asked him if he wanted to, he replied that Mom had been there for him when he was hospitalized, so, yes, of course, he would be there for her.

Mom is OK, no breaks, no bleeding on the brain, but she did need stitches for the cut over her eyebrow. She chipped a tooth and has some pretty spectacular bruising. Even the newly-replaced knee is fine, with nothing worse than bruises. I'm glad we were there, so Liz could go home and get her kids to bed, and for Woof to keep Reg company. We ended up getting dinner in the hospital cafeteria.

Saturday was going to be do-the-taxes day, only we slept in and played around on the internet and read books and were very successful at getting nothing accomplished all morning.

In the afternoon we went to Munch at Cici's. There were lots of new people (yay!!) but I was stuck off to the side listening to bbwoof and bradhicks discuss the evils of credit card companies. After a while, though, I got into a great discussion with Jenny and.... a guy whose name I forget. Jenny, a web developer, is enthusiastic about women in technology. I've been feeling discouraged about ever working in IT again. She prodded and encouraged. Unfortunately I don't have a portfolio of fabulous non-proprietary work I can take to interviews, as she recommended. But today I AM looking into training in health information management and in Java. Wish me luck.

In the evening Woof went to a movie with Stormie, and I joined the Zoole table at a trivia night. What a great time! We came in third place, had a great time, AND -- I won an enormous basket of wine as a raffle prize! Fifteen bottles of nice wines, plus this nifty large basket woven from cornhusks. I'm thinking of filling it with afghans and keeping it next to the fireplace.

Woof has got me hooked on Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. Saturday night I started reading Mirror Dance and could not put it down. Finally forced myself to sleep at 5 AM since I had to be up by 9 for yardwork. The only time Jimmy had available was Sunday morning. He and I spent and hour on the backyard, spraying weeds and cutting grass and cleaning up, then half an hour hauling trash and old junk out of the basement. It feels good to get that done.

After yardwork Sunday morning we picked up my grandson, Eitan, so his Daddy could get his yardwork done. We went out to the brunch buffet at Sweet Tomatoes. Eitan discovered Fruitloops: "Oh, look, rainbow cheerios!" and that was about all he wanted to eat there. Back home to watch Toy Story 2, both Eitan and I nodding off on the couch. He fell asleep in the car on the way back to his house.

Sunday evening Woof and I went to bed early and slept for nine hours. I needed it!

But we still need to do our taxes.

Today's goals are:

• Get the paperwork ready for tax preparation -- pull files, sort through unfiled papers, get it all set up so we can fill out the forms in the evenings this week.


• Get ready for Magic night -- clean house, make snacks.


• Do the laundry, since I didn't get to that over the weekend either.


• Plan the menus for the week, to use up ingredients I have on hand and minimize grocery expenses.


• Apply for the HIT Certification program at Forest Park Community College.


• Make a real blog post.

Hey, I can check that last one off the list! I am an Accomplishing Machine.

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Sunday: Chinese fish with brown rice and broccoli.

Monday: Hotdogs for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Taco burgers; sweet potato fries; salad.

Wednesday: Chicken and chickpea curry; gobi masala.

Thursday: Corned beef with cabbage and carrots.

Friday: Baked chicken; brussel sprouts; salad.

Saturday: Birthday party in the afternoon, trivia night in the evening, bring ???

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Sunday: Sausage, red beans and rice casserole.

Monday: Chicken nuggets and waffle fries for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Corned beef (cooked in the crockpot); baked sweet potatoes; spinach; salad.

Wednesday: African yam soup (use leftover sweet potatoes).

Thursday: Cheesy baked eggs; roasted cauliflower; salad.

Friday: Sauteed fish with whole-wheat noodles; broccoli; salad.

Saturday: Chicken curry.

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The other day I told Woof I had bought a new control panty. He was oddly interested in seeing it, then disappointed when he realized that not only did it not control video games, it was not even electronic.

I needed the control panty -- oh, let's be honest and call it a girdle -- I needed the darn thing so I could wear my new sparkly gown tomorrow night to the Kevin Kline Awards ceremony. (I bought the gown at a resale shop for $2 less than the girdle cost. Geesh.) Johanna is one of four nominees for the "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical" honor. Fingers crossed for her!

In the meantime, I am having a lot of fun watching this production, a fabulous entry into a coffee jingle contest made by a group of St. Louis firefighters:



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Sunday: Pork chops; baked sweet potatoes; mixed vegetables.

Monday: Chicken nuggets for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Flounder Mediterranean; brown rice; green beans.

Wednesday: Spinach omelets; strawberries.

Thursday: Chicken chili; celery and carrot sticks.

Friday: Woof is on his own while I'm on a women's retreat. (I need to bring potato salad for the potluck Friday night.)

Saturday: Poor Woof is still on his own.... (But I'll make sure he has plenty of non-fattening snack foods ready to eat.)

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I just put away this week's produce co-op haul. I think it's less this week than it's been in the past. I'll need to buy lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and celery on my own. The co-op is still saving me money, though.

Let's see, for $25.85 (the $23 basic box plus a few dollars extra for sweet potatoes), we got:

• 1 lb strawberries


• 1 lb seedless green grapes


• 8 gala apples


• 8 navel oranges


• 2 lg lemons


• 1 bunch parsley


• 10-oz bag baby spinach


• 1 lb baby carrots


• 2 lb green beans


• 1 head cauliflower


• 3 lg red onions


• 3 lb tiny new red potatoes


• 5 lb sweet potatoes

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* Woof was quoted in an article about Magic on the Wizards website! He wrote in about an incident at one of our Magic Nights, and the article quotes him extensively. (Woof is referred to as 'Jay', which is the name his mother gave him. I'm 'B', and it's about how I ran away with a game. Heh.)

* Chore Wars is a cool way to make housework a game. I've heard of people who use it to keep themselves on track with their hobbies. exercise goal, or medical needs, as well. I'm having fun mounting a campaign to cleanse the realm of Ba Thrume from the Terrible Toilet Monster and his minions, the Shower Gunks.

* I love the word "broscience", it's so descriptive. (Thank you, reddragdiva.)

* WANT. And, oh, hey, look, it's on sale! EDIT: I bought it!

* Cool little thing, this Knitter's Periodic Table of Fibers. She's left off silk, sea-silk, and plarn -- this table needs a new f-block. What other fibers have been disregarded?

More awesome pirates: "Sailing down to Saskatoon, the terror of the sea; If you wanna reach the co-op, boys, you gotta get by me! Arr! And it's a-heave! ho! Comin' down the plains, Stealin' wheat and barley and all them other grains...."



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Here are some good links I've been collecting:

• Do you read Hyperbole and a Half? You should. Childhood was never so real.


• From the geeky wonder that is XKCD, an excellent graphic of the relative risks of various radiation sources.


• Since Woof and I have lost a fair amount of weight recently, we both have the problem of our rings being too loose. I frequently worry about losing one down the drain. I'm glad I ran across this quick, clever hack for retrieving lost objects from sink drains.


• I think that Damn You Autocorrect might be an even funnier site than Cake Wrecks. What do you think?

Finally, an awesome pirate song:



This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/92243.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Sunday: Corned beef and cabbage; barley pilaf; carrots. I'll bake some hamantashen too. And maybe a pumpkin pie for Eitan; he keeps asking for it. Happy Purim!

Monday: Bratwurst for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Baked ham; cheesy cauliflower casserole; green beans.

Wednesday: Cabbage soup (in the crockpot, made with leftover corned beef and cabbage).

Thursday: Omelet with vegetables.

Friday: March family dinner at Mom's house.

Saturday: A friend's birthday party. (We'll have to be sure to have a substantial protein snack first, in case there's only/mostly carbs to eat there.)

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Granted, at this point the menu is more of a remembrance of things eaten than a plan for the future. But, hey, it's a tradition. Once we start letting things like this go, the next thing you know we don't dress for dinner anymore, and it's the end of the empire. Or something like that. :)

Sunday: Dinner at a restaurant with our friends Bill and Brea, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Monday: Magic Night! Two of the guys who play every week surprised us by bringing party sandwiches, chips, and mint chocolate candies, so we didn't have to make a thing.

Tuesday: Cuban meatballs with black beans.

Wednesday: Oatmeal; sausage; sliced tomatoes. (Woof wasn't feeling well and this was what he felt up to eating.)

Thursday: Chef salad.

Friday: Shrimp etouffee; brown rice.

Saturday: Whole-wheat Pizza; salad.

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I got a laugh out of this one -- and I sympathize with the guy:



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For the last two weekends I've been dressing up in the Ren Faire corset, mussing my lovely new haircut with Ren Faire headgear, and going to cons to help reannon sell books.

This is the lovely author (on the right) and me (on the left) at the St Louis Mensa Regional Gathering: ( pics under the cut )

It is amazing what a good foundation garment -- or even a not-so-good one -- will do for commerce. :)

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This will be a short cooking week, because we'll be out of town for most of it. Woof and I are driving all the way to Philadelphia just to spend a few hours in a museum, and it's wonderful! (More about that in another post, though.)

So, here's the abbreviated menu for the week:

Sunday: Grilled hotdogs, grilled onions, green salad.
Monday: Make your own sandwiches for Magic Night.
Tuesday: Omelets, sausage, salad.
Wednesday - Saturday: On the road!

Note to self: Pack the cooler with road food like hardboiled eggs, cheese, ham, pickles, olives, apples, tangerines, celery and carrot sticks. Yay, road trip!!!!

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Hey, take 40 seconds and listen to this clip of my daughter josiosings singing "My Girl"!


This is her online audition for NBC's new American Idol type show, The Voice. If you like what you heard, please go "like" her online at the Voice audition site, and spread this link. She's such a gifted performer, I'd really love for her to get a chance at this.

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/90745.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Sunday: Whole-wheat spaghetti and turkey meatballs, with peppers and onions.

Monday: Hotdogs for Magic Night!

Tuesday: Turkey gumbo with brown rice.

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner -- eggs, sausage, fruit salad.

Thursday: Flank steak; barley pilaf with peas and carrots.

Friday: At Conflation, helping reannon sell books. Eat out?

Saturday: Still at Conflation....

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/90603.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Today I am thankful for...

• Having a tenant in our rental unit once again.


• Hot tea with my Woof on a cold wet night.


• Eitan's good nature and patience.


• The best haircut I've ever had.


• A dear friend recovering well from a scary TIA.


• A fridge full of food,


• Including mangoes!


• A hot water bottle for our feet at night.


• Excellent family and friends.


• Hot running water.


What about you? What are you grateful for?

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/90157.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Most of this past week I've been fighting off the virus that my grandbaby and son-in-law had. Sniffly, lethargic, just wanting to sit and do not much of anything at all.

Still! I did finally cook the salmon! Ha ha, take THAT, fishy!

Now, after sleeping most of the weekend, I am suddenly feeling wide awake and in the best of health. Sadly, it is 2:30 AM. I think I'll plan out this week's menus, drink some warm milk, and see if I can't sleep for a few hours, at least.

So, here's what we'll be eating at Winnebagend this week:

Sunday: Grilled salmon; mixed vegetables. (Last Friday we had turkey soup instead of the planned fish, but it was delicious today.)

Monday: Make-your-own-sandwiches for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Beef rogan josh; bangan bharta; channa masala.

Wednesday: Tuna salad; chopped vegetable salad.

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner: overstuffed omelets; pumpkin muffins.

Friday: Chicken soup; salads.

Saturday: TBD -- I'll be leading a workshop at a Mensa gathering, then helping a friend with a book signing, so this may be an eat-out sort of a day.

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/90081.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Day 1 - Pride: Seven great things about yourself.
Day 2 - Envy: Seven things you lack and covet.
Day 3 - Wrath: Seven things that piss you off.
Day 4 - Sloth: Seven things you neglect to do.
Day 5 - Greed: Seven worldly material desires.
Day 6 - Gluttony: Seven guilty pleasures.
Day 7 - Lust: Seven love secrets.

Wow, this is the hardest one of all. I don't really have many love secrets, or lust secrets for that matter. Here are some things that are lesser-known, I guess: ( Behind a cut in case of NSFW concerns; not very explicit but a couple of anatomically correct terms used. )

What about you? What are your not-so-secret fantasies, loves, and lusts?

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/89603.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Day 1 - Pride: Seven great things about yourself.
Day 2 - Envy: Seven things you lack and covet.
Day 3 - Wrath: Seven things that piss you off.
Day 4 - Sloth: Seven things you neglect to do.
Day 5 - Greed: Seven worldly material desires.
Day 6 - Gluttony: Seven guilty pleasures.
Day 7 - Lust: Seven love secrets.

Oh my. I try to be very positive about things I enjoy. What do I feel guilty about? Hmmm...

1) Hershey bars. I know, milk chocolate is neither as healthful nor as tasty as dark. But there's something comforting and homey about Hershey bars.

2) Celebrity gossip. Sure, who cares who Brad Pitt is dating, or what he's named his kids? It's petty and stupid and disrespectful of professionals who deserve to have their own private lives kept private. Only... I kind of like it.

3) Frosted Flakes. Pure sugar on corn. Pouring milk on them doesn't take away the intense blood-sugar spike these cause, but it does make them taste even better. I can't eat them anymore, but if I ever get to choose a last meal, it will certainly be grrrrrrrrreat.

4) Reality TV. A little goes a long way, mind you, but I do enjoy occasionally watching people royally screw up their own lives in public.

5) Troll-baiting. I've gotten a lot better at resisting the urge to do this, but it's still fun to poke the troll a little and run away. Stupid trolls.

6) Farmville.

7) Not volunteering or doing much of anything to give back to society right now. I have the time, just not the drive. And I enjoy my free time.


How about you? What are your guilty pleasures?

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Yes, the salmon still mocks me from the back of the freezer. I know this, because Woof has supplied the voice of the salmon for the past 24 hours, ever since I told him that I was too tired and achey to cook it last night.

"Mock", he says, gleefully. "Mock!"

Woof sometimes forgets that I know where he sleeps...

But I stuck to the menu plan very well, otherwise. In this coming week I need to be careful to use up all the great vegetables I got in the co-op produce box. So what will I cook?

Sunday: Italian sausage with peppers and onions; cauliflower.

Monday: Chicken nuggets and waffle fries for Magic night.

Tuesday: Chicken with green beans; salad.

Wednesday: Minestrone soup

Thursday: Chicken curry; bangan bhurta; chana masala

Friday: Salmon or bust!!! Broiled teriyaki salmon; brown rice; zucchini

Saturday: Eat up the leftovers.

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/89158.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Day 1 - Pride: Seven great things about yourself.
Day 2 - Envy: Seven things you lack and covet.
Day 3 - Wrath: Seven things that piss you off.
Day 4 - Sloth: Seven things you neglect to do.
Day 5 - Greed: Seven worldly material desires.
Day 6 - Gluttony: Seven guilty pleasures.
Day 7 - Lust: Seven love secrets.

Apparently one of the things I am slothful about is keeping up with memes -- I think I skipped this yesterday. But! There are plenty of things I want!

Only, didn't we just do this, with envy? No matter -- want MORE. To be fair, I suppose "envy" should have been things I want that are not material, so I could have reserved the material desires for greed here. Heh. Let's just list some non-material stuff now, instead.

1) The ability to eat whatever I want and still weigh what I did when I was 20 and was able to eat whatever I wanted.

2) The ability to write quickly and well.

3) A lovely singing voice.

4) The ability to sketch accurately and well.

5) All the energy of a rabid squirrel on crack, only non-self-destructive, and without the compulsion to bury nuts in the carpet.

6) The ability to remember peoples' names. I'm horrible with names.

7) A really good job, where I am respected for being good at what I do, for an organization that I am proud to work for, that pays very well and lets me take time off whenever I want it.


What abilities and conditions do YOU desire in your life?

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/88889.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Day 1 - Pride: Seven great things about yourself.
Day 2 - Envy: Seven things you lack and covet.
Day 3 - Wrath: Seven things that piss you off.
Day 4 - Sloth: Seven things you neglect to do.
Day 5 - Greed: Seven worldly material desires.
Day 6 - Gluttony: Seven guilty pleasures.
Day 7 - Lust: Seven love secrets.

I keep coming up with more than seven items for everything -- but sloth is particularly difficult to limit, because I am basically a lazy person. Here are the first seven things I can think of that I neglect to do:

1) Actually post all the neat thoughts that I think I should blog about.

2) File the stack of paper-to-be-filed that's building up.

3) Finish knitting the leg-warmers I started for my daughter a year and a half ago. Why do I never get to them? I don't know. I've knit her other things in the meantime. And somehow I never feel like working on these.

4) Keep up with the laundry.

5) Mop the floors. Any floors.

6) Sort and put away Magic cards.

7) Get my good walking shoes repaired.


And there's more, but, hey, enough about me! What do YOU neglect?

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/88635.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Here's what I got in my first Community Helpings co-op box for $23:

6 bananas
8 kiwis
6 fuji apples
9 huge d'anjou pears
3 grapefruit
7 navel oranges
3 sad tomatoes
1 large head greenleaf lettuce
1 head cauliflower
1 pound baby carrots
3 onions (these are the biggest onions I have ever seen)
3 red bell peppers
8 green bell peppers
1 eggplant
2 pounds green beans

The apples and green beans might be locally grown, but I don't think any of the other stuff is (unless the tomatoes are from a local hot-house). I understand that this is the wrong season for much of anything fresh, here. Still, this disappoints me a little; I want to support local producers. Also, I was hoping for kale.

On the other hand, that's a LOT of produce for $23! All I need to get is celery and maybe another head of lettuce, and I'm set for produce for the next two weeks. In fact, what with the apples I already have here at home, we're going to have to make an effort to eat up all the fruit. Yum. :-)

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/88573.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Day 1 - Pride: Seven great things about yourself.
Day 2 - Envy: Seven things you lack and covet.
Day 3 - Wrath: Seven things that piss you off.
Day 4 - Sloth: Seven things you neglect to do.
Day 5 - Greed: Seven worldly material desires.
Day 6 - Gluttony: Seven guilty pleasures.
Day 7 - Lust: Seven love secrets.

As with pride, the list of things I covet could have been much longer. But, onward! Seven things that piss me off!

1) Undeserved assumptions of competence or correctness, particularly when I know the other person is wrong and they will not even consider the possibility. (There must be a word for this, what is it?)

2) Undeserved assumptions of entitlement, particularly when the other person assumes they are entitled to my time, money or effort without asking me about it.

3) People who sit in their cars and honk over and over again, waiting for someone to come out to the car. What happened to getting out of the car and knocking on the door, or even calling to let them know you're here?

4) People whose music in their car is so loud I can hear it in my car with all the windows closed. Especially when I can feel the bass. This goes double for when I can hear a passing car's music when I'm inside my house.

5) People who won't take 'yes' or 'no' for an answer, but continue trying to persuade me one way or the other.

6) Conversely, people who won't give me a straight 'yes' or 'no' answer -- or at least an explanation of what they need in order to decide. Even worse, when they give a tentative 'yes' or 'no' with the unspoken expectation that I will talk them out of it. *head-desk*

7) People who treat their children badly.


I'd better stop, now that I'm all worked up, and take a soothing cup of tea. What about you? What are seven things that anger you?

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