Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Musings on employment and singleness

So I bet you've all been wondering what the hey I've been doing with myself. If you haven't been wondering, at least have the decency to pretend to have been wondering. Geez.

I got a job! Okay, kinda a job! I will be temping for a company in SF that staffs conventions. You know, registration, scanning badges, making sure all those very rich people have all the stuff they need. I'm excited because it's another event planning bit to add to my resume.

I will likely begin couch surfing on a more permanent basis sometime in June. Starla and RJ are so fantastic for letting me do this. I crash into their lives pretty regularly now, and I honestly couldn't do it without them.
The only real bummer is that it sucks more to be broke down here. There is actual stuff to do, places to go...and no money to do it with. crap.

Okay, on to other news: I've been thinking about my upcoming 10 year high school reunion. It's been the default topic of conversation around here for at least a month now. The latest thing is the discussion about where to stay. We've almost got it pegged at spending too much money on a room at the hotel attached to the casino where the event is being held. It's more than we wanted to spend, but we'll be able to stumble into the elevator without too much danger or effort.

Another big point of discussion is who I'm going to bring as my date. Starla helpfully got on the Internet and began researching mail order husbands for me. Thanks. I HAD a date. I had a fantastic date. I had a boy that is the best "plus one" you could ask for. He's well mannered, attentive and not too hard on the eyes either. I had it all worked out in my head about how many girls were going to be staring at my date and asking him which way the beach is. (This is a thinly veiled reference to the size of his biceps. Which are considerably large, BTW)

Then, THEN, the reunion planning committee set the date for just about the only time he can't make it. Damn. There goes not only my best option for someone I will be able to stand sitting next to all night, but it also takes away my excuse for fondling the previously mentioned biceps. Damn.
So, I'm not going alone. I cannot do it. I can not leave a potential opening for all my life accomplishments to be swallowed up by the question "Oh, so you're single?" Ugh.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sunday Shoutout!

So that clever idea I had to post something clever every Sunday...didn't work. I was all set to write a 'Sunday Short' at the end of the week. It went with both key words in my title..it was the obvious choice!
The problem was...the 'Short' part. Most of this blog is me rambling. Why? Because that's what I do. Never have I found something worthy of my comment that I would be satisfied to comment shortly about. Unless under time limit for school or something. And even then, you can be sure that I was getting the watch tapping from the Prof in the back of the room.
So I am altering the Sunday post to be.....
"Sunday Shout out"
I am always on the Internet and I frequently find sites or blogs that become a daily habit for me. I need to share them! Up until now, I've been content to link them in my list and send Starla repeated emails with links to more things than she can probably watch.
Since I already talked about Engrish.com this week, and since I've been informed that you should ask permission first to mention someones site, even if it's a shout out...we'll be skipping this week. I'm sending permission slips as we speak to my new *favorite* blog. I hope she says yes!! Hmm..maybe I can do a mini interview...or maybe I'm getting way ahead of myself.
Anyways...tune in next week to see what I come up with!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Tough Muffin

Okay..this is a really long post..but I promise there's a payout at the end. Here's what you get if you stick it out:

  • A recipe for the muffins my bookclub are eating tomorrow
  • A punch of my fantastic humor
  • A pervy muffin picture

All worth it, right? Here we go:

Inside-Out Danish Muffins

  • Your favorite flavor of jam. The thicker the better.
  • 2 1/4 c All Purpose Flour
  • 1/3 c Sugar
  • 2 Tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/4 Tsp Salt
  • 1 1/4 c Buttermilk
  • 3 Tbsp Oil
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 whole egg

-Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in bowl, set aside.

-Cream eggs, oil and sugar in large mixing bowl. Alternately add buttermilk and dry ingredients.

Cheese Filling:

  • 8 oz Pkg Cream Cheese
  • 1 Tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 3/8 c sugar
  • 1 egg

-Place a spoonful of batter in each muffin cup, or use papers if you want. Mine stuck, so I greased the pan the second time around.

-Place about a teaspoon of cheese stuff in the center of each batter blob. Like so:

- Now put about a teaspoon of jam on top of the cheese:

- Now cover them over with another spoonfull of batter. Make sure you cover all the goo.

- Bake them at 375 for 20 minutes. Or, if your oven is from the 6th ring of hell like mine, 325 for like 15. Stupid oven.

So I make these muffins, and I'm really excited, because yeah, the concept isn't exactly original, but I stole bits and pieces of recipes and made this my own. I just knew that as soon as I pulled them from the oven, a frazzeled looking photographer from Martha Stewart was gunna burst through the door and demand to take photos of them.

Little did I know that my muffins had gone bad. Or rather, only the strawberry. I had a little Westside Story on my hands. The clean cut apricot muffins had behaved themselves, browning and rising nicely, getting straight A's, playing sports...etc.



But the strawberry muffins were clearly from the wrong side of the muffin tin. They were so angry at having to bake alongside those goody two-shoes apricot muffins that they spewed. No, really. They came out all battle scarred and tough from defending their turf.



See that one of the lower left? Clearly the leader and spokesperson for the group. You can tell because he has the biggest mouth.
I thought we were going to have a rumble right there on the cooling rack.


I finally talked some sense into them and they settled down..but man, I still have to watch them. That strawberry guy has a serious attitude.



I know, I know..I promised you the pervy muffin. Fine. Here:


You guys need to get out more.









Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Engrish

Sometimes I SO miss Japan. Every once in a while I go on Engrish.com to get my fix. For those of you who haven't been, it seems like it must be pretty hard to translate something into english. I gather that the sentence structure it different. Here's an example:



And sometimes they really mean it:

Lastly, you see really trendy japanese teens running around it shirts like this:

(Makes you wonder, do they know what that means?!)



More of the fun at Engrish.com!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Big, Fat Reality.

I know that no one wants to hear about anyone else's body issues. Especially not in a blog. So why am a spreading my angst all over the internet? Because nothing says "Step away from the cupcake!" like pulling out the summer clothes.
I think somewhere along the line I must have ate a skinny person, because I always picture myself in my head as a windswept model, dressed in the latest trends (maybe not leggings) and laughing. I'm usally tossing my hair too.
Damn.
So....if you see me running along the side of the road, wheezing, sweating and red faced... Do not help me. And whatever you do, do not throw me a cupcake.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Hot new crushes...

There are some new men in my life. I just thought you all should know. They are both handsome, talented and mysterious. At least one of them is too young for me, and the other is probably married. Of course they aren't real boys. They are TV boys!!!
Bachelor #1:

Mark Ballas
Am I right, or am I right? He's a Dancing With the Stars pro, and we all know I'm addicted to that show. He's partnered with Kristi Yamaguchi this season, and they are blowing the competition out of the water.

I'm hoping that since he's recently broken up with his girlfriend (partner from last season, Sabrina) that he's available for private lessons....;) Ugh..did I mention he's 21??


Bachelor #2:

Adam Levine
He's the lead singer for Maroon 5. If he's not a sexy, rockstar bad-boy, I don't know who is! He's got a naughty reputation and his nickname is "shark." Lemme at 'em!

Here are some more pics of my men. Insert me into photos at appropriate places. Thnx.