I'm Baaa-ack!

Yes, I am full aware that it has been over a year since last I have blogged. Part of it was that I pretty much could not figure out how to log in again. The rest...well, I just get short on time, sometimes. But I resolve to do better.

Part of a plan I have to get more organized is to come up with a menu plan. This saves time, as well as money (I am not running out to McDonald's every night.) I did this this week. Here was the original meal plan:

Monday: BBQ chicken and corn; quesadillas for supper
Tuesday: Jasmine rice with chicken and veggies
Wednesday: Turkey and cheese pitas
Thursday: Wheat pasta with tomato sauce
Friday: Chicken quesadillas
Saturday: Both meals at work
Sunday: Black bean salad

Well, I had to tweak things a bit. First, I was unexpectedly asked to work a long shift on Tuesday, so got both meals at work that day too. Second, I discovered that my eggs were fixing to turn, so I needed to use them soon. Third, I found a good deal on bread, so decided to use more bread recipes later in the week. Here is my adjusted meal plan:

Monday: BBQ chicken and corn; chicken fajita nachos for supper
Tuesday: Both meals at work
Wednesday: Veggie and cheese omelets
Thursday: Egg and cheese toasters
Friday: Turkey and mozzerella toasters
Saturday: Both meals at work
Sunday: BBQ ribs and corn (found a great deal on ribs!); probably turkey sandwich for dinner

So, I am learning to adjust. Hopefully I will get to try some great new recipes soon!

Things I Love About Summer #3: Fireworks

I am enthralled by fireworks. One of my earliest memories of the Fourth of July was seeing the fireworks with my mom and sister. I didn't know what they were, until I saw them. I was hooked.

I also used to enjoy lighting fireworks. Unfortunately, that ended when I became a firecracker-injury statistic (due to my own stupidity, I am afraid.) Now I just enjoy watching other people light them.

This entry is about the public firework displays. I have found, in my adult life, that each one follows a certain format....

7:30: You arrive at the place where they are going to be held. A few others are already there, in lawnchairs and laying on blankets. You, of course, did not bring a lawnchair, thinking that you could watch from leaning on the hood of your car. The smell of Off wafts through the air.

7:35: You decide you are hungry, so you go by the nearby carnival ("Overpriced Rides-o-Rama!!! Now pricegouging unsuspecting parents for sixty years straight!") to find food.

7:36: You decide to drive through Sonic instead.

8:00: You return to the site, balance your personal belongings, your Route 44 drink, and your food in your hands, and head to the hood of your car.

8:00:30: Oh crabby patties...everyone is facing the other way. Sigh.

8:01: You try to find a patch of grass where you can sit and not get too many grass-stains on your pants.

8:02: You finally settle on a patch of concrete. You eat your food and gaze jealously at the guy in the lawnchair with a movable hood in case of rain and two (TWO!) drinkholders.

8:30: You finish your food and wonder when the show is going to start.

8:35: Someone mentions 9:55. Sigh...

8:50: You listen in to conversations going on around you. Some hot-rodder tries to go 50 on the 30 mph street and gets lectured by the rent-a-cop.

9:10: A couple of kids start playing in a water puddle cardoned off by yellow hazard tape. You wonder where their parents are.

9:30: Someone starts lighting their own fireworks in the neighborhood behind you. You wonder where the cops are.

9:35: The park lights are turned off. Some teenagers scream.

9:40: Some teenagers start practicing going: "ooh....ahhh..."

9:45: People around you start wondering out loud when they are going to start. More Off gets passed around.

9:55:00: Finally! The first weak bursts start coming out of the night sky. You are instantly enthralled.

9:56: You notice that a sound system is playing music to synchronize with the display. "God Bless America" and "Stars and Stripes Forever" are represented.

10:00: Some random Aerosmith song plays and you wonder what in the world that has to do with Independence Day.

10:05: Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" starts to play, and you know the finale is coming.

10:08: The night air bursts with light and sound, totally overpowering the sound system. You wish you had thought to bring your camera.

10:09: The display ends, and the street lights come back on faintly. Person to your left: "Wow, is that it?" Person to your right: "That was the best display ever!"

10:20: On your way home, you get stuck in traffic. While you are waiting, you try to think of a cool blog entry about fireworks.

Happy Independence Day, everybody. Don't forget the men and women throughout our nation's history who fought and gave their lives so we have a reason to light our fireworks.

Enriching Your Vocabulary

I have always had an extensive vocabulary. I don't always use it, but I love words. Not just big ones, though. I love descriptive ones.

Some of my favorites:

Enrich (hence the title)
Astounding
Remarkable
Magnificent
Ambivalent (I think I used that one in a post)
Apprehensive
Pensive

I have to try to think of some others.

From The "Wow" Files

Now I have seen everything.

I remember when there was only one choice of milk: the kind that came from a cow. This was in my early elementary years. In fourth and fifth grade, they added chocolate milk. I suppose strawberry milk got added sometime after I graduated high school.

But now, root beer flavored milk?!?! Seriously?

Someone taste it for me. I don't have the guts. Then tell me how it tastes.

Internet Coupons....Bah!

OK...let me talk about coupons. I absolutely love them. I have been using them almost addictively for about four years now. I love using both the CVS and Walgreens rewards programs to get stuff for free or ridiculously cheap.

Now let me talk about Internet coupons. I seldom use them for two reasons. 1.) They use a ridiculous amount of printer ink, which is most definitely NOT cheap. 2.) They are met with a certain amount of scrutiny at the grocery store.

Example: Recently, I decided to use an Internet coupon at a local grocery store. This coupon, after doubling, ended up making the product free (excluding sales tax.) I also had several regular coupons that I wanted to use.

Sooooo I get to the check-out stand, and this guy rings me up. I hand him the coupons. He stops and stares at the Internet coupon for a good minute and a half. He holds it up to the light. Now understand, I bought the whole page with me, not just the clipped coupon. I figure it gives the added piece of mind. Also, it was printed in color. And it had the ad on it from the site that I printed it from, which is a well-known coupon printing site.

I felt like saying, "You waiting for it to get up and dance a jig?"

Finally, he scans it through. Holy Moly, it was legitimate! SHOCK!

He gives me my total, and I sift through my purse for money. He holds the coupon again, and starts leafing throught this notebook, full of copies of Web coupons that they are not supposed to take. He keeps giving me these glances.

I ask, "Is there a problem?"

He goes, "No, no..."

Sigh. I really need to stop wearing a ski mask to the grocery store. (Just kidding!)

In all seriousness, though, I understand that coupon fraud is a serious problem. And the vast majority of bogus coupons are Web coupons. The whole situation hearkened me back to the day when I was the one behind the counter.

The business where I work at used to run these coupons that were for free product with the purchase of product. Well, one day this lady comes in and gives me the top half of the coupon...the part that said, "Free product X". She had removed the bottom half, which said, "with the purchase of product Y." I nicely explained to her that our corporate office would not honor that coupon. She left in a huff.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is, if you use coupons, please use them honestly. It makes ALL of us look bad if people abuse the system.

Things I Love About Summer #2

(I am starting a series of sorts, of things I love about summer. A few days ago I made an entry about corn on the cob. This is my second entry.)

Fireflies

I get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they try to teach me how to dance
--Owl City

Fireflies have been a favorite thing about summer to me. There are few things I enjoy more than sitting outside at twilight, amongst trees, waiting for these remarkable creatures to perform light shows in the warm, dusky air.

When I was younger, I wanted to catch a lightning bug, and keep it in a jar as my pet. I remember a third-grade camping trip, where I was determined to catch one to keep. However, my sponsor wisely informed me that fireflies don't light up when captive. Like us, they like to be out in the open.

Unfortunately, here in the city fireflies are few and far between. Even in the city parks, they don't come out. I guess people scare them off with their loud noise and music. :-/

I read somewhere in the Smoky Mountains, there is a place where you can watch millions of fireflies blink almost in unison. It is truly a sight to see, I imagine.

Single After 30

I am an anomaly.

See, I am a single, never-married thirty-something woman without children.

When I tell people this, I get the following reaction in some form: "Oh, honey, I am sorry to hear that. Oh, well, someday he will come. Don't give up!"

Or: "Well, to help that, you need to do this, this and this. That will attract more men."

Or: "Well you better hurry up. You don't want to be an old maid!" (Yes, someone told me that once.)

Or my personal favorite: "When you stop looking, that's when he will come into your life!" (I swear, if I had a dime for every time I heard that, I would be able to retire today.)

I get the underlying impression that something is wrong with me. That my life is incomplete without a male companion. That I must be doing something wrong if I am still single after thirty.

The thing is: While I am far from perfect, I have a lot of good qualities. And while I would love to have someone to share my life with, that is not the be-all-and-end-all of my existance.

Maybe, just maybe, mind you, God wants me to be single.