I think DH will actually be home for dinner tonite if I wait 'til 7 to eat. This is going to be kind of odd. I have been combining all sorts of bits and pieces in the fridge for my meals this week. Now I'll have to come up with a real meal, possibly even cook something that takes more than 3 minutes in the microwave. Sheesh!
I'll be glad to have some human company for dinner conversation. The cats ain't quite cuttin' it in that department (although Mud does have quite the contralto, serenading me as I eat)
What I wish that Red Lobster would do is come up with a decent pre-dinner salad. This is one of those restaurants whose idea of a salad dates back to about 1973: You get an iceberg wedge with one red onion ring, one cucumber slice & two sour cherry tomatoes, coated with huge salty croutons.
I wish a lot of restaurants would update their pre-dinner salad! Iceberg is gross. Bleck. A chicken salad (that is, chicken breast on top of salad, not the mayo-laden chopped chicken kind) is often the "healthy" option when I go out, but I hate to order it. Not bc I don't like it, but bc I can make such a better one at home! At least at a lot of restaurants.
Yesterday I was like a voyeur. I had my office window open and just watched the power company's helicopter's progress all day and got no work done. Today I came to my office in the city for my monthly visit - at least I'll have some distraction! But I'm a little sad. Part of me wants to stock up on my favorite healthy foods that are available here and not closer to home, but even with the generator keeping the fridge cold at home I don't feel like I should stock up in case the generator quits. At least I got my canning finished last night at my friend's house. I owe him big-time!
I was supposed to host book club at my house Saturday night. Since I'm not sure I'll have power we're scrambling to come up with an alternate plan/location. I hope it works out. I'm sure we'll have fun somewhere!
Dagmar, I hope you enjoy your dinner with your DH.
Bargoo, I know, I don't think Crispy Kremes are that great either. I don't get it. I had a friend from Connecticut whose boyfriend loved to go to Waffle House when they vacationed in the south - would plan trips around Waffle House stops. There is no accounting for some people's tastes. I guess not everyone can have the refined palates we have (just kidding!).
Hello all.
I'm back from Arizona-- exhausted and beyond bloated. Didn't get back till after midnight. My feet were horribly swollen and puffy before I flew home yesterday. Today's weight wasn't pretty-- don't think I'll "count" it. I was hoping to go to yoga this morning but I didn't wake up in time. I could go later but I'll probably go to Zumba instead and go to yoga tomorrow. It was a whirlwind with dd-- she got her schedule, signed up for the leadership program, and more. Her schedule may change (hopefully) once she gets her AP scores back.
Add me to the scores that don't care for Red Lobster or Krispy Kreme.
We went to a neat restaurant in Phoenix yesterday on our way back to the airport. It's called True Food Kitchen--http://www.truefoodkitchen.com/
The food is organic and mostly healthy-- I had a spaghetti squash casserole that was delicious-- it was crowded and we didn't have time to wait so we ate outside in 109 degree weather! No wonder my feet swelled! I didn't realize how tight we were on time because I thought our flight was 9:45 pm-- we got stuck in horrible dust storms which slowed our drive way down and then when we got to the airport, I realized our flight was 8:45--oops! We got to the airport at 8:00 so we were tight getting through security, etc. I'm the type that likes to be there 2 hours early "just in case" so I was a tad worried! I need to pay more attention next time!!
Off to the grocery store, costco, to unpack, etc.!
I have experienced a Waffle House once. That's more than I needed of that place as well! I don't understand the hype at all. I feel rather the same about Cracker Barrel. And The Cheesecake Factory (okay, I do like their cheesecake, but when a restaurant has a BOOK for a menu, to me it means they can't do anything perfect so they offer a lot of mundane food).
When given the opportunity to go out for dinner (which we don't do nearly as much as we used to), I will choose a locally owned place over a chain any day! The last place was a new one called Catalan. For years it was a great Thai place but the owner wanted to move back to Thailand. He worked out a deal with a guy who wanted to open a Mediterranean restaurant. Thai out, Mediterranean in without more than a few days to adjust (I think they kept a lot of the staff). We loved the new fare.
I'm having a non-productive day here at work. I paid all the bills yesterday so there isn't anything left to do until the mail comes and often that comes as late as 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Yesterday was crazy busy but it made the time fly by! Sitting here counting the things I need to accomplish before we leave for vacation! Aargh! So much to do! I am glad I got tons done yesterday (laundry, watered plants, picked up dog & cat toys, cleaned cat boxes, etc--was busy for over an hour and a half when I got home). Today is nothing but time for a mani-pedi as soon as DD gets here after lunch. Did I mention she's lost 40 pounds so far? I think she has another 25 to go. Her goal is 135 which I think is perfect for her (she's 5'6").
Michele~if your daughter likes Mexican food, she should try the Barrio Cafe. I can't tell you where it is other than somewhere in the Phoenix area, but it has wonderful food. Amazing and unusual guacamole (sometimes they add raisins and really, it's good!).
I'm trying to make myself care about work, which I really need to do, since I've got end-of-month status reports and spreadsheets to hand in by close of business tomorrow on the various projects I'm managing. My upcoming drive out to Cape Cod and the progress of work my apartment is all that I can think about, though.
I've fielded two emails from the contractor today, one about the color of the grout for my bathroom tile (white) and the other about what color paint I'd given them to use in the master bedroom. (Valspar's Laura Ashley Home, Pale Sapphire 2, can't recall if it's satin or semigloss.) They used up the whole can of paint & may have tossed it. They told me just to get one can, and so that's all I bought. I hope they put up the wallpaper border in the living room. I'm assuming that work on my apartment is nearly finished, as they said the paint would be touched up & cleaning crew would go through this weekend.
I'm trying not to think of what's going on in those long-lost and soon-to-be-restored rooms of mine. I need to be present here, on my laptop, evaluating job candidates' writing samples, then working on my project spreadsheets.
I am going to the theatre tonite to see "War Horse". I think DH may be working most of the long weekend and I start my 15 days dog/cat sit on Monday night @ 10 p.m. so this will be something "special" for myself.
I'm really curious how they do the horses - that's the main reason I'm going. That and I got a super seat for next to nothing. They usually can't unload single tix and I have bought before so they email me from time to time.
I didn't used to be a fan of musicals but now I think they're ok 1-2 times per year.
Icky dinner first - frozen box of stuff in the micro (it is a lean cuisine or equivalent) and a salad but I have no time to cook. That's my excuse!
Michele~if your daughter likes Mexican food, she should try the Barrio Cafe. I can't tell you where it is other than somewhere in the Phoenix area, but it has wonderful food. Amazing and unusual guacamole (sometimes they add raisins and really, it's good!).
We do love Mexican food. She will be in Tucson, though. We flew into and out of Phoenix because of ticket prices, but she will most likely fly into Tucson because she won't have a car. I'll keep it in mind, though, if we fly into Phoenix again.
A moment of delight: When this fellow comes to our bird feeder once a night during the long summer evenings, usually sometime around 8 PM.
I hear him cracking seeds loudly with his big beak before I see him. He startles easily, unlike the other feeder regulars, the goldfinches and house finches, titmice, cardinals and chickadees.
He's so gorgeous he looks like an escaped cage bird.
"War Horse" was an experience! I was amazed last night. The puppets (horses and goose) and puppeteers were uncannily believable. The staging was also excellent and made for some visually stunning moments.
I am a great fan of puppetry and I truly enjoyed the manipulation of the puppets last night. Even though I am not particularly a horse fancier I do know enough about their anatomy and movements that I almost could believe there were real horses onstage. The puppetry company is called "Handspring" and they are out of Cape Town South Africa.
Dagmar, yes, I saw it back around May 2011, not long after it opened at Lincoln Center in Manhattan after its successful run in London. Good old Birchie talked about it with me then & mentioned the writer who'd written the young adult novel that served as the source material. Yes, I too I loved the puppetry. And also the stark staging and some of the use of traditional music. I thought the story itself (at least rendered in the play) was trite and more than a bit sentimental -- mediocre material that some brilliant minds had brought to life in an incredibly creative way. Kind of like when Julie Taymor's "Lion King" first appeared on Broadway many years ago.
My DD wants to see the stage production of War Horse as well. I've seen parts of it as they posted it to Youtube. It does look fascinating.
Last day before vacation. I'm pretty much done with everything except packing and some last minute things. While in Hawaii I'll be meeting up with a college friend who I reconnected with via Facebook. I haven't seen her since 1985. Wow. That's a long time ago!
Rose-breasted grosbeak! Did you take that photo yourself, saef?
I'm Montreal bound after work today. I always feel fat and sloppy compared to leggy French Canadian women. Maybe I will get a haircut or something while I'm there. It HAS been almost one calendar year since my last trim...
Allison and Krampus-- enjoy your trips!! Krampus-- is yours for work?
Allison-- good luck getting everything done! Can't wait to hear all about it.
I'm STILL waiting for dh to come home-- feels like he's been gone forever. He returns July 4 and we leave July 5 so I guess I should start planning as well.
Off to the dentist this morning (yuck!), the credit union, and then hopefully I'll be done in time to go to Bikram Yoga.
(just kidding!).
