Daily Dose

Senility Has Set In

2 Comments / Animal Issues, Daily Dose, Family Funk, Holidays, Pets /

I’ll be 50 on Monday and I was feeling just fine with that. But now I’m a little concerned. My mind, my senses, it’s all going. I need someone to THINK because I’m apparently unable to do so, any more.

Obviously.

Since I asked for a puppy for my birthday.

And got him.

This is Buster, formerly known as Hamlet.

So maybe I haven’t completely lost my mind. He needed us to adopt him after the horrible bus accident. Watching him in a crate with his brother, before they’d let people into the tent area to check out the adoptable dogs — it was heartbreaking to see him just lay there. He didn’t move. He didn’t look around. He didn’t even think about barking.

HEARTBREAKING.

He’s very afraid of people. A little shy around the dogs (especially Lola). Did I mention it’s heartbreaking? But there’s a spark in him, you can see it when he’s outside with the dogs. He really, really wants to play with them. He thought he was awesome sauce when he snuck up on Skeeter (who was peeing at the time) and nothing bad happened.

Maybe I’m not senile, just a little softhearted?

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Need More Filters

1 Comment / Community Chest, Daily Dose /

I’ve got a bit of an addiction to surfing real estate listings on Zillow.

About six months ago, I set up some saved searches on my Zillow iPhone app for places I thought we might consider living when we move away from here. I added searches for Beaufort, SC, Savannah, Ga, Brunswick, Ga, St Marys, Ga, Fernandina Beach, Fl. Then, I added Charleston, SC (never gonna happen) and Gainesville, Fl last month.

My filters include:
– $200,000 or less
– House, not condo
– 2 br or more
– 2 baths or more

I often find myself puzzling over the photos included in these listings and often hand the phone to TW while chuckling. There’s a lot of “who thought that was a good idea” and “OMG what is ON THE BED?” and “who are the people who live in this house???” and “OMG those pictures are so not helpful.”

Now that I’ve seen the Terrible Real Estate Agent Photos tumbler, I know, it could be worse.

Which also reminded me that I sometimes wish agents would take photos of things I can’t filter for… things like doggy doors. Do any of these houses already have one installed? That could be the thing that pushes me into choosing THAT house. If you’ve got one, photograph it! Is the yard fenced? I’m always surprised that so few listings actually mention the fencing. Are there a lot of squirrels? I’d rather have trees but few squirrels, thanks. Are the neighbors asshats? If they aren’t, it would be nice if you’d say so because I am sick to death of bad neighbors.

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On Cookies and Cookie Dough

2 Comments / Daily Dose, Foodie /

TW put a package of Chewy Chips Ahoy Brownie Filled cookies on my desk right before my last conference call. I didn’t know whether to thank her or yell at her. It was lunch time and I wasn’t getting lunch but Chewy Chips Ahoy Brownie Filled cookies aren’t really lunch now, are they. Heck, they aren’t even as good as you might think they’d be. They’re certainly not as good as I thought they’d be. I was feeling bad because Jenn had shown interest in them while she was here and we never opened the package for her to try them — now I don’t feel bad because they’re such a let down.

Maybe my standards for cookies are too high?

I won’t eat raw cookie dough, which annoys TW quite a lot. We got three free packages of Nestle cookie dough at Target awhile back and she was annoyed with me because I ruined the dough by baking it. Turns out, I probably should have just let her eat it raw because the oatmeal butterscotch flavor wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.

I thought I might ruin the last package of the cookie dough by baking it, since it’s just plain ole Nestle Tollhouse flavor, that should be good, right? I’m not going to find myself let down by another cookie, am I?

What the hell is wrong with me and cookies right now? So weird. I never used to be this picky (or was I and I just didn’t realize it?) Or maybe it’s just that I should stick to Oreos. Oreos haven’t let me down yet — even the birthday flavor Oreos (in both chocolate and golden cookie variety) have been just as yummy as I expected them to be.

Maybe I should make a few of my old favorites — snickerdoodles, no-bake chocolate oatmeal, coconut macaroons, just to be sure I still like those? Or maybe I shouldn’t… just in case my cookie taste buds have died or something.

It’s kind of scary to think about.

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Peapod Pick Up

1 Comment / Daily Dose, Foodie /

I did win a $100 gift card at BlogHer ’13 but am not required to blog about my experience with Peapod — I’m doing it because I want to!

So remember when I said I should have ordered from Peapod for the post-BlogHer 13 mayhem but since I didn’t, I was totally gonna do it when JMP came to visit.

Well he’s here and I placed an order a couple of days ago for pick up today.

I chose pick up because I wasn’t 100% sure what would be going on at the house and it might have been really crazy to have delivery people arrive and get the dogs wound up and out of control. Next time, I’m going to have the order delivered because the pick up location isn’t in the greatest of locations — too much construction between here and there.

I wasn’t really sure what I should order so I grabbed a mix of things we needed and things that were on sale. I threw in a couple of coupons (that should be doubled) for the junk in a can that Elly likes sometimes.

I’ve probably got too many ears of corn and too many jalapenos and I might even have too many heirloom tomatoes. But… the prices were pretty good and I wanted to see how the produce was since it’s probably what I’d be most likely to order regularly.

Not bad — the grapes are JMP approved.

It was convenient to be able to order a cheesecake for Jenn’s birthday cake, too. Very convenient.

Thanks, Peapod!

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Five Non-Sucky Ways to Use Lists to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

4 Comments / Daily Dose, Day to Day /

Disclaimer: Some of these I’ve done, some I have not. Some I might do in the future. Some I highly recommend, some I do not.

1) Write a list post in which you tell Mr Lady that she is full of shit.
2) Write a list post in which you explain that you weren’t really attempting to drive traffic in that first post — just trying to bug Mr Lady.
3) Write a list post in which you announce the location of BlogHer ’14.
4) Write a list post in which you explain all of the reasons why a Lesbian Cougar Pit could be dangerous. (And fun.)
5) Write a list post in which you share images of all of the things your puppies (or prairie dogs) have destroyed in your home. Add photos.

"Are The Dogs Eating the Couch"
“Are the Dogs Eating the Couch?”

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A List Just Because I Can

18 Comments / Daily Dose, Day to Day /

And, because I like lists. So there.

1) Mr Lady says one should not write numbered list blog posts.
2) Mr Lady is full of shit.
3) Lists are awesome.
4) My to do list, however, is so freaking long and complicated that it’s almost enough to make me not like lists anymore.
5) Nah. I really, really like lists.
6) I was thinking about all of the things that made today suck ass — that’s a really horrid list. You don’t want to see that.
7) Then I started thinking about all of the awesome things we’re gonna do when JMP and all the peoples are here. That’s a really cool list. So, here’s a sub-list! (Take that Mr Lady)
a) Kohl’s Childrens Museum
b) One of the zoos — probably Brookfield, since I’ve not been there
c) the Library! We never go to the children’s section and we’re so gonna do that.
d) the darn Sears or Target photo center (because my mother is annoying)
e) coloring and finger painting and tearing paper and gluing it to the things — maybe to boxes!
f) I’m gonna give him an m&m or six. hahah. his mother is gonna be maddddddddd.
8) Ok that’s enough of that. I don’t want to spoil any surprises or anything. You’ll have to wait for the instagrams.
9) But before JMP arrives, we really have to clean the house.
10) And the prairie dogs.
11) I also need to catch up on some reading because I won’t get to read while JMP is here. He’s too distracting.
12) Did you know writing blog posts with numbered lists is a good way to distract yourself from asshattery?
13) Also, it’s a good way to get that post in to keep your blog every day streak going when you’ve had a shit ass day and are tired and don’t really want to write anything (or don’t want to write anything you can actually write.)
14) So there, Mr Lady. So there.
15) Lists are awesome. Blog posts of numbered lists are awesome. I’m tempted to blog an entire month of numbered list posts and send them to Mr Lady all day long. She’d like that, wouldn’t she. Maybe for her birthday (that gives me many months to prepare great list topics… yea, I’m setting an Outlook reminder to do that. Hahaha. I can’t wait. You can join me, if you want… buzz me and I’ll add you to the list of people who are going to bug the hell out of her with numbered list blog posts for her birthday.)

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Plated: Yes, I Do Cook, Occasionally

4 Comments / Daily Dose, Foodie /

We received a gift card from Plated at BlogHer 13. I’ve not been asked to blog about their product by Plated or by my employer (which happens to be BlogHer). The opinions below are purely my own — and that of my family members who ATE the food. Heh.

I figured what the heck, right? We have these gift cards sitting here, might as well use one… so on Saturday night, I peeked at the menu and decided to order a flank steak and a chicken dish. Except by the time I checked out, the flank steak was no longer available. That made me sad. I didn’t really want any of the other options but I picked the one I thought looked most interesting….

So on Tuesday, the ingredients for Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Peaches and Quinoa and Arugula Salad and Pork Tenderloin with Watermelon, Mint, Feta and Cucumber Salad (this one was the one I chose when the flank steak was not available.)

KarenLynnn was right about the packaging. I think they need to use those Styrofoam packing containers that TW’s mom’s insulin is shipped in.

I thought we’d make the first dish on Tuesday night… but we didn’t because, errr, I don’t know why. We just didn’t. So Wednesday night I made the Grilled Chicken. It was a hit but boy did it use a lot of pots, pans, and bowls. Also, I should have used fewer greens — we’d have liked it better with a smaller green to quinoa ratio and I’ll remember that for next time.

You should also know that I ordered 2 plates of each dish but I was feeding three adults… TW didn’t think it was going to work out but it did. Perfectly.

And, tonight I made the Pork Tenderloin which was also a hit and EXACTLY the right amount for the three of us. (It also used fewer dishes, heh.) One problem — I should have read through the recipe before I started (hahaha, yea yea, I know.) After putting the pork to marinate and making the salad, the next step called for grilling the pita bread. Fine except the pork still needed 20-30 minutes so if we wanted warm grilled pita, we were screwed. I ended up wrapping it in tin foil and leaving it on the hot griddle. The pita was barely warm when the pork was ready. No big deal and it really was my fault for not reading through and thinking about how this might work out.

One other thing to note — Karen Lynn was also right about the timing. The cucumber for tonight was just about done. If I’d waited another day, there’s no way I could have used it. So next time I order, I’m going to have to be really conscious of our schedules and make sure that we really DO make these dishes on the first two days after the ingredients arrive.

And yep, I’ll order from Plated again. It was nice to have everything ready and not have to PLAN something or look around to see if we had all of the ingredients for a real meal. Very convenient. Easy recipes. Win-win!

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Is a Break from Work Really a Break?

6 Comments / Daily Dose, Day to Day, Work /

I have been trying to take at least an hour, every day, away from my desk. I do this by scheduling myself a three hour break in the day — which guarantees me an hour. (Don’t ask questions, just go with it.)

But my breaks generally look like this:

– Play a couple of words in WWF.
– Play a couple of lives in Candy Crush.
– Read a chapter of my book.
– Fold a load of laundry and put away four loads of laundry.
– Move a load of laundry from the washer tot he dryer and start another load of laundry.
– Clean the dead leftovers out of the fridge, load the dishwasher and start the dishwasher.
– Answer three emails.

If I’m really lucky, I’ll also squeeze a shower into that hour break.

At the end of that hour, it doesn’t really seem like I’ve had a break … ya know?

I think I might be doing this wrong?

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5D!

Daily Dose, Day to Day /

A few weeks ago, I found myself on Groupon (don’t ask) and impulse purchased two tickets to Pix 5D. I have no idea why I bought this — it seemed like something odd, unusual, not what we’d normally do and we like to do unusual things.

So after a long couple of weeks, I told TW to be prepared to quit working at a decent hour and we were going out… I didn’t tell her where we were going, I just said out.

We went to Chick-fil-A and then headed back toward home — when I turned into the mall parking lot, TW looked at me like I was a little nuts. Particularly since she’d already asked if we were going to the Jockey Bra store so she could figure out which size she was (using the fit kit from BlogHer 13 was a little confusing — she seemed to need to separate sizes.) But no, I hadn’t thought of that and we didn’t have her coupon(s).

When we parked and started walking in – I told her we were going to do something really weird… but then I said what do NORMAL people do when they go on a date. She said “See a movie!” and I said “Yep – we’re going to see a movie, of sorts.”

She was pretty surprised when I pointed at the PIX 5D but was game for it. We got there pretty much right on time – just a ten minute wait. I was a little sad that the Toy Store movie they say is what’s playing wasn’t playing but the two we saw were totally fun. The getting sprayed by alien creature spit was kind of ewwww but in a fun kind of way.

Totally worth the $7 groupon. I’d even go again.

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