Yesterday ended on a much better note than it started. To continue the story:
2:34 pm: The Orkin man asks to unplug the extension cord he had to run in order to work in the back yard, because the outlet back there didn't work. I figure this means they must be done with the drilling. I am very happy.
2:35 pm: I resume watching High Noon. I enjoyed this movie, too. As with Midnight Bayou its been too long since I read the book to really compare them, but it was a good movie.
3:10 pm: They start drilling again!!!!!!
3:20 pm: Alec reminds me via IM that his photographer picked him up, so he is at work without a car and needs me to come get him.
3:36 pm: I load River up in the car and head out to get Alec
When we got home, the Orkin man was still there. He told us he was done in our yard, though so we could lock our gate.
Later, we headed out for dinner (we opted to actually eat at the sushi place rather than get take out). The place we like is very small, only 3 tables and about 7 seats at the sushi bar. They're all full when we get there, but a few people are finishing up. We decided to run over to Blockbuster to pick up a movie & come back.
At Blockbuster, they have Australia, which was my second choice for my birthday movie, so we got that. We also got Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. We trade in our mailed movie so we get one free rental.
Back at the sushi restaurant, we have an awesome meal. Then, we went to Maggie Moos to get ice cream. After that, we headed home to relax and watch our movies. Australia was a great movie, but quite a bit more sad & emotional than I expected. So, even though it was almost 3 hours long, and it was close to midnight when we finished it, we decided to watch Bedtime Stories to cheer ourselves up. This was a very cute movie. Thus, my day ended at 2 am, and I was happy but tired!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
This is so not the day I had planned . . .
So, my office is closed today. And even though I work from home, I don't work on days when the office is closed. Alec does have to work, so I was all set to enjoy a "me day." My plan for the day was:
Sleep In
Watch the two Nora Roberts movies I recorded recently
Read
Dinner with Alec as a belated birthday celebration (sushi or takeout sushi, we haven't decided)
Movie (P.S. I Love You) delivered from Blockbuster online (since there is nothing good in the theatre)
Here's what has really happened so far:
7:50 am - River wakes me up because she is hungry. No problem, I'll feed her, let her out & go back to sleep, just like I do on weekend mornings.
8:00 am - Get back in bed to go back to sleep.
8:10 am - Orkin calls from the call box at our gate because they're supposed to do some work here today. I don't know anything about that. Also, the feature that allows us to open the gate from the phone isn't enabled so I can't let them in. Which I wouldn't do anyway, since I did not call them and frankly I can't be sure it's actually Orkin so I'm not about to let them into the complex. I tell them to call the landlords.
8:20 am - Evidently Orkin got in touch with the landlords, and whatever they're doing involves making a whole lot of noise in the other half of our duplex. So much for sleeping in. I decide get up and make breakfast.
8:50 am - Another call from the gate - what's up with this? It's Alec's photographer. Alec said to meet him here. Alec's not home, though. I tell the photographer to park in the parking area outside the gate b/c I can't open the gate. I call Alec. He's on his way. Also, the gate does work now; they fixed it yesterday and Alec forgot to tell me.
9:00 am - Settle in with my coffee and cereal to watch the first movie Midnight Bayou. It's very good. I don't really remember the book, so I have no idea how well it follows that, but it's a good story. Also, it has Jerry O'Connell (so cute!) and Faye Dunaway (so awesome!).
11:00 am - Start the next movie, High Noon. Whatever Orkin is doing is getting progressively louder.
12:00 pm - The movie is getting suspenseful. There's a knock on the door. Orkin is evidently drilling holes in our foundation. They need to get in our backyard, but I can't remember the combination for the lock on our gate. I tell them to call the landlords. They get the combo, but I can't get the lock open. I let them come through the house. They get the lock open - must have been stuck since it hasn't been used all winter (it mainly gets opened when they come to mow the grass). While I am trying to open the gate, the landlord leaves a voicemail - Orkin is treating the building for termites and they may need to get in the yard - no kidding. The drilling makes it too loud to watch the movie anymore.
12:30 pm - Instead of watching the movie, I am playing on the Internet. It occurs to me that I haven't gotten an e-mail from Blockbuster saying they received the movie I returned, or that they shipped the next one in my queue (the aforementioned P.S. I Love You that is supposed to be my it's-my-birthday-I-get-to-pick-the-movie treat for tonight). I go on-line and check my account. It says that I still have the previous movie, which I mailed on Monday. I can report it and they'll send the next movie in my queue. I decided to wait & see what we end up renting from the store in case we can get it there. Luckily, we have another movie we haven't mailed back, so we'll get a free rental at the store.
1:42 pm - They are still drilling in my yard. I am going insane. I just heard them say "only 20 more holes to go."
Will they ever stop the drilling? Will I ever get to finish watching High Noon? Will the Blockbuster store have a movie I want to see?
Sleep In
Watch the two Nora Roberts movies I recorded recently
Read
Dinner with Alec as a belated birthday celebration (sushi or takeout sushi, we haven't decided)
Movie (P.S. I Love You) delivered from Blockbuster online (since there is nothing good in the theatre)
Here's what has really happened so far:
7:50 am - River wakes me up because she is hungry. No problem, I'll feed her, let her out & go back to sleep, just like I do on weekend mornings.
8:00 am - Get back in bed to go back to sleep.
8:10 am - Orkin calls from the call box at our gate because they're supposed to do some work here today. I don't know anything about that. Also, the feature that allows us to open the gate from the phone isn't enabled so I can't let them in. Which I wouldn't do anyway, since I did not call them and frankly I can't be sure it's actually Orkin so I'm not about to let them into the complex. I tell them to call the landlords.
8:20 am - Evidently Orkin got in touch with the landlords, and whatever they're doing involves making a whole lot of noise in the other half of our duplex. So much for sleeping in. I decide get up and make breakfast.
8:50 am - Another call from the gate - what's up with this? It's Alec's photographer. Alec said to meet him here. Alec's not home, though. I tell the photographer to park in the parking area outside the gate b/c I can't open the gate. I call Alec. He's on his way. Also, the gate does work now; they fixed it yesterday and Alec forgot to tell me.
9:00 am - Settle in with my coffee and cereal to watch the first movie Midnight Bayou. It's very good. I don't really remember the book, so I have no idea how well it follows that, but it's a good story. Also, it has Jerry O'Connell (so cute!) and Faye Dunaway (so awesome!).
11:00 am - Start the next movie, High Noon. Whatever Orkin is doing is getting progressively louder.
12:00 pm - The movie is getting suspenseful. There's a knock on the door. Orkin is evidently drilling holes in our foundation. They need to get in our backyard, but I can't remember the combination for the lock on our gate. I tell them to call the landlords. They get the combo, but I can't get the lock open. I let them come through the house. They get the lock open - must have been stuck since it hasn't been used all winter (it mainly gets opened when they come to mow the grass). While I am trying to open the gate, the landlord leaves a voicemail - Orkin is treating the building for termites and they may need to get in the yard - no kidding. The drilling makes it too loud to watch the movie anymore.
12:30 pm - Instead of watching the movie, I am playing on the Internet. It occurs to me that I haven't gotten an e-mail from Blockbuster saying they received the movie I returned, or that they shipped the next one in my queue (the aforementioned P.S. I Love You that is supposed to be my it's-my-birthday-I-get-to-pick-the-movie treat for tonight). I go on-line and check my account. It says that I still have the previous movie, which I mailed on Monday. I can report it and they'll send the next movie in my queue. I decided to wait & see what we end up renting from the store in case we can get it there. Luckily, we have another movie we haven't mailed back, so we'll get a free rental at the store.
1:42 pm - They are still drilling in my yard. I am going insane. I just heard them say "only 20 more holes to go."
Will they ever stop the drilling? Will I ever get to finish watching High Noon? Will the Blockbuster store have a movie I want to see?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Recipe of the week for 3/28 - Sweet & Spicy Chicken Tacos
Yet another version of Mexican chicken! Yes, I'm addicted to Mexican food. What can I say? It's normally pretty easy, plus it tastes good! I adapted this one from Prudence Pennywise. It's meant to be a slow-cooker recipe, but for whatever reason, I didn't get a head start on it, so I made it into a stove-top recipe. You can get the slow-cooker version here. I am sure you could do it with frozen chicken breasts, like I did for the Mexican Chicken I posted a while back.
Sweet & Spicy Chicken Tacos
adapted from Prudence Pennywise
Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 c. brown sugar
Taco shells
Taco toppings (lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese - whatever you like)
Directions
Put chicken breasts in a pot & fill with water until they're covered. Add about 1/2 t. red pepper flakes and the garlic cloves. I just peeled the garlic, then gave it a good whack to crush it a bit and tossed them in. You can add more of the red pepper flakes and/or garlic if you like things spicier. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken and let it cool for a bit.
Dump the water out of the pot. Add the tomatoes, brown sugar and 1/2 t. red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
While the tomato mixture heats up, shred the chicken. I usually just use my fingers, but you can do it with two forks.
When the tomato mixture gets bubbly, add the chicken and simmer for about 10 minutes.
While the chicken heats up, warm up your taco shells.
Fill the tacos, top as desired & enjoy!
The Photo
Here they are. I got those cool flat-bottomed taco shells that stand up on their own. I served the tacos with refried black beans (from Amy's Organic - yummy!).
The Verdict
I liked these a lot. I did not drain the tomatoes, but I think you should. The mixture was very liquid-y and made the taco shells too soft. Alec thought it was a little too sweet. I actually cut the brown sugar down from the original recipe because I know in the past he has not liked sweet/spicy dishes I've made. But, it was still a tad too sweet for him. Maybe next time I will just get some hot sauce so he can spice his tacos up, because I thought they were just fine!
Sweet & Spicy Chicken Tacos
adapted from Prudence Pennywise
Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 c. brown sugar
Taco shells
Taco toppings (lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese - whatever you like)
Directions
Put chicken breasts in a pot & fill with water until they're covered. Add about 1/2 t. red pepper flakes and the garlic cloves. I just peeled the garlic, then gave it a good whack to crush it a bit and tossed them in. You can add more of the red pepper flakes and/or garlic if you like things spicier. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken and let it cool for a bit.
Dump the water out of the pot. Add the tomatoes, brown sugar and 1/2 t. red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
While the tomato mixture heats up, shred the chicken. I usually just use my fingers, but you can do it with two forks.
When the tomato mixture gets bubbly, add the chicken and simmer for about 10 minutes.
While the chicken heats up, warm up your taco shells.
Fill the tacos, top as desired & enjoy!
The Photo
Here they are. I got those cool flat-bottomed taco shells that stand up on their own. I served the tacos with refried black beans (from Amy's Organic - yummy!).
The Verdict
I liked these a lot. I did not drain the tomatoes, but I think you should. The mixture was very liquid-y and made the taco shells too soft. Alec thought it was a little too sweet. I actually cut the brown sugar down from the original recipe because I know in the past he has not liked sweet/spicy dishes I've made. But, it was still a tad too sweet for him. Maybe next time I will just get some hot sauce so he can spice his tacos up, because I thought they were just fine!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
I'm on Twitter
Last week, Alec convinced me to sign up for Twitter. I haven't "tweeted" because Alec is the only one following me. He usually knows what I'm up to.
If you have Twitter, and you want to follow me, look me up. Well, I think you can look me up. I tried to search for myself and I didn't find me (am I have an existential crisis?). I had my profile set so that I have to approve my "followers" because in the first two minutes I got two random followers and that's a little strange. So, I took that setting off and I still don't show up in the search results. Then I put the setting back on.
So, if you do want to follow me, I'm not really sure how you can go about doing that. Unless you just search for Alec (using his real name, of course) and then you'll see me as one of the people he's following. He actually does come up in the search results.
That is, of course, if you care that much about my life. It's really not that interesting.
I do, however, think it's fun to follow other people. I'm not really following anyone I actually know, except Alec. One friend came up when I searched using my e-mail address book. Other than that, so far I have: Martha Stewart; Elisabeth Hasslebeck & Sherri Shephard from "The View" and two bloggers I like, Pioneer Woman & Bakerella.
If you have Twitter, and you want to follow me, look me up. Well, I think you can look me up. I tried to search for myself and I didn't find me (am I have an existential crisis?). I had my profile set so that I have to approve my "followers" because in the first two minutes I got two random followers and that's a little strange. So, I took that setting off and I still don't show up in the search results. Then I put the setting back on.
So, if you do want to follow me, I'm not really sure how you can go about doing that. Unless you just search for Alec (using his real name, of course) and then you'll see me as one of the people he's following. He actually does come up in the search results.
That is, of course, if you care that much about my life. It's really not that interesting.
I do, however, think it's fun to follow other people. I'm not really following anyone I actually know, except Alec. One friend came up when I searched using my e-mail address book. Other than that, so far I have: Martha Stewart; Elisabeth Hasslebeck & Sherri Shephard from "The View" and two bloggers I like, Pioneer Woman & Bakerella.
Recipe of the Week for 3/7: Quickest Weeknight Tomato & Basil Pasta
This is another one from the Prudence Pennywise blog. I don't really have anything else to say in the way of introductions, so I'll just get right to it.
Quickest Weeknight Tomato & Basil Pasta
from Prudence Pennywise
Ingredients
1/2 lb. whole grain angel hair pasta
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 T. minced fresh garlic
1 T. dried basil or 1/2 c. chopped fresh basil
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. brown sugar
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese (plus more for passing)
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta in colander and let it rest there for now.
To the same cooking pot, add butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic & cook for 1 minute. Add dried basil (add fresh basil at the end), crushed red pepper flakes, brown sugar, salt & pepper. Stir in tomatoes with juices. Bring to a boil & simmer for 2 minutes. (Add fresh basil now if using.)
Add pasta back to pot and toss to coat. Stir in Parmesan. Pass more Parmesan at the table.
The Photo
There isn't one . . . I forgot . . . again
The Verdict
I think I halved this recipe for just Alec and me. I never measure my garlic, I just use a clove or two depending on the size. There's a strong possibility I didn't have any butter and just used all olive oil. I do remember very specifically that I used the low-sodium diced tomatoes and we both felt that it was too bland. So, either get the regular tomatoes or up the salt a little. I used dried basil because we didn't have any fresh. I'm sure it would be better with fresh basil!
Overall, I'd say this was an okay dish. I think I'll make it again, but add a touch more salt to the sauce and use fresh basil.
Quickest Weeknight Tomato & Basil Pasta
from Prudence Pennywise
Ingredients
1/2 lb. whole grain angel hair pasta
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 T. minced fresh garlic
1 T. dried basil or 1/2 c. chopped fresh basil
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. brown sugar
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese (plus more for passing)
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta in colander and let it rest there for now.
To the same cooking pot, add butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic & cook for 1 minute. Add dried basil (add fresh basil at the end), crushed red pepper flakes, brown sugar, salt & pepper. Stir in tomatoes with juices. Bring to a boil & simmer for 2 minutes. (Add fresh basil now if using.)
Add pasta back to pot and toss to coat. Stir in Parmesan. Pass more Parmesan at the table.
The Photo
There isn't one . . . I forgot . . . again
The Verdict
I think I halved this recipe for just Alec and me. I never measure my garlic, I just use a clove or two depending on the size. There's a strong possibility I didn't have any butter and just used all olive oil. I do remember very specifically that I used the low-sodium diced tomatoes and we both felt that it was too bland. So, either get the regular tomatoes or up the salt a little. I used dried basil because we didn't have any fresh. I'm sure it would be better with fresh basil!
Overall, I'd say this was an okay dish. I think I'll make it again, but add a touch more salt to the sauce and use fresh basil.
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