i.need.a.massage.

My back is stiff, especially in the shoulder area (which is where i've always carried stress). I miss when tish was in muscular therapy school and used to have to give a free practice massage each week. I don't think i've ever been that relaxed. I tried to work the knots out of my own back, but it didn't go so well which is unfortunate because i'm apparently pretty good at back rubs. Julie and kevin sit strategically with their backs to me, and fight over whose turn it is- like i even want to give them a massage. You're lucky you both live far away or i'd be cashing in on all those back rubs you owe me.

nothing.

I don't have anything to report today. I know i thought of something earlier, but i don't remember it anymore. Since my blog's obviously going down the tubes (as is evidenced by the lack of comments recently), you should go check out mandy's new one. Just ignore her grammatical mistakes as english isn't her first language. She's brilliant.

magic.hat.cap.quote.

"A good Sneeze can Knock you on your Knees."

6:17.

My birthday is on june 17th. I don't usually like odd numbers but 17 is an exception. What i've found disturbing is the increasing frequency with which i look at the clock and find it's 6:17. I don't check all the time, and i don't plan it, but it seems to be happening more and more often. I'll come home with groceries and glance at the kitchen clock- 6:17. I'll be in the car and go to change the radio station (to 103.3, of course) and it'll be 6:17. Or today- i was entering the last blog post, and glanced at the clock on my laptop. Right again, 6:17. While it makes me happy, it's also starting to freak me out a little.

om.

I forgot to mention that i meditated for the first time in that class i went to last night. The class is called "cross cultural perspectives on grief" and it seems that they have guest lecturers fairly often to share a different perspective. Last night the woman who came in was a clinical social worker who was also a buddhist. She started off having us meditate for five minutes. We sat in our chair with both feet on the floor and our hands on our knees. Then we had to close our eyes and focus on our breath for a full five minutes. She told us that anytime a thought came into our head, we should acknowledge it, and then let it go. Easier said than done. It's virtually impossible for my brain to stop thinking- not that i'm so brilliant- i mainly thought about how i was not supposed to be thinking about anything. That, and how this was just like what liz experienced in eat, pray, love. I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly it seemed to go- i expected to start going crazy after about 30 seconds. I guess i've gotten so good at doing nothing that meditation is even possible!

after.school.special.

Tonight i went back to school. I was a visitor in a graduate course that's part of the program i'm hoping to get into next fall. I loved it. Great professor, great students, and great material. I got to participate, and felt like i'd been there all semester. I can't wait to be back in school- and since I've gotten used to being poor, there won't be much shock when i sign up for all those loans!

'tis.the.season.

Christmas threw up in my neighborhood. It even included a star of david for our jewish friends. Here's a picture so you can relive your childhood excitement:


On a similar note, i'm thrilled that oldies 103.3 has become christmas central with non-stop holiday music until the 26th. I'll give you one guess as to what channel i'm listening to...

moroccan.food.

We went here last night for dinner. Not only was the food good and the decor good, but there were belly dancers for entertainment!

1:0.what?

Whatever happened to hour long tv shows actually being one hour? All this 1:02, 1:09 minute baloney is reeking havoc on my tivo. It either clips the second show, clips the first show, or skips out completely on the lower priority one. I'm missing out on all the key parts.

thanks.giving.

During our thanksgiving celebration, the kids always watch tv. Years ago, we watched home alone, which always played on a local station. Since we're now all in our 20's, we've stepped it up a notch. On the menu tonight? A christian teen support program which told us how to keep a social life while avoiding parties with drinking, drugs, and sexual party games. We should take the keys from anyone who is drinking, and call on the holy spirit to protect us and keep us making strong moral decisions.. Next up were two partial episodes of family feud. Katherine and i would kick butt if we ever got on that show. Last but certainly not least- home alone....in spanish. The best part was watching the lips say english words, while we heard the funny voiced dubbing. Classic.

curtains.

I have curtains! Great floor length, bluish gray, thermal lined curtains for all seven windows. I sewed them while i watched the second season of project runway, which seemed appropriate. We were all sewing together.

thanks.for.your.help.

I want these shoes. I really, really want them. Mandy found them at marshalls for $39.99 just yesterday, and i was so jealous. She has little feet- size 6.5, and those little feeted people always get the good deals on cute shoes. Even if i was inclined to spend more than double what she paid for them, i couldn't get them in a size 10. If any of you can find them for me, i'll love you forever. Maybe start looking at the marshalls closest to you.

scar.tissue.

My competitive side is being challenged right now, and i'm not sure i'll win. I have four more platelet donations to get in before the end of the year to make the maximum number of 24/year. I've never made it before because something always seems to go wrong. Last year, I had two left when this happened. This year isn't looking too much better. First of all, i keep getting stuck by the new techs. After several misses, i started requesting l and k, the two techs who have the best track record with my draw line. That seemed to smooth things down, but last week when i went in, neither of them were there- they were both on the blood mobile. So my draw line crashed, and i got sent home, still with four to go. Today. Same thing. Except l was there, and stuck me not once, but twice on the draw side. The good news is that she was able to determine what the problem was: My arms have been poked at so much that i've built up a ridiculous amount of scar tissue. When they go into that vein and push right through it, some scar tissue can get picked up, which blocks the needle and causes the access pressure to drop. This doesn't have to mean it's over- they can strip the tube, moving the scar tissue along, but because of my super high platelet count, my blood starts to clot right away, creating another barrier at the tip of the needle. By the time they strip the tube and get rid of the scar tissue, the clot's formed, and the show's over. This is highly annoying. Grrrr...

mandy.

I'm so excited! My super favorite california friend mandy got here today! Here's a picture of us with the girls. (She's known them since they were babies, so we all hung out tonight. Aren't they adorable?) I met mandy in high school when she moved to acton because her high school "burnt down." We've been bff's ever since, but since she moved to the west coast, we don't get to hang out so often. I guess we'll have to make up for lost time, whatever that means....

soup.nazi.

My new favorite thing to make is soup. I make a whole batch and freeze it in big freezer ziplocks. Then when i'm hungry with nothing to eat, i cut a slab off and stick it in a pan to warm up. It's delicious. I recently finished off the sweet potato/caramelized onion soup from our first cooking night, and since it's my favorite, i whipped up a new batch today. Since the onions are my favorite part, i added a double batch of them. As soon as it cools, it'll join the potato, bacon, chive and horseradish soup, and the three bean chili that i already have frozen. Here's the newest addition:

It says it makes 8-10 servings. For who? A giant? This should last me into february.

fire.

Click here to learn how to start a large fire bomb in your kitchen....or how to prevent one.

mister.calm.

Today was the day i realized that i'm crazy. I talk to myself. It must be some sort of psychiatric disorder similar to mpd or schizophrenia, but at the level where i recognize that i have (at least) two personalities. While driving to children's, i was trying to go straight through an intersection where i had a green light, but all these idiots who were turning left kept blocking me. They kept trying to sneak in even though it was obvious that their special left turn signal was long gone. After forcing my car forward in a way that prevented anyone else from cutting me off, the guy who was next to turn had the nerve to wave me ahead!!! Like he even had the right to do so! If anyone was doing any waving, it should have been me. I was instantly irate, and silently cursed at him until my calm personality (mr. calm) took over and rationalized that it wasn't anything to get so worked up about. A similar thing happened in the garage when i was trying to park. It was busy, so i ended up on the 8th level, but it took forever to get there since the woman in front of me drove very slowly and stopped anytime it looked like someone was leaving. My initial response was annoyance, but then mr. calm stepped in again and pointed out that this woman was likely bringing a sick kid to the hospital, or visiting a sick kid, and maybe i should give her a break. I thought back on this, and realized that i do this a lot- react first, then reason and calm down. Maybe someday i'll be able to reason right off the bat, and forget about the reacting part. Maybe then i'll be cured.

telly.monster.is.my.favorite.

I watched sesame street today for the first time in years. It was pretty good! It reminded me of when i was a kid. Brian and i were only allowed to watch sesame street, mister rogers' neighborhood, and reading rainbow on weekdays until we were old- like 9 and 7 or something. We lucked out with a tv in the first place, because my parents didn't have, or want one when i was little, but (so the story goes) my grandparents bought one so that i could watch sesame street. If it weren't for them- and sesame street- i could have been one of those weird, socially awkward kids who doesn't know what anyone's talking about. God bless them both.

so.long.

Evil- have a great six weeks in india. We'll miss your smart a** comments around here, but if you bring me back a present, i suppose we'll all forgive you.

party.party.parties.

My christmas party's coming up- tentatively scheduled for december 15th. Since i've made new friends over the past few years, sitting them all at the table for a "classy gourmet christmas dinner party" has become increasingly difficult. So this year, I'm doing a cocktail party instead. That way I can invite even more people! If you've never come before, send me your address and i'll send you an invite.
Next on the to-do list is figuring out my new year's options. Not that i'll have many, but it's good to get started early. So all of you out there- start planning some parties , and i'll go to whatever one looks best, keeping in mind that i'm still on a strick budget (ie- i'll probably be staying over and not taking a cab home). I'm excited to see what you're all planning!!

magic.pillows.

I love our apartment- especially because I had free reign to decorate. I got to choose the paint colors, organize the furniture, pick out fabrics, etc. I'm also pretty good about utilizing every inch of free space without it looking cluttered, which is important because we don't have any other storage space. Our back hall shelves took care of most stuff, but we still have random things which don't really fit anywhere else. Pillows, for example. I have a slight obsession with them, and somehow ended up with seven extra full sized pillows. Five of them were used on my guest room bed in my old place, and the two others must have been rejects from my own bed. I left three of them behind, but brought the other four (the feather ones) to have around for guests. Instead of sticking them under my bed or in a trunk somewhere, i made them into convertible couch pillows. I shook the feathers to one end, folded over the extra fabric, and sewed covers for them. Now we can use them to make our couch look nice, but when a guest's here (who's going to be first??), we just unbutton the back, pull the pillow out, fluff it up a little and throw it in a pillow case. Presto chango.

new.low.

Today I acheived a new personal best in frugality. Andrea and i went to three stores; ikea, costco, and christmas tree shop. Costco for the monthly apartment run (toilet paper, detergent, yogurt, etc) and christmas tree shop to look at frames. An old friend and her mother showed up on the more recent commercial (all of which i hate) and alerted me to the fact that should they have them, i could pick up a few more black and white frames to finished off my bedroom wall for hundreds less than what pottery barn sells them for. They didn't have them, but i did get a plastic boot tray for $2.99 that will live in the hall outside our door come winter weather and wet boots. I also got some paperwhite bulbs which i've been wanting forever. While this was exciting, the real action happened at ikea. Before it moved to massachusetts, it was not unusual for me to drive four and a half hours to new jersey, spend three hours shopping, and drive four and a half hours back in the same day. If i was particularly tired, i might crash at my aunt and uncle's in westfield, nj. Since this was such a big trip, i usually spent at least $200 each time i went. Now that i have a 25 minute drive, it's easier to make more frequent trips, and therefore not necessary to buy something just because. Regardless...i generally spend no less than $30. Today my total was $7.33. I was so proud.

lunch.

Guess what I had for lunch today... a fluffernutter. Yup, that's right, the almost official massachusetts state sandwich. As you can see, my healthy eating is going quite well.

cooking.night...

...at nora's house. On the menu: polenta galettes with leek and swiss chard, beet salad with goat cheese and candied pecans, brie and apple soup, and carrot currant muffins. It was a cheesy night since nora's dish (the polenta) was topped with melted gruyere, my beet salad had goat cheese, and dali's soup had brie. It seemed appropriate for a cold fall night. I could see my breath when we were leaving. Since i was out in concord today, i picked up my ingredients at verrill farm, my new favorite place. I love cooking with fresh ingredients- it makes me feel healthy. I also love beets, and don't eat them enough. Maybe i'll pick up some more tomorrow, and make this salad again. I've decided that the perfect salad has to have some sort of nut and some sort of cheese to really make it exceptional. Otherwise it ends up kind of standard. This is one of my favorites now. Looking at the picture on the left is making my mouth water and I'm stuffed. The other three things were also great tonight, and very satisfying. There was so much food that it was hard to save room for the muffins. I think we sat at the table for at least an hour to free up space in a leg or arm. Aside from the obvious quality friend time, my favorite part about cooking night is making/eating things that i wouldn't necessarily cook for myself. It's a good way of broadening my horizons.

battery.power.

I thought my computer died. It kept turning itself off, and on monday, it wouldn't turn back on. I called the hp tech support (again) and had an overly frustrating time with them. Their computers were down (that's reassuring), they insisted my computer was 600 something days out of warranty (it has another three and a half months), and they made me repeat my info over and over again. I'm not racist, but I really was annoyed with the indians. Normally it's a fairly painless experience- they overnight me a box with packing material, I overnight it back (for free), they keep it for a day or two, and overnight it back to me all fixed. Since their computers were down, I was told they'd call me with a case number, and they never did. I called them last night, and was ready to punch someone by the time I got off the phone. Long story short(er), my sad laptop's still here, and I asked my dad to bring in my grandad's laptop so I could use it while mine's repaired. Since we're all spoiled and can't last a day without the internet, we've all borrowed it at one time or another. His laptop's actually the same as mine, but it has a better battery. I stuck his on my laptop to see if it would work, and it did- which means that there's some issue with my battery or cord, or the connection between the two. I'll still send it in for repairs, but at least was able to update the info on my external hard drive so I won't lose anything if they reset the hard drive again. The greatest part was the battery life with the big fancy battery. My battery lasts for 7 mins, literally, when it's charged to 100%. It used to be longer- like 3 hours tops, but now goes into hibernation when I unplug it and run the twenty feet from the living room to my bedroom. With the fancy battery, I can actually leave the cord in one room, and use the laptop in another room for an extended period of time. Like now for example. The battery shows 87% charge, and 6hrs 3mins left. I know what's going to be number one on my christmas list.

part.two.

This story ties into the one I posted last night about my train trouble. It's a continuation really, but from another point of view. So, as I said, I finally got back to my aunt's around 12:30am. She was asleep already with her door cracked open, so I scrubbed my teeth, washed my face, and hopped into bed. I must have been as quite as a church mouse because she never heard me. So at 3am when she woke up and didn't think I was home, she started to panic- where'd they drop me off, who was this guy I was meeting (what was his name- evil?), etc, etc. Apparently she told herself that I was grown-up, and could take care of myself, but it wasn't until she got out of bed and realized that I was home that she calmed down and went back to sleep. It's good to know I'm loved!

mishap.

I have a couple good stories to post, but I'm not using them all up at once. Even though I've posted a couple times already today, I'm getting one more in there before I forget the good parts:
As I already mentioned, last saturday I met evil at a bar in nyc. He bought me a couple beers, and then I had to head out to catch a train to my aunt's house, and he had to head home to play some guitar hero 3 on his wii. Since I didn't want to drag my aunt out to pick me up at the train station when it was dark out, I'd dropped my car off in the morning so I could drive myself home. Everything was going as planned, I made it to grand central in one piece, bought my ticket to station R, and still had enough time to pick up some quality reading material for the 50min ride back. Once on the train, the ticket guy told me I'd need to move up a car in order to get off at R since there weren't as many platforms. So I did, and spent the next 49mins reading about brad pitt, kaite holmes, etc, etc. At 11:20, I hopped off the train at R, the train pulled away, and I realized that my car was not parked there. After a few minutes of panic, I realized that it was not stolen, but right where I'd left it- two stops earlier at N. I briefly considered calling my aunt to come get me, but since I'm a grown-up, I tried to figure it out on my own first. After consulting the train schedule, I decided to wait 47 minutes for the 12:07am train to new york, which would take me back the two stops to stop N. It was pretty nippy out, so I huddled on a metal bench with my magazine, and prayed that I wouldn't be raped and murdered while I waited. I was lucky and survived, and made it safely to my car and back to my aunt's place by 12:30 or so. I'm not sure why I was set on stop R from the get-go, but I didn't doubt it was right until I was standing in a pitch black parking lot with no car. And yes, I'd had a few beers and a glass of wine at dinner, but alcohol was not responsible. I guess the only viable excuse is old age.

magic.hat.cap.quote.

"A Toast to Dennis and Justin"

turkey.trot.

It's time for the annual turkey trot at my gym. That means 90 mins of cardio each day, from november 1st to november 30th, only missing 5 days at most. I missed three already; thursday because I forgot, and saturday and sunday because I was in new york. So in order to win (and we all know how competitive I am) I have to be there everyday except two, for the rest of the month. Since I'll be putting extra effort in at the gym, I've decided I'll add an extra challenge. I want to lose another 20lbs to be at my ideal weight, so I'll be eating extra healthy to see how much I can drop by the end of this month. Maybe I'll even add an extra column on the right with how much I'm down by. If anyone else wants to join me, let me know. Maybe we can place a bet on it.....

magic.hat.cap.quote.

"Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal"
"Being Stronger means Living Longer"

Because I want to be cool like the hose, I'm starting some new reoccurring columns. The first will be this- magic hat cap quote. I love magic hat beer, plus, they have super fun caps with quotes inside. So every time I have a beer, I'll write my cap quote here. Tonight I had two. The other regular column will be our bar night escapades. We haven't started bar night yet, but when we do, I'll write about it here. Should be good. Maybe not as good as the hose, but they have, like, five people who post on their blog, and I have one.

stephanie.breaks.the.law.

Twice, actually. Driving down to my aunt's place in connecticut, I called verizon to cancel the internet function on my phone since I never use it, and the free subscription was about to expire. At that point, I didn't know it was illegal to use cell phones while driving in ct. On my way home tonight, I called one of my favorite friends- mandy. I got stuck in traffic and was close to raising my super low blood pressure (like 96/64) to a dangerous level. So while I knew it was illegal by then, I figured it could count as a medical necessity.

evil.

I can finally call evil a friend, and not just a friend-of-a-friend or someone I know from online (which sounds rather sketchy) because I finally met him! I was in nyc, so we met up and had a few beers. It's too bad he lives in ny (and is a yankees fan) because he's cool, and would be easy to hang out with. As it is, next time he's in boston, he's coming out with et#1 and me (since we'll soon be instituting a weekly bar night) so we can find me a boy, and him a girl. I'll update with any interesting stories from bar night as soon as we get it going. Maybe it will be a new weekly (or biweekly) column!

new.york.

Heading to new york for the weekend. Seeing a couple shows, hanging out with my aunt, and walking around in the city. Too bad I don't have a bunch of extra money- new york's always fun to shop in!

nothing.new.

Wow. I was gone all day today, without internet access, and was looking forward to getting home and catching up on all the blog posts, comments, and e-mails I received while away. Unfortunately, it looks like everyone else was away today too, because the only thing updated was one lousy e-mail from my dad. (The e-mail itself wasn't lousy, but the fact that it was the only one I got was.) Where is everyone? Why no comments on my, or any of the other blogs? No e-mails to say hi? It's good I wasn't sitting at home all day, because I would have been seriously disappointed every time I checked in (which would have happened at least ten times). Let's make tomorrow a more productive day, okay?