real.bread.

This is my little friend t. He comes and hangs out every so often, and helps me cook (and make beds, and do laundry- he loves that. I'm making him into a great husband for some lucky lady one day). Usually we make soup. He loves eating it, and is freakishly interested in helping me- he knows where i keep everything, and gets all the ingredients i need. He particularly likes getting the garlic and onions. Since we've been cooking soup on a regular basis, i've built up quite a supply in my freezer- probably enough to feed me two meals a day for the entire winter. The last time he was here we decided to try something new...bread. I've obviously made breakfast breads (like banana, etc) but have never tried a "real" bread. (My definition of "real" is any bread that requires yeast, therefore requiring several hours to rise.) It was surprisingly easy, particularly with my lovely kitchen aid, and came out great. Next time we'll attempt something a little more challenging.

marshmallow.

I just uploaded some photos, and found these that i took a week ago. I took them specifically to post, but then forgot, or more likely, didn't have time.
While tishka was visiting, i got the goods to make fondue- one of the main items at our first sleepover. The fondue sucked- it was too liquidy, and i turned the flame up too high and it gave the chocolate a gross burnt flavor. However, this was the only reason i had marshmallows in the cabinet a few days later when i was snuggled in front of the fire. Feeling a little snacky, i went searching for a treat. Upon finding the marshmallows, my first impulse was to pop a couple in my mouth raw. Then i remembered the cozy fire in the other room, and grabbed a skewer. Voila.

drying.up.

Every winter, i dry out a little more. Two years ago it was my face- if i didn't put lotion on right after i washed it, my skin felt uncomfortably tight. Last year it was my body- same thing. Since there are no new areas of skin to dry out, this year it's back to my face. Even with lotion twice a day, it's super dry and itchy. I've been using a combination of clinique dramatically different and cetaphil, but no luck. Still unbelievably dry. I also think i created a skin monster- after using clinque for several years, i tried another lotion and my face was not happy- it flaked and stung like a son-of-a-gun. So, after meeting portia for lunch downtown, i stopped at sephora to check out some new facial moisturizer. I like sephora because they have a million and a half brands, so are able to pick out the best one without pushing a specific brand. My skin expert gave me the entire run down on moisturizers, and basically told me i was too old to be using dramatically different- it's meant for teens and people in their early 20's. Once you get to be 30, you need to step it up. I now have their superdefense dry combo moisturizer. It already feels better- we'll see how it goes after a few days!

i.love.new.friends.

Last night was "girls night in" at portia's. Her husband was out of town on business, so she invited us all over to keep her company. I've been excited about it for weeks, but as it came closer, i realized how ridiculous it was for me to be doing anything other than school work, especially on a weeknight. Luckily, i convinced myself to go over for a few hours as a break from studying. I stopped home to change, and walked over to her place around 7:30. Portia had an impressive spread of tasty treats, and the five of us spent a couple hours talking, eating, and drinking wine. I wasn't ready to leave when two others left, so stayed with portia and shirley for a little longer. When I realized it was 1am, and insisted i needed to get going, they wouldn't let me walk the 3/4 mile home, insisting i'd be raped (which is ridiculous). So i stayed over. Thanks to their peer pressure, i was up until 4:30am. I still managed to set my alarm for 9am, and got 3 hours of studying in before heading off to work. The unfortunate part was that i missed the blueberry muffins. Darn.

chinese.food.

Our home telephone number is one digit different from that of a local chinese restaurant. We've had calls for them for years now, and while sometimes a tad bothersome, we've all adjusted and just give the caller the correct number. A few times a stubborn caller won't listen, and will call back repeatedly. We've definitely taken a few orders over the years. Because the house number is now mainly used for the dsl line, the only calls we get are solicitations and chinese orders- i can predict who it is depending on the timing of the call. Instead of being annoyed by them, i find myself really looking forward to these calls- the chinese food ones, not the solicitations. I've spoken with some very nice people. It makes me feel like i have a little company when i'm all alone.

gargamel.

Do you remember him? And azreal? I'm having serious smurf cravings and have been watching some on youtube. I may even put a smurf dvd on my christmas list. It also reminds me of some of my other favorite shows; he-man and she-ra, thunder cats and danger mouse.

today.was...

...my 100th platelet donation!!!!!! I should have brought my camera and taken pictures to post, but didn't think of it until now. Maybe another time. It's crazy to look at all the scarring on my little veins and know that they've each been poked well over 100 times (with the many no tubes/no product days (when they miss or bruise the vein, or when there's no access pressure) along with regular blood tests). I've probably been stuck around 300 times all in all, though now that they use the new fancy trima machines, it's a one arm procedure instead of two. In my years of donating (my first official donation was 12 years ago, but was at a different hospital so doesn't count towards my 100), i've been successful in recruiting another donor exactly two times. The first was mandy, but that was 12 years ago, so almost doesn't count. The second was my sister- two years ago at thanksgiving. This is a sad number. They probably make fun of me behind my back for showing up alone all the time. I wonder if i could get more people to go if i said i'd count it as my christmas present. Hmmmm.

fatso.and.weirdo.

My brother lives in seattle and has two cats; fatso and weirdo. I think they started off with "real" names that eventually evolved into what they are now. I find the whole situation hilarious. First of all, we never had cats or dogs growing up because of allergies. I myself am allergic to both, but (as you know) have managed to get attached to earl, the cat next door. Other than him, i don't tend to pet animals. I think that pets are to me what kids are to others; you always hear of people who don't like kids, don't know how to deal with them, etc, and as soon as they have their own, they're in love. That's how i'd like to think i'll be with animals. Back to fatso and weirdo. He got them when he lived in austin (they're sisters, i think from a shelter), and moved with them to his new place in seattle. Every so often he'd post photos of one or both of them watching him cooking- just sitting on a chair and peeking over the edge of the table. Cute. Recently, he's been updating his facebook status with messages about them. Hilarious messages which make me laugh so hard i cry. Here are some good ones, the last being my favorite:

Brian: woke up to Fatso meowing like crazy. Found Weirdo wandering around in the grass outside, apparently fallen from the second-story window!!!!

Brian: clarification for the worried: Weirdo is totally fine. She must have fallen ~20 feet, but was quite calm and uninjured, if a bit shaken.

(Note- I recently talked with Brian for a couple hours, and he mentioned that this has happened several times since. Even though he leaves the window shut most of the time and only opens it to vent while cooking. Apparently neither cat is the sharpest tack in the box.)

Brian: put zap collars on cats to keep them out of the kitchen. They're TOTALLY nonplussed, chilling. I tried & it shocked the S**T out of me. WTF?

Brian: cats seem to have grasped "collar beeping = walking into kitchen" & are learning. of course, what they're learning is "must get collar off".

Brian: left laptop open when i left the house; came back to find keys missing. in other news, planning on cat stew for dinner tomorrow.

Boy oh boy. I'm amused over such ridiculous things!

thank.goodness...

...that the best man won. Phew! That's a load off my shoulders. Thanks also to shirley (and rob) for hosting a fantastic election party! And to portia (and ed) for driving me there. I didn't take pictures, or i'd be sure to share. Good night.

trick.or.treat.

Friday night was the first halloween i've spent alone in this house. Usually i'd cover the door while the girls went trick or treating, but never had the responsibility of buying candy and being around to get up and down everytime the bell rang. It was a little sad, but there are some cute kids in our neighborhood, and i was determined not to be the loser house with no decorations and crappy candy. So i stocked up at bj's (we get tons of kids), and bought two pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns. I was planning to build a fire and hang out with some reading after the kids finished, but eva called in the afternoon to see if i wanted to go out later. Fire or bar? I was leaning towards the fire, but told myself i needed to get out and about more, so i told her i'd take the 9:05 bus.
Because i didn't want to try and shower while kids were coming, i hopped in at 5:45, and threw my clothes on so i could answer the door. The first group of kids were probably between the ages of 3 and 6. There were 5 of them. One little girl asked me lots of questions, "Did i have kids?", "Did isabel (the cute 5yr old next door who thinks i'm cool) come over every day to keep me company?" They were all there long enough that the younger kids asked for more candy. As they were leaving, the chatty girl looked at me and said, "you're pretty. I mean, you're beautiful. You're very beautiful." I almost kissed her. Mind you, I was standing there with wet hair and no makeup. I think i might invite this kid over more often.
Over the next two hours i got plenty of exercise running up and down the stairs while i put makeup on and did my hair. I even painted my toenails since i had the time. Towards 8:30, as things slowed down and i got ready to turn the light off and leave, a group of three 8th gradeish girls showed up. One was dressed as a dead bride, and the other two looked pretty punky. They gave me sullen "trick-or-treats," i gave them their candy, and as they turned to walk away, the dead bride paused and said "i like your hairdo." Needless to say, i was in a great mood as i headed out for the night.