MMP – The Year In Review

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
221

You leave my tongue outta this.
:stuck_out_tongue:

Heh. I’ll never tell…

Just finished ANOTHER sample test–this one the Princeton Review.

scored 740 on Verbal(99%) and 410 (14%)on Math.

Now, if I can just hold that position (and improve the math a tad)…it is scarey how standardized tests pan out, no? My SAT scores and my ACT scores from almost 30 years ago had about the same spread.

You never want me in charge of numbers. I can live with that.
I need to get a new computer. I could not upload my test to the Princeton site and had to call tech support. It wasn’t AOL and it wasn’t Princeton’s site, leaving…my computer! The silence on the other end spoke volumes, lemme tell ya. We ended up with me having to email him the attached file, which he will manually load (great customer service, and he sounded soooo cute!).

I hope to have a breakdown very soon of each question. I feel much better about this test and will quit boring you all.

gt --I will do anything–and I mean almost anything–for chocolate. I will do anything for chocolate with nuts in it.
dolores --that chicken thingy sounds good. Lose the peppers and the broccoli and I’ll come over so you won’t have any leftovers!

Have a great Saturday noc, everyone! This call to tech support (who told me that my puter might have some “issues”) has made my husband decide that he needs to clean up the hard drive, install different spyware and virus protection.

I may never see any of you again.
<sob>
Think of me, sometimes, okay?

222

Good grief, man, don’t you know what discretion means??? :eek:
:smiley:

I’m home. The birthday party was nice, and I ate way too much. I also had some nice conversations with my daughter during our long drives. We’ll take her to the airport tomorrow, and she’ll head back south. <sigh> I miss her already.

Nothing else to add for now.

223

Dinner was just ok - I need to tweak it a bit.

Hang in there, Riggs. Can you get a tutor for the math portion?

Taters - I never get moving until about 8:30 or so, when I get hungry. Hubby’s usually already started some project or another, and I just fix breakfast. Then watch TV until 11 or 12. I have to watch the shows I DVR’ed all week, No need to feel guilty! Everyne needs to revamp their batteries!

224

Spurred on by the discussion of Ellen’s Texas Caviar, I modified her recipe for my first attempt at this. It’s been sitting in the fridge about 3 hours now, and it tasted pretty durned good. This is what I made:

Bobbio’s Texas Caviar

1 (15 oz) can blackeye peas, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, well rinsed and drained
1 (15-1/2 oz) can white hominy, drained
16 oz (half the bottle) chunky salsa, of preferred heat (I used Utz Medium, a regional brand)
Heaping teaspoon of minced pickled garlic
2T dehydrated onion
2T dehydrated cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice (optional)

Combine first 7 ingredients, and, if desired, lime juice (I used it).

My extensive research revealed about 3 other versions, one involving Eyetalian Dressing, which is nectar of the godz. I intend to try all those in turn…

225

You’re going to force me to make that Texas caviar, aren’t you? Sounds yummy. Think I’ll have to take it to my next social extravaganza…

I hereby declare “jet lag” this week’s excuse for all manner of sins. ems and I are coming by this legitimately, but I’m glad to share.

I’ve reached the stage where I’m between schedules and get sleepy and wake up at the times prescribed by both time zones. Even though there’s technically a six-hour difference, I managed to shrink it to 3 or four hours by going to bed 2 to 3 hours later than I do here and sleeping in far later than I’d ever do here. In either direction I try not to do the math and focus on it being the time where I’m currently at, but it still takes some time to get into a routine.

rigs - you had just better have access to a computer! We need to know about your progress with the GRE!!! Hope the hubby really knows how to clean it up. There are some good suggestions and links in the computer question sticky in GQ.

As for chocolate - we are clearly related. One of my favorites is Ritter’s dark chocolate with whole hazelnuts. (Also, rum raisin and hazelnuts…). And I think I’m out of both. Guess I need to run to the grocery store.

Wound up loafing on the couch last night watching Hitch, which I’d been meaning to see for a while. Cute movie. (And just the level of intellectual challenge that I needed…)

I’m grateful I barely decorated. We’re going to celebrate Christmas here next weekend and I’ll be using a little painted Christmas tree as the focal point… When I talked to far-away best friend on Thursday, she sounded stressed and depressed by the amount of cleaning that they were doing. She was looking for snowman-related stuff she could put up so that her house wouldn’t be completely naked.

What are you changing about your recipe, Delores?

I had white asparagus in lime-butter sauce and a Yukon gold potato with sour cream for dinner. And mandarin oranges. I’m always disappointed by white asparagus here; these were pretty good, but there were a few that were kind of bitter. The rest are going to be marinated in a vinaigrette for lunch today and tomorrow; I’m still debating what else to put in the salad. Please discuss.

Happy Sunday morning!

GT

226

I’m beginning to rethink my MMP crashing. You folks just get way too much stuff done. This weekend I have… um, errr, Hmf. Hey, but I’m well rested o.k.?

Well I did get one thing done… not by myself though. My step-daughter came to help me with house-cleaning, and decided it would be neat to take my dog to the groomers for a spiff-up. So she calls and they say they can fit him in a 3:30. That was way too late for us so (bless her pushy little heart) she kept at them until they said they’d take him at 12:30. Then they say they have to have a certificate of up-to-date rabies vaccine. GAH! Filing is just not my thing. I couldn’t find it. So I call the vet to have a new one printed (cost $5.00!) by now it’s getting late and we don’t know if we can get there on time. Of course she’d already made a big deal out of it, and Spud (the dog) was all excited to go in the car. Little did he know about exactly where he was going. So she calls again and they say they can still take him if we’re only a little late.

We get there and sign stuff and agree to pay extra for the extra-special deep moisturing skin balm stuff and turn him over. So they say, he should be done at 3:30. Whhhhhaaat? My poor dog! He’s never been to a groomer. He has separation anxiety. He’s my little baby boy! So my daughter (bless her pushy heart again) says that just won’t do, she’d called twice, you said… etc. So they moved him up to be done at 2:00. Still too long if you ask me, but what do I know about dog grooming.

So we leave him and go wander the connected pet supply store. I have alot of pets so we stock up on all the various food and toys and such that pets need, then still had more time to kill, so went “dream shopping” at the Amish furnature store next door. Jeesh, they had some really nice stuff that I’ll never have.

So any-who, about a quarter to two we go back to see if he’s done. The lady says, well he is, but… we need to rewash the back half of his body. Yep, my poor little boy got so scared during the nail clipping that he pooped all over the table. Poor guy must have been struggling too, if he needed actual rewashing. I guess this would be called Spud’s revenge.

We made a big fuss about how wonderful he was and gave him special treats so he’s over the trauma, I hope anyway. Well all of that took up all my energy and no house cleaning happened. Actually, come to think of it I didn’t do anything but pay for the trip, and it still wore me out!

So, that’s how lazy I am. And a little TMI for everyone. But I have a nickname now so I guess I get to stick around until someone ushers me to the cyberdoor. I can be that one guest who doesn’t know when to leave. You know the one, the one laying in a heap on your sofa surrounded by empty glasses and plates.

227

Indy, that poor little Spud!

gard - I think it needs tomato paste. And the mozzarella clumped a lot. I forgot to say I added penne pasta too. It was kinda runny, except for the clumps of cheese. I should try one of the blended cheeses instead. It tasted good, though, just not quite right on the texture.

Doing laundry and grocery list making. I’m gonna make ribs on the grill later today, after grocery shopping. Later in the week I’m planning crabmeat-stuffed fish of some sort. Flounder or tilapia fillets, whatever I can find.

228

Baby’s headed home. It’s all quiet here. <sigh>

We loaded the car and headed into Waldorf for breakfast, then to Borders so she cold get a book for on the plane. We dropped her at the airport way early - about 3 hours before her flight. We came back by way of Bowie and stopped at Lowe’s and WalMart for a couple of things we needed, and we got home a little after 1. I washed both cars with the brush-on-a-wand thingy - the only reason my feet got wet was from walking in puddles. So both vehicles are less cruddy than they were. After that, we loaded our trash and recyclables into the van and took them to the convenience center. I’ve got a load of laundry going and FCD is crashed on the couch watching TV. Back to work tomorrow. Ick.

It was really nice having the kid home. I do miss her. I know part of my job was to raise her to be an independent adult, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Alas…

229

Pretty much sums up my thoughts at the moment. I’ve had 2 1/2 weeks off and still it feels like it’s too soon to go back. I’m sure I’ll be fine, but I’ve really enjoyed the time off and still have about a million things I’d like to do. I’m consoling myself with the fact that we have a three-day weekend next week…

Just back from supporting the economy. Bought Christmas cards (I should have enough now to get me through next year and part of the following) and an album for my holiday pics and some gourmet mustard and pate and a frame and some shampoo and ibuprofen and other stuff I’m forgetting. Still no sign of the French licorice thingies though. I’m sure I’ll stumble across them eventually - I have several more places in mind - but I need to get the house semi-clean before my brother stops by to drop some stuff off at 5.

FCM, you sound just like Far-Away Best Friend on the phone a bit ago. She sounded pretty blue and reported that the kids were feeling lonely too. Just so you know that empty-nest syndrome hits even non-parents.

Delores, I almost always wind up adding tomato paste to sauces like that - somehow the extra shot of flavor always seems to help. You might want to grate some Asiago into it; I like it better than Parmesan or Romano and you wind up using less than mozarella because it has more flavor.

Off to clean, organize, put away, throw away…or loaf.

GT

230

Just returned from Best Buy, Sears, Target, and Safeway.

At Best Buy, my son exchanged one of his Christmas presents, we bought blank DVD/CDs, and we bought a head set/microphone thingy so we can talk on Ventrillo when we’re playing WoW.

We went to Sears to use the gift card we received for Christmas. The hubby found what he wanted, but I didn’t get anything. I felt all rushed and stuff, so nothing appealed to me. I’ll have to go back on my own. After that we went to the food court and ate lunch. After that, we went to Tar-jay so my son could use his gift card there. He bought a game for the PC.

Finally, we went to Safeway and picked up a few groceries. So, we’ve done our part to support the economy today.

I didn’t drink any coffee this morning, so I was getting a severe headache. I had the hubby go to the coffee stand at Safeway and get me a quad shot Americano. I hope that knocks the headache out.

Tonight’s dinner will be chicken cordon bleu and…something else. I don’t know what yet. I think I’m going to zone out on the sofa for awhile now.

231

Didn’t someone post that you could get them from Amazon.com? Yeah, here they are. If you can’t get them there, I’ve got half a tin in my briefcase I’ll be glad to send you.

Just got backJust got back from Winn-Co (food market) and I’m at the shop rounding up garbage.
Need to go home now and eat. Missed lunch. 'Course i didn’t have brekkie until 10:30, so I’m not dying, but still…

Dinner tonight is roasted chicken, some rice combo thing we got at Winn-Co, and salad with Chipotle ranch dressing. Someone told us about this dressing so we got some of that to try tonight too.

232

I can hardly ever find stuff I like if I’m out shopping with others… I always feel either rushed or watched or something.

Thanks Bumba - I know I can get them through Amazon, but I feel dumb ordering a $2 item if I’m not ordering something else AND I know I’ve seen them somewhere in Columbus; I’m sure I’ll figure out where it was soon enough.

I’ve cleaned reasonably - bathroom is clean and the kitchen is pretty well cleaned up, but the little brother never showed. Don’t know if he ran out of time (he was in town for a concert that started at 7) or if he’s just going to stop by later… Or maybe it was his evil plot to get me to clean since he and his kids camped here one night while I was gone and it was less than perfectly clean. Not that he did anything about it.

I need to plan lunches for the week and maybe consider dinner. I’m not hungry, so maybe I’ll just have a salad.

Also, I need to put the finishing touches on tomorrow’s OP. If it’s not there by 7:00 a.m. Eastern time, then something horrible happened to my Internet connection and someone else should go ahead and start. Yes, I’m paranoid, why do you ask? (Or maybe I’m just a crackerjack project manager and always need a contingency plan. Yeah, that’s it.)

GT

233

Ditto on the shopping for me. I do not like to shop (and would never spend/waste and afternoon browsing) but I need time to mentaly go thru my clothes and see what I could wear with this and do I really want more brown/blue/green or whathaveyou. I do it alone.

I am back, and so far, no real change in the computer. Cross fingers.
I am having problems with Princeton Review–I cannot get my results to upload onto their site. I called tech support and we ended up with me attaching the files and emailing them to him and then he manually uploaded them. I got an email from him (very nice guy, btw) that said wait a few hours and then access your results. This was all last noc.

So, I did that this morning. Guess what? STILL NO RESULTS.
so, I called again. Got a not so nice guy with an adenoid problem, but he did fill me in on something. Apparently I can review all my answers and get the correct ones on the CD.

I may end up doing that and bagging the site entirely–life and time are too short.
Having a strained day here with my husband. Never mind the details-too boring to type!

Looking forward to an oo la la post on lundi!