This kinda summarizes my life right now....but substitute a cat and a baking obsession for 2 of the dogs.
That being said, Dog is loosing his manhood on Friday, and I'm feeling kinda bad about it. However, 2 specific incidents have led to this suddenly being a rather urgent necessity....
1--While sick over the weekend, I spent a few nights at my parent's house and, as any good pet-parent, I brought Dog and Cat. Dog was planned to sleep upstairs with my parents and their 2 dogs so I could actually get some sleep....yeah, right. My mom came down to get Dog's bed and went back up....then came back down, this is where it got bad. Mom informed me that Dog started *ahem* humping his pillow....yeah, that part I could deal with...then my mom proceeded to re-enact it, complete with hip thrusts and arm movements. That was something I absolutely never needed to see and pretty much sealed Dog's fate.
2--Although I called and scheduled the removal of his boy-stuff the morning after the previous event, Dog further confirmed that this was the right decision at puppy class that night....when, while practicing "come" (no pun intended) in front of the entire class, Dog decided that he was suddenly and inexplicably turned on by the middle-aged, rotund, mustached female trainer and that he needed to act on that feeling immediately.
Bye-bye boy parts
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Plus one
I hate being sick. Ok...so I get that no one really likes being sick, but maybe I wouldn't dread it so damn much if it didn't always seem to come with reinforcements (namely, the flu or things that masquerade as the flu) and snide remarks. Recent evidence....
Dropped of super cute kiddo on Wednesday and noticed my throat hurt. Got worse quick, called in to work for Thurs. Woke up unable to swallow without feeling like someone was trying to rip off my ears while simultaneously shoving sharp pokey things into my throat. Drove to the doctor....resulting in being told that my allergy to eggs "sucks" (yeah, thanks, hadn't realized that), and that I either had strep or the flu. Did a strep test, waited for the results while alternating between questioning the decor choices and considering passing out on the floor till he came back. Was about to snag the exam pillow and get comfy when he came back....
Dr: Two blue lines! You either have strep or you're pregnant!
Me: (....wait, what? why would they make a strep test that tests for pregnancy too? can't they separate them? I didn't know you could use a throat culture to test for pregnancy...oh...he's waiting for me to say something).......I can't be pregnant, it's not physically possible right now. (was that what I was supposed to say? He's looking at me kinda funny, like maybe he doesn't believe me?....but I'm NOT pregnant! Wait...was he serious?)
Dr: Yeah....that isn't always the best timing for that joke
Me: Joke, right, haha. (you meanie head! Do I look like I'm coherent enough to distinguish a joke right now? Or that I would even find a joke funny? Which, by the way, your's was not!)
So I managed to make it out of there with a prescription for one of the few antibiotics I'm not allergic to. Headed to Walmart to get it filled. And, ok, so I might not have been looking my best at this point. But seriously, how much of a wreck could I have been? So when, while sitting on a bench waiting for my pills, the guy in line tells the pharmacy lady he's "doing better than she is!" (complete with thumb-jerk at me) I was rather put off...or would have been if I wasn't about to fall asleep on the cart handle. But whatever. I got my pills and did my sicky version of the happy dance....it consists of me making it to my car and downing the first 2 pills...not much dancing really. Despite the happy-dance-inducing-antibiotics I didn't exactly get better....in fact, I got worse. I got hives on my elbows and kneecaps (weird, I know), body aches (who knew lying in bed could make your ankles hurt?!), and a major headache (but who needs to be able to turn their head? I have peripherial vision!). Several hours and $200 later we had it narrowed down to strep plus one or more of the following expert opinions:
Dr 1: Said the additional symptoms were due to an allergic reaction to the antibiotics, something I've been told would happen eventually, and prescribed a new antibiotic from my tiny list of options
Dr 2: Said it was not classic allergic reaction but the only way to know would be to continue the first antibiotic and see if I get better or not. Decided it was a bizzare reaction to the strep infection, then proceeded to tell me that hives are always caused by an allergic reaction and gave me an entire handout on them (if you know me at all, you know I'm no stranger to allergies or hives...clearly this woman didn't believe me)
Mom (whose opinion counts because, well, she's mom): Agreed with Dr. 1 and with Dr. 2 about the reaction to the strep infection, and decided that I had a 24 hr flu as well (she got all the bases covered)
Conclusion: So we still don't know what my plus-one was, but it's basically gone. I don't really remember much else from the last 48 hours, except that I may have adamantly insisted that my sister go to her husband's work and call the receptionist a whore. Maybe.
Dropped of super cute kiddo on Wednesday and noticed my throat hurt. Got worse quick, called in to work for Thurs. Woke up unable to swallow without feeling like someone was trying to rip off my ears while simultaneously shoving sharp pokey things into my throat. Drove to the doctor....resulting in being told that my allergy to eggs "sucks" (yeah, thanks, hadn't realized that), and that I either had strep or the flu. Did a strep test, waited for the results while alternating between questioning the decor choices and considering passing out on the floor till he came back. Was about to snag the exam pillow and get comfy when he came back....
Dr: Two blue lines! You either have strep or you're pregnant!
Me: (....wait, what? why would they make a strep test that tests for pregnancy too? can't they separate them? I didn't know you could use a throat culture to test for pregnancy...oh...he's waiting for me to say something).......I can't be pregnant, it's not physically possible right now. (was that what I was supposed to say? He's looking at me kinda funny, like maybe he doesn't believe me?....but I'm NOT pregnant! Wait...was he serious?)
Dr: Yeah....that isn't always the best timing for that joke
Me: Joke, right, haha. (you meanie head! Do I look like I'm coherent enough to distinguish a joke right now? Or that I would even find a joke funny? Which, by the way, your's was not!)
So I managed to make it out of there with a prescription for one of the few antibiotics I'm not allergic to. Headed to Walmart to get it filled. And, ok, so I might not have been looking my best at this point. But seriously, how much of a wreck could I have been? So when, while sitting on a bench waiting for my pills, the guy in line tells the pharmacy lady he's "doing better than she is!" (complete with thumb-jerk at me) I was rather put off...or would have been if I wasn't about to fall asleep on the cart handle. But whatever. I got my pills and did my sicky version of the happy dance....it consists of me making it to my car and downing the first 2 pills...not much dancing really. Despite the happy-dance-inducing-antibiotics I didn't exactly get better....in fact, I got worse. I got hives on my elbows and kneecaps (weird, I know), body aches (who knew lying in bed could make your ankles hurt?!), and a major headache (but who needs to be able to turn their head? I have peripherial vision!). Several hours and $200 later we had it narrowed down to strep plus one or more of the following expert opinions:
Dr 1: Said the additional symptoms were due to an allergic reaction to the antibiotics, something I've been told would happen eventually, and prescribed a new antibiotic from my tiny list of options
Dr 2: Said it was not classic allergic reaction but the only way to know would be to continue the first antibiotic and see if I get better or not. Decided it was a bizzare reaction to the strep infection, then proceeded to tell me that hives are always caused by an allergic reaction and gave me an entire handout on them (if you know me at all, you know I'm no stranger to allergies or hives...clearly this woman didn't believe me)
Mom (whose opinion counts because, well, she's mom): Agreed with Dr. 1 and with Dr. 2 about the reaction to the strep infection, and decided that I had a 24 hr flu as well (she got all the bases covered)
Conclusion: So we still don't know what my plus-one was, but it's basically gone. I don't really remember much else from the last 48 hours, except that I may have adamantly insisted that my sister go to her husband's work and call the receptionist a whore. Maybe.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tranquilizer glove not included
Good things this week (as inspired by Portland):
*Dog is a celebrity. Well, as good as. Everywhere I take him people stop what they are doing to tell me how beautiful he is and the trainer at puppy class pulled me aside after to tell me how great and smart Dog is....this makes me hugely happy : )
*new Calphalon pans for $160 instead of $400
*got a new wireless printer, but didn't know I needed a wireless router....this is still a good thing because it gives me more of a reason to finally get actual internet
*the new cookbook my mom got me....although it is strictly a cookie cookbook, and although typically I thoroughly dislike making cookies, I'm going to give it a chance...there some rolled up apricot raspberry thingies that look promising
*for the last 20 min Cat has been sitting on the back of the entertainment center staring intently at the backs of the wii and antenna and jumping spastically...I'm entertained
*Dog is a celebrity. Well, as good as. Everywhere I take him people stop what they are doing to tell me how beautiful he is and the trainer at puppy class pulled me aside after to tell me how great and smart Dog is....this makes me hugely happy : )
*new Calphalon pans for $160 instead of $400
*got a new wireless printer, but didn't know I needed a wireless router....this is still a good thing because it gives me more of a reason to finally get actual internet
*the new cookbook my mom got me....although it is strictly a cookie cookbook, and although typically I thoroughly dislike making cookies, I'm going to give it a chance...there some rolled up apricot raspberry thingies that look promising
*for the last 20 min Cat has been sitting on the back of the entertainment center staring intently at the backs of the wii and antenna and jumping spastically...I'm entertained
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
One potato, two potato, three potato, cupcake!
So far this has been a very productive week in terms of baking. I promised my roomie, Portalnd, peanut butter frosting before she moved to Oregon, so that meant I had to come up with something to go with the peanut butter frosting. Don't get me wrong, in the process I ate about half of the frosting on its own, but I didn't think bringing a bowl of frosting and a bunch of spoons to work was going to go over so well. So after deciding against chocolate cake-ness (too expected and, really, not one of my favorite combos for cake and frosting) I did some research online and came across a bunch of recipes using banana cake. This looked promising, till I realized that it was Saturday....and I had to bake on Sunday....and there was no way that I was going to have over-ripe bananas that quick. So nix the bananas. But it led to a random recipe for applesauce cake...oooh! I like apples and peanut butter. And cinnamon. I like cinnamon. So I modified a favorite recipe and here are the results:
Several people at work were a little hesitant about the cinnamon and peanut butter (till they tried it and lovevd it), but it really added some depth to the frosting and the cake. All in all, absolute success.
Second episode of the week....I was approached today by Lady P (aka: my boss and the co-owner of the company) and asked to bake something for Owl's last day of work tomorrow. I was very excited about the whole conversation actually, basically L.P. offered to finance a fabulous state of the art bakery and pay me for it....and buy me a pony. Ok, not really any of that, but she did say that I had her support if I ever left my job to open a bakery, which is almost as good as that other stuff. Anyway, as a result of her offering to pay for any groceries I needed to bake for Owl, I decided to go with the dark chocolate hazelnut cupcakes I've been plotting lately. I'm totally thriilled with how they taste and look (dark chocolate hazelnut cake topped with Nutella and a piece of dark chocolate with hazelnuts in it), but I kinda misjudged their remove-ability-ness....that is to say, they don't come out of the wrappers so easy. But, messy eating aside, here they are:
I have 6 dozen of these....and 8 mini-loafs. I have a lot of chocolate. But, really, when is that a bad thing?
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| Aren't they cute!!! |
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| ...and delicious! |
Second episode of the week....I was approached today by Lady P (aka: my boss and the co-owner of the company) and asked to bake something for Owl's last day of work tomorrow. I was very excited about the whole conversation actually, basically L.P. offered to finance a fabulous state of the art bakery and pay me for it....and buy me a pony. Ok, not really any of that, but she did say that I had her support if I ever left my job to open a bakery, which is almost as good as that other stuff. Anyway, as a result of her offering to pay for any groceries I needed to bake for Owl, I decided to go with the dark chocolate hazelnut cupcakes I've been plotting lately. I'm totally thriilled with how they taste and look (dark chocolate hazelnut cake topped with Nutella and a piece of dark chocolate with hazelnuts in it), but I kinda misjudged their remove-ability-ness....that is to say, they don't come out of the wrappers so easy. But, messy eating aside, here they are:
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| It's a whole herd of them! |
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
closure
Haven't written in a while, things have been kinda crazy busy. Loads of baking (fourless chocolate walnut mini cupcakes with a whiskey glaze) and even more working. I have already had two 10+ hour work days this week...oi. Dog had his first day of puppy school this week, but we kinda showed up to the wrong class since I wrote down the wrong time...he went through the advanced beginning obedience class when he is most definately not there yet. Oh well, we will try again next week.
Redneck was sentenced last week (my jury duty was cancelled at the last minute!), and tonight the deposition was finally posted online. I still need to go down to the records department because I don't understand all of it, but for the time being I know that he got at least 27 days in county jail and a $450 fine...not nearly enough of a fine if you ask me, but I guess I'm a little biased. I didn't realize how relieved I was going to feel when I finally found out his sentence. It's like the final closure. I stuck with him through the arrest and all that followed, and it wasn't the reason I ended the relationship. I feel like I've been waiting since March to find out what was going to come of it and now it's done.
And I'm exhausted.
Redneck was sentenced last week (my jury duty was cancelled at the last minute!), and tonight the deposition was finally posted online. I still need to go down to the records department because I don't understand all of it, but for the time being I know that he got at least 27 days in county jail and a $450 fine...not nearly enough of a fine if you ask me, but I guess I'm a little biased. I didn't realize how relieved I was going to feel when I finally found out his sentence. It's like the final closure. I stuck with him through the arrest and all that followed, and it wasn't the reason I ended the relationship. I feel like I've been waiting since March to find out what was going to come of it and now it's done.
And I'm exhausted.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Amazingness
I have been bringing my pastry creations to work lately (really good way to bake a ton and not eat it alll). A co-worker had gone huckleberry picking and asked if I would bake something with them. I have been dying to attempt making my own puff pastry for quite a while, and decided that this might be the perfect project for the huckleberries.
Not wanting the tartness of the huckleberries to be too overpowering, I sifted through my cookbooks for a recipe....I was all set to try a cream cheese puff pastry, but on Friday I jammed my thumb (lots of stifled explitives as I was with a kiddo). I couldn't pick anything up without it throbbing, so kneading that much butter and dough was not going to happen. I dove back in to the cookbooks and emerged triumphant with the Joy of Cooking's food processor puff pastry. Now that the cream cheese was out, I needed something else to compliment the huckleberries, so I hit the internet and came across a recipe for huckleberry and fig tart. I kept looking to see if there were any additional reviews about this recipe and found this blog. Amazing. The review of the recipe had me sold.
I made the puff pastry and set about finding fresh figs in North Idaho (not an easy task) and was about to settle for dealing with dried, when the produce lady at the natural foods store became my angel and held the last pint for me till I got there. With a minor modification to the filling recipe, I was ready to go. The result was amazing mini huckleberry-fig turnovers with an egg-milk wash and raw sugar on top. I had extra filling left over, so I made my mom's raspberry torte, substituting the huckleberry-fig filling in place of the raspberry jam. The results are below:
Figs+huckleberries=absolutely delicious. I was kind of hesitant about the figs (never having had anything figgy but a Fig Newton), but they compliment the huckelberries perfectly. Not sure if I will be able to find more figs around here any time soon, but if I do I have several more recipes I would love to try. In the mean time, I will enjoy the turnovers and torte!
Not wanting the tartness of the huckleberries to be too overpowering, I sifted through my cookbooks for a recipe....I was all set to try a cream cheese puff pastry, but on Friday I jammed my thumb (lots of stifled explitives as I was with a kiddo). I couldn't pick anything up without it throbbing, so kneading that much butter and dough was not going to happen. I dove back in to the cookbooks and emerged triumphant with the Joy of Cooking's food processor puff pastry. Now that the cream cheese was out, I needed something else to compliment the huckleberries, so I hit the internet and came across a recipe for huckleberry and fig tart. I kept looking to see if there were any additional reviews about this recipe and found this blog. Amazing. The review of the recipe had me sold.
I made the puff pastry and set about finding fresh figs in North Idaho (not an easy task) and was about to settle for dealing with dried, when the produce lady at the natural foods store became my angel and held the last pint for me till I got there. With a minor modification to the filling recipe, I was ready to go. The result was amazing mini huckleberry-fig turnovers with an egg-milk wash and raw sugar on top. I had extra filling left over, so I made my mom's raspberry torte, substituting the huckleberry-fig filling in place of the raspberry jam. The results are below:
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| Mini turnovers cooling...so adorable and delicious! |
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| Fig-Huckleberry torte....also amazing yummyness. |
Friday, September 3, 2010
Why you scream-a like a girl?
So far this being single thing has consisted of many first-experiences too. It started with spending a Friday night sneaking to the nearby fields and stealing mint plants. Then getting a dog, discovering a love for baking miniature things, taking off for an unplanned weekend to visit my sister. Ok....so the mint-stealing-night was probably the biggest first (unless you count the time we stole cactus, but that's a whole nother deal). But regardless, yesterday marked another major first...first crush in two and a half years. I feel very high school-ish, but it's almost unnerving to realize that you are super excited that you have a mini-crush on the cute guy at the toy store. The past 2 weeks have been so stressful that the silly-giddy-self-conscious feeling really threw me off. But in a good way.
In other positively happy news, jury duty has officially been cancelled! This is good for several reasons....or two. 1-I really couldn't afford to miss that much work, and 2-Now there is no chance of me running into Redneck on the day of his sentencing....woo!!!! Plus, my hours with Chatty at work have been reduced, super excited. I also have more hours with Wolfman (dat-a make-a me happy!) and with Whiner (not so happy). However, I am also scheduled to work with one of my favorite kiddos, Banana (that one was for you DonkeyOwl)...which makes me super happy. So all-in-all, not a bad day. Or two.
In other positively happy news, jury duty has officially been cancelled! This is good for several reasons....or two. 1-I really couldn't afford to miss that much work, and 2-Now there is no chance of me running into Redneck on the day of his sentencing....woo!!!! Plus, my hours with Chatty at work have been reduced, super excited. I also have more hours with Wolfman (dat-a make-a me happy!) and with Whiner (not so happy). However, I am also scheduled to work with one of my favorite kiddos, Banana (that one was for you DonkeyOwl)...which makes me super happy. So all-in-all, not a bad day. Or two.
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