Dancing with Ganesha

No ribbons this year...

2009-08-27T10:27:00.002-05:00

A little sad. I promised myself that I wouldn't even hope to win a ribbon. And broke that promise. Results this morning and my dear little jellies were not honored by the judges.

But we're having a party next weekend to celebrate jelly (among other things)!

Bo-Bo, and my first paying client!

2009-08-11T11:21:00.004-05:00

Last weekend Justin and his friend Dani were down. We had some good, easy food - played Mario Cart - watched tornado warnings on TV - and had some camera fun too.

Saturday night - late late late - we set up some moody light. Justin's been asking for years for a "martini noir" picture - so we finally made it happen.

AND... AND... I've landed my first paying client. A portrait sessions with a trans-model from the modelmayhem site. I'm terribly nervous (haven't shot many women), and it's only $50 - but it's income! So I'll be setting that up for sometime in September - hopefully before we go on vacation.

Here are the pictures of Justin.
[click to enlarge]

Anitra

2009-08-06T12:34:00.001-05:00

Anitra sat for some portraits yesterday. She was a good sport as I played with her hair and draped her in fabric (the beers helped...).

Here's my favorite!

[click to enlarge]

I'M OVERWEIGHT!! Wah hoo!

2009-08-06T12:30:00.004-05:00

I've been consistently weighing in each morning at 208 to 209 lbs. 209 is my magic number for moving from "obese" to "overweight". Pretty exciting since I've been sort-of trying to get back down since ... about a year or two.

Doug also did the caliper body-fat pinchy thing this morning, so I'll know my new bodyfat percentage tomorrow or Monday. All of my fat pinchy numbers are down, so that's exciting.

It's the end of our 12-week fitness challenge and I lost 10.2 pounds.

No show

2009-08-05T11:21:00.002-05:00

Mr. Bodybuilder bailed again.
I'm trying to be sympathetic, knowing he's going through alot personally - but I'm really tired to the constant scheduling/bailing. He mentioned something about getting into shape before a wedding in a month or so - I'm not going to hold my breath. And I'll probably just start telling him to contact me the day he's available - I'll decide then if I'm in the mood that day.

Spent the night making more tomato water and editing photos of Jeramey. He was very pleased with the results. I shoved a large bunch of lavender into the one batch of tomato water, hoping to infuse the flavor - we'll see. We're heading to the Trio's for dinner tonight, so I don't know if I'll have time for a test batch - but tomorrow night is currently wide open.

I keep thinking today is Thursday.

Dance Party This Weekend!

2009-08-04T12:27:00.003-05:00

MGMT's Electric Feel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtUI5MC9tVM&feature=player_embedded

One of those days when I wish I could pull off the carefree, semi-waifish neo-hippie thing. Oh well. This video will have to suffice.

Tomato Jelly Take 2 Tonight. Found out I need to pre-register by August 11 and

Mr. Chad the bodybuilder is stopping by. He's got some paperwork he'd like reviewed - for weeks now on Monday he writes "what's your week like?" we schedule time, and then the day of, when I check in, I get the "I'm just not feeling it today..." thing. Tonight's the last straw.

Latest photo shoot

2009-08-04T00:03:00.004-05:00

So last week I connected with a professional photographer who was cleaning through his equipment. For $60 I got a softbox, a boom stand, two additional stands, three strobe lights and an old Vivitar flash. Crazy.

Granted, most of the items are a bit shabby - eg. the spokes of the softbox (it's like a small tent) were poking through the fabric - but I fixed it by reinforcing those areas with pen caps! But seriously, most softboxes I see on CL or eBay go for at least $125. The Vivitar can be resold on eBay for $20-$40. The light stands (which, granted, aren't the sturdiest things out there) would cost at least $20-$30 each - and a boom stand (it lets you extend a flash above the model/subject) starts at $80 from B&H. The strobes, who knows - no less than $40.

I'm not saying it's all worth $300 - but for me to go out and get all of this equipment would surely have cost more than that. And now it's all mine!! Mwah mwah mwah...!! And now I can start to take truly kick-ass portraits with amazing lighting.

So another shoot with Jeramey. Such a relaxed and fun guy. I told him he should hit the MAC counter to get some light foundation - ok. I've sent him some expressions to practice in the mirror, which he sheepishly admitted haven't received adequate practice. But more than that is the familiarity - we've hung out for quite a few hours now and it shows in the photos.

Here's one from the latest shoot - I'd mentioned that we have this crystal garland from Christmas and he was totally game for playing around and draping. As a practical matter, the light should be softer in spots so he isn't shiney - but I think it works nonetheless...

[click to enlarge]

Spelt is my friend!

2009-08-03T17:22:00.004-05:00

We hung out with E&T on Saturday night and brought over dinner (they had their first baby 4 months ago) - I wanted to make a summery pasta - bounty from the farmer's market, etc. - and decided it was time to try spelt pasta.

The dinner turned out lovely - roasted-then-sauted pattypan squash, grilled portabellos, fried mortadella, carmelized onions with garlic and spelt spaghetti. Cory made a dill vineagrette and tossed it with roasted beets.

The spelt wasn't as tasty as normal pasta (it also went from underdone to sort-of mushy in a second)(which I think often happens to some whole-grain pastas). But things went well!

And yesterday I picked up some spelt hamburger buns from the Wedge - added a bit of chicken salad. Again, things went well!

So hello spelt, my new wheaty friend!

Awesome second photo shoot with Jeramey yesterday. I got some portrait lights from craigslist - and they made for some kick-ass photos. Will post one later tonight...

A misunderstanding...

2009-07-31T10:43:00.005-05:00

So the model that approached me to shoot - he's a part-time actor who does website design and also does leatherwork (embossed dresser tops, chair seats, etc.) - but his profile and email were both well written and interesting. So of course I wrote back this lengthy tome explaining that this summer I'm concentrating on headshots and "comfortably undressed" shots (my phrasing) - that I think the notion of 'artistic nudes' is overwrought and hate all these "I'm a sculptor of light and bodies" crap - my idea is you get as undressed as you're comfortable and then we take great photos! I also told him it would be fun to photograph his leatherwork, imagining him cobbling away making an ornate chair, etc. And hadn't heard back from him.

He wrote back last night. Again, very articulate. Still very engaged and excited to work with me. Loves the idea of comfortably undressed. Open to anything as long as it's "classy". And he also wrote:

"As for my leatherwork - I just got a pair of knee-high doc martens and want to make some tight-fitting leather pants to wear with them and either a fitted harnass or vest .. haven't decided yet what the top will be but I have a nice rubber (nastypig) shirt that could work too"

I was at Eli's having drinks with Cory and Bob - and started roaring with laughter...

I wrote back later admitting that I'd been completely clueless (upon revisiting his leatherworks site I noticed many ornate cuffs, one with an optional spike)- I failed to connect the picture in his portfolio of him as the evil barber, in tight leather pants, suspenders, and black boots with a two-inch heel (photographed by "MN Leather Pride"). I think it's hilarious that he thought I'd heard of nastypig, purveyors of the finest rubber clothing. But I'm totally psyched to work with him.

So in the pipeline:
V, the semi-pro football player
R, the swimmer
S, the fetish craftsman
J, the Asian twink
O, the dancer
M, looks like the Twilight vampire boys

For our comfortably undressed photoshoot S-the-fetish-craftsman is going to construct "tiny tight shorts"! Who knew I'd be shooting couture??

Tomato Jelly Attempt 2 this weekend - wish me luck!

Tomato Jelly - Photography Update

2009-07-29T11:28:00.003-05:00

Tomato Jelly

You'd rightfully assume from the title that the tomato jelly wasn't a complete success. It didn't gel completely and the taste was off. Sugar is key to the gelling process, but it ended up making my delicious tomato water (with salt, white pepper and lavender) taste like tart honey with a tomato aftertaste. So we'll try again this weekend.

I'll try again this weekend. Next step is to concentrate the tomato flavor by reducing the tomato water - adding more lavender during the reduction process - adding more sugar and then seasoning after the sugar is added. That should give me the right syrup - and then I can hopefully duplicate again and add the pectin.

I'm very determined.

On the plus side, after the tomato water came to boil, I restrained it - which removed any remaining tomato solids and the pepper - so it was perfectly clear - and yellow. But perfectly clear!

Photography

Last night a model asked me to photograph him! [insert triumphant sounds in nature]

It's a big deal because thus far, I've been the one approaching models. Asking them if they'd like to shoot. Proposing shoot ideas. Hoping they won't flake.

It will still be an unpaid shoot - but I feel like I'm very close to the cusp on that point too. Results from my last few photo shoots have been pretty amazing (I haven't posted pictures of the shoot with Oliver - yet). They are really beginning to have a professional/could-be-in-a-magazine feel (the North Dakotan in me just threw up a bit for writing such self-promoting words).
And when I do ask models to shoot, the response is totally different. Where I used to be lucky if I got one 'yes' from ten e-mails - now I'm batting almost 100%. It's almost overwhelming - I've got shoots in the works with 8 models - and four more that are in the "maybe" category. I have a google spreadsheet to track the different shoot ideas!

I know Cory is very eager to have me start making some money from this hobby. And I am too - but I'm also nervous. Charging for shoots means I'm no longer in charge.

So it's a bit odd, overwhelming, wonderful, and scary. Last week I was asked what my goal is for photography - and it dawned on me that I hadn't pondered a goal. I realize now that my goal thusfar has been to attain some level of perfection/skill - to get those shots that look like they've been torn from Out magazine - to build a portfolio that makes people want to work with me.

New goals:
1. Get paid for a photo shoot
2. Perfect 20 - have 20 amazing shots on my modelmayhem portfolio
3. Start working with female models (still a bit scarred from shooting with Sam the collarpopper)
4. Develop photography website that (a) looks amazing, and (b) details photo packages

Happy Anniver-za-ry

2009-07-22T10:52:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was our 2-year wedding anniversary. I think we might celebrate more formally this weekend (the Aquatennial fireworks are on Saturday night and they harken back to the day much more effectively than a random Tuesday night). Cory and I was each sort of la-dee-da and indecisive.

So we had a few drinks at Eli's and grabbed takeout - took a nap at 8:30pm - and then watched The Music Man and ate frozen pizza. It was perfect.

I was starting to hope that my body just needed a gluten-vacation - this morning I'm not so sure. It's just so hard to tell - is it the late night pizza and vodka? or is it the gluten? I should/could be more scientific and create some regimented test...

Tonight is the torchlight parade!

And finally... meet Mr. Flowers - we shot on Sunday for five hours - he's a really funny and laid-back guy. He'd scraped his forehead on a shingle three days earlier and asked me to photoshop away the scrape, which I did on the other pictures.

I had a bun on Saturday night...

2009-07-20T15:33:00.002-05:00

We hosted four old AmEx co-workers for dinner. Hamburgers in the style of Vincent, a Restaurant. They turned out very nice. I decided to risk it and have one of the non-spelt kaiser rolls. Things seemed fine.

So we'll see... perhaps I just needed a gluten break? Perhaps I just need to dial down the intake?

I hate uncertainty.

Morning at the doctor's office

2009-07-14T16:34:00.002-05:00

Turns out you can't take the celiac test unless you're eating wheat.

So I'm stuffing my face with pizza. Not really. It's just one of those really stupid things in the medical world. And my doctor actually looked at me like I should start eating wheat again!

Today's distraction - guinnea pigs eating watermelon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS5h3cX8sHI

Brandon in Wonderland

2009-07-11T17:16:00.008-05:00

We're going on vacation!

2009-07-11T11:42:00.003-05:00

September 10 - September 16, we'll be in Boston/Cape Cod! Truly one of our favorite places in the country. We'll go to Provincetown. Eat lobster bisque. Lounge around in the amazing sunlight!

So I checked tickets again this morning. The Southwest fare that I didn't grab on Tuesday had gone up to $400+ per ticket - but I checked hotwire and booked two tickets for $310 total! We're flying American Airlines, with one stop in Chicago.

Also - just found out that Cory pass his LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy) exam!

... .. ... .. ... ..

2009-07-10T13:39:00.004-05:00

Distracted. Picking up projects on my desk, remembering that I intended to complete them on Thursday. And now I just put them in my briefcase so they can come home with me.

Here's a fun distraction -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FpD8wF1s6E

Text message response from Mr. Brandon last night after I sent him two of the photos:
"Im back sorry yes saw them love em but u got me excited for those other shoots they WILL B awesome! Beer and remote ha! Soon!? Next week let ya kno Sat avlblty"

Yay!

New Model - Brandon

2009-07-09T13:42:00.005-05:00

Working with a new model named Brandon. Very relaxed and funny guy. Doesn't hurt that he's incredibly handsome and has a crazy body.

We recently shot around the park for a few hours. A themed shoot involving reading Alice in Wonderland - I'll post some of those pictures later.

In between switching shirts, I asked him to pause for a moment...

The best part is that he's very excited to work with me again! My style is apparently just what he's been looking for. He wants pictures that make him look good, but aren't the standard "stand there in your Calvins and look pouty". I explained that my idea for underwear shots would involve laying around on the couch with a beer, but still looking really hot. Or standing there with a cup of coffee, looking really hot. So we chatted through more shot ideas and he seems very excited.
(since he's so goofy I even suggested him making an omlette while wearing an apron, sans underwear - he responded that as soon as I said apron he had the same cheeky idea)

So that was nice.

On the tattoo front, I found out that as long as I avoid areas that are already prone to psoriasis break outs, I should be ok - as long as I diligently apply the salve stuff they recommend. I'll also schedule my humira injections to overlap a bit more than usual.

Dorittos - how could you?

2009-07-08T11:07:00.004-05:00

For the last week and a half I've been testing out a gluten-free diet - and I'm feeling much better. Even apart from the digestive crap, I'm more energetic during the day, I don't feel sick after each meal, I can leap over tall buildings in a single bound...

Yesterday on the way home I stopped at Target for some face soap, cole slaw mix, onions, etc. and picked up a snack-sized bag of Dorittos. I was mid-crunch on the fourth or fifth chip when I noticed that they contained wheat flour?! Betrayed! (of course by that point I had to finish the bag)

The plus side is that the (presumably) small amount of wheat flour didn't appear to throw my whole system out of whack. So rather than suffering from full-on celiac's disease (where even trace amounts of gluten are devastating), perhaps I'm just wheat intollerant.

Which means... crossed fingers... spelt!
The Wedge has about three different loaves of gluten-free bread, but they've got tons of spelt options! Hamburger buns! Pastas! There's a chance that spelt flour could readily substitute for all purpose in baked goods.

Ah spelt, that ancient varietal of wheat. Be my friend please.

Pondering a tattoo again...

2009-07-07T12:13:00.003-05:00

So I've sort of wanted a tattoo since the mid 90s - but being the indecisive libra that I am, I've never been sold on an idea long enough to make it happen. The previous idea revolved around "Gay, but fierce" in sort of futuristic Japanese characters. Didn't happen.

Here are the latest inspirations:

I'll also have to run this all past my dermatologist to make sure that it doesn't turn into some freakish psoriatic mess!

Pride Pictures 2009

2009-07-07T00:21:00.005-05:00

Pride 2009 was a beautiful weekend.

As we've done for the last few years, we brought down a host of furniture and assembled a 'living space' on Hennepin Avenue. In the shade of the Bellevue, with easy access to tasty beverages (courtesy of Eli's) and a private bathroom (courtesy of our condo).

It's odd how every year I'm really struck by the absolute happiness of Pride. Say what you will about the drag queens, nudists, and leather daddies with saggy asses - it's the weekend each year that we each assert our pride in being who we are. We were sitting outside of Eli's Saturday afternoon next to a large table of 20s/cute/boisterous gay boys and a rather drunk and butch lesbian couple stumbled by asking for directions to the park - drunken exclamations of "Happy Pride" were genuinely traded between folks that would usually scoff at the other.

I miss it already. And dream of Provincetown...

Litte Genevieve Neerland - an early supporter of equality and pride (she also had several drama queen moments throughout the course of the parade)

Some guy from the parade, running up to say hi to some friends
This adorable boy sitting next to us connected with a friend marching with the awesome (and hot) mayor of Minneapolis RT Rybak

A drunk guy who'd run up to accost/celebrate with friends

Our friend, Cindy Bartell - her all-girl punk band "Tetes Noires" played at Pride in the 80s!

Kaitlin and Clara (K has the awesome tattoo) - adorab boy in the background...
Rainbow Bright!
The Trio was gender-bending that day..
Neil, Anitra, and Carl - what a hot trouple!

Cleaning the Shower Curtain

2009-04-23T16:26:00.005-05:00

I can't think of a more fitting first SincerelyMaxine project/entry than cleaning and reusing a shower liner that would otherwise be discarded and replaced.

Maxine’s bathroom’s had plastic shower doors that slid on tracks and had built-in towel bars. A little heater built into the wall could be turned on after you were done, making lots of noise and giving off that toaster/electricity smell. Toilet paper and kleenex had crochetted cozies that matched the wallpaper. I wish I had a picture.

My showers have always worked on a curtain-rod, shower liner method. And for years now we’d periodically spring for the $3 curtain liner at Target. Last time I insisted that we spring for the $7 deluxe liner that included metal grommets (the budget liner inevitably tore at the top), but this time we’d clean the shower liner once the inevitable grime accumulated.

Don’t get grossed out – either you confront this same problem, or you’re throwing a lot of money away.

So here’s how you do it:

1. Remove the shower curtain

2. Set washer to ‘hot’ and regular cycle

3. Add regular amount of detergent and half that amount of bleach

4. Rehang the shower liner (don't put in the dryer)

While it dries, treat yourself to a martini with the $7 that you saved.

Sincerely Maxine

2009-04-21T17:24:00.004-05:00

I've been scheming about a new blog for a while... I'd like somewhere to focus on projects that don't involve my blood pressure or waistline. Things like making jelly, how to darn socks, making granola bars, etc.

When the whole economic meltdown hit last fall, it dawned on me that many of my friends were simultaneously experiencing a reevaluation of the whole "American dream". It suddenly felt like my parents' dream - fast food, easy food, big cars, master suites, early retirement.

And my latest obsession was canning foods for the winter. Eating locally. Learning to extend the life of my clothing. These were the skills that our grandparents and great-grandparents possessed. These were the skills that my parents happily left behind as they raised their own families.

So this new blog is called Sincerely Maxine, after my grandmother. I'm going to post the items here for now, but eventually hope to transition them to a new, dedicated site. I hope you enjoy - and insofar as you have project ideas, let me know!

Toodles March!

2009-03-31T11:02:00.003-05:00

Odd that March has flown by. I've never been a huge March fan.

I'm finally getting over the worst cold I've had since college - I missed a week of work and I've been blowing my nose for five days now (and it isn't the quiet drip).

Tomorrow we're restarting the budget and hard-core diet. I feel like I say that alot, but March has been good for getting back to the swing of things. I'm hugely excited to start utilizing our vegan cookbooks more - and we'd both like to feel good when we travel to Chicago for B&C's wedding over memorial day.

Tonight is my favorite cable-access scrabble show. And today I picked up a book at the library on fermented food (tempeh, saurkraut, etc.) that I'd requested over a month ago. Simple pleasures.

March Goals

2009-03-09T12:01:00.004-05:00

Finalized March goals. Oddly, I'm already halfway through my workout goals for the month!

I blew off Friday afternoon after my counseling appointment and met my friend SD for a leisurely stroll around Lake Calhoun. Yay Spring!

AB's 30th birthday party was Saturday night. We had a blast. Stayed up too late. Chatted with several friends we don't see too often. And for some dumb reason at about 12:30 I started stuffing my face with pears, chips&salsa, and little cubes of cheddar.
At 5/6am I was visited by a nasty bout of acid reflux. And then went back to bed until 1/2pm.

We finally made it to REI! So odd. I usually visit REI about once a year. Lost gloves in December - all the other stores have moved on to bathing suits - REI always has gloves.

This time it felt sort of welcoming! Like I semi-belonged looking at camping gear and high-tech exerclothes! CC weren't on the same page as far as what camping gear we were picking up this year (I'd forgotten that he hasn't spent hours on REI's website). We were going to buy titanium sporks, but decided to wait on everything.

Finally, we've finally started getting serious about diet. In order to make menu planning a bit easier, I've assigned each day to a different group (and have just typed that, I'm struck, once again, by what an anal nerd I truly am):

Wholey Sunday
Tofu Monday
Beany Tuesday
Wednesday - varies (dinners with the Trio)
Thursday Sandwiches or Pasta
Fish Fridays
Random Saturdays

Last night we had bulgar and sesame chicken stirfry (with fake chicken strips). The bulgar took the place of brown rice. Very delicious and filling!

Tonight is tofu! Actually tonight we're having Korean, inspired by this months issue of Gourmet magazine. We stopped at United Noodles yesterday for supplies.
I'm excited for:
Tofu with garlic and pepper sauce (with authentic Korean hot pepper flakes),
Sauteed oyster mushrooms, and
Kimchee (from a jar)

March

2009-03-05T12:44:00.003-06:00

Looking back on February, it feels like a mixed bag month. We ate through a bunch of our meat and overly-processed foods (and remembered fondly how wonderful it was to feel healthy in January). I filed our taxes and ordered cookbooks (but failed to finish my fiction book). I worked out consistently with Doug (but failed to get in the additional cardio workouts to get up to 12 workouts total). I had a falling out with my parents.

I'm hopeful that spring will make everything a bit better. I'm not generally a huge spring-fan - but I think this winter's overcast nature has me pinning my hopes on greener lawns and pastures.

Time to get back to healthy eating.
I'm going to finish a book.
I'm working to get my other blog project setup - and need to begin working on the photography and text that will make it worth reading!

Tomorrow is my first session with a counselor to discuss the situation with my parents. I think it would be great to have some sense of what to do about them by the end of March.

;)

2009-03-05T12:35:00.001-06:00

Hi Carol.

Cookbook Crazy

2009-02-25T13:00:00.002-06:00

Our tax return arrived this week and CC and I have been working through the list of home improvement-esque purchases. We've made lists - pared them down - thought of new items - discovered creative ways to save on list items.

My two favorite examples: REI tent I crave = $158, Target tent = $35. Since we're not 100% sure how much we'll enjoy camping, this year we're going for the Target tent. Second, the nice vacuum we bought several years ago isn't working - but we've found a vacuum repair shop.

So today was the day to pull the trigger on cookbooks. I've been checking them out from the library for the past couple of months. Since we're moving back to the mostly-vegan diet, I wanted to invest in a bunch of cookbooks to use. Additionally, a couple of the library books were good, but we felt like the receipes could be tweaked to improve things. And while I'm sure that my handwritten notes would benefit future library patrons who checked out the book...

The six books are:
Vegetarian Times Cookbook
Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure
Veganomicon
Vegan with a Vengeance
Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way
The Asian Vegan Kitchen

Shortest North Dakota trip, ever

2009-02-23T12:28:00.003-06:00

CC and I drove up to Fargo on Thursday. We were going to spend the night hanging out with my little brother who's in college in Moorhead, continuing on Friday to Jamestown to spend the weekend with my parents.

I called Mom to let her know we'd arrived safely in Fargo and she asked if I'd connected with Dad - he'd been calling repeatedly. She told me she'd been working all week to prepare a room for me and a room for CC - and would that be acceptable? I calmly said no. Then she asked if they could pay for a hotel room - I said that was fine.

We then tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to have a fun night with my brother.

When we got to our hotel, I checked and my father had left the following voicemail:

"Yeah Nathan, this is your Dad. Um, I understand that you have not, that we were expecting you to be communicated with one way or another but I understand it’s not done but here’s the bottom line. For your visit with us this, um, weekend we are preparing separate bedrooms for you and for Cory and expect that your sleeping will be in accordance with that. If you feel that this is, um, an inconvenience to you both and, um, you feel that’s unacceptable, we will, um, pay for, um, staying at a hotel while you’re there. This is very distressing to your mother and, um, and that’s why it needs to be talked about because, ah, we’re concerned.
We very much still want you to come visit us and, um, pray this isn’t going to be an issue because we love you both dearly. But as you know what, you know how we feel about the issue, so. Call me if um, later, if you um want. But, um, this needs to be talked about. Or at least you need to be aware of this. Thanks. Love you very much. Bye." [my italics]

We drove back to Minneapolis on Friday.

Magic 61!

2009-02-17T14:39:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I had blood drawn to check cholesterol, glucose, liver function, etc.
Today was the results show.

Good news!
Cholesterol – was 260 – now 199 (61 points lower)
Triglycerides – were 365 – now 304 (61 points lower)
LDL Cholesterol – was 138 – now 99

Blood pressure and liver functions were both normal!

Glucose is still a bit high, so I’m going on a medicine for that.

We chatted about the new diet. I rambled on about Omega-3’s and sardines. The new plan is to stay on the cholesterol/blood pressure/glucose medicines until May and recheck. If things improve even more, we’ll start dropping the medicines (I’m on the lowest doses of each right now).

Moment of Weakness

2009-02-13T16:50:00.004-06:00

Hungry this afternoon and Doritos in the vending machine were calling for me.
Upon arrival, realized I'd spent all my cash at lunch.

Saving $1000 next year

2009-02-12T14:04:00.006-06:00

Our T-Mobile shackles disappear this month and I've been eagerly shopping around.

I know CC would adore an iPhone, but we both know that's not in the cards. On top of the $199 to buy the phone, the voice/data plan runs roughly $85+ just for one number.

Here's how the 2009 plan is shaping up.

I'll switch to a pre-paid plan. With both T-Mobile and AT&T, $100 buys 1000 minutes that don't expire for a year (and if you buy another $100 card next year, the remainder rolls over).

For CC, we'll go with one of the options below:
1. Basic plan with Sprint. $29.99 buys 200 anytime minutes and free nights & weekends. Plus $5 for 300 text messages.
2. Basic plan with T-Mobile $39.99 buys 300 anytimes minutes and free nights & weekends. Plus $5 for 300/200 text messages.
3. Modified pre-paid plan with AT&T. $40 montly buys 300 anytime minutes and 500 night and weekend minutes, that rollover. $5 monthly gets 200 text messages. No annual contract.

Seems sickening to think that even with this new budget plan, we'll still be paying $700 for one year of cellphone usage.

But... I added up last year's bills - $1,734.07.

I'm going to have a cup of green tea to celebrate.

Just to review - over the last year, our

No barfing!

2009-02-09T12:57:00.003-06:00

Made it through this latest weekend without getting sick. Quite a treat. So we finally put away the Christmas stuff. Well, to be more specific, we put things in boxes and tubs and everything (except the two large tubs) has been put away.

Getting mentally prepared to head back to North Dakota the weekend after next. Mom has requested that we don't make curry ("Dad's stomach...") and she doesn't want anything "too weird". She told me today that she's making salmon for dinner. She doesn't mind as long as she doesn't have to touch it.

Comments like that remind me of Sandra Dee? Have you seen "Semi-homemade"? She never touches any of the food. She uses tongs to apply dry rubs. Sandra Dee would be on my least-favorite folks list except that each show includes a themed boozy drink. I don't mind big-haired, Christian, suburban housewives that drink. Semi-boozehound?

So I'll finally be showing CC my old haunts. I'll take him to the concrete buffalo statue, drive by Perkins (we'd gather there after finishing work at the video store and chainsmoke), and see the high school (they tore down the junior high last year).

Maybe some night we'll take my little brother to the Eagles club. The year before my move to Minneapolis my co-worker friends at the video store were finally old enough to drink. We frequented the Eagles - I loved the pink scolloped vinyl booths. I never frequented the other bars in town. During a venture to The Office, I heard two meatheads discussing Ford v. Chevy trucks ("Well I rolled my Ford truck.") and at The Brass Rail I ran into a classmate who still had that flippy bangs look going on.

Plus you can still smoke in North Dakota bars. Ick.

The grand tour of Jamestown will probably take 30 minutes. Sad.

Reinstituting Goals

2009-02-04T16:37:00.003-06:00

Starting again in February, I'm going to refocus on goals. And borrowing a page from Carol, I'm going to have a single goal in each of several groups. I hope to finalize the categories tomorrow, but I've got a rough idea already.

Not too much to tell lately. Both CC and I fought a 24-hour something. I got sick Friday night and couldn't sleep. After hours of shivering, I finally threw up and then spent the day in bed. That makes two consecutive weekends I've spent fighting illness. And I'm sick of it.

Both CC and I considered vegan month a success. We haven't really begun the transition to the anti-inflamation diet yet - I think we'll make it a month-long process, otherwise we'll end up tossing a bunch of food. And tossing food is neither green nor thrifty.

I'm very eager for spring.

Sick lately

2009-01-26T14:56:00.002-06:00

I thought I would/could escape. Silly Nathan.

After seeing CC's illness progress last week, I knew that Friday morning's scratchy throat spelled bad news. I remember back in the chain-smoking days - when scratchy throat instead prompted the question: am I sick, or have I been smoking too much? I remember smoking ultra-light Newport menthols when ill - ultra-lights were the only thing my throat would tolerate, and the temporary change to menthols tricked my lungs into thinking I was still smoking a full-flavored ciggie.
Pathetic.

Last Monday was the five year anniversary of quitting smoking. I celebrated with several/many drinks on Sunday and spent most of Monday lazing around hung over.
Pathetic.

This is the last week of veganism. It's gone by so quickly. And hasn't felt that difficult. We haven't eaten out much at all (which has been amazing for the budget). I've dropped 10 pounds (Mr. Scale had happy news for me this morning). Changes to my cholesteral come on February 17.

We thought about breaking the vegan diet last weekend to begin our new anti-inflamation diet. They're more similar than different. And oddly, I was craving fish. Since I've become convinced that Dr. Weil's diet is our best bet for long-term health, it seemed so arbitrary to delay beginning that diet for another week. But we held fast - primarily because I didn't want to explain to so many co-workers why I wasn't still vegan (the folks who, when I explained that my cholesteral was sky-high, said "Why not just take Lipitor").

In many ways, the new diet will be so much stricter than veganism. No more artificial sweeteners (goodbye Diet Coke and orange drink from Rainbow) and no more fast food (goodbye Big Mac). Severely restricted animal fats, refined flours, and other dairy. So goodbye bread and butter.
Hello whole grains, soy products, wild mushrooms and green tea! Hello sardines and fatty cold-water fish!

And no, Dr. Weil's diet doesn't require you to be so severe/strict - but, I figure that insofar as my chronic diseases are related to inflamation in immune responses - and insofar as any of the restricted foods may trigger a disproportionate allergy-like response from my immune system - then my best bet for getting well and reducing my dependence on prescription medicines is to follow this anti-inflamation diet as strictly as possible.

Plus, I'd rather have abs than brie.

Sore again

2009-01-22T14:49:00.002-06:00

Worked out with Doug again yesterday. He mixed things up a bit and since I got there on time, we were able to include some leg exercises. So I'm sore again today, but certainly not as bad as last week. If things feel better tomorrow, I'm going to check with Doug about scheduling workouts on Monday and Friday. We'll see.

Tonight will be our first Thursday night games and tea party. Last week we started celebrating the non-smoking anniversary early by having drinks at Eli's. So this week we'll make some oolong tea and play a game. (I'm going to take Maggie for a special Thursday walk while CC's still at work) We're in the midst of the final season of The Wire, so this week's game session might be on the brief side.

Not too much else. I've been feeling pretty lazy this week - on Tuesday night I jazzed up a pasta sauce and we tried Barilla's semi-whole grain pasta (not awful). Last night the Trio hosted us. Tonight we're having vegi burgers that have been chilling in the freezer for a few months.

It's always so strange when a four-day week seems to drag on and on...

A New Day

2009-01-20T16:00:00.004-06:00

Difficulty concentrating today. Shocking, I know.

Today is January 16, 2009.

2009-01-16T14:49:00.005-06:00

Lunch out with co-workers. Luckily there was a garden burger on the menu.

Christmas decorations coming down this weekend. I'd be happy just taking down the ornaments. Then we could have a Valentines Tree - an Easter Tree - a Pride Tree - etc.

This morning I was thinking about George Bush and how proud I am to say that I never voted for this worst-ever President.

Thursday's don't feel as special

2009-01-15T11:43:00.006-06:00

Still very sore today from the weight workout, so I cancelled tomorrow's session with Doug. He was very understanding, smiling devilishly when I told him I was still so sore. Need to keep stretching.

Dinner last night turned out well - although I burned some of my fingers with steam coming from the pressure cooker. All those unheaded warnings from the cookbooks - well, they'll be headed hereinafter.

Here's a picture of the granola bars CC made last weekend. Super delicious, with honey, almonds, and cashews - I think we'll make more next weekend and include some dried fruit.

That's all for today.

Thursday night used to mean drinks later when CC got home from work. Relaxing with cocktails in anticipation of the weekend.

It's odd - I'm not missing the vodka/drinks so much, but I do miss having a ritual. I need a new ritual.

Sore... very sore

2009-01-14T13:25:00.002-06:00

Actually it isn't that bad. Lots of stretching going on today. And more leisurely treadmilling with CB after work (we actually milled last night for 30min)(CB got rewarded with two Grey Goose martinis - I had three virgin Natini's [i.e. club soda in a martini glass, with a cherry]).

The Trio is coming over tonight for Top Chef. We're going to have the cabbage from last night (delish, but I thought it'd be better on day 2), Thai Chickpeas, and the Lima Chili salad from last weekend. We soaked all the legumes last night and CC cooked the lima beans this morning. Go Teamwork! Go pressure cooker!

Lunch out today to celebrate my assistant's birthday. My first big foray into attempting to stay vegan at a non-Asian restaurant. Fairly successful. Thai sweet potato soup and a salad of roasted beets and watercress (sans goat cheese). After explaining to the server that I was vegan, they left off the goat cheese but included the shaved parmesan (I'm sure it was just a mixup from entering the order in the computer). Oh well - and at least I didn't have to explain to her what vegan meant.

In a weird way, it's been nice eating out and seeing how CR lives all the time. I remember times when we'd go somewhere and she'd be so excited that there were three vegan options.

Jella. I feel like jella.

2009-01-13T17:10:00.003-06:00

Just got done working out with Doug. First attempt at weight training in ... 10+ years. It was nice having someone be in charge of knowing what to do - how many - what weights - how to stretch, etc. All I had to do was keep focused and lift/push/pull.

Leftover stuffed pepper for lunch - quinoa, mushrooms and black beans. Very tasty and not to labor-intensive.

So we're beginning week 2 of the vegan detox. The scale had happy news this morning. Sad how affirmation from the scale affects my enthusiasm. When I stepped on the scale last week on day 3 and saw that I'd dropped 3 pounds, I was ready to sign up for life.

Last night I picked up a blood pressure cuff at Target and my bloodpressure was 117/78! Probably due to the medicine - but I don't care - it's such a relief to feel like somethings back in line.

Tonight's dinner is Hot & Sour Mushroom Soup (shiitakes and enoki mushrooms with homemade lemongrass broth) and Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage (in the pressure cooker). This past week I've been uber-thankful for the pressure cooker - and as we further explore the world of whole grains and legumes, I'm growing ever more reliant on it.
In fact, last Saturday when CC was making the mushroom/sun-dried tomato risotto, he adapted the recipe to use the pressure cooker!

Lazy Weekend

2009-01-12T11:38:00.004-06:00

A lazy, successful weekend.

Friday night we met up with friends from law school at the King & I. My first foray into not partaking in vodka - it went ok. I had mango and club soda. CC stuck to water. We ended up eating there too - much mock duck and tofu.
Then watched the Sex & The City movie. It's still a bit odd when we watch TV - CC's sprawled across the green couch, me lounging on the blue couch - TV tray sans vodka. But it worked out. I enjoyed several glasses of black current juice and club soda. The movie was spot on. A little long perhaps, but we weren't bored and couldn't think of any bits that should have been skipped.

Saturday was our lazy lazy lazy day. I made lima bean salad with sweet chili dressing for lunch. CC made granola bars in the afternoon while I worked on cleaning the SmartRoom (homemade granola bars are AMAZING!!). Dinner was mushroom and sun-dried tomato risotto from Vegan with a Vengeance. We didn't leave the house all day.

Yesterday was a bit harder. Many times lazy Sunday meant hanging downstairs at Eli's, enjoying martinis and french fries. We ran around SuperTarget and The Wedge to get groceries - and decided that vegan food from Pizza Luce would be a good treat.

Golden Globes with soy cheese pizza and vegan muffaletta - what could be better?

Today I'm meeting with the personal trainer at work - crossed fingers - because I'm scared...

Day 4

2009-01-08T21:49:00.004-06:00

CC was able to duck out of work early last night, so we flew over to Ikea for some new storage boxes. I discovered we have this huge space above the buffet in our SmartRoom that these boxes fit perfectly. So this weekend I'm going to gather up all the papers, textbooks, DVD cases, season decorations, Bratz dolls, EVERYTHING that doesn't need to be very accessible and/or that we don't feel like sorting through now - and it's all going up there. As god is my witness, we're going to reclaim use of the SmartRoom!

After Ikea, it was fun with the pressure cooker. We make Armenian Red Lentil and Apricot stew from Lorna Sass's vegetarian pressure cooker book. Unfortunately, we didn't have red lentils (my bad from last week's pre-shopping inventory check). I decided we should just substitute yellow split peas - which mostly worked. They didn't cook as quickly, so the stew had to be simmered for 15 minutes - after which time the split peas were still very al dente. Oh well.

Then it was on to the hummus. CC had soaked the chickpeas that morning, so that cut 15 minutes off the time. I tried quartering the recipe - remembering the last hummus debacle where I used all of the Trio's tahini (which is expensive) and ended up with a gigantic tub of hummus that we struggled to consume before it went bad. We ended up with a little over 1 cup - which is just perfect for lunches today (along with green pepper crudite and fresh bread.

I stopped at the library last night to investigate whole-foods cookbooks - hoping to find one by Christina Pirelli (of Christina Cooks). While the website said it wasn't checked out, it wasn't on the shelf - although I did find a cookbook from Dr. Weil. I have this feeling that we'll probably end up following his advice with respect to diet and well-being.

Overall, I'm pretty frustrated. I don't know if you feel this way too, but having listened to enough environmentalists, progressive food policy folks and nutritionists on The Splendid Table, I really don't believe much from the Food and Drug Administration. For example, didn't the la-de-da food pyramid change twice in two years... Do we really think that General Mills and Cargill would allow the US Gov't to seriously explore the health benefits of long-term vegetarianism or veganism?

The other irritation is that everything else is so anecdotal - for instance, I read yesterday that Alanis Morissette recently went vegan and now her alergies have cleared up.

So I think Dr. Weil will end up being our authority for the time being. If only he didn't have such a strange beard...

Day 3

2009-01-08T12:41:00.003-06:00

Things are going swimmingly. Delicious dinner last night. NT does such a fabulous job making pasta, and the sauce was delicious. Here's a photo! (CR's been photographing their meals, so I stole this one from her blog)

Today's lunch was previously-frozen eggplant curry that had an unfortunate look, but tasted ok. Tonight I'm making hummus, apricot and red lentil stew, and fresh bread. The pressure cooker will be getting a workout.

When refilling my water today at lunch, I passed someone eating a piece of pizza. Oh well. But other than that things are going swimmingly.

Day 2

2009-01-07T10:25:00.003-06:00

Made it through Day 1! No cookies or candy corn (which has been sitting there 7 feet from my office). No bites of leftover cheesy pasta. No booze. It was a good day.

We got groceries last night and then CC made borscht in the pressure cooker. I forgot to photograph it, but it was red and delicious.

Tonight we're heading to the Trio's for homemade pasta and pesto - I'm super psyched!

After dinner last night, instead of sitting in front of the TV, watching nothing of substance, and missing the little glass(es) of vodka I usually enjoyed, I went to the study and worked on this other blog project I'm starting. Wordpress released an update that they kept asking me to install - so I gave it my best shot. And completely screwed something up (I didn't lose any content). This whole website infrastructure thing is so unintuitive. But hopefully this little escapade will help in the long run.

Top Chef tonight!!!!! Double elimination and the British judge who says "It's the bland leading the bland."

Day 1

2009-01-06T12:29:00.004-06:00

Thank god for the deep freeze.

CC got home last night and we looked through our food on hand. We had leftover Indian Chili in the freezer that's vegan, and today's lunch. I made the grocery list, so tonight we'll get supplies for the remainder of the week. Boiling steel cut oats for this week's breakfasts was just too daunting, so we're having Kashi bars this week (making homemade granola bars this weekend).

So far so good (acknowledging it's only been about 4 hours). But I've noticed during diets in the past that on that very first morning I find myself absentmindedly grabbing a cookie (which I never eat) or handfuls of whatever candy someone has around. I'd rather have abs than brie... I'd rather have abs than brie... There's no place like home...

Here are couple of pictures from last weekend. I rented a fisheye lens from the local camera shop. T'was tons of fun - Maggie was very curious - probably because I'd moved the dining room table around.

Vegan borscht tonight! I'll take a picture.

The New Year begins today

2009-01-05T15:18:00.004-06:00

Apologies for the long silence. Such an odd time, Christmas. Last week, for example, I "worked" Monday, Tuesday, and a couple of hours on Wednesday. I thought my time had to be entered Friday, so I came into work - only to find out it's due today at 5pm. One of the partners I work for asked if I wanted to join them for drinks (it was 2pm).

So even though Christmas was a week and a half ago, it's felt like some long foggy time of unproductivity. It also affected my blogging. I'll try to post some pictures tonight - but no promises.

CC gets back from NoDak today. We left on Friday, so it was a weird weekend. Both Maggie and I spent lots of time laying around, not talking much. Watching reruns (I watched Independence Day one and a half times last night) and infomercials. I had hoped to begin cooking some vegan staples (steel cut oats for breakfasts), but spent most of yesterday cleaning out the SmartRoom. It wasn't wasted time, but I am more stressed about tomorrow's vegan detox month beginning.

As I was digging through the freezer, etc. - I started wondering if I should just throw most things out. Tonight, for example, we're tossing all the meat and dairy from the fridge. But what about the frozen sausages in the freezer? And CC made a HUGE quantity of chicken stock before leaving for NoDak...

It wouldn't be a huge issue except that I'm very much hoping to return to the George Bush Diet after January (fish=ok; meat/poultry=not ok)(i.e., eat nothing smarter than George Bush). So I think the sausages should go. But that seems wasteful. I'll check with CC.

We also need to purge a bunch of booze. I'll be too tempted by any clear booze (tequilla or vodka), so those have to go.

Vegan Month starts tomorrow. I'm nervous for some reason. I'm not too worried about cheating. I'm not afraid that I'll feel hungry all the time. I would have missed beef, but I read this little article in the Wedge newsletter about cows that have triggered my guilt again (I think cows are the cutest of the meat animals). Additionally, I've decided that we need to keep perspective if things get difficult, if we're tempted to cheat/quit. For instance, the most important things are no booze, no caffeine, and eating vegan. If I break down and have a Boca burger during the first two weeks, that's better than having a martini. If we don't have homemade bread made, better to have a vegan sandwich on store bread than to feel defeated and wind up at McDonalds.

Maybe I'm worried about cheese. Many people I've discussed Vegan Month with keep returning to cheese. I'm a fan, certainly - but I've never thought about cheese as so essential. Until I start thinking about cheese-less pizza.

So tomorrow it begins. And in honor of the endeavor, I've crafted two special mottos:

I'd rather be thin than drunk.

I'd rather have abs than brie.

Sugarplums!

2008-12-16T13:59:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow I plan to post some pictures of CC's lastest ventures in Christmas cookie baking. He and CH were busy at it for nearly 8 hours on Sunday.

Last night I made sugarplums - for real! They aren't terribly difficult - the ingredients are dried plums, dried grapes, slivered almonds, a bit of brandy, and superfine sugar for rolling.

I rolled them twice for good measure - and also to get them rounder. After 50 or so, my hands were very very sticky, keeping them from forming good balls.

The taste is quite nice - like a larger, more complex raisin. The brandy isn't overpowering.

So far, they're a hit at work!

Cranberry Port Conserve

2008-12-11T10:31:00.005-06:00

I'm a bit bummed today because my favorite character on The Wire met his end last night. It wasn't unexpected - the entire season has been about him and things haven't been getting better for him. Good night sweet prince.

I MADE JELLY!!!
Actually, it's Cranberry Port Conserve.
Brief rundown: Jelly is strained before canning, so it's clear; Jam isn't clear; Marmalade has a citrus base (not necessarily oranges); and Conserves have nuts.

It was fairly nervewracking - making the conserve and heating the jars at the same time. I ended up overcooking the mixture - which will likely result in a very very firm conserve. In fact, it will probably be best warmed and either used as a glaze or side sauce.

But nothing blew up. The seals worked. I've got shelf-stable preserves - fuck yah!

Please pass the Palaner All Fruit. Does anyone else remember that commercial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK_n4tyVarI

Frozen Hair

2008-12-10T10:21:00.005-06:00

My hair froze this morning while I was waiting for the bus. Reminded me of last period gym class - which I hated. But the hair freezing was always cool.

Reminds me of the scene from The Great Race (starring Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Jack Lemmon as the evil "Professor Fate"!). A race from New York to Paris, and while their respective cars are floating around on a piece of glacier, it's so cold that part of Professor Fate's prominent mustache breaks off.

Anyhoo...

Here are a few pictures of the decorated house! Last night was supposed to be post-decorating cleanup - but we were too tired. I'll add it to this weekend's list - otherwise, the boxes will just end up getting thrown into the back room until it's finally time to pack things up again.

If I'm not exhausted, tonight I'm going to make jam! Cross-fingers. Details tomorrow...

Gettin' Bettah

2008-12-04T11:50:00.003-06:00

Tailbone feels markedly better today - huge relief. It still hurts all the time, but sometimes getting out of chairs doesn't make me cringe.

A budget aside - I noticed on the bank account that a certain bookseller had renewed my club membership for $25. Rather irritating since I didn't sign anything authorizing automatic renewal. Only a 5 minute phone call to have them cancel and refund, but I'm a bit fumey. Those little charges, little breaks in your day to fix them, etc. - it all adds up to lost money and lost time.

Here's the big news...
In January, CC and I are going to have a vegan, whole-foods detox! For real!

The plan (at this point) is:
Vegan the entire month.
Weeks one and two: only meals from whole, organic foods. Homemade bread, no pasta (unless homemade), tofu's ok, Boca things aren't. No booze, no carbonated beverages or caffeine (that'll be hard for CC).
Weeks three and four: still vegan, but we can have margerine, soy cheese, carbonated drinks. Booze TBD (maybe organic wine and spirits).

I'm really excited. Going caffeine-free has made me feel oddly healthy (in that, who knows if this is a placebo effect or something real way) - and I'm excited to see how it feels to be really pure in our consumption. Additionally, CC's been wanting for months to get serious about dieting. And with my arthritis and creeping high blood pressure, losing weight will have huge health benefits.

Props to our dear friend CR for being such a wonderful beacon for vegan living. If we hadn't had much practice with vegan cooking, or access to several of her cookbooks, this would be so much more daunting.

Tailbone Woes

2008-12-03T10:30:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful.

Thursday's food was delicious. Things seemed much less stressful this year (even accounting for the fact that the Trio was hosting) - I credit the pressure cooker. I made two cheesecakes for Friday (lemon and pumpkin). These are the before and after pictures.

Friday was fairly relaxing too. We slept in. Went shopping, briefly. Made more macarroni and cheese (even better than the fancier 4-cheese version we made on Thursday), more roasted brussel sprouts, and turkey. The chef at Eli's asked us several weeks ago if we needed a bird - he had to order 10 from his supplier - so we got a fresh, organic, free-range, local bird for a very reasonable price. To be clear, I still don't consider myself a huge fan of turkey - but it was really good.

Saturday was the big night out that I've promised my brother for so long. We all had a bit too much fun. I slipped and fell - screwed up my tailbone - so I'm still in a fair amount of pain.

That's enough for now. I'm in the process of finalizing the December menu - and most of January's too! More on that tomorrow.

Fridge Fulla Food

2008-11-25T14:33:00.002-06:00

One of CC’s coworkers is leaving, so they had a happy hour last night at the Green Mill. And I had a contemplative grocery shopping trip. I was shocked (happily so) to find that Rainbow carries Savoy Cabbage – and Kale! I was so happy I’d made the big list, and brought a red pen.

Thankfully everything fit in the fridge!

Happy Monday Greetings from the King of the Nerds!

2008-11-24T11:50:00.002-06:00

Just back from my yearly appointment with the GI specialist to discuss my esophagus. Thrilling, I know.

This year's upper endoscopy (still) shows no pre-cancerous cells. But this year there was no inflammation - and no dysplasia! Truthfully, I still haven't bothered researching "dysplasia" - but last year's endoscopy showed mild dysplasia - and "none" is better than "mild".

More importantly it's just nice to see something improve. With the liver stupidity, arthritis, creeping high blood pressure (which, oddly, they didn't take today)(I was curious if Obama + no caffeine might have prompted a slight drop), etc. etc. etc. ... finally some good news! Plus I've been so much lately about not eating within a couple of hours before going to bed and it's made a huge difference in the frequency of acid reflux (except for election night).

Enough icky medical stuff.

Last night I finished the Thanksgiving shopping list/spreadsheet! And I was crowned King of the Nerds!
I didn't realize there was a contest going on - evidently my spreadsheet submitted itself and my name for consideration. It's quite a piece of work. Four days - each day a separate sheet - with fields for quantity - ingredient - recipe name - cookbook - and page number. I listed every ingredient - every 1/8 tsp of salt or pinch of cayenne. And there's a page where I sorted the ingredients and combined the quantities.
Thanks to my spreadsheet, I know, for instance, that I need to buy 48 oz of cream cheese, 18 serrano chilies, and 20 cloves of garlic.

I tried to post the spreadsheet here - but it turns out that only pictures and video can be posted. But if you're interested, post a comment and I'll email it to you!

King of the Nerds, signing out.

making it through the day

2008-11-21T14:05:00.003-06:00

Annual Review. Done!

Dinner last night was pretty awesome. Friendly people, the food was fantabulous, the wine was good - a tasty reisling and a rose (my two faves!) but I didn't drink much. Wine, that is.

This morning wasn't as hot - five martinis don't go down like they used to.

No picture today - but here's a youtube clip of a cat riding a roomba.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-jv8g1YVI

Fancy Pants – and a Hat to match!

2008-11-20T10:38:00.002-06:00

Going to a fancy work thing tonight. At Vincent, a restaurant. I ironed a shirt this morning (well, ironed the front) and there’s a tie in my bag. Hopefully fun, although I usually get nervous and shy in groups if I don’t know anybody. Crossed fingers. Jeremy Iggers might be there – he was the Star Tribune’s food critic and has a Ph.D. in philosophy. I’m a fan.

Last night was Top Chef – I love Top Chef. I love Padma and Tom. I love the goofy challenges – and the bitchy comments (“corn soup?! I’d never try pass off something so easy…”). But this season I’ve got this little crush on Richard. He was all chatty last week about Tom’s beautiful eyes and tight butt. And I haven’t heard him say anything bitchy. Or at least nothing bitchy that wasn’t totally deserved. I think I’m going to refer to him as the Care Bear. Richard, the Care Bear.

Richard, the Care Bear’s gallery from home is a little dull (check our Fabio’s – crazy wonder woman drag!): http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/photos/gallery.php?e=photo_diary_richard

Oh well.

Turkey Rollups!

2008-11-13T14:59:00.006-06:00

No words today. Too busy. Very busy.

Heat and Pressure

2008-11-11T13:41:00.005-06:00

Last night I stopped by Target to get some decaf iced tea. This batch wasn't formulated for "cold brewing" so I dutifully boiled water in our little miracle kettle and then poured the water over the tea bags.

Part of me worried that the plastic jug wouldn't stand up to the heat, but I didn't want to dirty a pitcher just for the 3-5 minute steeping time. So perhaps tonight I'll be checking Target for a new jug - perhaps they make glass jugs??

CC was studying for one of his licensing exams last night, so he was late getting home. We have several lovely acorn (i.e., voter fraud propogating) squash that I'm worried will go bad soon. Per directions online, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and carefully split the squash in two. And then reread the recipe - roasting for 1 hour to 1.25 hours.

WHATEVs!

I got out my miracle pressure cooker instead. Steamer basket and one cup of water. Five minutes to come to high pressure. Seven minutes at high pressure. Then I sprinkled brown sugar and butter on the tops and broiled for five minutes.

Seventeen minutes - that's right! - just seventeen minutes for acorn squash!

You ask: What did I do with that extra 58 minutes?

Nothing! I lounged around on the bed and watched Rachel Maddow and QVC. Did you know that Chloe Dao from Project Runway Season 2 sells on QVC?

An aside - simultaneous events are planned across the country to protest Proposition 8 and the need for same-sex marriage. Minneaoplis's event is at 12:30pm at City Hall. Spread the word. For friends in other spots, here's the site http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon

Soothing weekend

2008-11-10T13:36:00.011-06:00

I quit caffeine last week. It wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated, although I've certainly been more tired. No headaches (crossed-fingers) so far - probably because I was never a coffee-drinker.

To celebrate the cold yesterday we cleaned the fridge. Deep cleaned - drawers pulled - shelves disassembled. Look!

Dinner last night was pad thai. Third time's the charm (the first time was too sweet - Martha's recipe called for much chili sauce - we've found Sriracha works much better, but is very spicy!). And then we watched many episodes of The Wire.

Recharging my Hope batteries

2008-11-05T15:48:00.003-06:00

The day started so well ...

Devastated by the passage of Proposition 8 and even more mean-spirited/destructive measures in AK and FL - so I'm spending the day at home - watching tv and napping. Hoping for a better tomorrow.

it's almost here...

2008-11-04T15:55:00.006-06:00

Can't get anything done today. Voted. Worked for maybe 15 minutes. Haven't even been able to finalize my November goals.

It's been two long years. I have been excited for Obama for so long. And while I'm confident that tonight will bring good news - the tiniest risk of disappointment is even more terrifying.

Reports also indicate that Proposition 8 in California will fail - despite the best efforts of the Mormon and Catholic churches.

Confident and scared. Excited and hopeful.

Finally, here are some (fitting) shots from Halloween!

Busy day

2008-11-03T14:11:00.005-06:00

Entering October's billable time. Ugh. A good weekend. Here are some pictures.

Halloween night - wandered around downtown and took some pictures.

Saturday night - party at the Trio's.

Sunday - laying around doing nothing and trying to cope with daylight savings time.

Hope to finalize November goals tonight...

As October comes to a close...

2008-10-30T14:05:00.005-05:00

Before finalizing my November goals, I think it’s worthwhile to review and assess October:

Gas. Again, we only filled the car once. By consolidating shopping trips we were even able to manage a trip to Scandia, MN (about an hour each way). Gas prices fell considerably over October and I’m proud that we didn’t respond by increasing consumption.

Tracking Spending. Complete success! Because CC and I have been diligent about putting personal spending on our separate accounts, there’s been less activity in our household checking accounts; I was able to cancel our $10/monthly accounting software and switch to a (free) Google spreadsheet.

Cutting Expenses. The cable plan is already paying off. Axing CC’s blackberry service hasn’t been reflected yet in the bill, but it will. Last month’s investment in blinds looks promising as the temps drop but the bedroom has stayed cozy.

Savings. No luck this month. The health savings account and the unexpected car repairs wiped us out this month. Primary goal for November.

Eating Out. We slipped a couple of times. Two non-scheduled/expensive nights at Eli’s. Two trips to Chipotle. But considering it was October, a huge success – the Birthday Fortnight from 10/8-21 used to be two weeks of expensive “it’s the day before my birthday-eve!” dinners that emptied our bank account.

Better Living. The cooking plan has continued to work. We had lazy agenda-less weekends and many stress-reducing weeknights. I’ve gotten back into photography and started reading a book (which, I admit, I haven't finished...). We're still watching plenty of TV - but without the DVR it doesn't seem like we have all these shows "to get through". And we're finally utilizing Netflix!

Sometime this weekend I'm going to review the bank account and analyze the spending to see how well we stuck to the budget with respect to groceries, eating out, etc.

$15.36!

2008-10-29T15:17:00.003-05:00

The cable bill posted today - $15.36. Fifteen thirty-six!
More importantly, it's $110.87 less than last month. And so far, life-sans-DVR hasn't been that bad. Granted, it's election season and we've been watching about 3 hours of MSNBC each night (Hardball, then Countdown, then Rachel Maddow)(we LOVE Rachel Maddow!!!).
And we've started Season 2 of The Wire ...

Not too much else today. The Costco trip was fun. They had a super-huge 108 oz can of tomatoes from Italy for $3.50 - which would otherwise be ridiculous if CC and I didn't plan to make some kick-ass homemade tomato sauce! Perhaps this weekend.

Our neighbor CB's birthday is tomorrow night. We're heading to his favorite restaurant and then having cake at our place later. Caramel cake from the SmittenKitchen - looks delish!

Synchronized Presidential Debating

2008-10-28T16:40:00.001-05:00

Must watch! Safe for work!

http://www.236.com/video/2008/watch_synchronized_presidentia_9857.php

Blends parts of the three presidential debates - equal parts amazing and scary at the same time...

Macro Lens arrived – Are you ready for your closeup??

2008-10-28T14:31:00.004-05:00

A happy surprise waiting for me last night – the macro lens arrived! I played around for a while, but the light wasn’t very good and I still don’t have a flash.

I took some shots of dinner (salmon poached in creamy bean curry, which rocked!) but they which weren’t pretty.

Aside from finalizing Thanksgiving weekend, the November menu is done! We’re heading to a home improvement store tonight, so we’ll also stop by Costco for some bulk items.

Oh Scandia!

2008-10-27T13:53:00.003-05:00

Mellow Friday night/Pizza night/Movie night. Feeling lazy, we tried that Pillsbury dough in a canister (next week we’re going to pre-bake the crust) with summer sausage and green olives (next week we’re going to rinse the olives). Yum!
Spiderman 3 mostly sucked. I’m over Tobey Maguire (I can't even be bothered to google the spelling of his name).

We drove to Scandia on Saturday to visit VP – so nice to get out of the city for a while – although there were HUGE Bachman/McCain/GOP lawnsigns all over. A couple of signs for Obama/Franken/hope here and there.
She has such a cool home - can't see any neighbors, has her own pond, an apple tree - we were sort of jealous.

Saturday night we had dinner at Porter & Frye in the Ivey Hotel. Amazing! CC and I both had beef tenderloin that was sous-vide (cooked in a vacuum bag at low temp) that was so tender. Mashed potatoes and mushrooms with a healthy dose of white truffle oil. Pork terrine to start, an heirloom tomato salad with crème fraiche sorbet, fun drinks. Dinner lasted two and a half hours!

Laid around yesterday. It was odd to see periodic snow flurries outside. We stayed a bit bundled and, thanks to the blinds in the bedroom, the house didn’t feel cold. In fact the heater didn’t run all day!

And back to Monday. I’m starting on the November menu. We inventoried the freezers, so I’m trying to incorporate a lot of those meals. It’s time to see the cost-savings next month!

They call us mellow yellows...

2008-10-23T15:45:00.002-05:00

quite right...

Chill night last night. One of the partners I work for took us out for drinks and then I prepped dinner.

Frozen pesto, a can of diced tomatoes, frozen corn and linguine. Not bad, but next time I need to do something with the tomatoes so they’ll blend in the sauce. When you had a bite with tomato, you mostly tasted tomato – and if there wasn’t a chuck of tomato, you wouldn’t have known they were in the dish.
Perhaps a combination of dicing them even further and perhaps cooking them briefly so the flavor isn’t so bright.

We did a couple loads of laundry and watched Top Design last night (since they cable hasn’t completely switched yet) – sort of funny to have to watch commercials – so retro!

And then CC fell asleep on the couch.

Road-worthy

2008-10-22T14:24:00.004-05:00

So nice to drive the car and not worry about it breaking at any moment – which I realize could still happen. The total was $414 – about $350 less than Firestone and the Audi dealer would have charged! I paid over the phone and asked if I could buy them a round of drinks – and was politely turned down.

Neighbors over for CC’s birthday dinner last night. They brought down some brie and blue cheese and I broiled Indian-spiced chicken burgers (from Martha’s Everyday Food cookbook). Delish!
And then we shared slivers of the cake.

Today I canceled Mvelopes. The happy news is that since CC and I have moved our discretionary spending to separate allowance checking accounts, there isn’t as much activity on our checking account. Between lunches, coffee breaks, Target stops, dinner, nitecaps, etc. - we'd often have between 6-10 transactions per day. Now it's more like 6 transactions per week - I can handle that many entries.
When shopping for software in August, the first requirement was that the program pull bank information through the internet – and that’s clearly not as necessary.
Additionally – while the envelopes system is helpful in knowing if you’re below or over budget on any of your categories, there’s still that “will there be enough in the account” worry. When I worried about funding my health savings account, whether we’d have enough money in early November to pay our mortgage and other early-month bills, Mvelopes didn’t provide the answers. So I created a basic ledger in excel and input our future paychecks and fixed bills. The ledger helped me know that we could pay for the car repairs and let’s me know when I need to have additional funds to keep the account in the black.
I still want to use the envelope system to track budget items – so I found a program called “Budget” (from a St. Paul software company) that is more basic. You fund envelopes and enter debits/credits, etc. – but this program was a one-time $30 fee (rather than $8/monthly).
So I figure I might operate using both systems. My ledger is online at google docs, so I can have peace of mind when I check the account each day – and then I can use the ledger on the weekends to update Budget and see where we’re currently at.

Finally, a lovely chat this morning with VP, my fave photographer friend. I'm thinking of selling some of my lighting gear and getting a more portable flash. We also chatted about macro (close-up) lenses. It's fun to dream and also to think through what pieces I want to try to save for - so many people into photography dump thousands of dollars into 10+ lenses, etc. - my goal is still to be realistic about what kinds of pictures I want to take - and then to create a tight collection of superb pieces. We'll see. My birthday money got eaten by car repairs this month - but if we're dilligent next month with eating out, I should be able to be paid back.

Let them eat CAKE!!

2008-10-21T11:29:00.004-05:00

The car place called and to fix the breaks and replace the serpentine belt it’ll be “around $400”. They also checked the CV boots, but advised that they didn’t need to be fixed yet. I’m so happy happy happy! Based on the numbers I heard from Firestone, I was seriously expecting to hear that the necessary repairs would run $1200+!

Hooray!

Picture today of the most amazing cake ever! Courtesy of the smittenkitchen (http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/) it’s the chocolate sour cream cake with peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter glaze! It looked like a million bucks and tasted that good too! CC did such an amazing job – dutifully chilling the cakes in between frosting layers, doing a crumb layer first, etc.

Sunday night we went to WA Frost with friend SD before the So You Think You Can Dance concert. Dinner and the tickets were courtesy of SD’s law firm – yay! The show was amazing and dinner was good. The weird part was that as soon as we sat down at our table I saw one of the waiters and was like, “That’s Paul”. We sort-of dated for about two months back in 1999. He was the first guy I thought had long-term potential – he was witty, had goals (to go MIT and study linguistics – guess that didn’t happen), read for fun. And then he sort-of broke my heart.
And even though it has been nine years, I recognized him immediately (and I’m not that good at remembering faces). Wondering if this happens to anyone else…

Today’s CC’s birthday! The weekend sapped more energy than we anticipated, so we’re having a mellow night at home.

Last night we dropped off the car and were feeling lazy about dinner. I reheated the leftover chili and then we tossed in a can of diced tomatoes and a can of mock pork (“mock polk”) – delicious and easy.

The Good, The Bad, and The So-So

2008-10-20T17:45:00.000-05:00

Things aren’t actually that bad – but I’m stressed about money again. Funny to realize/recognize that I’m out of practice worrying about money!

Back to worrying - about the car. The rear brakes ($500+) and the serpentine belt ($150?) need work/replacement. After that the car should be good to go. But on top of pre-funding the Health Savings Account - these car payments are quite a blow to the budget. We may end up dipping into our newly-created savings account this month – I need to remember that it’s there for car repairs, etc.
Happily, I looked on the Car Talk website and found a highly recommended mechanic in Northeast Minneapolis that specializes in older VW’s and Audi’s. Reports indicate it’s one of those places that says, “Three things need fixing – you need to do #2 today but the other’s can be delayed for X months.”
We’ve got car repairs as a budget item – hopefully remembering the tightness of this month and next will keep me diligent about funding the line item.

Saturday’s party was awesome. I worried oddly that people wouldn’t show. It was the perfect size – just enough to mingle and chat with everybody – but not so many that things were too crowded. The food was a hit and it turns out we didn’t overcook. But by making all the food from scratch (and a little help from Ikea) we were able to stay within our $100 budget (including beer and vodka).

Picture of the cake tomorrow…

setback, courtesy of the car

2008-10-17T13:41:00.002-05:00

Rufus was absolutely amazing last night. I almost cried several times. And afterwards CC and I stopped at Eli's for a drink and just sat there basking in the experience, barely talking.

The auto place called this morning and there's some tie rod end that's broken ($180) and the rear brakes are worn ($580). Ugh. I told him to go ahead on the "tie rod end" since it's a driveability issue - but that we'd wait on the brakes. I'm going to ask CC to investigate if there are other places that are cheaper. We'll cut way back on driving for a while.

Party tomorrow night to celebrate birthdays. So tonight we're baking the cake (frosting and glazes tomorrow) and making some spiced nuts and fried split pea appetizers. And hopefully watching a movie ... after all, it is Pizza Night! (tonight's is summer sausage and green olives)

RUFUS RUFUS RUFUS

2008-10-16T13:40:00.004-05:00

We're heading to see Rufus tonight!

I saw him back in 2001 at a really small bar in town, but my friend LD and I had just scored Madonna tickets that morning. Throughout the show we'd turn to each other and squeel (quietly) "we're going to Madonna!" - after about 45 minutes we realized that we were too distracted to appreciate Rufus - so we went and grabbed drinks.

I had hoped to make soup last night that we could just reheat and also feed our neighbors who are going too - but I was too tired last night. These nights will happen. Provisional plans to eat at the restaurant downstairs, but maybe I can muster the willpower to cook something quick at home - and then we could have glow-y post-show drinks instead!
Fingers crossed...

CC called over lunch - the front tire is flat. I checked Costco and found tires for roughly $120 each. And thought that seemed reasonable. It's not like I price tires on a reasonable basis and figured it must cost $500-600 to replace all the tires.
Then, remembering that Firestone is just around the corner (seriously, two blocks) - I found tires there for $40 each. Sure, there are better/sleeker/sportier/more-tractiony tires for $80 & $110 - but we mostly use the car around town.

So four tires will cost $215.92 - instead of $384.20 (for the $80 tires) - instead of $504 (for the Costco tires)!
And we'll eat at home before the show.

Health Savings Account funding!

2008-10-14T15:18:00.002-05:00

Special second post for today.

I've been worrying the past few days about funding my health savings account. One of the health insurance options at work is this new relatively new system where you have a high high deductible, and then everything after that is covered 100%.

They pair this high deductible plan with a "health savings account" (HSA) which is similar to a 401(k). Pre-tax payroll contributions, they don't disappear if unused (unlike flex spending plans) and the HSA is portable (if you change employers).

The plan started October 1.

The problem is coming up with the deductible moneys this month. For most folks, the $50 or so contributed each paycheck will probably cover them - a cold in December, X-rays in February, etc. But I've already had the endoscopy this month and my psoriasis medication is roughly $1800 a month. So I hit my $2200 deductible right away.

So the challenge has been coming up with a way to make sure that if I have the full $2200 deducted from the October paychecks, that we'll still have enough left over to pay the mortgage, electricity, etc.

Just got back from meeting with our HR department and they ran a scenario in the computer - and we're OK! I'll even be able to pay the phone bill on time, and we won't have to dip into the savings/emergency fund! Being careful with money last month, and ultra careful this month have already paid off!

That's all - just needed to share...

ROBBED!

2008-10-14T13:21:00.003-05:00

Not exactly…
We turned in the cable box and cable modem last night. We also did nearly all the shopping for our birthday party this Saturday.

It’s always so gross going to the cable store. They have a bored security guard hovering over the service area, lighting that’s too harsh, movie posters strewn about, stupid local news blasting from the TV. And the other customers. Last night there were these two women exchanging a DVR box. Huge waddling women.

A huge mix of emotions. Part of me felt suddenly skinny! Then I felt a bit ashamed that we were switching to basic cable – and then sort of annoyed that we can’t afford “standard” cable when evidently a DVR box is a basic, welfare need.

And then I remembered why we were there. While I’m super excited to see the extra money show up in our budget, we were there to be rid of the DVR.

Oh DVR - the demonic/blessed box that allowed us to record infinite amounts of television. The box that helped create CC & NK, semi-pro couch potatoes (“Able to watch an entire episode of Project Runway in just 37 minutes!”). The box that turned me into someone who said “I only really read cookbooks anymore.”

And then there were those two ladies. I’ve no doubt that they see cable as a good investment – something that gives them so many hours of joy – for only 80ish dollars per month. But it also reminded me of why I often get depressed at Rainbow – I’m usually behind these men or women in line and see them unload dozens of HotPockets and bags of frozen chicken wings.

CC sat briefly in the car after dropping off the DVR. It felt like something poignant should be said. But looking at CC, I realized that mainly, it felt like something poignant should be said – that occasion didn’t call for ceremony, rather it felt like it should call for ceremony. We’ve been thinking about the decision for weeks and we were ready to say goodbye and start focusing on other priorities.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/10/10/120-minutes/

We got home, straightened some for the party, and watched CNN (still included in basic cable). And then we went to bed. Oprah was on CBS (still included in basic cable) with Suze Orman and they were reviewing a recent graduate’s spending habits. I’d seen these segments elsewhere (you spend $150 monthly on manicures!)(you spend $500 monthly eating out!) but when the girl broke down and explained that she spent because everyone else did too – it dawned on me that we inadvertently had done that to each other. Similar to quitting smoking while everyone was still puffing away – it was unimaginable to not make the spending choices I made, because that’s what we did. We ate out and had drinks. We shopping at Target and bought cute things. Oprah and Suze didn’t question it, but I suspect that none of the girl’s friends could afford that lifestyle either.

Which is why I’m really lucky to have had CR’s support and guidance when I was at the end of my rope – and I’m lucky that so many friends have simultaneously been making similar choices with respect to money and budgeting. WE ROCK!

Good bye cable. You’ll be missed. But not as much as I’d imagined.

Where did the weekend go?

2008-10-13T13:37:00.008-05:00

Watched a bunch of TV on Friday night and then on Saturday we waited around all afternoon for the wireless guy to show up. Noon to 4pm window came and went – he showed shortly after 5. But thankfully the internet’s much faster. There’s still some additional fix that needs to happen on their network end. Oh well.
But internet now streams radio reliably and almost loads Youtube videos quickly enough to watch them straight through.

Last night we reheated hamburgers – but made our own buns using the refrigerator bread recipe. They were super delicious, but sort of overwhelmingly – I’m so used to buns that are mostly air. So after dinner we laid around the living room and watched the Amazing Race and the rest of The Wire, Season 1.

Finally – strange dreams last night. I don’t often remember my dreams – and the memorable ones tend to be apocalyptic – so it was nice to wake up with fond thoughts. Some weird cloud-person came into an inheritance and was busy designing an exclusive club/planet thing. The dream was sort of a mashup of Mario Galaxy and a gay bar. Cloudboy changed midway through from this:

to something along these lines!

Throat Abuse

2008-10-10T15:18:00.003-05:00

I was mostly out of commission yesterday.

It wasn’t the leftovers of birthday night – which was full of many delicious enchiladas from Barrio!

It was the 10am upper endoscopy. My third in three years to monitor my heartburn condition. Usually they’re no big deal. Hooked up to several monitors – they spray the back of your throat with a numbing concoction – then some drugs that make you pass out for about 15 minutes.

Yesterday the pass-out drugs didn’t work. So I was awake for the whole thing. Rolled on my side – a mouth guard (with a hole in it) strapped around my head – I gagged and coughed the whole time as they kept saying “breathe through your nose” (which didn’t work). I could feel the tube in my stomach as they took biopsies. Thoroughly gross and upsetting.

So I slept yesterday afternoon away.

The highlight of the day was making Indian-spiced chili. Another recipe from 660 Curries – this one was a vegan bean chili with a fresh curry spice mixture – and several cups of pulsed pinenuts/cashews/pistachios (CC remarked earlier how low-fat it was – until it was time to add the equivalent of three cups of peanut butter!).
While it was cooking I wondered if it would even vaguely remind us of chili – but the potential downside was a huge pot of curry, so I wasn’t worried.

Not surprisingly, it was delicious. The kidney beans and bits of tomatoes grounded it in the “chili” tradition.

Almost no plans this weekend. Pizza night tonight. Watching The Wire. Going to Home Depot – we bought Maggie an indoor litter box but she refuses to use it because the gravel base is unsturdy. I’m hopeful that swapping the gravel with Astroturf will convince her to revisit the contraption!

Thirty Five

2008-10-08T13:08:00.002-05:00

I made it to thirty five. Not that I view this as any sort of milestone.

Oddly, I don’t get too retrospective during birthdays – leaving it to New Years – probably because I like the company.

But courtesy of the global market chaos, I’m spending significant chunks of today in my zen place. I took this picture during my last visit to North Dakota and I turn to it for calm. There's so much of me that stems from the prairie - I love the sense of space - there's nothing interrupting your view of the sky - exposed to the sun, and the constant wind - god is embracing you so fully because there aren't other distractions - that's what I feel in this picture.

An old friend treated me to lunch at this new crepes place in downtown Minneapolis (http://www.labellecrepe.com/) that used to be an old popcorn/cigarettes counter next to Zelo. It was delicious and we were able to find seating outside in the sun. As we pass quickly through fall, I’m trying to take advantage of lunches outside.

A final aside, I have the biggest crush on Donna Brazile – make a point to watch this video:
http://jezebel.com/5059945/donna-brazile-is-not-going-to-the-back-of-the-bus?cpage=2&sort=asc#viewcomments

Gloomy

2008-10-07T14:59:00.001-05:00

I’ve never been fond of rain, and I’m especially displeased by cold rain. It’s that weather that makes you feel damp and chilled, even if you’re carrying a large umbrella – which I am.

Borscht was awesome. Our pressure cooker cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Perfect-Twenty-Minutes-Cooker/dp/0060505346) really is an amazing book and I recommend it to anyone contemplating taking the PC plunge!

It was a really slow day at work yesterday (which is troubling considering the ongoing market drama) but I used the time to really get down and dirty with Mvelopes – our financial tracking software. Similar to Franklin Planner and Blackberry, I’ve always suspected that you need to at some point surrender yourself to the program and quit relying on daily balance checks online.
By way of context, I’ve relied solely on checking balances (as opposed to balancing my checkbook) for 10 years now.
And since I’ve never studied accounting (not even in high school), I’ve been unsure how to develop confidence in Mvelopes. So yesterday I crunched the numbers and am feeling better.

Not ready to never look at the bank website – but closer…

There is a season – turn, turn, turn

2008-10-06T13:48:00.004-05:00

CC began the painful process of dismantling the garden in the sky yesterday. I’m so proud of what he’s accomplished back there – and how each year looks better than the year before.
This year we added a few plants that we grew from seeds. I think we’ll do that again this winter in hopes of further reducing the amount of money spent at Bachman’s in the spring. We started morning glories from seed and they basically took over, climbing into the hanging baskets and up chains to our upstairs neighbor’s balcony (CC helped things along).

Saturday we did the mongo-grocery-shopping-stravaganza! Costco, Target, Lund’s – then home. I have all of the October meals planned out (even weekends and lunches) and have each week’s fresh-food list prepared. The downtown Target is being retrofitted for fresh produce, so I’m hopeful that will help me keep the weekly shopping within budget!

My contact at the city’s wireless internet provider called on Friday to report that our area was fully up and running. So last night I switched the wireless router again. And after an hour of frustration, things were working again. I ran an internet speed test and found that we’re only reaching speeds of about half a megabyte per second – not fast enough to stream youtube without giving it time to load, but fast enough for most other uses.

Because 1 MBps will suffice, I can buy a year’s worth of service for $14.95 per month!

CURRENT MEDIA PLAN:
Cable & internet: $126
Netflix (3 out at a time): $20
Monthly total was $146

NEW MEDIA PLAN:
Basic cable: $15
City internet: $15
Netflix (5 out at a time): $30
Monthly total will be $60

Tonight we’re making borscht in the pressure cooker. CC loves borscht (and all other things beet). And then we just going to bum around at home and maybe hang a couple more shelves in the bedroom.

Saturday night I started reading the Informant. I haven’t read a book (not counting cookbooks) in so long. I’d sort of forgotten how pleasant it can be to let time slip away while reading. We installed the thermal blinds in the back bedroom last night, so I’m eager to spend an entire Saturday reading. Soon.

I’m the original Maverick!!

2008-10-03T16:20:00.002-05:00

A fun night last night watching the debate. The Trio and our neighbors were over. I made butternut squash soup from yesterday’s farmer’s market and fresh bread (pictured). I love the immersion blender.

I’m so relieved the debate is over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxGKlrS9SxE

Looking forward to the weekend. The October menu is almost done – tonight I’m going to try to finalize and then make the grocery list and sublists. The idea is that we start at Costco, then hit SuperTarget, and then Kowalski’s for any remaining items. And this month I also want to have weekly sublists containing that week’s perishables.

Pizza night again tonight – summer squash (probably the last of the season) and herbed ricotta. And The Wire!

The frenemy of my enemy is... friendly Mimi

2008-10-02T14:17:00.002-05:00

Chilled out with Maggie last night. CC had to work late. Dinner was reheated three-bean curry, which tasted great! (CC’s still a bit nervous that some items will turn gross in the freezer)

The Trio gave us some stuff from their CSA that they weren’t going to use, so I cleaned/cut up radishes and cucumbers and put them in vinegar and oil (with a touch of apple cider vinegar). A little treat for Friday’s lunch.

CC got home just before 10 – we ate quickly, then met up with some friends over drinks to discuss his new play. Animal Farm opens Halloween – and it sounds like it will be really amazing. We saw him last summer and he’s got that ‘zing’ factor that’s so engaging.

Last night we each paid for our own drinks out of the allowance. We were at our local watering hole, so CC explained the new system – for fear of them thinking we were breaking up (separate checks, etc.). It felt good to be having a drink, but according to the budget.

This morning I was invited to a political fundraiser in our building. Not uncommon, but one of the listed sponsors is my best frenemy from high school – we’ll call him ET.

A touch of background:
ET’s family was in medicine so they always had lots of money and nice cars. Mom frequently invited ET to dinner – but he never never accepted. Our house wasn’t as nice as theirs.
ET and I were sort of good friends, but most years we’d have a fight and not talk to each other for a week or so. One year it was yearbook.
ET went to an Ivy League college – and had a Louis Vuitton Wallet.
ET went to a crappy med school and didn’t do well there either. But he always spun things in a ‘isn’t it great that I get another year of med school to decide what I want to do’ (instead of just admitting that he didn’t match for residency…).
He was visiting once and I took him to the Saloon to see some porn star/stripper. While we were waiting, I finally said, “So you’re out now?” and he still insisted he was straight. Even though we were hanging out with hundreds of other men waiting to watch some other guy shed clothes.
Basically the last time we chatted, he called to say he was moving to the Cities and his dad was buying him a condo, so where should he buy? (I was still renting in Lowry Hill – an apartment he once called ‘quaint’ and ‘not bad for this stage of your life’ [with each move, ET’s dad had given moving/decorating allowances]).

ET always found a way of making me feel like white trash. And now he’s listed with 20 other men, all openly gay, to host this shindig – well, I’m assuming he’s finally out. But that wasn’t really my issue with him.

It’s been about 7 years –maybe I should just get over it. Or at least be open to the possibility that he’s changed.
But what to do if he’s still condescending?

Schwamped!

2008-10-01T11:51:00.003-05:00

Busy day at work – need to enter all of my billable time for September. Such a pain, but that’s the way it works.

CR, my budgetmentor, joined me in an after-work toast yesterday. She was helpful in suggesting that I might think of the budget in terms of quitting spending (rather than starting a budget). Realizing that so many of my habits revolve around spending - that by “quitting” spending we’ll have healthier lives down the road – just like quitting smoking. It’s not usually urgent, but over the long run there are huge impacts.

Sometime this winter I’m going to make tofu!
Martha Stewart had a segment last year with a Japanese chef in NYC who made tofu. A hoot of a segment as this guy didn’t speak a bit of English and the translator sucked – the interview was so awkward and you could tell the chef didn’t know or care about Martha – and she didn’t care how horribly things were going – cuz Martha was that excited about fresh tofu!
Here’s a link to a vegan blog I follow:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/10/making-tofu.html

Back to the grind – thanks for the comments yesterday – quel helpful!

Pizza Night – Holy Night

2008-09-30T10:45:00.002-05:00

I had this strange itch to go run errands last night. Head down to Edina to the container store and may Crate&Barrel to buy some organizing things. Which we don’t need. Luckily I was able to reach out to my budgetmentor (pronounced “boo-zhay-men-toe”) CR to discuss the strange silly desire to spend money.

First foray into homemade pizza dough that had frozen. It kept expanding in the freezer and then again after we thawed it. And it smelled pretty potent.

After failed attempts to turn two blobs of smelly dough into pizza-shaped circles, we ended up with this [see picture]. But the key of course is the taste and it was pretty durn good.

End of September today. Mostly done with the October goals. Primary among them is to work fully from the budget. No more discretionary, individual charging on the main checking account. Martini’s, lunches out, magazines, etc. – it all comes out of our allowance.

I’m nervous because both of our birthdays hit in October – so each is an opportunity to crash the budget. But the fact is that almost every month will have an “exception-worthy” event (Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/Easter/etc.), so there’s no time like the present to tame the beast.

My ideas for keeping us on track:
Be super cautious about eating out. We each have one night out for dinner or drinks/appetizers. Have several easy dinners ready for nights where we might feel extra lazy and would be tempted to eat out.
Budget for that night. CC and I each get $XX cash for the night and anything else comes out of allowance.
Add one free/cheap event (museum, cheap movie) to each of our birthdays.
Watch grocery budget to see if we can offset any unexpected splurges.
If we do blow it, move on but recognize what happened.
Stick to budget for each other’s gift(s).

Insofar as you have ideas of how we might succeed – I’m all ears.

Cue ... Leisure!!

2008-09-29T12:09:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning I got up hella early to judge a moot court competition. Once I quit feeling sorry for myself, I actually had a wonderful time. It was intellectually engaging and a reminder of what fun I had in high school debate. Haircut day followed. Then photographing the latest production from the theater company I'm on the board of. So at about 7pm, the day's tasks were complete and we were both pooped.

Finally, on Sunday, the payoff.

Yesterday was the first day of purposeful relaxation. We didn’t have anything to do. We woke up at 10:20, 11:30, and then again at 12:30. Lunch and dinner were already prepared.

An overview of the day:
Straightened the house and had lunch while listening to CarTalk.
After lunch, lounged in bed while listening to WaitWaitDon’tTellMe (Mo Rocca was on!).
Wandered over to Loring Park to see the memorial brick donated by friends in honor of our wedding and let little Maggie wander around aimlessly.
Had afternoon drinks at Eli’s and enjoyed the brisk fall air.
CC decided to make brownies, so picked up supplies at Target.
Made dinner.
Watched a documentary called “Seamless” about young fashion designers in 2004.
Watched Doctor Who season finale (it taped months ago, but I wasn’t ready to watch until recently – I hate finales).
Washed dress shirts and pants.
Went to bed.

CC and I kept remarking throughout the day that it all felt a bit … odd. There were projects that could have been done (cleaning up the flowers on the balcony)(hanging more shelves in the bedrooms) but none that were pressing.

I finally bought a strap for my camera and took a bunch of pictures this weekend. Books from the library. Public radio (CC’s a huge fan of SpeakingOfFaith) playing instead of cable. CC made the bread dough for this week’s soup night. And so (hopefully) begins the days of leisure and more purposeful living.

27.8% Fat

2008-09-24T16:12:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning and there was an email from the trainer detailing my weight/fat/lean ratios. You'll recall that I asked very specifically to not know the details yet – and he flaked.

Oh well.

I’ve been sitting around most of the afternoon waiting for a loan deal to come together. Evidently opposing counsel is going to call any moment to negotiate the documents. Which seems odd since this deal “needs” to close today (per the other side).

Sort of a limbo day.

Thank god for Project Runway. I’m very hopeful and eager to see Tim Gunn give Kelsey the smackdown. The Trio is hosting and we’re having seitan meatloaf. I’m a big seitan fan*. Last night CC and I had pasta and pesto with mock-pork/seitan. Actually the can said “Mock Popk” but I’m pretty sure it was supposed to be pork. Very tasty!

* Each time I say “seitan” it makes me think back to Dana Carvey’s churchlady

Glorious relaxation (and CSI Miami)!

2008-09-23T12:23:00.001-05:00

Glorious relaxation!

CC was stuck late at work last night, but it was still a great night. I bummed around and straightened the house a bit (which wasn’t too messy thanks to two dinner parties last week) and made the last batch of bread. The dough’s been in the fridge for about two weeks – which is the max time recommended by the book – but it seems to have worked out. It had an almost fermented smell, but tasted good (and neither of us got sick).

Dinner was hella-easy – leftover parsnip puree and turkey meatloaf we made a few weeks ago. Tonight’s pasta & pesto – and garlic toast using the rest of last night’s bread.

Read a bit more of James Beard last night. I know how to make a berry fool!

I’m in the midst of our open-enrollment period at work. My least favorite part is worrying about additional life insurance. Our rule has always been that if either of us dies, the insurance proceeds should pay off the condo – figuring that either of us could live pretty well on any salary if housing is basically free. This year I’m upping the numbers to also allow us to pay off our individual credit card debts and most student loans. So morbid.

Contemplating a reassessment of the 1970s...

2008-09-22T14:44:00.001-05:00

Friends from law school were over on Saturday night. We used the pressure cooker to prepare almost the entire meal – and it was far less stressful than usual. I made the ricotta cheesecake the night before, pureed parsnips Saturday morning, and then we pressure cooked the brisket. Sautéed hominy and green beans rounded out the menu.

The hominy recipe was from a 1974 cookbook by James Beard. I’m sort of obsessed with it. It’s like a little window into “gourmet” cooking of that time. Many of the recipes are not weird sounding, but there’s a short piece on sardines that has piqued my interests…
And it’s gotten me to thinkin’ about the whole 1970s style and lifestyle. In many ways, the 70s are the decade I feel the least kinship with. And seeing this book and several articles lately makes me realize I probably misjudged. We shall see.

Busy day at work.

The Great Fitness Challenge

2008-09-19T10:12:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was the beginning of my workplace's periodic fitness/weight-loss challenge. I'm hoping the additional support of our personal trainer and the possibility of winning the pot might finally motivate some lasting weight loss. CC and I have been eating so much better lately, but it hasn't seemed to impact our weights.

The trainer (not sure yet what his nickname will be) was very nice – and then he pulled out the calipers. Of course it makes more sense to track fat/lean tissue percentages in addition to overall weight loss, but I’ve never actually been analyzed with the fat pinchers. So I politely told him that he could feel free to not share the results until I asked for them. Hopefully in 10 pounds I feel confident enough to face the music.

So I walked to work this morning.

Success with Tmobile!

2008-09-17T14:45:00.002-05:00

Karen at Tmobile listened to my story and took care of the extra phone number! It was only $13 per month, but at the same time, I figured that's $80 between now and next March. They let me cancel that number now, and our other numbers will be up in March (I have a new scheme for that...).

I had a brief chat with Karen's supervisor to let him know what a great job she did, checking the dates of my calls, verifying that they didn't clarify that all three numbers would be impacted, etc.

FYI - when you get a positive outcome from a customer service agent - or even if you didn't, but feel like they actually did their best for you - make sure you chat with a supervisor. Most call centers review people with random samples - whenever someone had written/e-mailed/talked to a supervisor, that customer service agent often gets a small reward/recognition. Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but I spent two years as a customer service person.

Silence

2008-09-17T11:45:00.001-05:00

The calls from CC’s credit cards have stopped, thankfully. For some reason, one of his cards was utterly relentless – calling 4+ times a day. Happens to be today’s on-the-verge bank according to the news – karma.

Today I’m pissed at Tmobile.
Last March when I was laid off, I called to cancel our third phone line – it had been my blackberry number at the old firm. Of course I had to speak with a “retention specialist” who blah blah blahed until I agreed to keep the number ‘just in case’. And then I changed our plan.
Yesterday when I tried to cancel that number – which hasn’t been used at all since March – they told me the third number was also under the contract.

So this afternoon I’m going to call again and start working my way up the chain. I’ll make it very clear that if they don’t let me cancel that third number, that they’ll lose the entire account next March.

We’ll see…

The Trio’s coming over tomorrow night for Project Runway, so this week it’s Wednesday Soup Night. The second foray into making bread. Yellow split pea soup – I don’t think I’m going to triple the recipe this time since we’re sort of drowning in carrot soup.

Tuesday Blah-Blah-Blah's

2008-09-16T11:48:00.001-05:00

First payment under the debt repayment program goes out today. I’m thrilled and relieved.

I woke up dizzy yesterday so I stayed home from work and spent the day in bed. Sort of refreshing. Scary too. Scary because of the Lehman Brothers meltdown and scary because I loved just laying there, doing nothing.

A bit more cooking last night. Prepped a potato curry for this evening’s dinner – we’re having friends over to celebrate their wedding.

Work’s a bit slow, which is nice. Although I find that when I’m not under a certain amount of time pressure, I just sit here and read the news. And look for additional news sources. And research energy efficiency.

I need a bigger pot!

2008-09-12T11:28:00.001-05:00

The debut of Thursday Soup Night was a smashing success. Turns out that our current soup/pasta pot is not quite big enough to triple the soup recipe – I found this out after I’d sautéed the onions and added the five pounds of cut up carrots. I didn’t fret – and made a slightly concentrated carrot soup, then added more water when it was done and blended.

The immersion blender was a HUGE timesaver – so much easier than trying to transfer so much soup in batches to the blender.

The first loaf of bread was also nice. A bit of a learning curve again. You take out some dough, lightly flour, shape into a ball and then let rest for 45 minutes. Unfortunately, I hadn’t laid down enough corn meal on the tray I was using to slide the loaf into the oven. When everything had properly risen and pre-heated – I couldn’t get the loaf off the tray. So in one swift, but inelegant, move I picked up the dough and plopped it onto the baking stone.

CC was very pleased when he got home. He agreed that the bread bore an unfortunate resemblance to a cow pie – but the taste was wonderful!

Leftover soup – three dinners and two lunches for CC and me.

Four Loaves

2008-09-10T11:04:00.002-05:00

Made the easy bread dough last night. I used the KitchenAid this time and it was a snap! (last time I tried the food processor – and it overflowed) It’s just a basic white bread – but the book has several other recipes (including dessert dough and whole sandwich bread) that all use the same really easy method. It’s one of those refrigerated wet-dough systems where you don’t knead anything – just mix, let sit in the fridge, and then cut some off and bake!
Here’s info on the book (Minnesota authors):
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/12149761.html?elr=KArks5PhDcU9PhDcU9PhDcUU

In October I’m going to try to transition us to all homemade bread. Since we’ve been taking lunches to work, we’ve been plowing through loaves. Each of which are almost four dollars – and chock full of processing agents.

Last night we also made a vegan black-eyed peas and mushroom curry that we’ll take to our friend’s wedding reception/potluck (and one dinner serving for our deep freeze) and a creamy lentil/chickpea/great northern/butter bean curry (I was cleaning out the pantry) that froze into four dinners plus lunch today for for CC and me.

And finally, I pulled apart cheese slices from Costco and wrapped weekly portions in wax paper for freezing. There’s no way we’d get through two pounds of cheddar, two pounds of Swiss, and two pounds of American cheese food product before it all molded – so now it’s conveniently subdivided and chilled. We'll see how it all that cheese thaws, but it's just for lunch sandwiches, so I'm not to worried.

So the grand total:
18 dinners in the freezer;
14 weeks worth of cheese for lunches;
Not bad for two nights’ work!

Dinner at our best friends tonight and then tomorrow begins the great soup adventure!

Should the deep freezer get a name?

A night off

2008-09-09T11:26:00.001-05:00

Instead of making a triple batch of creamy black lentils, we took last night off. It was nice.

Although by “night off” I should clarify that we ran three loads with the dishwasher (since the drain was working again), transferred Sunday night’s curry to the freezer, and cooked a bag of black-eyed peas.

But already we’re seeing the food bank build up. Today’s lunch is Sunday’s curry (yellow split peas smothered in eggplant) and there are three dinner portions in the freezer. Two huge dinner portions of CC’s spicy onion curry (that will be beautiful with chicken or tofu). Eight servings of pesto.
So that’s nearly two weeks of dinners and all we’d have to do is heat water!

The show continues tonight. I’m making a full batch of bread (4 1lb loaves) (for the premier of Thursday Soup Night and Tuesday Soup Lunch). We’re making black-eyed peas and mushroom curry tonight to take to a wedding potluck on Friday. And we’re also making another triple batch of split pea/chickpea curry that will be our dinner tonight and hopefully a few meals to come.

Lots of cooking!

2008-09-08T14:57:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning I finished the September menu. A bit more exhausting than just a weekly menu – but not proportionately more. We loaded up on dried beans and other staples at SuperTarget and other basics at Costco.

Yesterday CC and I started the day at the Farmer’s Market – we found the remaining items on the grocery list, including a ton of basil ($1 per bunch) and a huge bucket of carrots for $4 (they were the ugly carrots).

Now that the deep freeze is installed – it’s time to cook much fabulous food!
So we cooked. We took a break for a tasty beverage and then headed back up to cook again. Unfortunately the sink was plugged and water had backed up into the kitchen. Drano, drano, and more drano last night appear to have fixed the problem for now. And to ensure it doesn’t return, we’re going to use the garbage disposal less and also institute some green home remedies I found online.
But we kept cooking. Two different curries, each recipe tripled. And I made eight two-person servings of pesto. And then we froze everything!

Tonight we’re shopping for a stock pot. We’ve got an 8 quart pot, but that won’t be enough for soup when I triple the recipe. That folly begins this coming Thursday when I make carrot-ginger soup!

All in all – I’m very encouraged. Monthly shopping for staples – and then smaller, precise shopping for fresh vegetables each week.

Two asides:
I’m making pizza dough next weekend. We’ve been fond of Boboli’s – but I noticed that even at SuperTarget they were $4.20 each!
The soup folly requires much much chicken stock. We thought it would be cheaper to buy the larger cartons of stock, rather than 6 cans – but I decided we should do the math. Turns out that 6 cans of stock was slightly more than $1 cheaper than the cartons. Ugh!

Freezer – freezer! I can’t wait to stock the freezer!

2008-09-04T10:54:00.002-05:00

The deep freezer is scheduled to arrive today – and I can’t wait! So many nights it feels like we get home, clean and cook, and then we’re too tired to do anything else. To tired to sit and read a book, or work out, or go to a museum, or to a movie at the $3 theater… and weekends lately have felt the same way.
Since I’ve already been keeping the menu planner and planning sometimes two weeks out, I figure that with just a bit more administrative oversight I’ll be able to save us from having to do intensive cooking most weeknights!
Here’s an article I found inspiring:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/06/15/a-beginners-guide-to-once-a-month-cooking/

My birthday’s just over a month away and I realize I’ve gotten so much older this last year. Taxed by wedding drama(s), getting laid off, thinking we’d be forced into bankruptcy, taking another pay cut for a new job. Then this summer realizing (finally) that we have no option but to adjust our financial behavior. And having spent the last two months working on the budget and systems, making to-do lists, etc. – I’m really worn out. Maybe I’ll be able to take some time off in September and just do nothing, or go to free museums, the library...

The new financial plan started on September 1. CC and I still need to establish accounts for our allowances and we need to gather funds scattered in several accounts to consolidate into an emergency fund.
Strict budget adherence started September 1 – so we’re no longer using the debit card willy-nilly – but we’ve cheated the last two nights, stopping by our neighborhood watering hole for nightcaps – and not allocating them to our allowance money. But we had dinner at home and both took lunches to work.

And the paperwork is in for the debt reduction plan. First payment is on 9/16. It feels sort of freeing to think that one piece of the overall plan is in place. CC’s been getting tons of calls from one of his credit cards – I know it’s been stressing him out – so it will great to have those stop.

A final aside, I'm really tired of helicopters (one hovered over our building last night for over an hour). It will be so nice when the Republicans shove off and my fair city will no longer feel like a police state.

Very tired and stressed

2008-08-28T12:45:00.002-05:00

Ugh. But tomorrow is the fair!

Bill Clinton was amazing last night. Makes me upset that I'm so fickle. One good speech and all is forgiven... fickle

Busy week at work

2008-08-15T16:50:00.002-05:00

Busy at work this week.

Down time at work has been spent researching how CC and I are going to keep our condo warm this winter. Problems are the large (8 by 3) foot windows that flank two sides of our place. And since we sort of have southern exposure on those same two sides, I've always wondered if there wasn't a way to utilize solar something...

Thank you internet - here it is!
http://home.att.net/~cleardomesolar/cleardomehome.html

Looks like there are certain solar curtains that will warm up in the sunlight. We'll see. Considering that our heating bill more than doubles in the winter (we have electric heat), it will likely be a worthwhile investment.

Called Pottery Barn Kids this afternoon and unsubscribed to their catalog (unsure how I ever got on that list...). Another one of my new projects is calling each retailer that sends us a catalog. Part of our new life entails less time and money spent consuming. Less shopping will help. And it has finally (!) dawned on me that flipping through catalogs makes me want to replace/"upgrade" too many things at home.

Lighter Still !

2008-08-11T13:01:00.002-05:00

Another 3 more pounds down. Yay!

A resolution: Next year AB and I will enter items in the Minnesota State Fair! Unsure what I'll submit - but I'm going to scope this year. Jams - fancy oils - bread - who knows!

My kingdom for a dab of fat-free mayo!

2008-08-07T13:47:00.002-05:00

1. Budget revealed

Not to you.
I worked on the budget yesterday afternoon and ran through it with my resident budget guru, Carol. She had several great ideas on final cuts so the whole thing might balance (always good behavior for a budget).

And then later last night I debuted the budget for CC. Overall, he was pleased and didn’t freak out too much. Seeing each of the high individual credit card balances was a bit of a shock, but he handled it well. And seeing that we will actually, and finally, receive allowances that can be used to buy guilt-free clothes seemed rather freeing.

So we’re off! The plan to start on the 15th with the allowance pieces, finish making capital improvement purchases (a coffee maker for CC’s office so he can avoid the local coffee shop, etc.) and have everything set up with the budget program for September 1.

2. Little packets of condiments!

Yesterday my package from minimus.biz arrived. It bothered me when we started the bring-lunch program that if you add mayo or mustard to your sandwich in the morning, by noon it’s always a bit nasty, you have to worry about refrigeration, etc. After searching high and low – thinking that someone must offer handy “picnic” packs – I came up dry. Thankfully minimus.biz allows you to order single serving sizes of several different mustards, ketchups, mayos (including fat-free), salad dressings … list goes on and on.
So today I enjoyed my ham and swiss sandwiches with Grey Poupon!