24/7. It’s that insane time of year where summer’s overabundance is overabunding itself, and me. I know, I know… so dramatic. It’s not like I’m a farmer living off the land. I know I could just go to Hannaford like a normal person and buy all my food out of season (or even in season if I so desired) and not worry about all this stuff. But, god, what fun would that be? Our first ever crop of corn is ripe! Man, oh, man. Fresh corn right off the stalk…yum! We were pretty amazed at how well it did with very little effort. But we got a ton of rain, so maybe that helped. There are some little wormy things in some of them that started eating the tops, but I just cut them off and they seem to be fine. Hopefully that’s the right thing to do. : )
Like I said, it’s the first year for corn, so I don’t really know what I’m doing. At first I was going to leave them on the stalk till we needed them, but then I read that corn could get overripe. who knew? So I picked 10 ears yesterday, blanched them and cut the kernels off and froze one big ziplock baggie full. Right now I’m doing another batch, but these I’m just going to blanch and then freeze right on the cob. Our freezer is getting full! I also have about 50 tomatoes sitting there that I will tackle tonight too. I guess I sort of liek doing this stuff. I don’t know why…some inherited biological urge to stockpile food.
J is out tonight with some buddies doing their fantasy football draft. So I stopped at the store and bought some white wine, chocolate chips (maybe I’ll make some cookies!), another quart of fresh maine blueberries (yum!!) and some random other things for a girl’s night in.
I talked to my sister on the phone and she’s depressed because she hates her job. She quit on Tuesday and then went back on Wednesday and she said something like “I really feel like i”m growing as a person,” which means: this shit is so painful I will never forget it. But we laughed about things and I nearly cried I was laughing so hard. We were talking about our boring lives and how we blog about them. We decided to start a series of blogs about the most boring things…like soap curing, and paint drying… ahh… maybe you just had to be there. : )
Well time for more food perservation duties…here’s some photos with my new camera:
since I hate to complain about my health here (do I?) I probably won’t have much to talk about. I’m feeling rough and I’m a horrible sick person. I’m self-diagnosing and self-treating so hopefully I’m doing it correctly and will be back to feeling good by the end of the long weekend. In the meantime, I guess it’s not so bad being laid-up. I just finished an excellent book called “excellent women” by Barbara Pym. My mom found it somewhere and loved it, then my dad read it and loved it. Then I read and loved it. It’s the first book I’ve read all summer that I’ve really loved. I wonder how that happens.It was just a very comfortable book…like an old friend. How’s that for a cliche.
Sooo… what do we think about this VP pick? Oh aren’t the democrats mad?! I sort of snicker smugly to myself because as much as I will never vote for John McCain and as much as it pains me to see a bright woman who doesn’t support women’s reproductive rights, I still love to see a woman (who is not a wife) be standing up there with him. I have to admit that Hillary losing was a blow to me. I would love to see a black man be president and I’d love to see a woman be president, and I never thought I would see it in my lifetime (guess I still might not, but worst case scenario I will at least see a woman vp), but it seems a shame that one had to knock the other out. I guses I’m a little depressed about it when I think about it, but in my current state (sitting here in my bathrobe and feeling absolutely pathetic) I’m pretty much depressed about everything. Not in the mental health definition of the word…just feeling a little bit like things could have worked out a bit better. But didnt’.
I don’t think I slept at all last night. But to make myself feel a little better, I did stick to my plan today of having: no more than 4 cigarettes, no more than 1 diet coke, and no more 1 alcoholic beverage. In fact, I had no alcoholic beverage, mostly because I had nothing at home except the bourbon, and that really calls for a desperate situation more desperate than the current one. I tried to get the hubby to go out to the local gas station quicky mart for red wine and ben & jerry’s, and for a minute I thought he would actually do it (that shows how pathetic I really must seem). And I think he even really would have done it if I had pressed him to.
I brought work home to do this weekend. I’ve actually reached the point of feeling stressed out just thinking about work. Usually I can leave it at work. So I won’t think about it right now. Good plan, and good night.
it’s what’s for dinner. 2 of them actually. I’m preparing for my fantasy football draft! It’s the first time we’ve done a live draft and is very exciting for me! It starts in 1 hour and 8 minutes. I’m starting to think that I must not have watched football at all last year because I’m looking through teh rankings adn I don’t know who half of these people are. Oh well…that’s what the sporting news ffl draft kit is for.
Today sort of sucked. Not only did I have a cheap red wine hangover…not too bad..just the kind that makes it so your skin is pale and you’re really constipated and tired. No real skin hurting or anything though, so that’s a plus. Coworker is still not talking to me because of what has now been dubbed “the santa incident.” Though she did email me once, so maybe by tomorrow we’ll be able to have a civil conversation. We are all very stressed out and overworked. My boss asked me how my “stress level and work load” were and all I could muster up was an uncomfortable giggle. (maniacal giggle?)
On a better note, I think my sister begged for her job back and it appears like she got it. (hallelujah). Unemployed is not a good state to be in…trust me, it’s even worse than maine.
Well, first of all, it was a Monday. That’s one strike against it. Second, it was a rather dreary Monday.Then, I had PMS on a Monday. and then I had an audibly loud “fight” with a coworker friend on a dreary Monday.Then, I went to a “ladies night” at a coworkers condo, and that was actually kind of fun. Not only did I get lots of free wine and appetizers, but I got a free vase and a whole box full of nutrisystem (worked for Oprah, right? I’m not beyond it). Then, I get home and check my email and my middle sister (1 year older than me, who insists on acting like the youngest child, despite the fact that I OBVIOUSLY own that title) tells me that she has just quit her new job, which she has had for 2 weeks, even though she has a newly created mortgage….??????? Ok, I AM the youngest child, and you know how irresponsible we are and I would NEVER do that. I mean, I understand hating a job, but if you have bills, you just don’t quit a job. Ever. I’ve been unemployed.. sigh…. UGH! Should I be worried about my older sister??
So I’m stressed out. And in addition to that, I’m depressed about my own job situation (which I would never leave voluntarily unless I had a better opportunity)… There’s an opportunity I’m thinking about applying to… I admit, part of it has to do with the all-of-a-sudden lack of cute boys at my current location (it’s important!!) because it’s utterly boring, and it sucks now because I fight with my friends and my boss is a horse’s ass, and my cowokers are driving me insane with their annoyingnesss… oh well.. time to check out my new nutrisystem box of pre-packaged crap.
I take it seriously. All week long, J has been saying “I’m soooo sleeping in on Saturday…I can’t WAIT to sleep in..” blah blah blah, to which I replied “yeah, yeah, yeah!” since I am a big fan of sleeping in. So lo and behold, I roll over at 6:30 this morning and what is sleeping next to me? Nothing and no one. 10 minutes later, I hear the lawn mower, which normally doesn’t bother me, but seemed extra loud this morning. So, just for the principle of it, I did not get out of bed until 9. I even laid there wide awake for 10 whole minutes, just to prove my point.
My mind has been super active at night. Ok, I hate to admit this, but I went to bed at 8:30 again last night (I’m so tired!) and even though I didn’t sleep the whole entire time I was in bed, I would venture to say that I slept for at least 10 hours, and still this morning I was having dreams. Do you think that’s good or bad? I tend to think it’s good, but I’m not sure.
Anyway, once I got up, I was on a mission to get things done. Not a “ohmigod, I have a million things to do” kind of panic, but a singleminded determination to be productive, one task at a time. However, instead of getting lots of stuff done, I feel like I have done nothing other than slave over a stove all day. This is what I made:
A guacamole, cuke, and tomato sandwich….cucumber yogurt sauce for future wraps (yes, we have an abundance of cukes and tomatoes right now)… home made crab cakes… swiss chard, sweet potato, potato thingy with honey mustard glaze… and for the grand finale (oven just dinged!) blueberry buckle with fresh maine blueberries from hannaford. This is my life - I’m totally psyched that I found native blueberries at the grocery store, so I bought 5 cartons at $6.99 a piece to freeze. Must check on buckle… (it’s like a coffee cake… never made before)… hmm… I don’t know if it’s done. I’ll be like my mother and leave it in “5 more minutes” and end up burning it to a crisp. : )
But I guess I didn’t cook all day because I also managed to make it to freeport and spend $215 at the Anne Klein outlet. It’s really the only place I shop lately. I bought 2 shirts that are exactly like a shirt I already own, but in different colors. And an kick-ass suit. I’m ready for fall! Now I just need to get some dry cleaning done. Despite the fact that there are no cute boys left in my office (sob!!) I refuse to start dressing slumpily. In fact, I will dress better than ever just to prove a point.
Let’s see… what else? Well, work is sort of interesting lately. Very stressful. I sort of don’t know what I’m doing for half of my projects. The rest of my projects are going swimmingly. There is some general discontent going around, and I’m not very happy (mostly because of the lack of cute boys). But it’s probably for teh best because there are less distractions.
Piano… working on some Charlie Brown songs, which I love. I keep showing up to my lesson with no books, and then we have nothing to do but shop for new books. At this point, I have about 20 books that I’ve never even played anything from. So no new books!
Oh! Want to talk about garden pests/house pests:
1) I hate ants. They got into my smart start cereal and I had to throw the whole bag away. Nothing is more depressing to me than wasted food (really). And I was looking forward to my smart start too. On a related note: I have been spending a shitload at the grocery store lately. Help!
2) Tomato caterpillars… have you seen these. They are totally disgusting, giant green, horny things that get on the tomatoes and ruin them. They take a little bite out of them and then eat the leaves. One night, we took about 20 off of our 16 or so plants. Nonetheless, we still have more than enough tomatoes. I bought an eggplant at hannaford, and a local one from teh farmer’s market this morning, so tomorrow I’m going to make eggplant parmigian (shit, I don’t have any parmigan cheese…so yet another trip to hannaford tomorrow).
3) Japanese beetles. Hate em.
I guess that’s all. Tomorrow, I really need to paint the bathroom, and we have another kayak trip planned. I think I’ve converted J over to “quiet water” paddling! Yay! I like going on the ocean, but I’m really more of a quiet, peaceful kind of person.
Random thoughts lightning round: I overdrew my bank account today. I think Biden is a sucky pick for VP. Yeah, an old white guy..original! I’m totally disgusted, depressed, and another adjective that we dont’ even have a woman (yet) running at least for vp. It makes me want to vomit.
Is it a bad sign when you’re looking for signs from the universe on licence plates? Tonight on teh way home, I passed 4 plates that ended in MU. moo moo moo moo. Should I buy a cow? Drink more milk?
running. I know I shouldn’t. even worse, I shouldn’t have talked J out of it. But I’m in that pms-y achy thing right now… I guess I could’ve given it a try but don’ tfeel like it would have been very successful. So we’ll try again tomorrow. Piano was canceled too (! After all that practicing of Your Cheatin’ Heart), so I just went grocery shopping and then home. Now I’m drinking some nice red wine and kicking back. My whole body just kind of hurts. And I’m having hot flashes. And cold flashes.And random body pains.
But now that I decided not to run, I do feel oodles better. A littlel more energetic, a little happier. : ) My plan of attack for tonight, etc.: Work on my short story, which will win an award, and I’ll base my novel on, sell it for lots of money, and buy my mini. Success is simply a plan that you follow through on. And that is my plan.
Ok… (stalling time lapse)… guess I will go do it now. : )
I was at my parents in law’s house and my mother in law said “we just bought this new northstar something or other” and I was like “is that a boat, or a boat accessory? It was a big white box, like a big cooler but sturdier and in the top was a hole with chain coming out of it. I couldn’t resist, so I pulled all the chain out of the hole. Then I had to put it all back and that was kind of a bitch.
Then I went inside to take a shower and I think J’s grandmother was there (who passed away last year) and on the door to the bathroom was an old antique blanket with holes in it. I shut the door on the blanket and took a shower.
Oh! And there was another part where I was in a car with my coworkers and I was driving and an old lady was crossing the road. She was very short and wearing fur. I stopped to let her cross and everyone said “oh, aren’t you nice?!” And then a car came up behind me and tried to run the little old lady over. And I called them an asshole.
I’ve been playing “Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank Williams on the piano. It’s in my new book (an easy version) and I also have a version from my father in law’s mother from 1957 or something like that. The original sheet music. so I’ve been trying both of them. So, since my lesson is tomorrow and I’ve been a total failure at piano for the last oh, year, I thought I should actually practice. And even with a very easy song like that, I suck. But anyway… back to my point… so I get back to my computer and find an email I sent to myself from work today, with a short story that begins “Cheating is a strategy, not a philosophy.” Wow… so I guess cheating is on my mind.
On that topic, there are cheaters everywhere. But where is the line between “making connections, playing it smart” and cheating? Look at Dick Cheney, Enron, all that crap. These are rich people, smart people, well respected people…cheating people every day of their lives. It’s a strategy that some people feel comfortable using, and others don’t. I have to admit, that as morally loose as I think I am, I have this weird strand of integrity and honesty bred into me somehow. I’m just not a cheater. I don’t necessarily care if other people do it. I even understand why other people do it. But, for me, just because I know my own annoying conscience, I generally can’t get up the nerve to do it. And it’s not even because I’m afraid of being caught.
Well, anyway, on that note, I make no pretensions to be a great person, because J got this book from bookmooch called “The Book of Questions.” I guess it’s supposed to be something to spur discussion or whatever. So I did a few of them and I think J was a little surprised at my answers…just goes to show you that you don’t really know anyone till you start asking questions. Here are a few examples and painfully morally loose answers (or not, I’ll do it randomly):
#63: Assume there was a technological breakthrough that would allow people to travel as easily and cheaply between continents as between nearby cities. Unfortunately, there would also be 100,000 deaths a year from the device. Would you try to prevent its use?
No. Though I’m not sure I would use it!
#114: Would you be willling to reduce your life expectancy by five years to become extremely attractive?
hmm… don’t know.I would certainly consider it.
#117: Have you ever considered suicide? What is so important to you that without it life would not be worth living?
Yikes! Who wrote these questions?? No, I have never considered it. I’m way too afraid of death for that. There have been times where I’ve been so depressed that I think I might not care if I died, though. I can’t think of anything so important that life wouldn’t be worth living if I lost it.
One more…
ha! #110… If you were having difficulty on an important test and could safely cheat by looking at someone else’s paper, would you do so?
I might LOOK, but who says that person would be right?? Which just makes the decision even harder. doh!
Oh, by the way, work SUCKS and I’m stressed out and am OFF the wagon in every meaning of that phrase.
Yes I AM good at those clever blog titles, aren’t I? I guess that’s why they pay me the big bucks to be a copywriter. hmm.. But let’s not talk about work. What then?
Running… Ok, that’s an exageration…let’s call it wogging… it looks sort of like jogging, but is no faster than walking. But I have moved up on my progress… Now I am wogging for 5 minutes at a time! exciting! Painful! But it did not kill me…so good news. I also did not have a single cigarette today.
The reason I had zero ciggies today… well, I’m freaking otu a little about my health. I’m having some health problems, that I’m sure are minor and will most likely go away on their own, and have absolutely nothing to do wtih my lungs or smoking, but you know.. .once that “fear of mortality” mentality takes hold, all logic is useless. Though I suppose sucking 250 known harmful chemicals into my lungs every 2 hours is probably not totally logical either. I will miss it though. If I can control my stress level at work, I can be successful at this. In the meantime, I know the good product development folks at proctor and gamble can surely invent a non-cancer causing cigarette. I mean, how hard is this? You can invent 200 different types of toothpaste, but not this? IT’s very annoying… I think they’re just unfocused.
I’ve found a writing contest to apply to. Wait, did I already talk about this last night? If so, I’m sorry…The deadline is Dec. 1 and the word limit is 1500. The subject I have decided on: Cheating! Not as in marital/sexual cheating (I don’t think).. .just cheating as a general strategy to get ahead. what do you think?
I think things are looking up. I get sucked into weird things sometimes but once they are out of sight, they are miraculously out of mind. Yay, me! Than god I’m such a simpleton. But I’m still trying to find ways to add some meaning to my life. I think the busier I am, the more people I meet, the better. Maybe it’s just distraction… or maybe it’s putting myself out there in order to expose myself to all that life has to offer (i know.. blah blah blah)… But several people I know have had weird synchronicitous stuff happen to them lately. Where was I going with this? I don’t know…
I really want to buy a mini! And on that note, I’m going to have a shower, get ready for bed, and hopefully fall into a deep and dream filled sleep.
Oh, I finished “how to be good” by Nick Hornby. A little depressing given my current life situation but funny as hell at some points too. Now back to “when god was a woma.”
