Food tonite

After reading about Steven's great use of leftovers, I decided it was time to get a little creative myself. Let's see - we had some leftover marinated and grilled chicken breasts and thighs (all skinless/boneless), and some leftover parslied potatoes from earlier in the week. Some close to stale tortillas hiding in the back of the fridge. And a new block of sharp chedder. Cubed the chicken, cubed the taters, shredded some cheese, layered it all on the tortillas (lightly buttered on the bottom (which became the outside), and threw 'em on the grill. Once the cheese melted I folded them close - only to find I'd REALLY overstuffed 'em - heh heh. Some of the goodies will hopefully cook off in the grill... Turned out pretty good - but could've used something for a little more kick/flavor - maybe some basil when they came off the grill, or a splash of salsa inside? Oh well - very filling dinner.

(sorry, didn't take any pics of them - but they looked cool!)

Was going to have some of the homegrown lettuce for salads, but I didn't plan far enough ahead and it really needed to be chilled after being washed - just something to help it crisp up. And in addition to the lettuce that I picked from the pots out back, here's a sneak peek of something else I hope to be enjoying soon (this one needed to be thinned out).

Dessert was the best part! Sure - I cheated - I made cupcakes from boxed white cake mix that we had in the cupboard (been trying to clean things out a bit lately - use more from the cupboards and freezers). Added just a splash of orange extract to the batter - nice subtle improvement. And then once they cooled we topped the ones we were going to eat with Crisco frosting - surprisingly good! Will definitely have to make that again. And two top of my two cupcakes...well...voila!

Well it seems Blogger's being a pain about uploading pics again. I had two pics of the cupcakes I really liked, but even after shrinking the image, reducing the file size, etc, Blogger still doesn't want me to post the close up picture. Oh well.

ANNNNYhow - did you notice the black raspberries on the cupcakes? Those are what I thought would be RED raspberries and had posted a pic of them recently, saying they were ALMOST ripe. ALMOST, yes, but not as almost as I thought. Unripe BLACK raspberries don't taste good when they're a pretty red! ;-) Here they are, freshly picked. Not much, but I don't need too many, and there are definitely more to come!

I'm not sure what the best way is to save the remaining frosting. I'm thinking since it's just Crisco, powdered sugar, water and flavorings, it can stay on the countertop overnite. I'm tempted to actually pipe on the frosting next time, using a fancy star tip. I don't have much experience with doing that, but since it's just for the two of us it could be fun.

DAMN that stuff's sweet! Here's the recipe in case anyone's interested:

CRISCO WHITE FROSTING

• 1 lb. powdered sugar (4 c.)
• 1 c. Crisco
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Beat Crisco until fluffy, add sugar, water and flavorings. Beat this for 5
minutes. (Enough frosting for one cake)

Shhhh! The Tiger Lillies Are Sleeping!

On my drive in this morning I noticed how all the tiger lillies are closed up tight and pointed in the same direction. I guess I usually pay more attention to them when driving home from work, going out later in the day, etc when they're open and really attractive. But this morning all I saw were closed up buds with just a bit of that trademark orange peeking out around the lip of the bud. Not the big flashy flower we're use to seeing during the day, but attractive in their own way.

Sadly, our tiger lillies are a little behind - still just tiny nubbins for buds. C'mon guys - get it in gear!!

Garden Quickie

Stopped by the garden after work today. Didn't have the camera with me - not much new to show.

The Rumbo pumpkin vines are easily three feet long already - longer and faster growing than anything else out there!

Counted about 30 baby squash that are starting to pick up some speed in their growth.

Got a lot of weeding done - some very systematic (all the onions) and some just here and there as I was checking things out. Doing a much better job of weeding this year than all the previous years! Makes me feel good!

I actually picked some beet greens today - THOUGHT I would cook 'em but we were lazy and ordered pizza, so I just wrapped 'em (and all the beautiful lettuce and the few radishes) in damp paper towels, bagged 'em, and threw 'em in the fridge. I'm looking forward to trying them, but since I'm not a big fan of bitter foods I'm a bit nervous. Not nervous like tasting something I don't like will ruin me forever, but nervous that I won't like the more mature taste.

Something's starting to snack on my cucumber leaves. One of the two varieties (Sweeter Yet) is DEFINITELY slower than the other (Sweet Success).

I see carrot leaves popping up all over - yay! Both down the middle of the onion rows, and between a section of squash and tomatoes.

Speaking of tomatoes, I'm sad to find two of my three Black from Tula's are getting VERY yellowy and wilty. Thinking of just sprinkling them with some fertilizer (10 10 10?) and seeing if that helps. Not sure what their problem is. I had the same thing happen with some of my tomatoes last year - in a different area of the garden. They do great for awhile, and then just fizzle and die. Did a little research online, but I don't recall if leaves are curling up or down, etc... Need to pay more attention.

Found some volunteer potatoes coming up under the onions, plus a couple volunteer tomato plants and what I THINK are volunteer tomatilloes - again, all in the onion patch. The tomatoes and tomatilloes would make sense - they were in that area last year. Potatoes were on the other side of the garden - plow must've moved 'em. Thinned out the tomatillo (or weed) sprouts and just left a few - will see what they develop into. I expected tomatillo volunteers - am just surprised it's only NOW that I'm seeing much of anything.

Some of the peppers have blooms - yay!

Tomatoes at the garden are just starting to get little green fruit.

Oh, and those red raspberries I was waiting to finish ripening here at home last week? Black. I forgot I had black raspberries two years ago. Thought they died last year. That must be them taking a year off as they died off in the pot but a runner hit the rock wall and came back up in a few spots along the hill the wall fades into. Heh heh - future owners here are going to love me!

Why I Hate Cindy

Damn her - she just sent me another!

http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1696326/

Only this one's got more emotion, more drama, and ...you guessed it... more lessons in Engrish with an accompaniment of some GREAT exercise moves!

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!! Check out the trailer at http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/spider-man_3/

I had NO IDEA they were going to cover a certain dark enemy of Spidey's that hugs him oh so close...

How Dare You Say Such A Thing To Me

Common Engrish, er, English expressions AND a work out routine - all wrapped up into one:

http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1695207/

This one's for Steven!

Sure, rehash, but hey - I can't resist...

I'd like to build the world a home
and furnish it with love
Grow apple
trees
and honey bees
and snow white turtle doves

I'd like to
teach the world to sing
with perfect harmony
I'd like to hold it in my
arms
and keep it company

- The New Seekers

;-)

And on that note, it's about time for our Circulation Desk to be open, so I can go down and pick up the two books I ordered through OhioLINK - a book on keeping chickens, and a book on bee keeping! Woo hoo!

Out in the Rain and Into the Blue

Brett's off at the Nine Inch Nails concert with a friend of ours tonite (Happy Birthday Jay!). Good thing Jay had pavillion seats because it really POURED for about an hour! Hope that didn't ruin their nite!

And while they're out watching, what, an old 90s band, I stayed home, ate a deconstructed tomato/mozzarella/basil salad of sorts, taboulleh, grilled zuchinni strips, salami, and bean dip on toasted flat bread. Sort of a mediterranean antipasta theme maybe? Good stuff all around - didn't really use recipes, just wanted to use some herbs, as well as thing around here that needed to be used up.

So while (and after) eating dinner I watched a movie I borrowed from dad - Into the Blue. Can I just say Paul Walker and Scott Caan have SMOKING bodies!! LOVE the fuzz on Scott Caan!! Oh, and Jessica Alba's a hottie too - gotta give her that. I'd forgotten what else I saw Paul Walker in - never saw Fast & The Furious. I think it was Timeline? He seems to have a very Jack Johnson thing about him... I didn't expect much from Into The Blue - sure, it wasn't the deepest or most emotional or action packed movie ever, but I did enjoy it. Decent plot, good acting, stereotypical characters, beeeeeautiful scenery, and beeeeautiful people! That's entertainment!

Fun times during Sharon's visit

We got our "mexican nite out" gang back together for Sharon's visit this time. Last year we all got together and hit Two Amigos in Highland Square, Akron, but they're getting LOUSY reviews under their new ownership (employees walking out, owners getting drunk, etc). So this time we decided to visit El Rincon, which Brett and I had never been to before. Food was alright, pretty typical of the cheaper mexican joints. But as you can see, we had alotta fun!

First we start with Shannon and John. Hm, I often get that look when I bring out the camera! And note the margaritas - I blame them for some of the pics you'll see shortly.

Daaaaamn girl! Them's some tig ol' bitties!

Brett being tackled by Shannon!

Michele and Brett. Oh. Hm. Maybe not the most flattering pic of Michele? Oopsie! Seriously though, I know what she's doing. We have a problem with chips. Put them anywhere on the table, and we'll proceed to give ourselves a belly ache. That's what she's working on right now - guaranteed! We'll even gripe about being so full once we've finished the appetizer chips and main meal, and then ask for "just one more bowl of chips please" to really do ourselves in well!

[Note: upon closer inspection I see she's actually eating dinner at this point...so maybe it's not really a chip she's munching on?]

Michele and John. Can you tell they have a secret they're starting to share? (Hint: They're already married - so that's not it!)

Jeez Sharona - knock off the zombie act! (And that's Justin behind her - MUCH better behaved than Sharon!)

Michele and Brett again. They sat across from me, so why aren't there more flattering pics of them!? Maybe because I see these two ALL THE TIME - no need to get more photos!? (That's gonna cost me later!)


And to my left we have TomKat, er, MayorKat, ah, The Mayor and Kathryn, um....man, I can't think straight with those alluring and hypnotic stares!

Yeah Kat, sorry, I can't help ya here - I have NO IDEA why you let him out of the house either. You have my sympathy!

Oooh la la!!! Getting a little ear action here! And you can see the married hand of The Mayor reaching around to restrain his wife! (And since she's preggers, she can't blame this sort of activity on the margaritas!)

Now I feel like he's stalking me or something....

Say cheeeeese Sharon! No no - THIS way!

Dude, you can be SUCH a guy sometimes!!! There's nothing lady-like about you when it comes to manners, I swear. You're grossing me out! ;-)

Awwwww....Justin puts up with a picture while Sharon hams it up!

Shannon working on a chip... John just being well behaved.

There's a story behind this picture. It was just a few months ago probably when Brett was having fun making Coke-aritas at home. He was trying to figure out just the right mix of Coke and margarita mix, and proceeded to get wasted. Reeeeeally. Since he was being so giggly and had little sense of right and wrong at the time, I figured we needed to share the fun - so I had him drunk call Sharon's voicemail. She saved it. Brett got to listen to it while at dinner. Must've been good!!

Shannon and John must've been inside paying while the rest of us were prepping to pose for a group shot. This is me and Sharon having a little fun while we wait. She's the one who had someone walking by use her camera to get ALL of us, so I'll have to wait and see that when she sends me her pics.

STILL waiting on John and Shannon... I know they decided they'd had a bit too much to drink (so we drove them when we all went to Handel's for ice cream) - and I think Shannon was inside buying a bunch of candy in her tipsy state. (Wow Michele - is that a...a KATE SPADE purse!?!?! WOW! NICE! ;-)

Seems like neither of the John's made it into too many pictures - sorry guys!

Was definitely fun gang - will have to do it again soon!

Pictures from the garden...

Took these Saturday... Brett agreed to play captive audience while we were running around doing other errands - I neeeeeded to get out there and see how things were going, and it was a good chance to do a little more weeding. Stopped out there again this afternoon after work - more weeding in mind, and got swarmed by cucumber beetles. They were all over the place! I gave them a tastey, powdered-sugar like treat to remember me by! >:-)

Here are the Rumbo pumpkin plants, which I have to say are growing FAST!!! I'm glad I've singled these out to a point where I can keep an eye on them this year - they're quite fascinating. Mom still has two of the three I gave her last fall!


These are beets. I've never grown beets. WOW - they're faster than radishes! But I have a feeling it'll be longer than radishes before harvest? Like maybe beets take more time to develop their root?
Side by side - beets on the left, radishes on the right (in the foreground) -interspersed with marigolds and squash. My walkway is down the middle, and tomatoes are around the outer edge.

These are my cucumbers - the larger ones were transplants started at home, and I'm just starting to see the small seedlings that I planted at the same time as the transplants. When I went out there today many of the leaves had fresh holes in them, and cucumber beetles were all around.

The onions - interplanted with weeds! ;-) Ok, so I need to weed these guys SOON! I usually lose interest in the onions, figuring they seem tough and can handle themselves. And then I don't get many because the weeds take over. Won't let that happen this year. I DID plant rows of carrots down between the rows of onions - they didn't seem to come up. Bummer.

Beans on the left (Maxibels in the foreground, Blue Lake in the back) - the Blue Lake are doing GREAT! And herbs and lettuce and the russian fingerling potatoes (remember the countertop sprouting?) on the right.

Close up of the lettuce. Sure it hasn't been warm overall this year, but I'm amazed our few hot days haven't caused these guys to bolt like it has the bok choy.

Close up on the beans - so nice and green!!

Close up on the pepper patch....they're starting to look good and healthy now!

Standing with the car to my back, looking down the entire length of the two garden plots. The teepees mark the halfway spot.

Look! Squash! YAY!! And these didn't show any signs of rot like the ones from my previous visit... Can't wait til I can start picking these.


In addition to yellow squash, my zucchini are also starting to put out. That's one there, just out of focus, pointing towards me at the bottom of the picture.

Tomato flowers are wierd. And this year I'm noticing some seem a little more wierd than usual - like they're more frilly or something? I think I'm noticing this most with the Prince Caspian, which I haven't grown before. Could just be my imagination? From the looks of this picture, I should do pretty well with the tomatoes! The first picture here are Black Krim tomatoes - REALLY looking forward to these. The second picture are Prince Caspian blooms.


And here's poor Brett, entertaining himself with his iPod in my car. The trick is to try to park so the car doesn't get too hot and sunny while he waits on me. The hotter he gets, the shorter my garden trip! (I usually just go after work by myself...)

Stayed at my desk to work through lunch...

...and I catch myself blogging two entries in a row! TOTAL slacker (which is how the day seems to go when wrestling with one problem bit of code that doesn't want to cooperate). :(

Anyhow, listening to some stuff on iTunes, and this came up - this short snippet of lyrics made me think of where I hope Brett and I are heading with our next home (although I'm not sure I'm ready to build it for the world just yet....gonna be selfish first!):

I'd like to build the world a home
and furnish it with love
Grow apple trees
and honey bees
and snow white turtle doves

I'd like to teach the world to sing
with perfect harmony
I'd like to hold it in my arms
and keep it company

- The New Seekers

That's just a snippet (and you KNOW you're already tempted to hum along, and maybe swap in "I'd like to buy the world a Coke...").

Let's see - apple bees and honey bees - that's it right there! Along with a pear tree, peach tree, blueberries, raspberries, etc... And honey bees? Yup! I really hope hope hope we can have a place where I can try setting up a couple bee hives. Nope, I don't really know much about it, and I realize there's some labor, but it just feels like something I need to do.

Moving on...um, well, I won't be teaching ANYONE to sing, especially not in perfect harmony! Brett's caught me singing along with music in the "privacy" of the office at home, just standing there in the doorway with a big grin (I usually just yet "I HATE YOU!" at him - LOL). So that's ruled out.

Now the keeping company part...well, the way the world goes sometimes, I guess we could all use a hug and some company, right? I wish I was better at giving that out....

I guess I wish I was also better at staying focused here at work since I've opted to sacrifice the lunch break anyhow! LOL WORK JEPH, WORK!!! (Cracking the whip!) (oh, now that's likely to excite a few people! LOL)

What to buy...

The next quarter for my Amazon Associates profits ends this Friday - woo hoo! I can pretty much tell that all the money I've gotten back is from my own purchases - but hey, there's nothing wrong with that, right? ;-) Smart shopping on my part - find the item I want, build the link on a page, click the link, buy the item. An extra minute or two of work, and I get my own kickback! So I've got a little over $22 coming back this quarter - what should I buy?

And I think it's funny how you can see I'm influenced by what's going on in my world these days - we're big into making the pizzas on the pizza stone, and we're talking about getting a hobby farm.... Angel's still on there from waaaay back when - we're way behind on watching those. The slow cooker book? Eh, I figure sooner or later I'll find a book for this that'll make me loooove everything that comes out of the crock pot! So far it's been about 50/50.

BTW - I LOVE shopping, and I love doing it remotely and not having to deal with some of the people in stores. I just don't love spending/not having money, so the wish list can truly be a fantasy list sometimes - things can remain on there a LOOOONG time before I EVER get 'em!

[Side note: I've never used the Blogger button on my Google toolbar before, so this is my first time. Hm. Limited options - can't upload images this way. Seems I'm already logged in though, so that's cool. Can always save this as a draft, then edit it, THEN add pics if I really wanted to. Not necessary this time...]

Look what's almost ripe!!

The raspberries weren't too much of a surprise - but the tomato, still in it's 4x4" pot that dad brought down from NY a couple weekends ago - THAT'S a surprise! Maybe it just thinks it better hurry up and get some seeds out there if it's going to be trapped in this little pot?

This weekend's culinary masterpiece...

After a batch of Rice Krispie Treats was made last week, with Brett wanting that "fruity flavor" like Fruity Pebbles has, I had to walk all the way down to the end of the cereal aisle and drag him back when I saw the new Rice Krispies "Very Berry" flavor the other day. Well, that settled it - we needed to try it just to get it out of our system. And here it is....the culmination of two great minds working together to form something totally brand new - Jeph & Brett's Very Berry Rice Krispie Treats - you saw it here first folks!


(doing this from memory)

1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter and 4 cups miniature marshmallows in a large pan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally as they melt to prevent burning to the bottom of the pan.
2. While they're melting, lightly coat 13x9 inch pan with non-stick spray (make sure you're not using something like garlic flavor!) I also recommend spraying a rubber spatula with the same stuff.
   
3. Have ready 6 cups Very Berry Rice Krispies. Once the butter and marshmallows are completely melted and combined, stir in the Rice Krispies, mix completely, and then pour the whole sticky mess into your prepared pan.
4. Used the rubber spatula (or a piece of parchment paper, or lightly sprayed hands) to pat the lump of Rice Krispies and marshmallows into the corners of the pan, forming one big even-height block of yummy goodness!
5. Now go eat the stuff that's still stuck in the pan (you know you left some extra there on purpose just for this reason). Also eat the gooey goodness stuck to the spatula (most likely that non-stick spray didn't stop ALL the sticky stuff from sticking!) And if you have facial hair, pick the yummy bits from your moustache/goatee and eat those too - before someone else finds you've been snacking.
6. Let sit...oh, about as long as it took you to read "let sit", slice, and enjoy!
7. ...and think about how next time regular or Cocoa Krispies might be just a tad better, but oh well, these'll certainly do for now! :)

And here's the OTHER staging of the food that Brett felt was just too over the top. Um, hon? These are "berry" (ha!) flavored Rice Krispie treats!! ;-)

I smell like sage...

(And, if ya ask me, that's a good thing!)

After our days of rain we've got a reprieve - at least a short one. Today's supposed to be super sunny yet stay below 80. We slept in BIG time, finally getting out of bed around 11 (that doesn't include getting up for the super-early cat feeding to get them to leave us alone, bathroom breaks, etc). Did a little snacking. Shared my mixed berry yogurt with Tucker (he's insane about it - is yogurt bad for cats!?) And then while Brett was watching some TV I decided to check out the back 40 (har har) and let the cats stretch their legs.

WOW! Sure, we've had a lot of rain and some warm weather, but I did NOT expect the growth spurts!!! I think all the dahlias have doubled (or more!) in height in the last few days. Some of the potted tomato plants have done the same. I found the small potted catnips on the patio table were found by visitors and chewed down - have had to stash them again! Can't be the same visitors chewing the basil on the patio table (all the other basil plants seem fine), so I'm assuming there's a slug living in one of the pots and making visits to the little basil that really wants to live....so I moved it over to the grill for now.

Amazing with all this weather a few pots in poorly placed positions were bone dry - so I had to get out the hose and water those, plus the hanging baskets (SUPER lush and colorful in the back, getting lush but lacking much more than green in the front) were also kinda dry. Since it's warming up and the sun's out, I get them a good dose of water as well.

Looks like the raspberries growing out of the back wall are starting to get some red to them, while the ones up against the house are a little later in their development. Not going to get much out of any of them this year, but I don't give them special treatment - no pruning or anything like that to inspire more production. Once we get a new place I'll plan to give them more space and move TLC.

Had to move the curly leaf mint - even though it's potted up and tucked in behind the raspberries (I think the raspberries would win that battle), it's starting to get curious and send out runners. I moved it over to the rock wall - just LET it try to get a foothold in there. (Oh, who am I kidding - I can get nasturtiums to grow in the wall, and the potted raspberries jumped ship last year with a couple runners and now I have raspberries coming up in new places!)

Hm. Mint. Also got a little parsley growing back there (doesn't do as well confined to a pot!?). Storebought (blah!) tomatoes on the counter. Bulgar wheat in the cabinet and a couple lemons in the crisper drawer. I think I'm making tabouleh later today! :)

We're talking about maybe going for a short walk in a little bit - Brett's foot with a possible bone spur will let us know how far we can go. Need to stop by Rick & Carolyn's and feed Ayla the cat while they're in New Orleans at the ALA conference (same place Peter's at!). Need to stop by WalMart for some twine for the garden. Maybe I can get Brett to go along for a ride out to the garden - I could do a little more weeding and finish twine on the teepees!

Oh, and about that "I smell like sage" header? At first I was thinking it was because I brushed up against some of the sage out back, but I don't remember doing that. At least not the culinary stuff - and it really doesn't leave a scent on me THAT easily when I do. But I DO know I was poking in and around the Russian sage, and wow, that'll really leave it's scent on ya! Just as good a smell, although sometimes with a sticky residue. Seems I escaped that this time.

Hope everyone's having a great day!

International Blogging

Will report tomorrow about tonite's fun with friends, along with pics.

Gotta say I'm loving some of the international gardener/cooking/hobby farmer blogs I'm coming across lately. It's neat seeing the local ones, but adds a little extra excitement to find some of the ones overseas. So far I've only got two, and it's thanks to Farmgirl's recent listing on some "interesting blog of the day" type site, and then more people writing in there.

So check out Coffee Witch in Orkney, Scotland, and Alex in Sydney, Australia sometime soon and see what fun they're having. LOVE hearing/reading the accents, the different terms/expressions (ie: "chook" instead of "chicken", "oot" instead of "out", "tae" instead of "to"), etc

Keep up the good work bloggers - thanks for all the entertainment and education!

Coffeewitch's The Walled Garden
Alex's The Little Tree
Alex's The Pagan Kitchen
Alex's The Only Gay in the Village

Coffee Witch and her wedding clothes

Alex and two of his chickens

Busy since yesterday!

Howdy!

TONS of crazy rain storms the past couple days. Really hit hard just after lunch yesterday, but the weather maps made it look like we'd have a clear spot for awhile before the big nasty thunderstorm blob out west got here. Stopped out at the garden after work, weeded the pepper patch and some of the herbs, as well as whatever weeds were easiest to grab as I patrolled the rest of the garden. Squished a couple cucumber beetles, and no signs of squash bugs (yay!). Even checking under the leaves for eggs - none! Am prepared to apply another round of Sevin, but since we're getting so much rain it won't stay effective for long. Picked off some small squash that were already rotting because of the weather (SO hard to kill 'em since I haven't had any for myself yet). Oh well - the plants can put more energy into the next round of flowers/fruit.

While at the garden I could feel the next storm front moving in. Stood up from weeding, turned around, and there was this big dark wall of clouds heading my way! Breeze was kicking up, and could see lightning off in the distance! Got in a few more minutes with breaking suckers off the tomato plants, and hightailed it to the car. Within three minutes of being in the car the foul weather hit.

Rained the whole drive home - sometimes so hard that even the highest speed of the wipers wasn't enough to easily see (probably should've pulled over!?). Got home, changed clothes, brushed teeth, checked email and headed back out to meet Brett at the Saturn dealership - car maintenance time! We decided to give Bob Evans a try for dinner - Pretty good!

After we got home from all that I got in web work most of the nite. Slept in this morning to find more rain....so much for Pool Day with Sharon! She's in town for the weekend for volleyball games and we'd really hoped for nice weather. So much for that. Oh well - we ended out hanging out and chatting, she got caught up on some email, then we decided to make pizza for lunch, had to run out to the store for sauce while the dough was rising, fixed up our pizzas, stuffed our faces, and then just hang out here all afternoon. We actually had fun playing video games - perfect rainy day entertainment! Brett and I have few two player games - he's not really into them, and is more of a Zelda guy. But Sharon and I had a blast with Super Monkey Ball and Mario Kart racing...lots of swearing and threatening each other.

Wasn't long after Sharon headed out before Brett was home from work. And it's not much longer now before we head out the door to meet folks for dinner - gonna try El Rincon, which we've heard good things about. Should be a fun night, but I think Brett and I are both ready to just sleep in tomorrow and veg out!

(Then again, tomorrow's supposed to be the only sunny day in ages, so maybe I should head out to the garden and weed? Oh, who'm I kidding!? LOL)

Hope all's well out there in computer land! Welcome back home Steven!! Saw your garden pretty much went nutso while you were gone - hopefully by now you're showing it who's boss! :)

And check out Peter's chocolate meringues and cake - YUMMO!

Seems like Blogger's being a pain about pics again - so they'll have to wait til later...bummer.

Bok bok!

Yet another reason I think it'd be great to have chickens when we get our own place - they're such AMAZING actors!

Nike Angry Chicken - Google Video




This was posted over at Humboldt Hens, Amy Stewart's blog about her chickens.

Lynda Carter's opinion on gay people...

(click on the image for a Wonder Woman wallpaper!)

...or at least why gay guys relate so well to Wonder Woman (I'm copying this from the DC Comics Message Boards, where someone else copied it from MySpace):

by Randy Shulman
Published on 08/25/2005

Nobody spins better, or with more superheroic grace, than Lynda Carter.

Indeed, for her latest role in Sky High, Carter -- forever revered as the Amazonian goddess of good, Wonder Woman -- plays Principal Powers, the headmaster of a school for superteens. She makes her entrance with a glorious hyper-spin.

As for Wonder Woman, the role for which she's most beloved, Carter marvels, ''I can't even begin to fathom how much it has impacted my life. I have always embraced Wonder Woman. I even read the comic books as a kid.''

She feels that gay men in particular identified with Wonder Woman because of ''the combination of a woman being a woman but also having a masculine side. She could be strong and beautiful like they can be strong and beautiful.

''I think there's such a strong archetype there for gay people,'' she continues, ''that secret self. It's that hidden self that's not about being defined by secrets or by sexuality, but being defined by your heart. So many of us have to hide our lives in order to make other people comfortable. And when you stop hiding your life to make other people comfortable, you begin to love yourself.''

She rocks! :) I've always told folks I would "turn" for her! (No no, not like spin around really fast and have sparklies and a loud bang and then suddenly appear with my hair let down and be in a really tight one-piece swim suit....nothing crazy like that!)

(She's having too much fun here!)

(This one's borderline naughty!)

Can't...wait... Want...veggies...!

AAAAH!

It's that time of year where I keep wanting to go out to the garden to give the veggies a little performance anxiety! I mean, c'mon guys - you've been in the ground a couple weeks now - produce!! (Pun not intended) I can easily see myself heading back out to the garden again some afternoon this week, weather permitting, and checking to see what's different (trust me, aside from some new height on the weeds, there won't be much new!)

Speaking of the weather, it's looking like it's going to be a rough week! We're schedule for scattered or isolated thunderstorms every day this week! At least it's cooler so hopefully the lettuce won't bolt, and who knows maybe even some of the bok choy that got a little excited by last week's heat wave will find a way to reverse-bolt. (Yes, I know that's not possible, but I'm a little concerned some of them were starting already...bummer!)

Another reason I'm not looking forward to rain in the forecast - my buddy, my pal, my Sharona is coming to town this week for some volleyball games, and we've scheduled a pool day Friday (yes, that's right, I'm taking a vacation day - woo hoo!). Only now it's looking to be a high of 75 and rainy. Grrr... Maybe we'll go shopping, eat out or something.

Next weekend's Superman! Yay! Granted, I still have issues with costume changes and such, but I'm really looking forward to this. Our friend Jay pointed out something I realize I agreed with - I like the concept of this one - that Luthor seems to have reverse engineered the crystals used to make the Fortress of Solitude, and now there's these ugly carbon spires bursting up everywhere - to make land for more cities maybe? Not sure - gotta see the movie!

And just a few weeks after that we'll be off to see American Idol in Cleveland - yay! Wish we could've gotten friends to go with us, but I accept the fact that American Idol isn't for everyone.

Alright, I keep telling myself I need to get to bed earlier - so a half hour earlier than last nite's a start. I had a relatively productive day - met up with Amber the personal trainer after work for an hour of legs, hips and stretches. Only 3 sessions left! Then I came home, chugged down a banana/peach protein smoothie (yum!), and then took the cats out for some entertainment. Fixed dinner (left the kitchen a mess - that can be tomorrow nite) and we vegged in front of the tv for awhile...then came in to get some client work done. So yeah - a good nite! And I can still get in some reading before dozing off!

Have a good nite!

What color is beaver?

LOL!! I don't have the beaver that's being referred to here... If you DO have one, is it appropriately colored? (Get your mind outta the gutter!)