Another Monday

So I managed to get sick… again.  Some little stomach bug.  The worst part, other than having been one type of sick or another for nearly a month, is that I gave it to the child as well.

Cookie update:  They were passable, but not what I expected.  It seems that adding the white chocolate chips changes the chemical makeup of the cookie, or some such nonsense.  The cookie I was trying to create can’t exist, but the one I ended up with was fine, if you’re into the idea of a white chocolate chip snickerdoodle (which I’m not).

I’m fantasizing right now about the day we are able to move out of here.  This seems silly and petty, but I want to be left alone right now, and my roommate won’t stop talking to me.  About everything on the planet.  Cat food.  Lentils.  Jerry Bruckheimer.  He’s just trying to be nice, but I’m going insane. 

Update: Oh, I get it.  He’s been talking to me all morning in an attempt to work up the courage to have a conversation about when we’re moving out.  Our lease is up at the end of March and he’d like us to stay until the beginning of August.

In a nutshell, NO.  NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO.  That is the most awful idea I’ve ever heard.

And now, to completely change the subject, I am going to participate in Menu Plan Monday:

1) Monday – Meat loaf, mashed potatoes (with skins on because I’m lazy), sauteed green beans, corn bread
2) Tuesday – Fried potatoes with sliced smoked sausage, corn, salad
3) Wednesday – “Cheeseburger” flavored store-brand Hamburger Helper, big salad
4) Thursday – PW’s Chicken Spaghetti, salad
5) Friday – Enchiladas, possibly.  Or a Stouffer’s lasagna, which is basically enchiladas Italian style, but with a lot less effort.  This depends on how lazy I’m feeling and whether I can find a decent sale on meat & cheese.

I grew up eating ground beef probably five nights out of seven, because it was affordable.  I can make dozens of dishes starring ground beef, but I try to avoid serving it more than once a week because the man doesn’t care for it.  It seems he grew up eating real food and prefers that, which I can’t really fault.  But we are broke this week, at least for the next several days, and I got a 5-lb package of ground beef for $8.95.

And My Enemies Call Me Nothing, Cause They’re Dead

I keep baking cookies and they keep disapearing.  This pleases me.

I have a terrific snickerdoodle recipe that is a “clone” of the one used by The Great American Cookie Company.  It’s big and soft and delicious, and it turns out that the “secrets” involve chilling the dough prior to baking, using a specific amount of dough per cookie (2.5 tablespoons) and baking them at a lower temperature (300) for a longer amount of time (12-14 minutes).  The man has asked me to turn the snickerdoodles into white chocolate chip cookies by adding the white chips.  I think this is bizarre because snickerdoodles are basically sugar cookies rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, and I don’t typically associate sugar cookies with chips of any variety.  Something about cream of tartar and white chocolate doesn’t gel in my mind.  But whatever.  He’s a non-cookie-fan, so if I’ve stumbled upon something he’ll get excited about, I reckon I will give it a try.

I am also going to try to use the aforementioned “secrets” to make M&M cookies that are big and soft and delicious.  I’m going to use my regular recipe as opposed to a snickerdoodle recipe, but am going to alter the cookie size and baking time to hopefully achieve awesome results.  I will report back on this.

Other than baking cookies and cleaning up messes, I haven’t been up to much.  Migraines have been kicking my ass.  I did get some minor grocery shopping accomplished today, and I made dinner, then cleaned up the kitchen.

When I went into the kitchen to cook, I discovered that EVERY PAN IN THE HOUSE WAS DIRTY.  And not just “used,” but DIRTY, like in need of scrubbing with elbow grease.  What the fuck is up with that? 

I so totally cannot wait to move into a new place.  That won’t happen for a couple of months yet, but I still like to drive around and look for “For Rent” signs.  The whole roommate thing is not for me.  Granted, I got a batshit crazy one, but I’m honestly not sure there’s anyone on the planet I could successfully roommate with.

I’ve been watching Big Love here lately.  Obsessively.  I’m currently on episode 22 of 24 that exist so far.  I think that maybe polygamy is a good idea.  Maybe, I said.

Ushering in 2009

Well, I guess it’s been a hot minute since I last posted.

My computer (actually the man’s computer… mine isn’t even set up) was hijacked by a virus and was rendered unusable until someone (not me) spent a lot of time & effort to restore functionality.  The virus was downloaded by Roommates A & C, who are thankfully no longer with us, but who are doing quite well in their new apartment.

So… holidays.  We devoted our (limited) resources to making sure the child had a nice Christmas.  I think we could have done better in terms of things like getting a tree and stuff, but she still had a good time and enjoyed her presents, so as much as it bugs me to say this… maybe no harm, no foul, better luck next time, etc.  Anyway, the truth is that I was too sick to put up much of a fuss and if we’d gotten a Christmas tree, I probably would have been hard-pressed to find the energy to do anything with it.

New Years Eve was better.  We spent the evening at my friend’s house, who conveniently happens to have a six-year-old stepson for the child to play with.  The kids played Connect 4 and Guitar Hero (heaven bless the new “beginner” setting) and watched several movies.  The adults played a competitive, trash-talking game of Risk (which I did not win – hrmph!) and knocked out a fifth of Crown in about an hour and a half.  We did the countdown at midnight and wore silly hats and blew noise-maker things and had a Frambois toast (sparkling grape juice for the kiddies).

And I would just like to say for the record, FUCK 2008.  Good Riddance.  It was the worst year of my life and I have never, ever been so happy to usher in a new year.  We lost great jobs, nice vehicles, a pretty house, and most of our stuff in 2008.  I lost my fucking marbles in 2008 and haven’t fully reclaimed them yet.  I haven’t completely nailed down a plan of attack to make sure that 2009 is significantly better, but that will be happening soon.

It could have been worse, for sure.  I could be sitting under a bridge right now instead of at a computer with my cat curled up at my feet.  Of course, there is the counterpoint that if things had gone correctly, I could be sitting in my own house, on my own furniture, with my laptop and writing about my job and my car and my health insurance right now.  I’m not sure whether I’m a half-full or half-empty person, but I suppose that in this instance, a little more than half the glass is missing anyway.  Better to focus on refilling.