Cooking and Kitchen Conundrums

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If we can have a self cleaning oven, why must it be such a process to defrost a freezer?

Please enlighten me..........

I'm Baaaaaa-ck!

Oh how I have missed my graceful friends!

Rorie is taking the laundry list of pre-reqs to one day get into nursing school...and urghh I was cooped up studying for my final exams. I had to steer clear of my vices/addictions that are myspace and Graceful Street...this took mucho discipline. I have not felt so disconnected in a while, but it was the studious thing to do.....and alas I am done with the semester and am 100% back on the Street!

Through exams, I kept wondering why DO I keep taking classes?...I would not have to study and stress over school fitting into my schedule...think of all of the free time...and, I already have a great job....but a dear friend reminded me of my underlying goal: Scrubs! Being able to wear scrubs to work everyday. What a joy that will bring me! And the schedule options are rather interesting. There are several aspects that greatly appeal to me. Oh and yeah, yeah the whole helping people thing too!

Anyway, I have become a career student, along with having a full time job....all I gotsta say is: Dear God am I glad I am not yet a mommy too!

Mean Reds

Mean Reds

You know those days when you've got the mean reds.... the blues are because you're getting fat or maybe it's been raining too long. You're sad, that's all. But the mean reds are horrible. You're afraid and you sweat like hell, but you don't know what you're afraid of. Except something bad is going to happen, only you don't know what it is.

~Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1958, spoken by the character Holly Golightly

Politically Correct

We are in the days of pressure to be constantly aware of political correctness. I do find it important to try your hardest not to purposely offend someone, but sometimes the politically correct terms or phrases are ever changing. Everyone has something that they are sensitive about, and you never know what you may say, unknowingly and unintentionally, to offend someone......I find it all trivial and hard to keep up with.


She is not ugly, she is under-attractive?
Are they Oriental or Asian?
The term disabled is now suppose to be differently abled?
Old or chronically advanced?
Torture is now to be referred to as extraordinary rendition?
Poor or financially unstable or economically marginalized?
Should failure now be non-traditional success? REALLY?
Prisoner= client of the correctional system? ....does it go that far?


Geez. Who knew public communication could get so complicated? I feel like I am generally a good person but need a friggin study guide and cheat sheet just to appease the masses. I probably also need my own personal censorship for when I do flub up, because I know I will. Foot in politically incorrect mouth.

For the record, I am not pale: I am pigmently impaired. I am not short, I am vertically challenged. I am not skinny, I have a slender body type. I am not a secretary, I am a Program Administrator! Get it straight!

God bless the haven that is Goodwill!

There is nothing like killing two birds with one stone (or if you have followed my blogs, I should rather use the analogy two cats with one car......). Anyway, I love Goodwill!

I get to dump all of my still usable goods (rule of thumb: if you wouldn't touch it if it weren't yours- throw it away, please no dirty donations!) that are cramping my home and style and give it to a place that turns this into a good cause....ahhh. Sigh. Closet vacancy and warm fuzzies, how can you beat that?

Before we knew it, we had accumulated a bag of linens, four bags of clothes, and finally decided to let go of a small hand me down computer desk that did not ever work in the room, and never had the computer on it anyway!.... And again, warm fuzzies. I have to remind myself to have a couple of warm fuzzies though, that I am doing a semi-good thing. Because, I get really consumed with the fact that I am actually getting rid of stuff and have the selfish ambition that one day my house will look like a picture perfect magazine home and not a storage unit!

Need some warm fuzzies? Donate something you haven't worn in over a year, but know someone else could cherish and sport with style.

Don't you just love The Eagles?

The Eagles.....God bless them. I want to steal them and keep them forever, making them sing to me daily on command!

The Eagles Greatest Hits CD is a must for road trips (or simple rides to the grocery store) with my husband. This is one of the only groups we can both fully agree on. I love 80's music, country, pop and well, the firefighter does not! He listens to God awful noise that I am almost positive the devil himself despises...I picture Satan screaming "Turn that mess down!" to all of his little spawns...urrgg. Do not get me started on the crap hubby insists is MUSIC .....blaring every time I start my car after he has borrowed it....an instant Rorie pisser-offer. Anywho- back to The Eagles. They are fabulous!

How many other groups have produced so many fabulous songs? And been around so long?

June 24, 1972: The first of many hits -“Take It Easy.” The song reaches Number Twelve. Three months later, “Witchy Woman” — Number Nine.

March 1, 1975: “The Best of My Love” becomes the Eagles’ first #1 hit and million-selling single. Four more follow: “One of These Nights” (1975), “New Kid in Town” (1977), “Hotel California” (1977) and “Heartache Tonight” (1979).

January 12, 1998: The Eagles are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Jimmy Buffett as their presenter.

November 11, 1999: The Recording Association of America names the Eagles to its list of Artists of the Century, putting them in the elite company of the Beatles, Garth Brooks, Elton John, Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand. It is also announced that ‘Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975’ has sold 26 million copies, making it the top-selling album of the 20th century.

WoW! They just performed their brand new single, "How Long," on the CMA's. The firefighter might be mortified to discover that The Eagles were on the Country Music Awards....but we will keep that little factoid between us. We will continue to let him think that they are strictly classic rock (such a versatile group!)....because If I have to listen to one more KORN song, I am going to take a NINE INCH NAIL and use it in a completely DISTURBED manner as a TOOL!

How do I loathe thee?

Many of you may not know, the one, the only- The Rorie, is married to her high school sweetheart, the firefighter. Awwww. yeah yeah. As we have been together for going on seven years (married 2 1/2), sometimes I want to snuggle and other times I would like nothing more than to rip his heart out of his chest, put it on a platter, stick a fork in it and be done! After a couple days of the latter feeling, I have created my rebuttal to Ms. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's oh so famous and highly over-used poem. No worries, I will be better and act the part of the loving wife tomorrow, but for now:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
How do I loathe thee? -Some days this list would be longer.....

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I loathe thee to the depth and breadth and height my patience can not reach when feeling tired and pissy and you will not get out of my sight....which at the time would be ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I loathe thee to the level of every day's most NEED FOR QUIET.....dear Lord, between the fire department pager, the Nintendo Wii and that ridiculous ring tone on your phone, I welcome the quiet!

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I loathe the freely, because I am not sure, Mr., that you ever really "strive for right"....therefore you get no praise.

I love with a passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I loathe with a passion that you have caused me grief since childhood.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.
I loathe thee with a loathe that I seem to gain with my new found pet peeves, I loathe with the grinding of your teeth when you sleep, the smells, the turn-offs of all of our days! God help me, I shall but be driven crazy because you may annoy me to death.

Passion: Stand for Something

Follow your passion, and success will follow you. ~Arthur Buddhold

Were the passionate visible, all we would go blind. ~Jareb Teague

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~Harold Whitman

Renew your passions daily. ~Abbe Yeux-verdi

The most beautiful make-up of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy. ~Yves Saint Laurent

Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark. ~Amiel, Journal, 17 December 1856

But this had been a sin of passion, not of principle, nor even purpose. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, history, romance and art would be useless. ~Honoré de Balzac

I am sure you have heard the old adage: If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything...well, people its the truth! Have a little passion. I do not care what you are passionate about, if your passion is the polar opposite of mine, whateva....just be passionate about something! The most unattractive quality is lack of passion. Livelihood thrives on passion. If you are a total wallflower in every aspect, you are kind of useless to me and society! for that matter. Stand for something, or fall and cry about it- but go cry in the corner where you belong!

Your passion is........?