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Random Factoid
- I hate styrofoam. HATE IT. The sound it makes is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Opening any sort of fragile package that is packed in styrofoam is like torture, no matter how excited I am to open it! So, the supermarket I usually go to always sold eggs in cardboard cartons, but recently they switched to styrofoam! There is no way I could open a styrofoam container every time I needed eggs. I thought I was going to have to switch supermarkets or buy my eggs elsewhere. But luckily they switched back to cardboard! Isn’t that more environmentally friendly anyway?
Random Tidbits
- I am in need of new glasses because my current four-year-old pair are scratched up and, let’s face it, my vision has probably weakened. Do you ever get nervous that you’re giving the “wrong” answer during a vision exam? I sure do! I’m always worried that the optometrist his thinking to himself, “Well that answer doesn’t make a damn bit of sense! Number 1 should definitely be weaker than Number 2 and Number 3!”
- Do you watch The Walking Dead? This week’s episode was such a welcome relief compared to the previous week’s doozy of an episode!
- How are the potholes in your area? There’s this one huge pothole in our area that looks like it could swallow a car!
- Did you read that AT&T Mobile has cut their prices? A friend of mine on Facebook posted that his dropped by more than $50, even though he was still under contract. I might have to reevaluate my plan. I’m still grandfathered in under the unlimited data plan though, so I’m sure they’d make me drop that before lowering any prices.
- I started reading One American Summer by Bill Bryson. I’m 26% through and am loving it so far. On a related note, I love how precise I can be with my reading progress thanks to my Kindle!
- This thread had me chuckling (and a little grossed out too). What’s the weirdest thing that you’ve seen at someone’s house that they thought was completely normal?. It’s always pretty amazing the things you don’t know are weird in your family until an outsider points it out. After his first few trips up to Pennsylvania with me to visit my family, Ken pointed out how weird it was that my family would yell to one another between rooms to have a conversation with one another. Not like an angry yell, just conversationally yelling. Sometimes yelling even upstairs to downstairs or vice versa! We’d rarely walk to the other room to talk to somebody for a conversation that would take less than a few minutes. After he pointed that out, I couldn’t stop noticing just how LOUD it was at my parents’ house, especially when my sister and I were there. I don’t yell like that in our house, but I still sometimes fall back in that habit as soon as I’m at my dad’s house!
- I am sick and tired of this cold weather! GRRRR. Longest winter ever, right?
- On one of our last days in Russia, my left leg started to hurt, near the outer side of my calf muscle. I figured it was because we had been walking so much the previous 12 days! Three weeks after our return from Russia, my leg was STILL hurting, and perhaps even more. I kept stretching my leg, rubbing it, and I even got a professional massage, but nothing was helping. I really didn’t want to go to the doctor for such a vague problem. Clearly I could walk on it fine and put weight on it, it just hurt! So, I googled some of my symptoms (always the best and most accurate way to go, right? … no?), and came to the conclusion that maybe I had been taking the wrong approach by massaging and stretching. If it was a strained muscle or even a minor tear, it needed rest. So I adopted the RICE approach (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). I would put my leg on an ice pack while watching TV, I bought some compression socks, and made sure I kept my leg propped up when possible. I also was taking 3 Advil three times per day (a regimen a doctor recommended several years ago when I had a case of shin splints.) Within a few days, the pain had definitely decreased. A week after adopting my new routine, I’m still feeling twinges of pain in my leg, but only a few times a day now. Hopefully I’m on the mend!
- We saw Grand Budapest Hotel last weekend. It was pretty funny, but very strange. Definitely a unique type of movie. I’ve learned all about aspect ratios since meeting Ken, so I definitely noticed the changes in aspect ratios throughout the movie!
What we ate this week.
Since many friends and family always seem to be intrigued by the meals we make every week, I thought I’d share it here.
New recipes tried this week:
- Slow Cooker Carolina BBQ, Carolina BBQ Sauce, and Coleslaw. I made the coleslaw with slightly less sugar because I don’t like coleslaw as sweet. Everything was an AMAZING hit. Home run.
- Ham and Cheese Bowties. Ken liked this. I just thought it was okay. It just needed a little something else for flavor, like maybe a stronger cheese?
- BBQ and Cheddar Meatloaf . I tinkered with this recipe by making it into an entire loaf instead of the mini pans, and also put slices of bacon on the top. I didn’t notice much BBQ flavor at all. Ken really liked it, but there’s just something about meatloaf I don’t like. I’ve tried several recipes now and it just always tastes so weird to me.
- Beer Battered Fish. This was SO AMAZING. We fried up some frozen Ore-ida fries to accompany it, but next time I think I’ll make the fries fresh.
- I also made Peanut Noodles for lunch on one of my work-from-home days. Ken doesn’t like any Asian foods, so I always have to make this type of stuff for lunch or when he’s not around! This was also really, really good.
Tried and True Repeats
- Cuban style burgers . So messy, so delicious. Don’t skip the roasting garlic step in this recipe!
- Beef tacos. Tuesday nights are “easy night” meals. I go to the grocery store every Tuesday after work, so I don’t feel like cooking a big meal after getting home late and unloading the groceries. So usually I either pick up takeout on the way home, or just plan on something very quick and easy once I get home. For the tacos, I don’t follow any particular recipe. I just fry up some ground beef in a skillet, add store-bought taco seasoning, and slather the meat mixture on tortillas. Typically we’ll add normal taco toppings like cheese, sour cream, and salsa too. It’s done in less than 10 minutes, and doesn’t require any babysitting.
There you have it, what randomness do you have to report this week?