Chicken Parmesan and Whole Wheat Pasta
Pasta
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1 T olive oil
1-2 T water
salt
Place flour in food processor or bowl. Add eggs and oil. Pulse until combined. Add water and pulse. The dough should be very fine but it will stick together when pressed. Pour onto plastic wrap and mold into a ball, kneading for about a minute. Let rest for at least half an hour or more. Keep in fridge for up to a week and may be frozen if well wrapped. When ready to use, let come to room temperature, roll out either with rolling pin or pasta machine and cut to size. Fresh pasta cooks in boiling water within 2-4 minutes.
Makes about 2-4 servings.
Chicken Parm
2 chicken breasts
1-2 c milk
1 egg
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs or season your own plain ones with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning.
½ grated parmesan cheese
Marinara sauce (homemade is best, keep it simple though)
Mozzarella cheese
Provolone cheese
Preheat oven to 375.
Pound the breads into thinner pieces if desired. Beat the egg and mix with the milk. In a separate dish, combine parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Dip the chicken into the milk mixture and then coat with the bread crumbs. Place in a hot pan, lightly coated in olive oil, and cook until the bread crumbs turn a golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce.
If your pan is oven-safe, keep chicken in pan. If not place in a baking dish, placing a thin layer of sauce on the bottom first. Top chicken with mozzarella, provolone, and any extra parmesan cheese. Add sauce to pan and chicken. Bake for about 20 minutes, until juices run clear and chicken is cooked through.
Serve with pasta and a salad. Garlic bread is also welcome.
Interesting note: just got a call from the boy. One of our neighborhood streets is closed down and there are police cars and yellow tape everywhere. There appears to have been a shooting. Yay crime scene! From what we can gather, it’s at what we call the “crack house”, the one duplex that is trashed and run down. There was a DEA raid about 6 months ago that the boy witnessed, so we’re pretty sure there were drugs involved. Our friends, who live a few blocks away said that there was a police chase a few nights ago.
This is a rarity for our neighborhood. Crime is rather low, and stuff like this normally doesn’t happen, and when it does, it’s always the same house. It’s a very kid-friendly neighborhood. I hope that this solves the “crack house” problem for now.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
Pink Laundry and Feathers
One bright red slipcover + 1 load of light colored clothing= pink clothes. No, I didn’t do the laundry, this was the boy’s fault, and it happened to be all his clothing too. We bought a new-to-us couch that came with a red slipcover. (Couch is white with black stripes and well, that doesn’t fit our décor.) The boy washed it but also threw in a partial load of some of his dirty clothes which included several t-shirts, socks, and 3-4 button down shirts for work. Not long after he did this, I got a call asking how could he remove pink stains? Once I found out what happened, I laughed. And laughed. (I mean that’s one of the absolute rules of doing laundry. He knows better.) Two of the button down shirts are ruined as is one of the t-shirts. I was able to salvage most of the t-shirts, the socks, and surprisingly the khaki shorts, by washing them with bleach several times. Some of the button downs actually look ok with a little bit of a pink undertone. The black items escaped unscathed. So lesson learned for the boy: do not EVER, EVER, wash anything bright red with anything else unless you know it is not going to bleed, and then you really can’t ever be sure.
I’m going to dye the slipcover a darker red, more of a wine color this weekend. The red is a little faded, plus the wine color is more our style. Fabric dye is pretty cheap so I can get some more if needed. It will be a fun experiment to see how it goes.
The “new” couch is pretty comfy too. It’s bigger than our old one and doesn’t feel like it’s breaking every time we sit down. It’s nice. The cats love it. We’ve kept the old couch in the living room as well, as we just don’t know where to put it yet, so we have two couches. It works for now.
We also had some fun air-conditioning problems too. We live in Texas. It can hit 90 in April. AC is practically mandatory for comfort. On Friday, before the long weekend and before we were supposed to go out of town, we discovered that the condensation pipe for our AC was overflowing. Fun. I placed a call to our home-warranty company and we turned off the AC. It was supposed to rain most of the weekend so it wasn’t going to be too hot. When we got back, the water level had gone down so we turned the AC back on. The pipe overflowed again. So, for the rest of the week, until the service tech could get to our house on FRIDAY, we could only turn the AC on for about 2 hours at a time. Yeah, that was not fun. The weather was humid and in the high 80s. It was disgusting.
The problem turned out to be a blockage of sorts and was a really easy fix. We now know where the drain for the AC pipe is and how to solve any further blockages. (A bit of bleach and an air compressor.) These things happen and I’m glad it’s not a major problem like the one that one of my co-workers has. (Prev. owners never cleaned out filters and thus all pipes are filled with gunk. It’s bad. And an expensive fix.) Replace those air filters at least every few months if not monthly folks. It’ll save a lot of money in the long run.
On Wednesday I came home to feathers, feathers everywhere, along with little bits of dried corn. There was no bird, just a whole lot of evidence that it had been there. Yes, it was another case of cat catching bird.
Our ever skillful Pumpkin brought in yet another live, squawking bird to play with. That cat is a smart one. She knows that if she tries to completely mess with the bird outside, there’s a very good chance that it will escape and fly away, so she brings it inside. The downfall to this is that if one of us is home, the bird will be captured and let outside, which is no easy task but has to be done. That’s what happened yesterday. (The boy is the only one to have dealt with this twice so far. My bird finds have been dead.)
The boy was home and getting ready for work. Right before he was supposed to leave, Punk brought the bird inside. He heard the squawking and the fun cat noises that our little ones make and went to attempt to capture the bird. Punk had cornered it behind our large freezer and the bird had managed to squeeze itself into the motor area. Thankfully, the boy was able to shoo Punk away long enough with the broom to get the bird out from behind the freezer and out the door. Unfortunately, he was not quick enough in shutting Pumpkin inside and she zoomed out and caught the bird again. This time she didn’t bring it in.
The boy didn’t have time to clean up the mess as he was now late for work. Ever so kindly, he called me to let me know what had happened. And so, I came home to lots of feathers and a very loving Punk. (She’s become quite cuddly lately.)
This was bird number 2 this week. Pumpkin came trotting in Tuesday afternoon with a bird and laid it at my feet, all proud. This bird was barely alive and not really moving. Punk had mutilated one of its wings and it was just not doing well. I quickly wrapped it in a bag and threw it in the outside trash can before the girls could do any more damage to it. I say girls, because Gabby was sniffing around. She’s always following Punk around but just doesn’t have the patience to do anything.
This makes bird #5. Three dead birds inside and two “rescued” birds. (In quotes because Pumpkin is quick to recapture.) I’ve lost count of the lizards. (Only the top half of those too. Never the tail.) They’ve only been out for a few months too. The funny thing is, they really just play with the birds and lizards. Their play is just a little rougher than the animals can handle.
Oh, and to whomever is messing with my trash cans (not animals): PLEASE STOP!I don’t like having to go search for my trash can only to find it across the street in the cul-de-sac. Nor does the boy like coming home and having to move the can from the middle of the driveway so he can park. (I put it out the night before) I also did not appreciate having to move my neighbor’s can and recycling bin back to his driveway and moving my can back to its spot on the curb next to my driveway, not in front of it. I don’t know why it got moved there and it was put out early this morning so please stop it. Thanks assholes..
I’m going to dye the slipcover a darker red, more of a wine color this weekend. The red is a little faded, plus the wine color is more our style. Fabric dye is pretty cheap so I can get some more if needed. It will be a fun experiment to see how it goes.
The “new” couch is pretty comfy too. It’s bigger than our old one and doesn’t feel like it’s breaking every time we sit down. It’s nice. The cats love it. We’ve kept the old couch in the living room as well, as we just don’t know where to put it yet, so we have two couches. It works for now.
We also had some fun air-conditioning problems too. We live in Texas. It can hit 90 in April. AC is practically mandatory for comfort. On Friday, before the long weekend and before we were supposed to go out of town, we discovered that the condensation pipe for our AC was overflowing. Fun. I placed a call to our home-warranty company and we turned off the AC. It was supposed to rain most of the weekend so it wasn’t going to be too hot. When we got back, the water level had gone down so we turned the AC back on. The pipe overflowed again. So, for the rest of the week, until the service tech could get to our house on FRIDAY, we could only turn the AC on for about 2 hours at a time. Yeah, that was not fun. The weather was humid and in the high 80s. It was disgusting.
The problem turned out to be a blockage of sorts and was a really easy fix. We now know where the drain for the AC pipe is and how to solve any further blockages. (A bit of bleach and an air compressor.) These things happen and I’m glad it’s not a major problem like the one that one of my co-workers has. (Prev. owners never cleaned out filters and thus all pipes are filled with gunk. It’s bad. And an expensive fix.) Replace those air filters at least every few months if not monthly folks. It’ll save a lot of money in the long run.
On Wednesday I came home to feathers, feathers everywhere, along with little bits of dried corn. There was no bird, just a whole lot of evidence that it had been there. Yes, it was another case of cat catching bird.
Our ever skillful Pumpkin brought in yet another live, squawking bird to play with. That cat is a smart one. She knows that if she tries to completely mess with the bird outside, there’s a very good chance that it will escape and fly away, so she brings it inside. The downfall to this is that if one of us is home, the bird will be captured and let outside, which is no easy task but has to be done. That’s what happened yesterday. (The boy is the only one to have dealt with this twice so far. My bird finds have been dead.)
The boy was home and getting ready for work. Right before he was supposed to leave, Punk brought the bird inside. He heard the squawking and the fun cat noises that our little ones make and went to attempt to capture the bird. Punk had cornered it behind our large freezer and the bird had managed to squeeze itself into the motor area. Thankfully, the boy was able to shoo Punk away long enough with the broom to get the bird out from behind the freezer and out the door. Unfortunately, he was not quick enough in shutting Pumpkin inside and she zoomed out and caught the bird again. This time she didn’t bring it in.
The boy didn’t have time to clean up the mess as he was now late for work. Ever so kindly, he called me to let me know what had happened. And so, I came home to lots of feathers and a very loving Punk. (She’s become quite cuddly lately.)
This was bird number 2 this week. Pumpkin came trotting in Tuesday afternoon with a bird and laid it at my feet, all proud. This bird was barely alive and not really moving. Punk had mutilated one of its wings and it was just not doing well. I quickly wrapped it in a bag and threw it in the outside trash can before the girls could do any more damage to it. I say girls, because Gabby was sniffing around. She’s always following Punk around but just doesn’t have the patience to do anything.
This makes bird #5. Three dead birds inside and two “rescued” birds. (In quotes because Pumpkin is quick to recapture.) I’ve lost count of the lizards. (Only the top half of those too. Never the tail.) They’ve only been out for a few months too. The funny thing is, they really just play with the birds and lizards. Their play is just a little rougher than the animals can handle.
Oh, and to whomever is messing with my trash cans (not animals): PLEASE STOP!I don’t like having to go search for my trash can only to find it across the street in the cul-de-sac. Nor does the boy like coming home and having to move the can from the middle of the driveway so he can park. (I put it out the night before) I also did not appreciate having to move my neighbor’s can and recycling bin back to his driveway and moving my can back to its spot on the curb next to my driveway, not in front of it. I don’t know why it got moved there and it was put out early this morning so please stop it. Thanks assholes..
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Don't Play Frogger on the Freeway
Or you just might die. In a horrible way. We got to witness a man try to cross I 35 this evening and pay with it with his life. He had no chance. His body was so twisted and broken. His side was a huge, gaping gash. It was not pretty.
A major highway, people going 65-70, moderate traffic, and the guy decides to cross the highway. It's not like there wasn't an overpass a few hundred yards down the street. It would have been maybe a few minutes extra. It was not far away at all. But he decided to cross the highway. And we got to see what happened. Ugh.
We were driving home from the country, after having finished with some greenhouse stuff. We had stopped at Home Depot to get landscape timbers as they were on sale and we saved $45. We only got 20 the first time and went back for the last 10 because we hadn't been sure if it would fit. If we had got them all at once we would have missed it. Except we didn't. We were on the access road and were coming to the stoplight where we were going to turn. Traffic was a little backed up and we were slowing down. Next thing we know, we hear this THUD and see a car careening to the side of the road, debris flying everywhere. I thought he had blown a tire or something as stuff was just flying from the car. Out of the corner of my eye I see this mass flying through the air and watch the body splat on the pavement. The car who hit him stopped a little ahead, along with 2 other cars that were nearby. Before we even realized it, the boy had pulled over and was out of the truck while I called 911. The truck behind us did the same exact thing. He saw more. An 18 Wheeler narrowly missed hitting the guy again but thankfully the guy knew how to drive his rig and just missed him, otherwise it would have been so much worse. The skid marks are still there. The guy behind us made it to the guy hit first and was on the phone with EMS. The guy wasn't moving and was lying facedown on the pavement.
The boy and a woman on a motorcyle started to direct traffic, diverting it to one lane and giving the cops enough room to work with when they came. He had pretty much stopped traffic as the guy was in the center lane. That part of the highway was pretty much shut down. I talked to dispatch and got disconnected because people were on the way. I did some crowd control on the side of the road, trying to keep those who just wanted to gawk out of the way. Amazingly, everyone was calm and collected and managed to deal with the situation before the cops came. They said we made their job a bit easier. They ended up diverting all traffic to the exit before the accident scene. It wasn't a good idea to have traffic flowing right by the scene.
The guy never had a chance and was pronounced dead on the scene. He had actually made it across the Southbound side but only made it to the center lane of the Northbound. We had to stay around and give statements and all that fun stuff. It would have been a little faster if the guy hadn't died. That just made it vehicular manslaughter so things took longer. We had to wait for forensics and the detectives to come. Plus the crisis unit to talk to all who saw it go down to help us all deal.
The guy who was driving the car that hit him was still there as we left. I don't know what's going to happen to him but this was most definitely an accident. I feel badly for him. There was no way he could have avoided him without causing more issues.
Way to spend a Saturday evening. I got to see a man die. How was your holiday weekend?
A major highway, people going 65-70, moderate traffic, and the guy decides to cross the highway. It's not like there wasn't an overpass a few hundred yards down the street. It would have been maybe a few minutes extra. It was not far away at all. But he decided to cross the highway. And we got to see what happened. Ugh.
We were driving home from the country, after having finished with some greenhouse stuff. We had stopped at Home Depot to get landscape timbers as they were on sale and we saved $45. We only got 20 the first time and went back for the last 10 because we hadn't been sure if it would fit. If we had got them all at once we would have missed it. Except we didn't. We were on the access road and were coming to the stoplight where we were going to turn. Traffic was a little backed up and we were slowing down. Next thing we know, we hear this THUD and see a car careening to the side of the road, debris flying everywhere. I thought he had blown a tire or something as stuff was just flying from the car. Out of the corner of my eye I see this mass flying through the air and watch the body splat on the pavement. The car who hit him stopped a little ahead, along with 2 other cars that were nearby. Before we even realized it, the boy had pulled over and was out of the truck while I called 911. The truck behind us did the same exact thing. He saw more. An 18 Wheeler narrowly missed hitting the guy again but thankfully the guy knew how to drive his rig and just missed him, otherwise it would have been so much worse. The skid marks are still there. The guy behind us made it to the guy hit first and was on the phone with EMS. The guy wasn't moving and was lying facedown on the pavement.
The boy and a woman on a motorcyle started to direct traffic, diverting it to one lane and giving the cops enough room to work with when they came. He had pretty much stopped traffic as the guy was in the center lane. That part of the highway was pretty much shut down. I talked to dispatch and got disconnected because people were on the way. I did some crowd control on the side of the road, trying to keep those who just wanted to gawk out of the way. Amazingly, everyone was calm and collected and managed to deal with the situation before the cops came. They said we made their job a bit easier. They ended up diverting all traffic to the exit before the accident scene. It wasn't a good idea to have traffic flowing right by the scene.
The guy never had a chance and was pronounced dead on the scene. He had actually made it across the Southbound side but only made it to the center lane of the Northbound. We had to stay around and give statements and all that fun stuff. It would have been a little faster if the guy hadn't died. That just made it vehicular manslaughter so things took longer. We had to wait for forensics and the detectives to come. Plus the crisis unit to talk to all who saw it go down to help us all deal.
The guy who was driving the car that hit him was still there as we left. I don't know what's going to happen to him but this was most definitely an accident. I feel badly for him. There was no way he could have avoided him without causing more issues.
Way to spend a Saturday evening. I got to see a man die. How was your holiday weekend?
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Help Me
I am so ashamed. But I admit that I need help. I, *whispers* LIKE the Avril Lavigne song "Girlfriend". *whispers. There, it's out. I don't know why, don't know how, but I like it. It's catchy and easy to listen to. Oh well. I've liked worse. Tiffany anyone??
So ACL. I've got mixed feelings about it. I'm really excited about Bjork and the White Stripes. Bob Dylan- I don't know. He's a legend and I'm happy to actually be seeing him, but I don't know what kind of show he'll be able to put on. I've heard he's very hit or miss and there are days that he can barely speak. So who knows. I hope that the closing day of the festival is not one of them or there will be MANY upset fans. I had a feeling it was going to be Dylan closing the festival. He was posted as a very accurate rumor (was him, Eddie Vedder or Stevie Wonder. Stevie got ruled out rather quickly.)
The organizers of the fest try to keep most of the bands under wraps and usually nothing leaks out about the lineup. But this year was different, so I wasn't too surprised about who's playing. I know it will be a good time- all that music and people will make it so. Plus I am excited to be seeing certain bands, some for the first some, some for the second or third time. (I've seen Robert Earl Keen 4 times in the past year as he's ALWAYS playing around here.) I just hope the schedule cooperates with my desires.
It will be a fun birthday weekend though. I plan to get rather drunk and happy. We know how the festival works now, so we have better ideas of how to sneak in forbidden items like outside food. We still haven't decided about chairs though. They were nice but a pain the ASS to carry around. So we'll see. A 3 day parking pass for the garage is a must. We had a 2 day last year because we waited too long to decide about it last year. Getting home that first night was not so fun.
But the festival is 4 months away, Sept 14-16. There's still plenty of time to figure things out.
So ACL. I've got mixed feelings about it. I'm really excited about Bjork and the White Stripes. Bob Dylan- I don't know. He's a legend and I'm happy to actually be seeing him, but I don't know what kind of show he'll be able to put on. I've heard he's very hit or miss and there are days that he can barely speak. So who knows. I hope that the closing day of the festival is not one of them or there will be MANY upset fans. I had a feeling it was going to be Dylan closing the festival. He was posted as a very accurate rumor (was him, Eddie Vedder or Stevie Wonder. Stevie got ruled out rather quickly.)
The organizers of the fest try to keep most of the bands under wraps and usually nothing leaks out about the lineup. But this year was different, so I wasn't too surprised about who's playing. I know it will be a good time- all that music and people will make it so. Plus I am excited to be seeing certain bands, some for the first some, some for the second or third time. (I've seen Robert Earl Keen 4 times in the past year as he's ALWAYS playing around here.) I just hope the schedule cooperates with my desires.
It will be a fun birthday weekend though. I plan to get rather drunk and happy. We know how the festival works now, so we have better ideas of how to sneak in forbidden items like outside food. We still haven't decided about chairs though. They were nice but a pain the ASS to carry around. So we'll see. A 3 day parking pass for the garage is a must. We had a 2 day last year because we waited too long to decide about it last year. Getting home that first night was not so fun.
But the festival is 4 months away, Sept 14-16. There's still plenty of time to figure things out.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Bob Dylan
Dylan, the White Stripes, and Bjork. That's going to make for a really interesting birthday weekend!
Stay tuned for a longer post when I have time later on about ACL.
Stay tuned for a longer post when I have time later on about ACL.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Easy and delicious. I rarely have any leftovers. Add more or less depending on how many you serve or to taste. I like lots of garlic so I add more.
3-4 potatoes, whatever kind you wish, red is best but russet or Yukon are ok, chopped into even sized pieces, about 1-2 inches
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 stalks fresh rosemary, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
½ red onion, diced
salt
pepper
garlic power (optional)
olive oil to coat
Heat oven to 425-450. 450 makes for a little crispier.
Dump the potatoes into a baking dish. Add all of the ingredients in order, saving the olive oil for last to coat the potatoes. Mix well, making sure the potatoes are evenly coated in everything.
Place in oven for 30 minutes. Stir halfway through to ensure even cooking. Use a fork to see if the potatoes are done. The fork will slide right through. There is no really set time on this. Roast the potatoes to your liking. I usually go about 40 minutes or so, until most of the potatoes are brownish. This gets the insides all nice and soft while the outside is slightly crispy and wonderful.
These go with about anything but I like to service with roast chicken or pork. It’s a very Mediterranean side dish.
Add parmesan cheese for an additional kick.
3-4 potatoes, whatever kind you wish, red is best but russet or Yukon are ok, chopped into even sized pieces, about 1-2 inches
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 stalks fresh rosemary, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
½ red onion, diced
salt
pepper
garlic power (optional)
olive oil to coat
Heat oven to 425-450. 450 makes for a little crispier.
Dump the potatoes into a baking dish. Add all of the ingredients in order, saving the olive oil for last to coat the potatoes. Mix well, making sure the potatoes are evenly coated in everything.
Place in oven for 30 minutes. Stir halfway through to ensure even cooking. Use a fork to see if the potatoes are done. The fork will slide right through. There is no really set time on this. Roast the potatoes to your liking. I usually go about 40 minutes or so, until most of the potatoes are brownish. This gets the insides all nice and soft while the outside is slightly crispy and wonderful.
These go with about anything but I like to service with roast chicken or pork. It’s a very Mediterranean side dish.
Add parmesan cheese for an additional kick.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
I got lucky!
I never win things. I never get this lucky. I never pick the right stuff but this time I did. Friends of ours had a Kentucky Derby party and we all put in $5 each and picked our Win, Place, or Show. Somehow, my picks were the most accurate and I won the $70 pot! Yay me!
I picked Street Sense to win, Curlin to place, amd Imawildandcrazyguy for Show. (Who could not love that name?!!) I was a horse off and missed Hard Spun for placing but not too bad. One other person picked Street Sense to win but her pick for place was Cowton Cat and well, that was dead last. So I got the pot!
Of course, I already spent it today, on 4 chairs for our patio. I'd been wanting them for a while and now I have them.
The Derby party was tons of fun. We ladies were in our frocks and hats, and 2 of the men showed up in matching seersucker suits. There was tons of food. Tons. This guy Russell was the chef of the day and he made Burgoo (hog, frog, cow, pig, gator, rabbit, among others.) It was amazing. Plus there were garlic-cheese-poblano grits and fried chicken. And Derby pie for dessert. The Mint Juleps were flowing, as was the Tecate (Cinco de Mayo influence there.) It was mostly a restaurant crowd so we were all focused on the food really, and it didn't disappoint.
We took some Burgoo home and it'se even better the next day.
All in all a good weekend.
On Thursday I get to find out who I'll be seeing for my birthday weekend when the ACL list comes out. A few bands have been leaked. I get to see Bjork, the White Stripes, Robert Earl Keen, and the Indigo Girls for my birthday. I can't wait to see who else!
I picked Street Sense to win, Curlin to place, amd Imawildandcrazyguy for Show. (Who could not love that name?!!) I was a horse off and missed Hard Spun for placing but not too bad. One other person picked Street Sense to win but her pick for place was Cowton Cat and well, that was dead last. So I got the pot!
Of course, I already spent it today, on 4 chairs for our patio. I'd been wanting them for a while and now I have them.
The Derby party was tons of fun. We ladies were in our frocks and hats, and 2 of the men showed up in matching seersucker suits. There was tons of food. Tons. This guy Russell was the chef of the day and he made Burgoo (hog, frog, cow, pig, gator, rabbit, among others.) It was amazing. Plus there were garlic-cheese-poblano grits and fried chicken. And Derby pie for dessert. The Mint Juleps were flowing, as was the Tecate (Cinco de Mayo influence there.) It was mostly a restaurant crowd so we were all focused on the food really, and it didn't disappoint.
We took some Burgoo home and it'se even better the next day.
All in all a good weekend.
On Thursday I get to find out who I'll be seeing for my birthday weekend when the ACL list comes out. A few bands have been leaked. I get to see Bjork, the White Stripes, Robert Earl Keen, and the Indigo Girls for my birthday. I can't wait to see who else!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Stuff I want to talk about but can't
Oh hell. It's been a rough few days. Work has imploded. I would love to say so much more but I can't. It's awful though. I nearly quit on Monday, that's how awful. I just can't deal with it anymore.
Insurance companies should pay their medical claims and not wait, oh 8 months until it goes to collections. It still hasn't been paid. People shouldn't have to fight and complain to get it paid. I've filed reports with many different places to get this done. I can't go into more specifics though. I wish I could.
And then on Monday I went for the state's safety and emissions inspection. Sigh. That was fun. The tires were apparently bad enough to fail the inspection so I had to buy 4 new tires. For a truck. Ugh. I didn't need that. On a Monday morning no less. That sucked. Four hours at the garage. (I drive the truck so I had to get the stuff done.) We were going to do it out at the house in La Vernia but they couldn't do it because they don't do emissions testing and it's $5000 fine if you get caught without it. So yeah. Didn't help that I came home to the collections notice that afternoon.
Anyway, in good news, the Greenhouse is up and running for the most part. We just have to finish and seal the door and we can move plants in. The back wall is up and finished. The water wall is working which means when you walk in, you can breathe. It's pretty cool. Our camera batter ran out so I don't have pics but I will.
Insurance companies should pay their medical claims and not wait, oh 8 months until it goes to collections. It still hasn't been paid. People shouldn't have to fight and complain to get it paid. I've filed reports with many different places to get this done. I can't go into more specifics though. I wish I could.
And then on Monday I went for the state's safety and emissions inspection. Sigh. That was fun. The tires were apparently bad enough to fail the inspection so I had to buy 4 new tires. For a truck. Ugh. I didn't need that. On a Monday morning no less. That sucked. Four hours at the garage. (I drive the truck so I had to get the stuff done.) We were going to do it out at the house in La Vernia but they couldn't do it because they don't do emissions testing and it's $5000 fine if you get caught without it. So yeah. Didn't help that I came home to the collections notice that afternoon.
Anyway, in good news, the Greenhouse is up and running for the most part. We just have to finish and seal the door and we can move plants in. The back wall is up and finished. The water wall is working which means when you walk in, you can breathe. It's pretty cool. Our camera batter ran out so I don't have pics but I will.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
5 Questions
Mle aka Pantalonesdelfuego posted five questions from Abby and invited others to be questioned and in turn invite questions back.
So she sent me her list of questions and here are my answers.
1. What do you like best about yourself?
That's a tough one. My nerdiness I think. I love learning and reading and all that trivia fun stuff. (I kick ASS in most trivia games. People usually don't like playing against me.) I'm very proud of the fact that I can read anywhere. I carry reading material wherever I go. It's really who I am and I really like being a nerd.
2. If you could go anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go and why?
Australia. I've always wanted to go and all expenses paid would make it all the better. The boy and I have talked and talked about it, and if the plumeria thing ever gets going it could even be a business trip. But Australia is the dream trip right now.
3. Are you more likely to vote for a candidate becauseof party affiliation or because of the candidate's stand on particular issues (and why)?
Issues are always first and foremost. They are what's important. I don't care whether they are Democrat or Republican, thought I tend to vote Democrat mostly because I agree with them a bit more but party affiliation really shouldn't matter. Voting usually comes down to who I dislike the least anyway.
4. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, living or dead, who would it be and what wouldyou ask him/her?
It would be my two favorite authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder and LM Mongomery. I know, I'm such a freakin' book nerd. But that's always been my answer. I have no idea exactly what we'd talk about, but I'd even be happy just to sit and listen. I don't have a set of questions to ask as I can never think of good ones. Conversation would just flow.
5. What's your favorite TV show?
Well, it's not on tv anymore but it's Alias. I have never loved a show more. I was devastated when it was cancelled but understood that it had run it's course and was really dying/dead. But sigh. It was so fantastic while it lasted. And Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan are soooo hot. Period. And I miss Agent Sean.
Ok, so if anyone wants me to ask some rather lame questions, (I suck at question asking but I'll try) let me know and all that.
So she sent me her list of questions and here are my answers.
1. What do you like best about yourself?
That's a tough one. My nerdiness I think. I love learning and reading and all that trivia fun stuff. (I kick ASS in most trivia games. People usually don't like playing against me.) I'm very proud of the fact that I can read anywhere. I carry reading material wherever I go. It's really who I am and I really like being a nerd.
2. If you could go anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go and why?
Australia. I've always wanted to go and all expenses paid would make it all the better. The boy and I have talked and talked about it, and if the plumeria thing ever gets going it could even be a business trip. But Australia is the dream trip right now.
3. Are you more likely to vote for a candidate becauseof party affiliation or because of the candidate's stand on particular issues (and why)?
Issues are always first and foremost. They are what's important. I don't care whether they are Democrat or Republican, thought I tend to vote Democrat mostly because I agree with them a bit more but party affiliation really shouldn't matter. Voting usually comes down to who I dislike the least anyway.
4. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, living or dead, who would it be and what wouldyou ask him/her?
It would be my two favorite authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder and LM Mongomery. I know, I'm such a freakin' book nerd. But that's always been my answer. I have no idea exactly what we'd talk about, but I'd even be happy just to sit and listen. I don't have a set of questions to ask as I can never think of good ones. Conversation would just flow.
5. What's your favorite TV show?
Well, it's not on tv anymore but it's Alias. I have never loved a show more. I was devastated when it was cancelled but understood that it had run it's course and was really dying/dead. But sigh. It was so fantastic while it lasted. And Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan are soooo hot. Period. And I miss Agent Sean.
Ok, so if anyone wants me to ask some rather lame questions, (I suck at question asking but I'll try) let me know and all that.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Pork and Birds
It was a good weekend for food. It was not a good weekend for birds. But first the food part.
Since The Boy is now working Sundays and has Friday and Saturday off, we are now doing Saturday Dinners instead of Sunday. Plus we usually feeding some of the boy’s male friends, as sadly, it’s one of the best meals they get all week.
I decided on a Greekish theme for this weekend, so I marinated a pork loin in a yogurt mixture and served it with olive oil and rosemary potatoes, and a vaguely greek salad.
Recipe for pork loin:
1 pork loin, defrosted and butterflied. To butterfly- slice down the middle lengthwise, only going about halfway into the loin. Then carefully slice the sides to open up. Take a meat cleaver and pound the hell out of it to flatten it out enough to stuff it.
Marinade:
2/3 of a large container of yogurt
½ cucumber, peeled
4 cloves garlic
½ lemon, juiced
greek seasoning (I had this in my cabinet so if you don’t salt and pepper will work.)
fresh dill
roasted red peppers* (optional but they really added a nice flavor)
Puree the above in your food processor or blender.
Place the pork loin in the marinade and let sit for at least 6 hours, if not more.
Stuffing:
½ of a large red onion
feta cheese
1 tomato
red wine vinegar
Dice the above ingredients and douse in the vinegar. Let sit for at least ½ an hour.
When ready to cook, pre heat your oven to 350.
Take the pork loin out and lay flat on the cutting board. Place the mixture on the pork and roll. You can seal with toothpicks or use twine to hold it together. I recommend twine as toothpicks can be hazardous to eat with. (I couldn’t find my twine so I used the toothpicks and well, that was not so fun.)
Spray your pan with non-stick spray or a thin coating of olive oil.
Place the loin in the pan and cover the top with leftover marinade.
Bake for about an hour, 30 minutes per pound, or until pork hits 145. Take out of the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. The carryover heat will cook the pork further.
Slice and eat.
You can take the leftover marinade and bring it to just under a boil and let cook for a few minutes. This can be used as a sauce for the pork if desired. The cooking kills of any harmful pork juices left in there and it doesn’t change the flavor at all, just the color.
This was totally something I just threw together but the flavors worked well. There weren’t any leftovers either. So it was good for pork.
As for the birds, well, for one of them it was not a good Saturday evening/Sunday morning. We let the girls out to run on the weekend nights. They don’t go very far, in fact they rarely, if ever leave the yard. Gabby is a hunter, something even the neighbor has noticed, and Punk is a lounger and sometimes stalker. But they love to chase bugs and things around the yard.
Earlier this week, Gabby had brought in the head of a lizard that they had apparently been torturing for days. That was lovely. Sunday morning it got even better. I came downstairs only to discover a dead bird on the rug in the kitchen and some bloodstains around it. There was no blood trail from the door, so I can only assume that the final kill occurred inside. It was definitely dead though.
I ran upstairs to let the boy know and his reaction was “Is it all in one piece?” “Yes.” “Easy clean up then.” And with that he went back to sleep. So I had the fun job of picking up the bird and disposing of it and then cleaning up the blood and feathers.
We still don’t know who did it, as neither one claimed it nor did they come looking for validation, but I suspect Gabby. They did bring it inside though.
Ah well. That’s the price you pay for having cats and letting them outside, especially with Gabby, master tree climber and carrier of things in her mouth.
UPDATE: Bird #2 today was in the hallway to our guest bedroom. This one was lying there with guts exposed and feathers all over the guest bedroom. Sigh. It was disgusting. I have a feeling that I may come home to a LIVE bird one day. They do seem to have been alive when they come inside.
Since The Boy is now working Sundays and has Friday and Saturday off, we are now doing Saturday Dinners instead of Sunday. Plus we usually feeding some of the boy’s male friends, as sadly, it’s one of the best meals they get all week.
I decided on a Greekish theme for this weekend, so I marinated a pork loin in a yogurt mixture and served it with olive oil and rosemary potatoes, and a vaguely greek salad.
Recipe for pork loin:
1 pork loin, defrosted and butterflied. To butterfly- slice down the middle lengthwise, only going about halfway into the loin. Then carefully slice the sides to open up. Take a meat cleaver and pound the hell out of it to flatten it out enough to stuff it.
Marinade:
2/3 of a large container of yogurt
½ cucumber, peeled
4 cloves garlic
½ lemon, juiced
greek seasoning (I had this in my cabinet so if you don’t salt and pepper will work.)
fresh dill
roasted red peppers* (optional but they really added a nice flavor)
Puree the above in your food processor or blender.
Place the pork loin in the marinade and let sit for at least 6 hours, if not more.
Stuffing:
½ of a large red onion
feta cheese
1 tomato
red wine vinegar
Dice the above ingredients and douse in the vinegar. Let sit for at least ½ an hour.
When ready to cook, pre heat your oven to 350.
Take the pork loin out and lay flat on the cutting board. Place the mixture on the pork and roll. You can seal with toothpicks or use twine to hold it together. I recommend twine as toothpicks can be hazardous to eat with. (I couldn’t find my twine so I used the toothpicks and well, that was not so fun.)
Spray your pan with non-stick spray or a thin coating of olive oil.
Place the loin in the pan and cover the top with leftover marinade.
Bake for about an hour, 30 minutes per pound, or until pork hits 145. Take out of the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. The carryover heat will cook the pork further.
Slice and eat.
You can take the leftover marinade and bring it to just under a boil and let cook for a few minutes. This can be used as a sauce for the pork if desired. The cooking kills of any harmful pork juices left in there and it doesn’t change the flavor at all, just the color.
This was totally something I just threw together but the flavors worked well. There weren’t any leftovers either. So it was good for pork.
As for the birds, well, for one of them it was not a good Saturday evening/Sunday morning. We let the girls out to run on the weekend nights. They don’t go very far, in fact they rarely, if ever leave the yard. Gabby is a hunter, something even the neighbor has noticed, and Punk is a lounger and sometimes stalker. But they love to chase bugs and things around the yard.
Earlier this week, Gabby had brought in the head of a lizard that they had apparently been torturing for days. That was lovely. Sunday morning it got even better. I came downstairs only to discover a dead bird on the rug in the kitchen and some bloodstains around it. There was no blood trail from the door, so I can only assume that the final kill occurred inside. It was definitely dead though.
I ran upstairs to let the boy know and his reaction was “Is it all in one piece?” “Yes.” “Easy clean up then.” And with that he went back to sleep. So I had the fun job of picking up the bird and disposing of it and then cleaning up the blood and feathers.
We still don’t know who did it, as neither one claimed it nor did they come looking for validation, but I suspect Gabby. They did bring it inside though.
Ah well. That’s the price you pay for having cats and letting them outside, especially with Gabby, master tree climber and carrier of things in her mouth.
UPDATE: Bird #2 today was in the hallway to our guest bedroom. This one was lying there with guts exposed and feathers all over the guest bedroom. Sigh. It was disgusting. I have a feeling that I may come home to a LIVE bird one day. They do seem to have been alive when they come inside.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Cat on a (Hot Tin) Roof
Yes, that is a cat on my roof. That’s Pumpkin actually. I apologize for the darkness of the photos as it was dusk and the night camera thing wasn’t working well yet. But Pumpkin climbed onto the roof Saturday night while we were outside grilling some ribs. I think she got confidence from the fact that we were both outside with the girls, especially as they were both pretty bold that night.
The girls had been running around the yard and enjoying themselves, as they love to do at night. Gabby had wandered through a hole in the chain-link fence and into our neighbors yard, the forbidden territory as they have 2 dogs. She couldn’t remember where the hole was though and nearly got stuck coming back over. Hopefully this won’t happen when the dogs are out in the yard but as she loves to antagonize the dogs from the other side of the fence, who knows. She’s trouble, that one.
Pumpkin, on the other hand, decided to climb the fence. There is a tree next to it and she hopped into the tree and the next thing we knew, she was climbing the branches and had stepped onto the roof. She was strutting her stuff along the ridgepole and walked over to the flat part of the roof, where she plopped down and rested for a bit. She was up there for at least 20 minutes. Then she decided to come down, which was a slow process. She almost didn’t want to try it, so we think this was her first time. She tried 3 times before she got the confidence to come down. We were also giving her a bit of encouragement which may have helped. She was extremely cautious and you could hear her claws sticking in the shingles, but she made it down in one piece, and then came running over to us for love and validation. I have a feeling this won’t be the last time that she does this. Gabby was watching closely and worrying (as evidenced by her semi-panicky meows) but wasn’t up to trying it herself.
As for our dinner, well the ribs were FABULOUS. We had a rack of baby back pork ribs and I gave them a dry rub of chili powder, paprika, cayenne, brown sugar, Tony Chacherie’s Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and fresh ground black pepper. We let that cook for 1.5 hours, occasionally turning and pouring beer over it. We then glazed it with Stubb’s BBQ sauce, which is actually rather good. Not too sweet, with a really nice tartness. That cooked for another 1.5 hours. We served it with corn, ranch style beans, and baked potatoes. There were no complaints.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Two Years
Our friend’s kid turned 2 yesterday. It’s weird to think that he’s already 2. It doesn’t seem as if it was that long ago. 2 years ago I broke my rib and we were living in La Vernia and getting ready to move to Austin. Strange how time moves like that.
We’ve been getting the “so when are you two going to have kids?” thing all weekend. First it was the boy’s dad asking him. Then his mom asking me, then we got it from his aunt and grandmother. (It was a family thing in Louisiana, and there were lots of other cousins with their kids.) At least we’re on the same page as to someday, if it happens, but definitely not now. We’d be ok if it does happen sooner than later, but we would like to feel a little more financially secure, even though you never really are.
Then, while we had dropped by our friend’s house to give the little boy birthday wishes, the kid’s grandparents asked us the question. We just can’t avoid it lately. But maybe this will get the boy thinking about some other question he needs to get around to asking. (I know it’s going to happen, and I’m pretty sure I know how/where he wants to do it, but I’m not sure when/if we’re going to get to Europe any time soon. He does keep talking about flying there for a weekend but it’s hard to justify spending $1000 for a weekend when we’re still dealing with house fun. And that’s just plane tix. But maybe he’ll do it one day. If we win big at the casino next month…)
All this kid talk gets us to talking about it as usual. It’s nice how we can talk about it and joke about it and know that we area truly on the same page about everything. I mean we even had a conversation about breastfeeding. Well, at least we agree on the important stuff. You can’t agree on everything.
We’ve been getting the “so when are you two going to have kids?” thing all weekend. First it was the boy’s dad asking him. Then his mom asking me, then we got it from his aunt and grandmother. (It was a family thing in Louisiana, and there were lots of other cousins with their kids.) At least we’re on the same page as to someday, if it happens, but definitely not now. We’d be ok if it does happen sooner than later, but we would like to feel a little more financially secure, even though you never really are.
Then, while we had dropped by our friend’s house to give the little boy birthday wishes, the kid’s grandparents asked us the question. We just can’t avoid it lately. But maybe this will get the boy thinking about some other question he needs to get around to asking. (I know it’s going to happen, and I’m pretty sure I know how/where he wants to do it, but I’m not sure when/if we’re going to get to Europe any time soon. He does keep talking about flying there for a weekend but it’s hard to justify spending $1000 for a weekend when we’re still dealing with house fun. And that’s just plane tix. But maybe he’ll do it one day. If we win big at the casino next month…)
All this kid talk gets us to talking about it as usual. It’s nice how we can talk about it and joke about it and know that we area truly on the same page about everything. I mean we even had a conversation about breastfeeding. Well, at least we agree on the important stuff. You can’t agree on everything.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Boots at Target!
Yay! Boots has finally made it to my Target! Happiness! There's going to be a consultant there every weekend to help out and test stuff. Plus there's samples. Oh yeah. Happy fun!
It's freakin' gorgeous out today. Green trees. Flowers. Happy cats. Once the batteries charge up I'll have pictures. Good stuff. We sat outside and drank beer and just watched the world enjoy the pretty day too.
It's freakin' gorgeous out today. Green trees. Flowers. Happy cats. Once the batteries charge up I'll have pictures. Good stuff. We sat outside and drank beer and just watched the world enjoy the pretty day too.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Fluff n Stuff
I haven’t been sleeping very well lately, but that’s no surprise. I can’t figure it out. I can fall asleep easily but I can’t stay that way. I tend to wake up at least once or twice a night and if it’s around 3am, I can’t get back to sleep. My body just won’t calm back down. It really sucks. I exercise regularly so that’s not it. I’ve been trying to eat well and I don’t eat after 7:30-8 pm if I can help it. I’ve tried a sleeping pill before, but that just made me feel horrible and it still didn’t stop me from waking up in the middle of the night. So I guess I just need to get used to this not sleeping feeling. I wish I could fix it but I don’t know how.
We went out this weekend so that didn’t help. Friends came up from Houston and we partied Saturday night down on Sixth St. We started out in the Warehouse district on 4th St, which I like, but of course we eventually migrated over to 6th with all the college students and the crowds of crazy, drunk people, with which we blended right in. I haven’t been drunk in a while so that was interesting. We were up until 6am and I only slept till about 9:30. Between my body saying it’s my wake-up time and the girls (well Gabby) standing on top of me and meowing in my face, I had to get up. I felt awful all day long, and it really wasn’t even a hangover. It was a tired-over.
The girls are now officially indoor-outdoor cats. We bought a screen door and installed it on the back laundry room door and the Boy installed the pet flap. They are so happy about the ability to go outside. Right now, they tend to stay in the back yard. Plus there are dogs at the house behind us and next to us, and they are terrified of them, even though the barks are WAY worse than their bites. Every time a dog comes out they run back inside. It’s pretty comical.
For some reason, they both like to stand half in, half out of the flap, as if they can’t decide whether they want in or out. They usually do this when there are birds strutting around the yard and they don’t know quite what to do about it. It’s crazy. They run right back in when one of us comes home or opens the fridge. Actually, they are usually lounging around inside when I come home but when I shut the door (don’t do nights during the week, it’s now a weekend privilege) they go beserk. If I open the door again, they go out, only to come back in and stay in 5 minutes later. They just want the option of being able to go out. Little brats. And they still have to come in to use the litter box. No going outside for them, which is actually good for us.
Gabby is a tree climber though. We have a lowquat (like a kumquat) tree in our yard and it’s not very tall. The first time that we let Gabby out, she headed right for the tree. Next thing I know, the tree was moving and I saw a tail hanging out and Pumpkin was underneath looking up. She didn’t go very high that time and managed to get down pretty easily. The next time she went up, she went a little too high for her comfort and started crying a bit. She didn’t want me grabbing her though, she just needed to be talked down. Silly kitten.
It’s pouring outside right now and the roof leaks at work. One of the ceiling tiles over my desk got too wet and collapsed so I have a hole over my desk. At night I have to cover my computer in plastic and there’s a bucket on my desk behind my computer to catch the drips. The roof is being fixed but it hasn’t been dry enough to do anything, much less the quick tar fix. So there are leaks all around the building. It’s pretty bad. I just can’t get away from structural problems.
We went out this weekend so that didn’t help. Friends came up from Houston and we partied Saturday night down on Sixth St. We started out in the Warehouse district on 4th St, which I like, but of course we eventually migrated over to 6th with all the college students and the crowds of crazy, drunk people, with which we blended right in. I haven’t been drunk in a while so that was interesting. We were up until 6am and I only slept till about 9:30. Between my body saying it’s my wake-up time and the girls (well Gabby) standing on top of me and meowing in my face, I had to get up. I felt awful all day long, and it really wasn’t even a hangover. It was a tired-over.
The girls are now officially indoor-outdoor cats. We bought a screen door and installed it on the back laundry room door and the Boy installed the pet flap. They are so happy about the ability to go outside. Right now, they tend to stay in the back yard. Plus there are dogs at the house behind us and next to us, and they are terrified of them, even though the barks are WAY worse than their bites. Every time a dog comes out they run back inside. It’s pretty comical.
For some reason, they both like to stand half in, half out of the flap, as if they can’t decide whether they want in or out. They usually do this when there are birds strutting around the yard and they don’t know quite what to do about it. It’s crazy. They run right back in when one of us comes home or opens the fridge. Actually, they are usually lounging around inside when I come home but when I shut the door (don’t do nights during the week, it’s now a weekend privilege) they go beserk. If I open the door again, they go out, only to come back in and stay in 5 minutes later. They just want the option of being able to go out. Little brats. And they still have to come in to use the litter box. No going outside for them, which is actually good for us.
Gabby is a tree climber though. We have a lowquat (like a kumquat) tree in our yard and it’s not very tall. The first time that we let Gabby out, she headed right for the tree. Next thing I know, the tree was moving and I saw a tail hanging out and Pumpkin was underneath looking up. She didn’t go very high that time and managed to get down pretty easily. The next time she went up, she went a little too high for her comfort and started crying a bit. She didn’t want me grabbing her though, she just needed to be talked down. Silly kitten.
It’s pouring outside right now and the roof leaks at work. One of the ceiling tiles over my desk got too wet and collapsed so I have a hole over my desk. At night I have to cover my computer in plastic and there’s a bucket on my desk behind my computer to catch the drips. The roof is being fixed but it hasn’t been dry enough to do anything, much less the quick tar fix. So there are leaks all around the building. It’s pretty bad. I just can’t get away from structural problems.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss and give a kid a book!
A recent study concluded that the average child these days has 13 books to call their own. Tragic. (I think I had at least 50, if not tons more. Plus the library at which the librarians knew me by name.)
Go to www.firstbook.org to read more about the study, and if you send the Cat in the Hat a 50th birthday card from the site, a book will be given to a child in need. It literally only takes a minute, so check it out. Or you can get all arty and color for a bit. Skip the surveys today and help a kid learn to read, and hopefully LOVE to read instead.
Repost this so we can get the word around.
Seriously. I went to the site and it's sponsored by Random House. Go give a kid a book!
Go to www.firstbook.org to read more about the study, and if you send the Cat in the Hat a 50th birthday card from the site, a book will be given to a child in need. It literally only takes a minute, so check it out. Or you can get all arty and color for a bit. Skip the surveys today and help a kid learn to read, and hopefully LOVE to read instead.
Repost this so we can get the word around.
Seriously. I went to the site and it's sponsored by Random House. Go give a kid a book!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
One problem solved
The leak is fixed. Yay. There was a nail put through during the remodeling of the house. Apparently it just set and rusted a bit until poof, one day it let loose.
I called the Homevestors people and he came out today. They are going to fix up the wall and restore it to it's original condition. (No more hole!) They are going to reimburse us for the plumber and they will pay for half of the drying out stuff. (It was pricey and could have been done cheaper. I know that now, but oh well. We're eating what would be our deductible.)
So yay! That got resolved! After all, it wasn't our mistake.
These people have been so great in everything. I have nothing bad to say about them. I would recommend them to anyone.
NOTE: Woohoo! Big ol' check in the mail for us! Yay Homevestors! The Austin Branch of the We Buy Ugly Houses people are truly good peeps. As for Centex foundation, we'll see. We made our complaints. We'll see what happens with them. I'm ready to do what it takes to get them to fix their mistake. I WILL go to the media if needed. I know people who know people. So they better fix their problem. Or I will be a big one.
I called the Homevestors people and he came out today. They are going to fix up the wall and restore it to it's original condition. (No more hole!) They are going to reimburse us for the plumber and they will pay for half of the drying out stuff. (It was pricey and could have been done cheaper. I know that now, but oh well. We're eating what would be our deductible.)
So yay! That got resolved! After all, it wasn't our mistake.
These people have been so great in everything. I have nothing bad to say about them. I would recommend them to anyone.
NOTE: Woohoo! Big ol' check in the mail for us! Yay Homevestors! The Austin Branch of the We Buy Ugly Houses people are truly good peeps. As for Centex foundation, we'll see. We made our complaints. We'll see what happens with them. I'm ready to do what it takes to get them to fix their mistake. I WILL go to the media if needed. I know people who know people. So they better fix their problem. Or I will be a big one.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Oh hell
Looks like I'm not going to the gym tonight. We have a true plumbing leak. Water seeping up through the tiles and the drywall has water spots at the bottom. It's a slow leak and it's the ONLY sign. The water meter isn't running and there's no sounds or anything. Just water on the floor. If this, in any way, is tied to the foundation issue, heads will roll. I'm calling the foundation people tomorrow morning to get the ball rolling on that. They WILL fix the drywall.
I love my house yet I hate it too.
EDIT: So it's fixed. I'm not posting more until homeowner's insurance has taken care of it all but let's just say I'm calling the fuckin' contractors who remodeled. Someone messed up this time for reals. At least it wasn't a slab leak and all but it's still a mess. This is really just a trouble house.
I love my house yet I hate it too.
EDIT: So it's fixed. I'm not posting more until homeowner's insurance has taken care of it all but let's just say I'm calling the fuckin' contractors who remodeled. Someone messed up this time for reals. At least it wasn't a slab leak and all but it's still a mess. This is really just a trouble house.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Book Meme
This is totally up my alley, thanks to A Girl and A Boy (someday I'll link, the few who read this know who I mean though.)
In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, red the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of. In the comments, let me know if you're up for it; I'd love to see if y'all have been puttin your book-learnin' to good use.
1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. +Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. +Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)--
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. +Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)- I am obsessed and own every book the author has ever written, including those out of print
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. +Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King) HATE King
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. +Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +The Hobbit (Tolkien)--tried it as a kid, never got into it, tried again, still not interested
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. +Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)--And all her other books. I go through author phases.
24. +The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)-I have this, just haven't gotten around to reading it
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)-This should be #42
27. +Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. +1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)--I tried but never finished
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43.+ Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)--
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)--I HATED Dumas.
48. +Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)--
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)--
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)--I would prefer not to read Dickens
53. +Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)- Thanks MLE!
54. +Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. +The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)--
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. +The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60.* The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)6
2. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)--
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)--Never interested
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. +One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)69. +Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. +The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)--En Francais of course
71. +Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)--
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)--
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)--Couldn't bring myself to read it after the movie
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. +Of Mice And Men (Steinbecck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)--Put me into a HUGE DuMaurier phase. I've read most of her books
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. +Emma (Jane Austen)--Jane Austen can do no wrong
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)--Simon insists this is awesome
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. +Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)--
94. *The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)- UGH
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)--Had to read it in high school
In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, red the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of. In the comments, let me know if you're up for it; I'd love to see if y'all have been puttin your book-learnin' to good use.
1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. +Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. +Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)--
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. +Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)- I am obsessed and own every book the author has ever written, including those out of print
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. +Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King) HATE King
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. +Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +The Hobbit (Tolkien)--tried it as a kid, never got into it, tried again, still not interested
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. +Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)--And all her other books. I go through author phases.
24. +The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)-I have this, just haven't gotten around to reading it
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)-This should be #42
27. +Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. +1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)--I tried but never finished
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43.+ Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)--
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)--I HATED Dumas.
48. +Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)--
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)--
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)--I would prefer not to read Dickens
53. +Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)- Thanks MLE!
54. +Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. +The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)--
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. +The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60.* The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)6
2. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)--
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)--Never interested
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. +One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)69. +Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. +The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)--En Francais of course
71. +Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)--
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)--
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)--Couldn't bring myself to read it after the movie
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. +Of Mice And Men (Steinbecck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)--Put me into a HUGE DuMaurier phase. I've read most of her books
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. +Emma (Jane Austen)--Jane Austen can do no wrong
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)--Simon insists this is awesome
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. +Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)--
94. *The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)- UGH
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)--Had to read it in high school
Friday, February 23, 2007
House Update
Ok, so the house thing isn’t a plumbing leak. 3 Plumbers and only one understood our need to have it tested to make sure it wasn’t. We had to make sure before we start going after the foundation people. So that wasn’t the problem. Yay, except not. Turns out that the foundation just sunk on the other side of the house because we got rain. Yep. And it’s not covered by homeowner’s insurance because they don’t do that in Texas anymore. Yeah.
But we think it’s the fault of the foundation company. When we first did everything, we had one side fixed because it was sloping by 2 inches. The guy who came to our house told us (and our realtor) that we just needed to stabilize it because the house was fine as it is and we just needed to make sure it didn’t sink anymore. There were no obvious huge cracks, just some little ones. Fine. We agreed and the seller agreed to pay for it.
They come out and put the pier thingies underneath and leave in 2 days. We notice a few days later that the cracks in the drywall are horrendous but are told that it is normal. We don’t really think about it and put the paperwork away without really looking at it. (BIG MISTAKE).
Three months later, on December 28, after a weekend of rain, the tiles in our kitchen pop up and our door starts sticking and other things happen. Carpet pulls away from the wall. Drywall gets worse and has issues in new places. This mostly on the side of the house not stabilized. We call the original contractors and that story is in the archives somewhere. When the foundation guy comes out, he tells us that yes, the house was only supposed to be stabilized but it was LEVELED instead. Not what we had been told. Yes, that one side of the house was raised 2 inches to be level with the other side of the house, and not stabilized like we had been told. We were also told that it shouldn’t have caused the other side to go, but we had been told previously that it was an eventual possibility and that was why we opted for just stabilization. Makes sense.
So we are PISSED. We’ve taken some time since the plumbers came to calm down and try to form some sort of plan. We want them to fix the drywall issues on the side that was fixed. There was also some grout that has come away from the wall and cabinets on the floor. We want that fixed. Since our house was NOT supposed to be leveled, this was not supposed to happen. So we should not be responsible for fixing it. We would like the other side of the house to be fixed and the damage that it has caused fixed. We do plan to have a structural engineer come out to look at the house and determine if we truly have a case for that. If the house had been stabilized on one side, the sinking of the house on the other would not have been as much of a problem as it would just end up leveling out. It sucks.
The house seems to have leveled out now that we’ve gotten tons more rain and the ground has adjusted. We plan to water the ground when it stops raining to keep the equilibrium up. The doors and locks don’t stick but there’s still damage to our roof, tiles, and walls. It needs to be fixed. We were told if we stabilized the house, the other side would be fine. If we leveled, the other side would potentially have problems. That’s why we chose stabilization. That’s why the foundation company needs to fix the problem they caused.
Grrgh. I don’t want to hire a lawyer but it looks like we’re going to have to. It’s going to be a fight. I have to call the foundation guy this week or next and get this started. He DID admit to us that there was a communication mistake made so we have that. We need to get him to admit it again though because I want it on tape. I need to research some more, but I think it’s legal to record in Texas and my phone has some nifty features. So it’s going to be fun. I don’t expect them to cave but since it was a pretty big mistake made, who knows. I just want my house fixed.
But we think it’s the fault of the foundation company. When we first did everything, we had one side fixed because it was sloping by 2 inches. The guy who came to our house told us (and our realtor) that we just needed to stabilize it because the house was fine as it is and we just needed to make sure it didn’t sink anymore. There were no obvious huge cracks, just some little ones. Fine. We agreed and the seller agreed to pay for it.
They come out and put the pier thingies underneath and leave in 2 days. We notice a few days later that the cracks in the drywall are horrendous but are told that it is normal. We don’t really think about it and put the paperwork away without really looking at it. (BIG MISTAKE).
Three months later, on December 28, after a weekend of rain, the tiles in our kitchen pop up and our door starts sticking and other things happen. Carpet pulls away from the wall. Drywall gets worse and has issues in new places. This mostly on the side of the house not stabilized. We call the original contractors and that story is in the archives somewhere. When the foundation guy comes out, he tells us that yes, the house was only supposed to be stabilized but it was LEVELED instead. Not what we had been told. Yes, that one side of the house was raised 2 inches to be level with the other side of the house, and not stabilized like we had been told. We were also told that it shouldn’t have caused the other side to go, but we had been told previously that it was an eventual possibility and that was why we opted for just stabilization. Makes sense.
So we are PISSED. We’ve taken some time since the plumbers came to calm down and try to form some sort of plan. We want them to fix the drywall issues on the side that was fixed. There was also some grout that has come away from the wall and cabinets on the floor. We want that fixed. Since our house was NOT supposed to be leveled, this was not supposed to happen. So we should not be responsible for fixing it. We would like the other side of the house to be fixed and the damage that it has caused fixed. We do plan to have a structural engineer come out to look at the house and determine if we truly have a case for that. If the house had been stabilized on one side, the sinking of the house on the other would not have been as much of a problem as it would just end up leveling out. It sucks.
The house seems to have leveled out now that we’ve gotten tons more rain and the ground has adjusted. We plan to water the ground when it stops raining to keep the equilibrium up. The doors and locks don’t stick but there’s still damage to our roof, tiles, and walls. It needs to be fixed. We were told if we stabilized the house, the other side would be fine. If we leveled, the other side would potentially have problems. That’s why we chose stabilization. That’s why the foundation company needs to fix the problem they caused.
Grrgh. I don’t want to hire a lawyer but it looks like we’re going to have to. It’s going to be a fight. I have to call the foundation guy this week or next and get this started. He DID admit to us that there was a communication mistake made so we have that. We need to get him to admit it again though because I want it on tape. I need to research some more, but I think it’s legal to record in Texas and my phone has some nifty features. So it’s going to be fun. I don’t expect them to cave but since it was a pretty big mistake made, who knows. I just want my house fixed.
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