KNITTING. OMG YOU GUYS. KNITTING.

When Seth and I visited California last year and his mother asked me what I did in my spare time, it became apparent that drinking beer and watching television on the internet is not really a hobby. It also became very clear that this was not something I could tell his mother. I could have told her that I blogged, but I can imagine a lot of things I would like more than Seth's mother reading my blog. Getting a bikini wax comes to mind.

I thought about my lack of a hobby for a disturbing amount of time. Months were spent dwelling on the fact that I didn't have a hobby rather than going out and getting one.

But then I quit my job and my life completely changed. A friend who lives in the neighborhood I now work in mentioned that my job was really close to one of her favorite crafting shops. I had no idea what she was talking about, but while walking around the neighborhood discovered The General Store and knew immediately what she was talking about. You guys, I fell in love.

It was November and I realized that if I learned to knit when I was nine I could learn again. (I made no mention [to myself or anyone else] of the fact that I got bored of knitting within a few days and only got through three inches of a scarf.) I decided right there in the store that I was going to make handmade presents for people and called my best friend. When the phone rang I asked her what her favorite color was. After some deliberation with herself she decided on red. So I bought some really nice yarn, some knitting needles, and headed to my mother's house.

(For those of you who don't know - my mother is a great knitter. She knit me sweaters throughout my childhood, gifted sweaters to family members, and made both my father and my grandmother Irish fisherman sweaters with insane cables and patterns that I will be lucky to figure out...ever.)

Anyway, so I headed to my mother's house with my stash and asked her to teach me how to knit again. She got me started, and started to knit a row....and then she got frustrated. Exceptionally frustrated. It had been so long since my mother had knit that she actually forgot how. And that was my first knitting lesson - it is not like riding a bike.

After her frustration she started me over again, showed me how to knit correctly and I was on my merry way. There was only one problem - I kept adding stitches. I was going through yarn at a ridiculous rate, but my scarf wasn't getting any longer, it was only getting wider. I was annoyed, but thanks to the internet learned what I was doing wrong and started over. This was only after leaving the following frantic message for my mother:

"MOM. MOOOOOO-OOOOOOOOOOM. Ugh, why aren't you picking up your phone?? Look, I completely screwed up the scarf, am I allowed to unravel and start over? MOM I AM GETTING REALLY FRUSTRATED. UGH. Call me back."

I waited five minutes before scrapping the whole thing and teaching myself to knit all over again from the internet.

THIS ENTRY IS REALLY BORING.

I'm SORRY.

I'm getting back into the swing of things.

The picture up at the top is a scarf I'm working on for Seth. It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but it didn't really work out. Now I'm aiming for his birthday at the end of February.

I knit this hat over the weekend because I needed to. As in, OMGICOULDNOTSTOP. I literally stayed up too late last night finishing the hat because I had become obsessed with it.

Maybe knitting isn't the thing for me?

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I Have....NO PANTS!

Seth and I were talking yesterday (Today? Last week? Some damn day) about how I don't spend money on clothing. And it's true. On a good day my entire outfit (including shoes, purse and underpants) will have cost me exactly $0.00. On an average day maybe $20. My roommate works at a clothing company, my friends love to clean out their closets, and I go to my fair share of clothing swaps. (Also, my everyday purse, a Strand Bag, was found in the garbage. PURE CLASS!) I think the most expensive piece of clothing I own is a hoodie I bought in Spain four years ago for the equivalent of $100.00. And I don't even wear the damn thing anymore!

The last time I bought jeans was years ago, and while for a long time that was okay (because I rarely wore the things) I've found myself drawn to them more and more recently for lack of anything else to wear. And this weekend my favorite of the two pairs I own ripped at the knee. I am still wearing them, but I'm thinking it might be time to invest in a new pair.

So where to go? I'm not spending $180.00 on a pair of Seven's. I owned a pair once, but they were a gift because, again, I am not the type to spend almost $200.00 on a damn pair of jeans. I am cheap. I can accept this.

On top of everything else I HATE SHOPPING FOR JEANS. A lot of girls hate the thought of bathing suit shopping, but for me? Jeans. Fucking Jeans. They. Never. Fit.

H&M jeans are not built for my body. I have a small waist and a big ass, and H&M jeans fail to fit over my thighs if I grab the size that fits my waist. Old Navy is always an option, but their sizing has gotten so wonky in recent years that I'm not even sure if it's worth the trip. (Though I do love walking into the only store in the world where I'm a size 2.) I have a pair of Gap capri's that fit me as pants. And I LOVE THEM. But they no longer have a crotch. So...yeah. I bought a pair of Levi's a couple of years ago because they were having a sale, but ending up turning them into shorts and then tossing them because they looked truely terrible.

Oh, and did I mention that I ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HATE TRYING ON JEANS?

Where the hell do you buy YOUR jeans? Should I just shell out the extra cash? HALP!

(Yes, I am riding on the coattails of The Tigerlily's hose post. Shut up.) ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Now I'm REALLY pretty

So, on top of the red, shiny, frizzy, pimply, limpyness I mentioned yesterday, I now smell bad too! Seth and I went to two BBQ's yesterday and I came home from them, like you do, smelling of meat and smoke. (No, literally, I had trouble sleeping last night and kept thinking "Man, I smell like meat." Seth on the other hand smelled of home fries. He slept fine.) When I woke up this morning to get in the shower after a night of tossing and turning I discovered that my roommate, after a night of drinking and apparently meeting Kanye West (still waiting for the whole story on THAT one) had puked in the bathroom sink. The smell was un-fucking-believable and after a futile attempt to get it down the drain, I abandoned my efforts and, gagging, grabbed my toothbrush and brushed my teeth in the kitchen sink.

Then I went to work. Smelling of meat. Because I'm pretty.

As for the puking in the sink, I am confused. Our bathroom is laid out so that you hit the toilet before the sink. At the Tigerlily's house, where the sink is the first thing you see, I could understand this. But here? The toilet would definitely be my first target. Either way, he apologized and the puke has been cleaned up. Thank GOD.

This has not been my best Tuesday. (Though I did win $10.00 on a scratch ticket (don't judge me!))

OH! And because it was chilly today?, I wore jeans. Tight tight jeans. That reacted badly with my bruised knees. Which made me limp to the point that my coworkers would get distracted when I was going up and down the stairs in our office. Yeah. Not a good Tuesday. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Things I am stealing from Seth's Blog

Or Pictures from Seth's phone (instead of mine).

Seth has a tumblr blog called Resign that he uses as a sort of picture diary. So, for lack of better content, I'm stealing pictures from his blog and moving them over here.

At the end of February Seth and I were hanging out and trying to figure out where we were going to spend the night.
Seth: Let's go to my place
Me: No, my place.
Seth: Really, we should go to my place.
Me: No. My place.
Seth: We're going to my place.
Me: FINE. Grumble Grumble Grumble.

All grumbles dissolved when we arrived and I found this waiting for me:

KITTY! His name is Percy, but we usually just call him "The Kitty."

HOLY CRAP. MY BOYFRIEND GOT ME A CAT. Best boyfriend ever, right?!

Just wait...Seth explained to me that he talked to my roommate and he wasn't so into the idea of living with a cat at the moment. So he was going to wait a week before bringing the cat over. Unfortunately, because the cat is SO RAD, Seth fell in love with him and changed his mind about giving him to me.

Awesome.

Eventually the cat DID move in with me, it just took a while. He sleeps in bed with me:
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Seth still says the cat is his. Grumble.

On a completely unrelated note - I got an unannounced day off on Wednesday, so Seth and I went up to Central Park. And then Seth took off his pants:

The whole point of this post was so I could put this picture up. Mwahahahaha

Because sometimes you just need to go pantsless in public. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Ahem...::Taps Mic:: Is this thing on?

Anyone? Bueller? Still here with me?

Good.

I'm back.

HEY!

So - My taxes? Still not filed. I'm going to take care of that...um...this week sometime? That sounds good. I need the return!

And California! Holy hell! So much better than last time! I didn't beat the crap out of Seth this time because there were no surprises! There was also no running around like crazy people, so it was a nice relaxing trip. I also noticed something a funny difference between the generations of Seth's family:

Seth's Mom, Step Dad, Cousins: "We hope we get to see you again!" ::hint hint hint::

Seth's Grandparents, Great Aunts, Older Cousins: "We better see you again." In a slightly threatening kind of way. Precious!

Aaaaand slightly scary. Not in a "OMG SO MUCH PRESSURE GAAAAAH RUN AWAY!!!!" kind of way. It's more of a "Holy shit I do not want to get hunted down by old people because they SCARE ME" thing.

I almost suffered a wardrobe malfunction on the day of Grandma's party because the dress I had originally planned on wearing was not cooperating with my bra and because it was NINETY EFFING DEGREES outside I could not fix this problem with the help of a handy dandy cardigan. So I thought, "Oh hell, it's California! I'll just go without!" Things I should not go without? A bra. Ever. Luckily Seth and his brother saved me from this before the party started. THAT was fun.

Me: Baby? Can I get away with this? (Turns around and walks to show Seth what the dress will do when I'm not standing totally still.)

Seth: Hmmm...I think so. Probably. I don't know. Let's go ask Mike (His brother).

Me: ....

Seth: Come on! It's no big deal.

Me: ...

Eventually I did show Mike and at first he said it was fine. Then a moment later Seth came up and said that, on second thought, maybe it wasn't such a good idea but if I was really concerned I should ask his mother.

AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAA. Could you IMAGINE?

Lucky for me I had a backup dress with me.

And my bra was STILL showing! Because I'm awesome. And classy. And pretty. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What Do May Flowers Bring? Pilgrims.

Happy Spring! It's raining, it's pouring and my apartment is falling to bits. Joy of joys!

This morning, my roommate got up and said, "Do we have a leak?" And I told him no, figuring it was just the rain hitting the air conditioner. (The air conditioner in our living room came with the apartment and has never moved. It lives in the window all year round and we're okay with that.) We went out to get some mexican food from around the corner, came back, ate, and were moving on with our day when Seth and I noticed that, oh shit, it's raining INSIDE the apartment.

So now I'm waiting for the landlord to come over and do something about this. It's boring.

In other news, Seth and I are off to California on Thursday for his grandmother's birthday party. It will be nice to get out of the city for a few days.

In other other news I'm lying down typing this on Seth's laptop and it's making my arms hurt. I will provide further updates on the raining livingroom later. If there are any. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Foot In Mouth Disease...I hear it's going around

Seth and I are considering going back to California in the spring, and while talking about it via g-chat today, I made an awful typo:

Me: I would love to, you know that. Though I'm a bit scared of plans right now.

Seth: oh

Me: (After rereading what I wrote and feeling like an ASSHOLE) *planes! PLANES!

Oh Man. Can you imagine? "Hello lover, would you like to accompany me on a trip in a few months time?" "Yeah, see...about that? I'm not really into long term plans...um...yeah...."

I would die.

But seriously, two plane crashes right up against each other? Hell NO I do not want to get into a plane right now, thankyouverymuch. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

OUCH. Let me repeat: O-U-C-H

For once in my life I am actually spending the New Year trying to make a better me. The first and second changes are not that strange: I got new glasses (well, Seth got me new glasses) and got a haircut. A professional haircut! I didn't cut it myself this time!

This is the part where you tell me I'm pretty. (Seth hates it. Shhh. He didn't want me to tell you that.)

The hairdresser, Mike, made fun of the state my hair was when I got to him.

Mike: Um...what's with the color?
Me: I got mad at a boy in July and dyed it black.
Flamboyant Assistant: Why do girls always take it out on their hair?
Mike: ::Shakes his head:: Who was the boy?
Me: Um...my then ex-boyfriend who is now my current boyfriend? It's a long story.
Mike: ::Rolls his eyes:: And when was the last time you got a hair cut?
Me: Um...well, my old roommate cut a couple of inches off with a pair of kitchen scissors? A couple of months ago? Does that count?
Mike: You are never allowed to touch your hair again.

Which is probably very good advice.




It is the THIRD change I've made this year that is the real shocker for anyone who knows me. For those of you that don't know me? I am lazy. Very lazy. My favorite things in the world are sleep and bacon. Everyone have a clear picture now? Are you sitting down? Comfortable? Excellent...






I joined a gym.




Now, please - nobody panic! I haven't lost my mind...I just...well...I'm turning twenty-five this year and the gym by my house is really REALLY cheap and...I've started to feel a little tubby. (A diet of sleep and bacon will do that to a girl) And I would be pleased if my arms were slightly less jiggly. And the gym - holy shit it is cheap. And a LADY gym, which means I don't have to deal with BOYS and feel self conscious. YAY!

Today was my second day at the gym and I am HURTY. Oh, I should probably mention this: this was my second day at a gym. Ever. Remember the lazy? Told you.

But as much pain as I'm in I'm also feeling good. Kind of, PUMPED. It feels bizarre. I've never really been invested in taking care of myself before.

I think I might actually stick with this...huh.

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WOOOOO

YEAH! Happy New Year!

Sorry for disappearing for a little while in there. I can explain:

I don't own a computer. Yeah. I know. Lame.

My roommates computer? Died for a little bit in there.

My mom's computer? Well, the computer is fine. The monitor broke. Blogging without a monitor is hard.

And work? Well, work decided that busy work was better than no work and being caught blogging would mean the ax. After almost five years. Awesome.

So mostly? I'm sorry.

My life hasn't changed that much...

I wish I had something exciting to blog about. I will, in a night or two, when I remake an amazing meal that I made up a couple of weeks ago and want to recreate. In the meantime I will post a meal that I made recently that two years ago made Seth fall in love with me more than he already was. (Which is my favorite because it is SO FUCKING EASY)

Please keep in mind that I am bad about recipes and tend to cook the way I was taught:

Roasted Potatoes with Sauteed Spinach and Sausage

Take as many potatoes as you think you will eat. As long as they aren't baking potatoes, it doesn't matter. On the high end you have your baby yellows or reds. On the low end you have whatever is not a baking potato at your ghetto local super market.

Preheat the oven to 345.

Chop them up into tiny bitesized pieces. Put your cut potatoes in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat them, a generous amount of salt, some fresh pepper, fresh rosemary* (No really, include the rosemary, it makes a difference), and whatever else you have around that you think will taste good. Mix everything around until the potatoes are coated in delicious randomly spiced goodness, put them in a baking dish, toss a couple of full garlic cloves on top, and stick it in the oven for at least 45 minutes.

Every oven is different, my oven runs cold so these potatoes can take over an hour. It sucks. Check them after 45 minutes and if they are done, congrats! Your oven rules! If they aren't, then wait a while.

About 20 minutes into potato cooking, take a package of spicy italian sausage and cook them in olive oil until done. I have never found the cooking instructions for sausage to do me any good, so look it up on the internet and improvise from there. You should come out with crispy outsides and awesome insides. (I wish I could do better at explaining this, but cooking sausage seems to be a science that eludes me.)

When the sausage is done remove to a plate and cover in foil.

Throw a bunch of washed spinach (NOT FROZEN) into the sausage pan, cook until it seems like far too little, along with some more salt and pepper.

Serve sausage on top of spinach with roasted potatoes on the side. Marvel at the reaction you get.

If you need help, let me know and I will be more than happy to come over and recreate this. I know exactly what I'm doing when I cook it, writing about it is a different story.

UPDATE: Ducky - writing this made me realize that I owe you a casserole. Please e-mail me to work out a time. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

The Tigerlily introduced me to the awesomeness that is Angelo Pietro Sesame Miso Dressing ages ago. She was so excited about the stuff that she blogged about it. Now I am doing the same because HOLY SHIT, this stuff is amazing.

Seth and I recently started shopping at this Japanese supermarket in the East Village which, if you're in the area, I totally recommend. They have great prices on fish and sell large pieces of sashimi for ridiculously low prices. I am in love. They also carry all sorts of awesome Japanese snacks, udon noodles, lots of frozen dumplings and an awesome candy selection. On top of all that? More salad dressings, soy sauces, and oils than you can shake a stick at. Oh yeah.

Sunrise Mart
4 Stuyvesant Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003
212-598-3040

So, back to the salad dressing. While shopping at Sunrise Mart last week I saw that they sold the miso-sesame dressing and promptly bought a bottle after calling the Tigerlily and checking that it was the correct flavor. Seth looked at me like I was insane. "Five dollars for a bottle of salad dressing?" I tried to explain the awesome to him, but he still thought it was too expensive. The next night he tried it for himself while eating dinner at my apartment. The day after that I got a phone call. "It's the sesame miso one right? I want to make sure I get the right flavor."

So now Seth has been converted and you will be too. I've started to dream about this salad dressing. I'm considering bringing a bottle to keep at work. I'm obsessed.

In other NOM related news - Seth has trained himself to make an awesome key lime pie. He tried the recipe for the first time on Thanksgiving because he knows that I will do anything for key lime pie. ("What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" Absolutely nothing. Replace "Klondike Bar" with "key lime pie" and I will follow you to the ends of the earth.) Anywho, he had a couple of extra limes and a cupcake tray lying around and decided to make key lime tarts. Which he has been feeding me for dessert the last two nights. He also made bangers and mash with a mushroom gravy which kicked my butt.

Basically, I love him a lot.

And food. I love food a lot. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

California Dreaming

I survived the crazy family tour, but not unscathed.
The first stop was Seth's mom's house, where we ate homemade corn chowder and sour-dough rolls fresh out of the oven. Seth's mother presented me with a gift, which caught me off guard in that "Shit. Was I supposed to get YOU a gift too?" kind of way. Betsey Johnson socks which were adorable and saved my butt because it was a lot colder out there than I was expecting it to be. We woke up the next morning and bummed around the house for a bit before heading out to Grandma and Grandpa's where I was presented with another gift. (DAMMIT) Grandpa's not as young as he used to be and originally thought Seth was somehow his great grandchild. Once he got over that he was pretty easy going and took me aside to make sure I was a reader and to show me the books he likes. I was thankful that I had a book on me so I was able to go, "Yes! Definitely a reader! Look! I have a book right here! That I am reading! Because I like to read!" Ahem....not to sound over eager or anything...um...yeah.

We managed to convince Grandma and Grandpa to come back to Seth's mom's house for dinner, but took a detour on the way home. Grandma has a thing for discounts and decided to present her favorite grandsons with day old bread. A LOT of day old bread. So we stopped by the duck pond where we were LITERALLY ATTACKED BY RABID DUCKS. No, seriously...check it:They marched out of the water as soon as we arrived and surrounded us:

Seth, his brother and I threw bread at each other and got to feel the curious sensation of ten ducks pecking our toes. I wouldn't advise it.

Seth's mom made a delicious beef stew for all of us, which I ate a lot of, impressing parents and grandparents alike with the size of my appetite. Hooray for being a fatty!

The next day the three of us headed out to Seth's dad's house where I almost murdered my boyfriend. You see, Seth had mentioned that he grew up in a big house his father built, and that a lot of people had docks in their back yards. What I pictured was an old beachfront community, or lake houses or something. What I was not picturing was a GATED FUCKING COMMUNITY. With a golf course next door and palm trees. I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS AT ALL. Seth's brother and I were outside talking a little while after we arrived when a covered golf cart went by, followed almost immediately by a teenager on a four-wheeler. It was at that point that I collapsed onto the grass and had to lie down for a little bit.

When Seth showed me around the house and got to the room his father and step-mother had converted into a movie theatre I beat the crap out of him. "OW! You're acting like I have an ex-wife and two kids!"
"This" punch. "is pretty much" punch punch punch. "the same" punch punch "to" punch. "me." punch punch punch punch punch. "Asshole."

Please check out the view from the guest bedroom balcony:

I can't get the picture to turn, but you get the general idea.

Oh, and please note that the balcony is bigger than my bedroom.

Dude could have said SOMETHING, you know?

There was only one major foot in mouth moment when I decided to tell Seth's father, the pastor, about the time my father draped himself in snakes and told the Jehovah's witnesses that we worshipped Satan in our house. Um...oops.

After visits with all the step siblings and their kids and some burritos (HOLY WEST COAST BURRITO, BATMAN), we headed to San Francisco to chill out and hang out with friends. It was very nice to be able to not worry about what was coming out of my mouth for a little while. I also met that friend that I was scaaaaaaaared of meeting. She was not as scary as I thought she would be and even gave me a hug!

So all in all it was a good trip. And I'm happy that the meet the family part is out of the way, but wish we had more time in SF with friends. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Seth Saved The Day

And brought me some white paint.It turned out awesome. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Just let me sit down for five minutes, okay?

So today!

9:00am - left the house

9:30am - Got to the office

9:30am-1:15pm - Sat at my desk, answered e-mails, responded to messages, etc. (Booooooring)

1:15pm-2:00pm (I shit you not) - Starbucks, back to my office with a botched order and BACK TO EFFING STARBUCKS. Longest. Coffee-run Ever.

2:00pm-4:30pm - Back at my desk...nothing to see here, move along. Oh, there was one thing - bought my ticket to CALIFORNIA! Woo hoo!

4:30pm - 4:45pm - Break! Lovely lovely break.

4:45pm - 5:45pm - Work! Showed off my Photoshop skills. Woo hoo!

5:45pm - 6:15pm - Running to the train and up to the garment district before my tailor closed.

6:15pm - Picked up my lovely well fitted bridesmaid dress for the Tigerlily-Boss wedding! (Which is Saturday. By the skin of my teeth, I know. Better late than never, right?)

6:30pm-7:30pm - Shot down to my mom's house, dropped off the dress, talked about the dress, changed my clothes, etc.

7:30pm - 9:30pm - Went to Union Square in hunt of shoes to wear with said bridesmaid dress. Went to five different stores. Ended up purchasing the first pair of shoes I saw at the first store I went to. Of course. Went to Barnes and Noble to find two books I desperately need. They were not in stock. Of course.

9:30pm - now. - Took train to my apartment, picked up a beer. Sat down and took a deep breath, updated blog, etc.

On the schedule for the rest of the evening? It gets better! (In that "this is going to suck" kind of way)

Finish beer and blog.
Throw some clothes in a bag.
High-tail it back to my mom's.
Throw together a two-page paper.
Do a touch of laundry.
Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

I'm really looking forward to the sleep part.

My mother, my mother's best girlfriend (who happens to be male and straight), and Seth are all heading to the wedding together on Saturday afternoon. Finally, after much deliberation, my mother has decided on an outfit for the wedding which does not a)make her look old, b) make her look out of date or c) make me cringe. I'm very proud of her. It took a couple of tries. But she got it! Woo hoo! The men will most likely be wearing suits.

So, California...Though not the explicit purpose of the trip - I will be meeting Seth's parents and step-parents and grandparents for the first time while I am out there. Which is exciting! And also a little nerve racking. I know it shouldn't be a big deal and it's only fair since Seth has met, oh you know, my ENTIRE FAMILY. And he was fine! So I should be too! Right? Plus I get to see his brother again who I haven't actually seen since well before Seth and I got together. I'm looking forward to that, as well as seeing friends who have been out to visit New York in the past two years.

The other thing that makes me nervous? Meeting Seth's old friend and roommate who I'm (for no particular reason) completely convinced is going to hate me and stab me through the eye. Seth has not done much to quell these fears, though other friends of theirs have. I'm just completely convinced she's not going to like me, or think I'm good enough for her friend. or something. Paranoia much? Hello and welcome.

Oooooookay, back to running around.
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Relatively Easy

Seth has a crazy painting deadline this week, so he asked me if I would come over and help him out with some stuff and I agreed. One of these helpful things includes cooking, so last night I made Martha's Casserole, a staple of my childhood. (It's also handy because there are lots of leftovers and you don't have to worry about cooking for a while.)

I don't know why the damn thing is so tasty. It's incredibly white-trash and simple, but people love it. And it's really really cheap.

Here's the recipe (in my mother's words):

Martha's Casserole

Boil 8 ounces of wide egg noodles. Cook a pound of hamburger until it's brown. Mix in two 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce. (Drain the hamburger first, otherwise things get a little greasy.) Mix 8 ounces of cottage cheese, 8 ounces of soft cream cheese, and about a quarter cup of sour cream, then mix in one bunch of chopped green onions (use part of the green, too, and trim off the tops and the first layer of skin). Put half the noodles in a casserole (the size I usually use, whatever the hell that is), then put the cream cheese mixture on top. Put the rest of the noodles on top of that, and then the meat mixture on top of THAT. Melt a quarter stick of butter and pour it over the top, then stick it in a 350 oven (don't forget to preheat) for 20 minutes.

Note: I learned last night that any size casserole dish will do. I got all worried because Seth didn't have the size I normally use and I was convinced that the whole thing would be screwed up. I was wrong. I also accidentally used 16 ounces of noodles rather than eight. It's still tasty. I'm eating the leftovers now. Apparently this dish allows a lot of room for error.

(I just reread the recipe and realized that the wording is a little wonky. If anyone wants a better worded version, let me know) ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Breaking up is hard to do

For now I'm not going to go into detail about it, but Seth and I broke up on Saturday. It sucked and it still sucks, but it could have gone a lot worse. Most breakups don't end with burgers and high fives. Ours did. Which is great, but we're still broken up and I'm still bummed about it.

I'm thankful that I have a lot of good friends who have been great to me these past few days. Encouraging me to go to brunch instead of moping around the house, listening to me bitch and whine, buying me snacks, distracting me, etc. My friends are a good group which is why I've kept them around so long.

Right now I am in a relatively grumpy mood because the "change personal appearance" phase of the breakup failed miserably. When I broke up with B (I mentioned him in this post) I immediately took a pair of kitchen scissors and chopped all my hair off. (Granted, that had been a pretty hard year: lost my father, broke up with the first guy I ever loved, almost had to repeat senior year...September 11th...The list goes on and on) So I felt that breaking up with someone who you honestly thought you would marry one day (i.e. Seth) would warrant some sort of image change, even if it was only temporary. So I bought some black hair dye. (Sometime last week I decided that if Seth and I broke up I would dye my hair black because...yeah, I might still be fourteen [at least I didn't rush out and buy "Crimson Glow." If you know what that's from I will love you forever]) Shitty shitty black hair dye which did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO MY HAIR. So I wasted $7 and 20 minutes of my time and I am annoyed annoyed annoyed. I was really excited about being able to say things like "My hair is in mourning" or "It matches my heart." But no. Nothing happened.

So now I maybe have slightly darker hair and will most likely try again with a stronger (but still semi-permanent) formula sometime in the not too distant future.

Grumble.

(But hey! Look at me! I'm blogging again!) ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Knocked up

Last night I had another dream about being pregnant. This time with twins. (Seriously, what the fuck? Is my womb craving babies? I am far FAR too young for babies!) Seth was very sweet about it and kept sewing hounds-tooth pockets on to all of my tops so I could comfortably rest my hands on my pregnant belly at all times. My very very large pregnant belly. Yeah, it was weird.

I'm all for getting pregnant (at some point) and having babies. (I think it's one of those hardwired things about being a lady) But have you every really sat down and thought about it? You are growing a tiny person INSIDE OF YOU. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Seriously, put in those terms it gives me the heebiest heebie-jeebies ever. Tiny person. Growing. Inside? ::barf:: I don't even want to get into the shooting out of my girl bits part. Gahhh! ::barfs. again.::

So...yeah...my brain is apparently focused on babies. Help?

Maybe I need a puppy.

When I do get pregnant I am wearing this every day.

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Spice Girls, Seth's Birthday, and Eddie Izzard. The best week of my life.

I'm not going to pretend that last week was all sunny, but the highlights most definitely outweighed the low-lights. Work was nutty, my sleep schedule was screwed up and the weather was shitty. But it was all okay because there was also lots of food, SPICE GIRLS, Seth's Birthday and Eddie Izzard. Fuck YES.

Spice Girls:

I have never been so excited about a show as I was about Spice Girls. Gearing up for the show felt like being twelve years old again. Butterflies and giggling lots and lots of jumping about while screeching, "OMG SPICE GIRLS!!!" It seriously impaired my brainpower. I became partially retarded. Karin and I got to Madison Square Garden and got to our seats and waited patiently for the show to start. We were patient only because there were cocktails with glowing LED swizzle sticks in them. Booze + glowing swizzle sticks = wee! Fun! The show started approximately thirty minutes late which was infuriating, but completely worth the wait. THEY ROSE OF THE FLOOR. The opened with "Spice Up Your Life!" Every last one of us was inadvertently slamming it to the left and shaking it to the right because we knew that we felt fine. When they sang Mama all of their children came on stage and Posh's youngest son started BREAK DANCING. It was not staged, he just started doing it! There were costume changes! And dance interludes! And solos! One of the costume changes involved the girls coming back on stage wearing new fangled versions of their 1997 costumes. Seeing Ginger Spice in a sequined Union Jack dress honestly made Karin and I cry. When the girls finally sang "Wannabe" I thought I was going to die. I was screaming my head off. Everyone around me was screaming their heads off. All of Madison Freaking Square Garden was screaming their heads off. Karin and I put our hands over our ears to block out all the screaming while also going, "Okay...ONE..TWO...THREE..AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Over and over again. At the end of the night we were out of breath of shaky. It was spectacular.

Seth's Birthday:

This year marked Seth's third birthday in New York City. The last two years he kept things relatively quiet; his first year here he had dinner with two friends and last year I took him out on his own. This year, however, he decided that he was going to have more of a party. So he did. On his actual birthday a couple of us went to this Italian place called Max's on Avenue B. They make their own lasagna and fettuccine noodles and it is damn tasty. The five of us hung out, ate our hearts out, and shared a bottle of wine. It was lovely. Then, on Friday night, Seth invited just about everyone he knows in NYC out for a night of southern food and beer over at Mama's, also on Avenue B. His original plan was to head home by about 1am, but we managed to keep him out until 4:30am. I think he even had a shot! (Seth, for the most part, is not a drinker.) He also may have tried the sour patch kid infused vodka which seemed like a really good idea to the rest of us at about 2am. (For the record - Sour patch kid infused vodka is actually completely disgusting and I do not advise anyone to try it ever. It is fucking vile.) From Mama's we headed to Snack Dragon Taco Shack (had never been before. Am kicking myself for never trying this place before. Holy shit. So tasty), and from tacos we headed to Rififi. At that point Seth left and Karin and I stayed out far far too late.

Eddie Izzard:

I freaking love Eddie Izzard. I have loved him since the first time someone showed me Dressed to Kill and I believe that I will always always love him. The show at the Union Square Theater was supposed to start at 10:30, but of course did not actually start until 11:00. (Again, completely worth the wait.) He came out bearded and wearing jeans, a t-shirt and blazer, which was a bit of a shock at first. I was disappointed that he wasn't wearing something fantastic along with fantastic make-up, but I got over it pretty quickly. (For those of you who don't know who Eddie Izzard is...here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Izzard) He talked about the things he normally talks about: The Bible, God, history, etc, but in new and exciting ways! He described an elephant as the back end of a squirrel with a giant toaster for a body. Hilarious! To me. Who was there. Look, just trust me here, it was fucking funny. Aaaand I just found out the show has been extended through March 8, so if you get a chance to go I would advise it. This show doesn't seem to have a name, so I'm not sure that they are filming it.

So yeah...my week ruled. I need a nap.
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I dress like a small child and other things

So I know I really need to blog about a lot of things including Toy Fair and Spice Girls. Both of those will have to wait for another day, but I will tell you the following things:

a) Spice Girls was AMAZING. I CRIED. It was one of the most fun nights of my life. I fucking cried. It was spectacular. And Shiny! SO SHINY. Gaaaaaaaaah

b) I have still not found my flat iron. Sadface!

c) I had this conversation with my boss today:

Him: Why are you dressed like a grownup today?

Me: I'm not really.

Him: Well, you're wearing pants!

Apparently pants now qualify only as adult wear. Good to know. I think he's still making fun of me for the time I accidentally forgot to wear pants to the office. Yes, you read that right, I once spent an entire day at the office without pants. Because I am dumb.

About a year and a half ago I bought this little black dress. It was adorable! It had buttons and was going to look really good over a pair of colored tights. I just knew it. So Monday rolled around and I decided I was going to wear my new dress. I put it on over some cable knit tights and went on my merry way. Only after I got to the office did I realize that my new "dress" was actually a shirt. A shirt that did not quite cover my bottom. On that day I went into my boss's office and we had this conversation:

Him: Why aren't you wearing pants?

Me: I...what?

Him: That isn't a dress.

Me: It is! I bought it this weekend and...::looking down:: fuck. It's a shirt.


Yeah...am dumb.

Sorry for the lack of updating. I have been very very busy.

I would like to give a late birthday shout out to Seth, because yesterday was his birthday and he is awesome. ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Sarah Booz and the quest for the nonexistent flat iron...

So my roommates? Still suck. I have this flat iron that I have had since I was seventeen. My father got it for me the last Christmas he was alive and it still works wonders. I adore it. My roommates, however, seem to think it's a tool and continuously remove it from the bathroom. The last time it went missing I found it hiding out under the kitchen sink. Apparently it was put there "Because it had a plug."

So tonight I come running home to get ready for Valentine's Day dinner with Seth. I gave myself a mini haircut last night for the sole purpose of straightening it this evening. I get home and guess what! My flat iron, she is missing. Only one of my roommates is home so I ask him if he has seen it.

"Have you seen my flat iron?"
"Nope!"

I text the other roommate:
"Have you seen my flat iron?"
"Nope"

Okay...the roommates haven't seen it. A hunting I will go. I tear apart the house in a frenzy trying to find this thing. Roommate who is home hears my bangs and aggravated groans and hides out in his room. After approximately twenty minutes I go into his room.
"Are you sure you haven't seen my flat iron?"
"Dude, I don't even know what a flat iron is!"

Fucking awesome.

So I text message roommate number two:
"Are you sure you haven't seen my flat iron? Because I asked roommate number one if he was sure and he said he didn't know what I was talking about. Do you know what a flat iron is?"

I still haven't gotten a response.
So in case you were wondering why on Earth I would be updating my blog when I should be going out and doing fun Valentine's Day things with my boyfriend; the answer is this:

The time alloted to hair straightening is now filled with absolutely nothing. So I'm sitting on the computer killing time until I have to walk to the restaurant. I am in a foul mood. And to make things even more awesome? I just spoke to Seth and he is also in a foul mood.

Happy Freaking Valentine's Day.

OH...and in case you are a dumb boy and have absolutely no idea what this post is about:

There. That is a flat iron. The exact same one I have, as a matter of fact!

Oh, and also? Blue Cheese dressing should be refrigerated and not be kept on your desk next to the hot wing sauce that also resides in here. Just sayin'.

GAAAAH ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Scrubbing Bubbles or Strange names I have called my lovers

I have called my boyfriends some really weird things. This is a habit I picked up from my mother who, while she only ever called my father "Honey", "Dear" or "You Asshole", was fond of giving me odd pet names when I was a child. These included, but were not limited to:

• Mouse Mouse
• Hamburger
• Fuzzlehead
• Whoever You Are
• Fred

I apparently decided I would keep up this tradition but, since I don't have children, my boyfriends become subject to whatever odd name I decide to call them at that moment. When I was younger, I tended to stick to normal things like "Baby," but as I've gotten older the crazy has taken over and I have ended up calling people some really weird things.

My last boyfriend, for no particular reason, became "Butt Butt" one day. "Butt Butt" evolved into "General McButtButt" which in turn made me become "The Esteemed Lady McButtButt." I really wish I was joking about this, but I'm not.

Seth, luckily, has given me my fair share of weird petnames, so I don't feel so bad when I call him something entirely random. He started calling me "Lamb" when we were first dating and so he, of course, became "Sir Lambsalot" one of the famous Knights of the Lamb Table. On a regular basis he is any combination of the words head, space, face, case, pants, pumpkin, lamb, etc. It is perfectly normal for me to pick up the phone and go, "Hi Spacehead-lambpants!" Which makes NO SENSE. Well yesterday I decided that his new name should be "Scrubbing Bubbles." The best part about it is that it almost sounds dirty. It also sounds like there should be a funny story accompanying the pet name but (guess what!) there isn't. I'm just a crazy person.

Happy Tuesday! ♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves