Category: Misc

OK, I know that lately this blog has been about anything other than food, but here are some cool things that I’ve come across lately that I wanted to share with you:

36 matches carved from a single block of wood, available from Lifeisgoods.com for $19.50

Handmade wooden salad tongs, available from KentuckyArts.com for $14

Yoga Toes Toe Stretchers, available from Overstock.com for $44.99.
I have toes that tend to curl under and do all sorts of weird-looking contortions, even though I wear good shoes that fit and don’t “scrunch” my feet. I have just ordered some of these, so I don’t know how they’ll feel yet, but Self magazine calls them “surprisingly refreshing.”

PS – I promise that I really am going to cook dinner tonight and will have something yummy to show you, probably Chorizo and Mushroom Fideua (found that recipe by searching epicurious for “chorizo”, because I have some in my freezer and “kid-friendly”)

If anyone else (besides Staci) had a question about the scar on my knee in my “show off my hiking boots” photo – here’s my answer (it’s hidden in the comments section, so you guys might not see it, otherwise):

Those really are my nasty ol’ scarred-up legs. Not a super story on the scar, but semi-noteworthy…

When I was about 7 – 8 months pregnant with Girl, I had a little fender-bender in Hubby’s truck that bent up the right front fender (somebody T-boned me, trying to pull onto Lamar at 2222 in front of me). There just happened to have been a really big hailstorm not too long before that and all of the body shops were swamped and couldn’t take his truck to be fixed for a couple of weeks.

During that time, I walked into the bent-up bumper and gashed open my knee. It was pretty gross – blood spurting and all. It didn’t hurt at all, but Hubby was mortified and felt awful (he went straight home afterward and hammered down the bent bumper so that the sharp part wasn’t sticking out anymore). We had just been out to lunch with my mom (we were treating, because she was updating our wills for us, because of the baby) and it happened as we were dropping her back off at her office downtown. There just happened to be a Dr. that worked in her office building and he fashioned a bandage out of a (clean) dishtowel from their office kitchen (thanks, Dr. Guckian!), but even he looked like he was going to pass out (he’d been teaching at the time and hadn’t actually practiced medicine in a while, plus I was alarmingly pregnant and there was a LOT of blood).

Did you remember that I used to work for a plastic surgeon? We called him and he met us at the hospital (thanks, Dr. B!) and stitched me up (no anesthesia, because of the baby). I couldn’t bend my knee while it was healing, plus I was on crutches (NO FUN when you’re pregnant) and couldn’t drive for a few weeks afterwards. I was really lucky that it didn’t hit any tendons or anything that could have messed with the functionality of my knee, so my knee works fine, it just looks ugly. Sometimes people ask if I’ve had knee surgery…I wanna say, “yeah, knee surgery with a can opener”. If I had knee surgery and my surgeon left me with a scar like that, I think I would sue…

Anyway, that’s the story….

PS – It’s not the plastic surgeon’s fault that my scar looks bad – the gash was just that long and deep (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch?), I wasn’t giving him a great situation to work with, but most knee surgery scars look much better than that, so… I actually think he did a very good job – it’s very smooth and flat and has never caused me a bit of pain.

I actually kinda like my scar; it think it makes me look “tough”; it’s my badge of honor. It also makes me think about Girl and how we went through it “together” and how cute and overprotective Hubby was of both of us. Sweet.

I finally picked my car up yesterday from the second of two repair shops that were working on it in the same day and I can finally say that it is at least starting to resemble my old car again. I was mortified the first time that I picked it up last week and it wasn’t braking properly and was pulling to one side. The body shop was saying that they had fixed everything that they could on it, but I was terrified that would be the permanent future state of the car. It was awful. All kinds of engine indicator lights had turned on: “Check Engine” and “VSC tracking” (whatever the heck that is). After a visit to the dealership for an alignment and some other repairs (some related to the accident, some not, plus some routine maintenance), I am starting to get happy with it again. I have always babied this car; it’s been taken to the dealership for routine maintenance and oil changes precisely according to the recommended schedule. I keep it pristinely clean inside. I am inordinately proud of this car and LOVE it. It’s the first car that I ever paid cash for and didn’t have to get a loan on. When I get a door ding or paint chip, I rush it to the body shop to have it fixed. The guy at the body shop (who presumably makes money off of my hyper-vigilance) actually told me once, “It’s never going to stay perfect, you know…it’s OK for it to have a couple of marks.” Silly man doesn’t know what he’s talking about. 😉 Of course, I had completely forgotten about the windshield crack that happened just before the wreck that I hadn’t had a chance to get fixed yet, so that will have to be taken care of now. It happened on a gravelly road (piece of gravel flew up and hit it) in the middle of nowhere (on my way to TDS ranch for a party), so I will have to bear the responsibility for that cost myself, but I’ve now spent over $3000 on my car in the past week (I haven’t been reimbursed anything by the insurance company yet) and still have a windshield to go. The food on this blog may get really boring for a while….rice and beans, anyone?

I realized that I never did photos of the “damage”. The extent of the damage isn’t easily in photos, but here are some, anyway. This photo is of the underside of the car, and shows where the frame was slightly bent (this is only one side of the frame, but it was bent similar on the other side, as well):

This photo shows the bumper damage. The reason that there are some vertical marks is that the guy that hit me had a “brush guard” on the front bumper of his truck.

We did indulge in one extravagance yesterday that was unrelated to car repair: we bought “Rock Band” for the kids. A very fun game and I can tell already it’s going to turn into a huge “time suck” for our family – but that’s what summer’s for, right?

The desk is finished and it looks GLORIOUS. Definitely some satisfaction in doing it yourself (although it would have been nice to save the grand-and-a-half that we payed the jacka$$ painter to do it). The paint smell is SO strong right now that you can get high from walking into our backyard, but it does look great. We’ll give it a couple of days to “off-gas” and then we’ll put the furniture back out there. I’ll post one last photo once everything is set up again, and then I promise I’ll shut up about the darned deck.

The second D.I.Y. agenda item for this weekend was to stain our front door. It is a beautiful wooden door with beveled, leaded glass inserts and sidelites on either side. It’s gorgeous, but it takes the full brunt of the afternoon sun and we hadn’t done a thing to it in the 4 years that we’ve lived here. The polyurethane coating was GONE and the wood was faded and starting to crack. Our house isn’t palatial, but it’s comfy and the front door was certainly not making a good first impression.

Hubby attacked it with plastic “steel wool” today and then Boy, Girl and I stained it (taking turns). Tomorrow night, Hubby will put a fresh coat of polyurethane on it. It already looks 150% better than it did, even without the polyurethane.

Not quite sure why I’ve gotten this home maintenance bug lately, but we do go through periodic spurts like this. Next up: painting Girl’s bathroom a beautiful, rich, dark chocolate brown. She just got brand new “teenager appropriate” bedding that has some really pretty colors in it: burgundy, pumpkin, brown, gold, acid/lime green and turquoise. It sounds weird, but it’s really pretty. The coordinating shower curtain has the same colors (though it’s a different fabric), so the brown will look very nice. The old salon that I used to go to had chocolate brown paint on the walls in the shampoo room and I always thought that it was really pretty and rich-looking, so that project will be next.

Bonus photo of my very comfy new hiking boots. We all bought new boots today and have been wearing them around ever since we left REI. They will be all nicely broken in by the time our Alaska trip rolls around.

(sorry if I blinded you with my Caspar the Friendly Ghost legs!)

Check out the 7th paragraph of this story (Oh, heck…read the whole thing, but the 7th paragraph has me scratching my head. I am clearly missing something.):

McCain interview, New York Times

OK, yes…it’s preferable to have two parents and yes, they both play an important role, but isn’t more about having two parents to share the burden/nurturing load, rather than having two parents that are different genders? He really thinks it’s better for those kids to stay in group homes or foster care, where they have NO parents, than to place them with a loving gay couple that wants to have them? REALLY?

Hubby makes a good point that this is a moot point, because adoption regulations really don’t fall under the purview of the Presidency, so McCain’s really just pandering to the right wingers when he makes this statement. Gay adoption isn’t going to be something that he will really be changing regulations on. It really falls under state regulations or is up, maybe, to the individual agency that is making the placement, but still….isn’t gay adoption just a ridiculous thing to be AGAINST?

Just in case you are struck with perverse curiosity about whether or not Angelina Jolie has had her twins yet….

the news will be posted on the website of her French maternity hospital, which can be found here:
Hopital Lenval

I’ll translate for you, just in case your French is rustier than mine (which is saying a lot!):

Press release concerning Mrs. Angelina Jolie…normal course of monitoring her pregnancy…blah blah blah…admitted into the Lenval Foundation…blah blah blah…Her doctor Michel Sussman alone will have the ability to give any medical information, in the due course of time…blah blah blah….previous Caesarean with first pregnancy…blah blah blah…normal procedure…simple monitoring…to assure the well being of her babies in the weeks to come….blah blah blah…hospital has all facilities to accommodate family visits…blah blah blah
Press rep: blah blah blah

Communiqué de presse concernant Mme Angelina JOLIE
Dans le cadre de la surveillance normale de sa grossesse, comme prévu de longue date, Madame Angelina JOLIE a été admise dans les locaux de la Fondation LENVAL, Maternité SANTA MARIA. Son gynécologue obstétricien, le Docteur Michel SUSSMANN, seul habilité à le faire, donnera toute information médicale, en temps voulu. Il s agit donc d une grossesse gémellaire et son hospitalisation à ce stade de la grossesse, est une procédure normale chez une patiente ayant déjà bénéficié d une césarienne lors de la première grossesse. Elle nécessite une simple surveillance pour s assurer du bien-être de ses bébés dans les semaines à venir. La clinique SANTA MARIA au sein de la fondation LENVAL présente toutes les commodités permettant les visites de sa famille. Madame Angelina JOLIE m a chargé de vous préciser qu elle se porte parfaitement bien. Contact presse : Mme BAUER Nadine le 02.07.08

No new updates are on the hospital website, but there are RAMPANT rumors around the Internets that she has already had the babies, a boy (Knox Leon) and a girl (Vivienne Marcheline). This may be complete speculation, but the fact that Angelina’s recently deceased mother was named Marcheline lends some credence. Apparently, the locals in the rural French area where her hospital is located have made a game out of trying to get their fabricated “Angelina rumors” published, with bragging rights going to those that are successful in getting the most outlandish ones out there….

This is amazingly beautiful. I am crying like a baby in front of my keyboard:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/11/holocaust.reunion/index.html

OK, I know that I am just a big ol’ geek, but I am quite literally counting down the days until this movie comes out. I saw the show on Broadway MANY years ago and loved it and have since seen the traveling version. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The movie will have a star-studded and talented cast:

Stellan Skarsgard
(Robin Williams’ rival/nemesis from “Good Will Hunting”)

Amanda Seyfried
(from HBO’s “Big Love”)

Colin Firth
(“Pride & Prejudice” and “Bridget Jones”)

Pierce Brosnan
(“Bond, James Bond”)

Dominic Cooper
(“Dakin” from “The History Boys” – I saw this show on Broadway, as well, and it was BRILLIANT (co-starred the actors that play Madame Maxime and Uncle Vernon from the Harry Potter movies). I believe that he played Dakin in the movie version (haven’t seen it), as well, but he was phenomenal on Broadway – absolutely stole the show.

There aren’t enough words to give proper accolades to either Christine Baranski (if you haven’t seen “Cruel Intentions“: RUN, do not walk, do not pass “Go”, do not collect $200 – just GO…hilarious movie and GREAT soundtrack…) or Meryl Streep; just suffice to say that I’m hooked…if they’re in it, I’ll go see it. The only time that philosophy has ever failed me was with “Evening” a couple of years ago.

This movie looks like it will be visually stunning, with lots of scenic views of Greek islands. In addition to loving the storyline and the music, Greece is my dream “someday” destination. We are saving our pennies and hoping to be able to afford a vacation there next summer. On a slightly-related topic, if you ever get a chance to see the IMAX movie “Greece: Secrets of the Past“, it is absolutely worth your time. We saw it in Chicago (at the Field Museum, or the Shedd Aquarium, I can’t remember – maybe the Museum of Science and Industry?) a while back (we were there to see the Tut exhibit) and it was GORGEOUS. Beautiful music in it, as well and it was narrated by Nia Vardalos, writer/star of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. I loved the caryatides that “came to life” at the end.

Anyway…I will be at the theatre on the first day (July 18th) that “Mamma Mia” opens, I guarantee it. Hubby liked the show, too, and is even a little excited, himself (or, at least he’s willing to go with me). If you haven’t seen the trailer, you can go check it out here:
Mamma Mia movie site

I forgot to say how we liked the taco ring…I guess I have “Summer brain”. Anyway, we all liked it quite a bit. It certainly isn’t gourmet, but it was easy and it was a hit. Boy and Girl were actually arguing last night over which of them would get to eat the leftovers for lunch. As it turned out, Boy and I were at a pool party with some of his buddies from school and we ate yummy grilled hot dogs in one of the most hospitable backyards I’ve ever seen (it was Boy Wonderland: ping pong table, a lovely pool with bar seating both inside and outside the water, grill, tables, batting cage, putting green and gorgeous screened-in porch), so Hubby and Girl got to fight over the leftovers. I didn’t ask, but I’m pretty sure that Girl won. 😉

Not sure what I’ll do for dinner tonight – time to hit the cookbooks. I have some boneless, skinless chicken breasts thawing… Chicken a la King is always a big hit, but I don’t have any celery or carrots in the house right now and I don’t want to make another grocery run. I’m sure I’ll come up with something…

Well, we did some deck spray painting on Sunday, but because we’ve never used one of those rental power sprayers before, we didn’t realize how quickly they go through paint. We (OK, Hubby) got the job about 2/3 of the way finished and then we ran out of paint. The paint store is closed on Sunday and the sprayer is $80 a day, so we returned it and will rent it again (probably not until this weekend) and finish up soon.

My excellent masking paper/taping job:

Hubby, spraying with a little trepidation:

Hubby fuel (iced latte):

On a (sort of) related note…
We left behind some very dear friends (E & A, and their 3 kids, D, Z and A) when we moved back to Texas from Virginia. Over the years that we were in Virginia, we shared many, many cups of coffee with these hospitable folks. We even stayed with them on our last few days in town, after the movers had left with all of our possessions (but we were still tying up loose ends of the home sale). As a going-away present, we bought them the “fancy” espresso maker that they had been lusting after for years. While staying with them for those last few days in July of 2004, we decided that the machine was amazing and that we HAD to have one of our own. We ordered one immediately and had it delivered to our new house in Austin. It was waiting for us on the doorstep when we arrived and we had it set up and operational before we even had a working telephone. Hubby and I are both die-hard coffee addicts and since Hubby works from home, our daily coffee consumption (the machine has a “cup counter”) can be a bit staggering. We recently noticed that our machine has made over 9,000 cups (we also use offer made-to-order coffees when we have parties, so not ALL of these cups are ours). Hubby is going to try to take a video when it rolls over to 10,000.