I actually had trick-or-treaters...

I think I had like 6 different (or at least I hope different) groups of kids. The first group was the cutest. It was a group of like 6 kids, all under the age of 4 in THE CUTEST costumes I have seen. One was an elephant, there was a knight, complete with a shining sword (that was probably almost as tall as he was... too precious), an angel, etc... I was kind of moronic, though. Not having much experience with the whole holiday thing, all I could say was "How Cute!" the whole freaking time.... There was no "Happy Halloween" or "What do we have here?" banter. Thanks to the genes I inherited from my mother, I really had to try hard not to cry when I saw the cute kids in their cute costumes... Thanks, Mom...

The others were all older kids, like upper elementary to middle school kids. The last 2 girls were dressed up as "The Cheetah Girls"... I thought that was pretty clever. They had on ballet tutus and cheetah patterned tights...

The best part about the evening was I got rid of all the Butterfingers that were hidden in the miscellaneous bag I bought... So now I am left with the ones I like and will eat...

Oh, and honey, if you are reading this, we had so many kids come that I ran out of candy, which is why there won't be any left when you get home in 2 weeks.... Please ignore the commentary above...

My FAVORITE Halloween Candy is...

Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, from Necco! Yum... So good... I've been in 7th heaven all day since I bought a bag for the office :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

There's one benefit to buying your candy last minute... It's on sale. I got 2 bags of Snicker Bars for like 4 bucks, plus a bunch of "fillers". I should be set... And if I don't get that many kids tonight, well then, it's a good thing I only buy candy that I like. I'll probably stash the leftovers in my desk at work for those 3:00pm sugar cravings...

Late Halloweener...

Well, I have waited until the last minute to prepare for Halloween. I still don't have any candy. I'll have to go out and see what I can find on my lunch break tomorrow. Hopefully, I don't end up with a whole lot of kids. It always seems like the art of Trick-or-Treating is being lost. Looking back, I don't remember more than 5-10 kids showing up for candy in like the last 5 years. So, I'm not sure just how many we'll get here... I guess I could ask my neighbor. They've lived here for a while now, so I think they would know... It's the same for my parents. My family has always gotten enough candy to fill my mom's HUGE tupperware bowl and I remember that she would let us pick first, to make sure we got some from it. Now, they might get a bag of candy and it'll still be mostly full... And that's giving out 2-3 pieces at a time.


I was going to go as Meg Griffen for Halloween, but I can't find my pink hat... So I don't think I'll be dressing up as anything this year. Normally, I'll wear A's old flight suit and go as a "pilot". It's pretty controversial. It has the old CAF patch on the back (from before they changed their name to "Commemorative Air Force"...) I wore the suit to an office I worked at where some people "of color" worked, and I got some really evil looks from some of them. I think that was the last time I wore it for a Halloween costume.

Apparently, I'm allergic to Christmas Cactus blossoms...

We have several Christmas Cacti at the office, one of which resides on a high bookshelf above my head. When we noticed blossoms on ALL of the plants, everyone was so excited! Mine is a lighter pink than the others and I was even more excited than the others to see mine blossom. I've inherited a black thumb from my mother, so I've never had a plant live that long before.

I noticed my blossoms opening up yesterday, so I moved my plant so I could see them better, basically placing the blossoms right over my main work area... Well, that apparently was a bad idea. I started having a "highly-suseptible to allergies" day today, since I didn't get as much sleep last night as I should have, and after I had been at work for about an hour, my allergies EXPLODED! Around lunch time, I noticed that my plant was putting out pollen, so I moved it into the other room. While that didn't stop my allergies (I have had many sneezes just writing this post), it did lessen them considerably.

So, for the duration of the blooms, my beautiful cactus will reside in our reception area. They don't seem to bother me, unless I am right up to them, so I will just enjoy from afar.

(This cactus is not mine, but it is similar... I forgot to take a picture of mine...)

Blackout... (aka Where is the flashlight?)

So, after I got home tonight, I realized that my power was out. At first, I just thought I didn't leave a light on or turn on my porch light. Then, after trying to turn on the lamp closest to the front door (which has a florescent bulb in it, so it doesn't turn on right away), I heard my battery back-up beeping. Crap... My power was out... And I didn't have a flashlight (that I know of... Honey, if one exists in the house somewhere, please tell me). I then had to stumble around upstairs to find my cell phone (which I forgot at home today) to use as a flashlight while I gathered what candles I could find. Then I tried to find my box of matches that I remember leaving on my bar in my kitchen. Drat... They weren't there. I must have "put them away." This instigated a search for my lighter, which I hid when the construction guys were here... Where, oh where, did I put the darn thing... Oh, in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom (good place for it).... Ok... Light the dang candles.... Where are the other 2.... Crap... I can't cook dinner... Call someone since I can't watch TV or go online... Hi, Auntie! Gotta go? OK... Hi A's mom! Gotta go? Hi Mommy! Gotta go? OK, power's back on now. Hopefully it stays on...

(Personal note: Go get a flashlight and emergency candles and matches etc... Maybe a battery operated lantern...)

Thank you Subway...

I've been sick all night and all day so far. I have a feeling it was something I ate, and the only thing "out of the norm" that I ate at all was a sandwich from Subway for dinner. I got what I usually get, without sauce (because I don't like it, and that's usually what makes you sick in the first place... If it didn't come from my fridge, I don't use it), and was up all night with nausea. I tried to get ready for work this morning and I "had" to sit down... So I called in, slept all day and then ventured out around 3 pm to go get some 7-up and crackers... Still pretty queasy... Not really looking forward to dinner, but I might try to make some chicken-rice soup (you know... make some rice, then add a bunch of chicken broth to it). We'll see how that goes...

Gosh... I hate being sick, especially like this.

We're thinking...

...about getting another dog... But not just any dog... We'd get another "village" dog. One, I know we can get a puppy for free. Two, We'd be rescuing it from a life of no vet care and possibly getting shot later in life... That right, you read correctly... When we lived in the village, they routinely held "dog hunts" to help control the dog population, because they didn't get their animals fixed and they let the puppies go feral... Not a great situation. Needless to say, when we lived there, Noni was NEVER off-leash. Now that A is back in that area, I told him that if he hears that someone has puppies (and they aren't being bred to be a sled dog - which is still a way of life there) that he should bring one home. Noni would love to have a friend to share the day with. She misses her dog friends from "down south" in the "lower-48".

I can't wait to be a "pack" leader... LOL...

My 28 yr old butt is too big...

I had to take a break from my NKOTB sickness and so I decided to take Noni for a walk. We had the first snowfall of the season last night, and there was still a little bit on the ground by this afternoon. Noni LOVES LOVES LOVES the snow.

I had an epiphany today... My 28 yr old butt is too big... You know it's bad when the really baggy jeans that you bought and realized later they were too big, but you were too lazy to take them back, are the only ones that fit you right now...

So, my goal is to be back to a size 10 by the time I turn 29. So I have a year to drop 4 sizes...

Step 1: Take daily walks with my dog... It's good for the both of us.

Step 2: Don't "diet"... Eat what I normally eat, just proper portions of it...

That's as far as I'm going to go right now... We'll re-evaluate next month to see if I'm starting to be able to fit back into my size 12 jeans...

OMG - NKOTB...

Thanks to Nicole and Friday-Night Boredom, my interest/obsession with NKOTB has been re-kindled. (I'm not sure if that is a good thing at this point or not...) I remember hearing that they were getting back together, but I didn't really think much past that. In fact, I haven't really thought about the band in probably 15 years, since the demise of my cassette tape and the fact that as it was winding down for them, they weren't looking too good (it could just be me, but back in the early 90's, it looked like Joey was on drugs or something... he just didn't look "right" to me).

So, with interest piqued, and nothing better to do tonight, I started down memory lane. The Rat-Tails... The shredded jeans... The baby-faced boys singing in falsetto... Jordan in his "OshKosh'B'Goshs"... The Black & Neon sweaters that EVERYONE was wearing (I have my mom searching the old photos to see if she has one of me wearing mine... it is similar to this one, but not exactly... It was striped and their names were repeated to create the stripes and NKOTB and hearts mixed in)... The "CHEESY" syncronised dance moves that became their signature (and still is) that has never been quite duplicated by boy bands since... Good Times...

So, I've been reliving my "pre-teen" years, when I was consumed by the NKOTB obsession that gripped most of the world. Looking back at the old music videos, I can't help but laugh... Mostly at ourselves, because "we" just looked silly. I mean, who could take you serious when you wore what we wore and did our hair the way we did... The music takes me back, though. Donnie's raps are refreshing, by todays standards. I think that was the only time I tolerated, if not liked, rap as a genre. "The Right Stuff" is still played on Sirius Radio, so I get to hear that song still, but the others went into obscurity in my brain. I can hear the songs now, and remember taking my "boom box" outside to the school playground (we lived across the street) and listening to those songs... Or I'll flash to my horrible attempts at copying the dance moves...

Looking at the boys who are now (very attractive) men, I can't help but get a little excited and nostalgic. They look better now than they did then (but that could just be that I've grown up along with them, and my tastes have matured). Looking at their new videos, I'm glad that the videos, at least, are not relying heavily on the weird syncronised dance moves. They are very good songs. I might actually have to by the single. I love how their voices matured. Joe sounds sexy now instead of just boyish...

I will admit, Jon was always my favorite. He was "the quite one," at least in my opinion. I've never been good at classifying personalities like that. To me, he was the cutest. He has the best smile. The grown-up version is not too bad either.

I guess I am going to have to come out of the closet and embrace what has been there all along... I totally love their single "Summertime". I've been sitting here listening to it play on YouTube over and over again while I type this. Too bad I don't live in an area that would allow me to see them in concert...

It is now officically autumn...

For some reason, it doesn't ever feel like autumn to me until I've had my birthday. To me, my birthday signifies the start of the holiday season. Pretty soon, we'll be finalizing our plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. A will be home for Thanksgiving, and hopefully Christmas (if they keep him on a schedule that has him working the first half of the month). It will be the first holiday season on 3 years that we will get to spend together.

This is my favorite time of year. From the time of my birthday to the New Year. I am giddy with excitement and anticipation! I can hardly wait! :)

When do you start preparing for the holidays?

(Oh, just be prepared... in my heightened state of excitement and anticipation, I may repeatedly change my blog without notice... Well... I guess this could count as notice :))

A multitude of Birthdays...

I forgot to add to my last post about how weird it is, just how many people I know or have known who have the same birthday as me...

A's sister married someone also born on October 23...

My best friend had her 2nd child on October 23...

I used to work with a girl who was exactly 1 year younger than me...

Has anyone else notices just how many birthdays occur in October? I guess that people are "gettin' busy" around Valentines Day, and that must account for it.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, my 8 yr old self's birthday cake of choice was Lemon Cake with Lemon Frosting... My tastes have matured a bit... My 28 yr old self's birthday cake of choice is Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting... I'll make it when A gets back. If I have an entire cake all to myself, I will make myself sick...

Also... I got my first birthday present today :) My boss gave me the "Iron Man" DVD! YAY!!! I'm so excited I can't wait to go home tonight to watch it :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

I usually meet this day with dread. It's never really been a great day for me growing up, but I do have some good memories:

I think, for my 8th birthday, my mom let me make my own birthday cake (or at least frost it by myself, I don't remember the actual baking). I remember making designs in the frosting with the butter knife. I think I drew an 8 in the frosting.

My 16th birthday was bitter-sweet. We had just moved away from home, but I got to go back to visit my friends for my birthday. We ended up at a rodeo, sponsored by Wrangler, in Billings Montana. Can I just say... Wrangler Butts Drive Me Nuts!!! (ok... I got it out of my system). I think my friend and I spent the whole night watching the gorgeous, tall, lanky cowboys walk around in front of us... or at least away from us... lol...

My 21st birthday ended with me not getting carded... despite my numerous attempts... bummer...

Now, I am 28. This one is OK, so far. I like my job. My office is taking me out to lunch. My husband is far away, but at least he has a job, so I'm thankful for that. I will probably go get a pie or some ice-cream to eat (probably for dinner)... I mean, it's my b-day. I can have ice-cream for dinner if I want (right, Mom?)

Now, you can enjoy a video I found last night. It combines 2 of my favorite things. A "Weird Al" song and Full Metal Alchemist. Happy Birthday to Me :)

Gone...

As much as I love my husband, and as much as I'll miss him for my birthday and such, I am breathing a sigh of relief that he got where he's going ok (and that I have the house to myself again). With the hectic flight schedules of our pilots, we, as wives and girlfriends of pilots, get used to our own routines when they are away. We miss them like crazy when they are gone, enjoy their presence when they are home, and as it gets closer to when they leave again, can't wait for them to go.

It definitely makes the heart grow fonder. Having A underfoot for so long during this latest job upheaval was making me want to hide the knives (which he finally found for me in our garage this weekend... we've been looking for them since March). As his stress level rises as the days get closer, I find I don't want to spend time with him, if only to prevent us from fighting all the time.

I also get to actually talk to him while he's gone. We are usually both so distracted when he's home with various projects, we don't get that much time to spend together, just talking. It reminds me of when we were first dating, and I was still in High School. I was living with my parents and had a curfew and everything. So we would IM eachother, back when Instant Messaging was still new, or call and talk on the phone for hours about nothing, when we couldn't type anymore. Now, I get to be nostalgic. The technology is different, but I'm looking forward to our time apart, as I feel it will bring us closer together.

Getting ready to go...

So, right now, we are trying to work out the kinks on our online video phone thingies for A and I to use while he is in Bethel. They don't have cell service there yet, so we'll be relying on the internet, which they do have. For some reason, there is a background drone on his end that makes it so I can't hear him. It could just be because he is near the dryer downstairs, but we won't know for a while. We have about 30 minutes before we have to get him to the airport to catch his flight to Anchorage tonight, so we don't have a whole lot of time to mess with it right now.

Today is Tuesday...

I kept going through today thinking it's Wednesday. Even when my mom called to wish me a Happy Birthday (she wanted to get a jump on it because she usually forgets) I told her, not until tomorrow. It was then brought to my attention that, today is in fact, Tuesday.

So, just in case you forgot... it is Tuesday still...

An American Carol

We went to see "An American Carol" yesterday. It was really funny. It's basically a political satire of Michael Moore, told in "Christmas Carol" fashion. If you have a good sense of humor, you'll probably enjoy the movie, whether you are conservative or not. Kelsey Grammer slapping the crap out of a Michael Moore look-a-like is just too funny... LOL...

It's pretty cheesy at the end, also in true "Christmas Carol" fashion. Of course, the Michael Moore look-a-like learns that it's not a good thing to constantly bash the country you live in. And also, that without wars, slavery would not have been abolished, and we would all probably be speaking either German or Japanese. OK, I added that last part, but it makes sense.

Aviation Job Update

Well... I posted a few days ago about being frustrated and censorship and all that. It was about my husband's "new" job and my frustrations with it. He didn't want me to post anything details, hence the censorship. But, now that things are moving again, I can post about it.

He is still employed, but he won't be flying the plane they originally hired him to fly. That plane got damaged, and will take up to 4 months to repair. He'll be flying a Cessna 207 until then. We didn't find that part out until today because they had to see if they still had a spot open for him. Hence, the frustration. For the last week and a half, we weren't sure if he was going to go back to work or not.

The downside to all this is that he originally was to go to Bethel on the 29th, which means he would have been home for my birthday. Now, he has to leave on Tuesday, so he'll be gone for my b-day... sigh... I guess that's what I get for being married to a pilot. Missed birthdays and anniversaries...

At least it appears that his 2 week schedule will fall at the beginning of the month, so theoretically, he should be home for the holidays.

Day after the debate...

I will admit, I didn't really watch the debate last night. I found other things more interesting to do than listen to two people who I don't really care for, blame each other for what's been done wrong, blah blah blah.

I would respect both candidates more if they stopped blaming each other and started working together for the greater good. I know that they are playing the ultimate popularity game, but smearing each other doesn't work that well, in my opinion.

Case in point... There is a candidate running against Ted Stevens for US Senate here in AK, Mark Begich. I have not heard one bad thing about Ted Stevens in any of his sponsored commercials, especially with everything going on right now for Mr. Stevens. Instead of saying "Vote for me because Ted is evil" he says "Vote for me because I have these ideas that will work for the state." That's refreshing. I wish it could be like that everywhere. Instead of breaking it down to what has been done wrong, personally and professionally, break it down to something more like "OK, we know we have problems, let's do what we need to do to fix it." Isn't that what it's supposed to be about? Voting for someone based solely on their principles and ideas, not based on the color of their skin or the fact that they are a woman?

I hope that both presidential candidates wake up and stop blaming each other. I'm sick of it and, right now, I'm not too sure that either one of them will do a good job. All they've proven to me is that they are good at placing the blame on someone else, and not taking responsibility for their own actions.

Stupid Airline Jobs...

Stupid unstable industry...

As you can see, I'm a woman of few words tonight, but very frustrated... So frustrated, that I am unable to comment further...

Stupid censorship...

Tagged...

I was tagged by readership for the following from Mandy. I will share 6 things about myself, never before shared...

1. My favorite color is yellow, but I use green in/on practically everything I do...

2. I have a total of 7 brothers and sisters.

3. Only one of them is my "full" brother.

4. I really only have a speaking-relationship with my oldest brother, who I didn't grow up with. (Maybe that's why...)

5. I LOVE to cook, but I HATE to clean up afterwards... So I don't usually cook.

6. I saw my first gray hair at the age of 24.

Now I will tag 6 people to keep it going.

1. Lonestar818
2. GeronimoDriver
3. levengoodvet678
4. msmom21
5. faaflyboy
6. YOU!!!

Have fun! I look forward to learning 6 things about you!

Thanks to my husband...

After basically ignoring my husband all Friday evening and all day Saturday, while I read the "new" Gilmore Girls episodes, we decided that we would do a movie night. We found "License to Drive" was playing at 8:00 PM, which I had never seen before, so we made plans to watch it. We ordered pizza and enjoyed what we could of the movie... Is it just me, or is it getting painful to watch 80's movies 20 years later. They are still good, but only in the "I can't believe I liked this when I was 8" kind of way...

So when that movie was over, we started watching the one that came on after License to Drive (I won't say the name of the movie, because it wasn't a very good one) and then the DVR went crazy on us and we had to switch back to "live" (we had paused License to Drive while we were getting situated for the night, so we were about 30 minutes off "live"). When we did, we caught the last 30 minutes of "Space Balls, The Movie" LOL... That movie is just as stupid as I remember it, but seeing it as an adult, I get the jokes a lot more than I did when I was 10. LOL

After that was over, A suggested that we watch "The General," which was on a few nights ago and he recorded it. I remembered watching the first 10 minutes of it before I went to sleep. It happens to be one of A's favorite movies, and so I snuggled in to watch it with him. It is a silent film, which I hadn't seen any of this genre ever, but I really enjoyed it. The comedic timing is perfect, and subtle. Something you don't see much today. The facial expressions just had me rolling at times. Like when he goes to save his girl, and they get away, and she thinks he came "just to save her" and, of course, being a guy, he's going to play to this. Like, "Oh, yeah, baby, I couldn't have left you with those monsters, Give me a kiss as thanks now...." LOL I have now added as many Buster Keaton movies as Netflix has to my list.

It's quite refreshing to get to watch a movie like that, without getting hit over the head with obvious and quite vulgar humor that is so prevalent in today's movies.

So, thanks to my husband, I have found another passion... Silent Movies! Maybe we'll make one ourselves, starting Noni... If we do, I'll post it...

Another addiction

As not so many of you know, I am a pretty avid fan of the show Gilmore Girls. I own every season on DVD. I share my addiction with my BFF and we have been known to have debates on "would so-an-so REALLY do that" and so on.

So, imagine my surprise, when I was googling Gilmore Girls, that I found a website that continues the story from where the TV show left off. I've been spending practically my ENTIRE evening reading these new "episodes" online. I am rivited. It wasn't until I found it that I realized just how much I miss the goings-on in their lives.

So, thanks to these creative people, who were not ready for the story to end, so they extended it themselves for us to read.

It's ALOHA FRIDAY!!!

While living in Hawaii, I dreaded this phrase. I can't exactly say why now. When I think back on my time there, the concept of ALOHA FRIDAY is kind of fun. Every Friday (probably for the benefit of the tourists) is ALOHA FRIDAY! Everyone wears their traditional Hawaiian gear (Aloha shirts, Mu-Mu's etc... btw, they are NOT called "hawaiian shirts" there, they are "Aloha shirts"), all of the radio stations play more hawaiian music with the mix of what they usually play, and you constantly here "It's Aloha Friday.... No work 'till Monday....etc (it's a song)"

I'm taking a page from the place I despise, and declare today ALOHA FRIDAY for anyone who wants to participate. I'm not taking things too seriously today. Monday will come soon enough for stress.

The red-headed step-child....

I cannot help but feel like the red-headed step-child sometimes at work. Mainly, because I am the only employee who is not required to go to the bi-yearly board meeting in Anchorage. Everyone says that I should be happy I don't have to go sit during 2 days of mindless, boring, board meetings, but I can't help but feel left out. Instead I get to sit in my office in Juneau, in a completely quiet office building, slowly going crazy! As much as I like working by myself, a little bit of human interaction now and again is necessary for my sanity. The last board meeting, in April, I was still a fairly new employee, and just an admin assist then. I was told that I would most likely go to the next one, which is the full-on everyone invited board meeting (which started today). But then, just a few weeks ago, I was told that I would be staying here again. I am not just a lowly admin assist anymore (although that is still my techinical title, as I haven't been blessed with the "WC Claims Adjuster" title) but I do so much more than that. I took over the WC claims from a guy who was working in our Anchorage office, and just due to his proximity to the meeting, he got to go.

I know... I'm sounding like a whiny little witch with a capital B about it... If I were not me, and saw me whining about it, I'd probably slap myself (does that make sense?)...

Maybe I'm just cranky from the insanely busy day I had today, the migrane that started around 1 PM, and the fact that I FORGOT TO GET A DIET COKE AT LUNCH TODAY!!! I can't believe I forgot, and once I got back to work, I had to stay there in case the higher-ups needed something from me today... I should probably go lay down or something... Before I spew my hate and discontent all over my lovely husband, who cleaned the kitchen for me today... That wouldn't be nice... And I'm trying my hardest to be nice today...

Wednesday Night Dinner : Beef & Broccoli Noodles

I have a recipe for traditional Beef & Broccoli, but I created this variation for weekdays when I don't feel like "velveting the beef." The main difference is that I use ground beef for my "everynight" version rather than beef steak for the traditional. I also don't use the tradional recipe for the Brown Sauce as my cook book calls for it, mainly because I think it's too heavy on Hoisen and Oyster sauce. I use both ingredients, but I don't measure them. I also use more soy sauce, as I prefer that flavor to the others. I make the Brown Sauce that way wether I'm making it tradionally or not.

You can season the meat however you want. I usually put it in a bowl, add some garlic, maybe some fresh grated ginger (if I have it), some green onions (white to light green part only, I use the green parts for garnish later), soy sauce, wine/sherry (usually I'll just use whatever I have in my fridge), salt and pepper. I will put it together and let it sit until A decides he's hungry enough to eat dinner, which is usually around 7. I don't measure, I just use what I think it needs. I do start out with a pound of beef, so add whatever you like.

Before you are ready to cook dinner, bring together the following:(This is the traditional recipe for Brown Sauce, but I'll put my notes for my own tastes.)

1 Tbs + 1 tsp of oyster sauce (I use MAYBE 1 1/2 tsp)
3 tsp of hoisin sauce (again, I use MAYBE 1 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp sherry (I use whatever alcohol I add to the meat to tenderize, and I usually use a bit more than the 1 tsp called for, probably closer to 1/8 of a cup)
1 tsp soy sauce (I use about as much soy sauce as wine, I just eyeball it)
1/2 tsp sugar (unaltered)
1/2 c beef broth or juices from cooked meat (when I do traditional, I'll keep this intact, when I do my altered version, I will add what is needed when I bring the sauce together)

Mix thoroughly and I let it sit until I'm ready to use it. Just before you are ready to cook the sauce, combine 2 Tbs water and 1 Tbs of cornstarch and add to the brown sauce.

Brown the meat in a little bit of oil, trying to keep larger chunks of beef (I usually do this by rolling out little "meatballs". Because I don't use a binder, it will usually break apart while cooking, but it leaves larger pieces). Cook the pasta while the meat is browning.(I use Angel Hair when I cook with the noodles, but you can serve this with rice also)

When the meat is done, add the brown sauce after you mix in the cornstarch and bring to a boil, until thickened. Add more beef broth if necessary. Toss the pasta into the sauce and let sit to combine. Steam some frozen broccoli in the microwave (or use another method if you prefer) and add to the mix. Serve hot. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds (if you have them) and enjoy!

Please let me know if you want the "full and complete" recipe for the traditional version of Beef & Broccoli.

EXTRA INFORMATION: ADDED 10/9/08
I made this post before I cooked the dinner last night. I found that I didn't have any beef broth, so I used chicken, and it was OK. It was also the first time I made it with pasta rather than rice, and I found I needed to add some of the pasta water to the sauce when it was coming together in order to have enough sauce for the pasta. The dinner came together in about 15-20 minutes.

Baby Noni

I promised some pictures of Noni when she was just a baby. This is her right after we got her, she's approx. 3 1/2 weeks old.

Calvin & Hobbs

I added a "Calvin & Hobbs" daily comic strip to the bottom of my blog. If you haven't seen it yet, you should scroll down to it. I love Calvin & Hobbs, don't you? I saw this clip on Robot Chicken, one of the funniest shows I've seen in quite a while. Mars is amazing!!!

What a day...

I was up most of last night trying to figure out how to get a background of my own design on my blog. Finally got it done around midnight. Been sitting here staring at my screen, playing mindless video games while listening to a book on cd.

What do you think about the new "fall" background I've made?

Time for the Vet!

Noni had her appointment today for her shots and such. After her ordeal with the vets prior to Hawaii, she gets really anxious going to the vet. But, it's necessary, so she has to go. She was up for her full range of shots, rabies included. Poor baby...

The doctor was excellent. She did the majority of the exam on the floor, where Noni was more comfortable. We put her up on the table for the shots, mainly because it's easier to hang on to her. The doctor did all the shots really quickly, and then gave Noni lots of cookies as a reward for doing do well (I asked to myself, where's my cookie?)...

I expect her to be sore through tonight. She was the last time she got a rabies shot. But she did so good today.

I don't give a ...

This isn't entirely new. A has had it on his computer for some time now, but I find it hilarious. Sometimes, you just need something like this. LOL

It's an epidemic!

Apparently, blogging is catching. My lovely husband has decided that it is time for him to have his own blog. It is called "My Life as a Pilot, and other such mental fodder..." You should check it out!

Home-made Burritos

Growing up, my mom used to make a large batch of burritos at the beginning of the month and freeze them. I've done the same thing on several occasions. I usually make a batch when I buy ground beef in bulk. The recipe is very simple, and extremely versatile. I'll post the recipe that I used tonight, but basically everything in the recipe can be changed out for something else, or omitted entirely.

Recipe as follows:

2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion (shredded, but only because I don't like chunks of onion)
3-5 minced garlic cloved (or garlic powder. I've used powder in the past and it works well)
salt, pepper, chili powder (I used New Mexico Chili Powder)
2 cans of refried beans
burrito size flour tortillas
shredded cheese
1 can green chili (or fresh, if you have it, or omit it if you don't like it.)

Using a dutch oven, brown the ground beef, mix in onion, garlic, and seasonings. You can use as much seasoning as you like. I didn't measure, I just checked the flavor of the meat when it was done browning. When it is seasoned properly, add the 2 cans of beans to the meat and mix thouroughly. Taste again to make sure it is still seasoned properly.

Warm up the tortillas on a warm skillet (preferred) or in the microwave. Put as much meat/bean mix as you want in the middle of the tortilla, top with as much cheese as you want, and as much chilis and you want. Wrap the burritos, tucking the ends in before the final flip. Wrap the burrito in either wax paper or plastic wrap, then again in aluminum foil. Lable and freeze. When I was growing up, I didn't like chilis, so my mom would make some with and some without. If you have any picky kids like that, make sure to lable the burritos with wether there are chilis or not.

To heat the frozen burritos, you can bake them, microwave them, fry them (my favorite).

The number of burritos this recipe makes is variable as to how much filling you use, etc... You can also try a chicken burrito using ground chicken. Have fun mixing it up. Let me know if you have any questions.

A bit of artwork I did this weekend...

I've noticed that I like to upload my artwork, when I do any. This one combines my love of ladybugs (or as my grandma told me I called them when I was little "tady-bugs") and aviation. I based this drawing on Fifinella, the Walt Disney-drawn mascot of the WASPS in WW2.

TGIS

Saturday could not come fast enough for me this week. What is it with people hurting themselves at work... All it does it make more work for me. I guess I shouldn't complain too much. People will always do stupid things that result in injuries. They call that Job Security...

Aside from being insanely busy this week, not much happened worth blogging about...

But here's a hypothetical: Why is it that when a pilot is scheduled off for a whole month, they sit at home on their butts, stare at a computer screen, only do the stuff you asked them to do 15 minutes before you get home from slaving away in an office for 8 hours, then ask, "what's for dinner?" Half the time, I want to smack him.... But that would be considered spousal abuse, and spousal abuse is wrong (said in my best Mr. Rogers voice).

I wonder what would happen in my house if I didn't love him...

You can't fix stupid...

I am finding that, this morning, I have no patience for stupidity.

Short and sweet version: The girl at McD's said her computer was down, so she couldn't take my card (they recently stopped accepting checks because people here like to write bad ones and I hardly ever carry cash). The concept of taking down my card information to process when the computers are up never occured to her, even after I suggested it. Thank goodness for the supervisor who could take care of things or I would be without a Diet Coke this morning (Heaven Forbid)...

Wednesday Night Dinner : "Adult" Mac & Cheese

So I was watching the Food Network the other day, when I saw Rachel Ray make "Mac & Cheese Lorraine" for 30 minute meals. It looked interesting, so I looked up the recipe to make it for dinner tonight.

I modified it slightly for what we had or could get here in Juneau. I used grueyer cheese, but we added some provolone to the mix for filler. I also only used one onion. I thought I botched my first attempt at a roux. I turned to wash the lettuce for our salad, and when I turned back to the roux, it was all lumpy. I tried whisking it and that fixed it well enough to mix the cheese into it. I had some shell pasta in my pantry, and it was the inspiration to try this dish, as A LOVES Shells'n'Cheese, but I HATE velveeta. This was a nice compromise.

It turned out better than I expected. I overcooked the pasta (I'm used to the time it takes to make penne, not shells). I also only used half a pound of shells. I mixed the bacon into the whole thing, rather than garnishing it on top. We have A LOT left over, because it makes a lot and it is really rich. We'll see what the leftovers are like tomorrow when I come home for lunch.

Next time, I'll try a different cheese and pasta combo, and make like a quarter of the recipe. But it is really really good :)

Catch Up

So I didn't get a chance to post anything yesterday. It happened to be pay day, so my normally free time was spent paying bills and grocery shopping for the month (I only get paid once a month). A's home this month, so I had to plan a lot more strictly than I do for myself on the menu. We won't have any expendable income until probably December, so we won't get to go out to eat as much as we usually do. I'm becoming the "dinner nazi" like I was when we lived in the bush of Alaska a few years ago. Growing up, my mom used to plan out our dinners a month in advance, and that worked really well keeping to a strict budget. I've tried that for me and A, but he changes his mind a lot on what he wants for dinner, so I stopped fighting it. Instead, I make a list of dinner options for the month and keep it on the fridge. When I ask him what he wants for dinner, he goes to the fridge and see's what's still available, and picks from those choices. Then, after we make it, we cross it off the list. We haven't done it this way for a while, but we'll see if it works in an environment where we have the temptation to go to a restaurant...

A got my office put together for me the other day... well, at least he got my desk set up for me. I have to work in there this weekend to get it a little more organized, and I think we are going to paint in there... I'll post pictures if/when we do...

Not much else going on... I'm posting from work, which if my boss saw me doing it, would probably result in a lecture or something, so I will continue this evening when I get home. I have to post about a new recipe I found a couple of days ago that we will be trying tonight since it is Wednesday...