Friday, October 23, 2009

Barbecue Pulled Pork

Recipe posted at mom's request. I started off with a recipe on the food network, but I changed it somewhat.

BBQ Pulled Pork Shoulder


Ingredients:

One Pork Shoulder, 4-6 pounds

½ - one red onion

Cloves of garlic, 3-4, as desired

Ground cloves

BBQ or pork seasoning

Liquid Smoke

Barbecue sauce

Pickles

Sandwich Rolls


Process:

Rub pork shoulder with the seasoning liberally.

Place it in your crock pot and sprinkle the top with ground cloves

Quarter the onion, separate the slices, and throw them in there. Add the garlic cloves, whole or crushed.

Pour some liquid smoke into there. You can add more later if you want it to taste smokier.

Fill about ½ up with water.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until it starts to fall apart.

Remove from pot. Pour off most of the excess water, leaving only about a cup or so. Remove the onions and garlic (if you left the cloves whole).

Using two forks, pull the pork apart. Place back in pot

Add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce . cook on low for another hour or so, until the liquid has reduced enough. You want the mixture to be wet, but not watery, and you want it to be hot all the way through.

Serve!

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Monday, October 19, 2009

My Last Class Schedule-- Ever!

Classes:

Louisiana Security Devices Survey
Sales and Lease
Introduction to Intellectual Property
Hazardous Waste
Race Relations Seminar

Mondays
910-1010 Security Devices
1240-140 Sales
150-250 Introduction to Intellectual Property

Tuesdays
950-1050 Security Devices
300-500 Race Relations Seminar
500-630 Hazardous Waste

Wednesdays
910-1010 Security Devices
1240-140 Sales
150-250 Introduction to Intellectual Property
Thursdays
950-1050 Security Devices
1240-140 Sales
150-250 Introduction to Intellectual Property
5-630 Hazardous Waste

Fridays

NOTHING!!
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

How to Read a Nutrition Label

It occurs to me that many people don't understand what a calorie is, what it means to consume a calorie, and where the calories are coming from in the food we eat.

So, for anyone who is interested, please read on:

**A disclaimer: I didn't major in science in college, so if I make a mistake, please point it out. but nicely. Doing the best I can here.

First thing, grab a can of food out of your pantry, or anything with a nutrition label.

After the serving size and number of servings in the package, the first thing you'll see is "Calories."
In chemistry class, you probably heard that a calorie is the amount of energy that it takes to raise one cubic centimeter of water by one degree celsius. The calories in your food are Calories, with a capital C. They're 1,000 of the little guys. Essentially, calories are energy.

When you eat food, your body uses the calories to operate. if you eat more calories than your body needs to operate in a day, the calories get stored. as fat. that's what makes you gain weight. if you eat fewer calories than your body needs in a day, you'll lose weight (but only to a certain degree. I'm certainly not advocating starving yourself to lose weight. for a number of reasons, that won't work).

Different kinds of nutrients in food contain varying amounts of calories.
One gram of fat = 9 calories
One gram of alcohol= 7 calories
One gram of Protein = 4 calories
One gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories.

So, back to the nutrition label. you can look at the nutrients and know approximately how many calories out of the whole you're getting from protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

*Note: Sugar and fiber are a part of the total carbohydrates. they aren't calculated on their own. The same is true for the various fats listed under "total fat."

Obviously, fat contains a lot more energy per gram than protein and carbohydrates. that's why most diets suggest that you limit your fat-- you're getting a lot more calories in a lot less food than you would if you ate foods high in protein and complex carbohydrates, like whole grain bread.

A final note: keep in mind that alcohol is NOT a low calorie food... in fact, as you can see, one gram of alcohol contains seven calories.

Hope this helps anyone out there who is reading and may have questions on this subject.

Additional resource: http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ConsumerInformation/ucm078889.htm#twoparts
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Banana Pudding!

Ingredients:

1 package sugar free, fat free instant Jello pudding mix. Banana cream or vanilla, your choice.
2 cups cold skim milk
2 medium bananas
32 reduced fat vanilla wafers.
1 8 oz container cool whip free

Directions:

(1) Prepare pudding.
(2) layer in a pan (or a storage container if you are lazy like me) the wafers, pudding, bananas, and cool whip in whatever order pleases you. I'd recommend a layer of wafers on the bottom, and either wafers or cool whip on the top. Go to town. have fun. Let your kids get messy with the spatula if you feel like it.
(3) Eat. Eat, Eat, Eat.

The Breakdown:

Makes 16 servings. Or 8 servings. 1/16 of this dessert contains: 80 calories, .6 grams of fat, .6 mg of cholesterol, 165 mg of sodium, 16.9 carbohydrates, 5.8 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein. So, you could easily have two servings for 160 calories, 1.2 grams of fat, 34 g. of carbohydrates, etc....




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Monday, October 12, 2009

Easy and Quick Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans
1.5 cups of frozen sweet corn
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 jalepeno, chopped
3 T cilantro
Juice of one Lime
1 t Salt
You can also add: Onions or Red Peppers. Not included in nutrition information, but it really doesn't add very many calories.

Directions:
Combine ingredients and enjoy.
I like to mix the salsa with a store-bought salsa like pace, but you can enjoy it on its own too.

The Breakdown: Makes 10 servings. One serving yields: 57.3 Calories, .4 g fat, .1 g saturated fat, 47.1 mg sodium, 178 mg potassium, 11.5 g carbohydrates, 2.9 g fiber, .2 g sugar, 3.1 g protein

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Yummy & Easy Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

1.5 cups skim milk
1 large package (2.1 oz) Sugar Free, Fat Free Instant Jello, Chocolate Flavor
1 8-oz container Cool Whip Free

Directions
1) Combine Skim Milk with the Jello. Allow it to set up for a moment.
2) Fold in the Cool Whip
3) Enjoy!

The Breakdown: One 4-oz (By weight) serving:79.2 Calories, 0 g. fat 1.2 mg cholesterol, 344.4 mg sodium, 15.6 g carbohydrates, 0 g sugar, 2.5 g protein.



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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Easy Peasy Chicken

(that even my husband loves!)

Rachel Ray's Israeli Spice Chicken:

Step one: Get some chicken. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast. Proper portion size is about 3-4 oz. per person, but it's high in protein and low in fat so if you want more, you'll probably be okay.

Step two: Mix up the following spices. I like to mix up a biiig batch and save it for the next time I make the recipe. 1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) sweet paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) ground cumin
1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) dried oregano
1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) ground coriander
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (medium to hot in spice level)
1 1/2 teaspoons (1/2 palmful), coarse kosher salt

Step Three: get a pan. heat it up. use cooking spray to lubricate, or a little oil if you want (I don't need to add, this adds calories and fat)

Step four: Cook the chicken.

Step five: Eat the chicken.

See how easy this is? It's quite flavorful and very, very healthy. Also easy.

Serve it with whatever you like; I'm serving it with saffron rice and broccoli slaw, which is flavored with a dressing consisting of rice vinegar, mayonnaise, and spices.
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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Apologies all Around

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I'll forego the excuses since I don't really have any.

Here's my update-- it's a quick one, and just recipes. no pictures, sorry. Maybe I'll add some later! Publish Post

Sinless Pumpkin Mousse

**a warning: this tastes a little bit like raw pumpkin pie. that can be off-putting to people who, well, don't like raw things. I found it delicious, but my husband wasn't as big of a fan. just a heads-up.

1-2 packages (small) of jello instant fat free sugar free vanilla pudding mix. I used one, but two will make it thicker and impart a more vanilla-y flavor.

2 cups of skim milk

1 15-oz can of pumpkin. just pumpkin, not the pie filling

1 8-oz container of cool whip free. (You can use light, too-- it adds about 5 calories per 2 tbsp of cool whop.)

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (It doesn't sound like much, but it goes a long way. if you find it lacking in flavor, by all means, add more)

Steps:

1) mix the jello and milk as per packet instructions. put in in the fridge for 3-5 minutes.
2) Add everything else. You might want the cool whip to be thawed or you'll have frozen chunks of cool whip in there.
3) enjoy!

Here's the breakdown:
Per 4-oz (by weight) serving: 67.2 calories, .4 grams of fat, 65.6 grams sodium, 12.8 g carbohydrates, 0 grams sugar, 1.6 grams fiber, 2.4 grams protein.

**Note: This is using only one box of the vanilla pudding. although using two boxes won't be that much worse, since it is after all fat free sugar free.

Texas King Ranch Casserole, Improved

12 oz (pre-cooked weight) boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded or cubed.
1 can 98% fat free or healthy request cream of mushroom soup
1 cup Kraft 2% sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes (I am going to re-try this dish using fresh tomatoes and jalepenos. I'll let you know)
6 Corn tortillas
1 small bell pepper (about .25 cups)
half of a small yellow onion, finely chopped (note: I didn't use it here because hubby doesn't like onion)

Steps:
1) Soften onion and green pepper in 1 t vegetable oil
2) Add to this chicken, soup, and Ro-Tel
3) Layer in small casserole dish tortillas, soup mixture, and cheese, ending with cheese.
4) Bake at 325 until hot and bubbly (Took me about 20 minutes)

The Breakdown: four servings, each of which has 323.5 calories, 10 grams of fat, 73.1 mg of cholesterol, 980 mg of sodium (yikes-- use healthy request if you're worried about this), 27.4 g of carbohydrates, 3.8 grams of fiber, and 29.6 grams of protein.

The content of the original King Ranch Casserole: 432 calories, 21.8 grams of fat, 11.2 grams saturated fat, 97.3 mg cholesterol, 1,110.5 mg sodium 27.9 g. carbohydrates, 3.5 grams fiber, 2.7 grams of sugar, 30.8 grams protein

What I have cut out is mostly fat and calories from fat. the original recipe called for a 1/4 cup of butter, and, of course, full fat ingredients. I find that the improved version tastes pretty good. I'm worried about the sodium, but making cream of mushroom soup on my own with less salt seems... well, honestly, way too much work! and the healthy request version... I just don't care for.

Hope you enjoy the recipes!
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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Whoa, Long Time

Wow, it has been quite a while. I’ve been only kinda-sorta busy, so I don’t really have much of an excuse for blowing off the blog for more than a month.
I’ve been trying a host of new recipes, all of which were yummy and repeatable:
Cuban Pork Chops, Tijuana Kitchen Rice, Cuban Beans, Ramen Shrimp Pouches, Artichoke Pasta Salad, and Spinach and Mushroom stuffed chicken breasts were all on the menu.
I was cooking for my nana, who I was taking care of while the parents took the grandchildren to New Orleans. She asked for all of the recipes to give to mom so she could repeat them, which I guess is high enough praise.


I am finished with my internship, and I loved it. The firm is great, and I'm really hoping they make me an offer for a permanent position in September or October. Now I am trying to force myself to continue my research for my Professor. I am a bad, bad research assistant.


Our school's trial advocacy program starts the first week of August. I've got to read the materials, prepare an opening statement and closing argument, learn how to question witnesses and compose direct and cross questioning. And then maybe I've got to think about how to do witness redirect. I'm not so sure I'll be good at this whole litigation thing. Read More......

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Family

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Yet another long and rambling post

Have you ever had the project that just Would Not Die? The one you pour hours and hours and hours of work into, but it is Never Done? The project that makes you want to bang your head into the wall, scream, and gouge your eyes out so that you have a legitimate excuse to never work on it again? That project? Have you had one?


If not, you’re lucky, lucky, lucky. If so, you can empathize with my plight.

I currently have one of these projects. I have put in probably close to 30 hours of work already, and it is entirely possible that I could spend that many more hours working on it. I might not finish before I leave, but was told that it was ok if I didn’t complete it. It’s an interesting project, but after sinking so many hours into it, I am just tired of it! I want to be finished!
PLEASE LET ME BE FINISHED SOON.

In other, non-work related news, this weekend was a blast. It was K & C’s Bachelor/ette party. We ate at Japanese, went to the zoo, some of us ate at another Japanese restaurant, the name of which escapes me now, ate hamburgers and hot dogs, and played Sing Star and Rock Band. The boys played poker, which I missed out on, but since I “stole” (will pay him back for) the poker chips from D, then I guess I’ll have another chance to play.

I’m pretty sunburned at the moment, a product of wearing no sunscreen on a clear 90-plus degree day at the zoo. Rob and I really enjoyed the reptile house. They had a huge king cobra, and two green mambas who were pretty active.

On Sunday after breakfast Rob and I went to my grandma’s to pick up a bread machine and ice cream maker for my mom. My nieces are in town, so Sunday night (after a loooooong drive back home) was spent with them, playing the Wii and letting them look at my fish (and fishing out my dead pleco…what keeps happening??)

This is my last week of work, and I’m both sad about it and eager to be done. The remainder of this summer will be my last real summer—last chance to sleep until noon and do nothing the whole day, last chance to relax without having to work all the time. I want to make the most I can out of it.

In still other news, I have decided to forego the traditional birthday list and instead ask for one of two things: (1) a best buy gift card, or (2) cash. Husband and I have decided that our old, too-quiet, green, and a little wiggly TV has got to go. So I have made a wish list on Best Buy.com that includes a large TV for the living room, a blue ray player or playstation 3, a small tv/dvd combo for the bedroom, and a host of other things, most of which I know there is no way I can afford. Because, really, $3000 washer/dryer set? None of my friends or family are that rich.

I anticipate getting enough money to be able to pitch in a little money of our own to get the TV. The blue ray player can wait, seeing as how we have a DVD player that works.


In other other other news, I saw the apartment for the first time Friday since May 25—okay, that seems like a really long time to me, but I guess it isn’t—and I have to say, props to Husband for the rearranging. The Huuuuge leather sofa pretty much dominates the living room, so there isn’t room for much else. He’s re-arranged the bedroom, putting the bed on other wall and moving everything pretty much around.

There’s only one nightstand now, and since I know he needs an alarm clock I volunteered to take the side with just a floor lamp. I’m going to sew a pouch to put over the base board of the bed so I have a place to put my cell phone, a book, and a couple of pens. The small loveseat that was in the living room is now in the bedroom at the foot of the bed, directly in front of the a/c—a little chilly, but with a blanket I think it’ll be a nice place to sit and read or study.

Just ordered a swimsuit for the trip to Arkansas we’re taking in July—black and white gingham with red trim, and a cute little black skirt. I would have just gone with the one I have in my dresser, but it’s somewhere around 8 years old and I honestly just want a new one. I need to go by Old Navy and get some of their cheap-cheap flip-flops. I mean, really, $2.50 each? Only I can never find black ones…

Okay, today's challenge (as though this is a regular thing): I'm looking for new recipes to try out for dinner and such. So, leave a comment with a link or just type up your favorite.

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

That Couch is HUGE!

Husband went scavenging around the dumpster after move-out day at our apartment, and this is what he brought back:







Yeah, it's definitely a leather sectional with a pull-out bed. It's definitely bigger than our living room. I haven't actually seen this thing up close, but the pictures-- well, the pictures say a thousand words. At least we'll have a decent couch to put in our new apartment.
Now, if only someone could scavenge me up some LCD tv's and a blue ray player....
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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Another two weeks, another post...

I've been busy working the past couple of weeks, but I suppose that's no excuse for not posting. My fish tank is fairly algae-covered, so I think I perhaps need to go and purchase a pleco to get rid of it. I hope my betta, Dutch, doesn't freak out about him.

K's bridal shower is next week, and I'm busy getting stuff ready. I need to make a shopping list and plan what I'm going to cook when.

It's been a long few weeks. I love my family, but I feel like its way past time to be at home with my husband. I don't like being separated, and it makes it worse to know that he's struggling, too.

True Blood Season 2 starts on June 14, and I'm so excited. I really want Season 1, but I don't have it yet. I think maybe I'll ask for it for my b-day.

I've been reading this new series of books, the Pschic Eye Mysteries by Victoria Laurie. Now, I'm not claiming they're high literature or anything, but they entertain me and I'm enjoying them. Sorta like Charlaine Harris's books. She also wrote a ghost hunter series that I'm going to read as well. That's the nice thing about summer-- I can read books that don't have the word "Law" or "Legal" in them. Read More......

Monday, May 18, 2009

Post about Nothing in Particular

It's been a while since I have updated, I recognize this. I’ve been pretty busy the last few weeks…first with trying to survive finals, then with trying to get settled back in my hometown for the summer, and then with working a normal 9 (8:30)-to-5 job.



I’m working at one of the law firms in town as a summer clerk. I have a corner office (curiously enough) on the top floor of one of the towers, with a nice view of the downtown area and the area north of the city. I have plenty of work to keep me busy, and the attorneys and staff are all very nice here. Naturally, I miss hubby, and I get the distinct feeling that he misses me, although he has a couple of friends in town to entertain him and my friend is going down on Wednesday to stay overnight, so he’ll have company then as well.

I’m going back down there on Friday to spend the long memorial day weekend with him—I’m so excited, I’m counting down the days and hours, which is a little bit ridiculous, but nevertheless I am doing it.

I bought (another) fish tank this weekend—this one a smaller 5 gallon, with lots of natural plants—for a betta, some ghost shrimp, and an apple snail. Provided my betta, when I get him, doesn’t go haywire and kill everything else in the tank. I read that if you put the other critters in first your betta won’t be so territorial. If all goes well I might put him in the 10-gallon for a while and switch my fish around. I’d really like to have cichlids, but they need to be in the 10-gallon (at a minimum, I really should use a larger tank for them), and I’m not so sure how well cichlids and betta get along. Although again, I’ve read that as long as the betta don’t get territorial and the fish don’t have long, brightly colored fins, betta are actually okay with everyone but other betta.

Planning a Bridal shower for my friend K (really, I’m too lazy to think up CRAZY nicknames for all my friends here), which I’m kind of excited about. Due to time constraints I’m thinking I’ll probably order the cake from somewhere and also buy some chicken salad from a really good grocery in town (I’ve heard it’s amazing) so I don’t have to do quite so much work. My friend S (sounds a bit like Gossip Girl, doesn’t it?) is going to help out, so I won’t have to do all the cooking on my own, thank God.
I have purchased vases in a variety of shapes for flowers, and I plan to tie big green bows around them. In addition, I’m going to buy fabric to make a table runner. It will be super cute and I will have to change my name to “the Martha Stewart of Law Clerks.” Not really—she’s a little bit nutso.

I joined a gym up here in town for the time I’m going to be spending here. It was really cheap with a summer special, and has free classes (pilates, aerobics, pool), a sauna, and a hot tub. Oh joy, an actual good gym!!!

In July, Hubby and J and I are going to Lake Ouachita in Arkansas, which I anticipate being lots of fun. I want to fish, so I’m going to have to convince them that they, too, want to fish. (I’m also going to do my best to convince my husband that we need to rent a boat with an actual motor—canoes, not so good with two larger (one of us actually fat) people and one skinny person. We almost dumped ourselves in Degray last time, and I think I was smaller then.
But other than anticipated canoeing issues, I’m really looking forward to it. I love camping and swimming and all of that other tomboy-ish stuff, so it should be lots of fun.

I interviewed with a firm on Friday that I was really excited about possibly getting to work with. (Please do not try and diagram the previous sentence. I mean it.) However, they haven’t gotten back to me. I’m wondering if this is “we’re really busy and know you won’t start working for us until almost July”, or if this is “we don’t want you, you’re too stupid.” I’m hoping it’s the first for financial reasons, but to be honest, I think I would survive if I didn’t have a job for part of the summer. I would get to go home for a week or so, and then come back up to Shreveport to watch my dad’s house.

But, the downside is we wouldn’t have the whole lot of money that I wanted us to have. AND it means probably having to get a bigger Bar Study Loan in the spring. AND it means less of a chance of getting a job offer in the fall. So… kind of torn. One last break would be SO nice, though….

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Monday, May 4, 2009

As per request!

Photos of the actual tank...

Actually, I was going to post them last night, but just forgot. I've added more decorations since then, but I haven't taken pictures of them yet. Here is the tank with the (now dead) Moneywort in the background, the aphrodite statue, and the sword plant far left (you can see the corner of a tipped-over column on the side-- it was intentional, I meant it to look like a kind of ruined Atlantis. Or something. I really don't know. You can see a tetra down there by the base of the moneywort, but I don't think there are any other fish. unless there are. This picture's not a blurry head and tail light tetra swimming away from the camera, and a slightly less blurry black neon tetra foreground. I can't tell if this is the poor guy that died or not. Three fish clearly visible in this picture. The big black neon is the one that died. So the poor little guy is the one that's left. In this final picture you can see the neons and a close-up of the aphrotite (And random other baby person?) statue. Also in foreground is the Java fern. I...really don't know what else to say about it. :) I am so proud of my aquarium and my pretty pretty fish. It gives me something to do (instead of studying. haha.)



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April and May are the Cruellest Months



I know, I know, it's been a while. But I've been busy taking care of my new babies. Before I show you them, though, I'd like you to take a look of this picture of what our city looked like this afternoon just before we were nailed with hurricane-like rainfall. It was bad. We were driving extremely slowly and I had to move into the left lane out of the irrational fear that my poor little car wouldn't be able to handle the flooding on the right side of the road.



Anyway, for anyone who hasn't already heard, I convinced my poor hubby to get me a 10-gallon aquarium last week. I think I would have managed to convince him to get a 20-gallon long, but we couldn't find a matching hood for it.


We stocked it first with three of these: Head and Tail Light Tetras. One of them died a day later in a freak filter accident (which I originally blamed on Hubby, but as it happened again a couple of days later after I fixed what I thought to be the problem, I can no longer use him as the scapegoat for the death of one of my fish
Since I didn't like just having two fish in my aquarium, I bought a pair of these, Black neon Tetras. I originally wanted to get another head and tail light tetra, but the pet store I went to was different from the one where I got the first fish, and they didn't have them. So, I got two more so as to not freak them out. Ironically, the fish I got were almost exactly like the ones you see in the picture: A lil' one and a big one. Then, again, there was yet another freak filter accident and the big one died. I still haven't figured out what's going on, since they both seemed healthy the day before they died, but everything I can find out online tells me that if the fish gets stuck on or in the filter, it was probably sick to begin with. So... I don't know what's going on. But I have three fish left. And one of these: he's a blue mystery snail. He likes to eat algae, leftover fish food, and apparently plants, although he hasn't bothered mine yet. As for plants, I decided to go with live ones, and have an amazon sword plant (I plan to get more tomorrow as tetras like a densely planted tank) and three java ferns. My moneywort died, which is probably a good thing since it doesn't really go with the amazon blackwater river thing I'm going for.
In four days when I move back up to the North part of the state, I'm thinking about getting a betta tank, because I'm going to miss my fishies a lot a lot.
Oh. Also it's finals time. I don't have much else to say about that. It makes me sad and itchy to think about it. Buhhhh. Friday I have a dentist appointment as well as an interview with a firm in my hometown-- a chance at a second summer job!!!


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Saturday, April 25, 2009

Gin and Juice

Another drink recipe from yours truly.
1.25 oz. gin (or more for those of you who love your drinkies)
lime wedge
2 oz juice of your choice (pomegranate is good)
club soda

Fill an old fashioned glass with ice. Rub the lime wedge over the ice, on the rim, etc... squeeze the lime, then throw it in there just for the heck of it.
Pour gin over ice
Add a little bit of club soda, then add the juice. Top with the rest of the club soda.

Mmmmmm. Read More......

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

NOT...Politics.

After today (although I suppose I should count today since I still have classes to go to) I will have only two days of class left in this semester. The thought, I am not afraid to admit, makes me a little bit nervous. First final is April 29, which is Federal Courts. I also have family law that friday. The week after that are bankruptcy and civil procedure back to back on monday and tuesday, and then on thursday I have insurance, my...final final. I'm sorry, I can never quite get over that pun. It always makes me giggle.
Finals time for me never seems to involve as much studying as it should, although it does involve quite a bit of panicking about how I'm not studying enough, followed by a period of deceitful calm in which I decide that I'm going to do okay after all and I don't need to worry quite so much.
Oh, also somewhere in there I have to find my sister a birthday present and address invitations for my friend's bridal shower.

I have been working (thus far unsuccessfully) at convincing Hubby to allow me to get a small fish tank. He doesn't seem too thrilled at the idea, so for now I'm stuck with no fish and no other pets that are even remotely cuddly. Alas.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

TEA

I'm Warning You-- POLITICS.

Okay, you're sufficiently warned. This is a political post. See? I am warning you YET AGAIN.

Today across the nation in every congressional district Tea Parties were held! TEA stands for "Taxed Enough Already", and the events were planned protests against high taxes, high spending, and government bailouts for private corporations.

I have to admit now that I didn't attend, but I did sign a petition supporting them despite the fact that they were sponsored in part by the Big Bad Republicans. I'd like to point out as well that the Libertarian Party (Smaller Government, More Taxes, More Freedom) also had a big push for the Tea Parties.

I have to say, lower taxes sound great, but you can't call for them unless you really understand what you're getting into. It means spending cuts--drastic ones. It means a return to a time before FDR, before the New Deal, and before the Federal Government funded practically every single State program, if only in part. (Let's face it, though, even though the New Deal helped us a little bit during the Great Depression, it was really World War II that pulled us out. Without the entire country of Germany going insane, the New Deal wouldn't have been able to end the Great Depression all by itself.
Spending cuts on the order I'm talking about would mean drastic change to the country-- and, in the end, they probably wouldn't result in a lower overall tax rate. And why not? Because States, faced with a reduced Federal allowance, will have to raise taxes in order to compensate.
And I say that that's okay. Because money out of your pocket would be going to schools in your neighborhood, to parks down the street, to hospitals and roads and services that you actually use. Instead of, say, 100 million here and 4.5 million there going to build roads and bridges and schools in places you've never been. Let's face it-- the federal budget process is out of control. In order to pass a budget (and, indeed, most bills), deals have to be made. Negotiations, compromises. Sometimes it means cutting a federal program here, adding to a federal program there. But a lot of the time it means pork. It means millions (let's be honest-- billions) of dollars being spent on local projects that will get congressmen votes. Projects that may or may not actually benefit the people of whatever district that elected the congressman.
I have a lot more to say, but I'll leave it at this and try to leave you with something simple, something easy to take away, something everyone should be able to get behind.
Let's take the money away from a Congress that bickers and hedges and eats pork by the barrelful and put it back into the hands of the people and the states-- where it can actually do some good.




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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Hodgepodge


I haven't updated in a while. Sorry about that. I've been busy with...life, essentially. Finals begin in two weeks. Two weeks after that, I'll finish with finals and move back North for the summer to work with one (hopefully two) law firms.

I thought I'd bring attention to my dad's website where he posts his botanical photographs. They are simply gorgeous. I fully plan on framing some prints when we move into a house that isn't better described as a tenement.


There isn't a whole lot to say. I haven't been doing a great deal of new and inventive cooking. I did make a lemon meringue pie last weekend. The lemon filling was unfortunately canned-- I should have made my own, but I didn't. so anyone who has a problem with it can just get over it. The meringue, however, turned out pretty well considering it was my first attempt and I didn't really use a recipe.
I....don't really have much else to talk about today. I keep fighting the urge to post long, boring-to-everone-else posts about politics. So you should be grateful.
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Thursday, April 9, 2009

T-E-X-T is how you spell STUPID.




This girl isn't really all that bright, either. Not only does she get charged for twenty thousand text messages in a month, but she is failing almost all of her classes to boot. Read More......

Monday, April 6, 2009

How do your law professors grade?

Courtesy of Assault and Flattery 2009

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Cake Balls and "Fondue"


I finally got the cake balls taken care of.... and the cake with fondant (or, "fondue" as Robert prefers to call it, for some reason... )


Some of them fell apart.... don't mind them, they're loser cakeballs anyway. Aaaannnnd the Fondant cake.



It was actually pretty easy to work with. I think it turned out really cute.




I got lazy mixing the purple for the dots, and gave up. so it looks kind of swirly....








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I Lied!

Yes, obviously there are no pictures of cake, or cake pops, or anything of the sort.
I did make the cake, and I will make the cake balls (probably today), but when I'll get around to pulling the pictures off of my camera is anyone's guess.
Just.... to let you know.

Right now I am not wanting to be in bankruptcy but determined to survive it nonetheless. I made orange sweet rolls this morning (not from scratch), to bring to Abbey, but she's taking a sleep day, for which I cannot fault her. Read More......

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Stay Tuned

Later today I will, hopefully, be posting "fun with fondant" and "The DL attempts Bakerella's cake pops."
For now, be satisfied with this: improved recipe for Lemon Drops for those of us who can't stand the taste of alcohol. But still like to drink it anyway.

Lemon Drops (Makes 2)

2-4 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice (depending on how sour you want it. Ours were REALLY sour and I used 4 oz, or a little less than two lemons. Please note: When squeezing lemon juice, do not hold the lemon directly over the glass and then inadvertantly drop it into the juice. It splashes everywhere.)

1 oz triple sec

3 oz vodka

2-3 T sugar

Pour all of this into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake hard 40-50 times to get the sugar incorporated. Then pour into martini glasses (rimmed with sugar if you're not lazy like me.) top with some club soda to make it fizzy.

Yum!

Please note: This picture is NOT what mine looked like...unfortunately. This picture was taken by a professional much better than myself! Read More......

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Fall Schedule

Monday-Wednesday-Friday
8:00 Conflicts of Law
9:10 Successions
10:20 Jurisprudence

Monday-Wednesday
4:30-6:00 Mineral Rights

Tuesday-Thursday
3:00-4:30 European Union I

I'm particularly fond of the fact that I have no class until 3:00 PM on Tuesday and Thursday. This means that I can sleep as late as I want, but unfortunately also that those days will be absolutely 100% unproductive. Read More......

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Presents!

...Going out in the mail soon to special people. Law School Koozies. We're so classy here in Louisiana. In this picture you can also see my chunky fingers and the brick wall of our apartment. Read More......

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Tom Yum


It embarrasses me to admit it, but I don't make Tom Yum soup from scratch (Actually, I'm not sure if anyone does? I didn't bother to look it up.) I use a paste, which is available in a jar in most oriental food markets (especially if they're Thai markets. Korean markets usually don't have it.)

The recipe, once you have acquired the paste, is very simple: add paste to water (usually like 2 T to 3 cups water, but I start small and adjust up.), add shrimp or chicken or mushrooms if you so choose, and garnish with green onions. Again, if you want to. Or just eat it as broth with nothing in it.

And now I have to get ready for Bankruptcy class, followed by driving my poor half-operational car to the shop, followed by a very nice (and well-deserved, thank you) nap. At some point, someone should probably clean the sink of dishes, too. Hmm.

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

Absence makes the Heart grow Fonder...

It has been a while. I apologize-- this last week was absolutely hectic. Between having to find a ride to school every day (the car thing), two doctor's appointments, and working a lot on research for my professor, I haven't had a whole lot of free time.

The state of the apartment can attest to that. Menu for the week! (Take note: It isn't exactly the healthiest menu in the world. I'll have to compensate by eating more low-cal things for lunch.)

Baked Potato Soup in a bread bowl (made with 2% cheese, light sour cream, chicken broth, and 1% milk-- but still, not healthy)

Hamburgers and....something. I have potato chips, but I didn't buy those. They'd be those fat free things anyway, which is fine by me--they taste the same.

Chicken Broccoli and Rice Au gratin-- using one of those packaged rice mixes. I got it for $1 at albertsons-- on sale-- but of course, I noticed yesterday that Wal-mart had it on sale for $.98. Darn.

Lemon Chicken and Pesto Pasta with Feta cheese. New Recipe that I've modified a little bit.

Hamburger Helper--Beef Stroganoff. Really, I need some help every once in a while. I'm not perfect, despite the fact that I'd kind of like all of you to believe I am.

Thai curry and Tom Yum Soup with Steamed White Rice. I haven't decided what kind of Curry yet-- I bought masaman and Karee paste at the store, and I think I might have yellow sour floating around somewhere.

**Note on the Tom Yum Soup: BEST. SOUP. EVER. 3 cups of the stuff has like 90 calories-- half of which is fat, but oh well. You can add mushrooms, shrimp, chicken, green onions, whatever.

Also, I bought three lemons for the lemon chicken, but it only calls for the zest, so I'm trying to think of something to do with the lemon juice. I'm thinking Lemon drops? The kind with Vodka, not the kiddie candy...

Speaking of finding a use for leftovers, I made a Banana cake yesterday, which tastes pretty good. I think next time I might add nuts and not mix it quite so much (it was kind of chewy, since the extra stirring created gluten and made it a little bread-like.)...and I won't add quite so much vanilla to the cream cheese frosting. And maybe substitute coconut milk for the milk in the recipe. Basically change the recipe completely until I'm satisfied.

Not much to say on the school front, except that I'm frantically trying to get some assignments from my professor done with so I can send them to him in London before he gets fed up with waiting and fires me. And I should probably start outlining for final exams, NOT something I'm looking forward to.

..And my computer has started doing very weird things whenever I hit the volume button. I should probably investigate that. Yet something else that has broken! Hooray!! Does anyone have like $10k so we can fix everything that's breaking/broken in our apartment? Anyone? Read More......

Monday, March 9, 2009

Chili Cornbread Bake

.4 pounds extra lean (96/4) ground beef: at 3.99 a pound: $1.60
1 package of chili seasoning mix: $1.25 (Far too expensive, but I'm lazy. Next time I'll use my own spices)
Chili Beans: $.63
Corn muffin mix: $.48
1 can of tomato sauce that I bought in bulk from Sams a long time ago: $.50 ? Who knows.
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese (1/2 a package at 3/$5) $.83
1/3 cup of 1% milk: $.10
1 egg: $.12 (?)

Total: $6.01 after taxes.

Basically, prepare the chili according to package instructions, reserving some of the tomato sauce because it'll be too thin otherwise. Then put it in a corningware dish, put some cheese on top. Prepare the cornbread according to package instructions, and pour over the chili. Then sprinkle on some more cheese. Then bake at 375 until done. It's quite good. To make it healthier: (1) reduce or cut out the cheese entirely, (2) make it meatless, (3) use egg beaters, (4) and/or use skim milk. Read More......

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Curse you, Morton Salt girl...

...yes, when it rains, it pours. In the last week, the following has happened to the mechanical things we own:

Update 3/9/2009 3:13 PM ... the deluge continues ...

-- My laptop bag broke, so now I have to use Hubby's bag.
--Hubby has lost a crown, which we now have to get fixed.


1) My car has, once again, decided to be difficult. And by difficult, I mean messing up completely. I have to have someone look at it because I don't want to spend $100 to tow it to the repair shop, but at the same time don't think I should drive it. It also needs an oil change.

2) The x-box is making strange sounds and may soon break.

3) ditto for my laptop computer, which is incidentally also held together by electrical tape owing to the screws inexplicably falling out of the case and getting lost, and my inability to find a single person in town who sells laptop screws.

4) Hubby still doesn't have a new phone.

5) Hubby's car needs an oil change and a tire rotation, and is also pulling quite badly to the right, which may or may not be fixed by a rotation and balance.

6) Our television goes green at random, and in order to hear it properly when watching a movie you have to turn the volume all the way up. ...even then, though, you still can't really hear, so we've taken to using the subtitles function.

YAY modern technology-- enabling us to have all this stuff that breaks and we can't afford to fix.
Things that still work (For a splash of good news): my brand-new phone (it had better), our matching MP3 players, the Wii, the refrigerator, and all of our kitchen appliances. Except the coffee maker, which Hubby says cannot make coffee to his picky specifications. The DVD player works, but it's so old at this point we might as well put it in the "could go at any time" category.

Oh, and something made a very strange, disturbing noise-of-breaking the other day, which both Hubby and I heard, but... we couldn't figure out what it was. Hmm. Read More......

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Budget FAIL

Well, I'd post a reckoning of how much our dinner cost last night, except that I didn't cook last night. I had a final exam yesterday afternoon in Constitutional Rights Litigation, and decided I'd earned a "treat."


...We went to buffalo wild wings and actually got off cheaper than we normally do. Upon discussion, we both decided that the reasonable way to go from now on seems to be getting an appetizer and one entree and splitting it. There's always too much food anyway.



Tonight is Barbeque Beef Casserole, which consists of
1/2 pound of extra lean ground beef: $2.02
one package of cheap cornbread mix: $1 maybe? Again, I don't have my receipts.
two slices of 2% cheddar cheese: $.60? Maybe less. I don't remember how much we paid for the package.
milk and eggs for the cornbread: another .50. I don't remember.
4 T barbecue sauce: $.25

Along with salad greens, fresh spinach, olive oil, and red wine vinaigrette for a salad. I don't remember how much I paid for these things, but I think the salad greens were $1.50. We might use half, so $.75.

So, total is maybe $5.50. I promise, next week I'll keep the receipts. Read More......

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Well

So I abandoned Mint.com and switched to Quicken Online
for the simple reason that Mint wouldn't upload my bank account. So... I'm using Quicken, and absolutely shocked at where our money is being wasted spent. If you don't have a finance managing website, or software, or something, you should get one. It will make you realize just how lazy and/or reckless you just may be in your spending habits.

I had been reading a blog by a guy on CNN who was living a month on "food stamps". (AKA assigning himself the maximum monetary allowance for one person). So, basically he was living on $176 a month for one person. At first I thought, "wow, that's crazy, he's making REAL sacrifices to show how less priviledged people live." And then, today I saw just how much my husband and I spend in a month on groceries. I'm too embarrassed to tell you the actual number, but it was high. Way high. And I've been thinking to myself, Hey-- you can probably do better. A whole lot better. So I've been looking up cheaper recipes and searching for way to improve our food budget without hurting-- and hopefully helping-- the health quotient of what we've been buying. As a result, I've decided to analyze the things we cook for dinner at night to see what it cost and how we could improve-- both health-wise and budget-wise.


So, here goes. I apologize in advance because I threw away my receipts from the store this week. So I'm just estimating from what I can remember.


Tuesday March 3: One-half pound extra-lean ground beef: $4.08 for a one-pound package, so $2.02 for a half-pound; one box of Kraft Macaroni thick 'n creamy: $1.75ish? (Here, I probably could have bought store brand but I couldnt' find the thick 'n creamy style and I like that better.); one-half cup of milk: maybe $.15? I don't know how much milk is a gallon, but we buy it in quarts or half-gallons which are more expensive by volume. If we don't, though, the milk goes bad before we drink it; Two tablespoons of margarine-- Again, a quarter? maybe? No clue, honestly; half of a cantaloupe at 2/$3.00, so $.75.
Today's Dinner Total: $4.92. I don't think that's so bad, really, for two people. We didn't have any vegetables, though, so in theory I could have thrown in another buck or two for broccoli or salad.
Read More......

Monday, March 2, 2009

My New Toy

Since I've been using my sister's spare phone for the last two months, I decided it was time to get something new (and pretty.) I got this from radio shack for an incredible $30 for extending my AT&T contract. It's touch screen, with a 2.0 Megapixel camera that I haven't really had a chance to test out yet, but which looks pretty good. Next is to find a way to get hubby one of these, the Samsung Rugby a837. It's built to military specifications, which is great considering he has to do things like wade through thigh-high mud and take measurements from 100 feet up on an oil refining tower. Although I'm not sure even that phone would survive a 100 foot fall. All of the testing, though, says it could survive a helluvalot. Which is good for someone with a habit of breaking phones. Plus he's been working his butt off to get me through law school at an awful job and he deserves a treat. Read More......

Friday, February 27, 2009

Money Mojito

Yet another thing I like: Mint. No, not the herb-- although it is certainly aromatic and refreshing. Mint.com, a free personal finance website. These people should really pay me plugging them. But since they're making my finances all neat and arranged, for free, I guess a little free advertising won't hurt me. Here's how it works: Basically, you create a free account on their secured site. You put in all of your financial information-- credit cards, bank accounts, loans, property, etc etc etc.... and it accesses those accounts and creates a list of your expenses, broken down by category.


It helps you see where your money is going, create and stick to a budget, etc... and it has pretty pie charts! In addition, it gives you useful pieces of information like: "Hey, Law student! You are $51k in the hole!" and "Your two cars together are barely worth more than the balance on your credit cards! HAH HAH HAH."
...Although I suppose if you have more money, the news will be better.


On a completely different note, I have a personal vendetta against a certain "mechanic" who didn't bother to test the brakes on a certain fourteen-year-old vehicle when inspecting the car for the state inspection sticker. Just because they squeak doesn't mean they aren't really, really, really good brakes. I should know, I paid a lot of money to have them fixed less than six months ago.

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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Superfluous Appliances




Now, I'm well aware that a Waffle Maker is not exactly excessive, being that it's really one of the only things you can use to make waffles, but we don't really have waffles all that often. Although...upon closer consideration it seems that maybe the reason we don't eat waffles that often is because... (wait for it) ...we don't have a waffle maker. That seems to be a reasonable conclusion to me. Hence... I want a waffle maker. I can already smell that delicious crispy cooking-batter smell, see the melting butter, feel the sticky cabinets after syrup inexplicably gets everywhere... hmm.... maybe this isn't such a good idea. Then again, the same thing happens when we eat pancakes, and that doesn't stop me.
But a bread machine... a bread machine would be a dream come true. Delicious, fresh bread with the touch of a button? Tempting, very very tempting. I remember my uncle making some sort of dill bread with his bread machine... I can still smell it, and I'm pretty sure I was very young. Unfortunately, seeing as how we have (a) no cabinet space (b) no money and (3) a stand mixer, a blender, a hand mixer, a microwave, a coffee maker, a toaster, an electric teapot, several crock-pots, and a family sized roaster.... Well, you get the idea. Superfluous. A little bit reckless. A birthday present, maybe? Anniversary? Just because? Hmmmm.
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Water


What you see there is the bottom of the pot. What was in the pot before it got to be this way was water. Just water. Tap water. See, I accidentally left it on the burner and forgot about it until all the water was gone. And this.... this horrible sight is what I found at the bottom of my pot. It makes me a little sick to think that this is what we're drinking, brushing our teeth with, and bathing in. I never really used our brita water pitcher until now... but I have a feeling it is about to be my new best friend.

Also, since I live in Louisiana, I'd be remiss in not telling you all-- Happy Mardi Gras! Read More......

Monday, February 23, 2009

Mess



Yesterday was a day of researching for "my" professor, shopping, trying to explain to my subconscious that I have two more days of vacation owing to Mardi Gras, and... baking a King Cake. Now, mind you, it didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped, since for some reason yeast-risen doughs and yours truly mix about as well as oil and water-- that is to say, they don't. Nothing I ever try to make with yeast rises on my first try, and this time, it didn't rise very much at all, even after adding another packet of proofed yeast to the bowl.
The recipe comes from This site and is not my own; the website credits the actual recipe to Emeril.
Here are some in-progress photographs. I was trying to pull a Pioneer Woman and take photos of every step... but I got sidetracked and am apparently bad at making pretty pictures.
But here's what I've got.




The Ingredients. Minus melted butter and colored sugar sprinkles. Boy, later I'll tell you about my adventures in making purple sprinkles. And we can all have a little laugh while I swear that I hate, hate, hate purple sugar sprinkles. With all of my being.






Start with two packages of active dry yeast. This is where I disagree with the recipe. You should proof your yeast. Continue reading, and I'll explain.







This is 1/2 cup sugar added to the yeast. Stop. Do not continue. Ignore the next step on the recipe. Add the 1 cup of warm milk here. Make sure it's not over 110 degrees or so, or you'll kill your little yeasties. Wait until the mixture gets all foamy and disgusting looking. Then, continue.






Add a stick and a half of melted butter. Oh, yum. Melted cow fat. (I think perhaps the reason the butter is melted here as opposed to creamed with the sugar as with cookies and cakes is that the king cake is really more of a bread-- hence the yeast. As a result, the fat you add, be it in the form of oil or butter, is usually liquid.


This is me stupidly adding the warm milk, blindly following the recipe, instead of proofing the yeast first. This is what you get: a king cake that will. not. rise.



Stir it up! Isn't that picture awesome? If I had a better camera, I bet you could see swirls and splashes and goo just flying everywhere.




At this point you add your egg yolks-- sorry, I definitely forgot to take a picture-- and then the nutmeg, salt, and lemon zest.




Then, you dump aaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the flour in at once like a bad little chef and watch your stand mixer half-kill itself to get it all mixed in. And cover half of the kitchen and yourself in a fine dusting of the stuff. Just kidding. A little bit at a time's probably best. Not that I would know. It all went in at once.



Then, using the dough hook attachment, you mix it up until it's a big, smooth, rubbery ball. Mine wasn't very smooth. Again, that could have been my fault. Maybe.

At this point you set the dough aside to rise-- which it won't, if you're me. Then, you panic and add another batch of yeast proofed with warm water and sugar. You have to add more flour, of course, to make something that doesn't resemble the swamp monster. Once your dough looks like dough again, you set it aside to rise. again.





You make the filling-- basically, two packages of cream cheese and a cup of powdered sugar. Delicious and healthy!





Once your dough has risen to twice its size, or once you get tired of waiting and decide, "to hell with it!", dump it out on a floured surface. The recipe says to use your hands to pat it out. That's total crap, and don't believe a word it says. Get out your trusty rolling pin, french or otherwise, or big ole' can of soup, whatever, and roll the dough out to about 6" by 30". Please note, it needs to be at least 30" long-- longer is better. This baby will rise in the oven and if you don't make a ring with that big of a circumference, then you're in trouble. Trust me, it has happened before.



Then, you take that filling you made, get a spatula, and spread it in approximately the middle of that big flat sheet of dough-- I did it about 1" from the bottom and 2" from the top. Because what you're going to do is fold the bottom flap up and the top flap down and seal them together, so that filling is in a kind of 30-odd inch tube. Get it? Good.

Now, call your husband, child, roommate, sister, brother, milkman, or meter reader for help. you'll need it. Get a big ole' baking pan and spray it down, then get two sets of hands (that's four total, folks) underneath this monstrosity and do two things at once: (1) flip it, and (2) move it to the baking pan in a rough circular shape. At the end of the day, you want to have that seam you just made the tube out of against the baking pan. And you want your king cake to be circular. You do this by sealing the two sides together.

Now, set it aside to rise for another 45 minutes or so, and then bake according to instructions. Note that this thing is super heavy, so don't be like me and pull the oven rack so far out to look at it that the end of the rack can't take the head and the whole thing--rack, pan, and cake-- falls onto the open door of your oven. You'll feel stupid and your ends will come unsealed, thus making your king cake look more like a retarded horseshoe than a circle. I think it's probably bad luck, too.

Once your king cake is out and mostly cooled, you add the glaze-- gobs of it. The glaze is ridiculously simply and requires no cooking at all-- simply mix the appropriate proportions of lemon juice, powdered sugar, and milk. I brushed mine on with a pastry brush and rather liked the results. Now, once the glaze is hardened enough to where it's no longer trying to drip off the cake-- that's where it becomes important to cool your king cake before trying this step-- you add the colored sugar in purple, yellow, and green sections around the cake. this may take some planning so you don't end up messing up the pattern at the end of the cake-- or back where you started on the cake, or however you want to phrase it when your cake is circular and really has no end.

Now I am reminded of the purple sugar debacle. It is hard-- nearly impossible at times-- to find purple sugar. Yellow and green? a snap. Purple? hard. So, I decided that, finding myself in posession of some red sugar and blue food coloring, that I could make my own. And it worked. sort of. My mistake basically boils down to: Remember that blue food coloring is strong strong strong, and you should use far less than you think you need to and only add more once you've thoroughly stirred it in and realize there is a definite need for more.

Once decorated, your king cake is done-- except I forgot to mention showing a baby or pecan half or something up the cake's underside for a lucky person to find. I didn't do that, hence my forgetting to tell you about it. I'm lazy.





Read More......

Friday, February 20, 2009

Obsession...

Scotch-Brite sponges are pretty close to the best thing in the world. I use them for everything-- nasty stuck-on cheese, cleaning baking potatoes, and scrubbing our cracked, peeling porcelain sink or the cracked, peeling top of our tiny, tiny gas stove. (have I mentioned we live in a tenemant?) I'm thinking of dedicating one to spot-cleaning the linoleum (that covers the floor of every single room in our tenament apartment. However, I'm wondering if I'm actually organized enough to keep five or six separate unlabeled sponges with separate uses. Sharpies don't work very well on sponges, after all.

In case anyone is wondering, there are actually things I like that are not boring sponges, but I can't very well be expected to provide a complete catalog three days in, can I?


Read More......

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sookie


Charlaine Harris is a master of trashy Southern supernatural romance. She really and truly is. Since True Blood hasn't started its second season and I've read all of her other Southern vampire novels, I'm waiting with bated breath for her latest release, which is due out on May 5th. Right smack in the middle of finals. So Sookie's probably going to have to be patient until after my exams are over. Read More......

Class

Ask any law student, and they will tell you that the most terrifying sound in the world is the sound of your own last name. You’re in class, minding your own business (although it must be noted that the twelve people behind you are also minding your business while you’re reading your facebook wall in class). In the back of your mind, you vaguely register the fact that the professor is asking a question. And then you hear your name.
There is a moment where your subconscious tries to protect you, a split-second where you find yourself glancing around the room in search of this elusive “Smith”, “Jones”, or “Williams” who was just called on. Hmmm, Your mind tells you, smugly. They must be absent today. And then reality kicks in. That was your name. And you are, clearly, present.
“Ahh…” you clear your throat, pretend to consult your case brief, anything to buy time. After a moment it becomes patently obvious that you don’t even know the question that was asked, let alone the answer. “Could you…I didn’t understand the question, could you repeat it?”
The professor gives you a piercing stare and flicks his eyes around the classroom, either amused or irritated, depending on his mood and personality, that you have the gall to admit that you’ve been paying no attention. At all. “Counselor,” he says, “I asked you what the holding of the court was in Marbury v. Madison.
No kidding, it is the most terrifying moment of your life every time it happens to you. Those who were called on the first day of law school are remembered forever by their classmates.
Don’t believe me? Ask another law student. But do me a favor—call them by their last name and watch them jump. Read More......

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Journey

The one downside of any blog is that it has to have a first entry. That stupid, awkward, first attempt at being candid with the world that almost always inspires a certain sense of embarrassment when re-examined years later.
So I have decided to throw caution to the wind and determined that I'll just say whatever I want with the understanding that I'll eventually loathe whatever it is I ultimately type in this first post. So why not make it as bad as humanly possible.

Here's the scoop: I'm twenty-three, been married for a year and a half (yes, my husband and I were among those hordes of 7-7-7 couples, but in our defense it just seemed like the most convenient date. Luck was never a factor for us), and am in my last semester of my second year of law school. This means that I've got approximately one year, three months, and ten days until I graduate from law school and join the real world. Provided, of course, that I pass the bar exam.
And find a job. Those last two parts are rather essential.

In the meantime, I'm attending classes, preparing for exams, working as a research assistant for "My Professor", who for obvious reasons will remain unnamed, cleaning house, preparing menus, shopping, handing out my resume to whoever will give me a second glance, and generally attempting to maintain order in a disorderly world.

...I'm really not very successful at this last part. But life goes on, and there's always tomorrow. Read More......