Thanksgiving sort-of snuck up on me this year, but I have to say so far it's been amazing! For breakfast today I had sweet-potato pie (one of the few regionally southern things I appreciate so far). I then proceeded to clean the bathroom and do two loads of laundry. It felt very productive for a holiday so I had to make up for it by watching Dr. Who while folding the laundry.
Then I went to the command Thanksgiving party. It was an experience! Next time I won't get there quite so early. It's weird to be somewhere too early because you thought they might need more help and they don't but you're standing there awkwardly looking for something to do while people much older than you with much more energy run around doing a million and two things and won't let you help out... Tasty, tasty food and lots of it- turkey, ham, casserole, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, more pie and cake than you could shake a stick at. The guy who put it together was a professional chef prior to Navy life and it showed. The Important People showed up and shook hands all around, and despite them the mood was still festive though sadly non-alcoholic.
After the festivities, I volunteered to join the group taking the leftovers to the watchstanders and that was nice. It was awesome to be able to surprise people with plates of still warmish food. There were even a few whole leftover pies. They had leaf decorations on them made out of crusts- detailed to include lines on the leaves. Really magnificent presentation.
On a more personal note, on Thanksgiving I am particularly thankful for:
My family (near/far, sane/otherwise)
My friends (the family one gets to pick!)
My coworkers (peers and superiors- don't have any subordinates)
My domicile (which will be even cleaner by the end of this four-day weekend)
My roomie (who has the patience of one of the beatified if not a saint)
My job (hurrah for gainful employment)
My car (which will also be cleaned this weekend)
My health (which aside from another round of shinsplints couldn't be better)
My faith (which praises the often forgotten virtue of gratitude)
All in all, it has been a wonderful day.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Dinner: Much more difficult than it looks
As I write this, I am sipping on a protein shake. Not for any special love of protein shakes, mind you. It is Friday and on Fridays (and Wednesdays for that matter) if I remember, I go meatless. It took me a while to find this particular variety of shake mix as I wanted one with no artificial sweeteners- which I found out was more or less asking for the very-difficult-though-not-impossible. But I am not here to talk to you about protein shakes, or about the expensiveness of organic milk (which, for three and a half dollars a half-gallon had better be taken from a cow who has a better diet than I do!), but of the wacky differences between people- most specifically between me and my roomie.
You see, we are very different people.
Roomie cheerfully gets up at oh-dark-thirty on a non-pt day to go mow grass.
I drag my sorry self to pt three days a week, whinging all the way both in real life and on this blog.
Roomie is a neat-freak with a neat-freak's room.
I am relieved to find out that my carpet is under there somewhere.
Roomie thinks [s]margirine[/s] [s]margerine[/s] [s]margerin[/s]... FAKE BUTTER is just as good as real butter in cooking and baking.
I think that stuff is not far enough away from plastic in its chemical composition.
Roomie watches work-related stuff on the weekends and studies for job-related stuff.
I watch the Last Airbender and MST3K.
Roomie puts away the blender as one cohesive whole.
I put it away in four, sometimes five parts.
And therein lies the tale.... Perhaps you guessed it when I dwelt at length upon the difficult-to-find protein shake, or the expensive milk. So.
When I put away the blender in four or five parts, I do so because I thoroughly clean the blender. And because, truth be told, we have plenty of room in the kitchen cabinets. Returning for a moment to the thorough cleaning of the blender and its bits, there is a rubberized plastic ring that goes between the spinny bit and the glass bit. This ring is pretty much all important in the proper running of said blender. This afternoon when I reached for the blender, I saw that Roomie had put it all together- but I wasn't so easily fooled! I'd seen my mom drop the bottom part of the blender on her foot* because she thought it was firmly screwed into the base and it wasn't! So, I pulled out the top part of the blender (spinnything, glass part and lid) first, and then the bottom part. I put the top part securely back onto the bottom part and got a banana and the milk from the fridge. I poured the milk- and I'd poured almost a full shake's worth before I realized that it was spilling all over the counter. Yep. You guessed it. The all important rubber bit was not where it was supposed to be. And there went the lovely organic milk. There went my dinner. I was too fed up to do anything more with it, ironically enough because I hadn't had anything to eat. So I said "Screw it, I'm going out!" and I went out and got chik-fil-a. Good idea.
You know, this whole thing seemed a lot more blog-worthy when I began it...
Whatever.
* I must specify here that I can't remember if it was my mom or my dad** who did this, but on the whole I think it's more likely that my mom did this. It's the sort of thing she would do...
**Lest you think my home life was even weirder than it actually was, I will point out that I have a memory like a steel sieve. I know this incident occurred, in my house. Exact details escape me. Aren't you glad I don't have jury duty?
You see, we are very different people.
Roomie cheerfully gets up at oh-dark-thirty on a non-pt day to go mow grass.
I drag my sorry self to pt three days a week, whinging all the way both in real life and on this blog.
Roomie is a neat-freak with a neat-freak's room.
I am relieved to find out that my carpet is under there somewhere.
Roomie thinks [s]margirine[/s] [s]margerine[/s] [s]margerin[/s]... FAKE BUTTER is just as good as real butter in cooking and baking.
I think that stuff is not far enough away from plastic in its chemical composition.
Roomie watches work-related stuff on the weekends and studies for job-related stuff.
I watch the Last Airbender and MST3K.
Roomie puts away the blender as one cohesive whole.
I put it away in four, sometimes five parts.
And therein lies the tale.... Perhaps you guessed it when I dwelt at length upon the difficult-to-find protein shake, or the expensive milk. So.
When I put away the blender in four or five parts, I do so because I thoroughly clean the blender. And because, truth be told, we have plenty of room in the kitchen cabinets. Returning for a moment to the thorough cleaning of the blender and its bits, there is a rubberized plastic ring that goes between the spinny bit and the glass bit. This ring is pretty much all important in the proper running of said blender. This afternoon when I reached for the blender, I saw that Roomie had put it all together- but I wasn't so easily fooled! I'd seen my mom drop the bottom part of the blender on her foot* because she thought it was firmly screwed into the base and it wasn't! So, I pulled out the top part of the blender (spinnything, glass part and lid) first, and then the bottom part. I put the top part securely back onto the bottom part and got a banana and the milk from the fridge. I poured the milk- and I'd poured almost a full shake's worth before I realized that it was spilling all over the counter. Yep. You guessed it. The all important rubber bit was not where it was supposed to be. And there went the lovely organic milk. There went my dinner. I was too fed up to do anything more with it, ironically enough because I hadn't had anything to eat. So I said "Screw it, I'm going out!" and I went out and got chik-fil-a. Good idea.
You know, this whole thing seemed a lot more blog-worthy when I began it...
Whatever.
* I must specify here that I can't remember if it was my mom or my dad** who did this, but on the whole I think it's more likely that my mom did this. It's the sort of thing she would do...
**Lest you think my home life was even weirder than it actually was, I will point out that I have a memory like a steel sieve. I know this incident occurred, in my house. Exact details escape me. Aren't you glad I don't have jury duty?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Soo slow...
So, a cooperative project... no, scratch that, TWO cooperative projects, one recently revived the other brand new, are currently moving slower than molasses. It's very frustrating because I feel there's nothing I can do in either case. Well, that's not strictly true. In the revived project, I could write something more. But in the new one I'm really waiting on other people and I find this hugely frustrating, because I'm pretty sure that as soon as I start class everything will pick up and it'll get frustrating to keep all ducks in their correct rows.
On a more positive note, I had amazing homemade enchiladas for lunch today, courtesy of Svenska, whose apartment looks a lot more put-together than mine does. We discussed the possibility of a shared birthday party after the PRT. We'll see what happens. I'd like it but I'm not going to hold my breath. I'm also kinda annoyed that my birthday probably will fall in my first week of class. Yippee. On the upside, Navy Day Ball should be FREE this year! Meaning my only expense will be getting a room for staying after! And I'm seriously thinking about doing that because I fully intend to drink, dance and have a wonderful time! And unlike Sunny Point, the safe-ride program here seems woefully inadequate. And if I did safe ride, I'd have to come back and get my car the next day. So all things considered, I think the hotel room would be the cheapest option. Now I need to find someone to split the costs with because I think it's dumb to book a two-bed room if you don't have AT LEAST one other person staying with you.
However if it comes right down to it and I can't get someone else, I will just eat the expense and call it part of my birthday present to myself.
On a more positive note, I had amazing homemade enchiladas for lunch today, courtesy of Svenska, whose apartment looks a lot more put-together than mine does. We discussed the possibility of a shared birthday party after the PRT. We'll see what happens. I'd like it but I'm not going to hold my breath. I'm also kinda annoyed that my birthday probably will fall in my first week of class. Yippee. On the upside, Navy Day Ball should be FREE this year! Meaning my only expense will be getting a room for staying after! And I'm seriously thinking about doing that because I fully intend to drink, dance and have a wonderful time! And unlike Sunny Point, the safe-ride program here seems woefully inadequate. And if I did safe ride, I'd have to come back and get my car the next day. So all things considered, I think the hotel room would be the cheapest option. Now I need to find someone to split the costs with because I think it's dumb to book a two-bed room if you don't have AT LEAST one other person staying with you.
However if it comes right down to it and I can't get someone else, I will just eat the expense and call it part of my birthday present to myself.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Awesome German food!
So a bunch of us went out for awesome German food last night! I'd like to take all the credit for finding a place that everyone really seemed to like- and disavow anything to do with everyone getting horribly lost. It's Google's fault. _I_ corrected that as best as I could, texting people the correct address as soon as I realized the problem.
The food was really, really awesome. I got the Jagerschnitzel and it was soo nice. It was probably the best German food I've had since being in Germany!
A good time was had by all, though one of the company was a bit lonely since he's not in exactly the same job as us and he might have been feeling a little lost. I hope that I was a good hostess (in so far as one is ever a hostess when your party is out at a restaurant...) and helped him fit in. I'm not sure how successful I was at that though.
We played another two rounds of 'Who Am I?' (first I was Napoleon (elected ruler, technically not French) and then I was Werner Von Braun. I got both and had a wonderful time. My two mystery people were Cleopatra and Louis Armstrong :D) over at DrunkLeprechaun's house, and that was fun. His cat is a complete and total spaz and it was hilarious to watch the cat interact with him and everyone else there. His wife is also a little spazzy, though perhaps the prank FB update that someone made was crossing the line. If I was her, I'd sort of expect it from his loony friends by now, but that's just me. Whatever.
We drove the non-car owners back to their respective barracks, after a long, thoughtful conversation about personality types. It was a good time. The conclusion? Most of us are introverted peeps. That wasn't a huge revelation somehow... But we all managed to get out and have a great time. Except for the losers who didn't show. Oh well.
And soon a bunch of cool people are going to go away and I'll have one less useful thing that I can do in my copious spare time. This means I'm going to have to novel more and procrastinate less. Bother.
The food was really, really awesome. I got the Jagerschnitzel and it was soo nice. It was probably the best German food I've had since being in Germany!
A good time was had by all, though one of the company was a bit lonely since he's not in exactly the same job as us and he might have been feeling a little lost. I hope that I was a good hostess (in so far as one is ever a hostess when your party is out at a restaurant...) and helped him fit in. I'm not sure how successful I was at that though.
We played another two rounds of 'Who Am I?' (first I was Napoleon (elected ruler, technically not French) and then I was Werner Von Braun. I got both and had a wonderful time. My two mystery people were Cleopatra and Louis Armstrong :D) over at DrunkLeprechaun's house, and that was fun. His cat is a complete and total spaz and it was hilarious to watch the cat interact with him and everyone else there. His wife is also a little spazzy, though perhaps the prank FB update that someone made was crossing the line. If I was her, I'd sort of expect it from his loony friends by now, but that's just me. Whatever.
We drove the non-car owners back to their respective barracks, after a long, thoughtful conversation about personality types. It was a good time. The conclusion? Most of us are introverted peeps. That wasn't a huge revelation somehow... But we all managed to get out and have a great time. Except for the losers who didn't show. Oh well.
And soon a bunch of cool people are going to go away and I'll have one less useful thing that I can do in my copious spare time. This means I'm going to have to novel more and procrastinate less. Bother.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Blackcurrant Juice and Tragedy
Yesterday at my local commissary I was shopping for the bare essentials necessary to keep body and soul together- fruit, protein bars, yogurt, things like that. And I happened to spot blackcurrent juice. It was on the bottom shelf, all by itself. I looked around the aisle but it wasn't the imports aisle. Impulsively I grabbed it. Mine, all mine! I thought, shocked and surprised to find a relic of my past in what were to me completely new surroundings. I would savour this, I thought, because Ft. SudanIsNotYourFriend is hot and horrible and sticky (but not as bad as the actual Sudan by all accounts). I would pour myself a nice plastic glass of blackcurrent juice, carefully diluted with water (I, unlike some people have learned from my childhood- if no more than 'don't drink the concentrate straight out of the bottle') and if I was feeling spectacularly patriotic, ice to differentiate me from the Brits.
But alas. I came home today after my run, dying for a jamba juice (or just plain dying if you want to be mean), and of course this being Ft. SINYF, there was no jamba juice. But then I remembered the temporarily forgotten blackcurrent juice! Just the stuff! I got home and carefully poured myself the correct amounts of syrup and waster and took a taste. It was wonderful. It transported me to the good moments of England- the gardens of Kent, Selfridges, Valerie's Patisserie and the 73 train to London Victoria. It was lovely. And then, because there was a lovely taste I couldn't place (Licorice? I wondered) I read the bottle. This is my mother's fault. She always reads the bottle, carton, package or what have you. It's really depressing to find out that I am my mother's child to that degree. Anyway, I read the bottle and I saw one of the dreaded words- aspartame. My heart plummeted within me. Did the Tommies of the first world war have aspartame in their immortalized (and loathed, I might add) tins of plum and apple jam? Did Nelson have aspartame in the port he was transported in? (Ooh... bad pun...) Did King Harold have aspartame in his kippers? (I'm not exactly sure he had kippers. In those days it might have been eels... Perhaps aspartame would have been an improvement for the eels. I mean, unagi okay, but eel pie??)
I strongly suspect the answer in all the cases I just mentioned would be a resounding 'No!' but I can't prove it. Anyway, today I am sad because I had to give away my lovely blackcurrent juice. Aspartame gives me a headache. Give me naturally occuring sugars any/every day of the week and keep your nasty aspartame, sucralose or other sugar substitute.
Sigh... is there no winning? I will keep looking for other imports from my past but this has been discouraging. Oh well. For one lovely glass all seemed to be well.
But alas. I came home today after my run, dying for a jamba juice (or just plain dying if you want to be mean), and of course this being Ft. SINYF, there was no jamba juice. But then I remembered the temporarily forgotten blackcurrent juice! Just the stuff! I got home and carefully poured myself the correct amounts of syrup and waster and took a taste. It was wonderful. It transported me to the good moments of England- the gardens of Kent, Selfridges, Valerie's Patisserie and the 73 train to London Victoria. It was lovely. And then, because there was a lovely taste I couldn't place (Licorice? I wondered) I read the bottle. This is my mother's fault. She always reads the bottle, carton, package or what have you. It's really depressing to find out that I am my mother's child to that degree. Anyway, I read the bottle and I saw one of the dreaded words- aspartame. My heart plummeted within me. Did the Tommies of the first world war have aspartame in their immortalized (and loathed, I might add) tins of plum and apple jam? Did Nelson have aspartame in the port he was transported in? (Ooh... bad pun...) Did King Harold have aspartame in his kippers? (I'm not exactly sure he had kippers. In those days it might have been eels... Perhaps aspartame would have been an improvement for the eels. I mean, unagi okay, but eel pie??)
I strongly suspect the answer in all the cases I just mentioned would be a resounding 'No!' but I can't prove it. Anyway, today I am sad because I had to give away my lovely blackcurrent juice. Aspartame gives me a headache. Give me naturally occuring sugars any/every day of the week and keep your nasty aspartame, sucralose or other sugar substitute.
Sigh... is there no winning? I will keep looking for other imports from my past but this has been discouraging. Oh well. For one lovely glass all seemed to be well.
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