Headache's Gone!

So. . . maybe that headache was due to lack of vitamins or something. . . After half a bowl of Veggie/Kale Soup it went away! Ok, time to pay a little more attention to the important details.

Kale Soup, or "Veggie Soup with Kale"

I used the kale before it went bad, this time: woohoo! It has so many of the things we need.

Anyway, on cold rainy days, a bowl of soup with a little Sriracha sauce is one of my favorite things, so I decided to try the suggestion a friend made recently, to put kale in veggie soup. It's a bit leafy. Everything else would have been mushy if I cooked it longer, but it's kind of a weird texture for soup. I'm going to cook it longer next time before adding the other stuff, I hope it wilts more that way. This is pretty tasty, though. [Update: after it sat in the fridge for a day or two the leafy-ness went away and it became much more pleasant.]


Today's Soup "Recipe" (Vegan)

vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes (with Italian spices)*
1 can water
3 garlic hunks, shucked and diced
2 carrots, cut into round chunks
1 medium-size zucchini, cut into strips
2 celery stalks, diced into little chunks
4 medium stalks of kale, separated to leaves and stalks, then chopped
4 small mushrooms, diced
frozen spinach, chopped
frozen broccoli, chopped
pepper, to taste

First, put all the liquids (and tomatoes) together and bring to a low boil. Put in the kale first and let it cook for a while. Maybe 5-10 minutes? Then, the carrots. Then, cut everything else and put it in. Zucchini should go in last. I put a little squirt of Sriracha in each bowl and it tastes great! An easy and healthy way to get some veggies.


*I keep hearing that canned veggies are not as healthy for us as fresh or frozen veggies. It'd be easy enough to chop up fresh tomatoes and add some oregano or something, this is just what I had around the house.


Written Dec 20, 2010

Headache!

I woke up at 3 this morning with a headache. I finally took some aspirin and Sudafed around 5:45 and was able to sleep again around 6. The headache still hasn't gone away, though! :( I'm going to try that thing where you rinse out your nose and it makes that itchy allergy feeling go away. . . I just want to stop having this blasted headache!

Love it When You Dance!

I love this song and this video is just too fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIlF_XS3H8o&list=QL&playnext=32

It Worked!

We didn't sleep Monday! I finished some housework and played on FB. J managed to do it without caffeine, which boggles my mind. Caffeine is like magic. It doesn't make you not tired, it just makes you unable to sleep (even when you really want to). I drink it so little and so rarely that I haven't much tolerance to it, which is handy!

Yesterday, we cuddled on the couch and watched a movie as the sunlight started to fill the house. It was so romantic. Also, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is as great as everybody said it was! We really enjoyed it!

Last night, we were exhausted at 6:30, but I insisted we hold out (probably didn't have to). So, we had dinner and watched a movie.*  Stayed up 'til 9:30 and crashed. Slept in a little longer than I wanted, but we're mostly back on track again! Yay!

*Unlike one of my best friends, I not only don't sleep during movies, but can't. If the story isn't finished I can't stand not knowing how it ends.

Details

I had some dinners with friends that were really nice. Now it's back to quiet before the family parties begin. Ideally, that means I get a lot done around here, but I get lonely and easily distracted. I've gotten some things done, but not all that I wanted to.

Our sleep schedule is so off right now. We're both sick of it, but it's hard to change. We're gonna stay up all night tonight. Then, we just have to hold out to a reasonable hour, like 8-10pm. I'm sure that will help.

Written Dec 20, 2010

Library Books are Due Tomorrow

I read Stranger in a Strange Land. It's an interesting premise: a human raised on Mars comes back to Earth. It's a weird story and ends so strangely. . . I don't recommend it unless you like really strange stuff. One of my friends recently said this is Heinlein's answer to a bar bet he made with L. Ron Hubbard—which may be where Scientology began! I wouldn't be at all surprised if that were true.

I also recently read some really good Harry Potter fanfic*. Fanfic is where fans take a fiction story and either write what happens after the last novel or use the characters and settings and tweak the story a bit. I've never really gotten into fanfic, but this story is awesome! It answers the question of what would happen if Harry's adoptive dad were a loving scientist and if Harry were smarter and much more educated. He's still an arrogant 11 year old boy, but it sure makes for an interesting story. It's well-written, too, despite one or two little quirks that I'd have preferred to go without.




*There's a really good PDF of it here, if you have a Kindle or would just rather read it in a fancier setting!

I Love Fondue!

We went to a fondue party tonight! SO FUN! We started with a garlicy, salty, buttery sauce (with anchovies for flavor). We had zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, two kinds of mushrooms, asparagus, bell peppers, strips of chicken and beef, shrimp, and scallops. I tried the chicken and beef and ended up eating more than I planned to because of how awesome it tasted.

After we were stuffed, everybody cleaned up, then sat and visited while we digested. We would have walked around the block, but it was raining cats and dogs! The company was delightful: mostly nerds and everybody had something interesting to contribute. Then, when we'd recovered from dinner, they brought out the chocolate fondue pot! Fancy chocolates, chocolate chips, and milk (or cream?) into which we dipped angel food cake, pound cake, bananas, strawberries, grapes and marshmallows. We all sat and laughed and ate until we were full to the gills! Not something I would do every day and lots of foods I eat very rarely, but man, was it good!

Written Dec 18, 2010

Frustration

My school's online system is being so weird and broken. The grades aren't reporting yet and (hopefully) because of that I got dropped from the waiting list in one of my classes instead of getting into it the other day. I called the office to find out what was going on and they said to call during regular business hours. I listened to their hours on their recording (which included holiday times when they are closed) and it was during their regular hours. I called a few more times that day, to no avail.

I strongly suspect that this won't be fixed until after the Christmas holiday. . . if it isn't fixed by New Year's, my whole quarter may be messed up. GRRR!!

My "fun" class (the programming one) may be canceled for not having enough people in it. Which means I either take it online (I'm not great with online classes. . .) or I wait a semester or two. I really hope 11 people add this class soon. . .

Xmas

I hope to get some time to put up decorations today. None of my decorations will reference a diety, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate this time of year when people draw closer to their families and cherish the good things in life. The time of year when people can be the kindest and the most grateful. I don't want presents. I want to be around the people I love.

The title makes it sound like the song will be snarky, but it isn't. It's really sweet.

Who Do You Talk to?

For some topics, this is not a trivial question. I've realized that women tend to have more people to talk with about deep topics than guys do. (Obviously this isn't true for all women or all men. Just a trend I've noticed.)

The men in my family want to talk to the woman they love about issues in their relationship. They often can't, because the girlfriend/wife doesn't feel it's important enough or the two of them have a hard time communicating. I didn't realize how much this hurts them! I could fall asleep and be "over it" (or think I am) the next morning, but J can't sleep if we don't resolve it. I try to talk with him about things even when I'm not in the mood to and usually I'm glad I did. I try to be someone safe to talk to and he does the same for me.

I was warned not to talk with Mom every time we have a fight. That's good advice, but doesn't necessarily extend to all family members. Lots of girls talk to their sisters. If he wants or needs someone else to talk to about your relationship from time to time, that's normal. If you're being honest, you probably do too. It's wise to be open to "letting" him talk with siblings about things. Either he'll do it behind your back or he'll be miserable because he can't talk to anyone and that's kind of cruel.

Maybe you can agree on a sibling or two who see(s) arguments for the 2-sided situations they are and who is less likely to talk to the family about things. Maybe help him develop relationships with guys by inviting couples over more and taking the girl aside for girl time? Don't leave him without an outlet, though. Chances are good you have one and that's really unfair.

Coconut Butter in Oat Bran - WIN!

The other day, a good friend said coconut oil is really good for you and that it could be used to substitute butter and oil in other recipes (that's what I took from that conversation, anyway. . .). I was sure I'd bought some and scrounged around in the cabinets until I found my coconut butter. I guess they're the same thing, but the "oil" is warmer and therefore more fluid?

I was making oat bran at the time and decided to throw in the coconut butter. I also added less brown sugar than usual, some almonds and some white grapes. Oh my yumminess! I highly recommend this combo if you're a fan of oat bran and coconut (though the coconut flavor was hardly present at all).

Incidentally, though I have heard lots of great things about coconut oil/butter, it needs to be said that you have to be careful not to overdo it. 2 tablespoons give you 81% of your RDA for saturated fats.

Break n Bake Cookies: The Cheap/Lazy Way

That should probably read "cheaper/lazier way. . ." Anywho, I splurged and got those "Break and Bake" cookies I kept seeing at the grocery store. They were awesome, so I kept buying them. Then, I realized I could just make cookie dough and keep it in the fridge. Only, I didn't really have a ton of time that day, so I wanted cookies that were faster to make: cake mix cookies. Also, I replaced the egg and oil with applesauce. Now, they're even easier!

1 package cake mix
1 cup applesauce

The sweetened applesauce is all I had laying around and made the cookies a touch too sweet. I got unsweetened applesauce and that works better. Yummy, fast, and I always have cookies ready in small amounts now, instead of a batch (or a half batch) of them when I feel like making them. Not entirely convinced that this is the healthiest option, but it sure is fast and handy! :D

Chem Final Done -- They're All Done 'til March!

My chem. final was exactly as straightforward as I suspected with exactly the "trick questions" she said she'd put on there. After the final, she asked if I'd be taking her class next quarter and seemed a touch bummed that I won't be. I was flattered. What I told her, which is true, is that I had to choose between taking Physics or Chemistry at night and I think better during the day, so since Physics is really hard for me I wanted to do Chemistry at night. What I didn't tell her, is that her class next term has an 8am lab 2 days a week and homey don't do 8am classes if she can avoid it. Especially not with teachers who lock you out of the classroom and won't let you do lab if you show up so much as 1 minute late.

However, she's easily one of, if not the, best professor(s) I've had and I was sad not to take the class from her. She gives us notes with all the things she expects us to understand from each chapter. She gives us practice problems in class after the chapter's lecture. She warns us, every step of the way, what we need to know and what she requires of us. Her homework is harder than the tests, so the homework is a great way to prepare for exams. She's strict and often a really hard grader, but she makes up for it by offering us extra credit. Thus, if you missed a few points for something a less-picky grader would have given you, you have a chance to make it up with the extra credit.

Exercise Update

When I exercise most days of the week, I feel so much better. I'm more productive on days I work out and I really look forward to it. Plus, I get in study time and, after finals, I'll get in some time for fun reading or listening to music.

The funny thing is that, even though I spend a good portion of time alone, exercise time is my ME time. The break from the computer and from doing homework or housework gives me time to think and sometimes I understand school concepts better because of it, too. I guess it's become my meditation time. It's also becoming indispensable! Not every day indispensable, but at least 2-3 times a week. Also, I'm learning that when I miss a workout, I get bummed and I usually don't do whatever I missed the workout to make time for, so I'm better off to just do a short workout and then get on with whatever I need to do that day.

Good News and Bad News

Bad News first. The laptop AND the hard drive died! Sad! Fortunately, I only wanted it yesterday and I doubt I'll need it again, so not a huge loss.

Good news: my phone gave me all its contact info before it became completely unresponsive! There were a lot of contacts on there, holy cow. J's former phone now has a new SIM card in it and in the next 24 hours my old number will be 100% ported over to it. Technology rocks!

Today was Weird

Usually, when three or more things go wrong the rest of the day sucks. However, today, I've been happy since I got over the calculus test. Which is nice, because I've had some frustrating things happen! In chronological order:

Bombed my calculus class.

The laptop I've been bringing to school died.

Had a great study session going, but had to leave because I was too tired and hungry to keep going (ie. nasty headache that Advil wouldn't cure).

Dropped my phone in the (recently used!) toilet. Shut it off immediately. Washed it without taking the battery out first. . . and it turned itself back on. . . awesome. We'll see tomorrow how that turns out!

Then, the day took a turn for the better. I had a relaxing nap because tomorrow's final isn't until 5:30pm and my last final is Friday, so I've got time.

Now, J and I are talking about getting me a new/different phone (we were talking about that yesterday, coincidentally) and a new laptop. I might get another teeny laptop for half the size and half the cost of the full-sized ones. I like them better, anyway. This brand is Lenovo, which does the new version of ThinkPads, which are virtually indestructible. Especially if you maintain them well.

Also good news: the old laptop's hard drive is fine, the display is just broken. J put that old hard drive in another laptop we have laying around and it's good to go for tomorrow!

Written Dec 7, 2010

Wow. That calculus test really kicked my butt. I hope I did well enough to move on for next term. . . ugh. . .

Rainy Day

I know, I've been blogging too much lately. I try to keep them short, though. . .

Anyway, it's been cold and rainy this weekend but especially so today. It's dark outside because of all the clouds too. It's sort of romantic and it makes me want a big bowl of hot noodle soup for dinner. Maybe we'll run to the grocery store and grab some Bok Choy to put in it. Probably not, though. I have a lot of homework and studying to do for my finals next week!

Negative Time?

This afternoon I was looking over my email. One says my courses may be dropped due to non-payment. Since the deadline for Fall payment is well overdue by now I was confused. I logged into their online system and, sure enough, the only money due on my account was for the classes I was unable to even sign up for at the time I received the email. . .

Now, I'm a little concerned that they have a bug in their system and suddenly can't see the payment I made for Fall and they'll drop my classes before I take the finals. It was an especially nice touch that I got this email after hours on Friday, so I can't find out what's going on until Monday morning. Thanks, guys!

Registered!

Got up at 5am today to register. I'm registered for Shell Programming and that's it! I'm on the wait-list for calculus and chemistry and they won't let me wait-list physics because I'm not officially enrolled in calculus. I'll go in Monday and get that hold removed. If it weren't for that, I'd be in the class I want—there are 15 spots left! Even if I don't get on the wait-list soon, I'm pretty sure I can show up the first day of class and get in. If it's like this semester of physics, people will drop like flies and the teachers probably suspect as much early on.

Finals are Coming!

Hello, internet.

I am procrastinating my workout.

I really enjoy my workouts. I get a lot of studying done and I usually feel great during and after, but I needed a break from school today and it's hard to get back to it. . .

Ok. Enough goofing off. Time to don the workout outfit!

Written Nov 30, 2010

2 Things That Made My Day

In descending order, of course.

1. J took a late/long lunch break and went to a bookstore and then the library with me. We each left the library with our arms full of books! We had fun chatting in the bookstore, too. I love spending time with that guy!

2. I have a Youtube queue with Shakira, P!nk, and Missy Elliot. It makes me so happy. There's a mashup of a Missy song with Metallica's Enter Sandman that freakin' rocks!

Good News!

I had an email conversation with my soon-to-be programming professor and I think I'll be fine without the intro class! Yay, good to go! :D

Next Term is in Sight

Got my schedule figured out! No class before 10am. Lots of time for homework between classes. However, if I can't get into the classes I want, the schedule gets pretty tricky.

I'm taking more classes and harder classes, but I still want to keep my gpa above 3.5. I'm going with the theory that not having enough to do keeps me from doing anything as well as when I'm busy. My study habits have been improving lately and I think I can do it.

Physics -- The same concepts as this semester, but with calculus. My physics teacher thinks I can handle it. I hope he's right!

Shell Programming -- If I'm not ready for this class, I hope that's obvious early enough to take the recommended intro class. I think I'll be fine, though.

Calculus

Chemistry

Part of me is intimidated. The other part says "bring it on!"

A Lovely Night

Every space in the trailer park is beautifully manicured. I noticed lots of roses, Xmas lights, and gardenias.  The air smells pleasantly of fabric softener and it's just the right temperature for a long cool down. :)

Written Nov 29, 2010