Superstar Dinner on a Wednesday Night

Due to the unusualness of my schedule yesterday in that I didn't have to tutor last night, I had time and the ingredients, to make a meal that I've been thinking about for some time now. I ripped a recipe for Sweet Potato Ravioli out of Real Simple like 4 months ago and have been salivating over the picture hanging on my wall ever since.

Making them wasn't all that hard and they came out well. The ravioli themselves were just wonton wrappers which I picked up for less than 2 bucks at the Super 88.



The filling was mashed sweet potato which I combined with some brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. I actually think I put parmesan cheese in there as well. I think the recipe called for parmesan but not brown sugar, but I can't make sweet potatoes without brown sugar so I used both.



The recipe didn't tell me to brown them but after a 2 minute boil they looked kind of well, flacid (can you use that word outside of the bedroom?). So I browned them in some butter with more brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt and pepper. They were delish.



It's a definite rarity to have something so lavish mid-week! It is paired with chicken in a citrus mango sauce that was once mango salsa. How do you like that for inspired cooking?

HGTV comes to Dorchester

Ok not really, but wouldn't that be fabulous? Instead I just pretended I was on Extreme Bathroom Makeover this weekend.

I have never really painted, for the record. I decided working on the tiny bathroom was a really good idea before I went to one of the bigger rooms (up next, the bedroom!). So I found a blue color I liked and had it mixed, put some on the wall and didn't like it. Went back to Home Depot, got a lighter shade, put it on the wall, didn't like it. Finally, on the 3rd try I got one that I thought worked well and off I went.

You would have loved to have been a fly on the wall as I realized all of the steps I forgot to cover in my attempt to turn my walls blue. I tried not to rush into the process since that is my nature, and in general, it is not a really successful strategy. After a couple of strokes on the wall and some blue paint splattering on me and on the tile and toilet I realized that step number one probably should have been to put down the drop cloth. If only I had been born with just a little bit of common sense! Just a little! I also decided that it would make sense to get naked. So I stripped down and put on an apron and dropped the plastic drop cloth over the area I was painting. I was pretty concerned that it was going to be streaky but learned that the paint does its job well and I just needed to touch up a bit when it dried. Here's the first part before I had to run for my rollerblading date with Jody and Brian:


So it took me a good half an hour more to realize that I was going to be painting the ceiling and the tile on the wall if I didn't tape. Thankfully I had at least bought the tape in advance - I can't tell you why I didn't use it from the beginning.

All in all, it turned out really well. Savory Man took down the cabinet and the crappy light over the sink and I did a really thorough job on all four little walls. The color is a tad shocking, but with the shower curtain it really looks great. Savory Man installed a new light fixture which really just makes the whole bathroom look so much more put together. Look!




I'm so happy with it. I was actually excited to come home from the beach yesterday to see it again!

Savory Man and I also installed a new pendant light in the dining room. For the record I really detest the light fixtures that came with the condo. This one is warm and fun and matches the decor now. I'm pretty stoked for the change!

Tequila Tango Summer Scrabble

There really was no tango involved since we sat at the dining room table whilst enjoying multiple margaritas. Because I am good and consistent, the tequila and I made a wreck of setting up the Scrabble board on Friday night:





Thankfully, Scrabble tiles and cous cous make a really lovely combination. Cous cous was care of Erica and she has posted the delish recipe on her blog. You can also read about the no boundaries Scrabble we played. And by no boundaries I mean that we had a lot to drink before we played. It helps to read Amy's comment on Erica's blog.

Isn't this the way to usher in summer? Too much tequila and some wild and crazy Scrabble? That's us in our 30s...wild and crazy Scrabble. Fasten those seatbelts folks!

You Put Your Left Foot In, You Put Your Left Foot Out

Savory Man dropped a big piece of steel on his foot this weekend and hurt his toe real bad. They put stitches in it and he didn't want to get it wet before his follow-up today. I couldn't resist the photo opportunity. I told him I'm exploiting him here, he's ok with it.

re: My recent posts and other random thoughts

So, someone stole my lilacs. You know the ones that were at nose level that greeted me twice a day? Bastards!

Today I took the train into work. You may remember that I take the train about 4 times a year. I always comment on how I revel in the humanity on the train but today I was just like, some of this I'm fine with not reveling in. Like the girl with her breasts falling out of her shirt and her tweety-bird tatoo winking at me. Or the guy listening to his portable dvd player withOUT headphones in. Is that necessary? I mean this wasn't the commuter rail, this is the inner-city redline. Do you need to watch movies on the train? And without headphones? Just rude.

Anyhow, my lilacs are on the way out. I will use the word ephemeral - that's one of the words on all my SAT kids' vocabulary lists. My lilacs are ephemeral - short-lived. However someone on the route to the train has lovely dark purple and white ones which still seem to be loving the new weather we're finally getting here!



And my goodness what are these? These people have a huge bush of them in their front yard!



Yesterday I did a focus group for Lindt chocolate. The women in there were chocolate freaks! I of course did a little fibbing to get in and if you know me, you know I am far from a chocolate freak. But I did enjoy the free sweets and marveling at how much thought these women put into eating chocolate!

Then, on my way home I was approaching the craziest clouds ever. I was concerned that I was going to get wiped out by a huge rain storm between my car and my house. You know like when you can see it raining in the distance? It's been doing that here all week - it's like living in Florida except that it's cold here. It shouldn't rain every afternoon if it's cold. Anyhow these were the clouds that I was driving into:






Isn't that scary? I thought it was going to be a boomer but it wasn't. It quietly rained while I ate dinner.

I'm going to do some work now. But only for an hour. Thank goodness for long weekends and early releases!

Urban Window-scapes

Here are some of the windows I pass on the way to work. I always wonder who is behind all those windows. Are they bored at their desks? Are they running around and invested in the work they're doing and working hard to meet clients' needs and deadlines?

Now I don't think there are any people working as desks here but this is a cool shot. Does it perhaps remind of you a movie recently filmed in Boston? It should! (3 extra points if you can name that film!)


I like how there's something different going on in every window here. It looks like someone is stacking tea in one window, doing construction in another window, and maybe doing busy office work in another. I like the frames on these windows too and how cool it is that the buildings are reflected in the panes.



These are interesting too. I'm not so sure these are windows to the soul, maybe the soul of these buildings...aren't I clever? Yeah, anyhow so a couple of these look like they might be residential. This is not too far-fetched since I work in a gritty, yet booming area of Boston right on the waterfront. But right next to those windows are two windows that look like they are jail cells with their iron bars on them! Part of this building is industrial and they are working it up for commercial space above the most fabulous bakery which moved in to our street about a year ago.



I think it's also quite lovely that the sun made two natural windows on this wall too. Well maybe not windows. Maybe just sun squares.

Are You Sick of Me Talking About Lilacs?

It's ok, I'm almost done. My mother had a lilac bush on the side of the house by the clothes rack -what are those things called? We also grew rhubarb in that corner. That was a special corner!

See how fate put these lilacs right at nose level for me? It's so I can smell them in the morning and leave with a smile and then smell them in the evening and come home with a smile.



File under 'Things That Make Me Happy'. Magnificent!

Meet Thomas

I needed to find a new home for a tree that was turning brown in my bedroom. So its new home is with the trash. But I have found an even better replacement!

Meet Thomas! (his long name is Thomas the Tropical Tree)



Isn't he gorgeous? I fell in love with him at IKEA! I know, file this under 'Get A Life' but I just love how Thomas has that tropical and laid back feel. He's so much better than the tree with brown leaves!

In The News

Beth and I were laughing last night about how sickeningly emotional we can be sometimes. She lamented at how she still gets overcome with Hallmark commercials. I on the other hand literally shed tears for social justice. I really am a bit over the top sometimes, I know. I literally cried when Massachusetts passed the law that allowed homosexuals the right to marriage. Yesterday, when California passed the same law, allowing real people their real rights and equal dignity as the rest of us, I didn't cry - but I sure could have. Something about people not being treated as 100% people like the rest of us really upsets me. I think it has something to do with being raised by a couple of semi-converted hippies. But strangely, they actually favor the rights of animals these days and aren't as affected by social change as I am.

I applaud the Globe for taking a strong stance and reminding us that every citizen of the United States deserves to be treated equally.

And just as exciting, my sister made the big newspaper in the Triangle in North Carolina. She's a crafting extraordinaire! Here's the article.

Are You Ready for Serious?

You know, in true Monday Night Football fashion.

Today I had a nasty encounter with my existential self. It's a self I can't avoid, a self that scares me, and a self that makes the future sometimes hard to grapple with.

My existential self is someone who comes usually during mundane times or times of calm. I think it's probably good that she doesn't come when I'm down in the dumps or when blue days turn into blue weeks sometimes. I'm sure I can intellectualize her arrival (this kind of sounds like I'm talking about my period...I only wish it were so simple) by applying what Amy and I were talking about earlier in the week. That even if we did have time or the opportunity to just be those kind of people who are able to just go home after work, have a nice meal, and be content with sitting with our significant others enjoying the evening, we wouldn't. We would hate that. And I think, when things slow down enough for me to get to that point from time to time, my brain malfunctions. It doesn't like periods of rest. Even though I know it's good to learn how to relax and enjoy slow time, my brain doesn't always follow the articles I read about in Women's magazines about leading a healthy lifestyle .

Instead, every once in a while when things get slow and I am not being pulled in a lot of different directions (often brought on myself, I do admit) I get pulled into nasty existential land (for the rest of this post, let's call it NEL). So usually NEL sneaks up on me and it's kind of like BOOM! and she whispers, "Everything you're doing these days is so worthless. Are you seriously going to do this for the next 40 years of your life?" And she's not always just talking about work, though existential me has always struggled with working for life. Sometimes she's talking simply about the life and the rat-race (so I guess how work comes into the picture everyday). The whole get up, get ready, go to work, have leftovers for lunch, go to second job, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed, get up, get ready, go to work...is so meaningless. I suppose if I don't stop to think about it, which I don't have time to do when I'm super-scheduled, then it's 'ok' in a sense. But really, when I do have time to think about it (today), it is completely meaningless to me.

This is sad, I know and it's more sad I think that it's not fleeting but rather cyclical for me. I sometimes wonder, is this something I should do something about? But what? Get some kind of drug? Depression runs pretty rampant on my maternal side of my family and surely I've got a little bit of what everyone else has got on that side but usually I can keep it at bay. Part of me thinks that existential self wants to be part of that social group.

So today I was in a meeting with all of the big guns at work. I've been a little anxious lately wondering what I'm going to do when the woman I took over for in November comes back from medical leave next week. I don't want to be her kid partner and I don't want to give up any of what I'm doing. At the same time I'm stuck needing a raise because for the past year, I've just been getting by on a shoestring. So I'm in this meeting and we're talking about making sure that new hires always have computers when they arrive for their first day of work. And I got it - it was a BOOM but thankfully no one knew but me. It was like, seriously, is this what is important in life? Are we really having a heated discussion about one department telling another department that someone needs a computer on Thursday? Am I really going to be having these conversations for the rest of my working life?

Maybe I'm wrong; maybe I'm supposed to be finding meaning in this.

My mother thinks it's just because I'm under-employed. I can't disagree with this entirely even though I love the chaos and speed of my job. I love being the go-to person. At the same time, should I be helping to craft ideas and implement progressive change for people of the world? Yeah, I should be. But I wouldn't be getting paid to do that. And I don't want that schedule. I'm not willing to sacrifice my time for that.

I know, sacrifice the time I'm complaining about not enjoying. What am I doing with my time? Fretting about how it's not meaningful when I have time to have time.

NEL is harsh. She definitely can put me in a place where I feel like there really isn't too much of a point in continuing the day. She reminds me of the constant financial struggle and always makes me wonder how much of this life is worth what we're all doing to get ahead, or for some of us, just get by. I certainly suppose this is why some people are so religious and believe in an after-life. But I can't live for the prospect of an after-life, I need to live for the now. Why do I suffer from so many personal contradictions?

I guess I am truly afraid of going on day to day and never finding meaning in anything. I'm afraid that an amorous relationship may never bring that for me and having children may never do that for me. I know they're supposed to, but I wonder if I may be different. I mean, if the grand percentage of human beings find meaning in their day-to-day lives and they don't have these pangs of existentialism, can I really believe that I am like most people and will find meaning where they do?

NEL saddens me and I wish she'd stay away. I assume she's there to motivate me to keep looking for that meaning. I sometimes wonder if the meaning is simply embedded in change itself. But I want it so badly to be found in relaxing and enjoying the day. I want it to be found in the pursuit of simple living. Am I just creating a fairytale? Does such a thing exist?

NEL makes me blue and leaves me feeling empty I guess. Like there is a big nothing out there and I am definitely a part of it. I do so enjoy my relationships and enjoy helping people, but in end, does any of it really matter? My existential self is telling me today that it doesn't.

* Note this is not a cry for help, just serious post. I am going to make meatloaf now.

Ok I'm Over the Phone Cord Now

Kind of.

This morning was that morning when the sheets were soooo soft and the warmth in the bed was juuuusssst right. And if you know me at all you know that the windows were open and I was under a ton of covers. And even though the alarm kept going off, I said to myself, "It's just reminding me that I should get up, it doesn't really want me to get up. It wants me to relish in these soft sheets and warm bed. It wants me to lay spread eagle across the entire bed for another 9 minutes".

"And another nine minutes."

"And another nine minutes."

Strangely, I still got to work on time and I do look halfway decent.

I also had another contractor come this morning to look at my deck project that I still can't seem to get a loan from a bank for. These guys said roughly $8500 which is A LOT less than the others. I figure that will rise to at least $10,000 when they get it on paper though.

I think I've run out of banks to ask for loans from. There doesn't seem to be a lot of flexibility with my debt to income ratio.

I am supposed to be asking for a raise this week but the Director of HR, who is also my supervisor, is out of town until tomorrow. Is Friday a good day for asking for a raise?

What Frustrates You?

You know what frustrates me? This stupid phone cord. Why does it do this? I'm only answering the phone on speaker now, damn it!

Saturday Saturday

Hi Friends!

Turns out the Duggars ARE having another baby. I won't even get into how wrong I think that is. So let's just leave it at that.

I am doing some housework and getting some to-do list stuff done. I found out that although the creep that built this place cut corners in almost all areas, he did install windows that tilt in to clean. At least he did something right. Unfortunately, that hardly cancels out the 305,953 things he did wrong. And yes, this is the first time I have cleaned my windows since I moved in 11 months ago.

I found out that using an old bed sheet to clean the windows is perfect. Cotton, soft, and no smudgy!

I'm also changing out my black and white picture wall with colorful pictures of the flowers Amy and I took pictures of the other day. Turns out cell phone pictures are fine for blogging, but not for blowing up and hanging in your living room.

I'm trying to build a deck but the bank won't lend me money. I'm pretty ticked. It turns out my debt to income ratio is too high. So I asked what goes into that calculation. When the loan officer told me that my school loans are a part of it, I just shook my head. They want you to go to school to better the community and the earth and then they screw you. You get a job as a social worker to help other people and you will never be able to make a decent living. Damn them! Is this the Federal Reserve I should be blaming? President Bush? Sallie Mae? I don't care who it is, I need someone to blame!

Back to windows.

The Today Show

I just heard that the Duggar family is going to be on the Today show and they have a big announcement. I hope it's that she's getting her tubes tied.

Sick with Sunshine

Ok these are also from my cell phone. I'm hoping a lot of these will blow up nicely so I can use them for my wall. Otherwise Amy, I'm stealing yours from our long lunch walk!

What are these?

More about not doing work today

Amy and I went on an extended lunch walk today to Boston's Public Gardens. I thought I had sneakers, but didn't. Don't ever walk from the waterfront to the public gardens if you don't have sneakers. Though I bought a cheap pair of flipper floppers on the way, it was like deciding between two evils on my way back to work. Both pairs of shoes were doing damage in different areas of my feet and I'm scowling now as the balls of my feet are burning like the devil's chamber.

Anyhow, then I dropped my camera and it is quite unhappy. It refused to function correctly and kept clicking. Thankfully, Amy played her dutiful role and took lots and lots and lots of creative digital pictures. I took a bunch on my camera phone but for some reason, they turned into cartoons. They're still pretty though - look!

Yup, still doing work here

I thought some of you might be interested in the blogs on I have on my Googlereader blog roll. For those of you who are new to blogging, you might want to invest (and by that I mean set-up *it's free!*) in a Google Reader. You need a gmail account to have one but you'll kick yourself that you didn't do it earlier when you do set it up.

Just go to google.com/reader and click on the 'add subscription' button on the left hand side and paste in the URLs one at a time of the blogs you follow. Next to that button is a 'Discover' button which will, once it sees what kind of blogs you like, give you suggestions of others that are out there. Here are the blogs on my blog roll in case you're looking for something to do at work today too!

...more than a blog

A friend from high school and his family's adventures
The Boston Police Crime blog (kind of sick in a fascinating way)
Bye Bye Pie
Charming but Single
Confessions of a Pioneer Woman
Decluttering My Life (more friends from high school!)
EM Physician - Backstage Pass
Tales from the Emergency Room
Greek Tragedy
I Pretty Much Hate Everything
I'm not a Girl, not yet a Wino
Courtney
This fish needs a bicycle
Joy Unexpected
My sister

Ok that's enough for now. I need to walk around so people think I'm doing something before I actually go and walk around for lunch!

Oh Springy Springtime

See, I wonder if, when I move South, I will miss the grand anticipation about Spring and Summer we have here in the Northeast. We all know that Spring is actually only 3 weeks long here and summer will be bearing down on us in the blink of an eye. If it's Spring-like 8 months of the year in the South, do you lose the anticipation? Or is it just evened out by the fact that you're perpetually weather-happy?

I digress. Today is a Springy-Springtime day. The sky is like this:



That's an actual picture of the sky! Sometimes you have to wonder if I have enough to do with my time (don't actually wonder that, I do! I maybe need some other diversions!)

And the lilacs outside my house are screaming! to come out of their buds. That part of the house doesn't get sun until later in the day though. Here they are screaming! Maybe lilacs and screaming don't really go together. Maybe I was transferring my anticipation onto them and giving them people qualities. Maybe I should stop tutoring essay writing for a while.



I have all these lists of things to do at work and strangely, I don't want to do any of them. Maybe that's not really strange.

Ready for Some Random?

* Hi Marie! Hope you are well and congratulations on your new grandchild. Concerned that my rants are your therapy, but hello! Nice to virtually have you in my life again!

* I went to the dermatologist on Thursday. During that decade of my tumultuous twenties, I spent some long and hot days at the beach clearly trying to change my ethnicity or something. Pictures from those summers show me with skin at least 394 shades darker than it should be. I have a picture on my wall I'll scan in to show you. So anyhow, I was concerned because I tend to get freckles that don't go away in the sun (oh side story - I was on some medication for a few years that had a warning that I shouldn't stay in direct sunlight and I didn't know that was a warning so I was frying faster than a chicken in the oven). So anyhow, I was concerned about some moles (I hate that word, ick) and I went to the dermatologist. The exam was no more than 90 seconds long. I got naked, he put his little ultra-violet mask thing on, looked me all-around, said I was fine and that was it. Turns out, all those articles you read in women's magazines are right about being concerned if you moles are not symmetrical or if they are different colors - but only if they are bigger than a pencil eraser. Mine aren't so I will continue with my 30 sunscreen and take skin cancer off my list of things to fret about for the time being.

* Today I have been a Betty Crocker maniac. I made bacon, eggs, pancakes, and corn muffins for breakfast because it's Savory Man's birthday. I came home from tutoring and made a lasagne, three banana breads, a cake, and a salad. I am the consummate house wife. I think I'd rather chew glass than be the consummate housewife.

* Speaking of tutoring, it is quieting down...a little. There is still an SAT and an ACT in June which I'm tutoring one kiddo for. I also have 2 prodigious 7th graders whom I'm working on a variety of things with. They're fun though and with them, I don't have to pretend to know some of the answers like I sometimes have to do with the SAT. Eh, nature of the beast.

* I picked up my guitar just now with a vodka tonic. This is how it should be on a pissy Sunday afternoon. Enough enough enough enough with this weather.

* Last week I rented In America which is one of my favorite movies. I rarely watch movies more than once but that one falls into a list of a few that I adore including Life as a House, Fever Pitch, Amelie, Playing by Heart, and by default, Grease.

* I just finished a book and am looking for a suggestion on a good bedtime read. Anyone?

* The Sex In The City movie comes out May 30th. I'll be organizing a get together because it is a girls night out must see. Let me know if you want in. Or, if you live in Canada, if you can make it down! (Me thinks you should take some vacation for it!)