Happy American Thanksgiving!

Living in the state's I've taken the week to go visit with my family for the holiday.

To all of you celebrating with me I hope you enjoy your feast with family and friends!  Insane ramblings will resume next week or so.

Itchy Itchy

I have a wool allergy.  I've had it all my life.  My mother has a wool allergy, she's had it all her life.  My sister has a wool allergy, she's had it all her life.  For all of my life growing up, it was almost unheard of for me to come into contact with processed wool.  My grandma probably even has the allergy, I don't really know, it was never important, because she never kept processed wool around.  My point is, growing up there was very little wool in my life.  My allergy was never that big of a deal, and it wasn't that bad either. I did tolerate a fully lined lettermen's jacket, but I also never cuddled with it.  My mother was worse, she couldn't touch it at all except by the lining.  Somehow I once ended up with some green wool socks, which I of course never wore, at least not for very long!

My allergy to wool, to me, has never been that big of a deal.  I mean you just avoid wool and carry on with your life, right?  Except, lately the allergy has gotten a lot worse and mixed fabrics that were just uncomfortable before our downright painful now.  Additionally, every time I turn around more wool is entering my life.  It seems that everything is wool or a wool blend.  My mother-in-law got my daughters some wool sweaters, yup my hand stung after opening that box!  We ended up sending the sweater to the cousins because I just couldn't have it in the house and my daughters' claimed it itched them, but I don't know whether they share in my hereditary defect or they just found wool sweaters itchy.

Microwave Popcorn Is Evil

Ok, I like popcorn well enough.  I mean, I usually get some at the movies (as long as I have people to share it with) and I even own a popcorn popper, thanks to a former roommate.  I'm sure there are still some packets of microwaveable popcorn in my pantry, but there are also some 15 year old cans of spam in there and I've never prepared spam.  Even the best microwave popcorns are bland, burnt tasting, and really just not that good.  I mean yeah, it's a low calorie snack and you can indulge in large quantities without feeling guilty, but it's just not that good either.  Naughty popcorn is much better, and it's still popcorn.

So why is it, whenever someone makes microwaveable popcorn, no matter what kind, the smell makes you want some?  I mean you know it's not going to taste good.  You know you're going to have to wash down the grittiness and the salt (if there is any) with some kind of flavorful beverage.  So why do you crave it from the smell?  Heck!  Sometimes the smell isn't even that good as the hint of burnt paper is often present.

Too Tired

Life seems to be sliding back down to normal, but my sleep is all messed up thanks to Murphy and the storm of the year.  I did reap a discount sale, all but finishing my Christmas and birthday shopping.  I went to bed early, slept for 2 hours before being woken up by the sleep apnea snoring of my loving husband on the couch.  Sadly, I could not return to sleep.  I tried to work (I need to make a pdf, finish some code, and make a mailto script by tonight), but I wasn't very successful at that either.  So I read some blogs.  I should've written one for all of you, but I didn't.  I will try to do that after work tonight.

You know you are way too tired when you are sitting at a decent Chinese restaurant and order food you know you like, but when it arrives the only thing that tastes good is the tea.  Not a problem, the kids and hubby ate everything else, but now I'm really hungry.... and I'm off to be lunch lady.  I hope know one brings popcorn (which was going to be today's discussion).  Until later!  KtC

Head-to-Head with The Law

So I've got my self a pretty cush part time gig, and I like it a lot.  Most of the time it's no stress at all.  My boss is cool and laid back and we have really relaxed deadlines.  I also can work from home so I work around nursing my baby and talking to my kids and trying to spend time with my husband.  Sometimes the hours really suck, but that's life, right? 

Every once in a while though things are not the little relaxed pseudo-utopia of my preference.  Every once in a while there is a concrete deadline, typically one of my uber-cool bosses has a meeting to beg for money and well they want a stable update to show off.  This week is one of those weeks.  It's also one of the downsides of working at home, I don't just stumble into my boss in the coffee room.... so I don't always get a lot of heads up.

I'm In Love....

For the past several weeks, I've had more than just an interesting show to look forward to on Masterpiece on Sunday nights, I've had a show that has made me want to be home in time to see every minute.  More than just remembering what time it's on, but avoiding any potential conflicts.  I can't even begin to tell you how long it has been since I've cared about a show that much!  Unfortunately, like many BBC shows, the season was painfully short and as I write this on Sunday, I wonder what I'll watch tonight, feeling a bit empty at the idea that Sherlock will not be on.

Before I link you to the site's website I think you deserve some background and why Sherlock is just so absolutely awesome.

So Much Junk, It's Nice to Have Something Useful

I hate junk!  I think I've made that perfectly clear in several of my posts exonerating my frustrations in simplifying my life and organizing my clutter.  But the kitchen is just one of those areas that's a total crap magnet!  I mean there's a million gadgets and gizmos, right?  Yet, ya have to eat.  More importantly, ya have to feed your kids and you have to feed them good stuff, otherwise they get sick or have horrible health habits or both.

Personally, I'm probably a bit more granola than average.  I LOVE the whole food movement.  Except I'm not the most prodigious cook.  My Mom wasn't really a cook, so there was no example, and my mind it's not wired for meal planning.  Still we muddle through, mostly thanks to my amazing cook of a husband.  Ok, so I'd probably eat a lot worse without him and so would the kids.  Still, cooking is everyone's job and the kitchen is full of stuff that may or may not get used.  As we try to add more and more whole fresh foods, one item that has been absolutely indispensable has been our Helen Chen bamboo steamer basket.