Friday's Feast

I got the link for the weekly Friday's Feast from my pal DNR's blog. Check him out, he's on my blogrolling list on the right hand side of the screen (under What...?) Thanks, DNR!!!



Appetizer: What are you proud of?

A lot of things, but most recently I'm proud of the fact that I've lost seven pounds (as of Wednesday's Weigh-In) with my new weight loss and exercise goals.

Soup: What is the best thing you’ve ever won as a prize?

I haven't won a lot of prizes, but I guess that the best one I won was $150 in a national poetry contest, plus being published in a newspaper and an anthology.

Salad: Name something you do that is a waste of time.

I surf the web. I'm an internet junkie!! Not as bad as some people, and not as bad as I used to be, but I still have to have a hit of world wide web almost every day!

Main Course: In what year of your life did you change the most?

2004-2005. I fell in love with the girl of my dreams, realized I didn't ever want to be married (to a man), told my family and myself exactly who I was and wasn't, had a semi-nervous breakdown, moved to Indianapolis, learned I could fend for myself and be a responsible adult, got the best job of my career, and many other things. So much to squeeze into one year! I can't even begin to chronicle it all. And while it was an amazing time of growth for me, growing pains are never fun. There were a lot of hard, scary times in that year. But it was definitely the year that I changed the most.

Dessert: Where is a place you consider to be very tranquil?

Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. It's an island in the outer banks of NC. It was one of the favorite hideaways of Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard the Pirate. I've never seen so many stars in my life as I've seen lying on the beach in the middle of the night at Ocracoke. And the meteor shower I saw there one year? It took my breath away.

Catching up...

I really should be working right now, but screw it. I haven’t posted in this thing for so long, I feel guilty about it. So… let’s see… what’s been going on in the past couple of weeks?

We went down to SC for St. Patty’s Day. It was a blast! My shamrock juice went over very well. I also took a lot of video with my new video camera! I still haven’t figured out the best way to edit the video. I’ve been trying to muck around with Windows Movie Maker, but it really kinda sucks. I think I’m just going to have to invest in some good video editing software. Anybody out there have any suggestions? I think I’m leaning towards Pinnacle at the moment, but I’m just not sure. I’m such a newbie at this, it’s easy to get discouraged.

Anyway, the weekend in SC… we saw our friends in Greenville, went to lunch with them and gave them their baby gifts, which was fun. I got to spend a little time with my mom. We had an incredible time in Florence at the party, got really drunk, and ended up at the Huddle House at 1 am… is there anything more Southern? Saturday we just spent the day together hanging out and watching movies. We watched National Lampoon’s European Vacation, for God’s sake. I haven’t seen that one since I was a kid. It was as stupid-funny as I remembered it being. It was hard to leave, but nice to get home to our house.

Max is growing like a weed. He’s so much bigger now! I need to post a picture of him again. Maybe I’ll take some pics this weekend, or get Erin to. He likes to sit on my shoulder and watch me type when I sit at the computer. Soon he’ll be too big to do that… he goes between bouts of snuggling and insanity, you know, running around chasing things that aren’t there, galloping through the house like a herd of wild horses, tormenting his sisters by pouncing on them and biting their ears, or chasing them around the house. He’s a great kitty!

We painted the dining room… bright red. It looks SO good. It wasn’t that hard either, it only took us most of one morning to do. And the room is so different… it looks like it was always meant to be that color. Here’s a pic:



Nice, huh?

What else? Hmmm… I had an interview for a National Accounts Coordinator this week, on Tuesday. I think it went well. It lasted almost an hour! Keep your fingers crossed for me, I really hope I get this job. I would be working for the same company, but I would have a different supervisor (which is a good thing… the one I have now makes me crazy most days). Also, it would probably be a raise in pay. And when we finally get the money to move and are ready to go, I can do this job out of the Atlanta office, unlike my current job. I could just transfer to Atlanta… I would rather live in Greenville, but hey, you know what they say about beggars not being able to be choosers… also, if push really does come down to shove, “National Accounts Coordinator” looks SO much better on a resume than a plain old “Customer Service Representative”… right? In almost every way, getting that position would be a positive step forward… so I REALLY hope I get it.

Another plus, if I get the job, I can dump one of my current headache customers on someone else, and it becomes THEIR problem from now on. Ha!

I’ve also started working on losing weight in a very serious way the past couple of weeks. For the past four days I’ve gone treadmilling in the fitness center at our apartment complex. I’ve also changed my diet, made it around 1200 calories a day. My doctor has advised that I start out with a small goal, and move forward from that. So I’m starting with 30 pounds, and once I get there, I am going to enroll myself in a martial arts class. I’ve always wanted to do some sort of martial arts, ever since I was a little kid. It’s about time, you know? But until I lose some weight, I won’t be able to do it to the best of my ability. So when I hit the 30 pound mark, I’m gonna start looking for a good school around here to enroll in. It’s a good thing for so many reasons…

If you’re wondering, I’ve lost about seven pounds already. I don’t plan to blog much on my weight loss goals here, I’ve joined a forum with some friends and we’re doing a concentrated, only-weight-loss oriented thing on another site. But if you’re curious, just ask me. ;)

OK, I have orders to put in now, so I can’t just sit here and blog. *sigh* But I wanted to update, as one of my readers called me a “lazy blogger” last week!! I am NOT a lazy blogger! I am a BUSY blogger!!!! I processed over 50 orders for my largest account last week, and we’re working on a huge project for them, so I hardly even have time to breathe or go to the bathroom lately, much less post on my blog. Anyway, I’ll try to do better in the future.

That’s it for now. Take care, all.

~Becky

Did anyone see my weekend? It was so short, I think I misplaced it...

Good morning, everyone.

Stupid time change… it’s STILL dark outside, and it’s almost 8:30 in the morning. GRRR!!! I just want to be in my bed. On the other hand, I’m very pleased our country is taking the initiative to change earlier so that we as a nation can save more on energy costs, and ultimately cut down on our overall emissions. Global warming is real, people. See An Inconvenient Truth. Yeah, yeah, I’m a democratic liberal left wing tree hugging bleeding heart pinko lesbian, whatever, get over yourselves. If you can’t see that the house of cards we’ve been building over the last century is beginning to tumble down around us, you’re just as blind as the rest of the republican right wing conservative tree killing gay hating woman oppressing ostriches with their heads stuck in the sand party. Jerks.

This isn’t to say that there are some wonderful republicans out there, I have friends that are republican. Hell, I married one (but we see how that turned out, don’t we?). There are exceptions to every rule – I mean, I’ve met Bob Jonesers that were actually human beings with personalities and thoughts and feelings that haven’t been dictated to them by the institution they’re attending, but they’re few and far between. And I work at a company where I am surrounded by (relatively) nice republicans… but the majority of those jerks out there have their heads shoved so far up their asses that they can actually see their own stomach linings.

And that’s all I have to say about politics this morning… ahem.

It was a good weekend, but way too short. I would gladly work four ten-hour shifts to get three day weekends every week. I never feel like the weekend is long enough. And this coming weekend is going to fly by because we’re going to be spending literally half of it in the car... *sigh* Anyway, Friday we went to see 300. It was REALLY good. Very violent and bloody and intense. I would definitely rent it when it comes out on DVD, might even buy it. We’ll have to see. Saturday we went to lunch with our roommate, then walked around down by our lake where the river flooded into it a few weeks ago to see what got washed up. It was very cool – we found all kinds of stuff. There was even a dock that had come unmoored from somewhere and was washed up, upside down, on the banks where the river had been, not two weeks ago. Erin took some really amazing pictures. It was neat walking around down there, like being in a totally different place.

After we got cleaned up from playing around down by the river in the mud, we went and drove around in the sunshine. It was so nice to soak up the warmth and drive around talking. Then we headed to Corona for dinner and had some margaritas. I ended up being the DD, lol. We went to the liquor store so I could get stuff to work on my recipe for Shamrock Juice (party punch I’m making for the St. Pat’s party on Friday night). I actually was able to make it work – FINALLY – and finished up the recipe. Now I just need to figure out how much of each ingredient I need to make a MASSIVE batch on Friday. It’s very tasty – you can’t taste the alcohol in it at all. I’m a little concerned that it’s not alcoholic enough, actually… but yesterday I tried more alcohol in it, and it wasn’t as good. It’s very green and tastes kind of light and fruity. The recipe is as follows:

Shamrock Juice
Concocted by B. Matthews

1 part Midori/melon flavored liquor
1 part vodka
1 part pre-mixed Bacardi hurricane
2 parts pineapple juice
2 parts lime drink (NOT limeade, I found a lime drink in the cooler at the liquor store, but I imagine lime Kool-Aid or lime Hawaiian Punch would work just fine, make sure it is bright green though)
4 parts Sprite

Mix well, serve cold. If you mix it carefully, there’s still enough carbonation from the Sprite left to give it a nice bite. TASTY!!

Then yesterday Erin went ice skating with her dad and I knocked around the house and played computer games, mostly. We watched movies and I did laundry last night. We finally let the kitten out into the rest of the house this weekend, and the other cats seem to be doing ok. It’s nice to not have to keep him locked up in our room. There was no head-bouncing this morning, which was great, especially considering the hour of sleep we lost.

Oh yeah, I also sent my parents flowers this weekend as Saturday was their 40th wedding anniversary. God bless the creator of Outlook calendar. Without that thing I would forget anniversaries and birthdays left and right...

Well anyway, I guess I better dive back into my desk… have a happy Monday, everyone!

~Becky

Falafel, baby gifts, movies... welcome to another random post.

I carelessly forgot to mention in my post yesterday that we will also be meeting our friends in Greenville for lunch before we head to Florence to begin the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. We’re going to meet up at the Pita House, one of my top three restaurants of all time, and pig out on falafel, shawarma, and hummus. YUMMMM!!! Also, we have a couple of gifts for them, as they’re expecting a baby in May and we probably won’t be able to get down there again until late summer. One is a pack-and-play for their kiddo, with Winnie the Pooh (classic style, not Disney style) on its trimmings. The other is a surprise… and as my friends from Greenville read this blog, I won’t say what it is here. But it’s cool. I’m pleased with it, anyway. All in all, it will be a fun time, preceding the fun time with our friends in Florence.

Why does Greenville have so many better restaurants than Indianapolis? Why is it that I’ve lived here for two and a half years and haven’t found a decent middle eastern restaurant? Why, why, why??? I can count on one hand the number of restaurants I’ll miss when we move, and there’s not one that I’ll pine away for like I do with the Pita House. There’s a Mellow Mushroom in Greenville, and if I want greasy New York style pizza, I’ll go to Tito’s. It won’t be the same as Bella, but it’ll be close. On the flip side, there are so many good places to eat in Greenville that I probably won’t get around to missing Indy food for quite a while: Capri’s (mom-and-pop style Italian), Henry’s (killer barbeque from a little hole in the wall), Panda House (the best Chinese food I have EVER had in my whole life), Subs and Clubs (my favorite steak and cheese sandwich place), Zaxby’s (buffalo wings and chicken fingers kinda place), Bojangle’s (the best fast food chicken, ever… beats KFC by ten million miles), three or four different Mexican restaurants (Monterrey’s, Don Juan, Corona, El Matador), Sushi Masa (tiny little sushi restaurant that has some of the most amazing food), and of course, the illustrious Pita House, they of the orgasmic falafel, shawarma, and hummus. Two and a half years, and I can still name these places and pine away for them… *sigh* …now I’ve made myself hungry, LOL!

On another note, I think we’re going to go see the movie “300” this weekend. It looks good. If nothing else, it looks like it won’t be boring. I’m looking forward to it… I was a big fan of Gladiator, and while I know this isn’t going to be Gladiator, it is in the same vein as that kind of movie. I love all kinds of movies, but action movies have to be catchy to hold my interest, and it looks like this one is. I got bored with Mission Impossible, I’m possibly one of only two people on the planet that doesn’t care for “24”… with action movies and such, it’s really kind of a case-by-case basis with me. Unless of course there’s some sci-fi mixed in with that action… then it can be as ridiculously stupid as Starship Troopers and I will STILL eat it up. With a spoon. That has a plastic light-up lightsaber handle.

I know a lot of people that refuse to go to movies, saying that they can purchase the DVD for less than the price for two theater tickets, and they’ll just wait for the movie to go to video. I totally understand this point of view – don’t get me wrong! – but I adore the whole movie-going experience. There’s just something about sitting in a darkened theater, watching the movie on the BIG screen, an open box of raisinets in the cupholder and a bag of disgustingly buttery popcorn on my knee. If the movie’s a good one, I become enchanted with the illusion before me, and lose myself in the story. Even if it’s a bad one, I’m still normally relatively entertained. I think I can count on one hand the number of movies I feel that were a waste of money. I’ve only gotten up and walked out of two movies, ever. It’s just something I don’t do (unless, of course, the movie is so bad that I just can’t stomach it any more – Battlefield Earth, anyone?). And one of the things I also love about movies are the previews. I HATE coming in late and missing previews – it’s like missing part of the movie for me!!! The more previews, the better! (OK, fifty or so might be too many, but those movie theaters that don’t show previews *cough* 96th street REGAL CINEMAS *cough* at all really chap my hide!!!)

I’m also one of those people that will go to a movie multiple times. I think my record was 14… that was with one of the Star Wars movies. Interview With the Vampire was up there too… of course, that was because I got a student discount at the time. If I really like a movie, I’ll go see it more than once in the theater, then buy the DVD and watch it several times. I know people that just don’t understand this. Of course, they’re the same people who can’t fathom reading a book more than once. How do these people survive? Some of my movies and books are like old friends to me. They’re a comfort.

OK, enough random rambling for now…

~Becky

Mommy’s head is not a springboard.

Try telling that to the new kitty, who has decided that I am his personal jungle gym/playground/amusement park. This morning he jumped on my head three times in five minutes. I took the opportunity to grab him and snuggle him good. He’s a very good kitty, and he will be still and quiet and snuggly and sweet all night while his moms are sleeping. But the minute the alarm goes off, watch out! We’ve been still and quiet for far too long! It’s time to PLAY!! What is this “snooze button” that you speak of? Don’t you know it’s MORNING TIME?! Bounce, bounce, bounce bounce bounce bounce… rattle rattle of plastic bag… BOUNCE! POUNCE! GOOD MORNING, MOMMY!!!

LOL! I love my new kitty. He might be overly rambunctious, and I might want to choke him when he bounces my head fifteen minutes before time to get up, but he’s very lovey and very sweet and REALLY smart and hilarious, too. I still haven’t made his name gel in my head yet, though. We’ve been calling him Max, and he’ll probably stay Max, but some part of me is leaning towards Sam, as in Samwise Gamgee… I just don’t know if he’s a Sam or not. Too bad we don’t have a house, I’d love to have another kitten for him to play with. Then we could name the new one Sam and let my brain take a rest… ha!

The other cats are still adjusting. We’ve started putting their food bowl on one side of the door and his on the other so they’re forced to be in close proximity to each other for at least a little while. They’re not pleased. Something that’s simultaneously good and worrisome is that he doesn’t seem to be phased by them at all. This is a good thing, as we don’t want him to be stressed out, but I would also like for him to have a healthy respect for a creature that’s four times his size with razor sharp talons that could rip him into tiny little pieces if she wanted (Dioji). I’m just looking forward to the time that we can actually have our house back to normal, without having to be careful about the bedroom door being closed or not. I think that once he has the run of the house he’ll be more tolerable in the mornings as well.

OK, that’s enough cat talk.

Only a week and a half until our trip to SC! I’m so looking forward to our get-together. The last one we had was awesome. While this won’t be as big or involved, there are a lot of people that are coming that I can’t wait to see. Also, who doesn’t want to get shitfaced with their friends? I mean, come on! It’s a PARTY!!! It’ll also be nice just to get out of this town and back to the South for a little while. It’ll help me remember why we’re still contemplating moving down there. We MISS OUR FRIENDS. I miss the South, too, but mainly it’s the people that make the place for me.

Hell, I’ve gotta get back to work. *sigh* One day, ONE DAY I swear I’ll be independently wealthy and then I can blog all day long if I want. Not that I’d be able to find something to blog that much about, but hey, I can dream right? And while I’m dreaming… how about that f’ing pony?!?

~Becky

Personal Universe Update

Been two weeks since my last post… sorry for the lapse, I’ve just been busy and/or bored with blogging. This is what happens with web journals, I get bored and forget about posting, or can’t think of anything to post. Anyway, here’s an update on what’s been going on in my little corner of the universe…

We watched the Oscars from beginning to end. It’s our little tradition… we get fruit and cheese and wine and pretend to be pretentious and artsy and get tipsy and giggle all night. A lot of fun! There were a couple of surprises this year, but I am really kind of disappointed that The Departed won for best picture. I understand that Martin Scorsese is a very important filmmaker, but I didn’t care for that particular movie all that much. It might have been Leo, whom I want to punch in the face every time I see him. But generally I like Matt Damon and I love Jack Nicholson, so I don’t know. It just felt slow to me… I know most everyone will disagree with me on that, but hey, that’s why it’s great to live in America, right? We all have an opinion, we are all allowed to express our individual opinions, and we’re all going to get pissed off that we don’t all agree with each other.

Last week was kind of a slow week. The reason I know that is because I can barely remember it… which means I was either drunk a lot or it was a boring time. Since I know I wasn’t drunk… well, you get the idea.

This weekend was a good one. We got so much done!! We had sushi Friday night (Asaka – YUM!), went to lunch with Erin’s dad on Saturday, did laundry, went to Target, saw a movie, went to Eagle Creek park, spent some quality time with our roommate, AND we adopted a kitten! I love weekends like that… they simultaneously seem to last forever and fly by. I wish I could be on permanent weekend status. It was so hard to come to work this morning!

We named our new kitty Max, after Max from Where the Wild Things Are (we're still debating the name - at first we were thinking about Jack, after Jack Sparrow, as he kind of is a little pirate). He is definitely a wild thing. He’s tiny – about eight weeks old. He has great big ears and feet that he needs to grow into, and he’s a brown and gray tabby with a lot of white on him. He alternately bounces off the walls and is very sweet and snuggly… now if only we could get him to be sweet and snuggly in a continuous block while we’re sleeping… LOL! Here’s a picture of the little scalawag:



We’re also gearing up for our trip to SC in a couple of weeks for St. Patrick’s Day. Some friends of ours in Florence are having a big party and we’ve been invited. We’re so excited! I think just the idea of getting away, even for a weekend, has made us both so happy that we can barely stand it. We’ve already gone shopping and gotten party favors (gold pieces, green beads, shot glasses, etc) and I’m planning a recipe for “shamrock juice”… an alcoholic beverage like no other. Oh, are we gonna be drunk as hell? You better believe it.

Anyway, that’s all for now… gotta get back to work. Take care, all!

~Becky