elderberry nothings

The yearly update

2011-08-30T13:46:00.002-06:00

You know, I'd almost forgotten this site existed. Too bad, because it's really adorable, if I do say so myself. Anyway, seems it's being used now only for talking about my hobbies and businesses, so I might as well keep that up. :) Quick update? The concert lighting biz run by my boyfriend has now turned into an Austin wedding lighting company run by my husband (yep, there's a big update there for you). For anyone else, you'll have to wait a year... it'll end up here eventually. :)

concert tickets and lighting, oh my

2010-03-19T13:51:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since I've said anything here, hasn't it? Facebook's totally killed the blogger bug, sorry.

But anyway - time for a post with some links in it! Let's think of some links that go together... like concert tickets from Coast to Coast Tickets and concert lighting in Austin by Sense and Color, my boyfriend's company. Those work, right? Rather well, in fact! And... I'd go into more detail, but I doubt anyone will read it, so there you go.

nothing as usual

2009-02-13T10:21:00.000-06:00

I've always said that when more than half of your blog posts involve some sort of apology for not posting often enough, the blog's going downhill. So with that said (and since this blog's been resting at the bottom of the hill for some time now)... I blame this blog's quietness on Facebook. With Facebook, I have the ability to post short-attention-span nuggets of ocassionally humorous, ocassionally useful tidbits to only those people I want, which is a nice change from feeling like I have to come up with fully fleshed-out soliloquoys fit for the world to read. I do like to keep this blog, though, for my printer ink links and periodic other links, so I suppose it fits its purpose...?

Till next time. :)

2009-01-19T16:14:00.001-06:00

is testing updating via ping.fm

one more photo

2008-11-05T01:58:00.000-06:00

I can't read the words "President Obama" without getting teary-eyed.
What a historic, amazing day today was!

Yes we can, and YES WE DID!

2008-11-05T01:40:00.002-06:00

I can't even begin to put into words what a wonderful step this country has taken. I know I had a whole lot to say after 2004's results, but I'm... somewhat speechless now. I think that's a good thing.

THANK YOU to everyone who made this possible.

furry little butt

2008-10-08T16:22:00.003-06:00

Just had to chuckle at the sound of Daniel trying to get the cat out of his room. "Get... out... Luke! Get... LUKE... Luke, get out! LUKE! Get... your... furry... little ... butt... OUT!!"

Kids are hilarious.

we don't like Ike

2008-09-11T10:10:00.002-06:00

Well, it's happening... there's a hurricane barreling down on Houston. My parents aren't in the mandatory evacuation areas, and they're farther inland than a lot of Houston, so my fingers are crossed that their area will be spared any major damage... but still, it's a real unsettling feeling. Part of me wishes they were coming up here for the weekend, but I know that they have a lot of stuff to protect back at home. I'll sure be thinking about them, though... my mom will most likely be posting updates on her blog at www.mytexasisland.com.

just an ink link

2008-09-04T09:34:00.002-06:00

Time for another nod to MyInkPro.com... hmm... how am I going to fit in a reference to generic brand printer ink? Oh hey, looks like I just did. :)

beginnings of a studio

2008-09-02T20:32:00.004-06:00

What an unbelievable couple weeks this has been... I've always loved music, but it's been on the back burner for a long, long time... until now! Granted, it's still a nights and weekends hobby, but I find that when you cut out pretty much all television, all video games, and most of the time I used to spend on Facebook at nights... it's amazing what kind of free time you can come up with. :)

Between Ctrl-Z and Fiesta Explosion, Mike and I have shows scheduled throughout September and into October already... some at clubs downtown with a drummer and a lightshow, and other smaller shows at coffeehouses. We've put together 5 original tunes, and we have several covers we're working on as well. Me on stage, with a real band... sometimes I still can't believe it. This Thursday will be a big night... no more backup singing or reading a karaoke track or being surrounded by a choir or singing from a chair in a coffeeshop, but me actually in front, on a stage, with spotlights and a PA system!

In addition to shows, we're also working on recording... yesterday we took advantage of the work holiday and moved my main computer into the front room, along with our musical gear (what little there is so far), and voila... the beginnings of a studio! I even moved my Canon inkjet printer in there and used it last night to print out our set list and lyrics while working on the microphone setup. It feels great to have a space dedicated to music! I've recorded before, but it's always just been out in the main area, not in its own closed-off room. The difference in sound is amazing.

I hope the show on Thursday night goes well... if it does, it'll open up a lot more possibilities for promotion, since we'll have better ways to show off what we do.

Cross your fingers...

finally, a personal --- wait, no... another post about ink

2008-08-21T11:21:00.006-06:00

What, still no personal updates? Okay, here goes... I'm in a band! Two bands, actually, but in one I'm a backup singer. My band, though, is Ctrl-Z (www.ctrlzaustin.com), and we're just getting started with coffeehouses and other small places. Someday my dream is to play somewhere where the pay consists of more than a free cup of coffee.

Oh, and the other reason I haven't been posting too much personal stuff? Because I'm ALL ABOUT INK these days. Buy ink! Buy lots of ink at MyInkPro! See, the more times I link to the inkjet cartridge page at MyInkPro, the more likely someone will find themselves irresistibly drawn to the lure of our inkjet printer supplies. Or something like that.

controlling the printer with what?

2008-08-14T09:56:00.002-06:00

Okay, so for anyone who says playing with a DS will never get you anywhere... this video is awesome. My son would flip to have technology like this, as his Nintendo DS would be glued into his hands if I'd allow it. Granted, it's only controlling a printer, but that visible real-world connection is still sweet.

round the linking circle

2008-08-07T23:56:00.003-06:00

So in a Google-induced frenzy, I offer up a link... to the Austin Script guy! See, he's linking to MyInkPro on his Batman article (wait, I can find some relevance here... I saw Batman! And liked it okay, but still think it's really, really wrong that the movie was so blatantly marketed to kids. I mean seriously, why is there a plastic action figure in my son's Cinnamon Toast Crunch, depicting a guy who blows people up from the inside out? Ew. Oh... and a side note? Longest. Parenthesis. Ever.)

Oh yeah, back to the post... so the Austin Script Guy links to My Ink Pro, and I link to him, and we all go round and round the mulberry bush. And yeah, another ink link! I'm on a roll. :)

Shadow finds her way home

2008-07-31T09:53:00.005-06:00

So I have a work blog I use specifically for ink-related stuff, but I kinda blurred the line between the two the other day when I posted about a lost kitty I found. (It was relevant to printer ink since I used a ton of it printing "Found Cat" flyers.)

Anyway, I was thrilled today when her owner called today and informed me that her name is Shadow, and that she does indeed have a home, which she's been missing from for a couple weeks - and which I can now finally take her back to. Hooray!

a good use for boxer shorts

2008-07-10T15:55:00.002-06:00

Probably not the cheapest way to wrap a gift (unless you have easy access to cheap inkjet cartridges), but ingenious, and absolutely hilarious. And yes, I just fit in another company link, but the video really is worth a look. :)

computer tech and disco queen

2008-06-29T18:41:00.007-06:00

Okay, so I finally get one computer put together, and now it's time to start on another...? Work's given me a computer to use at home for work purposes only, which is great for the most part, but also means that my time masquerading as a computer tech isn't over yet. Sigh. But progress is being made! Vista's tamed for the most part... I still need to get my old hard drives transferred into the new computer, but it works, and all the wiring's finally looking neat again. After weeks of being laptop-bound, I finally have my desk back.

Just in time, that is, for me to have no time to actually *do* anything on said computer. Again, not that I'm complaining! Between touring the UT campus with my old friend Sorrel, taking guitar lessons (I'm so excited... that's something I've *always* wanted to do), going roller skating (my ankles are slightly unhappy, but I'm totally feeling the Disco Queen), meandering through my favorite downtown Whole Foods (hooray for butternut squash), and last but not least, actually going on a real honest-to-goodness date this weekend (finally!!)... well, somehow the hours I was aching to spend at my new computer don't seem quite as high priority at the moment, pretty as Vista is.

Tonight's my first downtime in a while, so I figure I'll make good use of it by giving my blog some attention, playing TV catch-up, eating the rest of my Butternut Squash soup, and massaging my ankles in an attempt to convince them that we really can still be friends. C'mon, you guys get your way most of the time. Isn't it my turn?

an update that has very little to do with my printer, but mentions it anyway

2008-06-20T15:47:00.004-06:00

Well, it's been a busy week - not that my blog reflects it - but between work, going out, hanging with Daniel, and trying to fix my computer, it's been ridiculously difficult to find any relaxation time at home. And... I love it! I'm weeks behind on all my favorite shows, and I'm totally not complaining about that.

As for the computer though, yeah, I'm complaining a little. It died a couple weeks ago - total power failure - which meant my choices were either a) spend a bunch of money to diagnose and fix my 6-year old computer, or b) suck it up and buy a new one. So I chose the sucking, and bought a refurbished HP Pavilion at a really good price, but I'm paying for it with my time, since apparently it (or maybe the Vista that came on it, who knows) doesn't work with the USB hub I use, or my M-Audio pre-amp the way it's supposed to. I've got it working for the most part, although I'm out of USB ports for my printer (see, I knew I'd manage to find a way to fit in a printer reference for a printer ink link), and my speakers are having to go some weird route through my computer instead of my pre-amp. But as of around 1:00 this morning it's at least working again, and hopefully soon I can go back to missing my favorite shows for better pursuits.

Danielism of the day

2008-06-18T18:01:00.002-06:00

At dinner when told to eat his squash: "Mama, why does good food have to taste so bad?"

Okay, okay!

2008-06-10T18:40:00.003-06:00

So a funny story for the day (actually a funny story from last week, but who's counting?)...

As Daniel and I were driving to a party last week, I told him that we were going all the way the very southern part of Austin. Really far south, I said. His excited response was, "Oh... so we're going close to China?"

numa numa navy

2008-04-23T20:51:00.004-06:00

I'm sure I've posted before about the Numa Numa video, since I find that to be one of the most inexplicably catchy songs EVER - and apparently I'm not alone, since the original silly Numa Numa video has over 12 million views on Youtube , and over 15 million views on the site where it was originally posted, Newgrounds.com, making it - according to its Wikipedia article -- the second most-watched viral video after the Star Wars kid. (If you haven't seen the original, it's here.)

Anyway, tonight I found this Numa Numa takeoff, and it's hilarious. (I'm just glad I managed to not wake up my son with my laughing.) Now this is the way to let off some steam! My favorite moment is right around the 3:49 mark.

how many angels dance on the head of a pin?

2008-04-11T16:59:00.004-06:00

Presidential campaigns come with tough questions. Annoying questions, inappropriate questions, questions that may or may not be relevant. But so does being the president, which means that the way people handle themselves during a campaign is very telling as far as their composure when it comes to the REALLY tough questions that will come later, right? Barack has faced many tough questions, and I think some of the speeches and responses he's given have shown a dignity and thoughtfulness that our government hasn't shown in decades.

That said, Hillary's reaction to this recent question is positively hilarious. The question? Whether she feels it was a conflict of interests that her husband Bill was paid $800K a couple years ago to give speeches to groups supporting the Columbia Trade Agreement, when she herself has publicly denounced that agreement, given the fact that she has funneled at least $5 million of the Clintons' private money into her campaign. Her answer? See below.

Now honestly, I'm not informed enough to pass judgment on the trade agreement. But I am informed enough to know that questions regarding conflicts of interests, about accepting funds from groups you do not support, are relevant in a government where everyone seems to be bought and sold at the drop of a hat. And if the question isn't relevant, then shouldn't you have the composure to say so, and explain why it isn't?

The funniest response I saw in print anywhere:

"Don't worry. When she's had a couple of days to figure out an answer to this question, she'll claim she merely 'mis-cackled'."

happy birthday to me...

2008-04-01T12:19:00.003-06:00

Isn't it nice of the web-at-large to celebrate my birthday every year with jokes and silliness?

Some of my favorites of the day:

McCain to campaign at Burning Man Festival

The Burning Man Project has been fully cooperating with the McCain campaign, ensuring that every possible security step will be taken to ensure the Senator's safety while in Black Rock City. "Let's see ... I think we've got some caution tape around here somewhere," said Burning Man founder Larry Harvey. "Oh yeah, here it is."

GMail introduces Custom Time

...click "Set custom time" from the Compose view. Any email you send to the past appears in the proper chronological order in your recipient's inbox. [...] Our researchers have concluded that allowing each person more than ten pre-dated emails per year would cause people to lose faith in the accuracy of time, thus rendering the feature useless.

Introducing AdSense for Conversations

Once you sign up using the link at the bottom of this post, we'll send you an adjustable screen and special AdSense headgear to attach it to. [...] We recommend rambling and repeating yourself to help our system pick relevant ads to display. Also, you may wish to try our voice targeting feature -- you can speak more loudly to emphasize certain phrases. However, these activities may result in socially awkward situations, so please proceed with caution.

the mouths of babes

2008-03-12T20:30:00.006-06:00

Posted under the "Did my kid really just say that?" category...

So my 7-year old son and I are at the neighbor's house chatting over drinks tonight -- or more specifically, I was chatting over drinks, and he was being chased around the house repeatedly by the neighbor's somewhat overzealous 4-year old daughter.

"I kiss you Daniel!"

"Nooo!!!"

"I kiss you Daniel!"

"Noo, go away!"

At one point, my son stopped to rest a bit and have some water. After about 15 minutes, he disappeared again, only to run breathlessly back up to me a few minutes later with the still-kissy 4-year old in hot pursuit, complaining, "I'm back on the menu again!"

layer salad pt. 1

2008-03-07T21:05:00.005-06:00

For a lunch at a friend's last weekend, I volunteered to bring a salad. But I didn't want to bring just any salad... I wanted to do something different, something special. When called for advice, my mom suggested a layer salad, which sounded like fun. I found several recipes online, and chose the basic recipe from Kraft, but added in a few of my own touches as well.

I started with shredded iceberg lettuce, then a layer of sliced cucumber, followed by a layer of frozen green peas.

On top of that, a layer of chopped red bell pepper and chopped green onion.

Finally, I added a layer of real crumbled bacon, then topped it all with mayonnaise, mixed with a bit of ranch dip mix and a tablespoon or so of sugar, and finished it with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese.

The whole thing then sat overnight in the fridge to let the flavors mix together, and I tossed before serving.

layer salad pt. 2

2008-03-07T21:00:00.002-06:00

Since Picasa only allows you to do 4 photos at a time to a blog, this is part 2 of my salad photos (the last four pics).

As a finishing touch, I added edible flowers on top before serving, and I don't know about everyone else, but I thought they blended in great, and the result was the most colorful salad I'd ever seen.

I'd been nervous making it that the one layer of mayo/dressing on top wouldn't be enough for that large bowl packed with salad, but it was plenty.

So pretty!

never underestimate a hungry cat

2008-03-03T21:39:00.006-06:00

So you know those annoying, yet endearing little things that cats do when they want to get your attention? Like jumping onto your chest suddenly out of nowhere eliciting a loud unceremonious "Ooof" as the wind is knocked out of you, or the way they can dash in between your feet as you walk, causing you to take little dancing half-steps to avoid kicking them in the side? Awww. Aren't cats cute.

But when a cat torpedoes himself full force into your ankle while you're taking a step in the kitchen, knocking that foot right out from under you and sending you crashing to the floor and spilling barbecue sauce on yourself in the process? Yeah, that's not so cute.

skywatch friday

2008-03-01T13:01:00.000-06:00

Can you still do a Skywatch Friday on a Saturday? I guess we'll find out. :) I found the link through my aunt's site, where she posted a beautiful photo of a sunset from her street in Tenessee.

This is from a Round Rock Express baseball game at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX, taken in August of 2007. I'd been really nervous about going to the game since it was supposed to rain that night, but I finally decided to risk it anyway... and I'm glad I did, because the sunset was spectacular! (The team lost, but I didn't particularly care.)

looks like bill's jumped on the obama bandwagon!

2008-02-29T17:52:00.005-06:00

Gotta do it... the sheer amount of hypocrisy in the current talking points requires me to post this gem. Those of you tired of the Hillary-Barack posts can skip this one. I won't be offended. :)

frozen grand central

2008-02-27T22:52:00.003-06:00

Another video forwarded to me that I thought was just amazing - this one shows an event held at Grand Central where 200+ people froze in place for 5 minutes, making the entire station look and feel like a scene out of the Twilight Zone. I would so love to witness, or better yet, be a part of something like this one day!

sing a sad song and make it berrer

2008-02-24T19:59:00.005-06:00

So my friend Nisha sent me this link just now, and it was too great not to share. In the video, a little toddler sings "Hey Jude" by the Beatles, and she's amazing, adorable and hilarious all at the same time. I dare anyone to not feel like smiling after this one. :)

Obama rally in Texas, Feb 22, 08

2008-02-23T10:00:00.004-06:00

Some photos from last night's Barack Obama rally in front of the Texas capitol building in Austin. Being as close as I was meant almost four hours of standing in a tight crowd, but it was a beautiful, cool and clear night, and the crowd (estimates are running 15,000 - 22,000 people) was excited and well-behaved. Ultimately it was worth every minute, because he was nothing short of inspirational.

I wasn't around in the 60s, but for the first time, I think I understand some of the sentiment that ran through the young people of America when they realized that they had the power to be a part of history. I saw people of all colors and all ages, and they were FIRED UP! The diversity and positive energy was amazing.

Maybe it's futile hope, but I believe change is possible, and I'm ecstatic to see someone who can bring enough people together to make it happen.

my grassroots post for Barack Obama

2008-02-21T11:59:00.006-06:00

Obama passes more bills than Hillary

The article linked above is too valuable not to link to. It's long, but features clear, verifiable facts on what each candidate has actually accomplished, as opposed to Hillary's campaign rhetoric of "experience vs. empty speeches."

And from the Texas campaign trail... a political ad that doesn't make me cringe from mudslinging and meaningless tripe. Can Barack do what he says? I don't know, but damn, it feels good to be excited about a candidate for once for a reason other than the fact that he's not Bush.

out of the mouths of babes!

2008-02-17T20:10:00.003-06:00

Over dinner last night, as my son was telling me about a girl who annoys him at his afterschool program, I decided to reinforce a hopefully unnecessary, but important lesson.

"Hon, you know that even if a girl tries to hit you, you should never hit a girl, right? I mean, you don't need to just stand there and let her hit you... you should tell her to stop, or get away from her, or tell a teacher, or block her so she can't hit you, but you should never, ever hit her."

"I know, Mama."

"Do you know why you're not supposed to hit girls?"

At this, he thought for a moment, then said, "Because it might make their breasts shake, and the milk could fall out?"

breaking the pie barrier

2008-02-16T23:26:00.000-06:00

So in the spirit of my recent cooking posts, I'll just point over to today's post on elderberries.com about my first elderberry pie, which I made this afternoon. It was a success! Well, sort of. It was a success that ran all over the inside of my oven and puddled on the plate, but it tasted good. It also doesn't hurt that second-graders don't tend to be very picky about their desserts.

Oh, and my fingers are still purple.

testing windows live writer

2008-02-16T11:30:00.001-06:00

So Liz from Daring Spirits gave me a tip on a new blogging method which I wanted to try. I tested it out on my other blog of elderberry info, and it worked beautifully, but I'm not sure the photo uploading will work the same way on Blogger. So here you go - a fascinating photo of the quirky dessert selection I picked up when I visited the Chinese supermarket last weekend for the Chinese New Year. They look a little funny, but they were good - tapioca pound cake, mung bean and sticky rice, coconut, etc.

Back to the Windows Live test... for some reason drop shadows don't seem to work on this blog the way they do on my other... must be a stylesheet thing. Bummer. Oh, and when you click on the photo, it prompts you to open or download instead of just opening it in a browser window. I don't think I like that. Okay, so back to Picasa for this blog it is.

my clever, clever, political child

2008-02-15T20:02:00.003-06:00

In my son's second grade class, kids are assigned colors each day based on their behavior. Green means no incidents, yellow means one reprimand, orange means two, and red means three and a trip to the principal's office. Today, after picking him up from his afterschool program, I asked him how he did. I could tell he was picking his words carefully, which immediately set off alarm bells.

"Well, mama... you know the three bad colors that you can get? You know how there's three of those bad colors?"

I dreaded what was coming next. "Yes..."

"Well, I got the very best one possible out of those."

with wit like this, who needs an advertising campaign?

2008-02-13T23:17:00.001-06:00

(Reposted from http://austin.craigslist.org/zip/573858330.html. I usually don't repost full excerpts from other sites, but this entry will be removed from Craigslist at some point, and it's too funny to lose forever.)

In the "Free" section of the Austin, TX classifieds today:

"Free FREE FREE LEAVES LEAVES LEAVES!!!!!!!!! We have 16 bags of leaves. 16 BAGS! YOWZA!!! These would be great for: mulch, pranks, leaf wrestling or whatever your crazy imagination can come up with! The potential here is limitless! Bring a truck! Come get 'em! They're free for the taking and can be yours! You're probably wondering why we would get rid of this fortune. Well, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with these leaves. They are in MINT condition. We would LOVE to play with these leaves. We would love to pile them up and laugh and be merry with these leaves. However, this is a business. If the boss thought for a second that we play with leaves all day, we might lose our jobs. We would rather have jobs than play with leaves. But you don't have that problem! Take them home with you. Take them today!!!! We just need them gone! The leaves are located behind Vespa Austin. Our NEW shop is at 1623 south lamar. But the leaves are out back, on Evergreen street. With all the money you're saving on leaves, you can buy a scooter while you're here! In fact, buy two. It's valentines day! One scooter for you and one for your sweetie! They'll go great with your 16 bags of leaves! See the pics below? You could be this happy if you had 16 bags of leaves! The leaves are located behind the shop, on the curb. Evergreen street, off of lamar, just north of Mary and Lamar. Don't call, don't email. Just come get the leaves (and buy a scooter). If this ad is still up, the leaves are still here, waiting for you to give them a new home."

wookie cookie creations

2008-02-13T22:15:00.003-06:00

It was an entire night in the kitchen for me... first I continued my experimentation with pasta dishes using no pasta sauce, and it turned out great. Italian sausage, garlic cloves, olive oil, balsalmic vinegar and yellow squash with some Italian seasoning over cooked pasta. Only thing I'd add next time is maybe a bit of salt to the pasta before adding it to the meat and veggies... but I'm getting better! Is 34 too old to finally learn how to cook? I hope not.

Next came Wookie Cookies, from the Star Wars cookbook, for a Valentine's party at my son's school tomorrow.

(I had to promise to my son he could take the cookbook to school tomorrow to prove to the other kids that these really were Wookie Cookies.)

All dressed up for the party!

happy year of the rat

2008-02-10T16:52:00.000-06:00

You should see the strange looks you get when you're taking pictures of no one in particular in a Chinese supermarket.

my ink pro is your ink pro too

2008-02-10T11:21:00.001-06:00

I'm writing this post on 3/3/08 and sticking it back in my archives, because frankly, it's really just a post to bring some linking love to the website I work on, which is going live today (3/3, not 2/10). So hey, if you're looking for a discount laser toner cartridge or a laser printer toner refill, MyInkPro.com is a good place to get it! And it'll help me too, because my livelihood revolves around my ability to get people to buy printer accessories and order toner cartridges online. Thanks for reading, and please support our ink site! :)

EA says sorry to Origin Systems?

2008-02-09T19:07:00.001-06:00

Um... wow.
From Wired.com:

"Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello is very sorry about what happened to Bullfrog. And Westwood. And Origin Systems.

"'We at EA blew it, and to a degree I was involved in these things, so I blew it.'"

As someone who watched Electronic Arts dismantle one game studio at a time over the early 2000's, including my own, I found this interesting. I remember the day John Riccitiello came to Origin Systems for a pep talk a couple days after half our company had been laid off (this was a year before the final axe came for the rest of us). His reasoning for why we should be optimistic was that the layoffs had been for financial reasons, and that the spending had just been too high for the potential rewards we were going to get for that project, and that with all that spending gone, we would now be able to focus on success. And I still remember thinking that was a funny thing to hear, considering he'd arrived in a limousine. Maybe that was his way of cutting expenses? After all, it was cheaper than a helicopter would have been...

a veggie success

2008-02-08T20:30:00.000-06:00

I can FINALLY say that one of my 'toss-random-stuff-in-a-pan' cooking attempts actually worked! On the way home from work, I debated whether to stop and grab some dinner, or just go home and see what I could put together from the empty fridge. Certain I could find something, I decided to take a chance on my pathetic food supply (I just got back from vacation and haven't gone shopping yet).

So... in a pan went some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a chopped up sweet white onion, and a couple cloves of garlic. Next, a little more olive oil, some garlic salt, italian seasoning, cooked vegetable pasta, and some grated romano cheese. Not bad! I've never had a meal of just pasta and onions before, but it was doable.

I still really need to get to the store, though.

I've been tagged!

2008-02-08T00:32:00.000-06:00

Hmm, I've been tagged with a meme, eh? Here goes, as requested... 6 trivial things about me, and with photos.

#1: Until this past weekend, I'd never built a snowman.
#2: I like elderberries. I mean, I really, really like them.
#3: I collect Barbie dolls. This is my most recent and favorite acquisition.

#4: I am a fledgling (read: not very good) oil painter.
#5: I dye my hair periodically (for obvious reasons).
#6: I have a strange habit of taking photos of my feet.

will you help build my city?

2008-01-31T08:30:00.000-06:00

So I have this little mini-city, and every time someone visits this link, I get a new citizen. It counts one click per day, per person. My city's floundering! Will you click?

today's stock tip

2008-01-29T23:58:00.000-06:00

You wanna make big bucks, quick? I got the tip for you.

Kleenex. Puffs. Facial tissues. Any of 'em publicly traded? If they are, buy them. Now.

See, with my nose under attack by the cedar in my backyard, I figure I'm going through about a Kleenex every 25 seconds or so. Which means I'll need two more boxes by morning, and if that keeps up, I'll need a case of 'em by tomorrow evening. Then a roomful by next week. Hey, at this rate of consumption, I could single-handedly save the faltering economy!

Sigh. Pass the Kleenex.

too late for christmas pics?

2008-01-28T23:56:00.000-06:00

A couple Christmas photos that never got posted. I call the first one, "Why the bottom of my tree was empty this year," and the second I call, "Why my cats will never trust me again."

such a hard life

2008-01-27T14:11:00.000-06:00

And now for today's "Awwww...." moment:

wonder if they have broccoli on endor?

2008-01-26T19:08:00.000-06:00

In my recent vein of posts about food, one of my son's most unique Christmas gifts this year was from my friend Nisha: the Star Wars cookbook! One of the first things we made was "Ewok Eats," which was a broccoli dip meant to look somewhat like an Ewok forest. Not sure how close I got, but a cute idea nonetheless.

whoops!

2008-01-25T22:54:00.000-06:00

I forgot to post a pic of what the pomegranate looks like before you cut it open. Kinda plain looking, isn't it? Who knew there'd be so much seedy activity going on inside? Ha. Pun intended.

a fruity experience

2008-01-25T22:42:00.000-06:00

Another new thing from the Whole Foods trip? Well, new for my son, at least. Pomegranate!

He'd never seen the inside of one, and I hadn't had one in many years. I remembered they had tons of the little tiny fruits inside, but what I didn't remember was quite how many there were. It took a good 15 minutes just get them all out! I also didn't remember how much of a pain in the butt it was to spit out hundreds of tiny seeds (imagine eating an ear of corn, but with a little hard seed inside each kernel).

But it was a fun departure from the norm, which we both enjoyed. Of course, I'd also forgotten how intensely dark purple the juice is, and how easily it can stain clothing and fingers - something I did not enjoy. But for a once in a while thing, livable.

a frickin' elephant

2008-01-24T18:54:00.000-06:00

This joke just came to me in e-mail from my dad (apologies, but I have no idea who this should be originally attributed to). Reading it, it sounded so much like a conversation I could have with my son that I just have to repost.

....A FRICKIN' ELEPHANT.....

Jake is 5 and learning to read. He points at a picture in a zoo book and says, "Look Mama! It's a frickin' elephant!"

Mama takes a deep breath. "What did you call it?"

"It's a frickin' elephant, Mama! It says so on the picture!"

...

And so it does, as on the picture it reads, "African Elephant."

"cheeese, gromit!"

2008-01-20T23:57:00.000-06:00

Today my son and I discovered the wonders of the Whole Foods store in downtown Austin. And I mean wonders. Spending an hour in there made me want to eat organic for the rest of my life. And they had Wensleydale cheese, sporting none other than Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit! How could I not buy it?

I tried it right away once I got home. Good sharp flavor, but a little on the crumbly side. Now I wonder if they make Wallace and Gromit crackers? (If this makes no sense, you can meet Wallace and read about his fascination for Wensleydale cheese here.)

the evil lurking in my backyard

2008-01-13T21:28:00.000-06:00

So let's see... this year seems to be a pretty bad one for my cedar allergy. What is it about that innocuous little scrubby tree that could be doing this, I wonder? The tree doesn't have any flowers... how could it be producing that much pollen?

Then I looked outside (since my backyard, of course, is ringed with a mixture of cedar and oak) and noticed that one of the cedar trees had a noticeably orangish tint. Could that be the pollen? I donned my SWAT equipment and went for a closer look.

Turns out, it's not the actual pollen I was seeing... the tree is positively covered in tiny seed pods. So if each of these is giving off pollen... I think that explains why I - and many, many other people in this area - are having a very stuffy December.

so that's the problem...

2008-01-08T22:00:00.000-06:00

Good lord. Looking at today's pollen counts from pollen.com, is there any wonder I'm miserable? Cedar is EVIL.

Also from the site:

Today's Worst Cities
Laredo, TX | San Antonio, TX | Austin, TX | Oklahoma City, OK | Waco, TX

wee-ho-nee-banana what?

2007-12-14T22:09:00.000-06:00

Sometimes it seems the net is an endless repository of everything you could possibly want, all available at the touch of a button. And other times, there are things that you know you should be able to find, but you just can't, because you're apparently the only person who's ever searched for that thing in the history of people searching for things.

But if I have a talent, it's knowing when to ask for help... and I need help. Will someone PLEASE find me the lyrics to the Chipmunks song Japanese Banana? It can't be that hard, right? The damn song is on repeat in my son's CD player right now, playing over and over and over and over and over, and if I can't sing to it I'll slowly go insane...

hot cold, hot cold, repeat

2007-12-11T23:01:00.000-06:00

Once again the weather service makes me laugh.

"...COOLER CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO RETURN WEDNESDAY...

WARMER CONDITIONS WILL COME TODAY IN WAKE OF YESTERDAYS COLD WEATHER THAT FOLLOWED UNSEASONABLY WARM DAYS OVER THE WEEKEND..."

So in other words... they're putting out a bulletin to say that it will be colder tomorrow, compared to it being warmer today, which came after it being cold yesterday, following it having been really hot a few days before? Granted, I was here for it all, so they're right. The temperature's been like a yo-yo, which is why I'm having to read the weather forecast just to get dressed. But is this information really worthy of a special bulletin?

so what now?

2007-12-09T23:02:00.000-06:00

So what do you do when your kid loses a tooth but sticks it so far under his pillow that you can't find it without waking him up, no matter how hard you try?

They leave such important things out of the parenting handbook.

well, that's one way to plant a flower garden

2007-12-01T23:03:00.000-06:00

I can't be sure, but I'm getting a sneaking feeling that my bird feeder (called a cat feeder by some, as it's only a couple feet off the ground) is not holding onto its birdseed very well.

first freeze warning

2007-11-25T23:04:00.000-06:00

Well, we've finally got our first freeze warning of the year, advising us that:

"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CST MONDAY.

EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO DIP TO BELOW 32 DEGREES IN THE PRE-DAWN HOURS MONDAY MORNING...WITH FREEZING TEMPERATURES REMAINING POSSIBLE THROUGH 9 AM. MOST FREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL LAST ONLY A FEW HOURS OR LESS AROUND DAYBREAK. NOT ALL LOCATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO SEE FREEZING TEMPERATURES...BUT MOST AREAS SHOULD EXPERIENCE A FROST IN RESPONSE TO THE MOIST LOW LEVEL AIR."

I find this much funnier after having spent some time in Canada. Imagine if every frost or every instance of temperatures "dipping" below 32 degrees resulted in a severe weather alert?

We're so funny.

tonight's democratic presidential debate

2007-11-19T23:06:00.000-06:00

For those who missed the CNN/YouTube presidential debates tonight, I can save you some transcript reading. Just repeat the following for about an hour and a half, and you’ve pretty much got it.

Moderator: “Do you support < insert issue here >?”

Candidate: “Well, that’s a good question. I don’t plan to accept that < insert problem here > will persist long enough to require < insert issue here >, because when I am president, I plan to < blah blah blah >.”

Moderator: “Okay, but in the absence of a complete solution to < insert problem here > at this moment in time, do you support < insert issue here >?”

Candidate: “Oh, I refuse to accept that < insert problem here > can’t be fixed!” (Confident laughter.)

Moderator: “I’ll rephrase the question. Yes or No; do you support < insert issue here > at this point in time?”

Candidate: “What an excellent question. The problem right now is that our current government really sucks, and war really stinks. Hey, has everyone forgotten that my opponent over there supports < insert unpopular issue here >?"

a load of country

2007-11-17T23:07:00.000-06:00

Okay, I'm feeling like a complete blond (apologies to any real blondes out there). I'm sitting here listening on Pandora to the Loretta Lynn song, "Country in my Jeans" and thinking how funny it was that someone wrote a song about how country they were, to the point that their jeans were filled with it.

It wasn't until after the song had finished that I looked back and realized the song is actually "Country in my Genes," meaning, you know, that her family is country, not her literal pants.

We all have our days, right?

things that make you go, "wha...?"

2007-10-17T23:09:00.000-06:00

I went to the restroom just now (that's not the important part of the story) to find a handful of soggy, floating cat food in the toilet. My first thought was immediately my son, since when you find something odd like that and there's a seven year-old around, it's usually easy to figure out where the finger should be pointing. But then I realized that he'd been over at his dad's house for the last two days, and I used that restroom last night, so it couldn't have been him. Which leads me to... a cat throwing up, into the toilet, while teetering on the edge of the seat...?

Strange mental picture, but unless someone broke into my house to dump cat food into my toilet, it's the only one I'm left with.

Wow. How lucky can a girl get?

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2007-06-02T23:30:00.000-06:00

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and you thought IKEA was a swedish word

2007-05-13T23:31:00.000-06:00

So many things happen during the day that make me laugh and think, "That would be so fun to write about!"

Unfortunately, about 90% of the time, by the time I sit down to write something, all I can remember is that there was something cool I'd wanted to write about, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was. Sigh. Kinda the same thing as my handy little dry-erase board I keep on my fridge for jotting down shopping list items... only I can't find my dry-erase pen since the move, and I keep forgetting to buy one, since I need my dry-erase pen to jot it down on my shopping board.

Anyway, at least one story did stick in my mind, from my 7-year old son's first trip to Ikea recently. Upon hearing that we were headed to Ikea, Daniel moaned, "I know, it's a furniture store." (Poor kid's been to about a dozen of them in the last week.) But after an hour in the kids' play area, some macaroni and cheese in the Ikea cafe, and a tour through dozens of model home rooms, his tune had changed completely. He loved it! On the way home, when I told him that my favorite thing about Ikea was all the ideas it gave me for decorating, he suddenly said, "Hey, I know why they call it Ikea... the I stands for Ideas!" He then continued, "And K stands for Cool... because Cool was supposed to start with K, until C came along. And E..." he thought for a moment. "E stands for Exploding your mind!" (I'm thinking he meant expanding your mind, but I suppose exploding things are much more interesting to an almost-seven-year-old.)

"What does the A stand for?" I asked.

He replied excitedly. "Awesome!!!"

arrgh

2007-05-07T23:33:00.000-06:00

Anyone who thinks computers are inanimate objects hasn't met my laptop. Here's our conversation from this evening:

Amy: "Okay, can we finally try connecting to my google homepage?"

Laptop: "Sure thing! It's right here... oh wait. Server not found. Hee."

Amy: "Server not found... you mean you're still not connecting to the internet?"

Laptop: "Oh, I'm connected, all right! See? Says right there in my system tray, 'Wireless Network Connection, speed 54 mbs, signal strength excellent.'"

Amy: "Okay, so why aren't you connecting?"

Laptop: "I am connected! I--"

Amy: "I don't mean the network, I mean why can't you access the internet?"

Laptop: "Beats me. Why don't you try repairing my connection?"

Amy: "Haven't we already tried that a half a dozen times?"

Laptop: "Yep. But if you want to feel useful, you could always do it again."

Amy: "You told me last time the connection was fine."

Laptop: "And it is! It's excellent, to be exact. Hey, you know... my anti-virus is out of date. You should download the newest data files."

Amy: "Very funny. How about you try connecting to the internet so we can access those data files?"

Laptop: "I am connected, remember? Hover your mouse there in the corner... yep. Connection speed 54 mbs, signal strength excellent."

Amy: "I heard you the first time. Maybe it's a firewall issue..."

Laptop: "Could be, but you'd have found that last night, wouldn't you? You must have turned that thing on and off twenty times. All that cursing was funny too."

Amy: "Thanks. So rebooting the wireless router didn't help... and turning the firewall on or off didn't help... and rebooting you didn't help... so what else is left to figure out why you can't connect?"

Laptop: "You could try the Windows Wireless Network Setup wizard..."

Amy: "We tried that. It said you were set up just fine. According to every single troubleshooting menu you've got in you, there is absolutely no reason on earth you shouldn't be connected."

Laptop: "Oh, but I am connected! See, just click on wireless networks. There's your network right there, and there's me all being connected and stuff. My signal strength is excellent, you know."

Amy: "So show me a web page then."

Laptop: "Hmm... here's... oh wait. Server not found. Hey, aren't you supposed to be unpacking anyway?"