Thieves and Black Friday

I was just reading an article online about how a lady's turkey was stolen off her porch on Thanksgiving. I do feel bad for her, since she's disabled (whatever that means... it seems lately you can be disabled if you have a hangnail). Her mother, however, said that it's just awful to steal from people who don't have much.

I have only one problem with what the mother said. "From people who don't have much." How about saying, it's just awful to steal... end of sentence?? Where are the morals??

Lately, there has been some awful stuff in our neighborhood. Someone broke every sprinkler in our yard. The maintenance staff finally put up a road numbers sign, only to have someone steal the clamps (which were there until the glue cured) and let the sign fall. Across the street, someone keeps overturning a stone garbage can. And even last year, someone stole Halloween decorations right off my house (I'm not letting that one go).

Where's the decency? I'm pretty sick of being subjected to crime when I haven't done anything to invite it. And maybe it's not directed at me (like with the stone garbage can), but this is MY neighborhood, too. And I'm getting ready to install some security cameras around here.

In other news, I'm a little hooked on Black Friday. You just can't beat the deals. But I know what you can beat- the crowds. Church is big around here, so I went to the outlets this morning, just to use up a coupon at Carter's that would have expired tomorrow. The store was 50% off everything, and with the coupon, I bought $142 worth of clothes for LB for only $56. Daaaaaaaaamn!

Yesterday, it was rainy, so Hubby and I abandoned our plan to watch the Triple Crown, and instead went to the mall. It's a nice mall without a roof, and there are big plants growing right in the middle. Pretty cool. We stopped at Williams Sonoma (LOVE that store), and ended up getting two pans to replace our old ones. They were $215, but marked down to $60! Couldn't resist. :)

I don't think I'll ever go out at 4am on Black Friday. It's just too much. The outlets here were open at midnight (holy crap)! But, the deals are worth it, so I'll just do what I did this year and go Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.... now I just hope that everyone doesn't have the same thought next year. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year was our first Thanksgiving as a family! Hubby and I stayed home with LB. I made a turkey breast- no sense in having a huge turkey for just the two of us! I also made some stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, and a chocolate cream pie. The pie was a little rich. I'm going to post the recipe anyway.

Fortunately, Hubby had the entire day off. He had to go in to work today, but showed up at home around 10am! We braved the crowds at ToysRUs, and got LB a bunch of Christmas presents. I've never done the Black Friday thing- too many crowds, too many people being bitchy to get what they want, ugh. No thanks. It was crowded at ToysRUs, but the employees were moving everyone through the checkouts so fast that it didn't seem bad.

When Hubby and I got home, he went to the gym, and I baked sugar cookies for the bake sale tomorrow (for the FRG). After all that was done, we put LB to bed and put up the Christmas tree. :) We had to buy a huge gate to put around it, so LB wouldn't knock of ornaments, or break ornaments, or (worse) knock the tree over.

Hubby has tomorrow off, then duty tomorrow, so we're going to just spend the day chilling out together. It's been very different with this captain- under the old captain, he'd keep the guys on the boat the day after a holiday, just because they were already there. This captain realizes that the guys want to spend time with their families, so this morning he said, if you don't have to be here, just go home. :) Very much appreciated!!

It's just nice to do something normal as a family. Our life is anything but normal, most of the time, so it's great to have days that we can spend together. Although, the 24 hour tether is looming, but we try not to think about that!

The music of my life

I was just farting around on the internet today while LB slept, and my playlist on facebook was playing. It came upon a song, "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. There are certain songs that remind me of certain people and certain places and certain times, and this one is by far my favorite.

When I was a kid, my whole family would go up to a particular lake every summer. And my dad had Paul Simon's Graceland album on tape (CDs weren't popular yet... can you imagine?). We'd all pile into our big blue diesel van and trek up into the mountains to the lake. My dad would play that tape over and over, and that song reminds me of everything up there.

It reminds me of the 50s-kitsch ice cream parlor with Frankenstein. It reminds me of Uncle D's cabin. It reminds me of kneeboarding, skiing, and tubing. It reminds me of nighttime boat rides to the ice cream stand across the lake. It reminds me of Funspot- a cheesy place, but to a kid, it was the most awesome place in the world.

It reminds me of playing games with my sister and brother. It reminds me of videotaping us lip-synching Michael Jackson. It reminds me of grilling and melting marshmallows with my dad. It reminds me of talking about astronomy with my Uncle D. It reminds me of reading good books with my mom. It reminds me of playing heated games of Catchphrase with both families.

So now every time I hear that song, I think about all these things and how they made me feel. And as I type this, sitting in my kitchen in Hawaii with the windows open, I want to be there, even though it's November and frigid. Just because I love those memories.

*Which songs are the music of your life?

Hooray for USS Keep-My-Husband-Away-From-Me-For-As-Long-As-Possible!!!!!

Please pick up on my sarcasm.

Hubby pulled in today (yay!). I usually meet him at the pier, but it was a very short underway, and I wasn't feeling good so I just stayed home with LB. Hubby called to see if I was okay (so sweet), then dropped the bomb- he has duty today. That means, I have to go one more day without him, and when he comes home tomorrow morning, he'll be completely exhausted.

I don't really hate the Navy, but I hate how Hubby always seems to have duty the day they pull in. It just sucks- I have to wait all that time for him to come home, and then they say "Oops! Sorry! We're keeping him on the boat just a little longer! Just to irritate you! YAY!"

*sigh* Thus is the life of a fast attack sub wife....

Do a dollop, do, do a dollop of Daisy.

I have that stupid sour cream commercial stuck in my head. The song is just so annoyingly catchy!

This morning was the SOWC auction. I ended up donating the chocolate cake, my mom's cookies, and a cinnamon raisin bread w/ walnuts. I also won a few bids- a plate of chocolate pops in the shape of submarines (to be donated to the boat's Thanksgiving dinner for the guys that have duty that day), a scrapbooking case with three premade designs, and a pot of herbs (basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley..... YUM). I spent just a little more than I thought I was going to, but at least it was for a good cause!

The auction was really long. We had 76 items donated to auction off, and there were a few bidding wars on several of them. LB managed to stay up until noon without any major meltdowns, so he's now taking a much-needed nap while I relax. I was in pretty bad pain the entire auction. The pain has been overtaking my back, especially the lower left side. It's hard to find any comfortable position, sitting, standing, or laying down, so it's also really bumming me out!

Hubby gets home soon, though, and that will be the highlight of my week. We're supposed to get a "storm". I use the quotes because any storm in Hawaii can't be that bad (unless it's a hurricane). They're forecasting rain and thunder and lightning.... ooooooooooh. <- That's me making my sarcasticly scared noise. We may lose power, which will suck because there won't be anything to get this stupid jingle out of my head.

The Beatles got it wrong

Sorry Paul, John, George, & Ringo- Love isn't all you need. Apparently, you need laughter, too.

It's been the autumn from hell around here. Actually it hasn't really been that bad, but you know what they say. When it rains, it pours.

Tomorrow is the Make It, Bake It, Grow It Auction for the SOWC. I signed up to bake stuff. No problem- I bake all the time, and everything usually turns out well. I decided to make an italian chocolate cake and my mom's chocolate dipped cookies. I went to the commissary today and picked up some things I needed to make them. My back was killing me, and LB was whining just about the whole time. And, I ran into the RADM's wife, looking all lousy and without makeup. Just great. Not that she cares what I look like, but it's just... you know.

Anyway, I came home and Puppy had jumped on the kitchen table and ate half a loaf of blueberry bread that a friend of mine had brought over. I'm sure he would have eaten the entire thing, if I had been gone longer. So my back-up bake stuff was destroyed. I then got to work on the chocolate cake. I've made this several times, and always had good reviews, so I thought it was a "safety". The top came out all cracked (first time ever that's happened), and when I inverted it, some of it stuck to the bottom of the pan. Plus, it seemed a little moist (okay, it seemed a little undercooked, really).

At that moment, LB overturned Puppy's bowls, spilling water and dog food all over the floor. And that's the moment that I completely gave up. LB's shorts were drenched, but I didn't care. He seemed to be happy, and I was losing it, so the only thing I could do was laugh out loud. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed at nothing funny in particular!

I haven't even started on the cookies. They're not really hard at all (only 5 ingredients- Mom, you rock!), but just the thought of screwing up another baking dish is driving me nuts. Just to increase my odds of success at something cooking-related, I started making a raisin-cinnamon-walnut bread in my bread machine. Seriously, I'm not involved at all, the machine does all the work. So hopefully it won't suck, and I'll have something presentable to bring tomorrow!

It never ends

LB is teething. This morning, I noticed two new little guys poking through his bottom gum. At least I know what I'm dealing with now! He didn't nap AT ALL today, and the neighborhood kids woke him up a half hour after he went to bed, so he was up even later. I gave him a little Tylenol, which seemed to help. But, it's been wearing on my nerves, figuratively speaking...

Although there really is something wearing on my nerves, literally speaking. It kind of sucks. I have stinging, burning pain all down the left side of me, and apparently this thing is going to last a few weeks.

And now I'm here by myself, since Hubby is underway for a little bit. *sigh* Makes things a little bit tougher. I actually have a bunch of things to do this week, so at least I'll be busy, but I hope that means I don't have to stress out, because with this stupid affliction, I need to relax!

Holy crap

LB woke up at 6am this morning. Hubby didn't. So I got the baby up and fed. I'm pretty sure another set of teeth are coming in because he's been super cranky lately. Hubby came out of the bedroom, made himself breakfast, then announced he was going for a motorcycle ride. Fine, as long as he takes care of Puppy first. His version of that is letting the dog only pee (which is not all Puppy has to do in the morning). So after Hubby left, I was home with a screaming baby (tears and everything) and a dog literally in my face needing to *ahem* go.

I was also trying to sweep and mop the floors, since they were pretty dirty. But with all the screaming and panting and running around (the last two were Puppy), I'd about had it. LB would cry if I picked him up and scream if I put him down. The dog was running through piles of dirt that I'd swept together. And Hubby was nowhere to be found.

So I just placed LB in his crib, took Puppy outside, and even though it's 8:42am, I'm cracking open a beer. No judgements.

Recipe

Beef & Guinness Stew

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 lb stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes if not already cut up
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 yellow onions, quartered
2 sprigs of thyme
2 cups Guinness stout (or other dark beer)
1 tsp salt

How To:

Place flour in resealable bag. Add the beef, then shake to coat the meat thoroughly. Heat a large saute pan over medium and add the oil. Cook the beef for 8 to 10 minutes, until all sides are browned. Place the beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and thyme in a slow cooker and pour beer over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove and throw out the thyme, and season with salt.

*I skipped browning the meat, and just threw all the raw ingredients in at once, and it was fine. Also, if you don't have a slow cooker, you can probably still make this in a large pot or Dutch oven over low heat on the stove, although I haven't tried it that way.

Dumb Americans

Last night, I was watching The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and his segment on Jaywalking. This is when he walks around asking random people questions that they should know, like "What's the capital of Mexico?" and "What is the Yukon?" and "Where does champagne come from?".

I am surprised at the stupidity of the general public. No, not surprised, more like frustrated. Don't these people feel really dumb that they can't answer the most basic questions about the world, things they should have learned in grade school? Don't they realize that they are completely out of touch with the rest of the world?

One woman condescendingly said she hated that segment because she can't believe how many dumb people there are out there. What she doesn't realize, or won't admit, is that she is one of them, which she demonstrated by her utter lack of knowledge!

Are we really that ignorant about how dumb we are? Has it come to a point where we just refuse to see that we're one of the most educated countries with some of the most clueless people?

I know it's always easier to look at someone else and point out their flaws. But shouldn't most people's concerns be on themselves? I'd be appalled and embarassed if I was caught on national television and couldn't answer any trivia questions about the world! I guess what I'm wondering is, where is the shame, the humility? Why are we accepting mediocre of ourselves?

PS- In case you were wondering, the answers are Mexico City, a sparsely populated territory in northwest Canada, and a region in the north of France.

Downward Puppy

Today was the yoga class that I take at the gym. It's a strange class for me. There are things that I'm really good at, and then things that I'm extremely not good at.

My favorite part of the class is the balancing in poses part. We stand on one foot and pull the other knee up high, then twist and look in the opposite direction. Cake. So easy. And, I don't remember what it's called, but we stand on one foot, and intertwine our legs and arms (kind of like a pretzel on one leg). No problem. I can do that for hours.

But the rest of the time, it was kicking my butt! I've realized that my arms are really flexible, but my legs definitely are not. And I can just forget about the cobra stretch- my back just doesn't bend that way. Plus, my abs are terrible. I've never had trouble with them, but then again, I've never had them sliced open before either.

And on top of this, I have a gigantic bite on my ass. Yup, a huge, red welt right on my butt. It's pretty nasty- Shawn says he thinks a centipede bit me, but if I think about that, I'll cry, because I despise centipedes.

I feel pretty good, though. I always feel really good after a class, even if during the class I feel incompetent. It's funny- I'm the tallest one in there (by a lot, because most of them are tiny asian ladies), so even when we are bending down at the waist, my butt is much higher up in the air than everyone else's. And when I stretch my arms up over my head, they completely stick out in the crowd. It's kind of embarassing. But, I have fun, and I feel like the class is getting me into shape, and that's all that counts, right? Tomorrow is my most funnest class- 24Lift. I'm really looking forward to it! Now that I'm taking classes and not working out on my own, I actually am more optimistic about going to the gym. I guess I just feed off of the instructors' energy. Whatever it is, I'm thankful for it!

Is it Monday?

Yup, I slacked off and didn't post a recipe this week... again. I just had so much to do!

Y's rehearsal dinner was Thursday night. It was gorgeous- her aunt-to-be organized it, and it was all decked out in red and gold (chinese colors... very cute). I finally got to meet her fiance and her family-to-be, plus my sister T flew in earlier that day, so it was doubly nice.

The next day was the wedding. It was crazy. Let me rephrase that- it was insane. There was so much to get done, and I tried to help out T in the morning, but had to leave to take care of LB. Hubby was lucky enough to be able to come, which I think Y was happy about.

The ceremony was great. Y had a real hawaiian minister, doing hawaiian blessings and the leis and all. It was overlooking the ocean and Chinaman's Hat, and it was a gorgeous day, so it turned out really nice. The clouds started rolling in after the ceremony, but the reception was luckily under a tent. Y had hired a luau to perform with dancers and people spinning fire and all. It was really fun! I even got up to perform a hula with a few of the party-goers (including Hubby.... was VERY surprised at that.... he must have had a few beers by then). Driving home was a breeze compared to the chaos that morning. We didn't leave with nearly as many things as when we arrived, so it was much easier.

The next day, Hubby, T, and I (and LB) went up to Ka'ena Point and checked out the waves and tidepools. We had lunch on the north shore at Kono's, then T spent the night packing up since she was leaving Sunday afternoon. On Sunday, I drove T and a wedding guest to Hubby's boat, and he gave them a tour. It's not every day that you have the opportunity to tour a commissioned fast attack sub! :) So they really liked that. Hubby had duty that day, so after I dropped T off at the airport (and went to my meeting for the board of directors), it was very lonely at home!

So that's how my crazy busy weekend was. I'll be crazy busy for the next few months (holidays and LB's bday), but not so much that I'll forget to post my recipes again! :P

Busy bee

As November starts, so does my social life! :) This year has been pretty tame, and that's been very nice, considering we have a baby now. But my life is about to get ridiculously busy.

Halloween was great. Hubby gave out the candy, while I fed LB and made sure Puppy didn't run out the open door. He shouted every time he opened the door, which made all the little trick-or-treaters (and their parents) scream and jump! It was very cute. Next year, LB will be old enough to walk from door to door, even if it's just the houses right around us.

Saturday, the band played a concert at a retirement home. I'm all about that- I think it's nice that we do that, but I absolutely had the worst time. Our director made us get there an hour early (so we could "warm up"), but when I showed up, he told me to just go around and check out the craft fair, because we couldn't set up. I did, then came back well before concert time, as everyone did. But despite our punctuality, we still started ten minutes late. Plus, the emcee (our bass clarinetist) went on and on between the pieces, so what could have been a quick 45 minute concert ended up to be over an hour, with all this babble between the songs. Plus, nobody put in an effort- wrong notes everywhere, people missing their entrances, no agreement on tempo... After it was over, I didn't stay to help load the equipment, I was so mad. I just took off, called Hubby, and had him pick me up. So disorganized....

This week is Y's wedding. My sister, T, is flying in, then we're going to the rehearsal dinner at a nice hotel downtown, and the day after that is the wedding! The two of them are going nuts, but it will all work out. Y will be here soon, and we're going to tie up some loose ends around here, like getting the favors assembled and such.

Also this month, I have a Dive Tower Social, an SOWC meeting and auction, my parents' anniversary, Thanksgiving, and my 10 year high school reunion. And, of course, the election! Next month will be even busier- the boat's holiday party, six Christmas concerts, 1 kid's Christmas party, the SOWC holiday party, Christmas, and prepping (still) for a westpac. It's a little ridiculous.

So I apologize if I don't get that Friday recipe in (like this past week- oops), or if I only post recipes because I'm too damn busy and tired to post anything else! :) I will try my hardest to post often. Just be forewarned that it may mean several posts of me just venting stress, haha!