Saturday, May 26, 2012

Bacon, Bourbon and Peanut Butter Cookies


http://www.theendlessmeal.com/bacon-bourbon-and-peanut-butter-cookies/
Any cookie that has, as a step: "Crumble the bacon, remove (eat) any chewy bits" is good enough for me.

Now I just need to buy Bourbon.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Rockin' the hat!

Fred doesn't like the photo, so sorry, but it is so rare that we get one of all of us together...and let's face it...I WILL NEVER GRADUATE AGAIN!


Monday, May 7, 2012

What I just finished reading

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

From GoodReads:

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

From me:  Yes...water horses called the Capel Ishka.  When I first heard about the story someone said "sea horses" that eat flesh and I kinda chuckled.  Really?  Sea Horses? 

Nah, not the kind you see in the aquarium, but the kind of ancient Irish legend, which I hadn't heard of until now.  Here is more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelpie

The writing is just SO DAMN GOOD.  Seriously. I listened to it on audio and when I wasn't listening I was reading.  There were sentences that I would stop and reread.  One line mentioned a woman's green rubber boots "unimpressed with our mud."

If you get a chance....pick it up.  It is labeled a teen book, but don't be put off.  Check it out. 

If you get a chance to listen to it, please note that the music used was written and performed by the author.  Kinda cool.

Ah...I was looking for the music included and found it here on this book trailer (commercial for the book)

 

What I am reading...

This is the third book by the author.  The second book is a companion book, and this is sort of a sequel to the first.

So far, it is amazing..even though I can't seem to get enough time to finish it.  Here is the blurb from GoodReads:

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.(less)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The great menu debate

So...we are having a party.  A graduation party for ME! 

In light of all of my many, many years in college, I decided I wanted to have a Red Solo Cup Party. 

I don't know if this kind of party needs an explanation, but just in case, I will supply one.  

When you are a poor college student (like Fred and I were/are for so many years) you attend many parties with kegs of beer, and drink from cheap red plastic cups.  The red cup was made iconic by this country song:

 

You get it right?  It's ironic!

Anyhoo...we are going to have a keg of beer and play beer pong and be a little rowdy.  Well...at least I am going to be a little rowdy!

Now, here is the debate.  What food to serve. The party is at 7 pm.  Graduation starts at 2, so we will probably not be home until 5.   

When Fred and I were in school (the first time...back when we met) we would attend sorority fundraisers called "Beef and Beer" which was a keg and hot roast beef sandwiches. 

I suggested we just call and have pizza delivered. 

Fred says I deserve better than that and wants to have catered food brought in from our favorite Mexican restaurant. 

Now Fred's idea is a good one since the food will be all done and ready to serve, but it costs the most. 

The hot roast beef sandwiches would be cheaper...maybe.

Pizza...well. There's that.

So...if you were going to a college day themed party...what would you serve? Or expect to find?

 

 

 

 

"I am not a fan of Office Depot," or "How one hour can turn your day upside down."

Well, I think I mentioned that I had to revise my dissertation's Table of Contents, right?  I needed to add dots.

I finally got around to doing that last night, since I was going to drop the corrected pages (two copies each on resume paper, and one on plain) to the Graduate School this morning. 

I corrected the pages and then uploaded the files to the Office Depot website for printing.  I figured I would pick them up in the morning on my way to school.

Now my school isn't necessarily close by. It takes about 45 minutes to drive there, so I try to be efficient and multi-task while there.

So...here was my plan for the day. 

8 am - Pick up paper from Office Depot

8:15 - Pick up flowers for my professors

9 - Arrive in Denton and the Graduate School.  Drop off paper and drop off flowers.

9:30 Meet with fellow librarian regarding some TLA* stuff

11 - drive back to work.

Now, Fred will tell you that I like to plan things to the nth degree.  He is pretty much correct about this.  I do like to plan.  That doesn't mean that I can't roll with it when needed, but it makes me cranky.

This is what my day actually looked like:

8 - arrive at Office Depot.  Are my pages printed?  Nope.  Is the computer that contains the files, or the printer even turned on or fired up? No.

9:10 - leave Office Depot, cursing their name.

9:12 - Call my 9:30 apt and tell them I will be late...like 30 mins late

9:30 - when I should have been done with most of my day and at a meeting, I leave Central Market with flowers.

9:50 - curse the truck in front of me for driving 10 miles BELOW the speed limit on a two lane road.  The speed limit is 65!!!!! He was doing 50!  This is TEXAS...everyone drives 15 miles faster than the speed limit, not slower!  MOVE!!!!

10:01 - arrive at meeting.  Have a really good jalapeno biscuit which makes me smile and makes me want to drive back to Denton to have another.

11:10 - leave meeting and head to University.

11:30 - all pages and flowers dropped off and back on the road to work. 

12:10 (10 minutes late) I arrive at work. 

From all the stress and rushing I have a killer headache.

And I want another jalapeno biscuit.

*TLA.  - Texas Library Association.  I am going to be talking about this a lot.