Goals

About seven years ago I sat down and started a list of about 30 things I wanted to do in the next five years or so. Some of them I did (learned to can), some I haven't (take a trip to Memphis). Inspired by my sister's list, I made a new list of 53 things I would like to do in the near future. I'd like to use this blog as a way to keep up with what I've done - some of these things are worth sharing! My next few posts are going to be dedicated to the goals I've met/things I've done.

Here are some simple ones:

First up, one of the goals was to get this blog useable by deleting all of the wedding pictures hogging up space on my google account. Done!

Next, I wanted to deal with my wrist. During the last phases of my dissertation I developed a nasty case of carpal tunnel. When I wrote out my goals, my wrist was really bothering me - I couldn't type, do yoga, grip with my right hand, etc. It resolved itself as soon as I moved on to a new job and computer. Yay for meeting a goal without actually taking action!

Next up, sewing and running...

Dye job

My sister and mom have spent the summer working on some clothing reconstruction projects. Their creativity inspired me to tackle a project that's been sitting in my closet for months. I have a white cotton shirt with some persistent brown stains on the collar. Make-up? Endangered sea turtle blood? Who knows? The shirt isn't one of my favorites, but it's a good layering piece and it's work-appropriate. Enter fabric dye.

I picked a light blue, but probably should have gone darker to completely cover the spots. They are still visible if you look close, but no one at work needs to be that close to my neck. I don't have any before pictures - just use your imagination. Not bad for a $3 investment and an hour of a Saturday morning. Success!

Menus

I wrote this about a year ago and thought it was lost. Imagine my surprise when I downloaded this blogger app and found some posts about dinner. Since I first wrote this I've become more comfortable with writing in my cookbooks, so I have a better record-keeping system now. Anyway, here's a post I wrote last year....
I've been thinking about how best to record the meals we cook so that we have a record of what we've done and how well it's worked. Then I remembered I had a blog. How handy!
Saturday - smoked a beer-marinated brisket. Not great. Of the things we've cooked in the smoker, this is definitely the least favoriite. We had this with baked potatoes and maybe a vegetable..
Sunday - church dinner, no cooking
Monday - grilled a London broil marinated with mom's recipe. Served with steamed broccoli and twice baked potatoes left over from Saturday. Mixed the potatoes with milk, butter, sour cream, and cheese. A little bacon added for deliciousness. I also baked a loaf of French bread from a cookbook Jeremy's mom gave me for my birthday - it turned out beautifully.
Tuesday - White beans with tomatoes, oregano, and feta from a Ted Allen cookbook I picked up at a Borders closing sale. I adapted it a bit and Jeremy grilled some chicken breasts until they were almost done. I sliced them and finished cooking them in the beans. Had this with the leftover French bread.
Wednesday - chicken parm from the Ted Allen book. It was super good and we had it with pasta. I was going to cook a vegetable, but I burned my hand in the process of making the chicken and gave up on cooking for the night. Still delicious.
Thursday - I was trying to make a dinner that didn't require a trip to the grocery. We had eggs and potatoes that needed to be eaten, so I made a potato and bacon quiche. I kind of made up the recipe, but it turned out great. Had this with a salad.
Friday - we had a thawed pork loin in the fridge, so I wanted to try a new recipe for carnitas.

Pillow talk at the Trantham household

Scene: Last night

Me: I would get a fire-breathing unicorn.
J: No. You can only have real animals. So, either a unicorn or a fire-breathing horse.
Me: But what if I had both and mated them?
J: No. Do you know what that makes?
Me: A fire-breathing unicorn?
J: A mule.
Me: ???
J: Do you know what happens when two unicorns mate?
Me: ???
J: Erik Estrada.

(Hi! I got married and got a dog - things have been busy.)

Fairest of the foul

Look who caught a foul ball! Last season he caught a tshirt from Wool
- E - Bull's hot dog gun, but this year it's the real deal. And done
with a beer in one hand! My future husband is the best.

News!

Is this terribly tacky, with the Facebook? I couldn't decide and it's time for bed. Regardless, we are ridiculously excited.

Foulest of the Fowl, Part 2

Two weekends ago, Jeremy and I took a mini-vacation to the Outer Banks. The hotel lobby housed a fancy-looking bird named Sabrina, and a sign near her cage indicated that she loved people but that she would bite. I walked over to her to say hi and she lifted up one leg and leaned toward me. Wondering if she wanted to walk out onto my arm, I held out my arm and she hopped on. Jeremy snapped some pictures while she walked up and down my arm. After he had documented my bird encounter, he headed toward the local brochure display and left me alone with Sabrina.

She started nibbling on my knuckles, which was kind of cute and tickled a little. I then made a fist so that she wouldn't have any skin to latch on to. She was not pleased with this development and promptly leaned over the side of my hand and bit the side of my first finger. Clamped is probably a better word, because she kept holding on, no matter how much I moved my hand or tried to pull away. I got her to walk from my arm back onto her cage, but she was still attached to my hand. I was too shocked to call for Jeremy to come help me (but I'm not sure what he would have done but laugh - can't say I blame him). After a few minutes, it became clear she had no intention of letting go - she kept licking the bit of finger she had trapped in her mouth - maybe I tasted good. I started pulling my hand away as hard as I could, and she gripped the bars of her cage with her claws and pulled in the opposite direction. You can imagine what happened next - let's just say there was some blood shed.

After I had cleaned up my hand and found Jeremy, we had to walk by her cage to get to the exit. As we walked by she started talking and lifted out her leg towards me. Nice try, bird, but I learned my lesson.