Snowbody Cares

I live in Chicago.  We had a blizzard 1 week ago. I’m tired of the snow.  Tired of hearing, talking, shoveling, seeing,  all things snow.  I am not writing about the snow.  I am writing about, people.  I am getting tired of them too!

You see,  for a day or 2 after the blizzard, there was a feeling of camaraderie around, everyone outside, shoveling, digging out,  amazed, and laughing,  at the amount of snow that got dumped on us.  People having a grown-up snow day staying home from work,  what fun.   

It was fun while it lasted, but I guess the clock stuck 12:00, the ball is over Cinderella.  You can feel it in the air.

Hey neighbor!  Ya think it would kill you to shovel an inch over your sidewalk and onto mine?  God forbid you  ”accidentally” remove  a teaspoon of snow from my property.  And hey, while you’re salting your icy sidewalk, make sure  that not one single grain of salt lands over that property line.   And also, thank you so much for not snowblowing out my parking spot while I went to work.  It was great that you took an additional day off of work to clean out your parking spot with that new snowblower you were just telling me about.  I was glad to come home from work and able to start shoveling away the snow that began mounting up from the traffic on our street that day!  Why so ignorant?

See, I didn’t write about snow!

 

My Attempt to Outsmart an Egg.

 Oh yes, I learned my lesson last time my hard boiled turned out gooey – wasn’t gonna go through that again! 

Although I have been making hard boiled eggs for many many years with out any issues, I’ve recently had problems with my hard boiled eggs coming out with the white a bit gooey – and of course – you can’t tell until you start peeling the thing. A couple times I just put it back to boil for a while – but that makes the water look gross. More gross than the gooey-ness of the under-cooked egg.  

So, the next time I had an egg problem – I microwaved it. Who knew? I certainly didn’t! I thought eggs only exploded if you microwaved them in their shell. So OK, I learned something new.  

Well, tonight, I decided it was time to face my fears, and try again to make well done hard boiled egg. I let the thing boil for a half an hour, rinsed it in cold water, began the peeling process – OH NO!!! It happened again! The white is gooey! Why??

  OK. Deep breath. Let’s not reboil – that’s too gross. Let’s microwave – for only a few seconds at a time so we don’t have to clean the microwave tonight. I was so good. Used the splatter cover this time too – just in case. Put that darn egg in a microwave safe bowl, placed it gently in the microwave. A few second at a time. Stop. Open door. Lift spatter cover. Check gooeyness. Replace cover. Close door. Repeat….a few seconds at a time…..

 After a few rounds, I thought I’d try to speed up the process. If I poke a hole or two in the egg, and leave it in a little longer….that should work, right? I always poke my hot dog with a fork before cooking it in the microwave. So let me be ever-so-cautious, and do the same with this stubborn egg.

 So I set the egg, still in it’s little bowl, on my kitchen counter. Selected a small dessert fork from the drawer. Proceeded to carefully poke a couple little hole in my stupid little egg. Guess what. POW! Again. Only this time, the egg shrapnel was not confined to the inner walls of my microwave. Yeah, besides me and the wall, the side of the refrigerator, and part of the ceiling, we all got a little egg shower.

 My cholesterol is a little on the high side, I might just give up eggs for health reasons.

Secret Super Powers

Can’t believe it’s been over a year since I’ve written here.  I haven’t thought about it in so long.  Don’t know why.  I look forward to reading J’s posts, and just got away from and eventually forgot about mine.

Anyway – here I am – for whatever it’s worth – even if nobody reads this – it’s just another form of talking to myself – which is something I think everyone should do. 

We have a Netflix account, and have had it for at least a year, probably closer to 2.  You know, we do the ordering DVDs thing, watch, keep as long as we want, or until we remember to return, over and over.  Well, about a month ago, while speaking to J, she mentioned about watching tv shows and movies on my laptop through Netflix.  Well color me silly!  I had absolutely no idea I had this secret super power!  All this time, paying to use Netflix, all we ever did was order the DVDs throgh the mail.  Well woo-hoo us- we get 2 at a time!  Can’t believe I was not aware.  I’ve been making up for lost time – let me tell you! Finished the first season of Psych, half of the first season of Monk, the pilot for Hunter, an old cop show from the 80′s that I loved, had a crush on Fred Dryer, and I watched Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand – been wanting to see that again for years!   Yesterday, I made the mistake of watching the first episode of the first season of 24.  (Never watched it when it was on the air)  Well now I’m totally hooked.  I’ve already watched a total of 4  episodes  of the first season.   It will probably be another year before I blog again now that I know I have these wonderful secret super powers!

 

Happiness is a Paved Road

Rejoice and be glad!  I am.

Mid summer, road construction (2 words that really have a negativity about ‘em, huh?) began on a stretch of road, just off my block.  I have very little choice about using this road as my street is a one way – going out directly onto said stretch of road.

For several weeks, it was turned into one lane.  Flashing arrows, barricades, sometimes cars had to wait their turn for the traffic going the opposite direction to stop before they could get through.  There is a city college along that stretch, as well as a strip mall (with a 24 hour Jewel/Osco), which both add to the traffic flow.  There were days when the traffic  backed up past my street, blocking the way,  so in order to turn right,  I had to either get really aggressive and push my way in, or wait for some kind soul to let me in. (Ha!)

OK, so eventually they were done doing some part of this project, and all lanes were open and cleared of barricades & arrows.

Woo-Hoo!  No – wait – no Woo-Hoo just yet!

They have not yet repaved said road – leaving all 3,492 (OK – not quite that many – but a hell of a lot!) manhole, sewer covers, whatever – sticking up a few inches.  So now, although all lanes are open….we now have an obstacle course.  You can either take you chances and hope you don’t ruin your tires or rims, or swerve every once in a while to avoid driving over these things that appear to have popped out of the street, praying all the while that there is no car next to you.

Ah yes, it has been a challenging few months.  However: (insert “Woo-Hoo”! here)  They have begun paving, yes, eliminating this obstacle course, transforming this demon into a smooth level road – no swerving required! This will make it almost nice to drive to work in the mornings (I said almost)

Grocery Store Rudeness

So,  my favorite daughter, J, has hinted a few times that I “don’t blog anymore”.  I decided to prove her wrong.

This morning, as I was strolling through the grocery store, a thought came to mind:   “Why are there so many rude people?”  I seem to come across many in the grocery stores.

Quite often, I find myself moving someone else’s cart over so that I can get through with mine – with the operator of said cart merely inches away, totally oblivious to the fact that I am trying to get through.  Or – do they know I am there and just don’t care?

Or,  I will be stopped, pulled to the side, looking across the aisle at something on the shelf.  Another shopper will begin to pass by, but then stop to look at something, while standing directly in front of what I was looking at.  Lo and behold:  I can no longer see, or reach for what I was looking at!  Again, I wonder,  am I invisible, or do you see me and really don’t care?

Today I had to ask the woman behind me, twice, to wait until I was through loading my groceries on the checkout counter before she loaded hers.  Twice! I was emptying my basket, placing my items, and hers kept  appearing!   Do you not see me here woman?  The cashier even told her to wait until I was though!  Why is she in such a hurry, and how is screwing around going to help any of us get out of there any quicker?

Why is it that phases such as “excuse me”, or “I’m sorry”, or “let me get out of your way” are pretty much non-existent these days?  Why are people  so selfish, and act like they are the only ones who matter?  It’s really sad.  I find myself apologizing, or saying excuse me and moving out of other peoples way when it clearly should be the other way around? Why am I saying it when the other person is the one in my way?  Am I a wimp?  No -  My parents just raised me right I guess.

No More Tears!

I decided it is time to start blogging again. To start it off, I decided to do an open letter to the nameless bastard(s) that will probably never even see it.

Attention bastard(s) who broke into my house the other day!

You violated me. You were in my house and took my things. How dare you!
You cut my screen, climbed in through the window.  Emptied out my jewelery boxes and grabbed the plastic bank of loose change.

OK, you suceeded, got in – stole – got out. You took with you several pieces of good jewelry, several with much sentimental value. You also are in possession of many cheap worthless pieces that I paid less than 5 dollars for. See, when it comes to me, I’m cheap, I don’t spend a lot of money on myself. The change bank, well, I’m sure that’s worth more than most of the jewelry you took.
The valuable and sentimental pieces, hell yeah, that hurts. I admit I’m extremely upset about those, and it is going to take time to get over that. Most are irreplaceable,  which hurts the most.  I hope you are proud of that.

I must tell you however, you missed a few things. Yeah, I have a chain with a angel medal and diamond ring that I occasionally wear that is not kept in my jewelry box. I keep it hanging on the small lamp on my dresser, about a foot from the jewelry box you emptied. Oops….guess ya didn’t see that, huh?
And also, I guess you didn’t see the small baggie with a few gold pieces inside. Yes, I was considering trying to sell those items that I never wear anymore, so I had them on the side there. I would imagine the pile of clothes I had left on my dresser the night before kind of hid them from your view. If you had just moved the clothes a bit, or looked on the side there, you would have spotted it. Oh well, too late now.
And oh, how unfortunate for you that I wear my wedding and engagement ring everyday! They were with me, at work, on my finger, while you were invading my home and stealing my things.
Lastly, I had 2 pairs of earrings sitting on the kitchen table, you know, the table you walked right past after cutting my screen and climbing in through the kitchen window. I tend to take my earrings off once I’m home form work, and have a habit of leaving them wherever I happen to be when I remove them. Although they were a couple of inexpensive pairs, ha, you missed them!

Well, just so you know, I’m pissed and and extremely upset, but you know something….I will be OK. I am not going to let you get the best of me. I refuse to allow you that power. I am going to continue along with my life as usual. I am going to slowly replenish my jewelry supply. I will not shed another tear because of your horrific actions. Each tear I shed is more energy for you – so that ends now!

Hope there is a special place in hell for you!

All Cookie Sheets Should Be Created Equal

Maybe you won’t think this is a big deal, and in realty, compared to all the problems in life, it isn’t.  Yet it bothers me.

It all started a couple of months ago, on a cold winters day, when I was baking cookies.  As I was plopping the dough on to the cookie sheet, staring at the burned on burnt that I just can’t clean anymore,  I realized it’s high time I go treat myself to some brand new, clean, smooth cookie sheets.  These have seen their day, time for out with the old, in with the new.

So, as I began my quest for a beautiful new set of cookie sheets, I began to notice something I find weird.  All the sets of 3 sheets come in 3 different sizes.  Why is that?  I find a set I find affordable, and the description reads:  Set of 3 measuring 14 x 16, 12 x 14, and 9.5 x 14.  Or 19 x 12, 17 x 11, and 14.75 x 10.

Why?  Why can they not all measure the same?  I like things even!  I don’t like the fact that if I go invest in a set of  3 beautiful no-stick easy -to- clean cookie sheets, they will each be a different size.  If I want 3 of the same, I have to go and but 3 sets of 1??  And of course, pay way more than I want to.  I will continue my search, maybe some day, some how, some where,  I will find the perfect set of 3 beautiful identically sized no-stick, easy-to-clean affordable cookie sheets. Hope my crappy cookie sheets hang in there for a while longer.

Pizza Better Than Foot.

Last night, my hubby, K, and I went out for pizza.  We went to a bar & grill not far from the house, a place where we have been going for years.  After we placed our order, we chatted about this & that.  A waitress who we “know” only because she has been there awhile, passed our table and greeted us with a friendly, “Hi, how’re you guys doing?”   We did the normal, “Hi, good, how are you?”.  Of course, she didn’t stop, kept walking.

Anyway,  I noticed something about her and said to K, “Is she pregnant, or did she just put on weight?”  She always had been a little on the heavier side, but her tummy just seemed a little bigger in proportion to the rest of her.  I couldn’t tell for sure either way.

I would have liked, if she was pregnant, to say “congrats!” “how are you feeling?”   “when are you due?”  All the normal questions women hear when they are expecting.  But – I could not tell.  I did not want to offend her if she was not.

I once asked a woman when she was due, she replied, “I had my baby 3 weeks ago”.   What’s the word?  AWKWARD!  No – STUPID!  I have never again asked a woman anything about her pregnancy unless I had firsthand knowledge, that yes, she is indeed currently pregnant.

So I felt bad not acknowledging this waitress’s possible impending bundle of joy.  But, I couldn’t take a chance!  Is there a politically correct way to ask a woman if she is pregnant, or just gaining weight?  I don’t think so.  Better to keep my mouth shut, this way I can’t put my foot in it!  The pizza tasted so much better knowing I did not insult, or embarrass anyone.

Miles Matter.

This morning, I was sad.

My favorite daughter J, is leaving this morning for a business trip.  She has recently gotten involved in new venture, loving it very much, and she is off to California for a week.

I am very proud of her accomplishments, and how far she has come in a short amount of time with this new business.   She literally got in at the very beginning of it, was there for the initial launch, and is helping it grow.  She is a lot stronger than she thinks.   I know she is enjoying it for the most part, and that is great to be able to actually enjoy your job.

So why am I sad?……When I dropped her off at the airport this morning, it made me sad.  Just as it did when I dropped her off a couple weeks ago for a 1 day trip.  Just as it does whenever she is leaving to go away.   We don’t live together,  I talk to her every day, but don’t see her every day.  What is the difference if I speak to her when she is 5 miles away, or 1500 miles from me?  Just knowing she is so far makes me miss her,  I guess it’s part of being a mom, something I’ll never outgrow.

Ready For July!

I just need a little venting space.

January has been cold, windy, snowy.  For the past week , the weather forecasters  have been making regular use out of the words:   Arctic, Frigid, Dangerous Wind Chills.   When they predict the high temperature of the day will be 2 below zero, you know it’s going to be a bad day.

OK, OK, I know this is Chicago, and it is January.  I have lived here all my life,  and I have lived through some really sucky winters.  But they tell us this is the coldest since 1996, and just cause I’ve lived through it before doesn’t make it any easier! (Hell, I walked to school in the snow, barefoot, uphill, both ways!)

Mercifully……..today the mercury is supposed to hit a high of 22!        Woo-Hoo!

Thank you letting me vent!