Things you don't need to know about me

Sometimes I make meals or components of meals simply to have a vehicle for ketchup.

I was named after my dad. So was my brother. There has been a lot of mail confusion in our lives.

I don't own any jeans right now because I don't like jeans. I do own jeggings, but they don't count.

I'm not afraid of flying or heights or many things when you get down to it, but I do not like to be in enclosed spaces and I prefer people don't stand right on top of me. Also, I fear driving in cars with balloons. They are silent creepers. Not cool.

I am an unapologetic song changer but will listen to certain songs many times in a row depending on my mood.

I am a rule follower.

If someone speaks to me (or types to me) in a patronizing manner, that is like pushing my nuclear button. There is no stopping what comes next.

The wedding band I'm wearing right now is a $37 diamonique special from QVC. I don't remember to put it on every day and I change bands on a whim. I only wear my engagement ring two or three times a year. It's lovely, but I'm not a ring person.

I use sour cream instead of ricotta in baked ziti.

I only read one book at a time. If I bounce between two reading is not the immersive experience I prefer it to be.

I have never listened to a book and I have zero plans to in the future.

I'm not good with directions and have to think really hard about how to get places even in the town I grew up in.

I count steps when I walk up or down stairs unless I'm talking to someone.

If you see me and my nails aren't painted, you've basically spotted a unicorn.

I am overly concerned about and critical of the windshield wipers in any car I've ever driven.

I started kicking this post around in a draft when I read I hear voices when I read (and other weird shit about me) from Jana, so thank you my friend for the inspo. And, as discussed, I failed my driving road test three times.

Jusy's chicken

When I first started really cooking - late, not until I was 25 or 26 - I wanted things that would be hard to fuck up. My older friends were happy to oblige, handing over easy recipes for me to follow. I also liked the thought of comfort food. It's what felt most domestic to me. This is both a hand me down easy recipe from my friend Judy (Jusy) and comfort food. I cannot tell you the last time I made something with a cream of anything can of soup in it...these days I will typically "do the right thing" and make a replacement for it that's healthier as cream of whatever soup isn't really en vogue anymore. But Lord, was this as good as I remember. I serve it over wide egg noodles with a side of green veg (usually steamed broccoli or green beans).

Ingredients
family pack chicken breasts
kosher salt
pepper
American cheese slices (American is preferred, here I used colby jack)
1 can of cream of chicken soup or equivalent
Sliced tomatoes in season, or a can of diced tomatoes drained well
Stove top stuffing mix
2 tbs butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 375.

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper and place in a greased 13x9 dish.

Cover each piece with a slice of cheese. Pour cream of chicken soup over dish and spread it around evenly. Place sliced tomato or diced tomatoes over entire dish. Put stuffing in the microwave with butter until butter is melted. Stir together. Sprinkle over entire dish. It looks less than appetizing in its making, but it's good.

Bake for 45 minutes at 375.

TWTW - the one with the water watch

After working in the office Friday morning, I came home to deal with a leaking hot water heater so MFD could make his Friday afternoon meetings. I made a pit stop to pick up this week's flowers first. 

Friday night we met the beautiful little Autumn Rose, Meiera & Dan's almost three week old darling daughter and had Santucci's.

We had plans to go downtown Saturday for the March for Humanity and Chinese New Year celebrations at Reading Terminal, but since the hot water heater was being replaced we ended up staying close to home. I finally ran the dishwasher, showered, and did some laundry when the hot water was back in full effect. While we were waiting for that, it was basically dog show and putting together my new KEEP stuff. I consider the charms like my totems. 

I finished a book (The Goddesses by Swan Huntley) and started another (Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain), we ate at On the Border like we were going to the chair, MFD picked up some shelves at Home Depot, and we did a little grocery shop at Target. We were slugs Saturday night and in bed early. We attempted to continue watching The OA but I think we're just not that into it. It's not you, it's us, The OA.

Sunday was weekly food prep, and some work in the basement. I put stuff back from the great hot water heater leak of 2017, built the sturdy plastic shelves and a coat rack, and did some purging. More work to do down there but I'm pleased so far. I also moved some stuff around on the walls in my new reading corner. I removed the clock last week and I couldn't hang with it not being there. I also wanted to liberated the wave painting I got at Peace of Wood from the basement. 

Weekly food prep: homemade whole wheat waffles for breakfasts with berries and peanut butter; scrambled eggs topped with broccoli for lunches;  Judy's chicken (recipe coming tomorrow) over egg noodles with a side of spinach for dinners. Other dinners include salmon with roasted potatoes and steamed veggies since I ended up not making that last week. 

Other Sunday things were sheet changing and the laundry and all that jazz.

No Super Bowl watching here, but I did eat wings and veggies with dip. I watched VEEP instead. 

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

Thursday Thoughts - wait, it's February already?

1. Dogs: Mae's DNA panel came back. She's 62% pug, 25% Pekingese, and a little bit of mixed breed groups, which I assume means Gremlin. Dog DNA...what a world. What a world. Thanks to Treat Lady for Mae's kit. Her brothers still think she's 50% tolerable and 50% she-demon.

2. Nails: OPI Black Dress Not Optional.Totally loving how this is not a flat black. I really like how it looks on.

3. Eats: I give zero fucks about the Super Bowl, so I don't watch. If you do, enjoy! I might make wings though? Are you making anything? I'm always interested in new app recipes. I'm eating my feelings right now. If you're looking for something to make, what about hoagie dip, hot crab dip, or jalapeno popper dip?

4. Politics - Fascism (see how I bolded that so you can skip if you need to?): Trying to skate around everything that's been figuratively lit on fire to see what is important about how this administration is operating. This is not a Republican/Democrat thing anymore - this is resistance against tyranny and Steve Bannon. Check out The Immigration Ban is a Headfake, and We're Falling For It. This image of this Early Warning Signs of Fascism from the Holocaust Museum is going viral. What scares me more than this happening is my fellow Americans allowing it to happen because it's a pride/side thing right now.

And this happened while no one was looking last weekend - Bannon has been installed on the National Security Council and both the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been removed until necessary. uhh, isn't their input always necessary in matters of National Security? WTF. 

5. Protestors: I see a lot of these types of comments on Twitter and posts of people who are out marching for something: you're accomplishing nothing/get a job/you think you have it bad? Try living elsewhere in the world/You're embarrassing yourself/you are disrupting the natural order of things and inconveniencing people/what are you protesting/don't you have anything better to do/that's not going to change anything. I'm glad these groups here never listened when those things were said to them in their respective times and make no mistake, those exact things were said to them. If they had listened, if they had stopped...black people would still be drinking out of water fountains marked colored and getting hung for looking at white women and women would not be allowed to enter voting booths or have their own bank accounts. I wonder if people know how ridiculously un-American it is to tell people voicing dissent against the government that they don't belong out there on the streets. America was built out there on the streets. The right to assemble is so important it's in the Constitution. Are people unfamiliar with American history? Or are they just the portion of the population who wishes these people below DID go home, so they were still in their place? p.s. if you can't or don't want to hit the streets, there are other things that you can do - it takes an across the board effort to make change - all boxes need to be ticked and change won't come from just one avenue, it will come from people working many avenues. Choose your lane. 

6. The funny side of politics: Both of these had me roaring this week. I typically will not share things with grammatical errors but I was seriously crying after I saw Amanda share the first one last night. The one on the right has been seen around the Southeast PA area. 

7. Books: Currently reading The Longest Night by Andria Williams. Show Us Your Books is February 14. I was successful in not going to the library at all in January and reading what I have. I do have a book waiting for pickup there now and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really looking forward to going. It'll be like uniting with an old friend.

8. Weather: Skies so lovely in the winter, days so cold. Philly love running errands near the office on Tuesday. Once upon a time I dreamed of being in Punxsutawney for Groundhog's Day. Maybe someday.

9. Reminder:

10. E-card of the week:

What's new with you? 

Linking up with Kristin & Joey and Kristen & Gretch

30 Bags in 30 Days

In the beginning of the month, I announced my intention to get rid of 30 bags in 30 days.

While I have no problem getting rid of things, I am typically the get in the purging mood and get it done all in one day or an intense few hours or not at all type of purger. This is how it went attempting to do it daily:

Day 1 (Monday, January 2) - Large box of cardboard recycles
Day 2 (Tuesday, January 3) - Small Target bag of bathroom trash
Day 3 (Wednesday, January 4) - Basket of dog stuff the lived at the front door forever - most of it was crap aside from the poop bags and leashes, so I got rid of it because it's a place for people to crap up. I ordered a wall hook from Amazon instead.
Day 4 (Thursday, January 5) - One large box of wine glasses for donation.
Day 5 (Friday, January 6) - I set aside two pair of shoes when putting away a newer pair of shoes from Christmas that had not gotten a home yet.
Day 6 (Saturday, January 7) - I do something I never do, which is to cherry pick shit to get rid of. While putting away laundry, I pluck two sweatshirts I rarely wear and drop them on the shoes from last night. While doing a pass through the spare room I grab two fancy hats that haven't been touched in years and add them to the pile. That'll do for a medium sized paper shopping bag.
Day 7 (Sunday, January 8) - Kitchen towels sorted and set aside for donation, as well as two chalkboards hanging on the side of the china cabinet.
Day 8 (Monday, January 9) - It was negative eleventy degrees, I had hives, and I came home and took benadryl and went the fuck to sleep.
Day 9 (Tuesday, January 10) - Sorted old baseball hats for donation.
Day 10 ( Wednesday, January 11) - More hives. More benadryl. More early sleep.
Day 11 (Thursday, January 12) - Shitcanned a bin of cleaning products in the coat closet, where it has lived for years but never truly belonged, and put the still usable stuff down in the basement with the rest of the cleaning stuff.
Day 12 (Friday, January 13) - I went through the dog meds bin and got rid of a bunch of old dog meds.
Day 13 (Saturday, January 14) - I added some old candle holders to my donation box.
Day 14 (Sunday, January 15) - Upstairs freezer purged and reorganized, got rid of a small bag of food that was beyond its expiration date.
Day 16 (Tuesday, January 17) - One small plastic grocery bag of miscellaneous wrapping crap for trash

At about day 18, I was resentful of the daily task. It's not sustainable for me because the urge to purge does not strike every day. I also don't think in numbers when it comes to how many boxes or bags I want to get rid of - I want to get rid of stuff that doesn't get used, isn't loved, or is not beautiful in my space. I don't want to get rid of things just to say I did. Through the remainder of the month, I packed old dog costumes for donation, purged my nail polish, and set old towels aside to be donated to the animal shelter.

What type of purger are you? Small and measured or when the mood strikes?