Brown

I dont know what it is, but recently I am obsessed with clothing in shades of brown. Everything I look at now has to have some brown in it or I almost dont like it. Okay, tan too, and khaki, but mostly just brown.

My favorite color my entire life has been blue. What's up with this sudden shift to BROWN?

Maybe I need a labotomy.

Still Life with Nostrils

Nasal polyps. I had em...been there, done that. In fact, i just had surgery to have them removed last week. It was the fourth time I've had them out. Yes, you read that right, four times I've had surgery to remove them FOUR times.

I'm told that this time its permanent, and I'm really trying to be optimistic. The surgery isn't exactly fun and it is expensive, too. I must say though, that this last time the surgery wasn't nearly as bad as the last three. In fact when I got home from the hospital I felt completely normal. No pain, no discomfort....usually it feels like someone punched you in the nose, but not this time. I got home and immediately ate a bowl of soup. Which I was able to taste. for the first time. In a very long while.

Today is actually 6 days since I had the surgery and I'm almost back to normal. No more blood when I blow my nose, and it doesn't feel all dry and goey anymore. I am no longer doing the saline wash a million times a day, more like once or twice. I dont mind the saline wash but it does mean you have to blow your nose a lot to get all of that vapor out.

Its really amazing how much being able to smell changes your daily routines. Like, used to be I didn't smell anything, so it really didnt matter if was ever gassy or not. Id let loose anytime anywhere when I was at home. Now I'm a little more cautious because believe me, when you can't smell for a long time and then all of a sudden you can - you are a little sensitive to odors.

But the upside is that I can smell my aftershave and I really quite like it. And this really great candle I bought at Williams Sonoma, its Evergreen scented or something, but it smells really really good. I get a rush of aromatic joy washing my hands in the sink with my evergreen soap or my lime soap. Silly to think that such a simple thing can perk you right up but it really does!

Now I'm trying not to try and eat everything in sight just to remember what it tastes like. This includes good foods as well as bad, and I'm finding that many times I am overeating which is not ideal. But it all just tastes so good! How did I make it so long without being able to smell and taste!?!?

Ipod - A Love Story

So for a long long long time I've thought ipod's were pretty cool but grossly overpriced. I mean really, it just plays music and shows pictures...well okay so my new one plays video too (more on that in a minue) but still. I had bought a Creative Labs Zen Xtra off ebay in January for pretty cheap compared to an ipod. It did the same things as an ipod (at that time) and had as much room for songs on it.

I thought I had beaten the system. I was one up on society. I had an mp3 player that worked just fine. It was white. It had a large screen, and held 30 GB of music. I was hip. I even bought one for Christopher so he could be cool and hip. IPODS be damned, we were doing what everyone else was doing, just not as expensive.

Then........

the video ipod came out. I went to the ipod store and saw one, and I couldn't resist, I had to have it. Imagine being able to catch up on tv shows or movies while laying down with Noah at night. Imagine going on the plane with 3 Manchester United games to watch. amazing stuff.

Now you can't keep me off of itunes. I am looking everyday for stuff to listen to while I work. Mostly classical music, since I can't really listen to music with words in it while I work - its too distracting.

So the moral of the story, kids, is that the ipod video is a very cool think indeed. Go get one now. Before you chastise yourself for being without one for too long. you'll be glad you did!

Uncle Kyle's Chili Dip

This chili dip recipe really isn't mine, it came from my Aunt Edith. We used to call it Aunt Edith's Chili dip. Aunt Edith passed away a few years ago, but even before that she had Altheimer's so she hadn't been 'with us' for about 10 years or so.

I'm the only one from the family (besides my mom) that was still making Aunt Edith's chili dip recipe. At work we used to have lots of potlucks and I brought this dip to one of them. After that first event, it was REQUESTED that I bring Kyle's Chili Dip, so I've changed the name of it for now. : )

Its good stuff, but you can't forget the OREGANO. Oh yeah, the picture shows beans but there's no beans in this dip.


Ingredients
--------------------
2 lbs ground beef
2 cans tomato soup
1 block Velveeta, cut into cubes
1 pkg onion soup mix
2 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper (white pepper is spicier)
1/4 tsp salt
milk (as needed to thin)

Directions
--------------------
Brown the ground beef. Add chopped garlic to the beef for extra flavor if you like. Drain.

Return the drained beef and garlic to the pan. Over medium heat add the spices and stir to blend in with the meat. Pour in the soup and heat until bubbling. Add the cubes of velveeta and stir until melted. If the dip is too thick, thin with small amounts of milk until its the consistency you like.

Serve with good corn chips.



So there you go. This is good stuff for parties. Enjoy!

My Neighbors - an Introduction

I have some pretty crazy neighbors. Well, maybe not CRAZY but they are....interesting. This is the house across the street from me that I am talking about. There has to be about 20 people that live there, seriously. The 'OWNER' of the house is, I think, an older guy that seems pretty nice. I wears scrubs everyday so I assume he works at a hospital.

There's also some other people that live there, 2 of them I *think* are sisters. One of them seems to be single and has just recently had a baby. She doesn't appear to stay there everynight though, so not really sure what's going on there.

The other sister has a young boy, and her boyfriend/husband also lives there. The bf/hubby used to have a home-arrest anke bracelet. I haven't seen it on him recently but it used to be there until about 2 weeks ago. I have no idea why he had to wear it. Could be for parking tickets or assault...no idea.

Then there's any manner of kids, between about 2 and 15. I can't really tell them apart, except that some are boys and some are girls.

Now here's where it gets interesting. These people do everything in their front yard. EVERYTHING. One day I glanced out my window and saw that they had inflated a large plastic pool in their yard and were swimming in it. And not just a standard round platic pool, oh no....this was WAY over the top. It had a slide, palm trees, a spray-nozzle. it was huge AND it was in the...front...yard.

They were all swimming in it, in all manner of obesity and low slung bathing suits. Believe me when I tell you I had to sheild my eyes.

When the bf/hubby had to stay home with his home arrest situation, he would have visitors. They would sit in the GARAGE and drink beer. They would sit out there even if it was 100 degrees outside. Just sitting there all night long drinking beer. Fortunately since the anklet came off the beer-bashes have ended.

One side effect from this was that on trash day, the trash guys would come by and empty the cans in front of our houses. The house across the street from me had an extra can, used entirely for beer bottles. When the trash guy would empty this thing (early in the morning) you'd just hear this extended CRRRRAAAASSSSHHHHH noise from all of those bottles - you'd swear the world was gonna end.

I wonder why they didn't recycle.......oh well. that's it for now. ta....

French Cooking

I cook. I mean, I like to cook. In the past I've had interest in all kinds of cuisines, and have taken time to learn about them. My latest adventure is in French cooking.

I've made a few things so far and all of them have come with great reviews from my kids. I've been cooking out of Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking . I was lucky enough to find a used set from 1979 for fairly cheap but in good conditon.

My interest has mainly been in the meats and sauces, but I've branched out to other areas as well. I made the Soupe Au Pistou which is very easy and very tasty. The potatoes au gratin are also easy (but time consuming) and very good. I'm amazed at how much butter and cream they use in French cooking....it reminds me of watching Two Fat Ladies - they used butter and bacon in just about everything they cooked.

I've also been watching the Julia Child French Chef DVD's. They have them on Netflix if you're inclined to rent them. I do recommend them. I've learned quite a bit that you dont get from current Food Network gurus. Its also amusing to watch her in the show, with all of the mistakes and things they'd cut out these days. I swear half the time that lady was dipping into the wine during the show.

Some of the things I've learned watching her show:

- Dry your meat well before you saute it. This will help it brown better
- French bread takes about 7 hours to make...yikes!
- When you cook an omelet, you dont ever fold it in the pan..you fold it on the plate when its done
- The proper way to truss a chicken

My son Noah says his favorite French thing I've cooked is Chantilly Cream. Well, you dont really cook it, you prepare it. Its very easy to do and is very tasty with ice cream or cookies, or pastries.

Tonight I am hoping to cook a very nice Beef Daube. I've made it many times before, and its a very good meal but its best served on a cold night with crusty french bread. I'll write again when I have more to share about my French Cooking Adventure...

My first entry

Hello fellow musers. Is that even a word?

My first post will be short. I'm just trying to get in touch with my inner-blogger and then I'll be on my way to blogging greatness. I hope to update regularly, but maybe not frequently. Okay?