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
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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!