One of those days....

Ever try to do something and fail time and time again? One of those days where you try your hardest but fall flat on your arse? I have those days a lot, especially if I am trying anything art related. I can draw (but it took years and years of constant practice, and I am still nowhere where I want to be) but I've never been able to ink or color or anything worth a darn. I've always wanted to digitally paint, like some of the great artists I've seen out there. I've done countless tutorials and tried all sorts of methods but it just didn't ....click.


One day, about 2 weeks ago, I woke up... and it clicked. I knew exactly what I had to do to make it work. And by golly, I found out I can do it. Quite well for a beginner too, I might add. No where to go but up from here. I hope to finish it this weekend. It's taken me over 20+ hours and it's getting close to being done... sorta.

I still have the hardest parts left to do... hahah

Moral of the story: Don't give up on your goals, one day, everything will fall into place.

Keep up with the rhythm

Ok I don't know what it is about the Japanese that makes them think yelling at fat Americans will make us skinny.

I was doing the "Free Step" in wii fit where you watch a movie or something and step on and off the wii board in time with the metronome coming through the wiimote and every once in a while a female voice would come through and tell me that I am not keeping up with the rhythm.

Yeah ok, wii fit. Whatever you say. I am not a fat American or anything and it's not like I can move fast. Work with me a little.


On a side note, Kiwi is reading my blog as I type it. She's moving her head from left to right watching the cursor zip along the page.

At least SOMEONE reads my blog.

I'm back, baby!

Internet was down for 5 days and had an awful time with the customer service people but enough about that, I have internet again! who knew it would be such a staple when you are home all day with nothing else to do?!

First thing's first, I filed my tax return hoo-rah! yay extra money give it to me plskthnx.

We have out of town friends coming today at 3 (Fiance has a meeting with them, they are trying to start up a video game) and we need to clean big time lol so Fiance is doing that whilst I catch up on internet. I mean, he caught up on his only fair I get a turn right?

Saw mi familia last night, I love them. Mom and dad gave us pizza and socks (lmfao) and gamma gave us roll of quarters (woot! lmfao again) and uncle and his gf gave me a dress so lmfao again. It was a good haul!

Other than that life has been good. We're both home now, but we aren't doing too bad. I guess we still like each other lots lmao!

Thanks to all for previous comments sorry I didn't reply sooner I had no interwebs? lol but you know how that goes

Home, home on the range...

I've been home for almost a week straight now and I am starting to go bonkers. Activities include but not limited to:

*Cleaning the kitchen and loading the dishwasher. A job the Brother has, since it's part of his agreement to move in.

*Cleaning the litterbox. Ewww.

* LAUNDRY wth

*Pureeing veggies and screaming at blender when I assembled it with out the rubber ring, thereby spraying pureed cauliflower all over my kitchen.... hence cleaning kitchen in first place.

*Playing through Kingdom Hearts I and II. Screaming at TV when I die cause I'm too lazy to level up.

*Browsing internet for silly answers to silly questions.

*Filing for week 2 of unemployment.

*Dancing like a nutcase and doing wii fit. At least it's something healthy. Too bad it leaves me sore and cranky.

*Not sleeping, which would help with the above crankiness. I demand on keeping a normal sleeping pattern and all it's done is aggrovate me when I have nothing to do all day.

Next thing you know I'll be vaccumming and dinner will be hot on the table annnnd annd annnd *hyperventilates* I might become domesticated. Oh, EFF that. I don't really like PLAYING house much. Let alone, actually doing housework. Ughhh. 

How Comfortable!

I went into our living room last night and Kiwi was laying on top of the couch, so comfortable it seems. Isn't that just adorable?














And of course, Oscar was laying on the Fiance's Nintendo DS! He's a gamer cat, through and through, he's always laying on one system or another!

My Goals

1. Even though I am unemployed, and unemployment usually doesn't come in until a month after filing (in some cases) I am DETERMINED to not be late on any payments. I don't care how much I will have to penny pinch, scream, pull my hair out, or anything. No late payments.

2. I'd like to never go back to an office again. Being self employeed sounds great. No need to get dressed, or anything. And I will be so wrapped up in work all the time, I will forget to eat. 

3. I'd like to get skinny. In 3 months, I want to be down 40+ lbs. Part of it is a bet with my mom about whether or not we can do it, and the other part is .... I don't like being fat. All in all, I'd like to lose a total of 75 lbs. 

4. When it starts getting nice out, in March or so, I want to go for a walk. Every day. 30 minutes at least. 

5. I want to acquire all manner of bizarre knowledge. I'm one of those people who likes weird and random facts, but I never go looking for them. I hope I find them.

6. I'd like to finish my digital painting sometime. :( But, it will probably take a back seat to everything else.

That's all. Nothing really interesting to blog about, so I thought I would post my goals for the internet to see, so I can remind myself "Oh yeah, I wanted to do this...." 

Being ADD sucks. 

Quirky

8 quirky things about me... because I can't make it to ten!

1. I am left handed. 

2. I cannot for the life of me, operate a 'manual' can-opener. (they are designed for right handed people, after all)

3.I HATE soggy cereal. I will either eat it plain or with barely enough milk to cover the bottom of the bowl. Just enough to get the cereal "moistened"

4. I cannot deal with people if the total number (including myself) is odd. I have to have a buddy.

5. I am OCD about cleaning out my ears.

6. I have never had chicken pox. I think the medical reason was my dad carried a natural immunity to it after he got it? Or something. Anyway, never got it.

7. If I even think of something itchy, I have to scratch my head.

8. I'm a picker. Zits, moles, loose threads, toenails, fingernails, hair, anything. I will pick it. 

Anyone else got quirks? And this list was brought to you by.... my breakfast of (you guessed it) semi-dry cereal. 

Why I hate Winter, and Chicken and Dumplings recipe, Plus a funny video to boot.

It's so freaking cold outside, there is FROST on the INSIDE of our door.  This is with the heat on and blowing in that direction, mind you. Also note the Brother does not ever empty his ashtray.

Chicken and Dumplings recipe 

(Slow cooker style, for the lazy person inside all of us)

1 lb or more chicken (your choice, thighs, breasts, cut up fryer...)

2.5 cups Chicken broth or 1 can cream of chicken soup

Canned veggies (type and quantity of your choice)

or

Frozen Veggies (again, your choice.)

Biscuits (either homemade or refrigerated)

Place the chicken and veggies in a crockpot/slow cooker 5 hours or so until the chicken is cooked. Then we take it out, cut/shred/debone it. Put it back in, and keep on cooking.

About 30 minutes before you want to eat (At least 5 hours after you plopped this all in the pot) you will take your biscuits and cut them in quarters. So, if you are using the store-bought 8-in-a-can, you will have 32 pieces. If you are making home made, just make em tiny.  These babies take about 30 minutes to cook into dumpling form. Now, we just dish it out and serve. Perfect for anyone who has to go out in the cold cold winter winds. Like today.

Now, for you picky people who don't like veggies, here's the trick. Take 1/4 cup frozen cauliflower and thaw to package directions. After its thawed, take a nice big knife to it and chop it up in tiny tiny tinnnnny pieces. (As small as you can get them with out losing a finger.) Then, plop in yuor blender with a tablespoon of water or so, and puree. Or liquify, same thing. 

Now, mix that in with the soup or broth. Real good like. Taste it a little. Does it taste like cauliflower? No? Congratulations. You just ate healthy.

Funny video liiiiiiiiiiiink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pXfHLUlZf4

Wii Fit and Fit Day annnnd diet.

So Wii Fit told me I needed to lose weight. Fitday said I needed to lose weight. Mom said WE need to lose weight... and Fiance said I'm perfect.... 

Ok, he doesn't count.

But I started my 'diet' today. 1386 calorie allotment a day according to Fitday. And now that I've been laid off I get to cook and clean and do all sorts of wii fit and ab rolling fun and walking! in the SNOW! uhmmm scratch that last part.

You can view my journal here, for all you nosey nosey people.

 http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=groovygirl1140

Anyway, just eating less in general for 2 days, I lost 3.5 lbs. Last night for dinner I had cereal, and took some Nyquil (I had taken a nap earlier in the afternoon) and went to bed.

Commence Round Three

Round three or 4 of layoffs started l ast night and yours truly was on the list. Thank God Fiance wasn't on there too. I have to file for unemployment TODAY to receive the same amount as my paycheck, which is fine. They don't open until 10 anyway. 

I would be more upset at this, but frankly, I just am not. I have a plan b. And a plan c. 

Sucks for the fiance, though, he still has to go in. Oh, and they said they weren't going to clean out my desk like they were other people's. How charming. 

Not-So-Business As Usual

A normal day turns into an unexpected surprise....

5:45 am Alarm goes off. Hit snooze.

5:50-6:20 Continue to have battle with snooze and sleep

6:20 Up dressed and out the door by 6:40

6:40 N o caffeine. Mental note to get caffeine at Office.

7:00 Set up IV drip of caffeine. Day only slightly better at this point. Look outside, it's pitch black. Sink into cubeville.

7:30 Still dark outside. Consider sleeping under desk. Instead, walk around for a while for some exercise and chit chat a little with the other unhappy worker bees depressed about winter.

7:35 Winter storm comes to my attention. 3-5 inches snow expected. Boo.

8:00 Remembered company lunch at Pizza Hut today at 11:30. Shit. I have to go out in this?! UGH

8:00-9:30 Worked on boring crap. Office life is fun. Wondered if they would let us go early.

9:45 Email: Due to light workload, refresher training!  10 am sharp.

10-11:30 Fiance is in refresher training and I am sitting around waiting for Region to answer my questions. Listen to iTouch and marvel at how poor taste Fiance has in music.

11:30-12:30 Company lunch. I have my friend who moved from Alaska drive us all. We slip and slide and I thank God that I have Xanax waiting for me should I need it, but she was calm and collected. After all, she grew up in worse. Lunch was amazing. I discovered I actually love green peppers and carrot strips and red onion on my salad.

12:30-2 Refresher training (which, I found out, was actually "twiddle your thumbs and pretend to learn/teach something") resumes and email comes out. "Due to hazardous road conditions and no work, please feel free to leave. Just reply to this message and go." So Fiance and I left. This is the surprise! No work!

We live a good 2.5 miles from work and it took us nearly 20 minutes to get home. There wasn't much traffic. 

I also remembered I need to call the Gyno. Joy. That used to be a stressful trip for me. "Ok lady, just spread your legs and I'm going to stick my hands and face in your cooch and touch things. Don't freak out, though. It's my job. And pee in this cup too. Put on this retarded gown so your back fat hangs out. Uh-huh. You have a nice cervix, it's very easy to see." ....Thanks? I'm never sure if this is a compliment (from a medical standpoint, it is) or if she's calling me "easy".... which I'm not. But still, I always feel a little miffed when she says that. Now, I have my friend Xanax to help me. I'll probably giggle like an idiot at her. Oh well. Better than saying "Thanks, I got a good deal on it at Lady Parts R Us!"

Also my script for anti-babies ran out, and while my parents would understand (they know we do what we do) and if I got knocked up, they wouldn't be horrified, since we're engaged and we both have great jobs and college degrees, not to mention they were only together for a year before Mom got 'blessed with my presence' and we've been together almost a year and a half now, I don't really want kids yet, if at all. And that would be tough to explain to HIS parents, who choose to believe the Brother moved in with us to keep an eye on us and make sure we behave ourselves. (Actual conversation, by the by.)

Not to mention, Fiance is eagerly anticipating a return email or call from a company he applied to so he can be a concept artist for them. It would eventually move us to Sunny CA where I can be fat and tan instead of fat and pasty white. Yay. Skin cancer AND obesity. After I'm done with this blog, I'm kicking his ass off the TV so I can play my wii fit. I will not be chunky anymore. The only thing about me I want chunky are my highlights!

I'm still musing over how I would tell my parents if I got knocked up. Probably write a blog! HAHA!!!

"Dear Mom and Dad, Guess you're Nana and Pawpaw now!"

....I'm calling the doctor.

EDIT: I want to make it painfully clear at this point in time to my mother, who I know will read this blog. The 'unexpected surprise' was leaving work early, not becoming a mom. I don't want to have to explain this over and over admist 15k text messages with only 2 words in them. I repeat... I am NOT a mommy. Not. A. Mom. Ok.

Fe fi fo fum, I smell lard.

It's because I'm chubbly. I'd write a more extensive blog on this, but my fiance is glaring at the back of my head to get off the computer so he can be on it. 

He is applying for a job in Los Gatos, CA. I hope he gets it. Although, I don't really want to move yet. 

New cookbooks

I saw my mom today and she had the nicest "nammies" (pajamas) so I went out and bought myself some too. They aren't fluffy like hers, but pinstriped pants and a long sleeve tee in green and they hug my butt, which I love. 

My ankle is killing me, must be the weather, jeez I hate winter.  We're supposed to get loads of snow tonight. I hope we don't and I hope we do. Wishy washy as always, but I can't decide whether tomorrow would be a good day to curl up with a book or go earn? Hmm. If I could earn by reading.... 

Speaking of reading....

I bought a few new cookbooks today and one of them was Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It's about getting your kids to eat their fruits and veggies without the hassle

Don't worry, Mom, you aren't about to become "Grandma" I'm doing this for the pickiest eater in the household.... me. The Fiance and the Brother (my boys)  will eat anything I put in front of them. And even if it's not that great, they still eat it. No fear with kitchen catastrophes with them. They eat lots of veggies. Their favorites? Broccoli. Cauliflower. Squashes. Everything I WON'T eat.

So, I thought I'd give it a whirl after I discovered I liked tomatoes. Okay. Green pepper is yummy too. Alright. Broccoli? Ew. Spinach? If I see it, I pick around it. But if I don't see it, I eat it... 

Hmmmm..... What does it matter HOW I get them, as long as I get them? Anything's better than nothing! Well, it's not just veggies but fruits. I can't eat fruit, it's a texture thing. (Veggies are a mental road-block "See veggies, run") But fruit? I just don't like the texture. Love berries (pureed, of course) apples (sliced) and that's about it. But what about learning to eat bananas? Cantalope? Pineapple? 

I can do it if I just make the effort...to hide them.

The other cookbook is for the Brother. He has been dying to learn Asian Cuisine for a while now and I thought I would get him a very late Christmas gift so he can do something enjoyable. Or I can make it if he's too tired. Hahah. Either way, we both win. 

Wedding Bells

As you know I am engaged (or rather psychotic, because who goes around calling someone their fiance when they aren't?) and we had planned to get married in August of 2010. For a few reasons.... we got together in August and it's the halfway point between our birthdays (literally the day we got together, lol)

He wanted traditional wedding: church, close friends and fam only.

I was afraid I would burn in said church. I'm not a church goer or a follower of the herd, or anything nonsensical like that, but I don't blame others who do. It's your life, right?

I wanted to elope. 

Mom suggested Vegas. She offered to buy (in front of his parents who are a bit on the conservative side.) We were thrilled, they were not. They told him he needed to, and I quote, "be the man of the relationship and get married in our church." 

This irked me a little. it's OUR wedding. They had theirs. Can't we do what we want? (Vegas!) 

Apparently it irked the Fiance too. In fact, he hasn't spoken to them unless he absolutely had to. We had a conversation about this one day, more or less this is how it went.

Him: They're dumb

Me: They're your parents and it's what they believe? 

Him: Still. Dumb. Why can't we do what we want?

Me: Yeah, we can. What do you want to do?

Him: Have your mom pay.

Me: *giggles* ok

Him: *chuckle* Yeah sounds great.

A few weeks go by and the subject of marriage comes up again. We decided we would get married in the courthouse (woo!) soon. I asked my best friend to come up that day and be our witness (because she would be upset if she wasn't there)

Oh, and he's taking my last name. 

Let's see, not only are we not getting married in a church, but we aren't even having a 'real' wedding. Then we're still hitting Vegas (someday) annnnnnd I'm not even taking his name. Awesome. Yep, we did our darndest to annoy them. 

Oh well. If he isn't concerned, then I'm not concerned. 

Zombies. Vampires. Werewolves. Oh My.

I cannot stand zombie movies or videogames. Zombies creep me out, big time. God forbid there ever was a zombie invasion! I would not be amongst the survivors that's for sure. 

I would either:

 a) already have died a horrible death (likely)

2) Take a bottle of sleeping pills and drink myself to a comatose and eventually dead state so I don't feel my organs being ripped out.

Always plan for the worst, as my mom keeps telling me. Oh yeah. Zombies? Covered. Jobless/homeless? Still ironing the kinks out. 

With that being said.... I absolutely LOVE vampires. Love. Them. Love'em. Why? I have a theory. When my mom was pregnant with me, she read Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire. My first vampire movie was Interview with a Vampire. 

I just love Lestat. *giggles* 

The Sookie Stackhouse Southern Mystery books (about the supernatural, including vampires and werewolves and NO zombies, thankfully) are amazing. I have all the books (except one) and all the audiobooks, (except one) and I've read each book twice and listened to each book once.

And werewolves are ok, lol. Not much to say on them.

Anyway, the Fiance and the Brother are playing Left4Dead last night, the latest zombie game and I had a terrible migraine and I went to bed but I could still hear the zombies screeching the horrible music and the characters saying "I'm out of ammo" or "Help help it's got me!" and I couldn't fall asleep. Finally, I did and had zombie-laced nightmares and kept waking up to wake up the Fiance and tell him. 

Bless him, he half woke and pulled me closer and kissed me on the forehead. Then promptly started snoring again. 

But the dreams didn't stop. They got worse. My subconscious mind decided then and there to change it around. "Think Vampires" it said. "Think of tall blond vampires. Eric the Viking and Lestat...." 

Needless to say, it worked. Then my dream was filled with myself becoming a vampire and my fake funeral (which my parents and Fiance knew what really happened) and I would go about and prowl on the wicked and take all their money. I was rich, thin, and fabulously sexy. 

You never hear of fat vampires, do you? I wonder if it's part of the changing process.

Shake and Bake Recipe and Tonight's Menu

I'm making Chicken parm for dinner tonight and I am severely excited. 

I decided as long as I am knocking out HFCS I will just make more food at home and that's loads better than preprocessed stuff anyway. Pizza dough? Homemade. Biscuits? Homemade. Shake and Bake?! Homemade.

Yesterday's recipe for Shake and Bake  went like this:

3/4 c Flour

1 T Onion powder

1 T Garlic powder

1/4 t Chili powder

1 c crushed chex cereal (any flavor)

1 egg per 2 chicken breasts (so 2 in this recipe)

Splash of milk (or buttermilk)

4 chicken breasts or so (thawed)

Mix all the dry ingredients. Beat eggs and add a splash of milk and mix. Dunk Chicken in the egg mix and roll in flour mixture, coating thoroughly. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Clueless

Every once in a while I get it in my head I am a culinary genius.... This isn't so.

I made Egg Ham and Cheese shit (aka Breakfast Casserole, or a thousand other names it has) and it's usually delicious. Because I usually have all the ingredients. Duh.

This time, I didn't have any shredded cheese so I thought plain ol sliced cheese would work just fine... boy was I wrong! it tasted like BARF with a maple coating (since it was leftover maple glazed ham that we had) Buuuuuuuh.

Today I tried to make homemade shake n bake chicken... I didn't even bother looking for a recipe. Now that I've found some, I'm worried how this will turn out. Oh well, live and learn.

If the Fiance doesn't like it, he can LEARN to cook. Haha! I'll just mention that if he says it sucks. Then he can rub my feet for hurting my feelings. 

On the Work front... The Company is asking for voluntary layoffs, after they had just gotten done with mandatory layoffs. If there aren't enough people to sign up, they will choose 'volunteers.' 

We have had our hours cut and the people who are laid off are making more on unemployment than those of us who kept our jobs. It steams me a little, knowing they aren't even LOOKING for work, really, and they are making more than I am, when I have to sit in that hellish cube with The Guy Who Speaks Broken English and He Who is So Fat He Uses a Fan in Winter. Neither of them talk to me, thank God. And it's funny. They've been there over a year and have gotten their raises and stuff, and are still lost on how to do things. Yet little ol me who's been there for about 8 months, can tell them how to do things.... if I cared. But I don't. I'm smart enough to ask our superiors for the answers, and not dumb enough not to save the chat logs.

Better check my chicken.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Evil of all evils, devil in disguise.... 

HFCS does a nasty number on your brain. Did you know it actually blocks the chemical that makes you feel full? Yup, so the reason you chow down on a whole bag of chips is because you CANT feel full...if you dont feel full, you eat. If you eat til you're bloated, you're unhappy....when you're unhappy you eat.... most likely it has HFCS in it.... and the cycle continues...

Be aware. Read your labels.

Why I can never be Bridezilla and Why I'm looking forward to Vegas

Why I can never be Bridezilla:

1. I may draw and paint, but I couldn't tell you the difference between off-white and eggshell or chiffon and satin.

2. I have an anxiety problem. In times of high stress (like paying anything late or getting to work right on the o'clock) I feel sick like I may puke or have a sudden rush of diarrhea (or both) Godforbid it's actually something to be stressed over, because I may pass out. 

3. I love my friends and family, but I also like not seeing them sometimes, and lots of people make me nervous (see above)

4. I don't like being a bitch, and try to avoid it as much as possible. 

Why I'm looking forward to Vegas:

1. I'm not footing the bill

2. I'm 21 now, so going is a definite option

3. It makes his parents disapprove, meaning it will be loads of fun, even if I'm not gambling away our life savings or having threesomes with prostitutes.

4. Magic shows!!!!

5.  I can be Princess Lay-me and he can be Darth Vader and we can get married by Elvis!!!!! (And my parents approve of this, so it makes it EXTRA worthwhile)

Lost Dog

The Fiance's parents lost their lovable dog on Tuesday night. He has been spotted around town. Someone is feeding him, but he is still running. If anyone finds him, his name is Murdock and we would appreciate it if you could catch him (good luck!) and shoot me an email at groovygirl1140@gmail.com 

We miss him and would love to have him home again. He is particularly fond of baby carrots and sliced provolone cheese.

Chicken Spaghetti and a Teenager

Kiwi, my little precious princess, has grown up. We left for Valpo yesterday and the kitties stayed behind. While we were gone only 24 hrs, Oscar gained some weight and Kiwi got an attitude problem.

She won't eat or play. She lays around and glares at us and if we call to her, she deliberately turns around and won't look at us. She reminds me of Binky, my old calico, when she does that lol

Chicken spaghetti:

1 package spaghetti

4 chicken breasts

1 big can of  cream of chicken soup

lotsa cheese.

Boil chicken in large pan til done. Then remove chicken, add spaghetti. Boil 8 minutes til al dente then drain. Dice or shred chicken, dump chicken and spaghetti into a cassorole dish and pour the cream of chicken soup over it. Add lots of cheese, whether shredded or velvetta and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese melts. 

Shovel some in  a bowl and eat it :D