Peanut-Butter

If there's one thing I have learned from my grandfather it would have to be the deliciousness of peanut butter. Creamy or extra chunky, I could not care less as long as its not that all natural "stir the oil back in before you take a bite" kind...I am a happy camper. (Note: I do not think I will ever be a happy "camper" but the phrase still applies just the same.)

I may or may not occasionally indulge in a straight-up spoonful of the peanut-y goodness...at work...from the jar hidden in my cube...savoring every moment until the spoon is licked clean. That may or may not happen...on a semi-regular basis.

;-)

Today

...is the day. The day that I postthe link to this blog on my MySpace and Facebook pages.

It's a big day. Almost six months in the making. I'm still not 100% sure about the decision (but then again I'm not 100% sure about the decision to maintain my MySpace page...Facebook has been my "social network" of choice but since I like photos and most friends post photos on MySpace rather than Facebook I am stuck).

This blog is way more in depth than my old (old) Xanga blog...man...that means like forever ago...and the blogging capabilities in MySpace are just not up to my standards. Facebook has implemented Notes and other ways to enhance profiles, none of which excite me...I preferred the old, boring, plain Facebook (although was excited when the ability to add photo albums was added....this just shows you how long it's been since I joined Facebook).

I almost ate an entire bag of home-made trail mix while writing this entry. Nervous eater perhaps? Afraid that the real me won't be pleasing to the reader? Notsomuch. It's 11am and I'm starving, the norm for a Wednesday morning I assure you.

Enjoy!

Mike

Dr. Mike.
Dr. Michaela Quinn.
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.

Jane Seymour was named as one of the contestants on Dancing with the Stars this morning. I could not be more thrilled. I have been a fan since the early '90s. I can now say that I am thoroughly pumped for the season premiere (September 24th). After a long period of waiting and a summer full of crappy TV (with the exception of my personal summer favorites Top Chef and Last Comic Standing) I am ready for the regular season of TV to grace us with its presence.

I attempted to get my "dancing fix" through So You Think You Can Dance this summer (I began watching half-way through the season) but I must say, I am quite partial to Dancing with the Stars. I like the idea of taking your gift of dance and sharing it with another person through teaching them to dance. Watching amazing dancers is all fine a good, but I love the element of instruction that goes along with Dancing with the Stars. At times it even makes me feel like I could maybe dance, if I had enough practice and if Hubby would indulge in dancing...ever. Regardless, my mind is made up. Dancing with the Stars is my favorite of the dancing reality television shows.

Where does it fall in my ranking of favorite reality shows? Let's take a look:

1. Beauty and the Geek
2. Top Chef
3. Dancing with the Stars
4. Last Comic Standing (used to be higher in the rankings...but the hosts just keep going downhill for me)
5. Grease: You're the One that I Want (although that was a one-time show)

Not too shabby...

News

It's a weird news day. I opened up to cnn.com this morning and found the following headlines:

11 Hurt at Tom Cruise Film Shoot
Illegal Immigrant Arrested After Year in Church
Mudlines, Floods Sweep People, Cows Away
Murder Plot Involved Rattlesnakes
Father Accused of Shooting, Paralyzing Daughter's Boyfriend After Finding Him in Closet
Blacksburg Carbon Monoxide Leak
Jetliner Burns, All Survive
Bears Eat Man at Beer Festival

Just strange things in the news today...strange, sad, weird, odd, ironic...so many things...none of them "normal".

...in other news...today is:

Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary =)

Coffee

My office pretty much has the worst coffee ever made by all of mankind.

I like coffee....and I know that I, personally, can make bad coffee...but even my nasty cup o' joe can't compare to the mug of nasty that is coffee from the 4th floor kitchen.

Perhaps I became too spoiled at my old job in the coffee department. It's not my fault that my old job included frequent trips to Starbucks as well as fresh brewed coffee made by my boss (of Colombian descent). I'm sure those two factors really have hindered my entire future in regards to coffee and my preferences, turning me into a bit of a coffee snob.

But this? This is NOT coffee.

I suppose there could be many reasons for this being quite possibly the WORST cup of coffee of my entire life, here are my top ten:

10. Who is "Cory Collection" and why must they insist on packing ground coffee only to be forced upon low level corporate employees?

9. Why does the 5th floor have a Flavia Coffee machine and 4th floor does not? (9b, why am I too chicken to use the coffee machine on the 5th floor?)

8. I sleep in and cannot brew my own coffee at home...maybe if our coffee machine had a timer...since going in and out of our bedroom would be sure to awaken Husband who would not be pleased...

7. I have been told it would be "irresponsible" to stop by my neighborhood Starbucks each morning before work...so I try to keep it down to once a week (although this week it was twice...and by this morning's events...should have been three times).

6. Our coffee comes in pre-measured pouches...of which we have 100s stuffed into various drawers in the kitchen.

5. My local gas station has better coffee (notice, gas station, not Sheetz station, since Sheetz coffee is far superior to the regular gas station...and I would totally settle for good ol' Mobil/Exon brewed coffee...)

4. It's gross and I dirtied my "real" coffee mug at work which I now have to wash rather than using a disposable cup (freaking Al Gore and his "Let's All Save the Planet" rants causing my office to desire energy efficiency!...which incidentally caused me to eat my lunch in a room in which the light repeatedly shut off because unlike most people, I can only assume, I sit still when I eat my lunch causing the lights to think the room is empty.)

3. Husband is not creating his signature lattes each morning for my enjoyment.

2. Who knows how long the coffee sits in the pot...I mean, it's disgusting, maybe only one person drinks it and they come in at 6:30am so by the time I decide to have coffee it's scorched?

and finally...

1. This cup of coffee is not a Tall Skim Extra Hot Peppermint Mocha.

Lunchtime

Lunchtime is a difficult time for me. Mostly because it spikes my unhealthy jealously of Husband's work friends and his lunchtime crew. Things are starting to pick up though since I ate lunch with people yesterday and someone else asked me to lunch for tomorrow. I decided today that perhaps if I ate lunch in the kitchen where there is table and four chairs that this would be a good "sign" that "Rachael likes to eat lunch outside of her cubical." This however was a foiled plan...mostly because the lights in the kitchen are on a timer that automatically shuts off the lights after three minutes of no activity...you can guess how much lunch went...I had to get up at least three times to re-set the lights. Someone came in once, but only to grab a few things. I must find a new plan because that one is just going to make a fool of me.

On the upswing I had a bowl of soup that was frozen from the last time I made African Peanut Soup and it was amazing.

Beast

Kitty is a beast. You wouldn't think that just looking at her...but she is. She is strong, creative, cunning, and most importantly crazy. The things she chooses to play with or rather to drag around the house baffle me. A few nights ago she got up on a very tiny table to get a cell phone and a DVD that were laying next to a dish full of candy. When we got up the next morning the cell phone and DVD were on the floor. Obviously our first reaction was that "Kitty knocked things over" but really, this is what I think happened.

It was late, probably around 4am (which is usually when Kitty starts thumping on our bedroom door and meowing/squeaking in attempt to wake Husband so he will come out and play with her) and Kitty was bored. Kitty then went into a fit of hysterics from seeing something at the back door window. She jumped and scratched, but it was no use. The moth was clearing not going to budge from the other side of the window. Oh well, no friends for Kitty. In all her jumping Kitty must have noticed the copy of Premonition Husband and I had rented from the always amazing Red Box down the street. Kitty was intrigued and since she had watched the majority of the movie with us, actually covering my face for part of it when she decided to lean across me to lick Husband's nose...she must have wanted to see it again. She then jumped up and knocked the DVD off the table (throwing the cell phone onto the ground since it was sitting on top of the DVD). Kitty then got distracted by the new "toys" on the ground and played a rousing game of soccer using both the DVD case and the cell phone as balls. This could occupy her until I woke up to the sound of her meowing at the door after my shower hoping that I would feed her and love her (which I equate to cuddles...she does not) when I emerged from the bedroom and headed off for work.

Kitty would have been a fantastic soccer player, if only she had feet and stood more than a foot tall...

Prayers

"People may refuse our love or reject our message, but they are defenseless against our prayers." ~ Rick Warren

What a powerful thought. Defenseless means "without help, or protection". You never really think of the object of a prayer request as "defenseless" but rather as one receiving supernatural aid. Defenseless, however, they are to casting off that aid. They cannot become the subject of an un-prayer to reserve the effects of prayer. There is nothing they can do but accept that someone loves them enough to pray for them. Such a simple act can leave a person defenseless.

In light of this new perspective...I thank all of you who have made me defenseless. What a wonderful feeling indeed.

Reading

Reading is something I wish I did more of these days. There are times (however infrequent) where I miss the leisure afforded to me by my previous mode of commuting. On the train I was free to read, listen to music, watch a DVD, write, solve (or attempt to solve) a Sudoku puzzle, or even just stare out the window and admire the trees and gorgeous sun rising over the Potomac.

These days my commute is much shorter (2 hours shorter to be exact) and it is completed entirely from my car.

(I love my car. It was a fairly spontaneous purchase the week after Thanksgiving in response to Husband becoming the principal driver of the car for about a week while his was in the shop. My old Subaru was declare "unacceptable" and we were off to shop for a new car. Granted, I had fallen in love with the "perfect" car more than a year earlier while attending the DC auto-show with The Boys making our shopping trip quite short...but this really is not the point of my story today...perhaps another time.)

This new commute-by-car is less leisurely and relaxing. I do not have the down-time I once had before arriving at home to dirty dishes, dirty laundry, and a particularly needy feline. I get busy with things or fall asleep in front of the TV (which I sat down in front of because "I just needed a little time to decompress") and reading is the last thing on my to-do list.

In the past week I have attempted to start reading a new book, Mansfield Park, by one of my favorite authors, Jane Austen. This book has been on my shelf for years...neglected and overlooked. I decided it was time that I dive back into reading...for fun (who knew!) It's been a tough road, having to re-read parts because I forget what I read quickly...and the fact that I read for maybe ten minutes at a time probably does not help neither has the various locations I have chosen to read said book thus far) but I like it. I like the feeling of reading again. Today I even ventured outside my office for lunch...ordered a bowl of soup (my favorite comfort food) and read. I enjoyed my lunch "hour" for the first time in a long while. Perhaps I shall do this again (although I'm sure to hear concerns from Husband if I continually charge my lunch on the credit card...we shall cross that bridge when we get there I'm sure) and perhaps it will even become habit.

I like reading very much. How could I have forgotten...

Words

Word
a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning.

Our words are SO powerful. They can convey any number of meanings. Words said using different tones or intonations can have multiple meanings to those receiving our words. The same word can become humorous, sarcastic, loving, compassionate, annoying, hurtful, or helpful depending on the meaning behind the simple word.

Words can be used to encourage and to build up (Proverbs 12:25 "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up;") or they can be used to destroy and harm (Proverbs 12: 18 " Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.")

I fear that too often my words do the latter. How sad. Perhaps it's my sense of humor, or my ever present foot-in-mouth syndrome...or perhaps I am too hard on myself. I think we could all use a swift reminder to slow down and choose our words carefully when talking to each other. And with that I leave you...and and off to ponder what I will say next...

Bing-sons

We found a website called Simpsonize Me which occupied part of our evening last night. It was adorable. Above you can see our results...how freaking adorable!

Socks

Do you see it?

Do you see how similar these two objects are?

Both with flip-top lids which people have long fought over which was the correct way to store (lid up vs. lid down). Both are used to discard unwanted items. Contents of both will eventually get wet. Sitting side by side the similarities are many. Even down to the pastel colors and almost equal height.

I guess it is easy to see how one could confuse the two and throw ones dirty socks into the object on the left rather than the object on the right.

And that's exactly what Husband did last night (followed by a run down the stairs to tell me all about it almost in tears from laughing so hard...Kitty was running and jumping all over and I was on the floor laughing). A good night had by all.