Category Archives: Workshopping

Oh, what to do. Just file this under: My Most Meaningful Post Ever.

1. On Sunday, Marcus finally sacrificed my yellow Parker mixing bowl to the watery, tile-clad sink god.  I’ll be honest, I feel like we’re living on borrowed time with basically everything that is breakable in this place so I am impressed that the entire set of bowls stayed intact for ~2.5 years.

2. I watched Breaking Dawn: Part I on Friday night, right?  And we all know that I’ve been having crazy dreams lately, right?  So in this one, I was a Twilight-style vampire who only drank True Blood and I was really only mostly excited because being a vampire because of how well I could run.  Figure that one out.

3. I’m trying to force Marcus to start playing board games with me regularly.  Yes, we registered for a bunch of them and no, we don’t play them.  Ever.  Some of them are definitely still in the original wrapping.  We played Scrabble on Sunday night and tied.

4. Did anyone else feel like their face is about to fall off?  I don’t know where all of this dry air came from but in the past week, I have moisturized to the point of excess to no avail.  To wit: I even have dry skin on my upper lip.  These are trying times that we live in.

XO

I just feel like tonight is the kind of night that lends itself well to workshopping.

So we begin.

1. I am CRAVING sweet potatoes and citrus fruit.  First it was blood oranges and now it’s grapefruits.  Despite my fear of biting into something overly-tart, I’ve found that they’re actually sweet enough without any sugar sprinkled on top.  Which either means that I need more Vitamin C and Fiber or the light is changing.  I’m choosing to believe that it has to do with the light.

2. Last weekend at Winterfest, Kari taught me this elaborate new way to wrap my pashmina.

It looks quite lovely without involving any fear of strangulation.  Don’t lie, we’ve all been there.  I’ve also witnessed it done with a two-color scarf and the effect was quite pleasing.  I like to think that it gives the effect that I’m trying.  I’ll be keeping this one in my rotation forever, probably.

Apparently this thing is all over The Pinterest (which we all know I do not do), so if you’ve seen it somewhere else on The Internets that actually shares how to tie the damn thing, please do the rest of the group a favor and share it in the comments.

3. I was digging through the baking section of Veganomicon and found a recipe for Chewy Chocolate-Raspberry Cookies that is calling my name.  Yes, we’re taking a foray into Vegan baking.  And why? Because I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry (it is my all-time favorite) and it doesn’t involve substitutions for things like milk, eggs, or butter.  They just aren’t part of The equation.

4. I got an award last week at our company party, and today one of my co-workers gave me an excessively nice (and extremely lengthy) compliment in front of our boss.  It’s nice to know that people recognize what I do.

5. Still reading The China Study.  Still not giving up meat.  Still holding firm on drastically reducing the amount of it in our diet.

6. Valentine’s Day.  It’s coming.  And for us, it’s a two-day celebration.  This weekend we’ll be dive bar dating.  The rules for this go-round being: The establishment must have a “chalkboard” AKA wall-mounted menu AND/OR we have to have a really good coupon or gift certificate to use there.

On actual Valentine’s Day, I’ll be cooking for Marcus (translation: we’ll be doing what we always do).  But since it’s a holiday, we’ll make something fun/special/bizarrely time-intensive.  Considering how many ideas I have for two days of low-key celebration, I guess it’s good that we’re not limiting ourselves to one, right?

7. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion continues.  That it is a three-part extravaganza is something I’ll be forever-thankful for.  If you’re a fan and want to laugh so hard that you cry (seriously – I was literally in silent cubicle hysterics), check out these recaps from the VULTURE.

Yes, they’re absolutely worth reading from the very beginning.  And then you’ll wonder where they’ve been all your life.  You’re welcome.

Have you started making Valentine’s Day plans yet?

What are you craving right now?

It’s almost midnight, and I’m just about ready to pour myself into bed after a day full of time spent with girlfriends in varying combinations.  For the record, it was absolutely amazing.  I left each activity feeling so refreshed and recharged – I haven’t had a Saturday like this in SUCH a long time!

Our Orders of Business…

1. Pie week ended with a major bang.  Go check out Megan’s Nutella Pecan Pie and Allison’s Mushroom and Red Wine Pie.  WARNING: Both of these ladies get fancy.
2. Seriously.  If you haven’t clicked through those links yet, you really need to get on that.
3. Jillian and I actioned THE EXACT SAME Paula Deen recipe this afternoon without any prior discussion.  Yes, we did the jumping + screaming thing when we realized what had just taken place.  It was not entirely unlike that feeling you got in elementary school when you and your best friend both showed up wearing the same t-shirt.  Except for the fact that this time there was cream cheese frosting involved.
4. Cream Cheese Frosting > Matching T-Shirts
5. While I was trying on a pair of boots at Payless, a fellow shopper attempted to steal my Revas.  Which is to say, after doing a quick lap around the store, I returned back to the area where I had left the shoebox (and my lovely flats), my shoes were gone.  When I very pointedly asked the shoppers hanging around the area (a woman with her husband and child) what had happened to them, they played dumb.  For like three minutes.  Until they produced my shoes from the seat of their child’s stroller.  WHAT THE WHAT?

I know.  I KNOW.

THIS.  This is the world that we live in.

What recharges you?

Since I’ve been riding on the wings of  The Spirit of Productivity, I combined the Tids and Bits and Potpourri sections into one (much larger) section called Workshopping.  Is it possible that it will reincarnate itself again?  Absolutely.

But something just didn’t feel right.

So, we workshop.  Because today was a day of revelations.

• Movember = Men grow moustaches for a month.  I thought they had some other name for it, but I guess I’m just not down with what the kids are saying these days.  To summarize, if you see someone tweeting about it and you’re wondering if you should join-up, the correct answer is to run the other way.
• The new gmail is a real treat.  Between the embedded “Reply All” button and the initial setting on large print “comfortable” mode, I think that we’re going to witness some major e-mail fails in the next week.
• I really need to make a decision about what I’m going to do with my hair.  I know that I want to maintain the length (it just doesn’t grow) but I really don’t know what to do with the color.  It’s lightened up a TON since I got it colored in May, so I can actually envision it being…somewhat natural.  Is that what I actually want to do?  Who knows, really.
• The amount of scary coughing that is going around in my office is alarming on a good day.  I’m giving major thanks for the fact that I do not work in a shared-cubicle.  There’s something about 3.5 walls and a walkway that says, “I have boundaries.”
• It’s officially Hand Turkey-time.  For all that Halloween involves gourds and corn, orange and black, pumpkins and witches, Thanksgiving is The Budget Friendly Holiday to decorate for.  To do list: Cut out turkeys, source crayons.  Expect a full report sooner than later.
• Kim Kardashian.  I had to say it, but I just don’t care.  Actually, I take that back.  I do care.  Because I sincerely hope that 10 years from now, today’s high school students aren’t able to tell one another where they were when they got the news.  Horror.

How do you feel about the new gmail design?

Are you a Hand Turkey crafter?

Hello, Monday.

An evening on the couch with Netflix On Demand (I don’t even know if The Duchess is any good, but that’s what I’m on right now.) has rendered me scatterbrained at best, so it’s likely time for another festive round of Potpourri!

Things I am NOT going to show you pictures of today…

• My first naan pizza.  Above all other things, it was a mountain of green olives.  It was unattractive at best.  At the very least, it was delicious.  If you haven’t done it, yes, do it.
• The inappropriate number of candy corn pumpkins I’ve been able to put away (they’re DEFINITELY better than regular candy corn).

I get my”normal” 7:30 – 4:30 work schedule back tomorrow.  Being able to sleep for an extra half-hour was most appreciated for the past few days (and did worlds for my relaxation levels), but it also served to remind me as to why I prefer my regular schedule so much more.

Separately, we’ve managed some insane streak like a month without rain.

So naturally, we ended up with a thunderstorm today that was completely unexceptional, but managed to destroy any semblance of a normal traffic pattern in the cities.  Instead of 30-40 minutes to get home, I was definitely in the car for an hour. 

NOT okay.

I don’t mind the daily drive, but stop and go (or totally parked) traffic just kills me.  Furthermore, fellow drivers seemed to think that merging-signals and turn lights were optional.

The horn was used.

Do you have to commute?  What sort of traffic drives you up the wall?

Your thoughts on candy corn…Do you prefer the “regular” kind or the pumpkins?