Exceedingly Mundane

I’m still trying to catch up from being gone on vacation. Today is a day for going through the pile of mail and newspapers, working on the pile of laundry, catching up on emails, blogging and posting photos to my Project365 photoblog. It’s going to be another day or two before I get caught up enough to come by and visit all of my favorite blogs – hope everyone understands 🙂

I’m using my Project365 blog for most of the pictures I post, so go check out the last several days entries if you want to see some vacation pictures. I actually didn’t take a lot of photos on this trip. Half the time, I left my camera in my room 🙁 I think because we’ve been up here so many times before that I just didn’t think to take photos. I did take a few though, and I’ve posted some over at my photo blog. I’ll post a few more in the extended entry, so click on the more button if you want to check them out 🙂

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This week’s topic: Paper or Plastic

Do you read e-Books?
If so, how? On your computer, or a PDA?
Or are you a paper purist? Why?

OK, this is a great question. Believe it or not, as much as I love techie gadgets, as much as I love my laptop, and as much as I love my PDA, I’m a purist when it comes to books. I don’t like them in any format except the written word. I don’t like them electronic, I don’t like them in the form of audiobooks. I like a plain ole book I can hold in my hands and turn the pages on. I like a book that I can go back and re-read the last paragraph or page when I’ve put it down for a day or two and can’t quite remember what I last read. I like a book to hold in my hands and drop on my chest when I fall asleep reading before bed 🙂 I like to hear my own voice in my head as I read along and not someone else’s. I’ve tried a sample of an e-book on my PDA and I didn’t like it. I checked out an audio book from the library and didn’t make it through more than one chapter. Give me a good old paper book any day and I’m a happy reader. 🙂

Did you miss me? No, of course you didn’t. No one except a few family and friends knew that we were gone 🙂

We have been out of town on vacation since the weekend. Tim’s parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary a week ago, and as our present to them, we all went on vacation together as a family. There were eleven of us in all – us, Tim’s parents, brothers, one sister-in-law and our four nieces and nephews. We went to the Smoky Mountains (Gatlinburg, TN) and rented a large cabin. We had 4 bedrooms, a game room, two living room areas, 7 TV’s, 2 decks, a grill, a hot tub, jacuzzi and a bunch of other amenities. We had a great time! We went out to eat a couple of times, grilled out at the cabin, and had some wonderful meals together. We did a little shopping, some sightseeing, and Tim and I did some hiking/sightseeing in the Great Smoky National Park while the others went to a petting zoo and go-kart track with the kids (our nieces and nephews). I think Tim’s parents really enjoyed our trip, and I know we did 🙂 We loved getting to spend time together!

We got home just a little while ago, and have already retrieved Beau from what I fondly refer to as “puppy prison” (aka the kennel where we board him). I ran to the grocery and picked up some milk, bread, OJ and a few things to tide us over. We definitely don’t need to eat much for a while. I feel like I could not eat for a few days. Beau, on the other hand, appears to have not eaten at all while we were gone. Tim and I both thought he looked noticeably skinnier. He looks really thin and scrawny again 🙁

Now, I have to start working on transferring my photos I took, updating my Project365 blog, and starting on that mountain of laundry we brought home. Hope everyone is having a great week!

P.S. I experimented with the “pre-post” feature and posted a couple of blog entries while we were gone. I’m so happy it all worked so well 🙂

Today’s “Question of the Day” is short and sweet, but it is a kind of odd one! Which ear do you hold your phone to? I’ve discovered that the phone has to be on my left side. I think it has something to do with being right-handed. It doesn’t matter if it’s the cordless phone in the house or my cell phone, but I always put it on my left ear. If I try to hold the phone to my right ear, it just doesn’t feel right, doesn’t fit somehow. Tim has a Bluetooth earpiece that he wears, and I’ve noticed that it is always on his left ear. So, I’m wondering if everyone is like that, or maybe it’s just if you are right-handed, you always use your left ear?

Leave me a comment and let me know – do you always put the phone to your left ear, your right ear, or do you have any idea?! 🙂 Have a great day!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, and enjoys this day. Let us all remember that it’s not just a day off work, or a day to hang out with our families. It’s also a day of remembrance, for all of the lives that have been given for our freedom – in defense and protection of our nation. Let us never forget. I know I, for one, am very grateful to all those who serve us, and especially those who have given their life on behalf of our great nation.

Have a great day! 🙂

I finished another book last night, “The Jane Austen Book Club” by Karen Joy Fowler. I wish I had something positive to say about the book, but I really didn’t like it very much. I didn’t hate it, but I just didn’t like it. It was a bit of a struggle for me to get through. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for that type of book right now (I really do tend to be a moody reader), but mostly I think I just didn’t like the characters all that much or the way the author wrote. Or the plot, for that matter.

The book centers on 5 women of varying ages (and relationship states) and one man in California who band together to read the works of Jane Austen, exclusively. They don’t read works by other authors, just Austen. Maybe it is because I have not read most of her books (of which there are few, only 6 books), but I really don’t think that is it. While there is sufficient talk each time about the book and characters, that is not what didn’t appeal to me. It’s the actual book club members, their lives and forays into their past (distant or otherwise) that I just didn’t like. To me, these weren’t very likable characters, not endearing to me in any way. Maybe I didn’t relate to them. Who knows, but now, I do know, this is not the book for me. I don’t know if Fowler has written other books, but I don’t think I’ll look for any. I have plenty of other books I know I want to read, most by authors I know I enjoy. Life is too short to read books we don’t enjoy. I did finish it. I persevered, to be sure. I struggled at times, but my philosophy is “never surrender” 😀

For the record, I’ve read 37 books so far this year, for a total of 11, 534 pages. Up next is the first “Southern Sisters” mystery that I bought last week in the library sale. It’s called “Murder on a Girl’s Night Out” and I’m looking forward to it – light, cozy and enjoyable. 🙂

Happy Reading!

Feast One Hundred & Forty Five
May 25, 2007

Appetizer
Name a sound you like to hear. My cell phone ring when Tim is calling. The happy “har har har” sound that Beau makes when he’s happy and wants to play.

Soup
What is your favorite kind of cheese? I never met a cheese I didn’t like. Although I’ve never tried the really strong ones like Muenster and stuff. I love regular cheddar, mozzarella, swiss, provolone, monterey jack, gouda, feta, parmesan, etc

Salad
Do you sleep late on Saturday mornings? Why or why not? Not any more, not since we got Beau. He likes to get up at the crack of dawn and whine, bark and shake his chain until I get up to let him out. He likes to go out early to stalk his squirrels, birds and lizards in the backyard. A born hunter, my puppy dog.

Main Course
When was the last time you forgot something? What was it and how long did it take to remember it? I forgot to put a new thing of Purell in my purse the other day. I told Tim to remind me and he forgot too. Then he said last night after he came in that he had to wash his hands, and it made me remember. I stopped right then and went and put a new thing in my purse. Otherwise, I would have forgotten again!

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I notice__________ when ___________ . I notice that time flies when you’re having fun! Plus, I realize how much faster time goes by the older I get. I can’t believe it is the year 2007, and it is already the end of May. I can’t believe how old I am and how young I feel sometimes 🙂

Today’s Booking Through Thursday question was one that wasn’t really applicable for me – do you own any foreign language books, and can you read them still. I thought I’d sort of do a quick variation of that and ask a “Question of the Day” about learning a foreign language, though.

Did you take a foreign language in either high school or college? Which one did you take? Do you remember much of it? Were you ever fluent? Or even better, do you speak a second language, either learned from your family or a friend? If you do speak another language, how often do you do this, on a daily, occasionally or very infrequent basis? Leave me a comment and let me know your answer to today’s “Question of the Day” 🙂

I had an idea for a BTT question when I was taking a peek at one of my bookcases yesterday and spotted my old copy of the Aeneid in Latin sitting there. Maybe this question has already been done—but if not… Do you have any foreign language books and if so can you (still) read them?

Well, this week’s question is really not very applicable for me. I have never even owned a book in another language! I’m sure I had some French textbooks of some sort when I was in high school and took French, but I certainly don’t have them now 🙄 I never took any other language, either. Actually, I think I might turn that into a “Question of the Day” 😀

I just posted this photo over on my Project365 blog for today… not a great photo, but representative of my day:

It’s really hot and dry here, and I’m having to drag out the sprinklers and try to water the grass. Tim and I are both hoping that any new house we get in the future has an in-ground sprinkler system. Tim offered years ago to dig up part of our yard and install one for me, but the el-cheapo side of me didn’t see the need to spend the money. After all, I can get outside and drag sprinklers around as needed. Of course, the first few times I do this every spring or summer, I don’t mind a bit. As the summer wears on and the hotter and dryer it gets, it really gets to be a pain. 🙄

I remember growing up, I used to love it when my dad ran the sprinklers. I would put on my bathing suit and go outside to play in the sprinklers. I love getting wet and cooled off and playing in the water. I always thought if we had kids, that would be a fun summer thing for them to do. And along those same lines, I was hoping that our new dog Beau (who we got late last year in the fall, after we had put up the sprinklers for the year), would enjoy playing in them. Nope, no way. The dog does not like the sprinklers or the water hose. All fall and winter and early spring, the only time he was exposed to the water hose was to get a bath, which he detested. Now, consequently, he won’t go anywhere near the hose or sprinklers. We’ve both been working with him, trying to get him to drink water out of the hose. And he is getting better about that, but he still won’t go anywhere near the sprinklers.

So, how about a “Question of the Day” about sprinklers – do you have an in ground sprinkler system for your yard? If not, do you drag out the sprinklers or does someone else in your house take care of that? Do you have water restrictions where you live? And as for the kids and pets – do they like to play in the sprinklers? Or do you? 🙂 Leave me a comment and let me know!

Kim tagged me for this fun “where do you like to eat” restaurant meme that is going around. Goodness knows, we eat out enough and have tons of places we like to go!

A lot of the places we go are chains (Chili’s, Applebee’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden), so I debated about whether to include those on this list. I could have easily listed 5 chain places and a host of foods we like to eat there. The Oriental Salad at Applebee’s is a favorite of mine, as well as the molten lava cakes for dessert at Chili’s. Then, there’s pizza, but we won’t go that route. Instead, we’ll go totally local.

1. Fratesi’s – a local Italian place that I love. It’s sort of small and a bit run down, but the food is so good. I’ve never had a single thing there that wasn’t totally delicious. You start out with their hot homemade bread and garlic butter, then move to their delicious salad (the house salad dressing is the best of any place we eat at), and then your entree. When we go to an Italian place, I always order tiramisu for dessert. Theirs is very good 🙂

2. Cazadores – another local place, this one Mexican. We have 5 or 6 Mexican restaurants within a 3 or 4 mile radius of our house and we have been going to Cazadore’s almost exclusively lately. The food is good and the service is great. A guy is usually at our table with chips and salsa about 5 seconds after we sit down. Our food is usually delivered to our table within 5-6 minutes of ordering. And it’s always hot and delicious. They also have really good guacamole. I love guacamole, but I’m really particular about it. I don’t like tomato, so I don’t like it with chunks of tomato in it. And I have this weird aversion to cilantro, so I don’t like cilantro in mine. Cazadore’s guacamole is perfect for me – very creamy, no tomatoes, no cilantro. Good stuff.

3. Golden Dragon – yet another local place. This is where we like to go for Chinese food. They have a buffet on Friday and Saturday nights, which we go to sometimes. Tim likes it because they have steaks on the buffet, plus boiled shrimp, so he can eat that and not have to eat as much Chinese food! I love their pineapple chicken and their shrimp and cabbage dish they have on the buffet. If we order, we sometimes splurge and get their Shrimp and Kew dinner – which is a slew of appetizers and samplings of food, followed by a tableside cooking of shrimp, strips of filet mignon and Chinese style vegetables at our table. Wonderful stuff. We don’t splurge on it that often, but if we order from the menu, I usually order the shrimp and cabbage. I could eat that stuff 7 days a week, I think.

4. Cock of the Walk – this is a chain, but we have a great one here and have for over 25 years. I can remember going here in college, because the food is so good and the atmosphere is great. It’s so laid back and casual, we can go in wearing a tshirt and shorts and be totally comfortable. They basically do one thing – fried catfish with all of the trimmings. We order fish for two, and very soon, a large platter with fried catfish, french fries, hushpuppies, coleslaw, pickled onions and cornbread come out to the table. The cornbread, of course, is flipped in its cast iron skillet, tableside, by your waiter. You can also order fried dill pickles, which are to die for, promise. So much food, but not good for us, since everything is fried. We don’t go often but we love it when we splurge and go!

5. Pigskin – Another local place, a family owned restaurant that specializes in BBQ and recently added a lunch buffet (country type cooking, blue plate, meat and veggie type of stuff). We’ve been for lunch, but we mostly go for the barbecue. They have great ribs! Good sides (coleslaw, baked beans, fries, potato salad) and really big chunks of texas toast with the ribs. They have the best caramel cake for dessert, but we rarely get that, as we fill up on ribs and sides.

Honorable Mention: I asked Tim about his 5 and he said he would include Lenny’s Subs (sandwich place). They have a great chicken phillysteak sandwich that we always get. If he is picking a sandwich place, then I would probably pick Newk’s instead. Newk’s is a little pricier than Lenny’s, but the food is really good. Newk’s also has some awesome salads. 🙂

I know the origins of this meme had you list your name, location, your 5 choices, then you were to tag 5 people from different areas of the country or the world. I’m not going to do that, but if you’d like to play along, that would be great! Leave me a comment and let me know so that I can come visit and see your favorite places to eat 🙂

Last week was hit and miss, with sticking to the menu. Tim got sick and we altered a couple of meals to better suit him. Also, I think I’m going to have to give up on ever trying the new recipe for Honey Mustard Pork Chops. Two weeks ago, we had a different meal and I didn’t even take the chops out of the freezer. This past week, I took them out, and oh about 5 PM, went to look for my recipe to see about the marinade. I discovered that I had forgotten that this was a marinate all day or all night type of recipe. Rather than risk just marinating the chops a few minutes, we went ahead and used the regular bottled teriyaki marinade we usually use on pork chops. Sigh. I like to think I’m so prepared, but obviously that is NOT always the case.

This week is a short one, we have a lot of family stuff coming up over the long holiday weekend and I won’t even plan anything for then. Hopefully the first part of the week can go according to plan. 🙂 As always, thanks to Laura over at OrgJunkie for hosting this every week. Be sure to go over and check out all of the great menus.

Monday – Grilled Chicken, squash, fresh green beans

Tuesday – Crockpot BBQ chicken, baked beans, potato salad

Wednesday – Light night before Tim weighs in – Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Thursday – Breakfast for dinner – eggs, biscuits, deer sausage

Friday – Date Night

Saturday/Sunday/Monday – eating with family

Hope everyone has a great week and a very happy Memorial Day weekend!

Here’s a few things going on with me and with us…. and most of them are good things. Little bits of happy 🙂

I’m hoping this will be the last trip to the video store for a while. Thanks to Lauren for pointing out the Netflix giveaway over at Nan‘s blog – Life is Like a Lunchbox. Nan sponsored a contest this week, and gave away 5 free 6 month subscriptions to Netflix. I won one, and I’m still so very excited! Lauren won one also, and so did my sister Gail. Yippeee!! We love movies and have been wanting to try Netflix for a while now. This comes at such an opportune time. With all of our favorite TV shows ending for the summer, we won’t have anything to watch. We normally rent a lot of movies in the summer anyway, so this is indeed a blessing. Thanks so much to the folks at Netflix for offering this, and for Nan for organizing and handling all of this. I’m still so excited!

Hope everyone out there in Blog-ville is having a great weekend!

Feast One Hundred & Forty Four
May 18, 2007

Appetizer
List 3 emotions you experienced this week. Ugh, this was not one of my better weeks. Hate to not be positive. My three words would be depressed, bitter and frustrated 🙁

Soup
Name a car you’d love to have. You know, I’m SO not a car person. I am happy to have a decent, reliable vehicle to drive. I don’t have a dream car I would just love to have.

Salad
Describe your typical morning routine. Well, since we got Beau, this now involves dragging out of bed before daybreak to let Beau out. Usually multiple times before I really want to get up. On a good day, we get up and get dressed and go walking. If Tim is busy with work, the weather is bad or we’re not feeling well (like this week), we get up and Tim goes directly to work on his computer. I take care of Beau, make the bed, get clean water for Beau, feed Beau, grind the coffee beans and make coffee, fix our breakfast, etc. Then I start picking up – glasses in the sink that *someone* left out, clean dishes in the drainer from the last night, pick up stuff in the den, fluff the cushions on the couch, etc. Boring, huh?!

Main Course
Have you ever emailed someone famous? If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply? Nope. Never. Gee, I’m really boring with these today 🙂

Dessert
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones? I’ve listened to a couple, but it’s not something I do often. I’ve listened to them for TV shows (Lost and Battlestar Galactica) and I’ve listened to some from a local hospital on women’s health issues. But, I don’t think to update or listen to them very often.

Ok, so if you remember, we bought a new dishwasher and refrigerator a couple of weeks ago. I love, love, love both of them and am still very enamored of my shiny new appliances. Yep, I’m that kind of girl. Appliances make me all giddy 🙂

I debated for a while about whether to leave my shiny new fridge all empty and clean looking, as it was in this picture here, or to put some of my pictures and magnets and memorabilia back on it. I finally decided that I had to put some of it back. I love looking at my family photos and I do make it a point to get magnets from when we travel to fun places. So, I put some of the magnets back on the front, and pictures on the side. I tried not to have it as cluttered as the old refrigerator I had before.

That’s today’s “Question of the Day” – are you a person who likes putting things up on your fridge, like notes, pictures, schedules, your kids art work, magnets, etc? Or are you a clean refrigerator kind of person, and yours doesn’t have a single thing on it? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Oh, and in case you are interested, here’s what I have on mine now. The front, with just a few magnets from our travels:

And the side by my countertops. I fix my bowl of cereal here in the AM and like looking at all of the photos of family and friends. There’s also a couple of reminders about doctor appointments, my weekly menu and a schedule for the local minor league baseball team 🙂