1, 2, 3, 4... Pressure!

I haven't blogged much this week. This is kind of silly, but at one point I had 13 "Followers" & now I'm down to 11. When it got up to 13, I thought man, people must either really think I'm funny or they can't wait to read about whatever room in my house I'm currently painting. Now I'm back to thinking no one finds this interesting except my mom & my grandmother, and maybe MK. It's hard to write when you feel like you need to write something spectacular to get your 2 wayward followers back, or to gain new ones. I know this is stupid, but it's the main reason I haven't been writing as much lately.

In other news, I got in a huge email fight with my teacher last week. The short version is she refused to accept my weekly paper. She changed the due date from Tues to Thurs & I forgot to turn it in. I turned it in first thing Fri AM & didn't think anything about it because I knew for a fact that another student in the class had done the same thing the week before & she accepted his paper. Well, she didn't accept mine & an email battle ensued. I won. She took the paper, but not before she proved herself to be a truly horrible person. I've thought about posting the email exchange. You wouldn't believe the way a woman with a Doctorate & a former Dean of the program talks to her students. I've said it before & I'll say it again, I HATE TSU.

Speaking of school, I have a mid-term this week. Because it's an online class, she told us she would post the mid-term, it would be open-book & we'd have a week to work on it. I was expecting a mid-term, a test -something with questions that you would use the book to answer. No. That bitch assigned us a motherf*cker of a paper to write. A paper which I have yet to start & have until Tues to turn in. Here's the assignment:

Imagine that you are starting a public or non-profit organization from the ground up. You will be the chief administrative officer of this organization. Your task is to write a position paper with the following questions in mind:

1. summarize these perspectives in terms of their strengths & weaknesses in structuring organizations.

2. address which school you would endorse if you were developing & managing this organization. Explain your answer.

You can feel sorry for me now.

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday Night:
John's dad came into town & took us to dinner at Pei Wei. Watched TV for awhile, then went to bed. John Sr. was getting up early to continue on his journey to Yellowstone to "see the wolves."

Saturday:
John Sr. woke us up at 7am to go to Cracker Barrel. Actually he really woke us up at 4am when he decided he'd take a shower (the bathroom connects to our bedroom). Side note: there are a lot of cops who eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel at 7 in the morning.

I spent the rest of Saturday morning writing my weekly paper for class. I actually finished it kind of fast. John was at B.A.'s doing eBay stuff, so I decided I'd play the Wii we bought almost a month ago & I had yet to play. My Aunt Becky told me the boxing game is a good work-out, so I tried that. OMG, I'm like the Million Dollar Baby of Wii boxing. Seriously, I rule. I played nonstop for at least an hour. I got to "Pro Level." I was so proud of myself, until I took a shower & realized I couldn't lift my arms to wash my hair..... Side note: 2 days later & I still can't lift my arms.

Saturday Night:
Met Aaron & Ashley @ Sitar for dinner then went to Green Hills to see Slumdog Millionaire. Really good movie. Sadly, it's the only Oscar movie I've seen. I wanted to see them all, but it didn't happen. I definitely still want to see Milk & The Wrestler. At this point, I'll probably just wait until they come out on DVD though.

Sunday:
Lazy day. We ate lunch at the Belle Meade Las Maracas, then drove around & hit some local thrift stores. I found this cute, little glass chipmunk for Carolyn & a grey, wool London Fog short coat for myself. All of my winter coats are black. I realize grey isn't that big of a leap from black, but it's a start.

Sunday Night:
Made/ate chili, watched E's Red Carpet coverage, texted back & forth with MK at least 1,000 times, watched the Oscar's, cheered for Slumdog, more text messages, dozed off, woke up & watched the final awards & went to bed.

Guest Room Before & After

Well, it took us a month, but we finally finished the guest room. We stripped wallpaper, found mold, killed mold, primed, painted, prettied up baseboards, framed a window, painted furniture, installed new drawer pulls & new faux wood blinds.

The paint color on the walls is Light Copper by Behr. The paint color on the furniture is Cowboy Boots by Valspar. The wall color is the darker version of what we used in our room. I'm pleased. Now we just have to put some stuff on the walls.

Full photostream here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16828091@N04/sets/72157612798323770/

Asian Short Ribs

I made this last night & it was incredible! If John hadn't already married me, he would have proposed last night. It was that good.

It had a lot of weird ingredients, like sesame oil & rice vinegar, but I found them in the international aisle at Publix. I bought the cheapest stuff they had & it was fine. The recipe also calls for grated ginger root. A) I've never bought ginger root. B) I had to buy a grater. But all of this aside, it was totally worth it. Hands-down, it's the best thing I've ever made.

Bon Appetit!

Slow-Cooker Meal: Asian Short Ribs

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

8 beef short ribs (about 4 pounds)

4 medium carrots, peeled and halved crosswise

1 small green cabbage (about 1 pound), quartered

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon sesame oil

4 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper. Add the short ribs and carrots and arrange in a single layer. Lay the cabbage on top.

Cook, covered, on high for 5 to 6 hours (or on low for 7 to 8 hours)*, until the meat is tender and easily pulls away from the bone.

Transfer the cabbage, short ribs, and carrots to plates. With a large spoon or ladle, skim the fat from the cooking liquid and discard.

If the slow cooker is on the low setting, turn it to high. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water until smooth. Whisk into the cooking liquid and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the sesame oil. Spoon the sauce over the short ribs and vegetables and sprinkle with the scallions (if using).

*Because different slow-cooker models cook at different rates, the total time is presented as a range. Check for doneness at the low end of the range (but not before, or the escaping heat will slow the cooking). If the food is not done, continue cooking to the end of the suggested range.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

CALORIES 831 ; FAT 42g (sat 17g); CHOLESTEROL 196mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41g; CALORIES FROM FAT 45%; SODIUM 985mg; PROTEIN 70g; FIBER 6g; SUGAR 27g

Real Simple, OCTOBER 2008

Like v. Don't Like

My dry, sensitive, winter skin has turned against me. In an effort to not scratch myself to death, I've bought some new products.


Like:

Mario Badescu Almond & Honey Face Scrub


I LOVE this product! I rotate between Kiehl's Buffing Cream & Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub, but this scrub from Mario Badescu beats them all. Plus, it smells really good. I'm a fan. If you're in need of a facial scrub, I highly recommend this one. Cosmetic Market has it for around $15.


Sidenote: I also use Mario Badescu Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream. I've used a couple of his eye creams & they're all awesome. If you can't tell, I'm a big fan of this line.


Don't Like:

Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk & Shea Butter Body Wash


I typically use Dove Sensitive Skin bodywash, but I've recently questioned whether or not this is the best thing, since apparently it contains sodium laurel sulfate. I'm going to be honest, I don't really know what sodium laurel sulfate is or why it's allegedly bad for your skin, but I thought I'd try a bodywash without it. Wrong! First of all, the little bottle of Burt's Bees was $8, which is more than I typically pay for a drugstore brand bodywash. Secondly, I'm a week in & I'm already halfway through the bottle. This product doesn't lather & it doesn't cover a lot of ground. I find myself pouring more into my loofah every time I get to another body part. Also, my skin feels a little dry when I get out of the shower, probably because it's not coated in "chemicals". When I finish this bottle, which should be any day now, I'm going back to Dove.

Weekend Wrap-Up, Delayed Edition

For Valentine's Day we went to Delaney & Austin's for "Grubfest". Carolyn, David, Agnes & "Red Beard" were there, too. Delaney made the main course, chipotle shrimp tacos, and the rest of us brought the extras. Of course, master grazer that I am, I was full by the time the tacos were even ready, but I persevered. I ate 2 tacos & they were totally worth it. Delaney is hands-down the best cook I know. And that's not even the best part, Delaney made us all individual caramel cheesecakes. Austin is one lucky man.

Aside from stuffing our faces, we mostly stayed home & did house stuff. We painted the guest room last weekend. This weekend, I painted the furniture while John did the baseboards & framed out the window that was mysteriously sans frame. We've become quite the weekend warriors. I've got some pics up on Flickr, but not all of them yet. We haven't moved the furniture back in, but as soon as we do, I'll take the official "after" pics & post them.

Full photostream here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16828091@N04/

TGIF? Yeah, right.

Yesterday was another hell day at work. Friday is the one day a week I have to get caught up & to get ready for the week ahead. I can't do this when my boss comes in. This is my 3rd Session with him & yesterday was the 3rd year we've had the "You can't come in on Fridays" argument. This is probably a good time to mention that my intern this year is 48 years old. It freaked me out at first, but now I'm realizing the benefits of this -he's had a job before & knows how to do basic things that most interns don't. The downside? He & my boss have become BFFs. Yesterday they sat around & talked about dogs, fishing, etc. while I sat at my desk fuming & trying to work. On the plus side, no one took a shit in my office yesterday.

Quick side note: Aunt B's attack on Stacey Campfield is cracking me up! If you've got time, read her other posts. She's hilarious.

Last night I had dinner with my friend Jaime, who's pregnant & due in about a week. We went to the Belle Meade Las Maracas. She picked me up in her new car, a silver 2005 Volvo sedan. I had to explain the significance of a silver Volvo to her as she hasn't read Twilight. Man, it's a nice car. It really gave me car fever. My car is a good car, but it's a 2 door & I would really rather it be a 4 door. Oh well, one day......

So today is Valentine's Day. Such a ridiculous holiday, but I am excited about what we're doing tonight. Me, John, Carolyn & David are going to Delaney & Austin's for "Grubfest". Delaney is making shrimp tacos & Carolyn & I are bringing the extras. Margaritas will be made, tacos consumed, games played, & then maybe the 5 Spot. I'm excited!

Happy Valentine's Day.

Shopping Spree In My Mind

Every month Real Simple does this thing where they ask someone what they would do if they suddenly came into $100. The answers are always interesting. I thought I'd do the same thing, but with more than $100 -because really, you can't buy anything with $100 anymore anyway. So let's say you get handed $500 of guilt-free money. What would you do with it? Here's my Tuesday at 4pm answer:

$250 iPod classic 120GB

$90 Wii Fit

$70 Relaxation Massage @ Escape Day Spa & Salon

$35 Two steaks

$20 Bottle of red wine

$20 Manicure @ Signature Nails

$15 Refining Maintenance Facial @ Streets Salon

Realistically, I'd either use it towards bills or buying something for the house, but it sure is nice to dream.....

An Apology

Dear Downtown Y,

I'm sorry. You're awesome. Please forgive me.

Sincerely,
The Blonde Mule

So I sucked it up & went to the Downtown Y this morning. I heard from an inside source there was free street parking if you could get one of the spots, so I did that & got out of paying $5 to park. The line is kind of blurred between what's TSU parking & what's Y parking. Luckily, I have a TSU parking pass, so I felt pretty safe parking illegally. Plus, it was 7 o'clock on a Sat morning, not really prime time for meter maids.

The facility is awesome. It's huge! It's 10x better than either the Green Hills or Maryland Farms Y. It's basically a huge 2 story room filled with cardio machines, free weights & weight machines. They had a million treadmills, stationary bikes & ellipticals. I can't imagine having to wait for a machine like you do at Green Hills. They also have a really nice spinning room, a cinema cardio room & a bunch of various group activity rooms. I don't really use locker rooms, but even their locker room was nice. If I were ever so inclined to take a public shower, this would be the place to do it.

On my way out, I talked to them about parking. There are 3 payment options: 1) $5/day, 2) $10/month that you pay yourself, or 3) $8/month automatically deducted from your checking account. Honestly, $8/month isn't that bad.... I'd be paying that much anyway without my state employee discount. Screw it, I'm going to do it. I just want to go one night this week after work & see what it's like during peak work-out time before I commit.

For any of you with Y memberships, I highly recommend checking it out, even if you have no intention of working out there on a regular basis. Just go see it. It really is that awesome. But remember, it's $5 to park if you can't get a free and/or meter spot on the street.

My iPod is Trying to Kill Itself

My 4 year old iPod, aka The iPod Lestat, is trying to kill himself. He keeps trying to die, but alas, I can't afford a new one, so I keep bringing him back to life. Well, I don't bring him back to life, John does. Fortunately for me, unfortunately for my iPod, John can fix anything. John was building elaborate lego creations before he could walk & was fixing his parents' stereo by the age of 3. No piece of electronics in our house stands a chance against him.

So after the last resuscitation, all my settings got screwed up & my iPod has sounded like crap for about a month now. Last night I asked John to please make it sound good again. He takes my iPod, goes out to my car & doesn't come back. I watch a show on HGTV, realize how long he's been gone & go out to the garage to check on him. He's just sitting in my car listening to music. In his defense, it did sound really good in my car.

John is, by trade, a mastering engineer. I dare say, one of Nashville's best. His ability to hear is borderline supernatural, which comes in handy when you need your iPod to sound good both in your car & in the gym. Not so much when you're feeling gassy & let one slip thinking, "He's downstairs, he couldn't have heard that." Oh, he not only heard it, he can tell you what key it was in.

The Downtown Y

Dear Downtown Y,

Suck it.

Best,
The Blonde Mule

When I lived in NYC I belonged to Bally Total Fitness. It was like $70/month. So when I moved back to Nashville & joined the Downtown Y, I had no problem paying $5/month to park because their (at the time) $30 "young adult" monthly membership fee was so much lower than what I was used to. Things change. I quit working out downtown & starting going to the Green Hills Y, where you park for free.

Fast forward to now. I'm no longer a "young adult" so I pay somewhere around $60 a month. I neither live nor work near the Green Hills Y anymore, so I thought about trying the refurbished Downtown Y since it's blocks from my office. I call today to ask about parking. I'm assuming since they built that big, new parking garage the $5/month parking fee has gone away. Not only has it not gone away, it's now $8/month to park. That's in addition to the $60/month membership fee.

I'm all about paying for convenience, but not in this case. I refuse to give the Y an additional $8 a month just to freaking park at their facility. A facility, mind you, that I'm already paying to use. I don't get it.

So it looks like I'm going to have to either suck it up & sit through Green Hills traffic or get fat. Thanks for nothing, Downtown Y.

Power Panties

I would like to take this time to thank everyone who commented today on the fact that I look like I've lost weight. I assure you I have not, I just know how to work a pair of spandex.

If any of you don't already own a pair of Spanx Power Panties, do yourself a favor & buy some. You can get them at Dillards for about $36 & they're worth every penny.

Now I'm going to go home & polish off the rest of those Super Bowl brownies....

Weekend Recap

Friday night I hit Green Hills Mall & Hill Center for awhile, then went home & ate dinner with John. I bought some of that mango salsa at Whole Foods & used it to make chicken quesadillas. They were pretty good.

I didn't do much on Saturday. I'm taking an online class this semester & have a weekly 3-5 page paper due every Tuesday. My past 2 Saturdays have been spent working on said paper. Oh, I also paid a visit to the Green Hills Y on Saturday. First time in awhile. I did 30 minutes on 1 of those weird glider machines (I have no idea what they're actually called) & then 30 minutes on the bike. I don't know what possessed me to work-out for 60 minutes, but my butt hurt from that stupid bike all weekend. Actually, it's still a little tender...

Saturday night we went to Las Maracas with our friends Aaron & Ashley, then went back home & watched SNL. What can I say, we live on the edge.

Sunday we did house stuff & I worked a little more on my paper. John got the mold off the wall in the guest room, so he spent all day yesterday spackling & sanding (of course) & then put a coat of KILZ primer on. I'm going to paint this weekend -hopefully walls & furniture, but we'll see. Definitely walls.

The SuperBowl..... we kind of watched it. I should preface this by saying that neither of us are sports fan. I half-ass watch it every year. I have no idea why. I know nothing about football, nor do I care to. But I did make brownies, which made the whole thing a lot more tolerable.

That's about it. Pretty uneventful weekend. I'll try to do something exciting tomorrow.