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the Dachshund's Sweatpants
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[17 Apr 2009|06:31pm] |
"Occasional prolonged and irregular hours. Frequent standing, stooping, bending, kneeling, pushing and pulling. Occasional ifting (sic) up to 50
pounds. Prolonged use of computer and repetitive hand motions."
This is my job description.
I wonder what the 'repetitive hand motions' refers to, and if I can somehow twist that to support occasionally having a frenetic session of flipping people off?
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| Easy and FANTASTIC Fettucine Alfredo |
[02 Apr 2009|06:35pm] |
Stuff:
3 tbs. real butter
1 c. whipping cream, half-and-half, or milk*
1/2 c. any combination of shredded fresh asiago, romano, or parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of nutmeg
black pepper and salt to taste (don't add salt if you use the asiago--it's salty already!)
1 egg yolk
3 servings or so of cooked fettucine
Optional stuff:
2 tbs. cream cheese, if you like your sauce thicker
2 chicken breasts, diced and sauteed
2 portabello mushrooms, diced and sauteed
handful of steamed broccoli
MORE cheese to top with
maybe fresh basil as a garnish? I wonder how that would taste. We don't have any, though, so I am not sure.
Activities:
1. Melt butter over medium heat in saucespan, add garlic while butter is melting.
2. Add cream, stirring constantly. (You've got to stir this sauce constantly** throughout the recipe or it will scorch.)
3. Add parmesan, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir 'til parmesan melts. You would add the cream cheese at this stage if you decided to use it.
4. Scoop out about a ladleful of sauce into a small bowl, and whisk in egg yolk, then whisk egg mixture into pan of sauce. (This is so the egg doesn't cook into little scramble-bits.)
5. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and is as thick as you like.
6. Serve over fettucine with extras, if you so desire. (It will look like you don't have much sauce, but this is very rich so you prob'ly won't want to smother your pasta in it.)
*The recipe calls for whipping cream, but any milk product will thicken if you cook it long enough, so if you don't have any cream on hand, I imagine any kind of milk would work. You could add some cornstarch or a little bit of flour at the end if it won't thicken properly.
**This may seem, you know, NOT easy, but it is really just a tiny bit tedious, but it only takes about three minutes to cook, so is not too tiresome.
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| Pumpkin Roll Recipe |
[21 Mar 2009|03:45pm] |
Pumpkin-y foods are only around in the fall, it seems. This is unfair. We gotta fight the power, yo.
Pumpkin Roll
3 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 can pumpkin (about 2/3 cup)
1. Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla for five minutes. (This is important because you need to whip a lot of air into the batter since it's technically a sponge cake.)
2. Mix dry ingredients with a fork, then mix into egg mixture.
3. Add pumpkin.
4. Line a cookie sheet that has side edges with parchment paper. Spray with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly over parchment paper. (I suppose this will work with a non-stick cookie sheet and no parchment but I haven't tried it personally.)
5. Bake at 375 for 13-15 min.
6. Sprinkle top of baked roll with powdered sugar while on cookie sheet; cover with a clean dishtowel.
7. Flip over so roll is atop dishtowel.
8. Roll in dishtowel while hot and let cool. (This will help it cool in the roll shape. If you wait to roll it when it is cool, it will crack.)
9. Add frosting and some toffee chips* when cool; roll and refrigerate til ready to eat.
Frosting:
1 package cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1. Soften cream cheese and butter on counter.
2. Whip everything with mixer.
*I used Heath Bits O' Brickle toffee chips which I found at Walmart, but which Kroger and SuperTarget did not have. I've tried using the chocolate covered regular Heath bits but it just doesn't taste as good. Yeah, I made this a bunch at Christmas-time.
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[21 Mar 2009|03:43pm] |
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For my Friends Who Wear Shoes: double points this week at DSW, plus a HUGE assortment of really cute Born sandals, which are like walking on a cloud of marshmallow fluff, only not so sticky.
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| Do you be still struggling with academic work while you are working? |
[06 Mar 2009|05:06pm] |
This is funny:
Do For Me
"Do for me" is the freelance writing service assist customers to develop their assignments, research papers, thesis and dissertation to meet their needs. We know that you be still struggling with academic work while you are working. We are always here to help you out. we offer our services to college students, undergraduates and post graduates world wide. No matter the level of work but we will prove you the quality of work with the experienced and qualified writing panel.
It's especially clever that they use that Engrish-style syntax so the professor doesn't get suspicious about the higher-than-usual quality of the paper. At least... one would hope that they are doing that on purpose. Otherwise it's just plain sad.
Actually I think it's pretty sad anyway, but as a teacher I do tend to be a little biased in the direction of learning, so perhaps I am not a good source of information in this case.
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[24 Feb 2009|04:11pm] |
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I am thinking of buying a used bike on Craigslist... does anyone have any advice for what to look for? There are a couple listed that say "Women's Schwinn" that look good, but I have not had a bike since about 1983 so am not sure what height or size or features I need. I guess I am pretty tall (5'7) and have a large frame, so should I get a men's bike, or what?
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[21 Feb 2009|09:14pm] |
Party ideas:
1. Make-your-own-Adirondack-Chair Party.
2. Make-your-own-Panini Party.
Wonder which one would be more popular?
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[19 Feb 2009|07:03pm] |
WHAT A FUCKING BRILLIANT IDEA!! WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS? (Though I would've come up with a MUCH better name, surely.)
Yummie Tummie--it's a long tank top with a normal top and bottom and a slimming panel around the middle.
I have one of those Spanx tank tops but it is too short and rolls up when I sit down and drives me crazy. So, I think I need to order one of these as soon as I get paid.
Yeah, I think if it was MY idea I'd have called it "Waist Away!" or "Portly Panel" or "Droll Roll" or somesuch.
Yup. Those are awesome names.
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[15 Feb 2009|09:27pm] |
I have discovered some amazing things about myself in the past few weeks. I can use the drill. I can sand things. I can use a crowbar. (That is FUN, by the way.) I can touch gross stuff. I can clean filth that isn't related to me.
Those seem pretty dumb, if you think about it. C'mon, who CAN'T rub a piece of sandpaper over some wood? I think the real issue before was getting dirty. I have never been one for being dirty. But I have discovered that if you are planning to get dirty, it's not so bad and actually kind of freeing. (Did you drip some lunch on your shirt? No problem! It's covered with bleach and paint anyways. Need to sit in a pile of sawdust? No big deal. It will go quite well with the bits of insulation clinging to the seat of your jeans.) And the shower afterwards is HEAVENLY. I EARNED that shower. I can feel an appreciable difference afterwards.
I must admit, these few weeks haven't been the best weeks of my life. Bill and I have been very sad about Astrid, and learning to adjust to life without her has been hard. We had a little funeral for her, and buried her in our new back yard, and I am working on a shadow box to commemorate her, and I'm feeling a little better. I still miss her greatly, but I haven't burst into uncontrollable sobs in a week or so. Bill's first couple of days home were hard, since he was gone throughout the whole ordeal, but he seems to be doing better as well. Maybe this summer we will be ready for a new dog, possibly from the Dachshund or Corgi Rescue. No dog will ever be the same as the Puppybuns, but it will feel nice to have a little creature to love nonetheless.
I think what really helped me was all that work waiting to be done at the new house. Sanding and cleaning are mindless, but they somehow occupy most of your brain. When you're upset, it's very satisfying to see that you can turn a scratched cabinet or a stinky disgusting room into something pretty and livable. And I've gotten to hang out with my Dad a lot more. I've always thought my Dad was pretty cool, but doing a bunch of work together is a good way to bond.
I also think that being able to participate in the remodeling of the house--even in the small ways that I am--is going to make it an even better house for us. It would never have occurred to me to neglect a house in the way that Nasty William* did, but now I think I have an even better appreciation of how much work goes into making and keeping a house nice.
*Nasty** William is our house's previous owner. I used to think he had become disabled and died, but it turns out the house just got too dirty and he moved away.
**Not 'nasty' in the good way. Just nasty. Like never-clean-your-toilet nasty. Also lazy. Like stick-an-aquarium-above-your-kitchen-ceiling lazy. Yup. This is something Nasty William did instead of fixing a leak in the roof. He simply installed an empty aquarium in the attic to catch the water.
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[13 Feb 2009|05:22pm] |
BAGELS!!! Chewy warm raisin-y ones that are so soft and good that you don't even NEED cream cheese.
How on Earth did I forget about bagels?
I wonder if Bagelstein's is still there...
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| Tribute to Astrid |
[05 Feb 2009|11:02am] |
This morning the vet told me that Astrid had developed a condition called myelomacia. Her spinal cord was dying, she couldn't move her front legs, and she was in horrible pain. Eventually the pressure from her spine would suffocate her. There was no way to cure it and very, very, very little hope that it would get better. So Bill and I decided that we needed to have her put to sleep to spare her that pain.
I got to hold her and tell her I loved her before she went. My Dad came with me so I didn't have to do it alone, and that helped me a lot. Unfortunately, Bill is out of town until Sunday, and he and I decided that we couldn't let her suffer that long, so he didn't get to say goodbye.
Bill and I loved that little creature so much. I will miss her every day and never forget her. She was sweet, intelligent, well-behaved, beautiful, loving, and lovable. She always sensed when one of us was upset or in pain and did her best to comfort us.
Goodbye, Astrid. I love you.
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| the Puppybundle |
[03 Feb 2009|05:44pm] |
I just saw Astrid again and she snuggled with me lots more. She still seemed a little non-Astrid-like but I felt so much better about it today. Maybe the fact that I have visited two days in a row is helping her know she has not been abandoned, or maybe she is feeling better generally. They took her away before I could call Bill (I have decided that she will heal better if she can at least hear his voice on the phone, which may be stupid but I don't care), but altogether she seemed much more relaxed. She also ate some dinner right after they took her back. (Apparently they had not been saying, "Are you a hungry pup? Do you want some puppy supper?" I suggested that today and it worked! Though it is a bit embarrassing to let strangers in on your silly dog talk. I did not tell them that if she gets cold, they have to ask her if she is a pup-sicle. That would be just plain silly.)
The wonderful vet, who was a lady-vet about my age,* sat very patiently and answered all of my neurotic questions, said that as soon as I learn to help her go to the bathroom, she can come home. She predicted Thursday (which is good because I have inservice that day and can leave early if necessary). But I am not very good at finding her bladder yet, so I have to come in and practice tomorrow.
I am again so grateful to have so many supportive friends and family giving me encouragement. It has made all the difference. Guess what? I love you!
Unrelated: Student Teacher Randy has opened up a little and is doing a great job, which is helping to ease my anxiety about letting him teach the Children. Today he made two sarcastic rejoinders in a row to seventh period and one kid said, "Uh oh, he's been Floydenized!" This made me smile--both for the made-up word and the sarcasm. Spreading sarcasm throughout the world is heartwarming, you know?
*Somehow talking to a female person who is my age makes any experience, but particularly an experience in which I have to discuss my feelings and might cry, so much easier.
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| Astrid Update |
[02 Feb 2009|08:39pm] |
Astrid still has no feeling in her back legs, and though the doctor has said they usually wait up to a week to be sure there is none, I'm getting to be OK with the idea that she may be unable to walk unassisted. I've done lots of research and I think that once we adjust, it will not be much more trouble than having to take her out to go the the bathroom is. I've found some plans online for building a little cart so she can take walks and get exercise, and hopefully my Dad will be willing to fix one up for her.
I'm a little sad, though, because I saw her for the first time tonight. We had thirty minutes to spend in a little room. I was hoping that she would see me and realize that I haven't abandoned her and that a little love would be all she needed to feel better and start eating again. But... well, she let me hold her, and was kind of alternately aloof and a little bit snuggly, but nowhere near as affectionate as she usually is when we haven't seen each other for a while. Hell, sometimes I can leave the house for ten minutes and she acts as if I have been gone for two years! I talked to her the whole time, even though I know she doesn't understand me, just because I think somehow she can sense that I am saying positive things to her. The vet said she won't eat, so I brought some of her favorite treats, but she refused to eat them. I just want to bring her home so she can relax and be in a familiar place. It seems like that would help her, you know? She doesn't understand that I have not left her forever, and that I had to leave her there so she could get better.
She just didn't act like I expected her to. I hope it is just that she has had a traumatic experience and needs some time to adjust. I have been trying very hard not to blame myself for allowing this to happen to her, but if she hates me forever I don't think I can take it.
I found a group online for dachshund owners whose dogs have had the spine surgery, Dodger's List, and posted there as well. I'm hoping that someone will have some encouraging words. I thought I was doing OK with this but now I am worried again. All the waiting is getting to me, I guess.
She was originally scheduled to come home Wednesday. I hope they will let her come home regardless of whether she can pee by herself or not; I can handle that if it will make her feel better. I really do think that she will be happier at home and that will help her to recover better. Maybe that's just me and a bunch of hippie claptrap, but there's got to be something to the psychological element of getting better.
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[01 Feb 2009|10:17am] |
Astrid Update (I will get an update every morning from the hospital, and I am worrying about this to no end, so sorry, I have to write about it): the vet called and said "she is doing [pause] OK. She still has no deep pain sensation in her back legs, but sometimes with very severe spine compression like she had, it takes a few days for that to come back. (Oh, I hope that is true and not just some hopeful line of bullshit.) She ate some boiled chicken this morning and is very sweet. Every time a vet tech comes by she comes to the front of the cage and licks their hands and asks to get petted. Please know we are making her comfortable and we will call again tomorrow morning to give you an update."
I interpreted this as hopeful, but then worried that it might be like when I have to call a kid's parent and tell them that their kid is going to fail, and I say something like, "Your child really has excellent shiny hair and has retained all his teeth, which is great! However, he has a 24 in History. Here is all the summer school information." (You are always supposed to say something nice first to soften the blow of the bad news, you see. I hope that doctor wasn't doing that. Though I am pretty sure she was.)
I'm glad she (Astrid, not the doctor) is still her affectionate self, though. It means her personality hasn't been affected, and that's my favorite thing about her. I can't wait until I can go see her tomorrow and administer some Mommy-love. I hope they are giving her plenty of stranger-love in the meantime. Though that is not as good.
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[31 Jan 2009|07:19pm] |
Astrid made it through surgery. The doctor said he was able to clean up all the spinal fluid and the outside of her spine looked okay, but he was careful to say he didn't know about the inside and that we will not know if she is going to be able to walk again for a few days at least. I will be able to go in and see her on Monday. I hope that she is warm and comfortable and not too confused about why I have left her with strangers when she is in pain.
I have read some encouraging stories about other dogs who had similar problems on some dachshund forums, which is helping a little bit. But I am trying to be prepared for the worst. I may have a handicapped dog. And she will still be a wonderful, lovable little creature, and I will be so grateful to still have her around. But I would rather she be healthy and happy and able to walk if that is possible
Thank you so much for all the kind words and thoughts. I may be overreacting a little... but she is my little creature. It's my job to keep her safe and love her. I always knew I loved her a whole lot, but seeing her hurt like this has really made it much stronger.
I just wish I could quit listening for her little tags jingling on her collar. Also I wish Bill was here. I am sure he would be if he could... he loves Astrid just as much as I do. It is probably much harder on him since he is far away.
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[31 Jan 2009|11:51am] |
I took Astrid back to the vet this morning because she was dragging both feet, and it turns out she has ruptured a disc in her back. She is in surgery as we speak, with a 65% chance of recovery. Any kind of doggie thoughts or prayers you can send into the universe will be appreciated. We won't know if she'll be able to walk again for a few days, and she will be in the hospital for at least five days. I don't know how I can concentrate on anything until I find out if she will be OK. All of her toys and bowls and little puppy nests are around the apartment making me cry. It seems like going somewhere else and finding something to do is the best plan. I am supposed to go work on the new house but I have imagined her running and playing in the yard so many times already that it may not help.
I love that little creature SO MUCH. If she doesn't get better I don't know what I will do. My parents and brother have been very nice and supportive, and my parents came to sit with me at the hospital, but Bill is out of town until next Sunday, and I am still incredibly, incredibly sad and very angry with myself for not noticing she was not getting better yesterday evening. I was trying to keep her still so didn't really see how she was walking or not walking, and she was crying some during the night, but I called the emergency vet people and they said to bring her in today, so I thought surely she would be OK until morning. I feel like a very, very bad mother.
I'm not a praying person, but at times like this I wish I was. I guess it just doesn't work that way, though. I would give anything just for her to be OK. I love my puppybuns. :(
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| Bad News/Good News |
[30 Jan 2009|05:18pm] |
It's been a +/- kind of day.
-: Every morning, Astrid becomes personally affronted as multitudes of people cross in front of her sight line on their ways to work. How dare they walk on her sidewalk? And so she must bark, and bark, and bark. She likes to get on top of the blue chair, look out the window, and bark.
Today she was barking, and I was in the middle of getting dressed, and then I heard a yelp and a thud. And then that heart-rending high-pitched squeal of pain. She limped into the bedroom and went far, far under the bed, crying the whole way.
I finally got her out from under the bed and ascertained that her back paw was hurt somehow. She would walk on it, but was holding it funny. She whimpered and whimpered, and I couldn't just go to work and leave her crying. So I bundled her up, put her in the car, and drove to work to deal with finding someone to cover my classes and tutoring.
Some people were not very nice. No one would cover my tutoring, so I just had the Student Teacher do it. Then I burst into tears in the office, which was stupid, because she is a DOG. But she is my child-substitute dog, and we have not had a puppy emergency since the T-shirt Incident of 2003. The front office receptionists were very, very nice and said to go on and they would take care of everything. Then Barbara Eberhardt, who is a dog trainer, told me about when her dog had a hurt leg and how he healed up just fine and it made me feel much better.
I finally got her to our wonderful vet, who was very gentle and kind with her as always. Nothing is broken, but she seems to have sprained her back leg. He gave me some pain medicine for her to administer every 12 hours and told me to try to keep her still.
She is just so sad. She can't jump on the couch or squat down to pee. I've made her a little nest of pillows and blankets in every room so she can be comfortable without having to jump up, but she wants to be in her favorite spots and to follow me around as usual. She tried to play with her reindeer a few minutes ago and she was so frustrated that she couldn't run after it. I guess the fact that she wants to play still is encouraging, but I am just upset that I can't fix her. And she insists on walking around the house, dragging her little foot and whimpering a little, and it just makes me want to cry.
I know she is just an animal but she is MY animal and I can't stand for her to be in pain.
+: I had one of those idiotic epiphanies today, one of those where you can't believe that you never thought of that before, and you are seriously considering having yourself tested for neural degeneration or something. I realized that I CAN DUST MY HOUSE WITH MY DUSTBUSTER.
Duh, Carrie. Why did I think they named it that instead of 'Diminu-vac' or something?
I have just always thought of vacuums as being for carpet.
I Dustbustered everything in the house just now. It was so much easier than cleaning the dust off the vents with a towel, or wiping the baseboards with a sponge (which always makes a kind of weird mud). And I didn't get dust all over me.
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[28 Jan 2009|12:53pm] |
IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT: it seems like I have finally stopped feeling competitive with people* from high school!!
And it only took me 15 years.
I couldn't have done it without Super Acai Berry and Ultra Colon Cleanse, you know. :)
UNRELATED: snow day! (More like drip day at this point, but hey, why look a gift horse in the mouth?)
*Facebook, naturally.
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| I HAVE A DOPPELGANGER. |
[17 Jan 2009|08:38am] |
Today I got the SIXTH Facebook friend request from someone asking if I am Carrie Floyd from Hanover.
I. Profile says 'Austin College' and 'UNT,' not 'Hanover.' C'mon people-from-Hanover (which sounds like a fancy private liberal arts college, so surely these people are well-educated), read!
II. I have like, a million profile pics and they all pretty clearly show my face. Does this Carrie Floyd from Hanover look exactly like me?
IF SO....
I THINK I MAY HAVE LIVED SOME REAL-LIFE VERSION OF THE PARENT TRAP!!!!!
Bye. Gotta call Hayley Mills.
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| Ode to Kashi |
[16 Jan 2009|06:13pm] |
You should try these Kashi Hot Pocket-like things. I have eaten one for lunch every day this week. They are delicious (and they don't even have CHEESE in them! That's some strong magic), and they are relatively healthy, I think, and they have actual vegetables in them.
I am just generally impressed with Kashi things in general. They've got a generally yummy array of all kinds of things, which makes me happy. In the past I have not been so into frozen foods, because they are either gross or taste OK but can only be purchased at Whole Foods, but these, I think, are fantastic for being frozen and healthy-but-not-diet.
UNRELATED: Bill and I got a house! (And this time I waited until we signed the contracts to tell you, Journal Dear, so it is pretty mostly definite, though we don't get the keys until next Friday.) It is in Central Plano, near Parker and Alma, and we bought it from the 'We Buy Ugly Houses' people, so it was a good deal but is in bad shape, but it has great potential. Actually the fact that is needs so many repairs may be a good thing, because my Dad will repair things the right way, and then we'll know that we have a very sound house. My favorite aspects of it are the kitchen, which is kind of hexagonal, and the cathedral ceiling in the living room. The one weird thing about it is that the back door leads into the master bedroom, but it has so many other nice features that I think I can get over that.
I have made up a story about the person who used to live there, whom I have decided was a 700-pound recluse who sat at home reading the International Journal of Philosophy and playing with his cat. But then he died, and his cat was unhappy so the cat peed everywhere and spread paper shreds all around the house, though strangely he left the stacks and stacks of philosophy journals intact. This may be patently untrue but I needed SOME explanation for why the house is so disgustingly dirty inside. You would not believe how gross it is. Actually in our house search of mostly foreclosed homes I have seen many, many messes that have made me feel much, much better about the generally dusty-but-not-soaked-in-animal-urine-or-buried-under-old-trash-and-food state of our apartment.
I am very excited, and eager to get over there and start cleaning. I don't like cleaning up other people's messes, but somehow the fact that it will be OUR freshly disinfected-and-cleaned-and-repaired house makes it sound... not really fun, exactly, but like something that will feel good and be very rewarding.
Also I think I might even learn to use the drill. That is SERIOUS.
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bollix's journal