Aigre-Doux

Xanga :)

2009-10-04T23:39:00.001-07:00

you might want to visit me over here:

http://www.xanga.com/greenbird321

that's my real home, for now :)

Amusez-vous bien!

Spreading the Laughter Today :)

2009-09-22T13:07:00.001-07:00

I have 10 job applications to do online(in the bedroom), and a 'Law&Order:SVU' marathon to watch(in the living room). I need to make a horcrux. any willing victims?

LOL

anyway, this video(<--click) cracked me right the F up...talking with the peons on the UC Berkeley campus. kind of worrying, actually.

another useful set of videos can be found HERE, debunking the 'Story of Stuff' video that's been traversing the 'net. check it out, and educate yourself, rather than being indoctrinated.

I'm off to BS for a bit longer, then get dressed, eat something, and buckle down.

be sure to check out that second link!

Amusez-vous bien!

Things I Love :)

2009-09-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

pistachios

cauliflower w.lemon juice/basil/dill/kalamata olives

ahi tuna w. hot sake

On Tea:

2009-09-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

so, I'm rather obsessed with tea. mostly rooibos and white tea. I have 26 different varieties of loose tea in my kitchen, 15 of which are lined up on top of my microwave in silver-and-purple tins. I wish I had that new USB cord, so I could post a pic.

anyway, I tend to drink my tea with lots of Splenda; no milk, no lemon. and I can drink cup after cup, all day long. it's a 5-to-10 cup-a-day habit, probably the only good, healthy habit I have right now, haha!

today, I'm feeling a bit...listless...dreamy...disjointed and discombobulated. so, it's time for a list, where I don't have to think; just type. it's a rather long list, but here are my favorite teas(the aforementioned top-of-the-microwave teas):

Honeybush Vanilla: an herbal tea with marigold blossoms.
Formosa Nut Oolong: comprised of apples, pistachios, and almonds.
Haute Chocolate: an rooibos with cocoa nibs, ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon.
Zingiber Ginger Coconut: another rooibos, with coconut chips, ginger, cinnamon, apple, cardamom, black pepper, and almonds.
Earl Grey White Tea: one of my favorites; infused with bergamot oil, and sprinkled with blue cornflower petals.
Sweet Lily White Tea: with apples, lemongrass, green cardamom, roses, and marigolds.
Rooibos Toffee: with hazelnut/sugar brittle bits, white cocoa butter, and cocoa kernels.
Lavender Dreams: a white tea with lavender flowers and candied violets.
Silver Needle: a rather pricey white tea comprised of pure, high quality white tea buds.
Yin Yang Dragon: a rooibos flavored with candied pineapple, mango, and papaya; cocoa bits, pink and bruised pepper, sunflower, cornflower, and mallow flower blossoms, rosebuds, and cranberries.
Tranquil Dream: an herbal tea with chamomile, hibiscus, orange blossoms, lemongrass, mint, citrus peels, and rosehips.
ChocoNut Green Tea: with almonds, white chocolate bits, macadamia and pistachio nuts, and cocoa bits.
Swiss Vervaine Melange: an herbal tea with apple, carrot, orange peel, ginger bits, marshmallow leaves, peppermint, candied papaya, rosebuds, raisins, mallow blossoms, passion flower petals, and peach bits.
Sweet Oolong Revolution: with pumpkin pieces, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, candied papaya, nutmeg, and rose petals.
Emerald Bamboo Forest: a white tea with bamboo leaves, apple and carrot bits, raisins, beetroot, candied pineapple and papaya, and lemon peels.

sorry, for those of you who hate lists...but I love these teas. mixing and matching, enjoying a hot cup before bed, along with a honey-flax crisp or fig-and-walnut cracker...*sigh*

tomorrow, we're off to the in-laws', for J's mother's birthday. today, I relax, and then ride my bike to the mall to fill out any job applications I can get my hands on!

Amusez-vous bien!

Swamped

2009-09-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

there is SO much to be done today, so this might be a brief one...until later.

woke up, and have been busy catching up on the news...next up:

clean the dishes. turn the dishwasher on.
clean the kitchen counters.
scoop all 3 litterboxes.
take out the trash.
vacuum(again?! I just did that, 2 days ago!)
ride my bike out to Whole Foods for 'lunch'/Circle K for a cigar(I know, I know. I'm working on quitting!)

and somewhere in the midst of all of that, I need to do my hair and get dressed. argh. >.<

well, I'll have to come back later to update and whatnot.

//edit//

well, everything's done except for the vacuuming...decided against Whole Foods in favor of some grocery shopping at Fresh & Easy:

lemons
cauliflower
bean sprouts
light popcorn
Mrs. Dash
0cal vitamin water
ahi tuna

enjoyed some of that ahi tuna, topped with red onions, jalapenos, Bragg's, and wasabi, along with a salad comprised of bean sprouts, diced beets, red onions, sprouted mung beans, fresh dill, wasabi, lime juice, Bragg's, and rice vinegar, with some hot sake to wash it all down...

still have to head out and fill out a few job apps, once it cools down a bit...

Amusez-vous bien!

Zombies

2009-09-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

okay, so I finally managed to squeeze in that extra hour-and-a-half of sleep. I was awakened around 9am by a combination of landscapers mowing, kittens mewing, and the sun being a downright cantankerous b*stard. our bedroom window faces due east, so as soon as dawn breaks, all hell breaks loose. the temperature skyrockets, the light fills the room, and the blinds don't do a damn thing to stop all of that.

so, here are the rules for getting back to sleep in my apartment:

go to the bathroom. a full bladder does not a restful sleep make. sorry if that's TMI, but it's true.
FEED THE DAMN CATS. otherwise, be prepared for long, drawn-out yowls from Severus. because he's annoying like that.
climb up on top of J's computer desk, armed with heavy-duty duct tape and a fleecy, grey blanket. and tape that sucker over the window, being sure to cover both top corners, with a strip of tape loosely holding up the upper-middle portion.
after that, be sure that the floor fan is on 'high', and facing toward the bed, and check to make sure that the A/C is set firmly at 65 degrees.

it's around that time that I climb back into bed, turn on 'Spirited Away' on my laptop, and play a few games of Scrabble on my ipod, until I'm finally cold enough and sleepy enough that I can cuddle under the covers and sleep like a baby(who happens to be dreaming about zombies--see, I had a use for that title, after all!).

anyway, that kind of brings me to my next point: Scrabble.

I am a Scrabble genius. there's no room for debate there, and no point to telling me how hubristic I am. I.am.brilliant.

I downloaded the Scrabble app. for my ipod on...(runs to check itunes)...May 2, 2009. since then, I have played 1,081 games, and have won 91% of those(for those doing frantic math in their heads--likely, no one--that's 983 games won).

one of these days, I'm going to post an ad on Craigslist for a 'Scrabble Night' and actually respond to peoples' emails regarding the ad...yea, I kind of dropped the ball last time LOL.

on to politics: has anyone heard what former President Carter has been spouting? *shakes head*...here's the article:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/15/carter.obama/index.html

obviously Carter, like many people(black and white) of his generation, is not taking into account the myriad intelligent people(black and white) who do not support much of what President Obama is doing. I've said it before and I'll say it again: opposing the decisions of the president does not make you a racist.

but, Carter, like many people I know, comes from a generation where attitiudes toward black people was based largely upon race. it's different nowadays, but that generation cannot understand that, unfortunately.

anyway, time to straighten up the house, get spiffy, and eat something, maybe.

//edit//

Recipe Time!

so, the other day at the supermarket, I came across these adorable baby cauliflower(s?), and bought them on a whim.

tonight, I boiled them in some salt water for 4 minutes(until they were tender), and then transferred them to a saute pan, where I added some chopped red onions, fresh lime juice and lemon juice, minced garlic, fresh dill, fresh chopped salsa, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, dried basil, garlic pepper, powdered ginger, and a bit of cumin...fantastic!

Amusez-vous bien!

No Photos YET!

2009-09-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off writing a new entry until I could get my hands on a new USB cord for my camera, but that seems to be a-ways off--maybe on Thursday?

Anyway, this past weekend was tolerable. Nice, even. Friday night was comprised of wine and baba ghanouj at La Bocca, and $4.50(!) Jack-and-Diet-Cokes at Yucca Tap Room(whilst surrounded by indie scenester clones). on Saturday, we headed to Malee's Thai Bistro, in old town Scottsdale. the rule here is: order anything with curry, and you're set. unfortunately, I bypassed that rule and ordered a salad which was supposed to come with edamame and rice noodles, but instead was composed of largely wilted lettuce and slimy 'grilled chicken'. disgusting. sent it back, and opted for some (extremely bland) mussels and a side of steamed veggies(which happened to be the best 'dish' I ordered, once I added some of the curry from J's duck dish).

and, on Sunday, we dropped our laundry off at J's parents' house and saw '9', which turned out to be pretty darn good, if a teensy bit anticlimactic.

yesterday was a day of progress. we cleaned the house together--dishes, kitchen, bathroom, vacuuming, all 3 litterboxes, garbage--and then went out and bought my bike(a totally fantastic slate-silver Raleigh hybrid--pictures soon!) and dropped off several job applications(crossing my fingers for a kennel tech position at the local veterinary hospital!).

ah, well...my bike and I are off to Whole Foods for lunch, and Starbucks for my tall-decaf-no whip-cinnamon dulce-iced-Americano!

oh, and to keep the interest up until I can post recent photos, here are my little loves:

Sushi Princess Izzy Marley

Severus Albus Leela

Amusez-vous bien!

Testing, Testing?

2009-09-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

it's been quite a morning, so I'm just going to dive right in, here. I got caught in the endless web that is Wikipedia, around 4am, and ended up reading about disasters and atrocities(my pet favorite topics) until 5. of course, I knew I should have headed to bed earlier--I had an appointment with my therapist set for 10am. oops. anyway, awoke with a start at 10:30, called Dr. D and left an apologetic voicemail(on behalf of J, who turned the alarm off in the first place), and took a moment to mourn the loss of $75(Dr. D's cancellation fee).

next up: the issue of the jealous moderator. for the past year or so, I've frequented a website fixated upon gossiping about the weight and fashion of celebrities. my snarky comments and witticisms have drawn contempt from those with weak constitutions, and many appreciative laughs from other, more mature visitors to the site. the moderator, R, is a woman who runs several websites, including a blog and a forum, all with the express purpose of stroking her ego. it's a bit sad, actually. anyway, today she informed me that she was hearing some whines about my 'negativity', and that some people had even gone so far as to threaten to boycott her site. ah, the lengths to which people will go to try and absolve themselves of some perceived wrong(in her case: "whaaah, I didn't know a site based around gossip would turn out to actually BE about gossip, and now I feel bad!") *sigh*

so, here I am, my wit and acerbity unfettered by envy and the sad peons who cannot appreciate a wealth of intellect and humor :)

not quite sure what this blog will ultimately be comprised of...mostly a goulash of food, politics, literature, mainstream media, celebrity fashion/persona critiquing, and (narcissist that I am), myriad candids of my daily life with my husband, J, and our seven(yes, seven!) cats.

Amusez-vous Bien!