wedding
Recognition and a foggy morning
Last night, I was watching American Idol with Kiddo. Yes, I know it's a crappy show but it's fun to watch it. Auditions here, auditions there, and hey, wait a second, I know her! Having worked in a lot of places and met a lot of people, I've always thought that it couldn't be too much longer before I saw someone I knew on TV.
Lindsey is a girl I met in Crested Butte. She was a ski instructor there. Cool gig. Anyway, she really does have a good voice but unfortunately wasn't able to present herself to the best of her abilities. I'm pretty sure she was nervous and you could hear it in her voice. I've heard her perform live and she's awesome so screw you Simon, Paula and Randy! At least she has a cool job in the Air Force flying C-130s.
On to this morning where the National Weather Service issued a dense fog warning for the area. This must have been the reason that at 6 this morning when I let the dog out, I thought that something had to be on fire. Thick is an understatement. It does, however, make for some cool pictures.
Have a wonderful Thursday all!
A yummy treat
Okay, I guess pasta salad isn't a treat per se, but it is yummy nonetheless. Here is today's concoction:
1 cup of farfalle (bowtie) pasta – use more or less to your liking
One package of Green Giant Weight Management veggies
One package of Oscar Meyer/Louis Rich chicken chunks
3.5 huge glopping spoonfuls of Miracle Whip Light (to taste)
That's it. Throw the veggies in the nuker for 2 minutes (if you like crisper veggies, more time if you like them mushy). When they're done, put them in a colander and let the gunk start to drain off of them. Boil up your pasta to the firmness you like it (I suggest al dente since it's going in a salad that might sit in the fridge a couple days.) and when it's done, throw that in the colander OVER the veggies to finish washing the gunk off of them. Give them a cold water rinse and stick it all in a bowl. Add whatever flavor chicken chunks you want. Add Miracle Whip (I guess you can use mayo but it won't be as healthy) and stir it all up. I personally like a dash of seasoning salt and a nice helping of garlic powder in mine, but as Digital Underground said, do what ya like. Chill. Eat. Enjoy. Let's say this makes 4 servings.
Now, since I don't have a science lab in my kitchen, I can only guesstimate at the fat and calorie factor here. These are my guesses:
One serving (meaning one quarter of what I made up there) contains APPROXIMATELY: 198 calories, 6.5 grams of fat, 21 grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein.
If I'm anywhere even close to right, this is less calories, fat and carbs than a cheeseburger from Mickey D's with the same amount of protein and no frying! And who only gets a cheeseburger when they go to Mickey D's?!?!? If I remember, I'll take a picture of it when I get home. I already ate today's portion. 🙂
2008: Almost 1/12th over already
Yeah, how about that number? Certainly not as bad as: 34, life's approaching half over. A little dark this morning? Yes. But dark with a smile. 🙂
So seeing as how we're almost done with this first month already, I thought that I would revisit my 2008 goals and see how I'm doing.
- Learn to speak Spanish – Right. I've really been slacking on this one although there is more Spanish being spoken in the house recently.
- Attain the body that I want to have – I had it for a few days. Nothing like a vacation in which you LOSE weight while still eating like a piggy. Now I'm all fat and bloated again and I really have to start working out. Thank you, Cosmo, and magazines in the same line for making me think that I need to be thinner than I am. Screw you anyways.
- Figure out what I want to be when I grow up – CHALLENGE COMPLETED! I really don't know why it even took me so long to realize this one. I've always had a morbid fascination with crime, crime scene, and investigations, hence my love of stuff like Law and Order, CourtTV (now trutv), Dr G: Medical Examiner, and a host of Patricia Cornwell books. Why not put it to use? Shooting to be some sort of CSI.
- Get back to school – CHALLENGE COMPLETED! I am officially enrolled in an online university and should begin my classes in early February if all goes through with the financial aid. I will be first completing my Associates in Business Administration (there ya go boss lady, good enough for ya?) and following that with my Bachelors in Criminal Justice. Go me! I'm excited about this.
- A year and a day – The time in February has not come yet. Excused.
- Work from home – I'm still driving into the office. It's still driving me crazy.
- Write more – BAD Shyner. I haven't written much of anything although things keep popping into my head, mostly in dreams. That formula for love is just out of my grasp. Maybe I can drink it into reach. HA!
Okay, so 2 down, 4 in progress and one not started. Not to terribly bad but nothing great either. Must. Try. Harder. And I will. Happy Tuesday folks.
Dr. Stephen's In
Last night, Lovey and I attended the South Beach Comedy Festival to see Stephen Lynch. I've wanted to see him live ever since I was introduced to his special brand of comedy probably 5 or so years ago. I'm sure he's not for everyone, but I loved him to death. He's cute in his own sorta way, down with the brown, and probably partakes a bit because where else would he come up with this stuff? We had seats in the very front row, center stage. At first, Lovey was a bit miffed about that as he thought we'd get singled out but that's not the way Stephen's show goes.
As per the norm in Miami, the show didn't start on time because no one here can seem to get ANYWHERE on time. It was slated to start at 8 but I'm sure it was at least 20 after by the time they got it going. It was well worth the wait. I was happy to sing along with the songs that I knew. The rest of the time was spent trying to catch my breath from laughing so ridiculously hard.
I can't, of course, remember the entire set as it went on for a good 90 minutes, but I wanted to share some of what I felt were the highlights of the show (with links where possible).
The show opened with a tune I hadn't previously heard. He dedicated it to the recent story in the news regarding Mr. Bounty Hunter, first name: Dog The. If you just saw the title, Vanilla Ice Cream, you'd never guess where this song was going, but since you've got that link, you can see exactly where it's going. Quite possibly the best line ever: "If you're a cracker, you'd better get blacker." Already, you may see why I love this guy.
He debuted several songs so I've no links for them but don't worry, they were also highly amusing. One was a running bit with diary entries (Anne Frank, Christopher Reeve, a couple others – un-PC and hilarious). Dr. Stephen has always been one of my favorites but a new ditty has taken the number one spot. Be warned that this may piss you off. I'm going to paraphrase him and say that if you're easily offended…get the fuck out.
This song, Craig, is the little known story of Joseph and Mary's other son and the perils of growing up in the shadows of the big JC. I may have hyperventilated a little during this one.
Stephen also had two of his friends do some songs with him, David Josefsberg and unfortunately I don't remember the other guy's name but they kept calling him Jeff Daniels due to the similarities. At any rate, if you have the time and the Google skills, I'm sure you'd be able to find him too. If you don't know what a Dirty Sanchez is, they'll explain it to you in song.
I must say that overall, the show was fantastic. It was more than I was expecting and more than I ever could have asked for, minus maybe a trip backstage. If you have the opportunity and a demented sense of humor, I say go see Stephen, buy and/or download his stuff. Shyne – out.