Burrowing

My cats have been into burrowing under our covers lately. This morning, they kept pawing the covers back and ducking into the sheets over and over and over again. It's driving me a little crazy because our sheets are getting so hairy, I swear I'm breathing and eating hair throughout the night. I wish I could turn my lungs inside out and lint brush them. Rimsky likes to burrow in laundry too. Right now, he looks like this:














But a couple weeks ago, he looked like this:














And just to be fair to Coco, here's a picture of him (licking Rimsky's ears vigorously):

Fish

I like fish, but I don't know a lot about it. Culinary-wise. I realized this week, that snapper and tilapia are as different as tuna and salmon. Who'd have guessed? I thought all the freshwater white fish tasted all the same. Now I'm curious about roughy, pike, trout, and bass. What about minnows?

So I know you're dying to know, so I'll tell you the difference between snapper and tilapia. Snapper is substantial. It's almost chewy, and the texture is smooth and heavy. It flakes, but in very large chunks. And it smells very fishy. Even after it's cooked, it kind of tastes raw like sushi. Tilapia is light, almost odorless, and flakes in small pieces. It's tasty, but doesn't taste strong like tuna, for instance. I like tilapia way better. You know a good way to cook it? Put a fillet in parchment paper along with some thin thin slices of potato, garlic, red onion, lemon slices, salt, and pepper and then fold the edges together so that the steam will be sealed in. Then stick in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes, and you'll have a delicious steamed fish meal. Another good way to cook it is to make a mixture of sour cream, garlic, and a bunch of fresh dill and smear it on the fish. Cook it in a 350 oven uncovered for about 10 minutes. Yum.

New store

I just went into Manny's Dollar, a new little dollar store that opened up pretty much across the street from our house. (It's even closer than the May Day! If that's possible) I bought a bandana with the Virgen de Guadalupe on it. There were all kinds of wonderful tacky plastic figurines, and they even have bras and underwear! I have a feeling that this store is going to come in handy one day. But someone is going to have to teach me some basic spanish because the lady doesn't speak english.

Weekend Away

It was lovely to be in Iowa this weekend. It was good to see the in-laws (yes, they are not monsters) and some friends I hadn't seen in a long time (and some of their girlfriends whom I hadn't seen ever). It was rainy and chilly (relatively) most of the weekend which was kind of sucky, but it was a spring rainy and chilly, which is quite different from a fall or winter rainy and chilly. (I am the best writer-- ever!)

Full Moon

Today I had the slipperiest fingers- ever. I dropped:

trays
plastic containers
dishes (and smashed one)
towels
measuring cups
croissant dough

What is wrong with me? Margot and Molly say that since it's not premenstrual, it must be the full moon. "It moves oceans! Why not Joanne's fingers?"

Basic Instinct

I saw Basic Instinct today. Boy that is some racy stuff! I thought seeing it 10 years after it was made would make it tamer somehow, especially having heard so much about it. But it is super juicy. Is Sharon Stone hot or what? (How's that Dave, for a shallow, content-less, horned up review?)

I went to a baseball game with Jonner tonight. Twins won, as they usually do when we go see them. It was pretty hard smelling all that beer and the sweet sweet smell of hotdogs and not being able to have them. I watched as one guy in front of me steadily ingested a couple hotdogs and an ice cream cone. Mmmm.

cleanse

So on a whim (and subconsciously influenced by some of my coworkers), I started a two week internal cleanse. I'm using a little boxed kit that came with fiber pills and other stuff that's supposed to clean my system of toxins. I am also supposed to cut back on certain foods, which I'm taking rather seriously just as a test for myself. I've decided that for the next two weeks, I am cutting out alcohol and caffeine altogether, and cutting back significantly on sugar, dairy, and meat.

Cutting back on sugar and dairy is the hardest part. Especially sugar. Boy is that hard.

Issues

I should remember that if I'm ever at a loss for something to write, I should just go out and inflict useless pain on my poor body. I went jogging around Powderhorn lake this morning because my coworker Margot inspired me. I am not a runner and never will be, but I'm also too cheap to join the Y, and running is about the cheapest exercise there is.

Here were my problems during the rich 10 minutes I spent around the lake (bullet points here we come!):

• I couldn't find a good rhythm, so I stumbled along at varying rhythms the whole time.
• I had my ipod, but couldn't find any songs that had the right beat. Someone help!
  
• I dropped my keys and stopped to pick them up, which completely destroyed any inertia I had built up.
• My lungs felt like someone stabbing knives into it. Really. It was worse than when my lung collapsed.
• It was really f-ing windy and my ears hurt even though they were covered.
• My nose kept running and I had to keep wiping my eyes.
  

Now my problems are:

• My legs are shaky when I go down stairs.
  
• I'm hungry and I'll probably want something sweet.
• I'm embarrassed that I have so many problems.
  

Decree

I decree that Dave help me plant tulips in my garden this weekend. And drink beer with us.

Some pictures from last month

Coochy coochy.













Rimsky is happy in any position.

Going Somewhere

Well, it's gorgeous outside and my kitties are enjoying the open window.

My friend Nikki called last night and so I got to chat with her for a moment. It was 10 pm and past my bedtime, so I headed home.

Wondering where this post is going? Well I tricked you. It's not going anywhere.