Quick update

Unfortunately, as good as my intentions are, I've not been blogging more frequently. Between work, school, and my volunteer commitment(s), my time is rarely my own.

Work has gotten terribly busy, since we are short 1 1/2 doctors ( a full time and a part time) and our practice owner has decided to compensate by seeing every animal in the Chicagoland area. Argh. I'm a part-timer getting overtime. It sucks.

Also, it's hard for me to blog when everyone over at Shakesville says it better than me. But I'll keep posting, probably mostly stupid animal pictures. I hear kona and Jack love those... :)

Paper????

So KarateMonkey and I are celebrating our first anniversary this weekend. (And what the hell kind of anniversary present is "paper" anyway?????? I decided it was much like a book.) Miraculously he isn't sick of me yet, and I can still stand the sight of him, though we often marvel that it's been a year, since it's seemed like an eternity....

In all seriousness, I am so lucky to have such a wonderful man in my life, who somehow managed to fall in love with me. So here's to being a fortunately happily married wench!!

Love you, babe. With all my heart. Happy anniversary.

Bad Kitty Mommy!!!

So KarateMonkey and I came back from eating dinner tonight, and I realized I hadn't seen Charlie, one of the kitties, in quite some time. KarateMonkey was pretty sure I was being paranoid, but indulged me in searching the house.

Finally I opened the recliner, and out shoots a rumpled ball of fur!!! Poor thing had been shut in the recliner since last night. I feel terrible..... But she seems to have escaped any lasting harm.

'bout gave me a heart attack, though!

Happy Birthday

Tomorrow, March 3, is RedSonja's birthday.  Happy birthday to most wonderful women I've ever met, and the best wife a guy could hope for.

FYI be nice this is the last year she'll be able to (truthfully) say she's still in her 20's.

Critter blogging

It's been a while since critters made the page....


First, the non-domestic. (Taken at the Milwaukee Zoo)














A lioness sharpening her claws. I loved that it was such a familiar thing to me, and to anyone who has cats. Evolution's only a theory my ass!!!!















This lion was waiting for his lunch. I was experimenting with framing, and loved how this turned out.















A tiger expresses his feelings about Bush.... Actually, his cage mate just marked that tree with urine, and this facial expression exposes extra receptors to catch the chemical signal. (Boring, I know....)
















Emma (the one on the right) had a friend stay for the weekend while her owners were out of town. Remy (the Rottweiler) was a good guest, except for eating the cat food. They had a lot of fun playing chase and tug-of-war.

















After a long day of painting, the animals all come snuggle. ALL of them. Daxter (orange and white) prefers my chest, while Addie (tortie) takes my lap and Charlie (black) cuddles next to me and her Emma. They were VERY warm!















Daxter prefers to sleep in boxes. If he's not on my chest. He was thrilled when I bought a new pair of shoes.

Happy New Year

My family is all German all the way back. Every year on New year's day for as far back as I can remember we'd all get together for Specken Dicken, a German rye pancake traditionally eaten at New Year.

A couple notes:
This is my great grandmonther's recipie, and it's sized to feed a large gathering of hungry farmers. You may want to cut it in half. That should give enough batter to screw up the first few, and still make enough to completely stuff 2-3 hungry people.
It's nearly impossible to find rye graham flour. Regular rye flour works fine.
The anise may be a little offputting to some people. I grew up eating this, and it's one of my favorite foods. For others it can be a bit more of an acquired taste. You can reduce the anise a little bit. This year, in deference to RedSonja, I've cut it by a third. This is tradition though, don't fuck with it too much.
Make the batter the night before and let it sit in the fridge. It just tastes better when it's been allowed to sit for awhile (the anise flavor spreads through the batter some). Just thin it back out with water.

3 cups sugar
5 well beaten eggs
2 cups dark corn syrup
1 Tablespoon anise seed
1 teaspon baking soda mixed in a small amount of hot water
1 Tablespoon salt
6 cups rye graham flour
6 cups white flour
bacon, hamburger, or sausage browned and broken up into small pieces (personally I like bacon or cut up cocktail wienies).

Mix all ingredients except the meat together with enough water to make a thin batter. When you're ready to cook, set a small pile of meat on a hot griddle or skillet and pour the batter over it and cook like a pancake. Serve with or without syrup.

Updated with further notes: Now that I've cooked some up again, I've thought of a few more things to mention.
Half of the above recipie is still alot. I think you could cut it in half again, and still have enought to make 10-12.
These are a bit more temperamental than pancakes. Make sure you thin the batter out enough so that it spreads out some. Pour them small, and flip as soon as bubbles start to break the surface. A little burning around the meat is fine. It doesn't impact the flavor at all.

Busy busy busy

It's been so damn long since I blogged, I think I forgot how. Plus, you know how it is when you haven't done something for a while, it's hard to start? Yeah, that too.

We have been way busy here. I finished my class, and am now not only a hot, horny coed, I'm a hot, horny coed with a 4.0. Yay me! Family came and went several times in the past few months, with the last visit being my family over Thanksgiving. That's been nice, but it does jack up one's stress level, especially in a new house. I want so badly for people to like it, but at the same time I know it needs a bunch of work.

We've also painted. The guest bedroom, now a lovely lilac, was easy. The dining room, with it's 14 foot ceilings and stairwell, was a bit more difficult. However, it is now a warm and cheery "lemon whip", which is really basically a pastel yellow. And I STILL have paint in my hair.

Critters are all well, and we're having a doggy visitor next weekend. I'm hoping it will wear Emma out to have someone to play with...

And various and sundry things to catch up with, but that may take some time. In the meantime, happy holidays to all of you, and hope that whatever you celebrate, it brings you joy and happiness!!!

Funniest thing I have ever seen.

So, crazy busy around here lately, what with the working on the house and working at the paying job, and in RedSonja's case also working for free at the aquarium and going to school. I just thought I'd stick my head back in and point both our readers (Hi Jack and Kona) at the funniest damn thing I have seen in a very long time. No boobs or anything, but probably not safe for work.

Babies!!!!!!

So my guppies decided to pop out their babies while we were moving. In an effort to create a race of super-guppies, we are giving them very little survival support. At the moment, there are 6 - 1 is older than the others, I think. That, or it's already evolved into another category of fish.

I tried taking pictures, but unfortunately my camera isn't fast enough, and they're just blurry. But they're cute, as fishes go. We'll see how they do.

Friday critter blogging

Daxter contemplates the new orange walls. Yes, they ARE orange.















Addie makes sure that Charlie has washed behind her ears.

















Addie stragerizes on Morrowind with me.

At least I have my health

Back from a long bout of stomach flu and in-law visits, finally. I couldn't bring myself to blog, what with the whole spending 45 minutes of every hour in or on the way to the bathroom. I didn't really think anyone would be interested in that, nor did I feel like reliving it.

More posts to come, including crittery goodness and Shedd updates. And maybe even a pic of the amateur home improvement project that has eaten up our week.... We'll see how brave I'm feeling.

Injury update

Yes, this used to be the tailbone update, but I keep injuring myself in new and creative ways....

Tailbone much improved, except for when I sit at the computer too long.

New injury: I was helping to take xrays on a dog the other day, and he struggled. A lot. In the struggle he cracked me in the nose with either a leg or his head, I'm not sure which. And I literally mean "cracked" - I heard it! I managed to not get a black eye, but it's a little swollen, and it hurts there when I chew.

I'm like an accident just waiting to happen.....

How to Vote: My Dilemma

Obviously midterm elections are nearing with an alarming rapidity. Since we just moved, KarateMonkey and I keep saying we will vote early, rather than try to get to a polling place that's now rather inconvenient to home, but I'm not at all sure that we actually will. So likely I will be voting on Tuesday, with everyone else.

In our illustrious state of Illinois, we are voting for governor. We also have to vote for Congresscritter, with the incumbent being Melissa Bean. I suspect there will be a school bond issue, and lord knows what else.

My dilemma is this - who to vote for? Or rather, how to vote? Do I vote as the idealist I enjoy being, or as the pragmatist I often feel that I should be? For example: Melissa Bean. Not the most liberal of Democrats. I was irritated when she voted for the bankruptcy bill, but enraged when she didn't vote against the torture bill! How can I vote for her now???? But her opponent, and sadly I don't even know who it is, has been running ads complaining that she didn't try to keep "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Which makes me want to vote for her, or at least not for her opponent. (There have been many other ads blasting her for positions I support, but that's the one that always pushes my buttons....)

So part of me says, maybe just skip that one. But then, how important is a Democratic majority in the House? Should I hold my nose and vote for someone who is okay with torture, in the hopes that we'll knock the Republicans out of power?

Governor is much the same issue for me. I don't like Topinka, the Republican challenger, but frankly I think Blagojevitch is a corrupt doofus. But in this race there's a Green candidate, who is actually talking about things like universal health care, less tax cuts for the wealthy, and guest worker programs. I want to vote for that, to believe in it. But I also know that there is no way in hell that the Green guy will win. And if I DO vote for him, does that make me the equivalent of the people I railed against so much in 2000, who voted for Nader and made the election close enough for Bush to steal? Argh!!!!!


Anybody else having this issue?

We're ba-ack....

Finally finished moving. Well, not really. There's some stuff yet in the apartment, and it needs cleaned, but the major stuff is done. Which is why I have a few minutes to pound out a long overdue blog entry....

Firstly, I love our house. It has its flaws, and there's more than a few of them -- for instance, washing your hands after flushing the toilet is difficult because the water pressure is virtually nonexistent -- but I love it anyway. It's ours, and it's big, and the critters have settled in quite nicely.

Secondly, I hate moving. KarateMonkey and I almost had a fight while moving, which tells you how stressed out we were. (Usually he's too laid back to fight, and it's no fun when you're the only one getting pissed off...)

Thirdly, we have nice neighbors. One of whom has a lovely Irish accent, so hopefully he comes over to chat a lot. I bet he also has good taste in beer.

That is all.

Odds and Ends

Well, crap. I got home late from the Shedd tonite, and am so tired I just want to sleep. But a few notes before that....

It's Veterinary Technician Appreciation Week. So if you go to the vet, hug a tech. Or bring them food. They LOVE that.

Kona, I will do the picture meme, I promise. But not till Friday, when I have time to do it justice. KarateMonkey probably can't figure out how to post pics, so I doubt he'll fill in for me...

I WAS going to post an awesome macaroni and cheese recipe, but Minstrel Boy beat me to it. Jerk.

Ass update: still hurts. Improvised donut at work didn't help. New solution is to avoid sitting down.

That is all. Carry on.

Jail for Judges

So, I'm driving into work this moring and I hear this.

South Dakotans will vote next month on a proposed state constitutional amendment
that would strip judges, jurors, and other state officials, of their immunity
from lawsuits for their official actions.

What the hell is wrong with South Dakota? Here's the way this works. If you have a problem with a judicial decision in South Dakota, once all appeals are done you can request a special grand jury made up of 13 citizens determined by lottery. They'll review the case "All allegations in the complaint shall be liberally construed in favor of the complainant" and determine whether the judge(s) in the case can be sued or even go ahead and indict them. The proponents argue that it's needed to prevent judicial corruption, and ensure that judges follow the law. Opponents point out that you can convince 7 out of 13 random citizens of pretty crazy shit. I can only begin to imagine what lengths crazy people will with too much money will take this. Judges aren't the only ones in trouble under the law. Anybody protected by judicial immunity can be sued for acts done in an official capacity. School board member, county commissioners, jurors, prosecutors, defense attorneies could all get in on the action too. Bill Stegmeier, the guy behind the move is apparently a 9/11 conspiracy nut and an income tax resister. So we know he already has some interesting ideas about how this is going to be applied. And the scary part is that accoring to one early poll the amendment was narrowly winning.

Further links:
No on E
JAIL4Judges

Updated with a couple more links:
http://no-e-sd.blogspot.com/
If this law passes the Slave Freedom/ Mark of The Beast Class Action Law Suit will no longer be held up by evil child molesting judges.

Depression both sucks and blows

[God I love that sucks and blows thing.... Somebody mentioned it in a Shakespeare's Sister thread, and it's just stuck with me.]

I've mentioned it before, but it's recently relevant -- I have depression. Not the "have the blues sometimes when my boyfriend won't call me back" type, but the "haven't gotten out of bed for 3 days except to pee and don't really want to see another human being again" type. Fortunately it's medication controlled, mostly.

Unfortunately, sometimes I have break through blues. Days when just getting out of my pajamas is an accomplishment. Days that, if it weren't for the people (and animals) who love me, I don't think I would bother. KarateMonkey and I call them "sad days".

Lately there have been several sad days in a row. It makes it hard to blog, because the little voice in my head, with no basis in rationality, says "Who the fuck would want to read what you would write anyway?" And while I know it's the depression talking, I still listen. It's hard not to.

So posting has been light. I'm feeling better. Lots of hugs here at home, and that helps. So, my point is twofold:

1) If someone you love is depressive, hug them lots. It means the world to them, even if they can't say it.

2) If I post that it's a sad day, please think happy thoughts for me. Sometimes I think I hear them.

Halloween

I gotta admit, I enjoy halloween. I was never hugely into the candy or anything, but I like coming up with fun costumes, or at least ideas. Last year I thought about going as Hurricane Katrina, and gluing a bunch of farm animals and trees and stuff to an outfit, but decided that was in bad taste. So at the last minute I was looking for costumes, and boy did that suck.

See, the problem is that most commercial halloween costumes are slutty. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy flirting and showing off my bod, and my favorite costume as a single girl was a kissing booth. But going to a party hosted by a coworker, outdoors in October, I don't feel like having my ass hang out. For example:


The infamous Dirty Martini. Please note that the model is NOT plus size, though it is a plus size costume. So I have no way of knowing what it will actually look like on me. Yeah, I've got the cleavage to pull it off, but the skirt is a bit much -- or not. Urgh.


This is pretty much what I went through trying to find a costume this year. I finally found one that has some cleavage, but actually goes full length, so my ass won't freeze. It also drapes nicely, to hopefully hide what I want hidden.



I tried to get KarateMonkey to go as Plug and Socket with me, but he refused. He says he goes as a "responsible adult" every Halloween, and that's as good as it's going to get.

KarateMonkey's pretty damn good chilli

It's a nice lazy afternoon here. The air has that nice crisp feel to it, and I woke up in the mood for chilli. So after a couple hours spent smelling that wonderful smell. I'm pleasantly full and feeling proud of myself, and I decided I could manage a worse introduction to this nifty blog that RedSonja has seen fit to give me the key to. Without further ado I present KarateMonkey's pretty damn good chilli.

1lb. stew meat
1 onion
1 bell pepper (I use red) chopped
1 Jalepeno or serrano pepper seeded and chopped
2 14.5 oz cans
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chills ( I usually use two 10z cans since that the easiest size to find)
2 14.5 oz cans dark red kidney beans
1 14.5 oz can black beans
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons Chilli powder (I use the medium hot stuff from Penzey's)
1 teaspoon cumin

Get a big damn pot and spray the inside with some nonstick spray. Heat it up and brown the
meat add the chopped onion, peppers, and garlic. Let them cook for a few minutes and throw
everything else in and simmer covered over low heat a couple hours.

This will give 5-6 good sized bowls of a thick very filling medium hot chilli with a nice rich flavor. On those occasions when I’m not cooking for a demanding blogmistress who believes that the proper spice level for chilli is somewhere below tear inducing then I’ll use a bit more chilli pepper, and couple unseeded chile peppers.

Friday critter blogging

Since I have the cutest animals in the world, I can't limit it to just the cats....



Emma and Charlie snuggle on the couch.




Charlie and Addie pose for kitty porn.



Daxter sprawls.