I want more

What's wrong with wanting more? I hear people say that we should be happy with what we have. I know that I am lucky and I am happy with what I have. But what is wrong with wanting more? Isn't that human nature? If it weren't we would still be living in caves, eating raw meat and roots. Yes, I want more! I'll admit it. I want, want, want, want...

Cowboys in Dandridge

I took my parents to a place called Cowboys tonight. It's a seafood joint on Douglas Lake. It's a marina, restaurant and hotel all in one. The inside looks like a diner. Simple tables and chairs. Your standard fish photos and stories on the walls. Cowboys has THE BEST HUSHPUPPIES. The rest of the food is marginal at best. The service is hit or miss. I had the broiled scallops, they were small, salty and mostly boring. The salad is simple iceburg and a tomato or two, I'm sure somewhere in there is some cheese. The rest of the food is fried. Fried shrimp, deviled crab, fried oysters, fried fish. They do not serve alcohol, so don't go expecting a cold beer to go with all of that fry. But once in a while I have to go - just for the hushpuppies, which by the way come in a basket and are included in the meal. So I gorged on hushpuppies tonight. I guess I won't need a fix again for awhile.

knew better

Dang, I knew better than to blog anything about work. After making fun of other people, I screwed something up. It was a small thing and I don't imagine anybody will actually say anything, but that doesn't make it okay. I guess I need to worry less about what other people are doing/not doing and pay more attention to what I should be doing.

burn out

I have vowed to never blog about work (good way to lose my job). But right now I am so burned out. Burned out on my schedule, burned out on my job in general. Leaving, however, is not an option. I would have to give up so much. Plus it's not a bad job. I never see my boss, I have very little actual stress, unless you count watching other people screw things up. I'm a peon at work, so if those folks can't figure it out, no body can blame me. I wish I could just take a sabbatical. Maybe just a month or two to work on my house. And by my house I mean my WIP, my actual house, my yard, my life. Can I get all of that straightened out in 2 months? Probably not, but I would love to try.

emercency bread pudding

Well, my friend was supposed to come by with her son and her nephew for brunch today. I had planned to make french toast with blueberry syrup. Well, that got cancelled. So I had a giant loaf of french bread, a dozen eggs and loads of fresh fruit, so what to do? I decided on bread pudding. So here's the recipe

4 eggs
1 cup greek yogurt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp brandy (did not vanilla, but you can use vanilla instead)
1 1/2 cup soy milk (can use regular milk)
2 cups stale bread cut into cubes
2 cups mixed fruit - blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries
cinnamon to taste

whisk eggs, yogurt, brown sugar and brandy until smooth, then mix in milk, bread, and berries.

Let sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top with cinnamon.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 55 minutes.

emergency evacuation plan

Several weeks ago, we found a gas leak in our yard. Nothing major, thank goodness, because they haven't bothered to fix it yet. But when the guy was here, checking it, he told us that if it were bad he would have to evacuate us and our neighbors. That got me thinking about things. Like, what the hell would we do with our cats if we had to evacuate? First, imagine rounding up 6 cats in a hurry. The minute you put one in a crate, the rest go and hide. So, we have to chase them, move furniture, fight them to finally get them in a crate. Okay, so then you have them all crated. Do I even have 6 crates? Putting more than one in a crate might work in a bind, but they might kill each other in there. So okay, I have them crated. Now what? Where do we go? A hotel? I know there are some hotels that allow pets, but 6 cats? Nevermind, that several of them cannot be in the same room together and barely tolerate living together in a 2000 sq ft house. Maybe we could rent 2 rooms. But dang how much would that cost? And then, how long would we have to stay gone? Okay, so 6 cats in 2 tiny hotel rooms with litter boxes. Sounds like my own personal nightmare.

waiting

Why is it that women have a reputation for being late? I am never late, if I am it's my husband's fault. He either won't get out of bed on time. Or he decides right as we are leaving that we must check the oil in the car or check the air pressure in the tires. Or maybe he must, absolutely must, call a friend. The friend that called 4 days ago and instead of getting back to him, he sat on the couch and ate brie, but it's imperative that he call, right now, as we are getting in the car to go meet someone. The worst is when I am starving and for whatever reason we have to go to Best Buy and look at every moniter/computer/movie before going to dinner. Any body else have this problem?