Living Small

Tryst

On a Stick

My first job was at an ice cream store that went out of business about six months after I started working there.  My next job was at Hot Dog on a Stick.  Between ice cream cones, corndogs (the forbidden word!) and cheese sticks, I became an expert in finger food that can be eaten without actually being touched by one's fingers.  Therefore, when I was in a planning meeting for a work event last week and suggested that we serve falafel and baklava, I had the perfect solution for the inevitable complaint, which is that baklava is too sticky.  Put it on a stick!  How perfect would that be?  It just might require a bit of extra honey to hold all that phylo dough together... 

Illicit Posting

I don't think I have blogged about it at all, but I recently joined the diversity committee at my office. Today another committee member and I were hanging posters for an event we had planned, when the queen of facilities admonished us not to tape them to walls or glass. We assured her that of course we would never stick tape to a wall or window, and then quickly proceded to run around the building, pulling down posters we had ALREADY taped to walls All of a sudden it felt like we were doing something illegal. To make matters worse, if we couln't tape, we needed thumbtacks, so I then had to steal a box of tacks from a nearby supply cabinet. Now, I'm a liar and a thief!

Avoiding the Spaving Trap

As a member of the Borders Rewards program, I receive a coupon in my email inbox at least once a week, offering me 25% off any one item or 40% off last years' bestsellers, or whatever.  I just happen to be the type of person who gets really excited by coupons, sometimes even buying things I don't really need or want just to get that spaving rush (spending money to save money).  So when I get the coupons, I diligently print them out and tuck them in my backpack with every intention of going to Borders before they expire.  Fortunately for my bank balance, however, I usually promptly forget and later find myself digging the crumpled and expired coupons out of my backpack.  But when they sent me $5 in "Borders Bucks" -- that is, $5 off ANY purchase, I just had to get in there before the end of the month, when the bucks would vaporize.  And I actually managed to spend the $5 without spaving a cent -- I chose a greeting card (yes, one that I would have bought anyway) that cost $4.95, so my total at the cash register was "zero dollars" as the cashier cheerfully informed me.  I love hearing that!  As I left, though, I couldn't help thinking that I could have "saved" another five cents if I had purchased two cards...

On the Mend

This morning I woke up feeling much better than yesterday and braved the snow to walk in to work. After all, there were maps to be made, lectures to edit, and classes to attend. And I had lunch plans with friends. But even though I was feeling better, the cough lingered. Hacking up my lungs at work was only a minor inconvenience, but I realized about halfway through the day that it must have been annoying for my coworkers. I personally don't believe in the germ theory of disease, but those who do must have found my coughing rather unsettling and perhaps even rude. Maybe I should have rethought my valiant return to the office.

Not the Only One Sick

It looks as though I have some company in my misery -- my computer seems to have come down with a virus. It had been acting stranger and stranger, but we didn't figure out what was going on until it pretty much threw up all over us. I finally resolved to take it in for repair today, but when I fell ill, David did it for me (thank you, David!). It turns out that whatever the computer has is pretty bad and may require reloading the operating system. In any case, it sounds quite a bit worse than what I have!

Home Sick

This morning I woke up around 4:30, which is not at all atypical for me. What was unusual, though, was that I felt achy, feverish, and chilly, and things weren't any better when David's alarm clock went off at 6:30. If I hadn't had a flu shot last fall, I would say that is what this feels like: headache, sore throat, cough, body aches. But since I did have the shot, I'm hoping that this is just some kind of fluke that I get over quickly -- preferably tomorrow! When I woke up this morning, I first thought I would go to work and try to distract myself from feeling bad, but the more I thought about it, the worse of an idea it seemed. So I sent the dreaded email to my boss, my colleagues, and the friend with whom I was supposed to lunch, and went back to sleep. I think the thing I hate most about being sick (besides feeling bad, of course) is having no control over it. I couldn't help thinking that Thursday would have been a much better day to stay home!

Losing It

Today I really needed to go to spinning. I hadn't been since last Monday, and my body was sore from NOT exercising. Every time I go to spinning, however, it seems like I either forget to bring something or else I leave something there. Today I arrived all ready to work out, only to find that I had forgotten my sports bra. Fortunately, I'm of a size where that has never stopped me from doing anything!

So Many Ways To Blog

Now I can moblog! What a dorky turn of phrase :)

Sent from my iPhone

Leftovers Fusion

I don't know exactly why I photographed my lunch today, except perhaps because I can!

Perhaps also because I'm somewhat proud of this lunch, which is really just leftovers from two different meals: chiken tikka from a talk in David's department on Friday night, and fattoush that I made for last night's salad course. Salad is something I have trouble with because, though I like eating it, I can't stand making it.  I hate having to wash and chop all the veggies, and I really hate dealing with lettuce because it is always dirty, often slimy, and a pain to wash, dry, and rip up.  Often, I just open a bag of pre-washed baby greens, toss them with some oil and vinegar, and call that a salad.  Even more often, I just don't make salad.  But the fattoush ended up being remarkably easy, thanks to the food processor David's mom gave us for Christmas (thanks, Mom!).  It minced the herbs and onion, and chopped the cucumber and red pepper.  The tomatoes I did by hand, and all that was left was a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and bits of toasted lavash.  It was better last night, before the lavash got all soggy, but it was still pretty good today and the chicken tikka made a lovely addition, turning it into a full-on meal.  I still have another meal's worth of both the salad and the chicken, but I have lunch plans for the next two days.  Any chance it will still be edible on Thursday?