This is one for bad_service, except that I don't read or post in those communities anymore. Anyway...

I have Bank of America. I've had it since I was 18. Generally, I love Bank of America. Bill pay, direct deposit, easy online banking, and they added this thing called MyPortfolio where you can track all of your outside accounts through their website. I love it! I track student loans, joint account, IRA, 403(b), etc... It's a great tool for keeping it all in one place. I can track nearly everything there.

I say nearly everything because I can't track my Old Navy credit card, which I use mainly for clothing purchases. The Old Navy card gives bucks back with purchases, which is why I use it. You spend $100 at Old Navy, you get $10 bucks back, everyone's happy. It appeals to my bargaining nature. Unfortunately, while I can check my Old Navy balance and pay bills online, they don't have an interface set up for that card.

What's so very infuriating about this is that they have interfaces set up for Gap and Banana Republic cards. You can't log in for Old Navy via those sites (I've tried). So basically, they need to copy one of the old ones, change the name and the URL and they're golden.

You can also track your OldNavy.com purchases via their website through MyPortfolio. Don't ask me why, I think it's just weird, but hey. Every time I tried to log in to that (wrongly thinking it was the credit card), I get a generic error message that says that it should be fixed in a few days. I get this message every time I try to add it over the course of the month.

I sent them a very nice email about this basically says that I love MyPortfolio, it's a great service, I'm trying to add my Old Navy credit card and I keep getting this message about issues to be cleared up in a few days, what's going on?

And I get back a set of instructions on how to add an account to track manually.

In the inbetween, I played around with adding accounts a bit more, realized I confused the OldNavy.com with the Old Navy credit card and noted that they had the Gap & BR but not Old Navy. So I responded to that email saying 'yes, I know, I'm not an idiot, and actually the issue is not that I don't know how to manually track, it's that you don't offer the service. And actually, what I'm interested in is not something that you currently offer, but it could be really easy for you to do and can you please pass that feedback along?'

And I get a different, more detailed set of instructions on how to track an account manually. (When I say track manually, I mean you have to type in 'this month, owe $90.73', as opposed to detailed transaction lists that auto-update with auto accounts) As you can imagine, I am frustrated. I write back a rather bitchy response saying 'if you'd actually read this email, you'd understand that this wasn't the question, I'm not an idiot, I know how to do that, I'm just offering you a suggestion. And while I understand that whoever's reading this is bound to a set of form responses, you could actually address the issue at hand.'

They respond that they are sorry I have an issue and to call the customer service number. This is the beginning of June, I roll my eyes and forget about it. Today, after I updated my email address, I got an email confirming the change. I see the previous email and decide to go ahead and give the number a call. After navigating through 4 phone trees, I get a person on the phone. She tells me that the best way to give my feedback would be... to send Bank of America an email.

So, I did. I referenced my last previous issue, said what I would enjoy and if they tell me how to track an account manually, I'm seriously considering taking my business elsewhere. We'll see.

ETA: They sent me a response telling me how to track an account manually. I sent a response telling them they are idiots.

ETA 2: They sent back an email saying they understand and apologizing for being dumb. All they had to do was say 'Thank you for your feedback, we'll pass it along to the appropriate department. In the mean time, here's how to track your account manually!' THAT'S IT. Ugh. I'm done wasting time on this.

Is it weird that I'm already planning on what I'm going to cook & freeze in the new place? So far it's just veggie stock and carmelized onions (both in the crockpot), but just you wait until we get berry picking...

There are good things about moving. Not having a fourth floor walk-up, not having to worry about finding a parking spot at 11 on a Sunday night, that sort of thing. But mostly, our crazy-ass across the hall neighbors. They... they're insane.

It's a husband, wife and son and I actually think the wife may have some issues. She was the one who, as we were leaving to go on a rafting trip, asked us if we were moving again (this was a month after we moved in) and literally tried to hand us her cat. To have. She also stopped me in the hallway a month or two ago to ask if we'd seen anyone hanging around her apartment, because she'd had several break ins. (We live on the fourth floor. Sound carries. So, no)

They have a burglar alarm, which they're fond of setting off late at night for no reason (and it's loud enough that I can hear it in our living room). We've let the police into our building to check it out once, and there've been other times it's happened.

They have a deadbolt and a cypherlock deadbolt. Or they had a cypherlock, until last Wednesday when it disappeared and was replaced with a piece of cloth in the hole. Last week, they started hammering. They only hammer at night, at like 11, 12 or one am. On Friday, they started drilling around 12:30 in the morning as well. When all that was going on, I looked through the peephole and stepped outside to make sure nothing weird was going on. Nope. They were actually hammering on the door so hard it shook... from the inside. This has continued. Every night. The hammering doesn't last long - not longer than 5 minutes - but the thwacking is disconcerting.

And to top it off, there was yesterday. stentoriansista rescued me from the torrential downpour and picked me up from the dentist. We made it upstairs to see their cat (yes, the one she tried to hand to us) hanging out on the landing. Girlio said that they'd had their door open when she left and she must have closed it, not realizing the cat was out. It happens, no big. So, we walk over to her door and the cat follows us. I use the knocker. Wait about a minute, no response, well, it was kind of quiet, let's actually knock louder. 'Who is it!' is yelled through the closed door. 'Your neighbors with your cat!' 'Who!' 'Your cat!' 'Who is it!!' 'YOUR CAT.' 'Oh, my cat?' Door opens enough to let the cat through and she runs in. Door closes. The end.

So weird.

Went to the dentist. They X-rayed the broken tooth and told me I needed a crown and possibly a root canal. So, two and a half hour later, I have maxed out my dental insurance, my flexible health savings account and charged an insane amount to my credit card. They had to build up the tooth before the put on, which was extra. Ugh.

My tooth hurts like hell now (which it didn't before I had the dental work). Which, of course, makes me think I need a root canal, which will be even more money. Super, duper lame.

So, I was eating some cherries and bit down on a stone and broke off a bit of one of my back molars. Called my dentist, called their emergency line, which is some random guy's voicemail. Left a message about 45 minutes ago, no response. No idea what I should do next. I could call some other dentist's emergency line, but I don't know what that would do...

I'm so pissed. It looks kind of like the bit that broke off was just a filling? (I had one on that tooth a few months ago) It hurts and I can't stop tonguing it.

Did I mention that I'm supposed to be greeting donors at work in two and a half hours?

ETA: - Called a different dentist who called me back and said that I broke off a cusp and while it's something that should be taken care of, it can wait until Monday. So, now I'm just annoyed and sore. Well, at least I can have a Valium when I get home.

This chickpea bruschetta looks tasty and interesting (and vegan!). I don't think it'd be enough for a meal for me, but I think if there was a chicken breast involved, it'd be great. And there are two easy-peasy ways to cook chicken in the summer without heating up the oven or turning on the stove - crockpots and zip 'n' steam bags. I was originally appalled by the very idea of these bags, but my goodness, they certainly do cook a frozen chicken breast in less than 10 minutes. If you want unseasoned chicken to mix into something, this is a good way.

Also, you know... for Christmas. Also, also, read thebloggess. You will not regret it, unless you hate to laugh. Also, I totally want to meet The Bloggess and hang out with her except that I'd probably be as socially awkward as I usually am and just kind of stare at her creepily.

So, the Girly and I move in less than two weeks. I'm kind of in a state of 'la-la-la not listening!' about it because I don't want to pack. Like, a lot. I'm kind of in the state of 'kill them all and let god sort it out' except that 'them' in this case is my personal possessions and I like them and get to keep them. I have updated my address with the USPS and the VA DMV, which is more than I did for the last move, so... yay? Add to this that my beloved stentoriansista is working her hiney off at the Smithsonian Festival including the weekends, so I will have to coordinate my own packing. Problematic!! I really just want to be moved but put no effort into the moving. A couple of girls already committed to renting our apartment, so there's really no backing out now. Sweeeet.

I didn't do much for my birthday. stentoriansista sent me flowers (such a lovely surprise!) and I got group cake at work (I share the day with two coworkers, a fact I'm really happy about) and I finally got my google shirt from my little brother and that's about it. But that's all I need.

I've been craving big salads with lots of vegetables lately. I've been hindered by what's available at the farmer's market (strawberries went away! Replaced by nectarines, blueberries and cherries, but still! Also, no carrots) and what I get at my CSA (herbs and lettuce right now. Stupid rain), but I've got something close to do for lunch today. Working late tonight and Saturday, so that's annoying.

My plants are still thriving. I need to repot my oregano and get new pots for my lavendar and parsley seedlings I picked up last week. We're going to run out of shelf space for them soon!

The fatigue for me has been really bad lately. I always feel like I'm constantly rushing to catch up with my sleep levels. I've been taking naps when I get home, which screws up everything else, of course. The answer is probably to go to the gym more, but it's hard to motivate yourself to go to the gym when you're constantly tired! And also I need to spend time packing. I'm still doing pilates and yoga at work, but I've had less in the past two weeks (skipped one day due to punky tummy, the next class was cancelled, skipped yoga due to sore shoulders, etc...). Also, no one tells you that the downside of pilates is that if you don't lose weight while adding muscle, gaining tummy muscle makes your stomach stick out more. UNFAIR, tummy! The good news is that I feel like I've gotten a lot stronger in the past few months. So, that's nice.

I need to eat before I go work my first donor event today. Salad salad salad! (With purslane, radishes and goat cheese!)

So, last week, I attempted to make this (vegan) bean dip but I made the fatal mistake of using the amount of garlic scapes called for by the recipe and the result was overpowering raw garlic taste. Much like eating an unroasted garlic clove. Bleh.

I decided that I could use it in a bread recipe, googled a bit and found this ranch style bread recipe and made it Monday. It's good! The garlic roasted, so it's a much milder flavor and the bread has extra protein from the beans. I'm using it for today's ham sandwich lunch... we'll see how it turns out.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to eat all of my lunch today... I put a handful of the mustard greens and a handful of the sorrel from yesterday's farm share pickup in a tupperware this morning. I had one of the mustard greens as I walked out the door... and let's just say my sinuses cleared out very quickly. Not sure if I'll be able to eat the rest. Is it weird that I didn't think that mustard greens would taste like concentrated mustard?

In other news, my plants are growing!!! The tomato seedling added a third shoot (though there are two dead shoots, but they weren't looking good when I got the seedling). Basil's growing and mystery seedling (either oregano or marjoram) is looking good too. Picked up a parsley at the farm share today. It's freaking me out that I may be able to keep plants alive and then use them to cook. I feel all growed up.

Happy birfday to stentoriansista, who makes my life better every day she's in it.

So, I'm a little annoyed. The Washington Post Express chose to quote this entry from Donna Says in their Blog Log today. I'm annoyed for several reasons.

1) This is the first thing I've ever seen them post about CSAs and it's not positive. Way to be discouraging. (Also, way to get the day wrong. If she posts on Wednesday that last night's pick up was a bust, her pickup was Tuesday) How about reporting on this trend in a positive light, rather than talking about Lisa Rinna's new book?

2) Inferring from this post and the fact that she had a Tuesday night DC pickup and got seedlings, I am assuming that Donna Says is a member of my CSA, Bull Run Farm. Which had more than just seedlings and herbs on Tuesday - they also had Chinese cabbage, pak choi, garlic scapes, fresh oregano, salad mix and the first of the year pickup totebag. I dunno, maybe they were all out of all of that when she went to pick up, but they had plenty when I was there at 6:30. Not liking something and choosing not to pick it up is different from not having a variety of things. I'm not a huge fan of the mustard greens that are offered, but if I hadn't picked up things I didn't like, I wouldn't have my love affair with beets, sweet potatoes, radishes and vegetables in general because I had no choice but to try it and discovered that my tastes have changed. I paid for these two beets/pak choi/eggplant, they're there, let's cook with it (and it's usually delicious) (though I still don't really like eggplant).

3) Continuing my assumption that Donna is a Bull Run Farm member, that means that she gets the newsletter from Leigh, our farmer. This week's newsletter pretty clearly states that due to the insane weather of the past 4 months, Leigh's had to plant and replant the seedlings, so veggies will be later than normal this year. Granted, Leigh's newsletters tend to be practically novellas, so I can see how she might have skipped over that, but she also gets an email the day before with the vegetables that are going to be available. My guess is that her 'what I'm expecting' post is based off of this page, which is a guideline, not a guarantee.

4) You bought a share of a farm. Farms output varies from year to year and is affected by things like weather, global warming, deer infestations, the eleventybillion thunderstorms that have rolled through in the past two weeks. And yet we expect shiny, pristine vegetables and an abundance of them, regardless of the rain, the years-long drought, the heat. The attitude to keep in mind with Leigh's CSA is that you get whatever's ready to be harvested that day. And that's pretty freaking awesome. The variety's not going to be as good as a farmer's market because a farmer's market can have multiple vendors.

I'm sorry Donna Says was disappointed in what she got this week. I certainly understand it and I'm not trying to invalidate her feelings or anything like that. For this CSA, June usually is a leaner month, with the bounty really picking up in July (also when the fruit share kicks in, if she bought that. NOM) and carrying through until September/October. We all have weeks where we're disappointed with our pickup and I'm still trying to figure out a way to eat the salad greens I get without buying a salad spinner. Despite the rant, I don't have a problem with her expressing her opinions on her blog. Hell, that's what blogs are for.

I'm just pissed off with the Express for quoting the blog post. I don't mind the political, pop culture, local flavor or the sports commentary, but it feels kind of like they're taking a potshot at something I love and that's what is annoying me so much. Can't we just go back to making fun of Marion Barry and quoting monkeyrotica's comments on DCist? (I'm debating writing them a letter about this, but I doubt it'll do much good)

Now, if you excuse me, I need to make some granola, douse myself in patchouli oil, wander around my office barefoot and hug a tree.

(still haven't figured out what kind of fruit trees are in front of work and if I can steal the plums? when they're ripe)

(I'm actually really excited about the seedlings I got from my CSA and purchased pots and potting soil. They're currently sitting on my bedroom windowsill and I'm really hoping I won't kill them this year)

So, last night, stentoriansista and I made a stir fry after the gym. It consisted of chinese cabbage, garlic scapes, pak choi (all from farm share), broccoli, snap peas (both farmers market), onion, chicken, noodles and some seasonings (sadly, all from the grocery store). It was tasty and I was starving, so I quickly dug into it.

Then, about 45 minute later, I had seconds.

Then, half an hour after that, I had a pint of strawberries with some ice cream.

Then an hour after that, I had a couple of spoonfuls of ice cream.

Then I went to bed hungry, despite practically eating my weight in food.

I wasn't dehydrated, trust me. I went through 2 water bottles worth of water last night (48 oz) and went through a 20 oz water bottle at the gym. I could have just been wanting to replace all the extra calories that I burned at the gym too or I could have been PMSing, I'm not sure.

But here's the thing. I wasn't that hungry this morning, but ate a good sized breakfast (peanut butter, graham crackers & cherries). When I sat down to lunch, I was hungry, but not starving.

I'm ravenous now and have been ever since I finished eating. It's the kind of hungry that I know isn't actually me wanting food, but it's annoying as all hell, because I want to just keep eating until I feel sick. Add to this that stentoriansista started feeling sick last night and I'm just wondering how this happened?

Twitter consensus is that I didn't get enough protein (pretty sure I did) or that it just awoke a hunger in me (how very romance novel!) (also, I don't think so).

Then there's the stentoriansista theory that I have a tapeworm.

Summer Knitty is up. Re: Annette...

The beauty of this top is how easy you can lengthen the body and the sleeves. There is no shaping on either of them, so just knit as long as you want before beginning the raglan decreases.

Great! That's totally flattering on everyone! Waist shaping is there for a reason and unless you're shaped like a rectangle (which very few women are), this is going to look like butt on whoever wears it.

Otherwise known as, when did a boxy, frumpy sweater become a good thing?

ETA: And a cotton halter top? I mean it's cute, but um... cotton stretches. I would want more than just that holding up my boobs.

Y'all, I don't know how I lived without this deliciousness before. Take 1 slice good bread (not sandwich bread unless it's homemade) and spread with butter, boursin cheese, cream cheese or a good chevre, sprinkle with coarse salt (if you have a sea salt grinder, use that). Top with sliced radish (French breakfast preferably, but any kind is good) and sprinkle with chives. It's really, really tasty. If you're hosting a party, you could easily make these using melba toasts for hors d'oeuvres.

Went down for a nap at 8 o'clock last night and ended up snoozing until 10am. At 10am, I was up but stentoriansista was not, so I decided to get up and go to the Dupont Circle farmer's market. Homigod, y'all, I forget how awesome that market it. Got 2 bunches of asparagus, 2 half-pints of gelatto (blood orange & champagne mango, OM NOM NOM), strawberries, a lovely sheep's milk cheese, a couple tomatoes, mushrooms (I love the mushroom stand!), spearmint and basil. Got home and made some mint tea, a variation on asparagus puree (chives, not onion, cottage cheese, not ricotta, lime juice, not lemon). It's incredibly tasty, but the chives and garlic drown out the taste of the asparagus. Made a delicious mushroom and wine sauce (sautee mushrooms in a little oil and salt, add half a cup white wine, garlic, a little rosemary and thyme and reduce, add a cup and a half chicken stock and reduce) to spoon over some chicken breasts and sopped up the sauce with some homemade bread. I've also been chopping up some peppers and freezing them for future stews or sauces.

Later, I'll make a strawberry rhubarb crisp. I love my happy cooking times.

Weekend in Duck this weekend, which was very, very nice. We all laid out on the beach for a few hours on Saturday and none of us wore enough sunscreen and ended up burned as all heck. As a side note, spray on sunscreen is not to be trusted, especially in the wind. We all had stripes burned on us. My new swimsuit (a speedo from Costco!) was uber low-cut so now I have a weird tan line. As usual, it was a good time, good people, good food and (new!) Zombie Fluxx. Skipped the outlet mall this time and just went to Barree Station and got a top. Stopped at Target on the way home and bought myself a variation of this purse (and hopefully one that doesn't break like that one!) that I love. It came with a laptop case and is big enough to fit my gym clothes and a lunch in without looking overstuffed. Sold. Speaking of gym clothes...

( cut for exercise talk and me not being nice to myself )

So, in case you were wondering what Marion Barry defines immorality as, apparently it's gay marriage. Crack cocaine, prostitution and not paying your taxes while a public officer? A-OK. Fuck you too, Marion Barry. Yet another example of 'two dudes doing it grosses me out and therefore they shouldn't have any rights.'

In other news, I'm skipping out on painting apartments tonight to do other chores - namely, the gym, making bread and cleaning the shit out of our apartment. Kitchen, fridge, bathroom, living room, laundry, dishes. If I'm feeling extra awesome, I may pull out the roomba and the swiffer. If I'm feeling extra, extra awesome, I'll try to tackle Mt. Clothesmore in the bedroom.

Despite obsessively reading livejournal, I seem not to be blogging too much these days. So, here's a roundup of last week.

Monday - I'm breaking up with Heroes. Bleh.
Tuesday - Adam Lambert is so my gay boyfriend.
Wednesday - My sinuses hurt so bad that I actually want to cry.
Thursday - stentoriansista hurts her back, I am still sniffly and miserable. We stay home from karaoke like two little old ladies. I read the new Tamora Pierce novel and am mostly underwhelmed. (I love the characters, but the plot is a little weak, I feel)
Friday - after a quick Target trip, we spend most of the night cleaning the kitchen and living room. Victory is ours.
Saturday - My Becoming event at the Arboretum! It is very, very hot. We are mostly underwhelmed, which was a little disappointing, but it was still a nice time. After we go home for a quick shower and a nap, it's off to Old Navy for some much needed shopping (nothing like it being 90* out to remind you you need summer clothes). In the car on the way, I say I'd be happy to get 2-3 pairs of work pants and 1 pair of shorts. I leave with two pairs of work pants and a pair of formal-ish shorts. And sometimes I scare me. Dinner with stentoriansista's awesome friends that I finally get to meet.
Sunday - BOOZE! Linganore wineries with mareska, prettyprincessb and a_muse_amused. Almost eaten by Maryland vultures after googlemaps put us on, I kid you not, an unpaved gravel road next to a crick. Delicious, delicious wines with delicious delicious cheeses. We split 2 cases between the 4 of us (I got strawberry, peach, mead, their May wine, Melody and Bacioni) and head to the Majestic for Nana's ham dinner. Delicious, delicious ham.

This week is going to be similarly busy. I may, for the first time in 5 years, have to miss MD S&W. My sinuses are still nasty but they seem to be allowing me to exist without pain, which is nice. I've worn skirts two days running in this heat. I've got a chicken in the crockpot for tonight's dinner from the farmer's market (w00t!). Yeah.

Also, I now need an event at which to serve all my delicious new summery wines. This requires thinking.

Oh, and for a_muse_amused - Crockpot Lady and Pioneer Woman Cooks. Nom nom. (ETA: And Cheddar Jalapeno Bread)

Happy birfday mousecatfish!

So, in general, I'm not liking 2009. I know a lot of folks took issue with 2008 for various reasons, but by & large, it was a good year for me. I moved in with my girlfriend, got an awesome job, saw a friend get married, Barack Obama got elected, etc... Thus far in 2009, though, the GF's car has been broken into, the couch attacked us to the point of getting rid of it, I fell down a flight of stairs, I've had two doctors be completely dismissive of my health concerns in a way that left me never wanting to talk to a doctor again, etc...

But Amazon rank fail aside (even if it was a glitch or a hack job or whatever, it's still ridiculous, it's been going on since freaking February and an apology is still owed), I've had a good week or two.

We had a delightful time in NYC - saw taintedlord for brunch, went to Purl Soho and Habu Textiles (I got like 6000 yards of laceweight merino for $20. $20!!! It was glorious), saw Avenue Q, had a really delicious dinner, I drove home for about an hour (on the highway! No one died! I KNOW!), and got an insanely expensive parking ticket (booh).

This weekend, we finished season 2 and started season 3 of Battlestar Galactica. I really, really like it except for how they make me care about these characters and then do awful awful things to them.

Saturday was the OHF annual ball. I have a love/hate relationship with the ball. I usually have gripes and a good time. This time, we BYOB'ed a bit to save on the cash for mixed drinks, which actually really helped. (Don't get me wrong, I still spend an insane amount of money on drinks, but I spent less than I normally would anyway) The food was actually decent and best of all... we won the British Ink certificate! (We totally could have gotten it for cheaper, but the OHF legal counsel totally bid us up. Oh well) This means that I am actually going to get my big ole pagan tattoo that I've been thinking about getting for 8 years (sorry Mom). And we'll use some credit for the GF too. I looked fabulous in a dress that stentoriansista made me (she is SO talented, y'all) and she was absolutely resplendent in teal.

The wonderful thing about the weekend in NYC and the OHF stuff is that I had a wonderful time and got some wonderful stuff. The not-so-wonderful side is that it all cost money. As such, I'm putting myself on a spending freeze until further notice. No more lunches in the canteen, no more extras, (hopefully) no ordering dinner delivered, no Target breeze-throughs. Groceries and karaoke (in moderation). That's what I'm going to spend money on except for the Linganore trip and Sheep & Wool in May and the Salem retreat this weekend.

Crap, this month is going to be crazy.

Yesterday, I got up early and make this brisket sauce which I left to marinate all day. It's cooking now. Some serious food processor fail, though... somehow all of the coke started leaking out onto the floor. Didn't put the red wine, pepper or cloves in, either. And technically it wasn't supposed to marinate. No idea how it'll taste. Hopefully delightful, otherwise I'll have 5 pounds of not yummy meat.

Circle was, as always, delightful and had an interesting discussion pre-Circle about some internal house keeping I want to do and a discussion post-Circle about creating community and rituals.

Got home and cleaned. I can see the bedroom floor. And the living room floor. And Mt. Clothesmore has substatially subsided. And we have finally used all of the giant box of dryer sheets we bought a year ago. Do you know what this means? I can finally buy dryer balls and I WILL NEVER HAVE TO PICK UP A USED DRYER SHEET FROM MY FLOOR AGAIN! (except the ones that are currently there) (see, they flutter to the floor wherever you dump the clean laundry to fold and there they stay to gather dust or trip you up or generally look like someone strewed used tissue about. It gets on my nerves)

So, my passport expires in September and being the overly conscientious person that I am, I sent it in to be renewed. I just got it back today and noticed that my name is spelled kestrel127 Mc Gee instead of kestrel127 McGee. My ID does this too. I'm wondering if it's worth it to be fixed. (And if someone at the Social Security office screwed it all up for me somehow). All I have to do is fill out a form and mail it back with two new passport photos... except I'm pretty sure I threw out my extra passport photos. On the other, other hand, I have a digital camera and a photo printer.

( cut for exercise talk. No one cares but me. )
Bah. I need to stop talking big and start doing big. And maybe live with someone who shames me about eating again. That helped.

Karaoke tonight. Woo!

Saw (most of) The Unusuals pilot last night. Really liked it. Call me, Harold Perrineau!

Someday, I'd like to stop having songs stuck in my head. Christina's Internal Radio Station usually has songs on repeat and usually replaces words with things like 'monkeys' and 'pants' (for example, 'All she wants to do is dance' becomes 'All she wants to wear are pants.' And so on. And then I wonder... does she want to wear only pants (meaning no tops?) or just no dresses? Because apparently, I'm insane). It's weird.

Anyway, things and stuff. Stuff and things.

So, I roast my own beets, I make my own yogurt, I've been building my own salads, I make my own bread. I shamed myself out of buying baby carrots at the grocery store today because they're regular carrots lathed down small and then... I buy a Target pizza for dinner. Archer Farms chicken garlic is quite good, especially with some beets on it.

I don't know either.

I could write an entry detailing our NYC shenanigans. I could write an entry about how my willpower failed in the face of canteen mac 'n' cheese. I could wax rhapsodic about my breadmaker. I could detail the mountain of laundry I have to do or gleefully tell you about my increase in responsibilities at work.

Instead, I will tell you that Vermont legalized gay marriage and continue joyfully about my day.

ETA: And, while you can't get gay married in DC, you can get gay married elsewhere and DC will recognize it. I'll take what I can get!

Shut your face. Shut. Your. Face.

Iowa legalized gay marriage.

IOWA.

AWESOME.

(I was wondering why twitter had all these iowa gay marriage tags as a sudden trend. This is an awesome awesome reason why)

(Though I am slightly sad that goingdriftless's parents will be upset the next time she calls them)

In a completely not April Fool's story, stentoriansista and I are going to NYC this weekend. Partly to go to the Fat Girl Flea Market, partly... just cuz! We've got a hotel booked, and are deciding what theatre tickets to buy (August: Osage County or In the Heights? TKTS or advance purchase?). Also debating the drive and spend $60 to park the car or spend $70 and take a Chinatown bus. (bleh)

Anything we should do or see while we're there? (Possibly you?) We've got Purl Soho, Magnolia cuppincakes and maybe the Museum of Sex (hee hee. hee hee. Hee) while we're there.

I've already had one pair of work pants found to be unusable this morning. (rubbed a hole through one of the thighs. Don't ever get fat, kids, this is what happens) On the bus this morning, some jackass stuck their gum on the heating element on the side of the bus. I don't know why anyone would do something like that. It just seems bizarre. The heat, of course, left the gum nice and supple to stick to my pant leg this morning... making two pairs of work pants unusable. I own 3 good pairs of work pants, y'all. This is a problem.

The downside of swimming is that the googles always leave my eyes feeling bruised.

stentoriansista has momentous news! Which I will let her share with you later.

So, I had yet another good cooking day today. I woke up this morning and put pumpkin curry soup in the crockpot before grabbing a quick breakfast (um... at 1pm. What?). Sat around for a while before running off to a quick Target run then hit the pool at the gym. Hadn't done that in a while. It was nice! It ended up being closer to an hour than the half hour I originally planned, but I had a good workout that left me a little drained for the rest of the day. Got home and put pork shoulder in to braise (subbed chili powder for paprika, but OMG SO GOOD!) and a beer and bacon bread in the bread machine (meh - it didn't notify me at the mix in point, so all the bacon ended up at the end the bread). So, we have tons of delicious food available for the week.

stentoriansista curled my hair. It looks wicked pretty.

Tomorrow is dinner with the aunt. Hopefully I'll wake up a bit. Hopefully our washer will get fixed and we can get started on the giant pile of laundry that's accumulated in the past week. Gotta clean up the kitchen too.