Ok, am I the only one who thinks that Softsoap smells like crap? Back me up here?
I guess it smells clean or something, but it doesn’t smell good.
This is just a theory I’m throwing around, but I think guys like to use Softsoap because, deep down, they’re concerned about cleanliness or they’re somehow interested in creating a certain lack of bacteria in the house.
Oh, ha ha ha. I just cracked myself up.
What I REALLY think is that guys put Softsoap out because they like other people (and by “other people” I mean “women”) to think they wash their hands…and it helps that it’s basically free. I mean, they’re practically GIVING it away at Sweetbay.
Anyway, I’m generally happy that they’re giving this impression and, in the case of some outliers, are actually washing their hands.
I guess what I’m saying is that maybe I shouldn’t be so sad to see my delicious Bath & Body Works soap demoted to “not close enough to the sink to be the soap we’re going with but not far enough away to actually be considered part of the recycling bin.”
Retaliation will be mine…
Huh. I had no idea.
I’m not a baseball fan. I mean, I’m from Pittsburgh, so I guess I just assume this is implied. I haven’t paid attention to baseball since, oh, let’s call it 1992.
But, since I’ve moved to St. Pete, I’ve come to realize that “exciting baseball” can be something other than a horrible oxymoron. I’ve actually even witnessed a couple exciting games myself! And, while I’m so far removed from the love I once had for the sport, I find myself being really happy for my new neighbors all the same. Because, really. When you go from being the worst team in baseball to being in the World Series the very next season, all you can say is, “how long until the Super Bowl?”
Just kidding. Old habits…
Congratulations, Rays!!!!!!!!!
I have a touch of OCD.
I know this about myself.
The WebMD site says a common symptom of OCD is the “need for order, symmetry or exactness.” Check, check, and…
…yes, check!
Ironically, I’ve moved in with a guy who has virtually no need for order in his life*. AT ALL. Imagine it….
No, sorry. I can’t either. I don’t get it.
*(Actually, I take that back. Oddly, he has the exact same love of spreadsheets that both my sister and I have. I mean, he keeps track of all the concerts he attends in an Excel spreadsheet!!! God love him. But, hang a towel back up after using it? Um, utter nonsense apparently).
It’s funny, too, because the very last thing my Mom said to me when we were saying goodbye before CK and I hit the Penske to drive down here. “Don’t drive him crazy,” she says. Good advice from the OCD creator herself!
And, I am trying. Seriously. I am. Stuff strewn about…and stuff out of place in general…just drives me absolutely CRAZY. And, I’m not even that clean a person. I’d rather do basically anything than scrub a floor or clean the shower (it’s why I need to invite guests over fairly frequently…the fear of embarrassment is about the only thing that can motivate me to break out the Scrubbing Bubbles). But, I have to have everything put away and in its right place. It’s a sickness, I know.
So, I’m working on not getting irritated by stuff that’s left out (I’m having “a sense of humor about it,” as my Mom suggested). I dutifully wander around the house and try to put away anything that’s getting under my skin (like, WHY must papers be left on the stove?? Fire hazard aside, it’s just freakin’ weird that it would be used as a storage space to begin with. And, why…WHY does the cell phone charger have to be permanently plugged into the wall with the cord dragging along on the floor right behind the chair where I sit to eat dinner so that my foot skids out from underneath me every SINGLE time I go to sit down there?!?!?!?! PLEASE ANSWER ME!!! Hoo, sorry. Holy run-on sentence, Batman).
Because I’m 100% sure the very fact that I’m putting this stuff away all the time is probably irritating the CRAP out of him (he’s got to be thinking, “Why, WHY does she have to put away my cell phone charger when I just have to get it out again in the morning to plug it into what must be the most super convenient location in the whole entire house?!? I don’t get it!”).
Like sands through the hourglass, my friends…
Oh my gosh, dudes. I made the BEST cupcakes!
Coconut.
Cupcakes.
But, ah, let me back up. First thing’s first. I’m addicted to the Food Network.
Like, seriously addicted.
It’s weird. It was kind of a gradual thing with me. I’ve always liked to cook and bake, but I never really got into the shows about it. I always thought that cooking shows on TV were just boring old Donna Reed types who were strict about the “rules” and had the personality of…well, of someone who cooks on TV.
I remember the first time I really watched the Food Network, though. I had gone over to my sister’s place, and she had Paula Deen’s show on. Paula was making peach cobbler. Enough said. Between the deliciousness that was the cobbler and the awesomeness that was Paula, I was hooked. That was probably, oh, eight years ago.
Now, I like to watch it for the recipes and for the chefs that I love…and for its general food fantasy qualities. Aside from actually sitting and watching the shows, I even like to have it on just as background noise. The sound is like little food elves are hanging in my living room with me planning a holiday party.
Ahem.
Anyway, what was I saying?
I love Ina Garten. Sure, she says “fabulous” too many times, and sure, she acts like everyone has a house in the Hamptons and can afford all the specialty stores she frequents. But, I can’t hate. Girl used to work in the White House. And, she built a specialty food store into a successful business that she eventually sold to her employees. That’s heart.
So, really, the coconut cupcakes. They’re AMAZING. And, I’m not even a huge fan of coconut. They’re not overwhelming at all, though. I ended up making only half the recipe because, between CK and me, there was no way we would should go through all those cupcakes. As it was, I stuck a bunch in the freezer because half a recipe made almost two dozen cupcakes.
The batter was kind of thick, but since the recipe called for 5 eggs, halving it was, well, let’s just call it a little tricky.
I think I may have baked them a little bit too long, too, since the tops were kind of hard (but, I didn’t have any toothpicks, so it was hard to tell if they were done in the middle). But, the smell in here when they were baking…
Heaven.
And, the icing. MY GOD THE ICING. It made the whole cupcake. (And, it made a ton, so be prepared to freeze some icing for future indulgence). I decided to sprinkle extra coconut only on some of them (it’s a texture thing…I’m ok with coconut inside…but, for some reason, not on top).
So, please. Go find your inner Ina. You know it’s in there…
…when this shows up in your weekly grocery store flyer.
Alone. Alone. A. Lone. Alone.
It’s one of those words that sounds funny after you’ve said it a few times in a row.
Like Band-Aid.
Alone.
I’m by myself, if you can’t tell. CK had to fly home for a friend’s father’s funeral this weekend. It was unexpected. And awful. Makes you remember how short life can be.
But, I’m in the house alone for the weekend, and it feels strange. I’ve always been a little bit of a loner. Not in a weird, isolated way, I’ve just always kind of liked being alone. It’s probably why I spent most of my 20s outside of a committed relationship. I was just never motivated by loneliness to try to find someone to be with. I was never lonely. Even when I started dating CK, we were so far apart, geographically, that we only saw each other about once a month. So, I worked all week, did all my chore nonsense, talked to him on the phone, went out with friends, visited my family. I was busy. And, as much as I enjoyed a rockin’ happy hour with Meghan, I always welcomed a Friday night in. Just getting caught up on things, checking / writing email, drinking some wine…general downtime.
But now…working from home, being in a city where I only know CK’s friends - and, great as they are, they’re not my friends, living in a house that’s his, being away from friends…family. It’s different. A Friday night in by myself isn’t nearly as appealing as it was six months ago.
But, on the flipside, I have free reign over all decorating decisions for the next 36 hours…
My Mom ROCKS. In the midst of my homesickness, she sent me a surprise Smiley Cookies package! And, they weren’t just any Smiley Cookies. They were STEELER Smiley Cookies!
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t rip open the box and eat one on the spot. Before lunch. It felt - and tasted - like a giant hug from home. And, to top off the deliciousness with more awesome, she sent me an “I Take Mine Black ‘n Gold” coffee mug that has already worked its way into my morning routine.
Now, completely unrelated to my Mom’s great deed, I feel that I have to make something public.
Do you know that Eat ‘N Park makes CLEVELAND BROWNS SMILEY COOKIES??!?
Yeah, ME EITHER. As far as I’m concerned, if you have the words “flagship” and “Pittsburgh” in the same sentence on your website, you should not be making anything that involves the color combination of orange and brown.
For shame, Eat ‘N Park. For shame.
Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Steelers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE ARE THE WINNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ahem. Sorry.
So, we drove up to Jacksonville for the Sunday night game…and emerged victorious! Awwww, yeeeah! So much for that 4-game winning streak against us, eh Jaguars? Awesome.
We had such a fun time at the game. CK’s Dad got us some tickets through his magical ticket friends (I don’t know; they seem magical to me), and they were good ones, too. We had to wait outside of one of the gates, though, to meet the couple that we’d be sitting with (aka, the magical ticket deliverers). So, somehow we ended up being the official Steeler greeting crew in front of Gate 4. Oh, Steeler Nation, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I met so many awesome people. People down from Pittsburgh… People originally from the ‘Burgh who’d moved down to Florida… “Where’d you grow up?” “Ellwood City.” “GET AHT! I went to Seneca Valley!” Sigh. I love my people.
But, it was my first time in Jacksonville, and I have to say, it’s a gorgeous city. My friend Mark, who now lives in Atlanta, is originally from Jacksonville. When I told him I was going to the game, he gave me some awesome pointers about where to park, what to expect, etc. I wish we would have had more time to explore. Driving past the city was impressive, though. Mark had told me that it would feel a little bit like the ‘Burgh, what with the stadium being on the water and all. The river is MUCH bigger, though, and everything seemed so new and clean. The stadium was nice, and most of the Jaguars fans were really cool to us (well, at least BEFORE the game started. Don’t even get me going on the obnoxious guys who sat a few rows in front of us…).
We were - by some miracle - in our seats well before kickoff, which never happens, so we got to see some pre-game stuff. There are a couple naval bases in Jacksonville, and they did a whole military plane fly-over (I’m sure it has a much more official-sounding name than that) after the National Anthem. It was really impressive. Rock on, Jacksonville.
Oh, and check out this pic I snapped of one of the stores inside the stadium (sorry it’s a little hard to see, but it was just starting to get dark at the time).
Jagwear. JAGwear. It’s like they knew I was coming SPECIFICALLY to make fun of them! Dem jagoffs wear jagwear. It’s too easy…
But, back to the obnoxious fans in front of us. Thankfully we were right, smack in the middle of a section of at least 50 Steeler fans, so we were nicely insulated. Ok, I get it. We’re the visiting team. But, dudes. They have this cheer that they do every time (to be clear, that’s EVERY TIME) they get a first down. It’s permanently tatooed in my brain, and it goes like this:
“MOVE THOSE CHAINS, MOVE THOSE CHAINS, MOVE THOSE CHAINS, BLUE!” (Ok, I think they say “blue” at the end, but don’t quote me on that. I was mostly just holding my poor, blessed, bleeding ears by that point). So, you can see how that alone would get under one’s skin, correct? Well, imagine people turning around in their seats to chant it AT YOU. Me no likey (cyou tell this was my first away game?).
Oh, and you know what else? I had two local celebrity spottings while I was there! I so wish I had pics to show, but my camera died literally one second after the Jaguars took the field (coincidence?). The first one was Kevin Greene, specimen of defensive awesomeness. And, the second? Luke, specimen of mayor-needs-a-bodyguard. For reals. He “had a guy” with him on the shuttle ride back. Whatever.
Anyway… I guess my assessment in a nutshell is:
Jacksonville? Good.
Jacksonville Jaguars fans sitting in section 241? Not good.
Steeler win? FLIPPIN’ AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rest it up this week guys, we have some Bungals comin’ at us after the bye!!!!
P.S. Apologies for the exclamation points. But, we beat the Jags. Enough said.
