I think there's something wrong with me

lj-tags: blithering

I really <u>really</u> want some of Panda Express's tofu & eggplant stir-fry
thingie. Fresh from the wok. Right now.

Too bad i'm not going to get it...

Changes

lj-tags: in today's news, green

Its interesting how you can make a change that seems so dramatic at the
beginning, but over time it becomes so routine it doesn't even occur that
you made the change in the first place.

I was contemplating all the little changes i've made since this summer when
I started my little green kick - mostly because the new office filtered out
livejournal, the bastiches - and i'm having problems coming up with stuff,
simply because they were so easily adopted.

Stuff like switching laundry soap, getting onto an organic/local/in season
food kick, separating out my compostables, and (the big one) dropping HFCS.

I have to say that some of the switches haven't made a really noticable
difference - the laundry soap thing still gets me clean clothes, which is
nice. I haven't tried line-drying them or anything so the claims of soft
line-dried clothes from the soap's website have yet to be substantiated, and
I have to ask Freak (now that i've washed most of his clothing at least once
with the new stuff) if the condition of the skin on his back has improved
any.

Dropping HFCS completely, though... ESPECIALLY stopping the Dew... as sad a
day as that was, I was rather surprised to discover that my guts have really
thanked me for it. Also, when I declared breakfast to be
yogurt/granola/fruit, without fail... Besides filling me up so I don't get
hungry again before lunch, I noticed that i'm NOT GETTING SICK. I have yet
to catch the usual cold-weather sinus/lung infection that I normally get.

Today's change was doing the first load of dishes using the same soap i've
been using for my laundry... I ran out of conventional dishwasher soap a
day ago, and had done a sucessful test run with the Charlie's Soap a month
ago, so I put one scoop in the dishwasher & fired it up. Left for work at
that point, so when I get home i'll see if things got clean or not.

I do need to get rid of the remaining conventional laundry soap I have
though. Its one of those giant costco buckets, 2/3 full still. I know I said
I would give it to someone I didn't particularly like, but since all those
people I really don't associate with, I need to offer it up to people I do
like who would use it up for me. I want to free up the space on those
shelves.

Sooo... anyone want some costco brand laundry soap?

Be my shaved otter

lj-tags: whining

I seem to have fallen off the wheel of the year again.

Admittedly i'm not feeling the greatest today - sort of this general malaise
along with my ankle hurting, which means the convergence zone here is due
for some post-barometric fluctuation type weather change. And I managed to
torque my shoulder somehow - when I move wrong the tendon that wraps around
the front twinges at me.

But i'm not really getting into that whole christmas thing - still haven't
done my xmas cards, although I really need to so I can send them out in
time. I haven't done a ninja card, and i'm wondering if I should do one at
all... although if I make the time to sit down at my desktop & photoshop I
should be able to throw something fun together. Wish me luck on that.

Day 17

lj-tags: in today's news, iron nani

I'm on day 17 of my embargo on High Fructose Corn Syrup. Its been easier
than I thought - no rampant cravings, no mysterious headaches, just me being
inexplicably hungry a lot. Of course, this makes sense - when your body gets
used to getting those extra 600-ish calories a day, it'll complain until it
gets used to operating without. I will confess that I have found myself
looking longingly at dew when I see it left out, or when Freak offers me one
out of his stash - but I have been good, I don't drink any & go get some
juice or water or tea to drink instead.

I suppose I should be pleased that I'm very good at ignoring hunger when I
can't be bothered with eating.

The thing I've been noticing lately - on the subject of paying attention to
my own personal cause/effect - is that when I cook dinner for myself, out of
actual ingredients, I don't get hungry in the middle of the night. If I
yield to temptation and hit Jack in the Box (or go out & eat @ Shari's)
it'll fill me up... but about 4 hours later I'm waking up hungry. And yet I
<u>know</u> that a jumbo jack & 2 deep-fried tacos are not what you'd call
"low calorie". And I'm not eating any more food than what will fit into one
of my purple rice bowls - maybe about 2 cups by volume. If that.

The real bummer of all this is that now that I'm not going to the Farmer's
Market every weekend, I don't have this supply of inspirational veggies
showing up in my kitchen. Which really helps with the whole "what the hell
am I making for dinner" question every night. As well as the financial side
of things - at the farmer's market I'd spend (maybe) $15-20 on a whole bunch
of local/organic produce, and make dinner AND the next day's lunch off the
haul all that week. As compared to fast food - I spend $15 & we're fed for
that night. I'm going to have to find a different source for inspirational
veggies - Safeway perhaps? They're open 'till 1 am, and QFC is open all
night, although Safeway really doesn't carry much of the weird stuff that I
find fun.

Well, there's always Top Foods. I adore their produce dept.

Gravy Debate

lj-tags: iron nani

Which is another question.

The turkey, when I cooked it, left me with more than a pitcher full of
drippings. Of which the top 3" is turkey fat. Which, seeing as I stuck it at
the back of the fridge it all solidified into one fatty, easily removed
brick.

The question: should I save the greasy brick & use it to make some kick-ass
roux? Or should I assume that all the horrid fat-soluable toxins are in that
fat, & just toss it out, using butter to make the roux to make some gravy?

Think think think. Well, its a moot point until I get home anyway...

want

I want m&m's.

Like, really badly.

Not sure why.

more miscellania

There's a hint of blindness when posting from work via email. You can't see
your lj, you can't finish posting & click over to your friendslist to see
what everyone's up to, you can't look & see if anyone's commented on your
posts lately. I've speculated that livejournal is much like putting a
candle in the window for others on their own journey, but posting this way
is almost like writing a prayer on a piece of paper then burning it in the
incense bowl. Just a little strange.

Getting ready for work today - well, in the final 5 minutes or so anyway -
my ankle suddenly started hurting. Which my thought was, I haven't done
anything to re-injure myself... well, crap, incoming weather system. Let
the Freak know then finished packing up then headed out. Which, roughly 5
minutes after THAT, its HAILING on my CAR!!!! Not rain, not snow, but
actualy honest to god frozen teeny ice cubes dropping from the sky. I was
shocked, dismayed, and inexplicably wanted to turn right around & go back to
bed. Like, more than usual. Silly me.

Last night I discovered that Freak never enjoyed the pleasure of singing
"Brother John" in either english OR french. Which makes me wonder - did my
polyglot upbringing result in me picking up words & phrases like a sponge?
Am I destined to create a pidgin everywhere I go? Not that I mind.

Also, last night I discovered that while my mouse touchpad cannot be used as
a very small wacom tablet, my old standby of a light under a sheet of glass
makes a good makeshift light table. And when added to my scanner plus
photoshop installed on my laptop? Evil. Pure & complete Evil. I started
sketching at my kitchen table last night and FUCK it was easier than I
thought once I started drawing. Hell, after a 15-year hiatus I may even be
better than I used to be simply because i'm more coordinated than I was when
I was a teenager. Of course now I have to re-clean off my kitchen table &
perhaps spend the weekend with my watercolors & inks. Maybe turn one of the
sketches last night into an actual christmas card for once. Addicting.
Horribly so. You're all in trouble now...