Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Random Thoughts

1. I have a lot to do at work today but zero motivation. I spent the last hour constantly refreshing Facebook to see if anyone's uploaded anything worthwhile.....and now I'm printing out a recipe for homeade cinammon bread.

2. I just saw a dog hair in my lunch.....I tried to pick it out and then I lost track of it. So I kept eating. Gross? Maybe. (I know it was one of my dog's hairs though. Still not sure if that makes it any better.)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Last night.....

....I dreamt I had a baby. The baby was clearly not mine as it was a different race entirely. But this didn't seem to concern me in my dream. And in the span of 2 weeks he had already grown to the size of an 8-year-old. But because I still thought he was a newborn, I insisted on carrying him around everywhere, including to the Toddler Wrestling Championships, which took place in a field. Everyone todl me we had a good shot at winning since my little guy was so hefty.

I swear, I only had had 2 drinks all night.

Today is.....

.....Thursday, August 26th. It's National Dog Day.

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to his last beat of his heart. You owe him to be worthy of such devotion." - Unknown





Saturday, August 21, 2010

The things.....

....you see while working on a Saturday. Wow, it's like a whole other world out there. It's nice to have a big window that overlooks a downtown street though. Allow me to share two things I saw this morning:

One, I don't mean to judge parents, as I am not one, but I'm really not sure about those kid-leash things.



Two, I just saw a woman wearing the tighest pair of acid wash jeans ever. Yes, I wrote "tighest" and "acid-wash" together in the same sentence for the first time since I wrote my 1988 Christmas list.

Anyways, I grabbed my camera, but by the time I was ready, she had entered here apartment across the street. I've have my camera sitting beside me at the ready for the past 4 hours in case she re-emerges.

Enjoy your Saturday.

I love...

...carbs. (Whoa...initially I typed "crabs". That would have totally changed the entire meaning of this blog.)

I could eat pasta every day, for every meal. The boy, not so much.

Last night, while perusing the grocery store, trying to decide what we should have for supper:

Me: "I'm craving mashed potatoes".
Him: "What do you want to have with them?"
Me: "I don't know....I might just make a Lipton Sidekick or something."
Him: (looking aghast) "That's it?!"
Me: "I'm sorry? What do you mean 'that's it'? That's lots."
Him: (looking disgusted with me) "There's no meat in that meal."

For him, a meal without meat, isn't a meal. This morning though, I took it as a gift from the gods, that while reading one of my favourite blogs, I came across this recipe. It's the perfect combination of carby-goodness, and.....BACON. Who doesn't love bacon?! And bacon is a meat product. This is like win-win. It's the perfect merging. If you've ever wondered how to combine bacon & pasta....I have your answer. Oh, and it's super easy. I wish I knew who came up with the recipe so I could call them and thank them personally. Or marry them. Whatever. Read on.

Ingredients:
2 packages (16 Oz. Package) Bacon, Naturally Flavored
½ cups Bacon Grease, From The Bacon You're Cooking
2 cans (28 Oz. Cans) Diced Tomatoes, Nothing Added
½ cups Chopped Fresh Basil
2 cloves Fresh Garlic, Minced
1 bunch Chopped Green Onions
2 teaspoons Salt, Optional
1 box (16 Oz. Box) Capellini Or Angel Hair Pasta

Preparation:
Fry bacon in a large frying pan, making sure it’s cooked thoroughly but not too crispy. Drain cooked bacon on paper towels, but don’t throw away the grease in the pan! You want to reserve 1/2 cup bacon grease. Dump the rest of the bacon grease out, then put the skillet back on the stove without cleaning it. Trust me. When the bacon is cool, use your fingers to tear it into small pieces. (Please, don’t ever use store bought bacon bits in this recipe.) Set your cooked, crumbled bacon aside.

Now, open your tomato cans and dump them into a large bowl. Throw in the chopped fresh basil and stir. You want to be able to see the basil, distributed evenly in the tomatoes, so if you have to add more, you can. Set this bowl aside and let the flavors mingle while you do the next step.

Dice your garlic, and chop your green onions. Pour your 1/2 cup of bacon grease back into the skillet and heat it to medium. Throw in and saute your garlic and onions. When they’re getting a nice tan from the color of the bacon grease, add your bacon. On low heat, saute the bacon together with the garlic and onions for around ten minutes. When you start getting high from the smell in your kitchen, pour in the bowl of tomatoes and basil. Stir together really well, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook your pasta according the directions on the package. Drain noodles and set aside. Right before serving, in a very large bowl, add the bacon/tomato sauce to the noodles and mix well.

This stuff is also pretty amazing reheated the next day. I usually just pop it into the microwave for a minute or two.

\

Update: I made this recipe on Saturday and it turned out amazing! It tasted so good. How come I never thought to put pasta & bacon together before?! It was super easy, the only thing that was a bit of a pain was having to cook all the bacon seperately before starting on the sauce. And trying not to eat all the bacon before adding it to the sauce. I may have been 2 or 3 pieces short by the time I got aruond to that step. But who's counting? It even looked as good as it did in the photo above! Enjoy!

I know some....

....people in town received the Sears Christmas Wish Book on their doorsteps this morning.

I hope mine comes today too.

Don't judge me. Don't you dare judge me.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Ladies....

...many of you have teased me about my affinity for Dwight Yoakam. But, I challenge you, hit "Play" on the video below..........just give it a chance, ok? Watch it until the end. It's only a few seconds long.


And if you still don't find this guy even a little bit sexy.....then you and I are just from different planets.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

I've got a date tonight.....

...with Dwight. Yes. Mr. Yoakam. And me. Orillia. Free ticket. Sigh. Bliss.



I know he's not everyone's cup of tea. But I adore him. Everything about him.

When I mentioned on Facebook I was going to see him, it elicitted a number of rude remarks that I won't repeat. But a co-worker put it perfectly.

"Thats awesome...hes kinda sleazy hot...in a trailer trash kinda way..."

Amen sister.

Monday, August 16, 2010

This is why.....

....I do not buy expensive curtains.

A note to my neighbours.....

Dear Neighbour,

Please do not be alarmed if you see my cat.

Please note, he:

-is not rabid
-has not been exposed to radiation
-is not sick
-is relatively healthy for all intents and purposes

He merely got badly tangled in some burs and after hours of pulling and brushing, I dealt with the situation the only way I knew how.
















Sincerely, Jamie

P.S. Also, if you happen to see my significant other, please refrain from mentioning that I used his electric razor to shave the cat. Thank you very much.

This one's for you Lisa.....



Aside from the downtown Owen Sound Tim Horton's location.....have you ever seen so much denim in one place?

Last Friday....

.....we prepared to leave for a long weekend away at the cottage. Myself, the boy, the short one, and the two small dogs. We planned to leave around 1. But we knew better than to put too much pressure on ourselves, as we have never once hit the road on time.

This time.....a miracle occurred. We pulled out of our driveway early.



Only by a minute, yes. But normally, when we plan to take off for the 7 hour drive at 1, we are lucky to be out of the house by 2.

Don't get too excited though.



The above photo was taken after we gpot about 3 blocks away and then realized we didn't have any pillows or blankets, so we turned back.



When this photo was taken we were exactly 7 minutes down the highway (after having stopped for french fries at a chip stand, then at a garage sale and then at another convenience store to buy a magazine).

I love road trips.

Friday, August 6, 2010

"Hey, nice BIBS lady!"



I'm not typically a seafood fan. The most exotic seafood I eat is fish & chips.

Last night however, we attended Lobster & Laughs. It was a Lobster & Steak dinner literally right on the beach. And it was amazing. The food, the atmosphere, the sun setting over the water. Good people. Lots of fun.



My phobia of different foods touching each other was on full display.



I pulled off the claws and gave the rest (the face?) to the boy. I was a little uncomfortable with my food watching me while I ate it.

Anyways, I'm so glad the boy dragged my sleep-deprived, cranky self off the couch and convinced me to go. I alreday can't wait for next year.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I bet you thought....

....I was lying when I said I fall. A lot. My friends, I wish I were.

I'm the only person I know who can fall down a flight of stairs from a sitting position. I took out the home owner's potted plant on the way. Fortunately, I sustained only minor injuries.



Unfortunately, I was completely sober at the time.