Paging Doctor Freud......

In which... What does that mean??



I had a dream last night. Not anything life changing or even inspiring. Just a little strange. I was at some bar doing some bad Karaoke. When Kid Rock came up on stage to sing Lowlife with me. I was excited. Kid Rock is Super hot, in the I-don't-wash-my-hair-for-800-months-but-you-still-want-me-because-I'm-secretly-sexy, kind of way. But I managed to play it cool.

Spring is finally here....

In which the sun comes out and I get paranoid.....

The weather is getting really nice here. I love it but am missing it so far because I have been at work all day, every day, for the last 6 days. But there is not a doubt that winter is over! I know the bees are essential to our ecosystem but I do wish I had some sort of force field to keep them at least 5 feet away, at all times.

Mmmmm.. Soup

In which I bring you soup. AND PICTURES




Ingredients

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil,
2 large raw Onions,
3 Chicken Breasts (bone and skin removed) **3 medium potatoes or equal amount Tofu**
1 large, peeled Carrot, finely chopped (7-1/4" to 8-1/2" long)
2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 and a half Jalapeno Pepper with seeds (for the heat, Yay! heat)
2 tsp of fresh Thyme or 1 tsp of dried Thyme
8 cups of fat free Chicken Broth **Vegetable broth**
2 cups or 1 can of black beans
6 cups of fresh chopped baby spinach (best if cut fairly fine)
1 large Tomato (diced)or 2 regular Roma Tomatoes
1 dash of salt or salt substitute
A little bit of pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese as garnish (7 tbsps)**Non dairy substitute for vegetarians**

** = Vegetarian substitutions

Best Lunch from a burger joint

In which it started with a shake.



Today, for lunch, I said I was going to buy something because I forgot to Bento. I really wanted a milkshake. Matt said something like, "If you get a shake, why not a real one from. Ice-Berg!

Oh-My-Gawd! Best shake EVAR! If you are ever in Walla Walla, Washington. Drive down 9th and go to a little drive-in burger joint call The Ice-Berg. Tastes like home cooked BBQ burgers. But the shakes are thick and oh-so-delicious.

I ate the burger. But got too full to finish the fries. I passed them along to Gibblesnix to finish off. Along with the fry sauce. And the company of Bindu. The best blue dog ever. We, of course, discussed how Ice-Berg was the best burger joint in Walla Walla if you're going to do "fast food".

Goodbye, small town life

In which, why do we downsize and outsource in times like these?



Whatever happened to the small town feeling in businesses? I miss it and find that I hang onto whatever closely resembles it, whenever possible. True, I never knew movie tickets for 50 cents or milk for under a dollar, let alone delivered to my door. But I do remember walking to the local store and hearing "Hey, Rochelle. How's your Mama?" Or. "I know you're good for it." When you're a nickel short. Then making sure to bring the nickel with you the next trip to the store. I just found out the bank my family has used for years is closing our favorite branch. This is not just a bank. I know the ladies that work there. They know us by name. They ask about my kids, using their names and remember the details. They know my word is good and that means something these days. We bought a puppy. So, "V" bought his brother because they are the cutest puppies EVAR! We have play dates with the puppies. But. The economy is in the toilet. Not a newsflash, I know. So, the branch I love, the ladies I grew to know and trust with my money, are leaving. They are closing the Walla Walla branch. I feel cheated. I feel bad that they are going to lose their jobs. Worse yet, no one can do a thing about it.

I started thinking about this while I was dealing with a ginormous company that owns at least 15 of the US state's phone lines. I spoke to 3 representatives in 3 different countries. Not one of them being the U.S. Don't get me wrong. I don't think people are "taking our jobs". The companies are moving our jobs away from us.

Dear this week. WTF !?!?!

In which, WTF?


The "technical support services" manager called Sunday night and said "I'm sick. Can you please go in early tomorrow to cover for me?" I said, "Yeah. Sure. Feel better." Then he said, "You will be configuring modems too." *makes face* I hate doing that. Not that it is hard because it isn't. It's because the room is completely disorganized. The hardware is never in the same place twice. Plus, we are running low or out of some supplies. It doesn't help that one person in the office knows where things are and the rest of us have to guess. Anyway. I got up 30 minutes earlier than normal. Even though, I stayed up later because I was playing on the interwebz. Went out to start this car because it takes 10 minutes to start and warm up. Went in the house, grabbed my coat, brushed my teeth and went back out to the car to leave. *note: I always leave when I am almost late.* I put the car in reverse and hit the gas. I didn't move. Put it in drive. I didn't move. Played around thinking I could somehow fix it by turning it off and on. Or by shifting from drive to reverse to neutral and back to park...no. No, it didn't. After about 15 minutes, I gave up.