Analysis Paralysis

My Weekend of Compulsive Sudoku PS3 Style

In an attempt to make me resent the PS3 less (not that i really resent it but it is a running joke) my husband got me "Go! Sukodu" from the PS store (web-store). Boy, is he regretting that 10 bucks!

I played and played and played today, about 4 hours worth. I didn't mean to Sudoku that long but I am feeling pretty burnt out with watching movies on my laptop while I knit and just wanted to veg out after our dinner guests went home.  The trouble with Sudoku, much like Tetris is that my brain LOVES puzzles and I don't even realize that the time is passing until suddenly I am rotating little cubes or placing numbers in a grid in my head even when I am not playing. Growing up, after we got a Nintendo, my parents would let me play pretty much anything and never censored which games I could buy with my own money (how I ended up with "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out" but that is another story) with one explicit exception: I was not allowed to buy Tetris. They would rent it occasionally for me and I would play like my life depended on it for the entire term of the rental (maybe a whole weekend).

Not that really anyone reads this thing but if anyone is reading this let me tell you something else special about Tetris for me...

When Isaac and I had been together about a year and half (this would be over a decade ago) I got pneumonia. I had had pneumonia before but this was the first time Isaac had seen me that sick. I spent about 6 days running a crazy high fever and unable to leave bed (it's all a hallucinating haze for me honestly), occasionally I would try to sit up and ramble at Isaac who was camping out in my 200 sq-ft studio apartment to make sure I didn't die or anything - plus, I had Internet...  I was bugged by him being there and kept on trying to get him to leave. Anyway... at that time Isaac and I were really in to restoring old arcade games (boy, that studio was crowded) and we had ROMS for many many games. We would take turns playing different arcade games with MAME and whatnot. Because of how much I loved Tetris Isaac found that game for me. When I was sick, Isaac took a screen capture of the winner screen (st. Basil's cathedral with the fireworks) and modified the picture to give me as a gift once I was feeling human again. The modification said "HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! ANEA IS FEELING BETTER" in the tetris font. Very cute (to a geek like me anyway). I saved that thing for years and would post it as a reference but the hard-drive died a cruel and unusual death before we moved from Portland and I no longer have it... Ah well, such is life.

I am now fiddling with my laptop while Isaac is reuniting with his PS3 before we crash out for the night (i guess I should really say day or morning). Have to get Isaac to work in 9 1/2 hours.

Before I go through, I want to also share my dinner party success! Tonight we hosted Isaac's best man, Chad, and his VERY pregnant girl-friend and I wowed all with my cooking prowess... Too bad I cooked something that they loved and I was not so happy with. Chad had given us some venison a few months ago and I hadn't done anything with it. Being that he was coming for dinner, I figured it was no or never. I made a massive batch of spaghetti with Venison in the sauce. Everyone said it was tasty. I am sure it was but I was having one of those days when by the time I am done cooking something I am sick of it and have no interest in eating it. I felt the same way about the cookies I baked tonight as well... WEIRD, I generally always want to eat cookies :). We had several reasons for having them over for dinner: the venison which Chad really wanted to eat;Caitlin (the gf) should be going into labor in the next two weeks or so and we figure that they won't get to have a relaxing, sitdown meal with other adults for a while (at least not without kid in tow); they are friends and it is good to occasionally be social; I skipped the baby shower at the last minute and needed to give them the blankets (yes two) that I had made for them and the baby; and Chad has his test for SERE school (some military thing) at 10 am on Monday (today I guess) - he is attempting to re-enlist in the military (this time the airforce instead of the army where he was before) due to the current economy and a very rational desire to be able to feed his soon-to-be-arriving son. So, we needed to praise him and tell him what a good job he is going to do and make sure he ate a real dinner.... Anyway, that's the story of the dinner party, if I weren't so exhausted I would have told that totally differently but I figured if i didn't post it now I wouldn't post it at ever, after all, there is sudoku to play (insert evil cackle here)...

Off to sleep, my apologies for the rambling incoherence of this post - didn't sleep at all Saturday night and it is now 5:33 in the morning Monday so I have been up for about 40 hours or so.

An Object in Motion Will Remain in Motion, An Object At Rest...

One of the biggest problems with long weekends is that life slows down to a snails pace. We sleep late. Isaac plays video games.I watch movies on my computer and dink around online. Our dogs snore loudly in the middle of the living room. It is nearly impossible to accomplish anything in this situation. Every time Isaac has a few days off we always plan on doing tons of stuff:go to home depot and then replant some palms we have; clean out my office so it can be an office again; re-grout the guest bathroom; fold all the laundry etc.

None of it gets done. I am proud of myself for showering today. :)

I promise I will post pictures etc when I am back to my real life and when Isaac has gone back to work and isn't sitting 3 feet away making sweet love to the PS3.

I have to admit though, it is awfully nice to have a couple of days where we just get to be mellow, after all the past few months have been insane with stuff to do.    

High-Lights and Low-Lights of 2008

The new year is upon us, it has been 2009 for almost a full 24 hours for me at this point, woo-hoo. My hope is that this year will be better than the last. That isn't to say that 2008 was all bad, just mostly bad...

Personal Highlights of 2008:

• Got Married. 

• Finally had a doctor run tests on my thyroid and now take synthroid - it is nice to have something explained after much wondering.

• Stopped seeing my jack-ass psychiatrist and started seeing a really good GP who actually listens to me and helps me.

• Isaac became a "regular" (can't call it permanent anymore) employee at his work and makes more money.

• Got my payment agreement set up with IRS so scary letters finally stopped.

• Started doing creative stuff again - journalling, collage, knitting & crochet and photography.

• Had my sinus surgery and my septum fixed -now I can breath again!

• Isaac and I both got new laptops.

• Got to spend time with my dad, mom, brother, grandparents and a few friends this year.

• Mastered the art of making gravy.

• Learned how to make Rise Kreme - Norwegian Xmas desert and my favorite.

• Got my entire nuclear family on Verizon so they stopped using up my minutes.

• Spent some fun times in Arizona with my friend Zach.

• Made a few friends here in Texas.

• My good friend Rose finally left our old company and got a job in her actual field (YAY Rose)!

• Found a Persian restaurant in Austin that is fairly good.

• My cousin Aaron's new wife, Leimomi, is super sweet and fun to hang out with.

• Isaac's dad gave us the truck that we were paying off as a wedding gift.

• As of December I was able to get on Isaac's insurance and not have to pay for COBRA anymore.

Shit-List of 2008:

• My cat, Calvin, who I had had for 11 years died over the summer with no warning. Came home from a business trip and he was gone.

• My car is dying andI still owe money on it.

• I got laid off in August.

• My payment agreement with IRS was set up 3 weeks before I lost my job (and income) and I can't afford the payments that I agreed to.

• I still don't have a job.

• My grandparents are sick.

• I miss my friends every day and rarely get to talk to them let alone see them.

• My good friend Jean got uterine cancer that has spread aggressively through her body.

• My medications without insurance are over 2k a month.

• COBRA coverage cost over $500 a month just for medical.

• My new laptop has had continuous part failure and overheating issues.

• I've lost almost 75% of my life savings in the economic crash.

• Everyone moving to Verizon also meant that everyone moved on to my bill.

• I discovered that "credit insurance" / "payment protection" is a total scam. Paid for it for around 8 years on all my accounts only for it to still not be active on ANY of them after nearly 5  months.

• I miss my Nana every day.

• Paid for half of my neighbors fence building endeavor only to have it be ugly and less of a barrier between our dogs and theirs than the old fence was.

• On the last day of the year I shattered a molar while chewing gum and can't find a dentist for at least a week, stupid stupid holiday season making all the detists be unavailable. 

A picture of the largest chunk of my tooth in the palm of my hand.

I know that there is more on both lists but I can't think of them right now...

Hope 2009 is a better year for everyone!

Crafty Projects & My Office of Doom

Anyone who has been to my house will have been given "the tour" the first time they are over. And anyone who has been over knows that my office is a no entry zone. I don't mean that people shouldn't go into it (although, to be honest, that is also true) but that you can't actually get through the door and into it. This is because of two major factors: 1) My office became the dumping ground of pet prohibited items when we first moved in because I didn't want the dogs in my space and this then became the habit for most anything we wanted to put out of sight and 2) in August my mother sent a giant truck load of things to me from Seattle. The basis of the truck delivery was that I have a big house (4 bedrooms and 2 baths for only 2 people) and I knew how to use ebay so I could sell some of the stuff from my childhood etc that my mother didn't want taking up space in her storage locker anymore. The concept was great, I would get to pick all the things I wanted to keep and I would get to keep the money from the sales on ebay.. in reality, this is what happened: the economy tanked and took with it high bids on things of ebay. I am not interested in selling childhood items for substantially less than they are worth just to get them out of the office - that is what my attic is for dammit! On top of ebay sales dropping I also lost my job due to the spiraling economy and the resulting depression has left me mostly immobilized at the concept of going through boxed that may hold items that will make me cry. I can't come across any more letters from my Nana or cards from friends who passed away in HS or college. I just can't take it right now. So, the boxes have sat and sat and the door stays closed and I have set up base camp in the living room. Isaac really hates this. In a lot of ways I find it very convenient, the best tv is in the living room along with the stereo plus, it is close to the kitchen and I am able to keep an eye on the dogs without having them directly in my personal space. However, I am prone to setting up a bit of a defending wall around me while I work - it in't intentional (at least not consciously) but it is how things end up working out. Anyway, long story shortened a bit here... Isaac is now planning on getting my office set up for me as a gift for me (read: so he can play with his PS3 without feeling guilty). This makes me happy but I am a bit nervous about what he will do with my stuff. We have already had the "what looks like junk to you isn't necessarily junk to me" talk and he has agreed to not throw things away without talking to me and letting me know where he puts all the stuff he takes out the of office....

My crafty projects: I have been crocheting and knitting like mad lately. I've had to make blankets for Isaac's best man's pregnant girl friend and for their baby (done!YAY!) as well as a shawl for Isaac's grandmother, an afghan for my dad, a throw blanket for my friend Jean to use during chemo and a blanket for my friend Zach. I also have promised myself that I would make ME something (my plan is a sweater, I already have the yarn) but I don't know if that will actually happen or not. I'll post pictures of things as I finish them. In the meantime, I took this picture yesterday of the giant pile of yarn that had built up on the couch. I am proud of myself though, today that pile is gone as I emptied out a basket that I had full of really cut up magazines and replaced it with balls of yarn.

Silly Picture for Tonight

Before wandering off to bed I thought I would share this, perhaps the silliest thing I have done in relation to my dogs....

Cancellation: It's Not Just TV

This year, like many others, I found a few products that I enjoyed and coming up to the end of the year I can't get them anymore. There is never an announcement about these things, just one day they aren't in the shop anymore.

Earlier this week while I was grocery shopping I couldn't find the toothpaste I like. I thought maybe it was the store but I looked online and the only place I could find it was Longs.com on clearance and ebay. I know it wasn't the most popular toothpaste but it was both Isaac and my favorite.

It's Crest Nature's Expressions Green Tea + Mint, and I am pretty sure they don't' make it anymore.

Because I have a habit of fixating on something when I want it, I actually used Isaac's debit card (with his permission of course) to buy 10 tubes of it from the only retailer that had it - longs.com good thing it was on clearance sale! I got 10 tubes of it for $29 including tax and shipping.

A few other products that disappeared from the shelves on me: - .

 Bottle Green Elderflower Presse Water- I used to be able to buy this from the co-op in Seattle and had brought it home with me a few times when I visited. Now, they don't carry it there and I can't get any shop to order it for me. I ended up buying a case of the small bottles from a beverage distributor in NY for around $45 so that I could have it on special occasions. This product still exists but apparently is near impossible to get outside of the UK or Canada (Canadian sister company with slightly different recipe).  I have sent requests about it directly to the Bottle Green company but I doubt that my little voice (ok, big voice - but comparatively little) will make any difference or make it at all likely that they will stock this item in Texas.

  Isaac's all time favorite gum, Extra Cool Green Apple. He used this gum to help him quit smoking and has started to smoke again with it's absence from the shelves (alright, his addiction also played a part). They don't even list the flavor on the website anymore. The only place it can be found (other than ebay) is buywhosalecandy.com. As a holiday gift I did get Isaac two cases of it, i even used my unemployment debit card for the purchase so it would be a surprise, but it hasn't arrived yet.

There are lots of others, but right now I don't feel much like tracking down pictures and whatnot. I will post more product related disappearing acts when I have time.    

Xmas Dinner - The food

So, I posted a bunch of these on flickr but I figured I would put them here as well. We didn't end up eating dinner until after midnight but it was still good. I am about to put dessert on the table now. I will post pics of that tomorrow.  All of the pictures I am posting tonight I took with the camera on my new BB storm (I am still figuring it out so I apologize for fuzzy pictures!).

   

   

      

   Alright, now I am going to put the cookies and rise kreme on the table.

 

The Baking Begins

As soon as I am done writing this post (procrastinating again) I will begin baking. I have an amazing amount of stuff to do tonight and it is already 11:45 pm. Thank goodness Isaac and I both sleep late.

The only way I can get my head around doing this holiday is by focusing on tasty food. As such this is what I am doing tonight so that we can have a fancy dinner tomorrow -(we are doing the big meal on xmas eve):

• Roast Pecans to go in salad (and to snack on)
• Bake Shortbread Cookies with recipe given to me by Isaac's Aunt Brenda
• Make Rise Kreme (pronounced Reese Crem - basically Norwegian Rice pudding) - this means stirring milk with rice until it boils and thickens... takes forever but is really tasty.

Tomorrow I will make the rest of the stuff 

•  Leg of Lamb
• Gravy from scratch
• Mashed Potatoes
• Corn on the cob
• Honey Nutmeg Carrots

I've already made my famous oatmeal pecan cookies...

We are going to have so many left-overs I can't even imagine but at least we will eat well while everything in the state is closed for the next few days.

Off to make some food!

Better Pic of Nana & An Old Polaroid of Papa Dave

As my Aunt Jan said in her comment, that last post had a terrible photo of my Nana. So, as as I get ready to run out the door to go to the grocery I thought I would take a second (i am the queen of procrastination) and post a better photo of my Nana.

I took this one while I was talking my Nana out to lunch for either her 92nd or 93rd birthday (can't remember which). Still doesn't look like the Nana of my childhood - I will have to get out my scanner to post any of those but it is a happier looking Nana anyway.

For a better picture of my Nana's 95th birthday, my Aunt Jan took one of her with her cake that is posted on flickers here.

I thought I would also put up a Polaroid of my Papa Dave and me from when I was little.

Something I Found Yesterday

 Yesterday when I had to run and get the new compact flash card for Isaac's camera I picked up a 12 in 1 card reader. When I got home and started around with it I started to think about all the pictures that were on some of the older cards in the house. I didn't even know what was on some of them as we hadn't had working SM camera in a long time and Isaac couldn't remember what he had taken pictures of last with his camera. So, I started plugging them into the reader and putting them onto my laptop. The picture above was one of the first to catch my eye.  This picture is of my Nana and my Uncle Stan at my Nana's 95th birthday in May 2007. She passed away on October 23rd of that same year and this was the first time I had seen the pictures as the little camera I had traveled with died before I got back to Austin.

This isn't how I remember my Nana for the most part. In my head her hair is Auburn and "done" and she's smiling and feeding all of us cookies or blintzes or corned beef. I miss my Nana's corned beef! If I didn't live in Texas where Brisket is a BBQ institution maybe that is what I would make for dinner tomorrow night. Alright, off to the store to buy supplies - I think I will get the stuff to make Nana's pb rice crispy treats too though!