Another Meme to Get Me Off the Hook

Thanks to PT-LawMom, here's another meme about..... MEEEEEEEEE! Please go read her blog; she's a working, law-school-attending mother who cares a great deal about justice.

This time, it's the A-B-C's!

A - Attached or Single?
Attached.

B - Best Friend?
I have several bestests.

C - Cake or Pie?
Cake.

D - Drink of Choice?
Champagne or lemonade.

E - Essential Items?
Burts Bees lip balm.

F - Favorite Color?
Changes daily.

G - Gummie Bears or Worms?
Bears.

H - Hometown?
Born in Sylacauga. Ho-a-whoo-ah?

I - Indulgence?
Sudoku. And microwave popcorn. And lemonade.

J - January or February?
January, I guess. Fresh starts are always appealing.

K - Kids?
No thanks, I have enough already.

L - Life is incomplete without?
Never had an issue with this one. Never felt not complete, really. Things are what they are.

M - Marriage Date?
August 1 and May 16. Same guy, different years.

N - Number of Siblings?
One older sister.

O - Oranges or Apples?
Oranges.

P - Phobias/Fears?
Can't think of any right now. I used to have a major fear of flying, but it has been reduced to a low-level of discomfort.

Q - Favorite Quote?
"Drop the story line." Pema Chodron.

R - Reason to smile?
Things my kids do and say. Oh, and watching Strangers with Candy reruns on DVD.

S - Seasons?
They can be very pleasant.

T - Tags?
Mine peeps have already been tagged.

U - Unknown Fact About Me?
---

V - Vegetarian or oppressor of animals?
I only oppress fish and dairy cows.

W - Worst Habit?
Procrastination. THANKS for the ENABLING, PT-LawMOM.

X - X-rays or ultrasounds?
Having an x-ray today, as a matter of fact, to guide an ultra-long [ya know, when people told me the needle was REALLY BIG, I assumed they meant long--enough to get into my joint space. But what they meant was...] ultra-FAT needle into the space in my right hip socket. Soooooo excited that I both want to vomit and faint at the same time. [I did neither, but came pretty close to the latter when it was time to sit up again.]

Y - Your favorite food?
Still feeling a little queasy from X, so I'll sit this one out.

Z - Zodiac?
Pisces.

The Bread

Twice now, I've baked a batch (two loaves) of 100% whole wheat bread that, imho, looks and feels just like bakery sandwich bread. But of course, my bread TASTES BETTER. Yes, I am both biased and proud of myself. Here's the recipe. I do not have a stand mixer (it's on the wish list for when we are in a house with a larger kitchen), so I hand knead for about twenty minutes while the kids eat a meal. Totally worth it, yessirree.

Here's the problem, though. My kids won't eat bread crusts. With this bread, that's like shaving the hair off Boticelli's Venus. So I religiously save their sandwich husks and snack on them throughout the day.

Moms: the human garbage disposals.

Here's a nice yeast roll recipe I made last week. I added two tablespoons of wheat bran to boost the nutritional content, but otherwise stuck to the recipe. Oh--except that I substituted milk soured with cider vinegar for the buttermilk, which I don't keep on hand.

Get baking, people!!

p.s. edited to add that I do not put an egg wash on either of these recipes. I like softer crusts.

A Bloody Good Read*

Several weeks ago, I read--correction: I tore through--Duane Swierczynski's novel, The Wheelman. Holy crap it was a strict adrenaline mainline. Crosses, double-crosses, cross-outs, and cross-your-hearts-and-hope-NOT-to-die's on every page. Not only do you get a story at break-neck speed, you get an education about Philly, about crime, and about anatomy and physiology, albeit not too sterile. Way to go, Duane. Please tell us it'll be a movie soon. I'll be adding his newest read, The Blonde, to my stack.

*Gaw, how many times has a reviewer written that headline for a high-body-count crime novel? Sorry, Duane.

Did you get the Meme-O? Re: Eight Random Things

Jess at jessyferguson.blogspot.com has tagged me for a meme where I give eight random facts about myself then tag eight more people. I am so ass-tired right now I am going to invite any and all to join in the fun! If you do it, then comment on this post with your link.

I haven't participated in a meme in a long time, so this should be fun. For me, I mean.

1. I love to wear high heels. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that in years due to joint problems and pregnancies.

2. I am compulsive about counting things when the number does not matter in the slightest. I count the number of scoops it takes to fill up the dog food container; I count the number of breaths my son takes before I leave his room in the middle of the night. Harmless, right?

3. I love Dolly Parton. I love everything about her.

4. I wish I had learned to play basketball. And, yes, it IS too late.

5. I have received only one traffic ticket in my entire life--I parked in a handicapped spot when I arrived late to take my GRE.

6. My three-year-old son puts off going to the potty as long as humanly possible. Hmmmm. Wonder where he gets that. La-la-la-la-la-la...

7. I have an extremely acute sense of smell.

8. I had an addiction to Oreos until I was about thirty-five. Don't know where that obsession went, but good riddance.

Now don't you want to adopt me???

BJ's Report

Minds out of the gutter, people. Notice the apostrophe s on the acronym.

My neighbor gave me a free pass to BJ's warehouse store that turns out to last three months. If I join ($45/yr for the lowest tier), they will take those three months off the total so I'll get nine more months.

I've gone three times now, and I'm still trying to work out whether the benefit is worth $45 to us.

Pros:

• More items per box means, typically, less wasteful/harmful packaging. Ex: 5 lbs of sliced American cheese with NO STUPID INDIVIDUAL WRAPPERS for $11.00.
  
• There are bargains, but you have to do the math. The following foods there are even cheaper than at Target: Morningstar Farms' veggie burgers (in a 16-pack, and not only are they cheaper, they're also LARGER than the kind in the box!) and Kellogg's Nutrigrain bars (my kids' breakfast of choice).
  
• Gas really is cheaper there.
  

Cons:

• It is far away (twenty minutes) and the traffic is stressful, not to mention the gas consumption and emissions.
  
• Each time, I end up buying something there that I know is not at its cheapest price, and yet I get it just because it's convenient.
  
• We don't have lots of storage space for food.
  
• They don't carry too much in the way of natural/organic foods. The only Silk I can find there are the vanilla and chocolate flavors--no plain!
  
• I do a pretty good job of shopping the sales in my neighborhood and using coupons on top of the loss leader prices.
  

I'm still thinking it over; I'll let you know. Meanwhile, YOU let me know how you use warehouse stores, or if you use them at all.