Nov 19, 2008 | General, Life |
Well, I got nothing interesting today. Yesterday, I went to Costco. How's that for fascinating? No overly perfumed people this time. But I did cut myself on a Christmas display. And had to go searching through the store for a napkin to stop the bleeding. I was looking at a mantel display thingie, and trying to see what the bottom was, when one of the blasted ornaments sliced the back of my finger.
Aside from that, I meandered the aisles. Of course I was supposed to be home writing! But I'd had to go to the Post Office to mail my contracts, so I decided I needed to make a wine run. Which turned into a meander through the aisles run.
I love the food section. I can spend a lot of time looking at cheese and various other nifty gourmet things. And yes, going back to Monday's Velveeta blog, you CAN buy imported French cheese for what you pay for Velveeta. Is that wrong or what?! 🙂 I rarely buy these things though because you have to buy in bulk most of the time. Do I really need a 3 pound hunk of imported parmesiano-reggiano? What about those 30 lb sacks of potatoes?!
Anyway, after Costco, I came home. Hubby arrived shortly thereafter and I talked him into taking me for dinner. We went to a local restaurant that serves Cajun food. And the owner remembered me as an author and said that the waiter who served us last time has been asking if I'd come back yet. Who knew that being a romance novelist could be so exciting? He wants to do a book launch party in the restaurant. Why not? Jambalaya is a take off on paella, so perhaps I can tie the Spanish theme in somewhere. 🙂
That was my seriously exciting day. How did yours go? What do you think of book launch parties? Ever been to one? I hadn't actually planned one since Harlequin does such fabulous promo for the lines, but maybe it'd be fun….
Nov 18, 2008 | Blogging, General, Life |
To the people who keep typing some variation of “how to kill my spouse” into their search engines and clicking over here, there is NO WAY to kill your spouse and get away with it. It's wrong, it's immoral and illegal. Get a divorce. Go to counseling. But do NOT think you're going to kill your spouse and get away with it.
This is the post that's popping up in the search engines. It was a tongue in cheek statement that a writer can put anyone she is mad at in a book (as a character, duh) and then do what she wants to them. It's not a treatise on how to get away with murder.
What's on your mind today? If you blog, what's the top search phrase (or the weirdest) that brings people visiting?
Nov 17, 2008 | Diet, General, Life |
Some people think I'm a food snob. I don't know why that is. I just like food without mystery ingredients. What's so wrong with that? The fresher, the better.
But then, on Friday, I was shopping and realized something. Something that indicated to me that I might just be a teensy bit of a food snob after all. I had NO clue where to find Velveeta cheese. I wanted to make that cheese dip that's so popular at parties, you see, because I was hosting a chapter board meeting at my house on Sunday. And I like that dip, but I've never made it, so there I was searching.
Not. A. Clue.
And I was too stubborn to stop and ask. (Or maybe I didn't want anyone to know what I was looking for. I had visions of Tony Bourdain going all Invasion of the Body Snatchers on me if he saw the stuff in my cart.) I figured out pretty quick that it wasn't refrigerated. And that's just wrong! What's in that stuff anyway?
So I wandered down to the chips. Nope, not there. I wandered back to the canned tomatoes (you know, because you pair it with Rotel). Nope, not there either.
I wandered past the macaroni and cheese. I never look at this stuff because I don't eat it. But before you think I'm an unrepetant snoot, the first meal I ever learned to cook, when I was about eight yrs old, was boxed macaroni and cheese. Loved the stuff! And I've made plenty of Hamburger Helper back in the day. Oh yes, used to go to Sam's Club and buy the stuff in bulk.
But somewhere along the way, I changed my stripes.
While I was searching for Velveeta, I remembered Government Cheese. Remember that? I think it was the gov't version of Velveeta, and they used to give it away. My parents used to get it, and we put it on crackers and who knows what else. Probably made grilled cheese sandwiches with it.
Finally, I arrived at the Velveeta. It sort of has it's own place in the store! It was down the aisle from the mac & cheese, and it comes in varieties now. Pepper Jack? That looked kind of good.
But then I saw the price. Seriously, cheese* that the gov't used to give away for free costs as much as gourmet cheese from France?! Mon Dieu! Somewhere, Julia Child is rolling in her grave. After deliberating, I chose the smaller package, 2% milk version. And forked over enough money for it to buy a hunk of brie.
What food do you consider funky? Do you use Velveeta? Remember free gov't cheese? And yes, I made the dip — and it was good! But now that I've gone searching for how the stuff is made, I don't think I'll be buying it very often…
*Actually, it's a “cheese product.” Kraft was sued for calling it cheese because real cheese has 51% cheese or more. Velveeta does not. They cook it with a lot of whey, and then it congeals into the stuff we know as Velveeta. And it did look like a shiny congealed mass of something yellow to me.
Nov 12, 2008 | General, Rants |
Let's talk fragrance! I had occasion to think about perfume the other day. I was in a store, shopping with the hubby, when we turned down an aisle and got blasted by the heavy odor of a woman's cologne. We weren't in a department store, so it wasn't like we were walking past the fragrance department. We were in Costco.
I had to turn around. I couldn't stomach it. There was a time when an overly perfumed person simply was annoying. Now, the danger is a migraine. I can't handle it and I go elsewhere. It makes me sympathetic for people with allergies. I had no idea perfume could be so offensive until it started giving me migraines.
And then I got to thinking about my own perfume preferences. Ten years ago, I had a selection. Obsession, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Opium, Sunflowers, Shalimar, Passion, J'Adore — I had mood perfume, and I often had the lotions and gels that went with each fragrance.
The only fragrance I wear now is the Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush body mist. It's not really perfume, and it isn't offensive to my senses. It occurred to me as I flipped through one of my favorite fashion magazines recently that I was saving a lot of money by not buying perfume anymore. I remember Opium costing around $70 for a small bottle; I have no idea what it costs now.
What's your favorite perfume? Has your ability to tolerate perfume changed over the years? Do overly perfumed people annoy you? What was your favorite perfume when you were a teen? In your twenties? Older? Do you still wear perfume?
Nov 6, 2008 | General, Life |
On Tuesday, something momentous happened. Yes, I cut my hair. (And, oh yeah, some guy won an election or something. *g*)
I have not changed my hair in about fifteen years. It's always been long and straight (once I grew out that spiral perm). But I felt like making a change finally. My stylist was actually worried I'd get upset after he made the first cut – but I didn't, and I haven't yet. In fact, it's not really all that different to me. I have layers now, which I haven't had in years, and I have to relearn how to use a curling iron and hairspray. But it's still long. It just feels more versatile now. If my hair wasn't so fine, and would hold a curl better, I could have kept the weight of the longer hair forever. But I'm not sorry I made the change.
Indeed, November seems to be a time for changes. Leaves change colors, the nation changes leaders, and I changed my hair. What about you? Made any changes lately? Planning any changes? Worried about change? Thinking about change, but not sure if you're ready? What's the biggest change you've ever made to your appearance?
Nov 4, 2008 | General |
Today, for the first time in my life, I will be voting in person. Since the very first election in which I was eligible to vote, I have always voted absentee. My ballot came in the mail, an official looking document wrapped in several layers of brown envelopes. I checked the boxes and sent the ballot back. After a lifetime of military absentee voting, today I will be standing in line (and I will stand there no matter how long it takes) and finding out whether I pull a lever or punch a button or whatever. I truly have no idea. And I'm looking forward to it!
Voting is an amazing right we have in this country. Exercising it should be a top priority. It's easy to think your vote doesn't count, but it does. One way or another, it does. And remember, if you don't vote, you really shouldn't complain about how things turn out if you don't like the result. So go make sure your voice is heard!
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