yoga, books, movies, tv & too many crime procedurals – not necesarily in that order
Anyone who knows me knows that I hate housework. “Loathe” wouldn’t be an exaggeration. When I was working part-time I managed to come up with a system that worked and kept the house tidy. When I started my holiday job (in addition to the part-time job) I was working 60 hours a week and pretty much didn’t touch a broom for two months.
Now that I’m down to 40ish hours, I’ve been re-evaluating the system. When I work afternoons (leaving the house at around 1pm or later) I find that I’m actually MOTIVATED to clean in the mornings. I get up, put things away, wash the dishes, et cetera. When I work mornings, though, I get up at about 4:30 am so that I can leave the house by 5:30 and let me tell you there is NO HOUSEWORK HAPPENING. If you’re lucky, I remember to clean up after myself so that there aren’t clothes strewn about the house and makeup all over the bathroom countertop.
The problem with working mornings is that when I get home I’m TIRED. It’s typically been a full 8 hour day and my shifts involve physical labor- not just standing at a cash register. I get to decompress on the drive home (45 minutes, more or less) and then by the time I’m at the house, I want to lay on the couch. Alas, dinner needs to be made and let’s face it, Spouse is the breadwinner no matter HOW many hours I work. I’m cool with the cooking and cleaning being part of my job, I just don’t LOVE it. The cooking is generally a nonissue but when I get home from work, there are invariably the dishes from Spouse’s breakfast (cooking and eating) sitting there, as well as the clean dishes from the night before and probably clean dishes in the dishwasher too. Not exactly INSPIRATIONAL.
This week I decided to do an experiment, since last week’s cleaning BEFORE work went so well. I’m still not going to clean at 4am but I thought I’d do something to help with an afternoon energy boost – enough to pump me up for cleaning and then I could cook and relax. So after I got home from work, I let the dog out and got on the treadmill. It turns out that a nice solid 30 minute run (intervals of some sort usually) gives me enough energy to beat the midafternoon tired slump and then I could clean with the music cranked up. Once I get the dishes done (one of my least favorite things) I put laundry in (once a week) and did a quick run of the floors (every other day). After that, I start dinner and clean up as I go. Once dinner is done, I’m all about the couch – at least until about 9 (when I have to pass out or risk not hearing the alarm for work).
So far I’m optimistic about the new system working. It looks like my morning schedule will be more regular and the run has the added benefit of making me feel good (in addition to keeping me awake).
In my ‘Newest Music’ playlist this month: MoZella – Belle Isle, Ben Folds – supersunnyspeedgraphic, Chin Chin – Chin Chin, Hurray for the Riff Raff – Young Blood Blues, Ladytron – Velocifero and the Glee Soundtracks.
Apple iPad – TERRIBLE name and a surprisingly disappointing device. It’ll prompt Amazon to send out more Kindle updates though, so I’m not complaining.
State of the Union. Yeah, I played WET on my Xbox instead of watching. Frankly, I think the whole point of the internet is to keep me from having to watch the news. I’m largely disappointed that everyone in Washington is too busy trying to keep their jobs to actually DO their jobs. I’m tired of them bitching about something being wrong when THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES WITH THE POWER TO CHANGE IT. That’s not to say that’s what I think Obama was doing but I couldn’t stand to watch all the bi-partisan asshattery.
As an aside, every time I see John Boehner I think “John Boner” and then wonder how someone named “Boner” got elected in Ohio. And then I go OH YEAH.
Listening to MoZella’s album and I LOVE IT. It’s like a cross between Feist and Maroon 5. Also the Glee soundtracks and am continuously creeped out by She’s Having My Baby – to the point where I may need to delete it from my entire collection. P.S. How did we get THAT but not Single Ladies?
Whip It came out in DVD. I was VERY EXCITED. I watched it three times. It will get its own entire post.
Indulged a little today by getting a manicure. I’ve been working with cardboard pretty much nonstop for the last month and have an event Monday and Tuesday. The back room project is over at work (at least this stage) and my hands can (hopefully) return to normal. At the very least, the mani will make me presentable for the event and then I can hopefully maintain.
Sometimes when my husband is looking for something and can’t find it, I want to hit him with a hammer.
Dead writers. I can’t be arsed to care, really.
Haiti. Well, the only time we care about poor countries are when there are natural disasters, not things like DICTATORS AND GENOCIDE. SIGH.
Booked my flight for the Seattle trip. Next up- hotel rooms.
We’re watching Public Enemies right now. I’m currently unimpressed. I did watch I’ve Loved You So Long on Netflix and I thought it was fantastic. The Edge of Love was passable but not great.
Listening to Middlemarch on my afternoon commute. The audiobook is DEFINITELY better than reading the damn thing myself – especially since it’s a practical use of the drive time. Eliot is droll but somewhat heavyhanded in the use of narrator commentary. I am reminded (as with East of Eden) that some topics are just as relevant now as they were in other centuries.
I still love work. I’m enjoying it immensely and have fun with my coworkers. Hard to beat that!
Which for me just means my other job. I’m actually doing double duty tomorrow: 9-1 shift down the mountain, back to Pb to work 3-11(ish). In additional awesome work news, I won’t have a day off work until Christmas which means hella bonus cash for the holidays. With any luck we can buy our new front door before the new year!
Tonight’s dinner-cooking was inspired by my email inbox again. I did a variation on Meatloaf Wellington – made my usual meatloaf (1.5-2.0 lb ground beef, 1 pkg French onion soup mix, 2-3 T of A1, 1 egg, breadcrumbs) and after I cooked it for about 45 minutes, I drained the fat. Then I took a package of crescent rolls and unrolled them, layering them over the top (and slightly overhanging the sides) of the meatloaf and cooked another 15 minutes. It was FANTASTIC and will definitely be added to the regular line up. I didn’t make a gravy and, because I knew I’d be using the crescent rolls, I baked it in a small round casserole dish and angled the beef in away from the sides. It worked really well.
The other day I got an email about a southwest chicken bake using green chilis and tortillas. I sauteed diced chicken with the two shallots leftover from Thanksgiving and 1/4 of a red onion, salt, pepper and some cumin. I took 5 small cans of diced green chilis and put them in a bowl with 1 small jar of salsa, 1 can of kidney beans and about 1/2 c of chopped frozen spinach. Just before combining with the chili mixture, I added the remainder of a package of frozen corn. Stir everything together and then I put a tortilla on the bottom of a round casserole dish, filled it with the chicken mix, topped it with cheddar cheese, then continued layering. I topped it with a tortilla and cheddar cheese. Bake for 1 hour at 350. It made enough that I have dinner for tomorrow and leftovers for the weekend, plus a casserole that I put into the freezer for baking later.
Considering I won’t be home from 8am until almost midnight tomorrow, I’m feeling pretty good about my advanced prep skillz. Now I just have to clean the kitchen before I leave for work in the morning.
The old hard drive remains impervious to my efforts to access files. I’m searching for things which will let me at them but in the meantime the only thing I’m really MISSING is my holiday card list from last year. Damn and blast. I was quite proud of myself for having done that, too. This year I’ll upload it to Google docs and save myself this sort of aggravation in the future.
TV this week has been awesome. The Glee midseason finale was about as close to perfect as you get on television, plus a fantastic closing number. Criminal Minds cranked it up a notch by forcing a leadership decision. Also, the killers who want to pretend to date their victims still creep me out the most. The Mentalist was great tonight and it was nice to see the chemistry returning to normal. The odd insertion of a new Red John team didn’t really ever fit right for me but Jane is funny enough that I didn’t care.
I’m still plugging through East of Eden, though I’ve been distracted by work lately and not making as much progress. I’ll take it to job 1 tomorrow and get some pages in while it’s slow in the afternoon.
Mom is headed to Mexico this weekend. I hope she has a great trip – she deserves it. My next (last?) holiday task is to bundle up cookies and mail them out.
Why?
1. Closing shift – virtually no traffic on the way there or on the way home. My only complication in life is people who don’t know how to drive in the snow and/or mountains. Takeaway: if you can’t, DON’T.
2. Glee! I love Glee.
3. Criminal Minds! I love Criminal Minds. The last couple of episodes have been crazy intense. Such a good show.
4. Mercy! It was back tonight after a hiatus and I am surprised by how much I MISSED it. I have a hard time describing for people why I like it so much but all of the characters are messed up in their own way and no matter what happens on the show, I feel GOOD when I’m watching it.
5. I don’t work until 1pm tomorrow which means AMBIEN.
Sunday:
Dexter was great last night! The Trinity twists just keep coming. Also, WTF with his wife!? That cannot end well.
Californication. OMG. Rick Springfield. I can’t even COUNT the number of times I laughed out loud watching this episode. Not only that, I laughed JUST as hard tonight when Husband watched the recording. That’s a damn funny show. Not sure what the point is supposed to be but it’s damn funny.
Monday:
Castle continues to be an excellent blend of funny, mystery, crime procedural. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is key, and I frequently laugh out loud at some point during the show. Good clean fun. Two words tonight: DeNiro impression.
House was a little convoluted tonight, what with him jerry-rigging his staff. Cameron was always kind of preachy and they decided to re-emphasize that. Yay for appearances of the former team!
Lie to Me- I’ve been watching this hit and miss. Tonight’s ep was good but I don’t feel compelled to record it. It joins Cold Case in my ‘by the wayside’ list.
Tuesday:
NCIS is consistent! I’m always surprised to find out it’s the “number one show” on TV because it seems like I don’t know anyone who watches it. It’s been good and (of late) heavier on the procedural/lighter on the relationships. The Tim-centric ep last week was great. Unfortunately they’re planning an Abby crossover with a Steampunk bar in L.A. the week of Thanksgiving, so I guess I’ll have to watch at least one more NCIS:LA episode.
Sons of Anarchy! Last week, like WHOA. I actually got all teared up at the end of the episode and they SO win the TV prize for best use of a Patty Griffin song (Mary, if you care). That show is my biggest surprise this season, in terms of just HOW GOOD it is.
V. Jury’s still out.
Wednesday:
Mercy, Glee, Criminal Minds. All excellent, all the time. CM was especially creepy last week. *shudder*
Thursday:
Dear Networks,
Could you please not schedule EVERY GOOD SHOW on Thursday? What about Mondays! Or Tuesdays? ANYTHING?
Grey’s Anatomy, having been on my Bubble List since the premiere, took a turn for the good last week. If Izzy got hit by a bus, I wouldn’t be upset. Other than that, it was all good IntenseChristinaDoctorStuff. Moar, pleeze and IT’S ABOUT TIME.
Supernatural. I’m not even sure what TV show could make fun of their fan base this much and get MORE love because of it. So. Funny. The guys imitating Sam and Dean voice was HYSTERICAL. I’m not sure how they kept doing it with a straight face. It was a nice break-it-up on the intensity front, but also a really nice check-yourself moment for the boys at the end. P.S. I loved the outtakes w/end credits. Go Kripke!
The Mentalist was FANTASTIC. Love the way they finally brought the group together and HOW CUTE IS GRACE. I also love the creepy/demanding side of the normally joking and (carefully) carefree Jane. That duality is what keeps me watching.
FlashForward is interesting but I’m not sure if I miss an episode that I care. For example, missed an ep 2 weeks ago, watched last week, no marked difference in my interest level.
Bones. Okay, it’s NEVER going to happen but I want Booth/Brennan NOW. Booth was so awesome and I loved the return of his old shrink! This is one of those shows that does a great job of making the story equal parts crime procedural and relationships.
Friday:
White Collar has become my new fave crime procedural (behind Castle but tied with The Mentalist). It has the added bonus of holding Husband’s interest, unlike the two aforementioned shows. Great cast chemistry, fun ‘caper’ feel to every episode.
Medium had a seriously weird episode last week and, per usual, the actors who play the kids were incredible. The fact that everyone in the cast is so fantastic is why I keep watching this show. Incidentally, the guy who plays Joe is SO UNDERRATED. His performances are consistently believable and understated and pretty much prop up the rest of the show. Love him.
Right. So looking at this list, I spend almost as much time watching TV during the week as I do working my bar shifts. Clearly I need to start teaching yoga classes again STAT.
Tomorrow’s agenda also includes making my very first homemade cranberry sauce, which I’m pretty excited about.
