Cut to me waking up 10 hours later and, frankly, not better. The fever hasn’t broken, I’m still achey, and my head feels like it’s going to explode. Turns out working a month with 2 days off also wrecks havoc on your immune system. I got off easy the week of Xmas but the cold is having its revenge.

Right now I’m catching up on last night’s TV and eating dry Trix. Awesome.

I’m just waiting until 4 am so I can call out sick and then I’m headed back to the land of the unconscious sickies.

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.

I say this as I am currently reclined on my sofa, dogosai on my feets, and no power cord in sight! It’s delightful! Liberating, even!

One of the great advancements that’s happened since my last computer purchase is an improvement in the touchpad to eliminate right and left clicks with an actual button. I can do both by tapping the touchpad and it’s GREAT. Don’t get me wrong- it’s definitely taking some getting used to but the new laptop is so far and away better than the old one that it makes me feel like I’ve been driving a Ford Model T for three years and just got a Jag.

The internets are all atwitter about Tiger Woods but it turns out I just don’t care. I’m more worried about when Chuck is going to return to Monday night TV.

Tonight I worked my first training shift and it was pretty great. I’m definitely going to enjoy work this holiday season.

In other internet news: troop levels in the Middle East. Here’s the thing. Back when Hils and Barack were just campaigning for the office of President and we were already embroiled in all this shit, I knew it was a bad idea to start promising troop withdrawal. You know why? Because ANYONE could see that there wasn’t a CHANCE we would be getting out SOON. And by ‘anyone’ I mean ‘people who don’t have access to national security information.’ Why did I say that? 1. Korea 2. Germany 3. Afghanistan

You can’t go into a country, dismantle its government, disrupt its infrastructure (such as it is) and then BAIL OUT. That’s not how it works. That’s pretty much NEVER been how it works. Ergo, there was no chance we’d be getting out early. My major bitch with this, by the way, was that in order to GET a job all the candidates LIED about this fact. They all knew there was no chance of it happening – hell, they all started backpedaling on it DURING the campaign. All I want is for people to be HONEST about it. Be STRAIGHT with people about the realities of the world. Maybe then the country would put on its Big Kid Pants and get a grip.

Oh. P.S. Dick Cheney, you can go straight to hell for saying you had nothing to do with the epic clusterfuck that you ACTUALLY STARTED in Afghanistan as a result of all this Iraq nonsense. Asshole. Hell might actually be too good for you.

And since I went on a political rant, here’s a moment of zen:

I’ve been adding back my favorite software: Filezilla, Zune, Calibre, LastPass and Skype are all safely onboard. All that remains is to resurrect the old hard drive and transfer the bits I want onto my new and dear toy.

Today was eventful, as I also started my new part-time job! I’m pretty excited about working extra hours over the holidays. Employee discounts don’t suck, either.

Tomorrow I’ll hopefully wrangle up some photos – of the house AND the laptop. In the meantime I’m going to keep tweaking the lappie while we watch Star Trek.

Tonight I may start the torte or cranberry sauce – I haven’t made up my mind.

Technorati detail: 7F7AW5GMW9HB and N69SS9HRAVQ9

We got the insulation (the blower was free!) and started the process this afternoon and wrapped it up at about 8. Yeah.

For me this meant climbing around the rafters while spraying insulation, all the while trying to not step off of a 2×6 in the center of the roof. Husband was willing to do it but he doesn’t fit as well on a 2×6 and was going to have to kneel and crawl the whole time.

At the last house, a similar project meant climbing a floor and a half on a ladder and squeezing through a tiny opening. Unfortunately it was also 80 degrees that day and I ROASTED. Not only that, but I was the one who ended up kneeling and crouching so I was in rough shape the next day. I don’t think the bruises on my legs faded for 2 weeks.

This house thankfully required zero kneeling. Not only that but we pretty much doubled the amount of insulation that was in the roof with no major injuries. The job required a fair amount of crouching, leaning, dangling off rafters, and lots of unnatural curvature of the spine. There were a couple of near-miss craniotomies thanks to roof nails and that one time where I got a chunk of insulation the size of a fingernail in my eye, but other than that we got the whole project wrapped up and cleaned before the pizza arrived.  I’m going to be wicked sore tomorrow and I’m EXHAUSTED now.

Also weighed the replacement laptop options and have made a decision, so hopefully by this time next week I’ve got my VERY OWN computer. Husband will be relieved to get his own back.

This got posted today and it pretty much explains why I love The Wire. It’s one of the few shows that, once I started watching, I was able to get Husband to start and he got just as hooked. It continues to be great, even after it’s over, because the issues are just as relevant now as they were in the 80s and 90s, and will be ad infinitum. Be warned, there’s A LOT of cussing in this clip.

I also discovered an additional gallon of Bittersweet Stem in the garage, so I’m going to finish painting the bathroom and possible do something to one of the guest rooms. Because I’m a glutton for punishment.

Coincidentally, in order to make room for a large turkey in my freezer I had to thaw several pieces of meat (steak, pork chops) and figured pork chops love applesauce- why wouldn’t they love cranberry sauce!? Golden opportunity. As a last minute addition, I used some refrigerated breadsticks and Steamfresh Roast Potatoes and Green Beans in Rosemary Butter Sauce. I can’t say enough nice things about the Steamfresh vegetables. They don’t overcook the veggies, which is a HUGE deal for me. What can I say- I’ve got texture issues.

So. Pork Chops and Cranberry Sauce.

Pork Chops, Cranberry Sauce, breadsticks, roast potatoes and green beans.

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries, washed/drained

3/4 c sugar (I used white)

1/2 cup plus a dash Tawny Port

1/2 cup orange juice

1tsp (ish) grated ginger (I used the store-bought-in-a-jar kind)

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Place cranberries, sugar, port, OJ, ginger in a pot on med-high heat. You want the berries to boil for about 10 minutes, so once they got to the boiling stage I turned down the heat and stirred constantly. In fact, I didn’t realize until I was already started that I didn’t have OJ so I actually put the other ingredients in the pot, turned the heat on low, and made a quick grocery run. No harm, no foul. When I got back, I added the OJ and ginger. Basically I used the ‘cook until they pop’ theory – waiting until the berries got so hot they began to burst their skins.

I very nearly forgot the lemon juice- important because WITHOUT it the sauce was almost too sweet. After the sauce is done, transfer to a fridge-safe dish. Add lemon juice on top of sauce DON’T STIR. Refrigerate. Most recipes say to cool at room temp before placing in fridge. I didn’t do that, it worked out fine. Then, stir sauce just before serving. It was a perfect balance of sweet and tart. Two thumbs up.

Baked Pork Chops

Heat oven to 350. I sprayed a pan with nonstick spray and placed the chops in the pan. I dusted with salt, garlic powder, and pepper just by eyeballing it. Then I flipped the chops and dusted the other side with poultry seasoning, paprika, and then added breadcrumbs. I baked them for about an hour (high altitude- for those below 10,000 feet it would probably be closer to 40-50 minutes). They turned out JUST right.

I also took pics of yesterday’s cheesy bread appetizers.

Martha Stewart Savory (non-pumpkin) Puffs

The recipe is here, just in case. The background looks a little weird because I cooked them on parchment paper.