Double Sigh

We went to a train show yesterday, I went to ensure my boy didn't buy another train!! We have an entire closet full to the brim with no more space.

Unfortunately, I have fallen madly and deeply in love with a set. I accidentally found it on ebay last night when looking up for something else and I have thought of little else today. I emailed to ask my boy if he thought it was a good deal and he didn't respond. First thing I saw him tonight I asked him and he said it sounded like a good deal, but he wasn't sure. He checked his train program (we got it because I kid you not he has an insane amount of trains) and it says that the train is worth $149 in new condition not the $199 that the ebay seller is selling it for (not to mention the $40 they're charging for shipping). So that's that right? It's $100 more than it's worth and I'm supposedly working on saving money etc. But I am just so sad. Cause this train is amazing, it's got an elephant car with a little guy sweeping out the car and a car with a lion chasing a lion tamer around the top of the car and a car with a bobbing clown head sticking up out of the top and a caboose that's lit. Doesn't it sound lovely, just truly great? Also, the lion tamer car is going on ebay for $40 alone. Maybe I should go buy the set. . .

Sigh

Two people have told me that the link for craigslist no longer works. I assume that someone else got this great deal. I tried to convince my boy that we should get it, but he thought I was crazy.

Today we were supposed to do spring cleaning in our current abode. I finally got up at 8:30 am. My boy made breakfast and I went back to bed till 10. I got up again still tired (we need a coffee maker, or some diet coke!!) but determined to do something. We went through all the stacks of mail and random papers in our house. My boy finished the dishes and I folded two loads of laundry while my boy hung random pictures that have been sitting around the house for the last 8 months (you know, may as well hang them since clearly we're not moving!!). The sad thing is, our house is still a disaster. God forbid someone stop by and need to use the bathroom, we'll have to lie and say we don't have one we just dig a hole. . . Cause there's no way anyone else should be subjected to our bathroom. Also, every room in the house needs to be swept or vacuumed. And there's just. so. much. clutter. . . . . I could go on, but why, bother. It's enough to say, the house is still a disaster despite a concerted effort to the contrary.

The silver lining is that we took a lovely walk to the square to get bread for lunch and we picked up a nice cheese from the cheese shop for lunch and dinner. We just finished dinner. We cooked our farm fresh chicken using this recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dining/11appe.html I was a little disappointed the bread on the edges of the pan just burned and those under the chicken were soggy on top and impossible to chew on the bottom. I will say that I did exactly what the directions said not to and used a dark thin roasting pan (hey, some of us haven't gotten gifts off a registry and we have to make due with what we could afford on our grad school salary -- yes, I bought the pan 7 yrs ago geez I am old). As sides for the chicken we had balsamic mushrooms adapted from a weight watchers recipe, and a salad made with apples, sharp cheddar and toasted walnuts. I put lemon juice on it to keep the apples looking pretty and balsamic dressing on my portion.

We're going to clean up dinner and then I plan on falling asleep watching the incredibles. Time was I would be sad I was staying home on a saturday night thinking of bed at 7:35 but apparently I've matured :).

If I were a mother and this blog my child, I think dfys would have been called

So yes, I've neglected my blog. If you write a blog that I know about, I haven't neglected it though. I was so thoroughly caught up a couple of weeks ago I had to add more blogs to my reading list (thanks rebekah).

There are tons of things I should tell you about like how I got the most gorgeous piece of luggage from my boy for our two year anniversary. I mean really beautiful. The ticketing agent in Las Vegas said so without any prompting (the one in Boston needed to be prompted and it was really only half hearted but whatever). I haven't told you about the luggage though because I planned on taking a picture (the ones online aren't terribly great) but then it got scuffed on our trip and I haven't had a chance to clean it back up to it's shining glory. Here's a link to a lesser picture and with the specs so you can see how it SPINS it can go in a full 360 circle and even though the edges are hard and therefore good at protecting my items, it's expandable. I love this piece of luggage so much I think I need a back up exactly like it for when they stop producing it (sort of like my whisk).

As you've probably gleaned from that above paragraph, I also didn't tell you about a trip to vegas. . . and, you know, how my birthday party turned out, or even which party I decided on (deep fried, as my boy said, "I did not start dating a woman who was elegant, I am dating a woman who loves all things deep fried and kitchy").

You're probably thinking based on the date and or the email I've sent asking for support for the walk for hunger that I am writing this apologetic post briefly updating you to beg for money for the homeless and to tell you my walk website is here: http://www.projectbread.org/goto/getbitter You'd be wrong (well sort of, I mean I did tell you where the website was, but this isn't my groveling for money for "the homeless" post).

This is my, I am homeless (well homeowner-less) and don't you think you'd like to pay for this house to be moved: http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/gms/1085072114.html and find me a lot closer to boston than Concord to move it to (which would, of course, add to the cost of moving it)? I would totally invite you over for dinner every week as a thank you (and look at the pretty dining room, it's totally worth it).

Sigh. I have been thinking of the house since I looked at the pictures on a whim. My boss is convinced I should buy it. Clearly she has no idea how little savings I have. But it is a lovely deal and the Jew in me is all a flutter at the possibility :).

Very Important

I know it's probably not important in the face of world peace, but somehow it's become a very big deal to me; I am trying to figure out what to do for my 30th birthday. I can't decide what to do, I mean 30 seems big and like it merits something really special.

I have been talking about a deep fried party for a couple of years now. I really do want to have one at some point (basically everyone comes with something to deep fry and share be it candy bars, oreos, korean fried chicken or pizza -- oh the list goes on and on and on). It sounds yummy and seems like such a good idea, both interactive and fun.

The problem is I get sucked into thinking is that how I want to remember my 30th birthday? Don't I want something elegant. . . .

My friend Meg suggested a cocktail party. It sounds fun and grown up and could be totally shi-shi, except we kind of did that at a prohibition party I had a few years ago and while that party was fun, most people didn't end up mixing drinks and so we were left with tons of alcohol (good thing I realized how much I like gin ;)).

I was thinking about an elegant dessert party but, again, my gracious friends hosted a party like that for me a few years ago. It was really really great (I still dream about those brownies Mike Ike made), but if I do it for my 30th, it's sort of a been there, done that feeling.

So nothing seems to fit completely into this vague notion of a spectacular 30th birthday bash that I have (doesn't that sound so terribly childish-- perhaps that should be a hint to me considering I'm turning 30 and should stop obsessing over such nonsense).

Anyway, I am turning it over to you, my loyal readers. Do you have any suggestions? Do you think one of the suggested parties sounds like the best way to ring in my FOURTH decade (I am stupid and wrote third until someone had to email me and point out that not only am I dumb I am old ;))? There's a poll on the side you can click to vote. If you have some brilliant idea not mentioned, please post a comment -- there may even be a reward in it for you!

Rewards of Volunteering

So if I am reading this correctly (and I may not be since I haven't actually had any caffeine this morning) I think Starbucks is rewarding you with a free coffee if you make a pledge to volunteer five hours: http://pledge5.starbucks.com/ I don't think it's even asking you to volunteer five hours a week like a lot of people I know already do, just five hours flat and I don't think you have to sign up with their specific charity of choice. I think it's five hours of volunteering period. . . I could be wrong, but if I'm not, it's a nice little reward for those do-gooders out there already (though not much of an incentive if you don't already volunteer :)).

Live Long and Prosper

So I am bored, I have read all of the blogs I follow and then some. . .

I figured you all might be bored too so I would try and help. An Obama supporter just confided in my boss and me that she's a trekkie. She said she was really excited to find out that Obama was too. I haven't found any news releases that said he's a huge star trek fan, though it is interesting what turns up when you search. My favorite article is this one: http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/tv--radio/tv-reviews/tv-highlights-wednesday-21th/2009/01/13/1231608713097.html He is listed in wikipedia under trekkies

It does make me think that it's time to watch Trekkies again though, since it's the second time in a week I've been prompted to recommend it to someone. If you haven't seen it, you really should.

Noodle Kugel by any other name. . .

So I was slightly annoyed today when I saw mark bittman sanitizing the name of noodle kugel and trying to pass it off as his idea for solving our insatiable need for recession friendly food. I read the recipe and decided right away it was crap (oh you read that right, I didn't try the recipe, I just decided from lack of cream cheese, too few eggs and the addition of raisins it was crap). I will say that it should please the levees though, when they sing in their song kugel, "so don't try and tell me things they haven't changed. The way it's made these days it should have another name. Sorry mom [and Mark] but yours just ain't the same."Mark Bittman has solved the problem of giving noodle kugel that's not your grandma's noodle kugel a new name!