Potluck = Bring Food

Last weekend I invited a friend over for mashed potato meatloaf and rockband.  I hadn’t seen B for a while (since before I got engaged) so I was really looking forward to hanging out with him and catching up.  Some of our other friends heard about this potentially fun time and invited themselves along.  My hunny knew we wouldn’t have enough food to feed them all so he said “OK, but it’s a potluck.”

Please tell me why one person brought Jack in the Box for herself, and two people brought 20 oz sodas for themselves AND NOTHING ELSE.  Please explain to me why they then had the nerve to complain about me not making enough food to feed them all.  Ummm… last I checked they were told that this was a potluck.  Potluck means bring food and/or beverage.  If you want to be useful, you can supplement what’s already being offered.

This isn’t the first time they’ve done something like that.  A couple weeks ago my hunny and I supplied pizza.  They each proceeded to eat 7 slices of pizza and complain that they didn’t like the topping choices.  Hello?!?  I’m not forcing you to eat it.  Domino’s delivers.  Pick up the phone and order what you want.  And if you hated it, why did you eat 7 slices?

To top it all off, they pee on my toilet seat and the floor. 

When asked why they didn’t bring anything to the potluck, they explained that they didn’t have any money.  They then proceeded to talk about the new video game they were all buying in the morning.  Let’s see… no money for food, but $60 for a game?  Sounds to me like your priorities are out of whack.  But let’s assume that these were proper priorities.  You could have ponied up another 50-cents and turned that 20 oz into a 2 liter.  Or $1 and turned it into chips or a bag of salad.

*sigh*  They’re not allowed over for a while.   I’m a bit frustrated with them.

My friend B, on the other hand, brought apple cider.  He was the only one who wasn’t told it was a potluck.  He just has good manners.  If you read this B, I had fun playing rock band with you.  Come back soon!

Ten Stories Up

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Zucchini Festival Psychic

Last weekend was Hayward’s annual Zucchini Festival at Kennedy Park.  Residents and visitors alike pay their admission fee and then wander around looking at booths, eating zucchini, and drinking beer.  One of the booths there was Madame Davis, who offered tarot card or palm readings for $10.  I wanted one of each, but only had $10 left so I chose a palm reading.

Madame Davis herself didn’t do my reading.  Instead my palms were read by a young, soft spoken lady.  It was a bit weird – she spent a lot of time staring at my hands before opening her mouth.  Some of the things she said were eerily specific.  If you know me, you know which ones they are:

1. You come from good parents.  Your mother loves you a lot, even if she doesn’t always remember
2. Don’t ask your brother or sister for anything; they will never help you
3. Your lifeline is strong; you will have a long life
4. You are hot tempered.  You have quick flashes of anger, but you are very good at pretending you’re not mad.  It goes away quickly and you forgive easily.
5. You don’t expect a lot from other people.  You just want them to be good and do what needs to be done.
6. You don’t ask for help very often. Experience has taught you that people won’t help you.
7. In 3 months you will take a trip over the mountains.  In 1 year you will take a trip over the water.
8. You sometimes doubt the love of the man in your life.  Don’t paint him with your father’s brush.  He loves you very much and will do anything for you.
9. I don’t see you having children.
10. By the end of the year you will move into your own home.
11. Within 1 year, you will have a job change.  It will be good.  You will get a promotion.
12. Within 1 year, good news will come in the mail.
13. Family from far away will visit you soon.

Wolverine Face

Today I learned that I’d look funny with Wolverine’s facial hair…

Ha!

Twitter

I signed up for twitter as part of a class assignment for my marketing class. It’s enticing because it requires less commitment than a blog post, but still allows you to put your thoughts out there. I already have 1 follower who isn’t a classmate. Either way, if you want to look me up I’m danieBOB

Beef Jerky

My hunny and I made beef jerky. It’s super yummy. Too bad it’s almost gone! We’ll have to make another batch sometime soon.

We tried making dried fruit once before, but that didn’t turn out as well. I think we need to fiddle with it a bit more.

Up a Hill

I walked up a hill today. Then I wandered around a park. Then I walked back down the hill. The whole thing took about 2 hours.

When I was walking around the park, I remember thinking that last year I would have been ready to go home a lot sooner. This time I was trying to justify staying out there later and battling mosquitos. In the end, fear of West Nile made me go home.

I think I’ll do it again in a couple weeks on my next Saturday off.

Here are a couple of pictures from a previous trip to Garin Park.

The Lake at Garin

 

A field at Garin

Temptation

Why is it that when you go on a diet, people try to get you to eat unhealthful foods? I’m really frustrated by this!!!

The first week of my eating plan was OK. I only really had one person repeatedly offer me junk food. It’s understandable because he was only 6 years old (my nephew) and doesn’t understand that Auntie is trying to be a healthier person.

Then on 1/10 there was a birthday party. “Have some cake Danie. One bite won’t hurt.” The thing is that I knew if I had one bite, I’d want more, so it was easier to avoid the temptation. Then everyone sat there and made comments about what I ate: “My, you’re eating light today” as they all sat there eating roast turkey dinners covered in gravy. I had a salad with a little dressing and a half a turkey sandwich. It was filling enough and healthy enough to fit in with my eating plan.

During the week it was back to convenience foods. Part of eating healthfully is making sure you know what’s in it. I’m sorry, but just because fast food is easy doesn’t mean it’s healthy. I’m of the mind that even Subway should be a treat and not a necessity. Even though we’re supposed to split the cooking for the week, I feel like I have to do it all because his nights are becoming more and more “convenient” and less and less healthy.

To be fair, he does ask where I can eat, and doesn’t just blindly pick a place.

Then 1/16 was my nephew’s birthday party. We got there late, after the pizza, cake and icecream had been eaten, because my hunny got off work late. My sister became angry with me when I turned down the pizza, cake, and icecream. “But it’s vegetarian!” I know, Sha, but it’s covered in oil. I can’t eat it. So then she turns to her husband and says “Danie says pizza’s unhealthy. Why even bother coming for dinner then?” I wasn’t there for dinner. I was there to celebrate my nephew’s birthday. Somehow she made his birthday celebration about my food intake. I felt so uncomfortable that I left about a half hour after that.

It’s only been a couple weeks, and I’m already ready to avoid social eating situations. The problem is that this is how my friends and I socialize. We don’t really go out to do anything else because their schedules don’t allow it. I either need to make new friends or find a way to guide our outings into more appropriate activities.

Either way, I’m down 7 pounds from my starting weight. I just need to keep going, and keep working towards making healthy decisions.

Andrew Wyeth

I learned today that Andrew Wyeth passed away. His most famous painting was called “Christina’s World.” It was an image of a young girl wearing a pink dress lying in a field with a farmhouse in the distance. Those words don’t describe it adequately though. There was such isolation and sadness in that picture.

Any number of explanations could have been made as to why the girl was lying in the field so far away from the building. Every time I saw that painting, I would try to imagine what the girl was running to or from. Did she fall asleep out in the field? Was she spying on something at the farm? It was one of those paintings I remember from my American Modern Art class because it made me think so much.  In reality, Wyeth painted that picture of his paralyzed neighbor in Maine.

I learned about other art and artists in that class too, but this painting was one of the few that I remembered.  I should purchase a print of it some day.

Out with the old…

And in with the new, right?  Well, sorta.

This is where I’m supposed to reflect on the things that happened during the past year, both good and bad.  I was promoted twice in two months and I made my tenure, my hunny got a nifty new job too.  I’ve been to Disneyland twice this year; once with friends and once with my sister (pictures of the sister trip on Flickr).  I’ve been to Vegas a couple of times too.  I got As and Bs in all my courses, and I only have 7 classes more to take.  I also took care of my mom, and made sure that this holiday was the best I could make it.

• Well, Christmas was pretty OK with all things considered.  I spent time with family and friends, had nice presents under the tree, and ate a lot of food.  I’ve got to get back on the fitness and health bandwagon.
• I got the scores back on my final papers for this semester.  One was a 15 page research paper that I finished in 2 days… research included.  My score? 29 out of 30!  The other was a mini IMLS grant proposal.  I got a perfect score!  The teacher said that my abstract was “concise and compellingly written.”  That one I wrote while taking care of my mom. 
• Since I’ve got a couple of weeks off before the Spring 2009 semester, I’ve been working on some stuff at home.  Mostly taking down the Christmas tree and cleaning.  My house has been neglected with all the rest of the craziness that’s been going on.  The house is now back to normal, but I miss all the decorations – it all looks so plain now.  No more twinkling lights or sparkly garlands.  *sigh*  Oh well, they’ll be back in November or December.

I don’t know what the next year will bring.  I know that there will be more adjustments around my mom and her care.  I also know that I’ll continue working hard on my education.  We’ll be opening the new Library in the fall, which will bring a ton of stress into my life and that of my staff.  I can’t wait to see it