The Southern Cooking Throwdown

I promised myself at the start of last week that I would make a southern meal.  I knew what I wanted too: Collards, ribs and mac & cheese.  Of course this is one of those things you can try and cook in a day, and you will be too sorely exhausted to eat.

This means the meal will take me three days and and shall be Sunday's dinner.  First and foremost, I started with the greens.  I was forewarned the pre-cut greens needed to be washed and the rough stems removed.  I did not know how many stems I found, but it felt endless.  I got them out.  This pot needed meats too.  So I used three: thick cut bacon, ham steaks and country spareribs.  It took some doing, but I got it all cooked last night.  it resides in my fridge as I get the ribs done.

The ribs were marinated last night after I rubbed light salt, cayenne pepper and Italian seasonings upon them.  Used a Teriyaki marinade as well. Once par boiled I put them in the oven with a BBQ sauce.  Mixed in the sauce some honey and a palmful of cayenne pepper.  I sweet flamer with a spicy kick in the background.

The macaroni and cheese is in the oven now.  Used three cheeses: Mozzarella, Colby and Cheddar.  Eventually its gonna be done and cheesy. Busy day.

Wrong Number

OK, so I'm playing Dragon Age 2 because it's fun, and I get this picture message of someone's meal.  I ask who is it.  The lady replies, "You don't remember me. We had sex last night, and you said it was the 'bomb-digity'" Let me stop this post right here.  If anyone knows me, they know what words I do and don't use. Unless I'm being ironic, I'm not ever gonna describe love-making with those words, ever.   I was positive a friend was pulling a prank.  Told her she had the wrong man.  After that awkward moment we agreed to stop speaking.

All I can say is, damn.

Late Night Cleaning

So OK, there was this thought in my head about trying to clean up which included vacuuming.  Clearly this is a painstaking process and needs to be done over time rather than all in one day.  I started in the morning, then stopped, played video games.  Now I'm back at it this late.  I really wanted to get the carpet cleaned.  I knew I'd only do one side of the room.  It was necessary.  

It made me feel good, and I think I got a lot organizing done.  There's still a long way to go.  Who cares.  I'm on the start of something positive.  Also my ring came back to me.  Sounds weird?  Well it comes and goes as it pleases, but I think its here to stay with me.  Something about it empowers and reminds me that I'm on the right path. Life is good.  

Things I Owe Myself

In the midst of a lot of drama and one hot-ass summer, I've been feeling like I'm not worthy to do anything.  This path of negative thought has got to go.  I don't mind doubt. Doubt tells me to put extra focus on my projects and make them stronger.

I owe myself the chance to get my work done with a positive outlook.  I owe myself to reach my goals and break free of all forces that constrain me.  There's no reason for me to be wrapped up in the negative.  I'm better than that.

So I owe myself a clarification of my goals and the opportunity I'm blessed with to go for them.  Don't really need to do the self-pity thing.

Loafing

I'm not doing much.  Don't ask me shit.  I'm not doing it.  LOL  Yes I'm being mischievous, but a brother feels he needs to chill and be happy.

The bug buzzed my ears.  I hate that zzzz sound near my ears.  Swatted and missed it.  Do I have to get out the Off and keep it away by what bugs refer to as a "restraining order?" I just may.

Got up too early.  That sucked. Up now, I have to deal with it.

Breezy

It's relatively a slower pace than usual.  I get a lot of things done that normally I can't get to within a short period of time.  Been having a creative spurt that I'm enjoying.  It's sort of a simplistic streak as it's not about overwriting, but jotting down notes. While on break I'm not as caught up in creativity, but I promised myself a blog post today and I feel now's that time.

Marinating some steaks that should be good for cooking when I get home.  I didn't buy the veggies like I was supposed to.  So I have to stop by the store and pick some up.  I like a few sauteed onions, mushrooms and bell peppers with my steak.  May not do any shopping and use what's in the fridge.  I'm sure I have one onion in the fridge and make a salad to go alongside the steak.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Being sick is no reason not to write, even if its a texted blog post. Drinking ginger ale to settle my stomach. Watching a crime documentary.

The Nitty-Gritty Tangled Web

The Nitty-Gritty Tangled Web

A Brother wrote this post for Tastes Like Comics.

Banking on Things

Here's a lesson for all would-be people who use banks.  I spent $15.00 on gas when I had about $24.00 in my bank account.  I never forgot this.  Checked my account to make sure the money was out, proper.  I kept seeing no withdrawals for a couple of days.  Not even a "pending holds" notice.  Mind you, I KNEW I spent that money.  Left the account alone.

In my younger days I would have assumed the money was already transacted and spent what I saw.  Well if I had done that the overdraft fee would now be a part of my account and I would have to pay that on top of the expenses I did want, say like a hamburger.

So  my lesson is do your own accounting because not all banks are quick to alert you to the fact that you may overdraw your account, in fact it appears to benefit them to make it look like your account is full when its now.  In my opinion, when you reach a small percentage of money those "pending holds" notices somehow don't make it as quick to your account as when you have more money in them.  

I Didn't Want To Get Up, But . . .

It's true.  I wanted to sleep till 1:00 PM today, or that's what I told myself.  That in was in no way correct. So my little fantasy came undone.  Decided I should write a blog post to get the brain working.  It's a mostly quiet morning, but there is some construction/repairs going on which kinda also takes the fun outta sleeping. I could turn the TV on and fall asleep.

On a side note the cable went out yesterday and I tried to contact Comcast, who said their services affected the entire area.  Fortunately I have DVDs to keep some entertainment going on.  Needless to say Comcast did not spoil the day.

New Day

Did not want to get up today.  Found myself awakened by a phone call.  It was a sign to get up, since I hadn't fallen back asleep.  Might as well get up and write a blog post.

Been trying to drink a lot more water in my days.  I usually don't get enough, and drink sodas and coffee.  I wanted to rebalance myself.  So this has been week three and I have my coffee (smaller cup) but I will also drink at least 1 1/2 liters a day.

Need to step up my thesis game.  I feel I should be much more productive, therefor I shall be more.  been reading some new books, so I have a lot to do.  It's all good.

7/2/11

NOTE: This was written on 7/2/11.  Like a goof I forgot to post it.

Unlike most people I will not have an extended weekend with the holidays, however that will not spoil my fun.  I play to relax a lot more and enjoy my day.  Even managed to plan out a pasta dish for Monday since I lack a grill.  I can deal with that.

Speaking of food, I managed to get under budget with the shopping today.  I saved $30.00, which will likely go directly to gas.  There's only one expense I want this week, so its time to trim the fat.  Bills must be paid and the whole

Decisions, Decisions.

Trying to make this day a productive one. I'm writing for thesis, SDCS, and TLC.  I've run into a wall where I felt my strength was going down. I can't have that.  It makes me feel like I'm not participating in my own success.  It's time to take on the things that I need to get done without fear.  That means making tougher decisions.