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No, I don't really have anything interesting to say. You'll read this anyway.

The weather is gorgeous outside with sunny, blue skies, and warm temperatures. I'm going for a walk later after I finish my chores. I should do more real cleaning, but I have spring fever BAD. I do have the windows open and I am doing laundry. That's got to count for something.

I had a delicious brunch at Cheever's with Frank and Josh. The lamb burger with goat cheese and a fried egg was today's special. SO AMAZING! I ate it all. That was the reason I went in the first place. I love that they post their upcoming Sunday specials on Facebook. I will more than likely end up at Cheever's for Sunday brunch anyway, but knowing it's one of my favorite specials adds a little emphasis to my desire.

Next weekend is a possible trip to Dallas to watch some roller derby, and the weekend after is a trip to Wichita to meet my friend Brian (he lives in Kansas City, so that's our half way point). So this time I'll get to Kansas "for realsies." Don't worry, I'll take photos.

Ah, yes. The website shout out. My brother is a web hoster. His company is. Whatever. He consults for Tetris, and that's superexciting! Website Hosting by Globalhost. Check it out!

So clean I'm sick

Yesterday was the fun-filled trip to the Kansas border. I've now been to 29 of the 50 states. Yes, I'm counting a layover in Seattle's airport. Shhh.
I hopped in the car with my friend Frank, and we headed northward on I-35 from OKC. My first planned stop was about 25 minutes north in the lovely town of Guthrie, OK, to see the Oklahoma Drug Museum. It was closed for lunch. So we wandered through the cute little downtown area in search of lunch.

We found Stables Cafe and ordered burgers and took in the walls full of kitsch.

Me in a wagon!

After a filling lunch, we walked back to the Museum and were greeted by college students apparently keeping an eye on the place for friends or family. They were studying (it looked like something in the health field) and had no idea if we were allowed to take photographs. "Well, we're planning to before we leave, so go ahead." So, we wandered around, snapping shots, and giggling over the cocaine bottles and the anal dildos for "nervous conditions" that they call "dilators." You know, because we're grown ups. Heroin for your headaches is really pretty hilarious. No? Psh. What do you know?

Come on. Things like this bottle of manliness. Just wow. Even the name at the bottom cracks my 14 year old boy's heart up, "The Hannah & Lay" seriously??? Hee hee hee!!!

Ahem. Yes. Moving on.

After Guthrie, we headed back north, keeping an eagle eye out for Tonkawa, OK. In Tonkawa, says the 2010-2011 Oklahoma State guide, is a heart-shaped corn maze that's open 24/7! Well, I can't find it, so I pull into an old fashioned, small town gas station, and the teenager behind the counter laughs and says, "That hasn't been there for over two years!" I gape at her and tell her it's in the newest guide, and she replies, "If you don't believe me, I can tell you where it is, but my mom worked there before it closed, and then it was something else and that failed too." So, sadly, I got back in the car and put pedal to the metal for Kansas.

Which, I have to say was a disappointment. There is no sign or indication that you've crossed from Oklahoma into Kansas on I-35. NOTHING. It wasn't until I saw mile marker 1 that I realized we'd crossed the state line. I turned around, and on the way south, there is a GINORMOUS sign for Oklahoma. I guess Kansians aren't proud to say "here we are!"

So, that was yesterday. We stopped at Hobby Lobby and picked up some Warhammer 40,000 stuff for Frank (paints and plastic saws, etc.) and some knitting needles and cozy cranberry colored yarn for me. I will post some photos of my progress a little later. It's about 6 inches long right now (I'm making a basic scarf). We watched Zombieland, which was hilarious, and ate leftover Bobo's chicken.

Today, I'm cleaning and feeling sick (I hope it's not the Bobo's!), but trying to power through. I've swept and mopped the living room. I've rearranged the furniture in there as well. I took the cat condo thing and two boxes and two bags of clothes, shoes, etc. to Goodwill. I'm doing tons of laundry. I've cleaned the bathroom. The library area is steadily emptying out. I really meant to clean my bedroom, but I need to put together the chest of drawers I bought back in June from Ikea, and I also need to put up the clothes rack that I haven't made yet in order to put away the clothes that will enable me to clean the bedroom. But I have to clean the bedroom to put up the clothes rack. VICIOUS CIRCLE!!! I found myself shoving things into bags for Goodwill just so I wouldn't have to deal with them. Effective, but I will probably regret some of that at a later date. I also kept getting interrupted by my stomach, and then the next door neighbor's landlord stopped me to chat. He apparently loathes my landlord, so that was fun. I wisely said nothing negative about my landlord. Ah, discretion.

I will do some more cleaning and laundry tomorrow, and then I will do no cleaning or errands on Tuesday, as that is the last day of my sorely needed vacation. Wednesday, it's back to the grind.

All right, I hear laundry calling my name.

Let's see just how boring I can be

I woke up this morning, lazed around reading and cuddling with Copernicus, and then went to get a massage. My friend is studying to recertify for his therapy license, and he needs guinea pigs. I'm a willing volunteer. Two hours later, I can confirm he is ready to set up business for real!
After my massage, I drove to the Mall for a little more me-beauty time. I went to Sephora and picked up a new face powder. I was going to purchase the powder my sister has (it's from Nars), but I realized it's SPF, and I don't want an SPF powder (I already have one). For those of you who don't know, SPF will make you look like a ghost in flash photography. I ended up with a Benefit powder that I really like.

I also purchased a new Nars lip gloss crayon in New Lover

and a phenomenal new brown eyeliner from Too Faced

to complete my crazy shopping spree. I also got one of the ladies to do my makeup. They get surprisingly excited when you simply say, "Make my big eyes bigger, and bring out the green, please." and then give them carte blanche to use whatever products and colors they want. By the end, I had a trio of ladies telling me how gorgeous my eyelashes are and they were all really excited about my look. I like Sephora a lot, as I've never had a makeup artist there not listen, they generally will tell you the absolute truth ("oh, not that color after all, hmm," etc.), and they all seem so enthusiastic. As a retail manager, I'm pretty good at spotting fake enthusiasm, and these people love what they do.
After the makeover, I went to my favorite nail place and settled in for a splurgy pedicure. It was nice to sit and be pampered.
What a great day!
(Berck, are you bored yet?).

Spaghetti with Italian sausage and fancy salad

Here's how I made dinner last night.
First, take a wok and heat olive oil in it. Throw in some garlic, then haphazardly slice some Italian turkey sausage and throw that in. Heat until browned through, breaking up the slices into smaller slices with your slotted spatula, then remove sausage to drain on a paper towel over a plate. Wipe out excess grease, dump in a can of crushed (or petit diced) tomatoes, and remember that you've forgotten the mushrooms.Throw in the sliced baby portabello mushrooms, and turn the heat up to try and cook the mushrooms through. Add Worcestershire sauce (I used the reduced sodium version), basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram, garlic, salt, and pepper. Once the mushrooms are sliceable with the spatula/spoon/whatever, add in tomato sauce. Reup the spices, and lower the heat to simmer. Boil water for pasta (I used wheat spaghetti). Wheat pasta takes a little longer than the other sort. Drain pasta and dump into sauce and toss. Delicious!
The fancy salad consists of lettuce (romaine's tasty), spinach, cilantro, mint, chopped tomatoes (Roma), cucumbers, carrots, and a raspberry vinaigrette.
And, in the broiler, make a little garlic toast. A pat or two of butter with garlic spooned on top of the sliced bread, and don't forget to sprinkle a little parsley on top.
Super, super tasty!

It pays to ask questions

I started on the process of replacing my lost keys today. First up, car keys at 9am. Now, normally, 9am isn't a big deal, but it's my vacation, and waking up before noon seems like an abomination. I made it a bit early and read my latest find in the parking lot, The Bucolic Plague. It's about two guys from Manhattan who buy a historic farm in upstate New York. It's pretty good. The author is a former drag queen. Yes, it's not your typical fare.
When it was time to pony up the money for the new keys, I asked if the lost keys were covered since I'd bought the car within the last year. The usual person who can find that out is on vacation (it must be that time of year), so I got to read for another half hour while they figured it out. Instead of paying a little over $200 to replace the keys, it ended up being $17. So, that was awesome! Yay for buying a new car!!!
After the car place, I stopped out at TJ Maxx (it's the only one I know of in the city, and it's fairly far out (the car dealership is on the edge of the boonies). I found another bra in my new size, a supercute sweater for $3, and some underpants. TMI? I figured I deserved some new things, especially since I just "saved" $180.
And now I've caught up on Castle, am working on catching up on Bones, and am thinking about dinner. I ate some delicious chicken salad with tomato on a mini baguette (yesterday it was cambozola, tomato, and ham on a mini baguette).  Central Market limeade and some lemon olives were the appetizers. Tonight might be spaghetti and salad. Maybe. Hmm.
I'm such a lame blogger.

What a great weekend!

I had such a lovely weekend with my three beautiful sisters. We went to New Orleans and stayed in a fantastic condo in the Warehouse District. It was lent to us by one of my sister's friends. We visited all the old haunts (Cafe du Monde, Cafe Maspero, Community Coffee, Bourbon Street, the French Market, Jax, the levee, etc.), and then we made some new friends (Herbsaint, Cafe Amelie, and Jazz Cafe). The four of us had such a fun time eating, bonding, eating, walking, going to parades, eating . . . you get the idea.

It's been a while

The idea of this blog was to be private. I know that's funny, not really funny ha-ha, but funny stupid, since the internet is anything but private. That privacy and knowledge that it's illusory has kept me from posting. If I want to share some random thought, I just post a stupid status or link or photo on Facebook. Anything more personal or deep, I bottle up. Or tell Copernicus (my cat).
I think I will try to post more frequently. The challenge of balancing privacy with the need to vent or share will be an interesting one.
Who's out there reading anyway?