I think I'm back...

My tablet died, so I had to get a new one. The new model is considerably bigger, and consequently easier to type on. I'm going to try to resume semi-regular blogging... we'll see how I do.

I had to sign back into Facebook to save my progress on a few games. I took a brief glance at the first few items on my news feed, went "Nope" and will be deactivating the page again. I've been happier without it, although I *do* miss the interaction with a few friends & family members.

Still battling the fatigue issues, but my health is otherwise tolerably good. In an effort to be more active, I have started volunteering as a role player for training exercises at the police academy. THAT has been a freaking hoot! Most of the recruits are wet behind the ears kids, and the handful of older ones with some life experience still aren't prepared to deal with someone like me. One scenario I was in had me & another girl (who was almost as big as me) in a domestic issue where the ex-wife & new girlfriend started fighting when hubby tried to pick up the kids. She & I were having fun slinging furniture & throwing mock punches. The kids sent to stop us were both around 5'2-5'4 and probably less that 150 lbs each. The slightly taller of the two pushed his partner toward us, said "you deal with that while I talk to this dude." Little guy shrieked, "who, me?!?" We stopped fighting each other, turned & gave him evil smiles, and started his way. The assessor finally managed to stop laughing long enough to call a halt to the scene once it was clear that the kid was either going to wet himself or run, possibly both.

Another day saw me in a loud party scenario. I was paired up with Officer E, who is also a big girl, and another civilian. The kids were "dispatched" in groups of 3 this time, not that it did them much good. All 3 of us escaped custody, they usually didn't find the drugs & weapons hidden on us, and the piece de resistance was the final group. We were in a second floor room for this exercise, and had been heckling a group that was below us outside. (The training staff were in hysterics by the end of the day because E & I were being total heathens) We got what turned out to be our last group. As they burst into the "party" (which they did incorrectly) & turned our music off, I was hit with inspiration. I went a couple of rounds of music off/on with the little guy closest to me (seriously, most of this class is 5'2-5'8) and then freaked him out. I screamed, "oh, snap, someone sent us a police strip-o-gram! Get them clothes off, baby!" E immediately caught on & followed suit. (Our 3rd comrade & the assessor were both laughing too hard to do anything) We started grinding on those boys and tugging at their uniforms. THEY panicked. In the middle of all this, I grabbed my guy's gun (not a euphemism, his actual mock weapon. Thankfully they weren't given real guns & tasers for these exercises) and ran to the window, tossing it out the the scenario out below us, allowing all hell to break loose in that one too. The trainers called time on us at that point.

We went downstairs to return our stuff to the prop boxes & join the session debriefing. Then I hear the Lt. say, "wait, that's not a prop, that's a recruit's gun!" followed by a bellow of "which one of you damn fools got disarmed and who did it?!?" The kid reluctantly confessed & pointed at me. Lt. M gave him quite an earful about it. He also dropped by my office that night to tell me that they'd watched the body camera footage of all the incidents (they didn't tell US that those damn things were live... oops) and had been laughing themselves sick for 8 hours. Especially at the last scene. "We never knew you were so good at being bad!"

I'm really hoping that footage never leaves the academy, but I suspect it's making its way around the department.

Oopsie! Foodie Friday on Saturday- Almond Nutella Pizza

Thank you to the sharp eyed person who pointed out to me that I'd already posted yesterday's recipe a few months ago. Here is a new one to make up for my error.



Almond Nutella Pizza


1 ball pizza dough [4] (store-bought is OK)
Approximately 1/2 cup almond Nutella [5]
6 amaretti cookies, crushed
Lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500°F, setting a 10-to-12-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven at the same time.
Roll or stretch out the ball of pizza dough so that it's approximately an 8-inch circle; you're aiming for a thicker crust than is standard. If rolling the dough out, dust the rolling surface (either a large cutting board or clean countertop work well) with wheat bran or cornmeal to ensure that the dough does not stick.
Remove the cast-iron skillet from the oven, flip it upside down, and rub the exposed surface with oil using a paper towel. Carefully and quickly, arrange the pizza dough on top of the skillet.
Put back in the oven and cook for 8 to 12 minutes or until the crust is browned and puffy.
Move the baked pizza dough to a cutting board, and spread with Nutella. Top with crumbled amaretti cookies, and dot with dollops of whipped cream.


Notes

This pizza is best enjoyed hot out of the oven but is still quite tasty as leftovers the next day. If you don't feel like making homemade almond Nutella (though it is surprisingly easy to prep), I'd recommend Justin's Chocolate Almond Butter [3] or traditional Nutella. Chopped salted almonds are a solid alternative (or addition) to the crumbled amaretti cookies. Or hazelnuts if you use the original Nutella.

What a Month!

Yes, I'm still alive. No, I didn't make most of the April goals. Here's a list of what has been going on:

1. Laundry Mountain is still alive & well and un-excavated. I put up a curtain rod and screened off the utility room when Chad & Mel came to visit.

2. The spare bedroom was MOSTLY cleaned out. I couldn't get some of the boxes & totes up to the attic alone and didn't have anyone to help me do it, so they got stacked in one corner of the room with a sheet thrown over them. There was plenty of room left for the airbed, the guests, and their luggage, so it all worked out.

3. Ditto for the living room. In fact, I had forgotten how big both rooms were without all the piles of crap I'd let accumulate.

4. LOTS of trash got taken out. In fact, my cans were full to overflowing for the last 4 pick-ups before the cousins arrived. The trash guys asked if I was moving and seemed heartened by my assuring them I was not.

5. People will take anything. I had put an old floor lamp that no longer worked out next to the trash cans. It was gone by morning.

6. Cleaning binges give my cats nervous breakdowns. They had no idea what was going on.

More later...

March Goals, so far

Not a whole lot to report. February ended with a bang as Daddy had to be rushed to the hospital again. Fortunately he was suffering from a fairly easy to correct issue, but the symptoms were enough to scare the bejeezus out of us all. At one point, the poor old coot was vomiting blood, Mom was just vomiting (sympathetically at first, and then the doctor checked her out and found she had the flu), and I was banished to the ER hallway before I started. While I was out there, I started inquiring about group rates & rooms, because it looked like we were ALL going to be admitted at the rate we were going.

Didn't get the trash out for the first March pickup as we had a foot of snow fall over 3 inches of ice and I didn't have the energy to fight with the can & driveway Sunday night. Just as well, since they didn't pick it up on Monday. Didn't get it out for the Thursday pickup either, because I was sick in bed. Seems one of the deteriorating discs in my spine is inflamed/infected, so I'm on painkillers & antibiotics again/still.

I HAVE managed, so far, to do a daily positive post on FaceBook. Much to the amusement of friends who have apparently formed a betting pool on how many days I'll do it. We'll see who has the last laugh.

Laundry Mountain? *whimper*

Cooking? Made a huge batch of enchiladas. Made the mistake of using a new-to-me brand of enchilada sauce. Have spent the last few days eating the innards out of the enchiladas. Am going to try for a lasagna this weekend. Also plan to try a Brussels Sprouts & Bacon Hash. It sounds odd, but the picture looked really good and I'm one of the random weirdos who actually likes sprouts.

So there you have it. More later...

Good Memories 2

I don't have a lot of good memories from Junior High/middle school. But one that stands out is from my 9th grade year. The science department was taking a group of students on a bus trip to Washington DC. I begged and pleaded with my parents to be able to go- it was a lot of money for us, but I REALLY wanted to go. Then my parents got a check from the IRS for an overpayment for the year before. We all needed to see doctors, I needed new glasses, and the car always needed work, but Mom said it was a sign and I was going on that trip. YAY.

The trip itself was a disaster. 75 deranged teenagers, 5 teachers, and one bus driver who hated everybody. We stopped at Luray Caverns on the way up, where 3 idiot boys wandered off and it took the guides 3 hours to find them and my crush, Troy, got his wallet stolen. We toured part of the Smithsonian and I got to see the model of the Starship Enterprise that is seen in the opening credits of the original Star Trek series and buy a mini replica that I STILL have.

The highlight of the trip was the dinner theater show. I'd been chosen to help the teacher in charge of the trip coordinate everyone's orders a week or so before the show. I don't recall the EXACT details, but we basically had to choose between chicken or beef for dinner and then the special orders had to be written up for the 3 students & 1 teacher who had dietary restrictions. I sorted through the paperwork, recorded everyone's choices, and presented Mrs. Pender with a typed up- in triplicate, no less- list of the sorted entree choices, alphabetized by traveller's last name. She was impressed and showed it to the other chaperones, which got me labelled a suck up by my fellow students. (it also got me upgraded to a better steak as a reward for my effort, heh heh heh)


So, after running the teachers ragged all day, the night before we went home, we got dressed up & went to the theatre. I wish I could remember the name of the place. We were originally scheduled to see Guys & Dolls, but they had changed shows and none of the chaperones knew. So instead of a gangster musical, we got to see A Chorus Line. None of them was familiar with it, but they figured it was probably ok...

...And it was, right up to the point where one character breaks into an ode to plastic surgery called "Dance 10, Looks 3."






If you can't access the clip from the movie version, here's a sample of the lyrics:

Dance: Ten; Looks: Three.
And I'm still on unemployment,
Dancing for my own enjoyment.
That ain't it, kid! That ain't it, kid!

"Dance: Ten, Looks: Three,"
Is like to die!
; Left the theatre and
Called the doctor
For my appointment to buy...

Tits and ass.
Bought myself a fancy pair.
Tightened up the derriere.
Did the nose with it.
All that goes with it.

Tits and ass!
Had the bingo-bongos done.
Suddenly I'm getting Nash'nal tours!
Tits and ass won't get you jobs,
Unless they're yours!

So the actress is singing & wiggling, the 75 students and 2 male teachers are whooping it up, and the 3 female teachers all went into cardiac arrest. "We're going to have to explain this to all their parents!"

I'm sure, of course, you can guess what song was sung, repeatedly and with great gusto, by 75 little heathens on the ride home to NC the next morning.

Oh, and as far as I know, nobody's parents complained. In fact, my mom took me to see the movie version when it came out a few years later!

Are we still here?

Oh good. I was really worried, you know. I hated to think I was going to die with bad skin and before I got to see the 7th season of Doctor Who. On the other hand, it sucks that we didn't all go up in flames because now I have to go out into the madness and buy Christmas presents. Guess that's what I get for hedging my bets....