Veal Stock - Day Four

I started my day with this....




And ended with this.....



About three cups of reduced veal stock.

It tastes AMAZING. I may be a convert to veal stock. It may take awhile for all the magic to happen, but it's really not a lot of work for the cook.

My stock was still a little mucky when I started the day. I wanted to strain it thru cheesecloth, but I forgot to pick some up during the week (if I need a few things at the store I'll usually make a list, and if I forget to put it on that list I always forget it).

With no cheesecloth, I opted for some paper towels....



Um, yeah. Guess my stock making skillz need some work. It was pretty mucky. But, that stuff went into the trash. Put the stock over a low flame and waited for the magic to happen.

Pretty cool actually... near the end it was starting to form a skin, which you can kinda see...








It's now cooling, and now I just have to figure out what to do with it. Yes, I often put the cart before the horse.

Hard to do? Hell no. Just a lot of unattended cooking time. While this culinary magic was happening today, I washed the tile floors downstairs, vacuumed, cleaned two bathrooms, de-cluttered, gave myself a pedicure, washed three loads of laundry, dusted, and threw a load of dishes in the dishwasher. The reduced veal stock was the easiest thing I did all day.

Veal Stock - Day Three

Thank you, lovely veal bones and veggies, for giving up your bounty for my stock.

I actually did do this step on Wednesday. and I wish I could say my lateness in talking about it was because I was doing something worthwhile like documenting the cure for cancer, figuring out where blue bathroom fuzz really comes from, or finding the Land of Lost Socks. In reality, I was just vegging out playing with my video poker and blackjack tutors. I've decided I really just don't have luck with video poker. The hubby jumped on and played a little - it's a teaching program, WinPoker, and it warns you if you're not making the right move and allows you to correct it and blah blah blah. When I'm using it, playing by all the rules, it's a slow bleed of money. The hubby jumps on, and he's suddenly getting all the great draws and up several hundred credits. It's just not fair. I think I'm going to be having another one of those trips where everyone who is sitting next to me hits a royal flush while I get nothing.

Back to the stock....

The second stock, or Remouillage for you fancy-pants types, was pretty much like the first day of actual stock making. Dump things in, sloooooooowly bring to a simmer, and then simmer away for a few hours. Not a lot of work for the cook to do.

The most surprising thing was that the bones at the end of the process still seemed like they might have had more to give. I've cooked bones in stocks before where they've been to the point of being crumbly at the end, and these bones still kept their structure. But, in any case, I deposited them into the trash because after two days, I just didn't want to deal with them again.

Veal Stock - Day Two

The veg-type matter that went into the pot with the bones tonight...



And everything happily simmering away.....




I just drained it off and it's all cooling now... the "first" stock, and the solid matter is cooling for the "second" stock tomorrow. Then it's just combining the two and boiling them down.

I did have to go off-recipe (who.. me?!?!) since I forgot to get leeks. I had a lot of green onions I needed to use up, so in those went. And while I was slicing into my onion, after already having sliced an onion for brats with green peppers and onions for dinner, I found it was part rotten. As was the next one. And the next one. Thank heavens I buy shallots almost every week. In those went.

I was upset that I wasn't getting fantastic smells... and then I learned something. Went upstairs to get some stuff that I wanted to go through before the Vegas trip.... and OH MY WORD LORDY it smelled fantastic up there. I guess that is where all the good cooking smells went. It got to the hubby so much he came down and grabbed a bag of chips because it was making him hungry.

And I made a big blunder that I hope will not bite me in the behind... totally blanked on the tomato paste step. Ooops. I'm hoping the wonderful ripeness of the tomatoes I did use as part of the veg will save me a bit. The stock is not looking as lovely brown as I have seen veal stocks look, which might be due to my blonde-ness and the forgotten tomato paste. Or just the fact I'm just so giddy and forgetful about it right now... seriously, when I saw the veal necks at the store I was like a kid trying to sneak a cookie out of the cookie jar... looking around, amazed that no one else was away of the wonderfulness that was sitting right there.

Ok... time to get things into the fridge. Haven't made lunch for tomorrow either... that ain't going to happen tonight. We'll see if it happens tomorrow.

Veal Stock - Day One

If you're a foodie-type who is on the lookout at the grocery store, sometimes you notice when they have new stuff or stuff they only have occasionally.

I've been keeping an eye on the butcher stand area of the local produce mart. It started with pig parts.... fresh ham hocks, pigs feet, and even pig ears on a regular basis. I'm not surprised... the market is big with the local ethnic communities, it was probably only a matter of time before they started stocking the good stuff (more than your usual ground beef and boneless, skinless chicken breasts).

This Sunday, while I was looking over the goods with no intention of buying any meat. Then I saw them. Three packages, 1.5 pounds each, of veal neck bones.

Score.

I've been wanting to try homemade veal stock for awhile. I had already resolved that after Christmas, when I have my new Le Creuset (long story... I was planning on rewarding myself with one when my my "surprised" me in about April telling me I was getting one for Christmas) I'd do veal stock as my first "go" with it. I hadn't ever seen veal bones but I figured a quick talk with the butchers could likely get me some. But with them right there... well... was gonna have to try it sooner than I figured.

The hubby is likely working late all week (didn't get home until 8:45 tonight) so dinner is easy sandwiches and such, so I figured it'd also be a great time to try it. I made myself a grilled ham, cheese and tomato sandwich, and then started the first step in the recipe outta the French Laundry Cookbook... blanching the bones. Plop bones in cold water, put pot on low flame, slowly bring to a simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, then drain and wash any gunk off the bones. Easy enough. The picture above is the bones, ready to go in to the fridge to wait for tomorrow.

It gets harder during the next couple nights... I'll do the "first" stock tomorrow night (hopefully), the "second" stock on Wednesday, and either get to the final step Thursday or Friday. Or even Saturday. I'm all about stretching out the cooking process. It's not that there is much to do, but there is a LOT of unattended cooking time. Really makes me wish I could fool people and be like that lady from the old Rice Crispies commerical where the mom splashes herself with flour to make it look like she's really been working hard making those Rice Crispy Treats. Couldn't do it anyway... I forgot to buy flour this week. I was just so excited/distracted about the veal neck bones.

So we're done with Veep Watch, Round 1?

So we're really done with the media, waiting around like a woman two days after a great date, checking voice mail and the text inbox every five minutes to see if he's contacted her back yet??

That was just painful yesterday. Has Obama texted us yet? Has Obama texted us yet???

I don't want to get into politics... I'm more just so sick of all the media surrounding this election. And I have been for several months, for all involved parties. I just want it to be over so I don't have to hear about it anymore.

At least I am glad McCain isn't doing the "text announcement". I couldn't handle a second round of that.

Other than that... a laid back day in La Casa de La Hausfrau. We're going to a wedding reception this evening, so I decided to catch up on some beauty sleep this morning and don't plan on doing anything but getting ready for the reception. Looking forward to the reception - it's one of the hubby's old buddies from the now defunct band Nine24 (and ROFL... who the hell is paying to keep their website up? They've been busted up for like three years). And Kev isn't on the website... he was the first one to give up the dream to focus on actually making some kind of career outside of music. But, always fun times hanging with all the old crew and their mates, and we don't do it nearly enough.

I expect I'll have to take it easy with the adult-type beverages tonight. Although I hope this is not the drunken affair that was Tim's wedding (the hubby stood up in that one, and they ALL started drinking around noon, by the time it was time for the bridal party intros at the reception, each one of the groomsmen had to use the wall for support when walking down the staircase) I still expect the hubby will get a little, um, happy on the happy juice. Fine with me... he doesn't do it that often so I can deal with his drunken self.

Oh That Word Guy.....

... I hear the Sonic out in Aurora has opened up (sure... two weeks after we were actually out in that area). Not that you need a road trip considering your daily commute, but I figured you might like to know....

Wow.... this doesn't suck!

It's sad when the above is about the highest praise you'll hear for a chicken dish in your household.

It's even sadder when it's not your own cooking.

On my recent expedition to Meijer, I saw these No Name stuffed chicken breasts. They had one package that was breaded with tortilla chips and stuffed with cheese and chilies. I figured it couldn't be that bad, so I picked up a package.

That brings us to today... what I thought would be a quiet day at work turned into a rather busy day, and I was tired at the end. And I knew I didn't take out anything for dinner... so, frozen chicken breasts away, sir!!

I probably should have just slowly backed away from the kitchen.

I threw the breasts in the oven. Color me mildly impressed... they were actually chicken breasts wrapped around a filling rather than the chicken nugget-like form some of the store-bought ones take. Score. While those were cooking, I started the pasta for Macaroni Salad with Summer Tomatoes. I thought I had elbows or some other curly-tubey pasta. Nope. But I did find a half-package of Orecchiette. Figured that would work. Dumped the pasta in the boiling water, set the timer for a minute longer than the package directions.

Made the dressing, chopped the tomatoes, combined them, and proceeded to snack on the tomatoes in the dressing. Yummy. I was hopeful.

When the timer went off I killed the heat on the pasta and let it sit for a minute, then drained it. Then dumped it right into the bowl with the dressing and tomatoes. Stirred it, and took a taste. Downright crunchy pasta.

Sigh.

I quickly threw two potatoes in the microwave so I'd have something to serve with the chicken breasts.

But I didn't want to waste the pasta dish, so I tossed it all back into the pot I used to boil the pasta, added about a third of a cup of water, and cooked it for ANOTHER TEN MINUTES until the pasta was actually done.

Totally not what the dish was supposed to be, but not a "straight to the garbage" disaster. It's in the fridge now. I might have some for lunch on Saturday. Or go buy some fresh mozzarella and mix it in and take it for lunch next week.

But the chicken breasts were actually good. The hubby took one bite of his and happily pronounced that It Did Not Suck. High praise, indeed, from him when it comes to chicken.

Very happy it's Thursday. Just have to get through tomorrow at work, and then we have a wedding to go to on Saturday. I know I won't have time for a pedicure, so I dropped the $25 I'd have spent on that on a pair of shoes that cover both toes and heels, so I won't be shamed.

Adobe Framemaker.... take me away!

Geek filler technical writer-type post ahead. Ya been warned.

For awhile, Adobe Framemaker has been known as one of the best & biggest pieces of software out there for people who have to create professional documents.

Older versions used to have their problems... like having to uninstall and then re-install the software to fix problems... but with the recent versions, it's been my experience that your problems come from buggy, bogged-down files, and not the program itself.

Buggy? Bogged-down?

Think any recent Microsoft operating system. One of the big criticisms people have about Micro$oft products is that they just keep building and building and building on the base code of their operating system, which can lead to a lot a lot of crap. Think about it like a fridge... if you never go in an do a deep cleaning, it can get pretty nasty. And eventually, the nasty will start to take over.

At my work, we use a piece of software called Ventura (made by Corel). The most recent version is ten years old. A ten year old piece of software. Windows 98. The Lewinsky scandal. The birth of XML (which good publishing software actually does WELL now). OLD.

Being so old, is it ever buggy. And unlike Framemaker, it's buggy for no good reason. Usually, with Frame, the problem is within your files, and you can find it and correct it. Ventura? No such luck. So much suck.

Today alone, working with Ventura, I had the program crash ten times. TEN TIMES. One for every year it is old. I spent my entire afternoon stripping out formatting that was just adding to the baggage of the files. My version runs slow because I have it set to make a backup of the file I'm working on every minute. The delay of making a backup is worth it, seeing as the program can crash very unexpectedly.

I hate it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. There are so many better tools out there now. Not even just Frame. I'd take anything at this point. Like MCI/Worldcom, it might have been a good idea at the time, but it is so very very wrong now.

Foodie blogs.... how clean do they *really* keep their counters???

One of the reasons I don't post more pix of my own cooking exploits.... I read some foodie blogs. And they always have these fantastic pics of everything.

I actually cleared off my counter this weekend as it became hard to even fit a cutting board on there with all the unopened bottles and jars and things I had just not found a place for (and most of them found a place in the "jar' cabinet, shoved in as best as I could to prevent a canned food avalanche). C'mon. I still have yet to open the Jalepeno mustard that made a guest appearance around here when I posted some pics.

I know Rosie Hawthorne keeps a neat prep and cooking surface, but I can't. Or don't. Or just am not doing lately. I don't have it in me.

I know Rosie isn't.... but are the rest just shoving things out of camera view, or relocating them to another room for the photo shoot...... or am I that bad of a hausfrau that I let that stuff pile up some times??

Life in the urban... jungle???

This has not been the best week for the hubby.

After working crazy-long hours this week, he left work at 7pm and was just looking forward to chilling out at home for the evening. He picked up some food on his way home, we ate, and then he headed out for beer.

While he was pulling his Camaro into the garage (with the T-tops still off), he thought he saw something run into the garage. He figured it was just one of the local feral cats, and they tend to run when they even see most people.

Then he got a better look.

Skunk.

With the car still running, the hubby ran out of the garage as fast as he could, and got indoors. Told me what what going on. I really, really wanted to laugh. It was just the cherry on a shit Sundae of a week.

I put out some hot dogs, hoping to lure the skunk out. It must have been a bit spooked already, since the hot dogs did not work (although it lured out all the cats). We finally called the local animal control number. They sent out one of the auxillary police officers who immediately said he really couldn't offer any help. Um, thanks.

The Man didn't want the skunk "going off".... his windows were down, T-tops off, and he was afraid of getting his car skunked.

The faux officer left, and we decided to wait it out. The Man did run in and get a chance to shut off his car and recue the all-important beer.

About 10:00-ish, he went out to investigate some more. While he was looking for the skunk in the garage, he noticed it was over at the neighbor's, eating the popcorn he usually leaves out.

Yay!!

Thankfully, today was skunk-free.

I was up early. I had errands and I just wanted to get them done. I *hate* that the current workplace is kinda far removed from any of the usual stores I like to hit, which makes it impossible to do anything on the lunch hour. So this morning it was Post Office, Meijer (specifically for Bacon Salt), Sam's Club, Costco (where I left empty-handed... AGAIN) then I popped home, emptied the truck, and then it was off again to hit the fishmonger, the produce mart and a quick run through the regular grocery store. Got home and was planning to start cleaning - but the hubby's bro was in the area and was stopping by for a little while. Was nice to visit and play with the young nephew who was with him. By the time they left, relaxation caught up with me, and I took a nap.

We just had Chinese food delivered for dinner. It happens.

Hope to get all the cleaning done tomorrow, and maybe head to TJ Maxx to look around. We've got a wedding next weekend and while I think I'm going to just recycle a dress, I just want to see if there is anything else out there or maybe some new, fun, accessories. If not... oh well.

A taste of naw'lins.....

+

=

GOOOD!!!

I love Zatarain's products.

I love their Shrimp & Crab Boil.

The spice mixture one is good, but I like the liquid stuff more.

The hubby's been working looooong hours this week (yesterday, he didn't even leave work until 8pm). So, it's been kinda all over the place trying to get dinner done.

I already planned on shrimp boil, but wow, it works so well for a night where you can't nail down a single hot dinnertime for everyone (even if the hubby did get home before I even drained the pot).

For my boil, I usually start with some waxy (red/white/yukon gold/etc.) potatoes in the pot of water. Add some salt and the Shrimp & Crab boil, cook until the potatoes are done. Turn off the heat, dump in your shrimp, some sliced polish or other smoked sausage, and perhaps some locally grown ears of corn, let sit at least 2 minutes, hopefully at least 15, and longer if you have it. It will stay warm. When it's dinner time, either fish out what you need to serve you and just cover the pot to keep it all warm and steeping, or drain it all and sit down with a plate of lovely, still perfectly cooked shrimp and other goodies. And don't forget the hot sauce.

We were lucky enough to enjoy ours with a nice Dixie beer (well, a "Jazz" for me - Dixie's light beer). For those who do not know... the Dixie Brewery in New Orleans was first massively flooded by Katrina, and after the waters dropped it was pretty much looted ceiling to floor. They haven't been brewing at their own facility since the storm. They've been working with local brewers in Louisiana for the Louisiana market, and a brewer in Wisconsin for national distribution, to get the product back out there. And for fans, it's a welcome re-introduction.

The beers with dinner were good. Very good. I don't know what it is about Dixie, but it is just perfect with the cajun spice blend. I might have to go back to the place I finally found them and get me some Blackened Voodoo. Also very good.

Hubby's got his fantasy football draft after work tomorrow, so I'm hoping to hit Costco after work tomorrow, maybe pick up a nice Cosi sammich for dinner. I also had some work for Old Company pop up this week. Nothing too big, but nice for the little extra work. If that one shop at the Flamingo still has the Onex leopard sandals I've wanted, I am buying them this time.

What is it with airlines now anyway??

I've traveled more on planes since 9/11 than I ever did before that. A couple of trips to LA, and then the (mostly) bi-annual trips to Vegas.

First two trips to LA, people were still a bit freaked out about air travel, and it was nice to have not packed planes and have a little breathing room.

The Vegas flights have been packed flights on smaller planes, on "Ted", which is United's discount airline. I like United. We fly out of O'Hare, and it's one of their hubs, which usually cuts down on some of the problems of air travel.

Ok, airlines... I know that fuel is more expensive. I bought an SUV right before prices went up. BELIEVE ME, I know. I've seen the costs of my groceries rise because of rising fuel costs. I understand where the higher prices are coming from.

I don't mind the "discount" airline. I liked Ted, I even preferred paying five bucks for one of their snackboxes over any dried out turkey sandwich I ever got on any other flight. If your "Light Bite" box didn't have tuna (seriously... tuna on an airplane???) and the world's most disgusting hummus in it, I'd probably buy two snack boxes each leg of each trip. But it's getting out of hand.

Some airline wants to charge for pillows and blankets? Ok. Any time I have ever asked for one, they're out anyway, so I always have a jacket and a travel pillow to keep me happy. But this checked baggage fee in a time where there are restrictions on what I can have in a carry on? C'mon. Please. Just raise the ticket fee across the board.

I did find out, thru United, as long as you have a confirmed Economy Plus seat, they wave the baggage fee. So, for our trip to Vegas... I can fork over $50 for extra legroom and that covers the $15 I'd have to pay to bring liquids with me. If you would have just raised airline fares across the board, you'd have that extra $15 plus the $50 because that legroom IS worth the money.

I understand that they're finally getting what many other companies/industries are well aware of... it's all about the extra "service" fees. Charge me for some snacks. Charge me for a pillow. You can charge me for a beverage only IF you have it on board (another reason not to travel in the back of the plane, they tend to run out of everything). Charge for water for those people who don't bother to buy a bottle before they get on the plane. Hell, sell upcharged bottles ON the plane (those dudes on the streets of Vegas make out like bandits selling 16 ounce bottles of water for a buck... take note!!). A charge if you have Wi-Fi on the plane? Bring it on. What a way to lure in geeks like me who just MIGHT need to check Wikipedia, and way to ensure you get that business traveler money of people who even just want to look like they're working on the flight (look... I can bill those hours... my bill shows I paid for WiFi!). Take out the back row and make a mini-business center with a printer and charge Kinkos per page prices for print outs and watch the dollars flow in.


I don't mind paying for the extras. But this bag fee is just crap. If the hubby needs to have a checked bag because he wears contacts and those little travel sized bottles aren't made for the brand of stuff he uses, it's not fair.

I friggin' hate heartburn.....

Ugh. Ok Prilosec, will you start working already???

I might be partly to blame. Very bad menu choices for me, trying to enjoy my garden tomatoes and eating too much iceburg and romaine lettuce, which is a huge heartburn trigger for me.

This weekend probably didn't help... two kid's birthday parties with the standard summer grill food - hot dogs, burgers, sausages, etc. And I totally forgot until I was half done and ate romaine lettuce yesterday. And had a cup of real brewed coffee today (oddly - the International Coffee-type flavored coffee mixes never trigger heartburn for me, but the real stuff does).

But, trying to be better this week. Nice, non-acid-inducing lunch choices. Wooo. Bland food.

Bit life is not all bad.... booked the next Vegas trip today. We will be in Vegas for NFL Opening Weekend. We did this once before - our "honeymoon" trip, and the hubby had a blast. Since August was pretty booked with other events and we really need a vacation. It'll be a day longer than the usual trip (usually fly out on Thursday and head back on Sunday - this time we'll head back on Monday) but that is fine with me. I'll take as much time away from work as I can get!

Tomatoes!!!!!

Wooooo.....




Ahhh.......




Purty.....

Right there, people, are more ripe tomatoes than I have had in the past two years, combined.

As of right now, I've gotten tomatoes off my cherry tomato plant (and I just gave a pint to the in-laws yesterday), my patio plant, my purple Cherokee plant, and my Big Boy plant.

I am a happy gardener right now. Last summer I was stuck with a bunch of tomatoes that never turned green, and I figured my over-planting this year would at least yield SOMETHING. It has yielded a lot more than something, and I can tell you right now that I should have new tomatoes daily for awhile.

Yay!!!

However, I've got some acid reflux going from all the fine tomato eating, but I'll happily suffer. Depending on what we use tomorrow for the first Summer Tomato BLTs of the year, I might bring some in to co-workers if I have some more to be picked. I'd give them to the in-laws, but they leave for Vegas tomorrow morning (if their flight isn't messed up with the storms we've had roll thru tonight).

Note to self... must remember to run out at lunch tomorrow and buy Prilosec.

Overcompensation

Yeah... I was a bit lax/lazy in my cooking efforts last week. Didn't help that yesterday I was feeling a bit funky, so we just had McD's for dinner. I suck, sue me.

So, the plan for today was Major Cooking Fest. We've got some hot weather coming up this week and I know at least tomorrow is going to be stupid crazy at work, so I figured some time in the kitchen today would pay off big time later in the week.

Started out with some meatballs. Changed up my usual recipe a bit... I've seen enough Molto Mario meatball recipes where he's suggested using some bread moistened in milk to make them more tender, but it never stuck. Was watching America's Test Kitchen last week and they mentioned the technique when they were making some burgers, and I figured it was worth a try.

Holy moly. Did it ever.

A pound and a half of beef, a pound and a half of mild pork sausage, spices, an egg, and four slices of bread moistened with a couple tablespoons of milk and mashed to a paste. Bestest. Meatballs. EVER. So tender.

I browned them, threw them in the crockpot, and planned to go with a jar of Prego, and a jar of the Del Fratteneli (or whatever, it's late and I'm too lazy to go get the jar outta the trash to check spelling) sauce. But I could not believe it. I was actually out of Prego. I did have a jar of Muir Glen sauce, so that is what I used, along with the Del Whateverthehelli sauce . Somewhat heartburn inducing, but not as bad as the Muir Glen stuff straight up.

I also started some bacon in the oven to use for BLTs this week, since it looks like I'll have my first massive amount of tomatoes within the next couple days. Did one batch - start bacon in a cold oven set to 400 degrees and cook until desired doneness - and started a second batch (I had an open half-pound of bacon and an unopened pound, figured I'd just make it all). That is when the hubby called. He went to stop by his folks, and they were having problems with their internet connection. I turned off the oven, took out the bacon, and headed over.

A couple hours later we finally figured out the problem.... father in law didn't follow our advice of actually running the Microsoft updates that he should - they never did them with their dial-up connection, and they were STILL running SP1. D'oh. I did have to deal with a call to customer service to see if they had any suggestions, and ended up talking to THE WORST I.T. customer service person EVER. Like, this guy couldn't understand that I had even tried connecting the modem to another PC to see if worked with that one (it worked hunky-dory with my laptop, didn't work on the in-law's desktop). And he then tried to tell me that the router was the problem.... um, no. The router was not the problem. Was a router from Old Company, and one reason I ended up installing it was that it actually tests your internet connection, and if you're connected and log on, it will pretty much tell you if the problem is the modem (and several times when we tried to connect, it was saying there was no connection and there were problems with DHCP). But, in the end, they were up and running again and happy and very grateful.

Stopped on the way home... they are right by a Trader Joes, and wanted to get some more capers. I have much love for their capers, and I downright ruined a meal last week by using some sub-par (and twice the price, grumble) capers. At first, I grabbed two jars. Then I grabbed a third. Then picked up a loaf of Italian bread and a bottle of chianti that I planned to have with dinner (but I forgot about, D'OH!). Then went back for a fourth bottle of capers. Yeah, color me slightly paniced about not finding them at my last TJ's trip.

After dinner, boiled some rice noodles and mixed up some light coconut milk and curry paste to have a cold curry noodle salad for lunch tomorrow. Hopefully, with the hot weather, that should hit the spot. I wish I had some fresh lime to add, though.

And with that.... a weekend is done... and a hellish workweek lies ahead. Ain't ya jealous???

The Cult of Tivo

I admit, I am of the Cult of Tivo.

I've always been a television person... it was something that was always on growing up. We were some of the youngest kids I knew to get our own TVs in our own rooms (sad that a 12-inch, black & white television was once something that made you the envy of your peers!). We did still watch TV together as a family, but there was the option to go to your room and watch in peace and quiet if you wanted to (and I think my parents were quite happy to never ever have to watch a episode of Full House ever again.....)

When we got our first Tivo, it was just awesome. When we moved into our townhome, we were excited to add a newer, second generation Tivo to the family.

While I am a proud member of the Cult of Tivo, I think the hubby is going for High Priest status. He decided we needed yet ANOTHER Tivo (for you math people out there... that is three Tivos for two people - and we have 6 televisions in this house). So, today, we went to the bank and the post office (see kids... this is what happens when you're like 16 and cannot WAIT to become a grown-up so you can do all the great & fun things grown-ups get to do) and then we headed to Circuit City. A new Tivo was purchased, and a wireless adapter for Tivo 2 (just easier than running a network cable to it). We also felt we needed to add something else media-centric to the cart and I plunked in a $40 DVD player that I can easily move between the bedroom and the basement.

Got home, hubby installed Newest Tivo in the living room, Tivo Number 2 moved to the computer room and got the wireless hookup, and Tivo 3 is now in the bedroom. The really nice thing is that we can transfer programs between the Newest Tivo and Tivo Number 2 now, which is nice for a lot of the wrestling-related programming that hubby takes that I could care less about.

Newest Tivo is also pretty damned neat on its own... it can (with a big ole asterisk) record two programs on two different channels at once. I gotta hand it to the Tivo people... I'm guessing they found a way to smoosh their older technology with their newer technology together. It can record two channels at once, as long as one is a basic, non-digital signal feed that you can get on a regular TV. This will be especially exciting come the regular TV season where we tend to have some overlap on what we want to watch. For now, this means I can tape MonsterQuest and other good stuff that I usually have to try and catch on a re-run.

Wooo! I watch too much television.

From lands far away and unknown......

Ladies and Gents.... this post comes to you from lands far and unknown from my usual spot...... I'm sitting upstairs in our computer room. Supposed to be the second bedroom, but we have it turned into a 'puter room.

This is the hubby's territory. Since I got my laptop (before we moved into the townhouse) I haven't spent much time at my ole desktop PC. I throw it some love now and then, but I spend most of my time with my laptop. But, the hubby got some wrestling pay per view tonight and he's watching that, so I have banished myself to the unknown lands.

I go downstairs every once in awhile.... to get a beer and to hear the Man talk about how great this $12 Pay Per View is. I do my duty.

God, this rooms is a mess. I try not to come in here too much. And I'm trying to not pay attention to the dust bunnies.

On the more hausfrau-ish front.....

I have my fingers crossed that next week I'll have enough garden tomatoes for BLTs. I am looking forward to that moment.

After my day at work today (in the midst of a software release and my coworker overslept this morning and was very rested all day) was just hell. I don't know if it is just not being used to the pace I used to function at all the time or what... but was I ever glad to leave work today. Even if I have to find some time to do some work over the weekend.

Ok.... that's all I got in me right now. i suck. and using my split keyboard it odd, but it does feel better on my hands, which are killing me right now....