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GIANTMICROBE's Recent Blog Entries
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Happy Monday after Christmas, everyone. I hope no one reading this is stuck at work today, and if you are, I hope you at least have a job you enjoy. I am lucky enough to be off all week. Granted, I don't get paid, but whatev. I'd rather have Christmas week off and not get paid than have to be there and get money.
My Christmas was okay. Not the best one ever but not the worst either. For the record, I couldn't say definitively what my worst Christmas ever was, which is a good thing.
My boyfriend wanted to leave at 4AM.  So I humored him... got up at 3 on Saturday morning and we left. Arrived at home at 11 and of course there was no traffic. I believe we could have left anytime and have been fine, but he's really nuts about traffic... we got off the exit for home and he started driving me straight to my parents house...
Me: "Aren't we going to stop at your mom's?"
Him: *confused look* "Why would we do that?"
Me: "Because if we stop at mine first, that's an extra trip. Mine, yours, back to mine to drop me off, then you'll go back to yours."
Him: "I'm not following."
Me: "BOY, NEITHER AM I."
But I was following perfectly. We've been together for 5 years, and we always spent holidays apart, at our own families. No one understands it. I know I don't. Our first Thanksgiving together, I asked him what time dinner was at his mom's, you know, thinking we were doing the normal couple thing, dinner at both families' houses. And when I knocked on the door, he opened it, totally surprised, and said, "What are you doing here?!" He hadn't been expected me and I felt totally awkward and humiliated, like I had crashed their Thanksgiving. I didn't know his parents well at the time and didn't know if maybe they were as dumb as he is, and weren't expecting me. I am sure now, that they are NOT as dumb as he is, and it was not a problem, but at the time I didn't know that. I was infuriated when I left. And I have never gone over to his family's house for Thanksgiving since, and he hasn't been to mine.
Fast forward to Saturday. We get to his parents' house. I go to get the presents out of the trunk for his mom and they're all the way in the back.
Me: *sighs, rummages through all the gifts to get to his mom's*
Him: "Well, I'm sorry. I thought we were stopping at your mom's first."
Me: "I told you, that would be stupid... there would have to be an extra trip."
Him: "I didn't know you wanted to come here!"
Me: *so shocked, I'm opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water* "Wh- You- I-" *speechless and falls silent*
I was so angry, I'm surprised I was able to put on a cheerful face and have a very nice visit with his parents. When we got to mine, he sat down and my parents talked his ear off until I was so crabby (and EXHAUSTED from getting up at THREE IN THE MORNING) that I finally just turned to him and said, "Don't you think it's about time you left?" (You could say pretense is not one of my weaknesses.)
I do not know what the problem is. I know he likes my parents okay, and I adore his mother, possibly more than I like my own. I know it's not that he doesn't want me around his family. So I really don't know what the issue is, other than he's a socially retarded engineer. No offense to any engineers out there... but all the ones I know have a few screws loose when it comes to people skills.
He texted twice yesterday. I ignored him. Then he called. I thought that might be important because he NEVER picks up the phone if he can help it. He is terrified of the telephone. So I answered that, but it wasn't important and I pretty much gave him one word answers until his lack of conversational skills forced him to say goodbye.
He was supposed to come out with us for my grandma's birthday but now I don't really think I want him to.
OK... thanks for reading that, if you did. I just had to talk about it.
I didn't work out Christmas Eve, but I did yesterday morning, and I am pleasantly sore today. It's warm here (40) and not raining, so I am excited to go to the park and do jump rope intervals! YAY!
I got some good stuff yesterday. I guess the biggest and nicest thing was that I got a Cricut Expression. I didn't ask for it, and I wasn't expecting it... I don't know much about them, really. I don't know how they work or what they make. But everyone says I really need one and that I'll be addicted to it, so I am looking forward to trying it out.
I also got sweat-wicking socks, a gift card for Nike, a lovely snowflake necklace, and my mom got me an absolutely gorgeous shade of nail polish. It's like a creamy mint. I have about 50 bottles of nail polish (I'm obsessed) and yet I have NEVER found a green I liked. But I love this one. I put it on immediately.
Well, I need to get ready to hit the park! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Friday, December 23, 2011
I did an old favorite exercise challenge tonight. It always kills me and yet I always impress myself with my numbers. It's a total win-win.
It's the Do It Challenge. I don't have the link handy because I have the sucker memorized. 
It's 10 squats, 10 pushups. That's one set. Do as many sets as possible in 12 minutes, then your numbers are your scores. This is the third or fourth time I have done this challenge.
1st Time- no weight on squats. 110 squats, 103 pushups
2nd time- no weight on squats. 119 squats, 110 pushups
3rd time- 10 lbs on squats. 106 squats, 100 pushups
My goal for next time is 110 squats and 100+ pushups.
I'm taking my mat, my jump rope, and my GymBoss home with me for Christmas. I worked out EVERY day I was home for the last two trips and this time will not be different. I am not taking any equipment other than what I mentioned so it will be bodyweight only! I'm looking to do some squat jumps, mountain climbers, dive bombers, and side jump lunges for sure. I have some ideas about some older bodyweight workouts I can beat numbers for.
OK, I'm going to eat leftover shrimp tacos and finish getting Christmas ready!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Well, here it is. All done. I can't believe it. It's so rewarding to see such a cool idea come to life in a tangible, givable piece of art.
Several weeks ago I stumbled across a Memory Jar on a site for homemade Christmas gifts. My grandma's birthday is December 28 so I thought it very appropriate to make one for her birthday. I cut out hundreds of pieces of leftover cardstock and mailed them out to family and friends. They (and I, of course) write happy or funny memories of Grandma, or just things they cherish about her. Then you put them all in a jar and decorate it and she pulls out a memory each day. Here are some...
I got the cards back from my mom's brother today. I was delighted- he filled out ALL ONE HUNDRED cards I sent him. Amazing. We don't get along at all... but he really made me happy today, I gotta tell you.
So, the big unveiling... 3 hours cutting out cardstock... a big bag of envelopes taken to the post office... I spent 8 hours two weekends ago hot-gluing all the baubles on. I made the bow with my new Bowdabra. I cut out the tag and wrote this on it, "The best gifts can't be packed inside a box. How do you wrap shared laughter and tears and talks that run into hours? They can only be wrapped and treasured inside our hearts."
It was a lot of work and it's absolutely going to be worth every second when my grandma cries.
My grandma is going to be 85 next week. She is the coolest, feistiest grandma you'd ever want to meet. She'll tell anybody anything she wants to say at any time. She's a hoot and a half and sharp as a tack. I love my grandma and I want the whole world to know it! I LOVE MY GRANDMA!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
www.bodyrock.tv/2010/11/15/workout/
There's the Bodyrock I did. Ab burnout burns like a... a... bad word. A real bad word. The second set of knee hugs went much slower. Yowwwwwwwww.
Also I figured out the trick to reptile pushups. You gotta turn your head in the direction of the leg you're lifting. I never noticed that before tonight.
Sumo Jump (forgot the leg up): 17, 12, 14
Sumo Pulses: 33, 39, 35
Reptile on the Run: 28, 19, 18
Reptile Pushup: 5, 6, 5
Knee Hugs: 16, 13, 12
Ab Burnout: 17, 15, 15
I have to get to finishing Christmas. I got some cards back in the mail today for my Grandma's Memory Jar. My mom's brother filled out ALL 100 cards I sent him. I am so delighted!!!!!!!!!!
I just ran out to the Chinese restaurant for a takeout box. I got my friend Evil Fortune Cookies for Christmas. Each plain-looking cookie contains a mean fortune, such as "You will die alone and poorly dressed." (Don't worry, we mess with each other. It's our thang.) They came in a takeout box... that CLEARLY says EXACTLY what they are. That wouldn't do. I went to the Chinese place and asked them for an empty takeout box, and they were positively HOWLING with laughter when I explained what I needed it for.
My boyfriend's shyness works greatly to my advantage. He was too shy to go down the street and ask the Chinese restaurant for an empty box, so he's cooking dinner instead. Win.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Oh my goodness, guys.
Oh my goodness.
This soup was
AMAZING.
Beef Barley Soup
16 oz lean beef round, cut into small chunks
3/4 cup pearl barley
8 cups beef broth
Baby carrots (a small bag?)
Dried onion (maybe 1/4 cup?)
Heaping 1/2 tsp. fennel seed
Black pepper
A generous spoonful of minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 lbs mushrooms
1 or 2 bag baby spinach
Put the beef, barley, and broth into a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off foam.
Add carrots, dried onion, fennel seed, pepper, garlic, and tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes.
Add mushrooms, simmer another 15 minutes.
Take off heat and stir in spinach.
I really can't say enough about this soup. It may be my favorite soup I have ever, ever made. It was delicious, and not even delicious in the "delicious for a healthy recipe" way, just PLAIN OLD AWESOME.
Even if you think it's so good, you just want to hog it down as fast as possible, please chew it. Otherwise you may be cursed with barley farts. You know. Barts. And if you share a cube with someone, that person may end up mad at you. Just sayin'. It's a small price to pay for the Best Ever Beef Barley Soup.
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