i lol'd at this bumper sticker.

Until the jackass with it on his car nearly ran me off the bridge. Not so funny when my life was flashing before my eyes.

blogging for choice.

Last year on Jan 22, I forgot to blog for choice. This year I'm blogging late in the day (as I always do) but I actually remembered to blog.

Why am I pro-choice?

Because a woman's body is her own.
Because you don't know what's best for me.
Because sometimes there are no other options..

My roommate is anti-choice and, of all her right-wing beliefs, this one gets me the most. How, how, how, how, how is it her decision, or the decision of anyone else what choice is right for me? My life, my body, my decision. You shouldn't have sex until you're ready for the consequences. Right, because she and I are both SO PREPARED.

No, I don't know what it's like to face a decision like this. I'm the first one to say that. And I don't know what the best decision for me would be. But I sure do know better than you.

long time gone

Once again, I have managed to neglect my blog while things happen, and yet at the same time don't happen in my life. Meh.

I was sick. For three days, plus one day when I still went to work, and I still have a cough.

I finally got called for jury duty #1. Beginning February 5 I must call every Monday after 5pm to verify my service and reporting time. If my group number (121) is called, I am to be present. This lasts through March 30. They also conveniently enclosed a list of what not to wear.

Joe sent me flowers, at work, out of the blue. The best kind of flowers. Here is a picture of them on a high shelf, where Beatrice can't reach them until she gets really determined at 3 am and finds a way to leap up there. Then she eats the flowers, throws up and dies. In that order. Of course I'm kidding about all that. You'll notice that this image also demonstrates my mad skillz with the side lighting and fill flash. Word.

The funny thing about the flowers is that just a couple of hours before they arrived on Tuesday one of my new coworkers (one of the three they've hired to do what I do) told us how he sent his wife flowers out of the blue. My sweetie never send me flowers, I complained, only half meaning it. Then we started talking about CO and how it was 4 degrees there. Just the four.

HotCop and I finally took down the Christmas decorations. The tree is still sitting on the stoop, waiting for trash day, though. And I always -always- miss at least one decoration. This year I thought it was the stockings (which I caught before I locked the storage area). Not so much. It was the damn cookie jar, sitting there mocking me on the back of my stove. Meh.

My car is fixed from the Thanksgiving crunch. The F-150 versus Civic battle, where cuisine reigns supreme. Not sure I blogged about this--I got tapped at the gas station the day before Thanksgiving. Tapped = new door and State Farm paying $1350+. Later that day is when I told my mother in a fit of emotion "And Joe might move to Colorado! But we're not talking about it on Thanksgiving." Then she told my dad the former, but not the latter part of this piece of news. So a few glasses in, my father asks Joe all about his new job in CO...and Joe is blindsided. Nice.

Anyhoo...what's up with you?

notsick.

I woke up this morning (sick and) tired, and decided I really, really did not want to be sick-- and therefore, I wasn't. Too much to do today! It feels too nice to be home!

I got up, made coffee and oatmeal, had a tangelo and still REALLY REALLY wasn't going to be sick. I was OK!

I picked up around the house, vaccuumed the entire downstairs and most of the upstairs, swept the kitchen, loaded all my craft stuff into my new storage box, watched two episodes of Gilmore Girls, and called my parents. Let's go to Costco! I need contacts! Costco turned into Costco, Panera and Trader Joe's (not that I'm complaining). Everytime we got back in the car I said Aaahh. My mom kept saying You really are sick. Gargle with salt water. My dad used my state as an excuse to drive around looking for a better spot. Erika is tired! Yeah. I'm freaking exhausted. I shouldn't even been sitting up straight right now, and I still have to plan my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow, mop the kitchen and front hall and haul out the Christmas decoration boxes. And watch a movie.

Nap first. I guess I really am not well.

love chinese food.

I love Chinese food. Love the rice, the ginger, the deep fried veggies.

From childhood I remember chicken fried rice, beef and broccoli-- then orange chicken, and General Tso's chicken (which are really the same thing except the orange peel). The leftover Chinese the next day or, when I was younger, the small plate late at night.

The real Chinese comfort food is Hot & Sour soup. Tastes just like dishwater, one of my AAA colleagues once said to me. I denied it then but the truth is, it does, a little. My favorite hot & sour has the dark broth-- beef, I think, with strips of tofu, the weird mushroomy things that are kind of slimy, strips of pork, miscellaneous veggies, and the floating bits that come from an egg broken into the hot broth. It clears your sinuses right out (that's the hot) and makes you think Huh, dishwater (that's the sour). If you have to wait for it at the local Chinese place that means it's good. It means they're making your pint fresh for you, and not ladling it out of some soup vat. Number One Kitchen is my favorite Hot & Sour. P.F. Changs is a very close second.

The ultimate comfort food: food that reminds me of my mother, because she introduced it to me, and because my father won't eat it (he prefers egg drop).

Love Chinese food.

ah, groceries

Farm Fresh
Food & Pharmacy

Cashier: Jacob

1/04/07 19:05:05
GROCERY
Bread Crumbs 1.49 TF
Sugar 2.29 TF
Richfood Mustard 1.29 TF
1 @ 2/5.00
Rice Chex Cereal 2.50 TF
1 @ 2/4.00
Quaker Oatmeal 2.00 TF
1 @ 2/4.00
Qkr Inst Oatmeal 2.00 TF
1 @ 2/4.00
Spcl K Frt/Yogurt 2.00 TF
1 @ 2/4.00
Kelloggs Spec. K 2.00 TF
1 @ 2/4.00
Domino Dots 1.29 TF
1 @ 2/4.00
H/C Vegetable Soup 2.00 TF
1 @ 2/4.00
H/C Chkn Ndl Soup 2.00 TF
1 @ 4/5.00
H/C Gumbo Soup 1.25 TF
1 @ 4/5.00
H/C Gumbo Soup 1.25 TF
1 @ 4/5.00
H/C Chkn Tort Soup 1.25 TF
1 @ 4/5.00
H/C Chkn Tort Soup 1.25 TF
Camp Chkn Ndl Sp .69 TF
Camp Chkn Ndl Sp .69 TF
Campbel Soup 1.49 TF
Campbel Soup 1.49 TF
MEAT
Breast Tenders 3.91 TF
PRODUCE
2 @ 2/4.00
Broccoli 4.00 TF
0.32 ld @ 1 lb/ 2.99 TF
Garlic Regular .96 TF
Dole Springmix Salad 3.99 TF
1 @ 2/4.00
3LB GG Yllw Onions 2.00
Sugar Snap Peas 3.99
Mann Snow Peas 3.99
DAIRY
1 @ 2/3.00
Rchfd Cottg Chs LF 1.50 TF
1 @ 2/3.00
Rchfd Cottg Chs LF 1.50 TF
Farm Fresh 1% Milk 3.69 TF
Kraft Cheese 2.59 TF
C/F Fancy Shreds 2.59

Subtotal: 65.73
VA State Tax 1.64

TOTAL 67.37

MasterCard Tender 67.37
Acct: XXXXXX
Apprvl Code: 0XXXX9
Cash Change .00

NUMBER OF ITEMS 32

Trx 605 Oper 163 Term 6 Store 0240
1/04/07 19:08:06

Earn FREE Educational Equipment
January is DOUBLE Points Month
Call 757-306-2090 for details.

home safely.

I arrived home safely from St Louis not an hour ago (as opposed to my original planned arrival time of YESTERDAY). Thanks to the Lischkes for hosting Joe and me.

More on the trip and The Ham, The B later.

Oh, and, Happy New Year.