Irrational Fear #1: Unintentional Plagiarism

I wish I were a better blogger.

I wish I could always come up with something interesting, or complex, or insightful to post.

But I have this fear that everything I think and/or write is just some sort of regurgitation of things other people have thought and/or wrote. I'm even afraid that my "tone" or "voice" in any given post is just a ripoff of someone else's blogging persona. Does anyone else have this fear? Is it completely irrational?

I used to write a little bit, when I was a younger. Poetry mostly (oh God, I feel lame just typing that). Not that poetry in and of itself is lame, but I had the same fear about my poems that I have about my blog posts. I worried that everything that came out was just a combination of things subconsciously remembered, that I was unintentionally plagiarizing things I had read previously.

It was all very logical to me. There are only a limited number of ideas in the world; haven't they all been used up by now? How could anything I think of be new? My brain was just too full of all those memories for there to be any room for original thoughts. Of course I didn't apply this logic to anyone else; all their ideas were unique and I was the only one in the world reduced to mimicry.

Even this post has me worried. Who am I to think that this fear is original? Surely someone else has blogged about it. What about my "voice"? Is this what I really sound like or am I imitating someone else? How do I know what I'm supposed to sound like?

Before hitting publish, I hesitated. But, if nothing else, this post can serve as a big "eff you!" to Irrational Fear #1.

Am I alone in this fear? What irrational fears do you have?

This post contains an interesting picture and justified text thanks to yes and yes's most recent Blog Doctor post.

ABCs of Me

This post was originally published on 9.14.11 but I accidentally deleted it today. Re-posting, even using the original date, made it come up as new in my RSS feed with today's date (1.6.12). Sorry for the duplicate post and annoyance!

A. Age: 27 (and a half, actually, as of today).

B. Bed size: Queen. Our tiny 1960s home has tiny bedrooms, and even the queen is a tight squeeze.

C. Chore you dislike: Dishes are pretty much the worst. I love cooking, but the potential dishes are sometimes a deterrent. Weeding the garden is a close second, which is why it ended up looking like a jungle this year. Much easier to ignore than a full sink! 

D. Dogs: Two.* Vinny, a loveable, goofy black lab mix who likes to dance with me, and Ally, a neurotic, fluffy collie mix with bad hips and Grinch feet who barks at everything. She also wedged herself under one of our sheds yesterday, so we spent the afternoon digging her out. Love it!

* I feel I shouldn't leave out the other fur-kids: Rusty, a trouble-making, dog-like orange tabby, and Luna, a prissy, snobbish white cat. 

E. Essential start to your day: I do need my coffee daily, though I hold off on drinking it until I get to the office (around an hour after I get up).

F. Favorite color: Gray-blue. 

G. Gold or silver: Silver, always.

H. Height: 5’4". Perfectly average. 

I. Instruments you play(ed): Piano and hand bells (at church). Shut up, hand bells were actually really fun (even if we did have to wear silly looking white gloves).

J. Job title: Database Manager. It's exactly as exciting as it sounds.

K. Kids: Eventually. Which is creeping closer to "soon please" as I start to freak out about nearing 30. But definitely not for another 1-2 years minimum at this point.

L. Live: Prattville, AL.

M. Mom’s name: Louise (also my middle name).

N. Nicknames: Muskrat (from my maiden name), Melly, Blue. 

O. Overnight hospital stays: None.

P. Pet peeves: People who invade my personal space bubble, overpowering perfume/cologne, slow clappers.

Q. Quote from a movie: “Old and busted. New hotness.” (Name it!)

R. Righty or lefty: Righty, though I've been told I was ambidextrous as a child. I think that's fairly common, though, right?

S. Siblings: One brother, one sister, both younger.

T. Time you wake up: 7 AM on weekdays (6:30 if I don't ignore my alarm), whenever on weekends depending on how late I stay up. If I'm in bed by 2 AM or so, I normally can't sleep past 10.

U. Underwear: Yes? Are you asking what color they are? Um, personal!

V. Vegetables you don’t like: I actually like most of the vegetables I've tried. I do dislike raw carrots, celery, and broccoli/cauliflower, though I like them cooked.

W. What makes you run late: Underestimating the time it takes to do a lot of small things. Or just hitting the snooze for too long.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth mainly, and a few of my chest for various cold/flu/upper respiratory ailments (once it was walking pneumonia!).

Y. Yummy food you make: I think all my food is awesome, but if I had to pick a couple of things, my German potato salad is a favorite (though that'll have to be an occasional treat if we go primal/paleo...). I also make PERFECT scrambled eggs. 

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Big cats and birds of prey (Ocelots! Falcons! Awesome!).  I've never worked with big cats, but I have worked on a volunteer basis with raptors. (I've also worked extensively, and professionally, with domestic rodents, but they're not exciting. And not zoo animals.) 

Borrowed from Holly at Holly Would If She Could.

The Clearance Rack is My Natural Habitat - Fitness Edition

So I'm kind of proud of my ability to snag great things on clearance. These are things that I already want and not just crap I grab because, "It's such a good deal!"

Today we went to Academy first for some (full price) fitness purchases: new running shoes and shorts for Robert, 10 pound dumbbells and a waist pack for me. I did happen to find individual Larabars on clearance for $0.88 each, so I picked up three to try (I'm looking into going Paleo/Primal and that would require finding a replacement for granola/Nutrigrain bars. While the ones with peanuts aren't strictly primal, they're certainly better than the grain-filled alternative).

Then it was on to Target, where I really saved a bundle! I grabbed a turquoise travel coffee mug for $6.98 (30% off regular price of $9.99) since some of ours have seen better days.

Then we picked up an orange and black Swiss backpack to replace mine from high school or college (which is falling apart). Robert will use it to carry his workout gear and it'll also double as a carry-on for trips. Cost: $16.48, 50% off regular price of $32.99.

Finally, I looked for some pilates DVDs and found two Gaiam starter kits marked half off. The first has a blue mat, turquoise resistance band, and a DVD with three 20-minute workouts for $14.98 (regularly $29.99). The second is Pilates Bootcamp with a 20-minute DVD workout and two 1-pound hand weights for $8.48 (regularly $16.99).

To recap: mug, backpack, pilates mat, resistance band, hand weights, and four 20-minute pilates workouts valued at $87.95 for only $46.92 ($51.38 after tax). That's a savings of 46.65%, which is not too shabby if you ask me!

Today

Outside my Window... it's unseasonably cool for a May day in the Deep South (69 degrees). But don't worry. We'll be back in the 90s by Saturday.

I am thinking... that I wish I could be outside enjoying the weather. And that maybe I should open my office window blinds so that I can actually see outside.

I am wearing... Black dress pants, closed-toe black shoes, gray socks (I have the urge to spell that "grey"), and long-sleeved gray sweater. Unseasonably cool, I told you.

I am thankful... for quiet days in the office, when I feel like I have plenty of time to get everything done. Also, it helps when the phone calls are few and far between.

From the kitchen... I haven't cooked since Sunday (when I made my awesome scrambled eggs while my visiting mother made the bacon). I also made a fruit pizza (in bar cookie form). Robert grilled rib eyes on Saturday. Today, I carried my lunch since our dining spending is out of control! Leftover turkey club wrap from Monday (Flames Grille) with coleslaw from the weekend (Captain D's), in case you were wondering.

And in our garden... Things are growing! We already have at least one small green tomato on all three of the plants (two are Better Boys and one is a Husky something-or-other cherry tomato). The cucumber also seems to have two mini-cukes on it. The peppers have buds and flowers on them as well.

I am creating... a financial plan. Not exactly creative, but that's me. We need a clearer idea of where our money needs to go to allow us to have the things we want when we want them (i.e. new car, new bathroom, vacations, and eventually a new house). We're not struggling by any means, but we could definitely be using and/or investing our money more wisely.

I am reading... other people's blogs. I also read magazines, but I don't have any of those with me. I really ought to start reading books again. That's what grownups do, right?

I am planning... to get in shape. For real this time. We have a plan (Couch-to-5K + weights). It begins next week. I'm tired of feeling soft and floppy and out of shape. It's pathetic that my legs hurt for three days after a 15 minute walk. I need to take up pilates again. That stuff is amazing for your butt!

Format borrowed from Heartland Renaissance.

Gratitude

I'm thankful that it smelled (ever so briefly) of honeysuckle in the parking lot behind my office.

I'm also thankful whenever my message light isn't blinking when I get back from lunch. 

Or the bathroom.

I'm thankful that my wonderful husband lets me carpool with him to work most days.

Because Montgomery traffic makes me want to pull my hair out.

Also, my car radio only works when it wants to.

I'm thankful that we're a Nielsen family.

And for the the $32 they've gifted us.

I'm thankful that it smells like magnolias whenever you step into our backyard.

I'm also thankful that said magnolias are in our neighbors' yards so that we don't have to deal with that mess.

I'm thankful that our yard is large enough that we don't have to scoop every bit of poop our two (fairly productive) dogs make.

I'm also thankful that they choose to take their poops in areas that we don't routinely walk through.

I'm thankful that we can afford to have pets and that they love us unconditionally in return.

Even though they wake us up early every day to be fed, either by scratching the bejeezus out of the door to their room or by breathing excitedly in our faces.

I'm thankful for the space for a garden.

And for landscaping fabric, because, y'all, weeding is a total PITA.

I'm thankful for my health.

And for the ability to neglect going to both the eye doctor and the dentist for over three years. Ew, right? I need to fix this.

Finally, I'm thankful for weekends. Nothing says happiness like a glass of wine and the ability to sleep in past 7 am.

Six Months Later...

Or, things that have happened since I last blogged in September.

Spent a week in NYC.

I'd go back in a heartbeat. :)

Replaced toilet.

HOLY. WOW. This was an ordeal. Not as big of an ordeal as it could have been, perhaps, but still. Borderline crisis. I may have had a teensy meltdown. The old toilet was still functioning, but the bowl had hairline cracks that continued to multiply. What we learned after removing said toilet: the important bits that toilets attach to were broken when toilet was last replaced in the 90's. Rather than repairing them, they jerry-rigged them and called it a day. We replaced the repair bits but will have to revisit the issue when we gut the bathroom in the near future.

The new toilet works fabulously and that's all that matters.

Pulled up vinyl in bathroom (unfinished).

I had the genius idea to start this while we we had the toilet out. I mean, half of it was already peeling. How hard could it be to just pull it all up? Answer: REALLY FREAKIN' HARD. Half of the room's vinyl seems to have been held down by nothing but a clear sticky residue. The other half is glued down, firmly, with some sort of off-white goop. And this goop just will not go away. Nothing seems to cut through it, not even Goof Off (can you say fumes?). It just smears around and sticks to everything that touches it. I've seriously given myself blisters and rashes from slowly scraping this stuff up with a putty knife.

Next step: paint thinner/mineral spirits. Hooray, chemicals!

Rearranged dining room.

I'm still not totally happy with it; two dog crates take up a surprisingly large amount of floor space, particularly in an already tiny room. At least the table is centered and we can eat at it now. Not that we have. Nope, not once.

Switched jobs.

Insert ear-to-ear grin here. After nearly two years with my previous employer, I'm ecstatic to be able to try my hand at something new. Those who know me best are fully aware of how much I disliked my last two jobs (same employer), but I left on good terms with proper notice and moved directly into this new position.

Today was my fourth and final day of training, and tomorrow is my first day on my own. Wish me luck!

So there's where we are. For now.

Meme Monday: Tuesday Edition (The Sequel)

Six things I could live without, but it wouldn't be pretty:

1. The Internet: Melanie's favorite time-suck since 2000.
2. Eye drops and lip balm. I've got the dry-eye here, and my lips peel if I don't keep them moisturized.
3. Cell phone with texting capabilities. More often than not, I just don't feel like talking to anyone. Texting is much less draining.
4. Caffeine in various forms. I've given it up before, but I just like it so much.
5. Hand sanitizer. Public places are gross.
6. Quicken. I really, really like knowing EXACTLY where ALL of our money goes.

Six movies I've never seen before:

1. The Godfather series
2. Full Metal Jacket
3. Apocalypse Now
4. Nightmare on Elm Street
5. Rudy
6. All Hitchcock movies

Six pet peeves:

1. Loud breathing.
2. Open-mouthed chewing; also, those Hardee's commercials with the nasty chewing noises.
3. Buffeting.
4. Foods touching on my plate. A little touching is all right, though not preferred. I just like my foods to maintain their integrity.
5. Invasion of my personal space. I like to exist in my own little bubble.
6. People giving me an unapproved nickname. I like the name my parents gave me, thanks; there's no need to shorten or modify it.

Six things I really love doing:

1. Listening to mellow music and singing along.
2. Reading shelter/cooking magazines (just renewed BHG and am seriously considering getting Real Simple again).
3. Cooking, but not baking, as long as my kitchen isn't a total mess.
4. Cutting up fruits and vegetables. Seriously, it's a total stress-reliever for me (unless I'm in a hurry and then cut myself).
5. Taking long, hot baths while I'm home alone.
6. Clipping coupons, even though I rarely use them before they expire. It's another stress-reliever.

Six TV shows I really enjoy:

1. House
2. The Biggest Loser
3. Parenthood
4. Hoarders, even though the filth sometimes gives me the heebie-jeebies.
5. The Soup/Web Soup/Tosh.0
6. Conan (can't wait for November!)

Six jobs I have held:

1. Cashier, Moors Resort on Kentucky Lake (summer job in college)
2. Secretary at my childhood church (part-time summer job in college)
3. Team Member at Target (both Instocks and Presentation)
4. Auto Underwriting Clerk, Alfa Insurance
5. Animal Care Group Leader, Harlan Laboratories
6. Shipping Group Leader, Harlan Laboratories

The last four of those have been in the last 3 1/2 years. And I'm hoping to find #7 in the near future.

Six books I've never read:

1. Angels and Demons
2. The Lost Symbol
3. Harry Potter 5-7
4. To Kill a Mockingbird
5. Catcher in the Rye
6. Brave New World

Six movies I will always watch if they are on:

1. Back to the Future (any)
2. Indiana Jones (any)
3. The Goonies
4. The Muppets (any)
5. Independence Day
6. Ferris Buehller's Day Off

Via Holly would if she could.

...and another week begins.

Today, I made a cheese ball for my husband's grandmother's 88th birthday party.

I adapted this recipe by halving it and using a combination of shredded co-jack and cheddar. I also used plain neufchatel in place of the two cream cheeses and added 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder. I rolled the finished product in co-jack and didn't add the pumpkin decorations. It went over well, and I even got to send some home with inlaws (who only asked when we're going to have kids five or six times).

There's still half left in the fridge though. Who wants it?

Then, this afternoon we spent hours, literally HOURS, trying to replace our cable line. Here's the deal.

The cable comes from the power pole in front of our house, attaches to our eave, then runs to a box to be split. The main cable then runs back around the front of the house, under then through the eaves, emerging again above our living room window. Then it runs down beside the window, entering the house just below the sill. Makes sense, right?

We were replacing the outdoor bits with quad coaxial cable with weatherproof connectors to improve our signal. Lately, digital and HD channels have either pixelated or stopped working completely at random intervals. Sometimes jiggling of cables fixed it; other times, we just had to give up and watch the non-HD channels.

We ran into problems with the connectors fitting through the holes in the wall, resulting in much frustration and cursing by all. Eventually, Robert found a solution (hint: it involved screwdrivers, damaged window trim, and finally a drill). Best of all, the cable actually worked! And there was much rejoicing.

Initially, we had planned to rearrange the living room too, but after that ordeal, we just put everything back where it was. I did vacuum the TV corner though, and I think I sucked up enough hair to cover another dog. We've postponed the rearranging until later this week. Pics will follow.

Finally, I think this is totally cute in a geeky way.

Source

How I Spend My Friday Nights

I've revamped the blog layout in favor of something more handcrafted.

The header is actually a photo I took in Jamaica. I'm not completely happy with it (I can see some pixelation around the letters), but I don't think it's a terribly shoddy job considering I don't have Photoshop.

I also played around with some of my Europe pictures and got this number.

From Picnik Photos

Certainly not professional quality either, but I had fun messing with it anyway.

If anyone has any tips for me (or the dinero to buy me Photoshop), let me know. While you're at it, you could buy me a DSLR too.

Peter Piper picked a peck of ... you get the idea.

Last night, I pickled my first peppers!

I did make hot pepper sauce (you know, the clear vinegar kind that you put on greens) with last year's jalapeños, but those peppers aren't meant to be snacked on since they still contain their seeds.

For these, I basically used this recipe for jalapeño bread and butter pickles, halved. Here they are after salting, chilling, rinsing, and draining.

All the peppers came from our garden; in fact, despite the rainbow of colors, they're all from a single "Giant Jalapeño" plant.

For the liquid, I actually used some left over after making AB's B and B's with the last of our garden's cucumbers. And I used a homemade pickling spice in that recipe. I'm a regular Susie Homemaker! I did add a few extra cloves while the liquid was heating.

Once it boiled, I tossed in the peppers and onions.

Final result: about a pint and a half of zesty pickled peppers.

As I don't have real canning jars or tools, these will just be stored in the refrigerator.

Today's taste test confirmed pickling success! They're hot but not fiery, and sweet but not syrupy. I think the heat would build up if I ate too many in one sitting, but they're definitely tasty.

Did I mention there are probably two dozen more peppers on that plant? Next on the agenda: pepper jelly.