Gift of Life: It's No Big Deal

today i gave blood:

it's incredibly lucky to be healthy enough to give blood, and that's totally nice:

even better is that when you give blood, you get a sticker that announces that you gave blood, and then you get to spend all day feeling superior about how awesome you are for giving blood:

AND you don't have to exercise because you're not allowed to do so! giving blood is giving the gift of life to another, and the gift of laziness to oneself. it's truly the gift that keeps on giving.i recommend it.

Crock Pot Roast

crock pots are perhaps the most glorious thing to have in cold weather. it's awful outside and it gets dark so early these days, which is the worst.

but crock pots allow you to do very little work while having wonderful smells and tasty foodstuffs at the end of the day.

when cabana boy and i moved in together, we had two crock pots. because i am a hoarder:

and he is a pack rat:

it would have made the most sense for us to keep them both. but in the end (because it turns out there is not infinite space in our cavernous estate), i gave my crock pot away.

we kept c.b.'s because it was bigger and fancier. so, when i went to make a pot roast, i thought it would be gloriously wonderful. i put everything in the crock pot, started it up, and let it sit.

and sit...

and sit.

at some point, i noticed that the wonderful flavors weren't wafting through the air. i took a peek in on the roast, and while it had been roasting, it decidedly was not roasting any more.

i tried a different outlet, but despite the fact that it said that it was on, the crock pot was c-c-c-cold as ice:

luckily, i discovered this mishap before dinner was to be served. in addition, i have a lovely cast iron dutch oven, and this would give me the chance to use it. so, i transferred the roast to the oven, and continued on.

the smells started. all was turning out well. i took the roast out of the oven, took the top off the pot...

and burned the shit out of my arm with the steam.

the roast was good. but now my arm has what is turning out to be a lovely scar. bah.

Shake Your Bushy Tail

super lucky not to be this guy:

Luck Counter

FINE. you win. i've added a counter to tally good and bad lucks so that you don't have to read this blog. now you can just look at the pretty pictures and move on with your life. luck counter is to the right:

Neither Nor'easter

it was pointed out to me that i am very lucky to be missing the nor'easter that's--fittingly--blowing its way through the northeast:

because i am in sunny california:

AND because of said nor'easter, debbie rescheduled her happy hour that i was unable to attend (being in sunny california and all) from tonight to next week, when i can go:

yeah! we did it!

Obamamerica

great luck! i don't have to move to canada!!

(yeah, i look like a child. but these are very tall people and i'm wearing flat shoes today. deal with it.)

Flying Part One

traveling for work can have its advantages. for one, you get to have a king sized bed all to yourself:

and you get to watch cable tv while you lounge in it:

but in order to get to that heavenly set-up, you first have to get to your destination. enter flying. i probably don't have to tell you what a crap shoot flying can be:

so i won't. this morning's travels started early. so early it was too early to be bright, as it was still super dark out. lame. but, my driver was on time, so i didn't have to panic about what time i would get to the airport. i got through security in record time, and even had time to grab some jamba juice before getting on my flight:

i got on the plane, and--miraculously--it was less than full, so i didn't have to sit next to anyone. but, there my luck ran out. for one, i flew jetblue, but i forgot my headphones, which meant six hours with hgtv shows that i couldn't watch properly:

also, there was no wifi so i couldn't do much on my computer. even if there were internet access, it wouldn't have mattered since my computer died shortly after take-off. jetblue, which is great if you want to watch tv, is not so great if you don't. they don't have a magazine, so i couldn't do the puzzles and entertain myself that way.

in short, i was bored. BORED. but six and a half hours later, i was that much closer to king-sized goodness. which, is good. even if this particular hotel doesn't have hgtv....