Food for those who don't cook . . . much

I saw the movie Julie & Julia somewhat recently, and this is my tribute to Julie. If you haven't seen or heard of this movie, it's basically about a woman (Julie) who starts a blog with only one topic (I know, can you believe it). She cooks every recipe in the cook book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, and gives herself a time limit of 365 days with 524 ( I think) recipes. It's based on a true story, which makes me wonder if I should stick to one topic. Nah, I think I can still get a book/ movie deal out of all my posts. Right? (Just say yes)

Waffles - A breakfast food I've spent most of my life avoiding because of those damn shallow squares that get big chunks of butter stuck in them. However, thanks to the fine people at Eggo I have recently come to love them. The key is to melt the butter in a separate container first, and then carefully pour over a previously frozen, but now recently toasted waffle. Combine with warm syrup and the result is pure deliciousness.

Peanut Butter and Jelly - a longtime favorite of mine. All the ingredients in this American past time ( I just made that up, I don't actually know the origin of the PB & J) need to be just right. The bread has to be soft, obviously. The Jelly must be grape, although my opinion on that has been known to start huge debates. And the peanut butter has to be smooth (also up for debate). I like to put on the peanut butter and then apply the jelly directly on top of that . . . I don't know why, it just tastes better that way. Once the sandwich has been put together most people like to cut it in half. I'm against that. Not only because I'm a grown up now, but also because the middle of the sandwich is the best, if you cut it in half, the middle although still the same size (technically) seems to be decreased, making the sandwich less enjoyable.

Bagelfuls - Another delicious frozen food brought to us by the folks at Kraft ( the first and only other being macaroni and cheese). I was skeptical at first. My sister told me about them and we weren't sure if the cream cheese to bread ratio would be sufficient. We were also worried about the quality of the cream cheese. Would it be acceptable? Only one way to find out. I didn't try them until I lived with my BFF. She said they were wonderful, plus she had some in the fridge and I was hungry. So I ate one and I am happy to say, they were GREAT. However, it's important that you keep them in the fridge and not the freezer. If you keep them in the freezer the cream cheese will still be frozen after you toast it. So you will keep toasting it until the cream cheese is just right, but the bread is completely burned.

Stir Fry - Pretty much the only thing I can cook. Yes, the vegetables are frozen, but only because it's more convenient, and in the long run probably saves money. The chicken is also frozen, but for the same reason. So, basically all I do is put these two things in a pan and wait until they are cooked all the way. The rice is just as simple, although I do find it difficult to get the amount of water right. Leave it to me to make something so easy, so difficult.

Favors

Let me ask you a question. I want you to go with the first thing that comes to your mind, because that is the answer I'm looking for.

When you ask for a favor, big or small . . . how do you phrase it?


Now let me ask you another question.


What do you consider a HUGE favor?

Here are some favors that I consider huge:

1.) Asking for a kidney.

2.) Asking to borrow a large amount of money.

and finally

3.) Asking for a second chance when you know you don't deserve it.


Recently, every time someone asks me for a favor, they label it as huge. So when they say "Hey, can you do me a HUGE favor?", I brace myself and say "sure, what?" Here are some of the HUGE favors I have done for people recently:

1.) I let someone borrow a pen.

2.) I made change for a dollar.

Don't forget, these are HUGE favors . . .

3.) I passed someone the salt.

4.) I gave someone a nickel.


The list goes on . . . and with all these HUGE favors I'm doing for people, I think I might have something good coming to me soon.

The moral of this post is this:

Choose your words wisely around me, because if you don't, I WILL label you an idiot.

Long Day . . . Long Post

Today was my first day off in 6 days. Not that I work long hours or anything. But still.

I woke up around 10 am, ate some breakfast and watched a little TV before beginning my long list of "Things to do on my day off".

Around 11:30 I decided I better get dressed and get a move on, before it was 3 o'clock and most of the day had gone to waste (which is what I usually do on my day off).

After getting dressed I turned off the television and all the lights and headed out.

Of course it was hot, and after being in the car for about two minutes I was pretty much covered in sweat and miserable. I don't have air conditioning and it's hard to get a good wind flowing through the car when every street has a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less . . .and yes you will be pulled over if you don't obey because the cops around here have pretty much nothing better to do.

My first destination was about 3.5 miles away, but it still took me like 15 minutes to get there because of the aforementioned speed limits.

My errands took me about 2 hours to complete and when I returned home I was ready to relax on the couch some more and watch TV.

Did I mention I wasn't feeling well during all of this. I felt like I was coming down with yet another cold (I had just had one 2 weeks earlier).

So I put all my newly purchased items away, grabbed some grapes and sat down. I reached for the remote while simultaneously looking up at the television and cable box only to realize the cable box was not on, nor was the router/ modem, NOR was my Play Station.

Had the power gone out while I was away?

No, the microwave clock is still on, and my ceiling fan is still going.

Is it the power strip that had all those things plugged into it?

I fiddled with the power strip for several minutes before deciding to plug the TV in separately to see if it was in fact the entire outlet.

Okay, so the one outlet that is in the only spot the TV, modem/ router, cable box and Play station can be plugged into suddenly stopped working.

Why?

I have no idea.

So I call the office of the apartment complex.

No answer. I leave a message telling them this one outlet has mysteriously stopped working, which apartment I'm in, my name and my phone number.

Meanwhile, I decide to open my laptop to see if I could get an internet connection from my neighbor (something I had been doing for an entire month before I went ahead and installed cable and internet into my own apartment)

There was no signal, but it's important that you realize that my computer was working fine at this point. The internet wasn't working, but my computer WAS.

At this point I decided to move the TV, cable box, router/ modem and my Play Station closer to another outlet so that all the cords would reach. It looks terrible by the way. And I wouldn't be surprised if I end up tripping over all the cords at some point.

Okay, now everything is plugged in. The internet should be working, and I can finally get back to my grapes!

I sit down, turn on the TV, and open my computer.

But does my computer come on?

NO, NO IT DOES NOT!

I try turning it off, but I think it's already off.

I take out the battery and put it back in, and then try to turn it back on.

Nothing.

It is important that you know that the outlet my computer is plugged into is not the same as the one that suddenly stopped working. And I know the outlet that it IS plugged into is working because my cord is lit up (if that makes any sense . . . if not, I'm not going to explain).

I try everything I can think of with my computer and nothing is working. Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely surprised . . . I mean, the computer is five years old, and I was sort of expecting it to die any day. But it had JUST worked five minutes earlier.

So what do I do? I do what any normal person in this situation would do, I call my BFF.

She thinks I should take it to the Apple Store and ask them to see if they can figure out what happened.

Because she's my BFF, I take this advice, even though I don't feel well, and all I want to do is relax.

So I drive down there. It's sort of a long ways away . . . actually it's right next to my work . . . and there's traffic. OF COURSE! Why wouldn't there be traffic on a freeway I've never experienced traffic before?

I'll tell you why. BECAUSE I WAS HAVING A BAD DAY, AND SOMEBODY DIDN'T WANT IT TO GET ANY BETTER!

Am I insinuating a conspiracy against me? I don't know, but is there a better explanation? No, no there is not.

So, finally I get there, only I decide not to take my computer in, because it's old and I don't have applecare, and I just want a new computer anyway!

I talk to someone about my dilemma. I tell her my computer just died on me and I would like to get a new one, but I need to do it on credit.

At this point I don't know why I just said that because I've already applied for their credit card twice only to be denied twice.
I guess I was hoping there was a different line of credit I could apply for.

THERE WAS! They had recently just changed the credit card they offer for purchases on their merchandise. So she has me apply online.

By the way I have excellent credit, ask anybody . . . that knows me.

DENIED!

WTF!

I leave empty handed and telling myself that there is a reason SOMEONE doesn't want me to have a new computer . . . or an old one for that matter.

On the long, trafficy, hot drive home, I decide to call the number on the back of my existing Best Buy card to see how much longer I have of 0% interest financing. I got the card in October of 2008 with 18 months of 0% financing. However, I also had one late payment ( that technically wasn't even my fault), which can sometimes be listed in those silly Terms and conditions that everybody just accepts without reading anyway, as a reason you no longer have 0% financing for as long as they said you would.

The 800 number on the back of the card is no help.

Now I really need help. So who do I call?

If you guessed my mommy, you are correct.

I explain the situation and she doesn't know what I should do either. However, she does tell me that I received something from one of the credit cards that denied me in the mail. Apparently I don't have enough revolving credit for them. God forbid I'm able to pay more than the minimum on a credit card.

If only they could see my student loans.

So then I call my BFF again. I tell her what happened at the Apple store and how I want to go to Best Buy. She says that the last time she was at Best Buy they didn't have any Apple Computers, and I become worried.

I will not go back to PC . . . Never . . . ever. . . ever . . . again.

She tells me which Best Buy it was, so I go to a different one.

No Apple Products!

Crap, I begin to worry even more.

Then a sales associate asks me if I need any help. I ask him if they sell Apple products anymore, and he says "not at this location". Then he tells me they have them at the Reno location.

Yea! Next I ask customer service about the 0% issue. He tells me I still have it, I should have just had to pay a late fee. I did.

So I head to the Reno location, which is farther than I wanted to travel, but oh well.

When I get there I look for their Apple computers. I find them, but of course the one model I want to look at is being occupied by some stupid little kid who is clearly not there to buy.

Fortunately, I had looked at them enough online to know which one I want. When someone asks me if I need help, I tell him exactly what I want and about five minutes later he has one for me.

SUCCESS!

While in the middle of purchasing he asks me if I want 18 months of 0% financing? "Ummmm, yes", I reply, "but I've already had this card for like 10 months". He says it doesn't matter and I leave with a new computer and a huge sense of relief.

And that, my friends, is the story of how I finally got my new Apple computer.

By the way, right after I typed that last sentence, I solved the outlet problem, but that is a different post entirely.