Monkey Madness

Hi, all - Mike and I have been in Tampa and Atlanta, only returning yesterday. I will post some photos and some stories in the next day or so, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a great skit from "The State" that Mike and I often quote. We quote it even more since I received this awesome peeler for Christmas.

Enjoy :-)

A Night at the Nasher

Last night was Duke's Arts & Sciences Holiday Party at the Nasher Museum. Lauren graciously invited me as her date. Here's the photo proof of our lovely evening. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: NO ART WAS HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THESE PHOTOS

Some holiday pictures

Here are a few pics from 2007 holiday parties - Lauren and I are off to yet another one this evening at the Nasher Museum, so I am sure there will be more pics to come!!!

A trip to the Doctor

At my last dentist visit, my doctor spied something strange on my panoramic X-Ray. He said my right sinus looked like it had a polyp. He recommended I travel to an Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor and have it checked out. I didn't like the sound of having a polyp in my face, so I made an appointment to get it checked out. Last Friday, I had my meet-up with the Dr at Duke. Wow, that was an experience.

I have never been to an ENT doctor, so you can say I was slightly surprised when the first act of procedure was to shoot a numbing agent up my nose. Why on earth did they need to numb my nose? What were they going to do to me?

After letting the numbing take effect, Dr. Jackass came in the room with his Indian resident. Dr. Jackass mispronounced Indian doctor's name at least twice - was correct at least twice by Indian doctor - and barely acknowledged that he had addressed her completely incorrect. Anyway, this guy must have missed bedside manner day in med school. He proceeded to say my dentist was an idiot and that there was no polyp on my sinus. He then jammed a camera up my right nostril and down my throat (I nearly fainted at this point - really. I was seeing little colors, getting all sweaty and very very woozy. Thanks to relaxation and some self-hypnotism techniques I learned a few years ago, I kept conscious.) Then he said the three words anyone loves to hear at the doctor. "That looks bad. " A few sentences later he popped out with the one word that can beat out the first three - cancer.

WHAT? This is the second time I have had this happen at Duke. Something strange happens to me, and the doctor starts to prepare me for cancer. Is that REALLY necessary??? Anyway, folks, if you are worried, I am guessing I do NOT have cancer. My left tonsil is abnormally large, and I have had recurring problems since I was a kid with my tonsils. Well, evidently my left one decided to get big at some point and stay that way. Dr. Jackass doesn't like the way it looks, and he thinks I need to have my tonsils pulled out of my throat.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about adult tonsillectomy:
Tonsillectomy in adults is more painful than in children, although each patient will have a different experience. In adults it can be extremely painful often referred to as more painful than child birth. Post-operative recovery can take from 10 up to 20 days, during which narcotic analgesics are typically prescribed.

Worse than childbirth???? Oh goodness. And 10-20 days recovery means at least one week off work, and possibly two. Normally this would be great, except I am at a new job where I had to sweet talk to get the week of Christmas off. I DO NOT want to have this surgery.

So, I'm going to get a second opinion. I'm going to make an appointment with a non - Dr. Jackass, and I will see what he or she has to say. If they say I should do it, I just may have to go through with the procedure. I'll keep you updated on that.

In the meantime though, I got a cool little toy at the doctor - a nose flushing kit!!! You know that in many parts of Asia, flushing your nose is as routine as brushing your teeth? I also learned at the doctor that I have very tiny nasal passages were also hindered by a rather deviated septum. He said that by practicing nasal irrigation, it will help me feel better. So, I'm working on making it part of my routine. Sounds weird, but so far it's helping. Aren't you glad you know that about me????

Now I just have to write it...

I learned today that my new project proposal has been approved. I successfully registered for my final semester of graduate school - WOO HOO! I'm not posting the new proposal for a bit, as I do not want to jinx this success. If you guys want to read it, I will post it - but I don't want to bore my readership to death :-)

How to be Happy - a Step by Step Guide

Well, not exactly - but today at work, we had our annual health and wellness fair. Besides all the cool freebies (bags, snacks, first aid supplies, etc), there was a booth for our mental health provider. They had a flier on the table entitled: Tips on Keys to Happiness. I thought the 8 tips were pretty nice questions to ask yourself. We're nearing the end of the year - are you happy? Do you want to be happier in 2008? These may be some good things to keep in mind (my comments are in parenthesis and are completely unofficial guides to happiness courtesy of ME):

"Happiness is the result of our living according to a set of values, being content with ourselves and our place in life, and having the ability to overcome significant life problems. The following are some of the habits of 'truly successful' people.

Those who have learned how to make themselves happy:

1. View life as a challenge and change as an opportunity.
2. Have a deep sense of commitment to what is important to them.
3. Feel empowered to the extent that they can at least influence every situation.
4. Deal with problems directly and creatively.
5. Nurture supportive relationships and surround themselves with positive people.
6. Maintain a sense of balance by taking time for all areas of life.
7. Live a higher sense of purpose by standing for something important to them."

It's an interesting way to assess what's going on for you, isn't it? Are you committed to something in life? A cause? Your family? Do you have good coping skills? Do you feel empowered? Something to think about folks.....it's your life, so go live it. Don't let it just happen to you - be a force to be reckoned with.

Coolest movie poster in a long long time???

The thanks on this one goes 100% to Becky - thank you for sending it to me!!!

Here I go again.....

... so I found out my proposal wasn't totally "approved" by the program for my final project. It was, but it wasn't. I have to submit a new statement of purpose, but my adviser and I agreed that rewriting the proposal was the way to go - I want to have a strong document in place when I start writing.

Therefore, I am going to dedicate my writing energies to that rather than to the blog. Will be back soon....

A different type of quiz

Thanks for this, Darrah!

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments.. what is it?

1. Produce: tomato
2. Bakery: cheese danish
3. Meat: I'll just pocket the money ;-)
4. Frozen: red baron 4-cheese pizza
5. Dry goods: jasmine rice


Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?

(I assume I'm already wearing some clothes?)
1. black dress
2. white button down shirt
3. nice jeans


If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?

1. No problem
2. sweet
3. awesome
4. cool
5. no way

So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?

1. Eat a good lunch
2. Get at least 6 hours sleep
3. See Mike

You're driving down the road, and suddenly you're hit with this sense of road rage. What 3 factors probably contributed to it?

1. someone riding my bumper
2. someone with their turn signal on and no turn offs anywhere in sight
3. someone going more than 5 miles below the speed limit


Sweet, you just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?

1. napping
2. shopping at the mall
3. cleaning house
4. getting the stuff to make an awesome meal
5. watching a sappy girl movie


We're going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?

1. Elephants

2. bats

3. the largest fish exhibit the zoo has


You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?

1. I Love New York (hell yeah!)
2. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (he has to take me with him)
3. Good Eats (great choice, Darrah!)
4. 30 Rock (I wanna be Tina Fey!!!)

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?

1. Vanilla
2. Chocolate
3. Strawberry

(They put them all in one package for a reason....)


Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?

1. A collection of theater ticket stubs in a Chicago ticketmaster envelope stuff behind my checkbook
2. a list of Mike's shoe and clothing sizes
3. my Burt's Bees chapstick
4. my green iPod mini
5. crushed up coupons for paper towels


You are at a job fair, and asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you?

1. animal care
2. economist (I could help fix the world :p )
3. mathematician ( you would know lots of cool stuff)
4. trivia quiz writer


If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?

1. Get in a routine of working out.
2. You won't always be able to eat like this - control your portion sizes!
3. Keep your pants on - sure, it's fun, but it comes with a lot of baggage.
4. Even if you fail, you really will learn from it and probably be thankful for the experience later.

Professor Warren Lerner 1929-2007

UPDATE: Obituary is posted here - http://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/print.cfm?type=obituary&o_id=168174&fh_id=10877&s_id=8304E690667C8835085A916FA5260BF4

I just received word that one of my Professors in the MALS Program, Dr. Warren Lerner, passed away yesterday. Going to his class was always like going to "storytime." Professor Lerner would give a 2 hour lecture with no notes on the history of communism and tell it with such fervor that you would think he was actually there. The loss of Professor Lerner is saddening to the students of Duke University and the wider academic community. Peace to his family and friends. I received some info about his passing, and some excerpts are here.

"Warren was a pillar of the history and Slavic studies communities at Duke
and in the Triangle since he was first appointed at Duke in 1961. During
his four-and-a-half decades at Duke, Warren served as chair of the Duke
History Department and as a member of the Policy Committee of the Center for
Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies from its inception. In addition
to Warren's extraordinary contributions to the Department of History and
CSEEES, his years of teaching for the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and
Focus programs and for the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies forever
changed the shape of those units, their faculties, and students.

An author of many notable books and articles on 20th century Soviet history,
Warren Lerner was a leading scholar and teacher who supervised dozens of
doctoral students, many of whom now teach at universities throughout North
America. To the thousands of undergraduate and graduate students he taught
during his long tenure at Duke, Warren was a gifted, generous, engaging
teacher.

For those of us who had the privilege to work with Warren Lerner, he is
simply irreplaceable. Warren was a generous and kind friend and colleague
to so many of us; his impact on our lives will never be forgotten. In the
dictionary, next to the word "mensch" you'll see a picture of Warren Lerner.
He will be sorely missed.

We invite anyone who would like to share their thoughts and remembrances of
Warren with us to send an email to mnewcity@duke.edu. We will post them on
our web site. "


From: Edna Andrews and Michael Newcity
Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies
Duke University

Thanksgiving Photos

Sorry these are a bit late, but here's a few photos from Thanksgiving this year. Enjoy!



Mike getting ready for parking lot football



Our Thanksgiving Table


Selena and Vicki in a Thanksgiving hug

Surprisngly enough, that's all the photos I have that are worth sharing!!!

Local 506 - TONIGHT

So, here's a positive piece of local news - a great concert is going on tonight in Chapel Hill at Local 506 - come see our buddy Steve and the rest of his awesome bandmates, The Dry Heathens. Concert is free and starts at 9. Rock on.

Bye-bye, Burt's Bees

It’s a sad time here in Durham. The Clorox Company has announced they will purchase Durham’s own Burt’s Bees for a cool $925 million in cash. According to Clorox executive Donald R. Knauss, “The Burt's Bees brand is well-anchored in sustainability and health and wellness, and we believe it will benefit from natural and "green" tailwinds… It's in an economically attractive category with a margin structure that will be highly accretive to Clorox."

It appears that Clorox is purchasing Burt’s in an effort to take on a more green hue in the market and try to increase profits to offset their declining margin in the cleaning biz – the price of commodities has made production costs rise significantly which in the end contributes to less change in Clorox’s pocket. They feel that purchasing Burt’s will give them a stronger brand name in the beauty market and help fill their profit gaps.

Now here’s the problem Clorox – many of us out there bought Burt’s Bees because of their environmentally friendly production methods and lack of animal testing. I felt comfortable buying their products because I knew they weren’t dropped into the eyes of bunnies or doused over the skin of mice. I felt morally and ethically comfortable with paying a bit more for Burt’s products because there was no hidden corporate conglomerate hiding behind the brand name torturing and killing animals in the name of product testing. But here we are, November 2007, and Burt’s Bees will now be backed by Clorox.

Clorox is regularly listed on advocacy websites as one of the worst offenders for animal testing in the business. Between petroleum, chemical, rubber, and plastic manufacturing, these folks are dealing with tons of toxins, and they are testing them on thousands of animals every year – maybe even millions. Do we really need to drop chemicals in the eyes of rabbits so it will take me 30 seconds less to clean my bathtub?

It angers me that big corporate conglomerates want to become known as “green” to merely get a chunk of the market, not because they actually want to or are “green.” Clorox, do you really think that by purchasing Burt’s Bees that those who are informed about environmental issues are all of a sudden going to say, “Wow! Clorox is so environmentally friendly!” NO. You know what many will say? (including myself) Why on earth will I pay $4 for a tube of chap stick claiming to be safe to the earth and all who inhabit it when I know their parent company routinely kills animals just to make a buck? For goodness sake, this merger is like sewing fake fur onto calf leather. The “natural” Burt’s Bees is now soaked in the blood of its parent company’s regular behavior of needless injury and slaughter.

Burt’s – you guys were awesome, and you had a great run while it lasted. I don’t know why you decided to sell – maybe you’re tired, maybe Clorox gave a really good sales pitch – but I will be sad to see you go. Because for me, Burt’s is now a product on my “do not buy” list. It saddens me to see a local business go big time corporate, and it also saddens me that the Clorox folks actually think I am stupid enough to continue my brand loyalty knowing that the mission of Burt’s is completely undermined by the practices of their parent company.

I’m done with Burt’s, and man, that’s a shame.

For further reading:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/11/burts_bees_sell.php

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2007/10/31/clorox-burts-bees-markets-equity-cx_af_1031markets15.html

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?guid=75013FA6402342F09D719D008308A907&siteid=reut07

Looking for a local charity?

I ran across this today, and I thought it was an interesting thing to consider for local giving. If you aren't from the Triangle, check your local power supplier and see if they have something similar:


Duke Energy's Share the Warmth Program
text was copied directly from the Duke Energy website

At Duke Energy, our commitment to our customers goes beyond the delivery of safe and reliable energy. For over one hundred years, involvement in our local communities has been among the principal standards by which our own success is measured. Nowhere is that success better demonstrated than through Duke Energy’s energy assistance program - Share the Warmth.

The Share the Warmth fund has raised more than $1,000,000 each year since 1995 for families and individuals facing financial adversity; this year is no exception. The Duke Energy Foundation will match each individual contribution on a dollar for dollar basis up to $50. In total, The Foundation will grant $500,000. Additional funding will be provided from Duke Energy’s Bulk Power Marketing revenue share.

One hundred percent of these donated funds are given to local assistance agencies for distribution to those individuals and families that need help paying their winter energy bills.

Despite the success of recent campaigns, more often than not, annual applications outweigh available funds. To assure that every deserving individual stays warm this winter, continued customer involvement is paramount. If you would like to share the warmth with those less fortunate in 2008, you may make a tax-deductible donation to the program at anytime throughout the year. Here is how:

Mail a check or money order made payable to Share the Warmth to:

Share the Warmth Fund
The Duke Energy Foundation
P.O. Box 35469
Charlotte, N.C. 28254-3429

Learn more about the many ways in which Duke Energy is working to enhance and support your community by visiting our Community link.

Cannot stop giggling

It's five seconds long - but so cute and silly. ENJOY!

Baking bread

Thanksgiving pics will be coming soon - I promise. In the meantime, here is to wishing you all a Happy POST Thanksgiving, and I hope your holiday was meaningful and lovely!

Mike and I had a nice low-key weekend. Besides a 4am trip to Kohl's, Circuit City and Target on Friday, we did a lot of relaxing. So much in fact that I decided to take my new $25 faux-Kitchen Aid mixer from Target's doorbuster sale and put it to work making a loaf of bread.

I found an easy beer bread recipe online - I chose Sam Adams Winter Lager for the beer (Mike's favorite seasonal lager). I used my new silicon loaf pan and baked the loaf - the house smelled amazingly wonderful. Even though it was chilly in the house, my insides actually felt warm by just smelling the bread.

I decided to use an egg glaze to give the top of the loaf a lovely shine. It looked like something out of a professional bakery. It was the first loaf of bread I have ever made myself, so you have to understand my wonder here!!! It was beautiful. I couldn't wait to dig in. Shortly after, Mike arrived home, and we cut open the warm bread. We happened to have some honey butter on hand, so we used that to top the slices. Absolutely fantastic. The bread had a great consistency - a bit thicker than store bought bread, but not heavy - and the beer added an earthy taste to the bread.

We snacked on the bread a bit throughout the day, and on Sunday Mike cut two slices and made a leftover Turkey sandwich. With the bread I MADE. It may seem silly, but I had an overwhelming sense of joy and accomplishment from 1) making the bread and 2) seeing someone enjoy eating the bread. There was also a great deal of satisfaction for making something of substance and use for my family (family being Mike!!) . Making things from scratch is so very fulfilling to me. Being connected to what I'm eating and how it is made is starting to become more and more important to me. Some may find it obnoxious, but I am really enjoying this journey. Learning to cook is so much fun.

It's not that I didn't know how to cook before this - my Mom taught me how to make a lot of stuff. I can make a killer cube steak with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes, ground beef chili, fried or King Ranch chicken. But, as a vegetarian now, that isn't helping me much!!! I am having to learn how to cook without meat, and I am trying to use as few faux meat products as possible. I need to change my taste to better appreciate natural foods rather than processed ones. It's tough, let me tell ya! My waistline has suffered from all the processed crap I'm eating, and I need to get that under control. It's been over 2 years of vegetarianism, and it is about time I started really cooking like one!!!

Thanks for listening to me rant about this - you will probably hear much more down the line. Hopefully between my own personal eating habits and my final paper, something good will come out of all of this!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING (eve)!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVE, EVERYONE!!

During this crazy time of travel and eating overload, I just wanted to take a minute and thank you all for reading my ramblings so often and adding to the discussion of a lot of topics. It's a real treat for me to write this stuff and know other people are reading it day after day.

This year, Mike and I will be staying in North Carolina for Thanksgiving and going over to our friends Ben and Alissa's house for dinner. It should be a grand gathering of a lot of our friends, and we will all be cooking a few dishes to share around the table. It is sad to not be with my traditional family for the holiday, but it is also quite fun to be spending this fun day with my non-traditional family. I will take plenty of pics and share them next week.

I doubt many people on Thursday will sign on to doing one of my favorite traditions of Thanksgiving - going around the table and having everyone say what they are thankful for. So, just in case that doesn't happen, I will provide my list here:

This year, 2007, I am thankful for the following:
- I am thankful that Mike is in my life and continues to make me smile and laugh every day - he makes each and every day in my life complete; I don't know what I would do without him.
- I am thankful that my family is happy and healthy - even though they are far away in Texas and Florida
- I am thankful for all the wonderful friends and family that I am surrounded by each and every day - I am honored to have the coolest, smartest, funniest and most caring friends in the whole world
- I am thankful for all the friends I don't get to see very often - in Texas, Georgia, Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, DC, North Carolina, South Africa, India, England, Greece, Ecuador (and all the other places slipping my mind at the moment) - I miss you all very much but am thankful for the technology which allows us to stay better connected
- I am thankful for new career opportunities, avenues in which to grow, and opportunities to better serve my community and the communities of others
- I am thankful for all the healthy babies born to my friends this year - I can think of at least 6 that arrived in this world this year - and if the genes worked out right, that means the addition of 6 more ultra cool people in this world - congratulations, parents, and welcome, little kiddos!
- I am thankful that my three kitties are taking very tiny baby steps every day to better live with each other
- I am thankful that this year has been rather free of any negativity - besides minor life annoyances, I have had a relatively stress free and productive year

That's it for now - it's not an exhaustive list, but it gets the point across. Feel free to post in comments what YOU are thankful for!!!

Have a great holiday, everyone!

Now, an ode to canned cranberries...


nataliedee.com

Fall in Durham

Mike and I took a hike out at the Eno River State Park this past Sunday afternoon, and we took our camera equipment with us. Here are some of the photos - enjoy!! (If you want to see each photo better, just click on 'View All Images' at the bottom right corner of the viewer)

Vegetarian "Sausage" Cheese Balls

A favorite treat for many people around the holidays are Sausage Cheese Balls. I believe that Bisquick made these famous with an "on-the-box" recipe. I've had them once before, and I thought they were awesomely tasty. Mike frequently relies on Amy to make these any time we have a weekend out at a cabin or a holiday together. Well, the holiday cravings have struck our household, and today Mike requested some sausage cheese balls. Being the wonderful guy he is, he suggested we make them and use the Gimme Lean Sausage. I was a bit hesitant as to how this would work, given that the fake sausage isn't going to have the fat to be able to hold these little morsels together. Only one way to find out.

I searched the internet to find a good recipe for sausage cheese balls, and I found a myriad of choices. Some seemed too bland, too dry, and none called for fake sausage. I eventually realized that the way to get closest to success was to consult the original. So, I used the recipe posted on the Bisquick site HERE. Of course, no regular sausage, but the fake stuff. Here's the recipe:

1 roll Gimme Lean "Sausage"
3 c Bisquick
4 c cheddar cheese (I used finely shredded)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes

The recipe as stated above will make about 7.5 dozen. As this was merely for Mike and I to snack on all day, I did half the recipe. The prep is easy - dump it all into a bowl, wash your hands, dry them off, then use your hands to mix everything together. Once you have the ingredients well mixed, roll the mix into inch sized balls and place on a lightly greased pan. I used a cake pan which would give some heat from the sides. No need to space them to far from each other - 1/2 inch in between seemed to be plenty of room. Pop in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 18 minutes. I jacked up the heat to 370 for an additional 5 minutes at the end to get some real browning.

Here's the result:
AWESOME. Absolutely wonderful. They were fluffy, had the flavor of sausage without using actual meat. I thought they were wonderful, and Mike agreed that they were excellent. In fact, I think he said, "Did you put crack in these?"

SWEET. Give this a shot for your holiday parties folks - you could make these and put 'em out a party for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. The meat eating folks would have no idea that these bad boys included no meat. They are hardy, tasty, easy to make and great party food. Bon appetit!

A Saturday Experiment

How to Charge an iPod using electrolytes and an onion

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