I try to pay my bills on time. Granted, as I have very little in my own name, and am not currently working, these bills are not particularly many. However, there are several that effect my life.
One -- "temporary" ex-roommate still owes us three weeks worth of rent, and is not responding to phone calls nor returning them.
Two -- I am a guarantor for Mister's car payment, and we just received notice that we're 21 days away from defaulting on this loan.
Three -- last month we had to receive an email from our landlords requesting that we pay rent on the first, not the fifteenth or the 22nd... yeah.
Four -- I received notice from UMass that because my tuition is late, they are charging $100 extra.
_________________________
How I am dealing with these:
One -- I am going to be filing papers as of Monday to take her to court.
Two -- I am going to beat the ever living hell out of Mister. And make him change his godsdamned bank account so the direct deposit that's set up works.
Three -- I am attempting to remember to remind Mister about these on the weekends, so that I don't have to hound him at work and he gets pissy.
Four -- I am making my dad deal with that, as it's his fault that it's late.
_________________________
Why don't people pay their godsdamned bills on time? Why does it have to bother my life? I want to stab things... grr... maybe I should buy meat for dinner.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Recipes to Save
http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2007/03/repeat-offender.html
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/slow-cooker-chicken-tikka-masala/
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/honeyed-welsh-lamb/
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/roasted-butternut-squash-sausage-and-orecchiette-pasta-in-a-brown-butter-sage-sauce/
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/slow-cooker-chicken-tikka-masala/
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/honeyed-welsh-lamb/
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/roasted-butternut-squash-sausage-and-orecchiette-pasta-in-a-brown-butter-sage-sauce/
чаепитие
No, that's not a typo up there (if it actually comes through at all), it's the Russian word for "tea drinking". I'm going to be hosting a Russian Tea party Nov. 5th, as Mister, J and I need to practice our Russian. I'm also inviting a classmate, JQ (too many people with J's in their name...) as he speaks far better Russian than I, and he can help keep us on track.
I'll make pierogi, little cakes, and lots of tea. Probably also bread with jam and butter. There's also a cabbage/potato pie that I've seen recipes for that looks tasty... I just love Eastern European food, and I want to make way more than I need.
My main source for what to serve is this site. The full official invitation as issued is:
я хочу пить чай с вами в ближайшее. суббота пятый ноябрь в один час равно дня я приглашаю вас на чай в моем доме. я буду готовить вареники и пирожни.
Which translates hilariously as:
I want to drink tea with you shortly. Saturday November fifth to one hour of the day as well, I invite you to tea at my house. I'll cook dumplings and cakes.
Sometimes, I love how Russian works.
I'll make pierogi, little cakes, and lots of tea. Probably also bread with jam and butter. There's also a cabbage/potato pie that I've seen recipes for that looks tasty... I just love Eastern European food, and I want to make way more than I need.
My main source for what to serve is this site. The full official invitation as issued is:
я хочу пить чай с вами в ближайшее. суббота пятый ноябрь в один час равно дня я приглашаю вас на чай в моем доме. я буду готовить вареники и пирожни.
Which translates hilariously as:
I want to drink tea with you shortly. Saturday November fifth to one hour of the day as well, I invite you to tea at my house. I'll cook dumplings and cakes.
Sometimes, I love how Russian works.
Lurking
I'm sure most of us are familiar with this feeling. Currently, there is a cabbage lurking in my fridge. Just seeing it in the store meant that I had to buy it, as it's one of my favorite things about fall. So, Mister laid down the law that I need to do something with it (by which I mean he remarked 'oh hey, did you know that we have cabbage?'). I looked quickly at those recipes that I have ear-marked for cabbage and came up with a couple options.
The Cabbage and White Bean Soup that I made last year from 101 Cookbooks, Hungarian Noodles and cabbage, and Cabbage Pierogi Filling
I'll probably not make pierogi tonight, as that's a massive amount of work, that one's out. I've left it up to Mister as whether he wants soup or noodles. I know that both are tasty.
The Cabbage and White Bean Soup that I made last year from 101 Cookbooks, Hungarian Noodles and cabbage, and Cabbage Pierogi Filling
I'll probably not make pierogi tonight, as that's a massive amount of work, that one's out. I've left it up to Mister as whether he wants soup or noodles. I know that both are tasty.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Success!
And there are my first two loaves of sourdough! Let's get a closer look...
Oh my, I cannot wait to slice into this beauty! I realized, as I was staring longingly into my oven as these baked, that I have not mentioned my little sourdough project. It all started when over at Pinch My Salt she started a new sourdough starter and invited the internet to join in. This bread has been two full weeks in the making, as I started on a Saturday two weeks ago. It was all going decently, but my starter was moving MUCH slower than the one on Pinch My Salt. I realized it was probably due to it being in the window, and it was probably chilly. I moved it next to the stove, and it perked right up.
I also followed the recipe for her bread, since I was using her starter. I started the sponge last night, popped it in the fridge so it wouldn't overproof, and let it rise for its three rises all day today, as it was beautiful and over 80 degrees F. The only change I made when making it was to mist it with water 3x in the first three minutes of baking. It is now sitting on my counter, on a cooling rack, tempting me.
I will let you know if it's as tasty as it looks!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
The Last of the Bounty
So I just picked the remaining tomatoes and peppers that were on the plants and did a quick search of my blogs to find green tomato recipes. Here's a quick list:
Pickled Green Tomatoes
Green Tomato Chutney
Spicy Green Tomato Vinaigrette (can be made into a salsa)
Curried Green Zebras
Mock Apple Pie
Stewed Green Tomatoes with Cheese and Croutons
Fire Roasted Salsa Verde
Salsa Verde
Green Tomato Salsa
Green Tomato Chutney
And two recipes that aren't linkable:
There is a recipe in _Fresh From the Farmers Market_ for Sicilian Green Tomato Sauce that goes like this:
1 pound green tomatoes, chopped very fine
1/2 c olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t hot red pepper flakes
You mix it all together and let it stand for an hour or two. Then add salt, pepper, fresh basil, and cooked spaghetti, and top with toasted pine nuts. (I use walnuts.) I also recommend parmesan on top. Yumyum. Not sure if you could freeze it... the tomatoes would probably become mush upon thawing, but I think that would be OK. It is a sauce after all.
Green tomato and lemon marmalade.
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded
2 1/4 pounds green tomatoes (about 5 large tomatoes), cored and thinly sliced
3 1/4cups sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt.
1. Bring lemon slices to a boil in a pot of water. Drain.
2. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan along with 1/4 cup water, and bring to a simmer, stirring, to dissolve sugar. Cook at a bare simmer until tomatoes and lemon slices are translucent and syrup thickens, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool completely; store in refrigerator.
Yield: 1 3/4 cups.
Pickled Green Tomatoes
Green Tomato Chutney
Spicy Green Tomato Vinaigrette (can be made into a salsa)
Curried Green Zebras
Mock Apple Pie
Stewed Green Tomatoes with Cheese and Croutons
Fire Roasted Salsa Verde
Salsa Verde
Green Tomato Salsa
Green Tomato Chutney
And two recipes that aren't linkable:
There is a recipe in _Fresh From the Farmers Market_ for Sicilian Green Tomato Sauce that goes like this:
1 pound green tomatoes, chopped very fine
1/2 c olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t hot red pepper flakes
You mix it all together and let it stand for an hour or two. Then add salt, pepper, fresh basil, and cooked spaghetti, and top with toasted pine nuts. (I use walnuts.) I also recommend parmesan on top. Yumyum. Not sure if you could freeze it... the tomatoes would probably become mush upon thawing, but I think that would be OK. It is a sauce after all.
Green tomato and lemon marmalade.
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded
2 1/4 pounds green tomatoes (about 5 large tomatoes), cored and thinly sliced
3 1/4cups sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt.
1. Bring lemon slices to a boil in a pot of water. Drain.
2. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan along with 1/4 cup water, and bring to a simmer, stirring, to dissolve sugar. Cook at a bare simmer until tomatoes and lemon slices are translucent and syrup thickens, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool completely; store in refrigerator.
Yield: 1 3/4 cups.
Frustration
I am easily frustrated most of the time, but I've been noticing it more lately. Between picking fights with classmates over stupid things like politics and religion (why oh why would I ever get involved in those discussions...) and just day-to-day stresses, I have been snappy lately.
My current problem? I both feel neglected by some and taken advantage of by others. Mister has been having to work 12+ hour days at his job nearly every day. This is because HIS coworkers have not really been doing their jobs and he's been doing most of the work. So when he gets home, he's tired, he's hungry and he's pissed at his job. I feel like I never see him, as he's always at work, and when he is at home, he's usually trying to distract himself with video games or something. Now, I realize that I'm needy and that he's the only one making money in this household, but still -- a little attention?
I also have a temporary roommate that has been here for over a month. She's making some questionable life choices in that she's waiting on two non-dependable people to move out here by the end of this month or mid-November (say what?), and hasn't paid rent for two weeks because she hasn't gotten paid...? I am thoroughly confused as to how she could have been working for several weeks and not gotten paid. We're asking a nominal amount of money -- it's really not that significant, but it's spending money for us as we're spending most of the paycheck on rent and payments.
She's also currently sleeping, as she works the overnight shift. Which means that when I come home to my house, I have to tiptoe around and not play music because there's someone sleeping. Or, at least the door is shut, so I assume she's sleeping.
Also in cranky mode over here, she leaves the fan on ALL THE TIME. I tried explaining to her that the fan works much better if you OPEN THE WINDOW rather than move the same stale, hot air around, but she kinda brushed it off by saying that she didn't want to hear people on the street. I can HEAR the fan, and it frustrates the hell out of me, knowing that it's 60 degrees F outside, yet my roommate "needs" a fan running on my electricity. I'm currently wearing two sweaters for crissakes.
The other thing that's been frustrating me is part of school. For my eartraining class, there was a group performance/sight-reading assignment for LAST Friday that got pushed to THIS Friday as most were not ready. I banged it out over and over on the keyboard until I got it in my head while home sick last week, and I've had it memorized (all three parts) since last Thursday. My partners? The one is nearly tone-deaf, and the other claims to have no time. Ok, I can work with this, and I'll set aside time when I'm on campus to practice (I'm not about to go too far out of my way as to be available during times when I'm not on campus). So the performance in front of my professor is tomorrow, and for the rehearsal today? The one who texted back saying he'd be there never showed, and the other one hadn't brought his book, looked off of mine but so clearly didn't care that he was misreading rhythms that are less complex than children's songs. (Seriously, it's in 3/4 and the rhythm was 1--|1 2 3|1--|1 2 3|1- 3|1 2 3|1- 3+| etc.) I was having to add a beat every other measure just to keep the harmony accurate.
I mean, I realize it's a stupid little assignment that really doesn't mean anything. I know this because I've had it MEMORIZED for a solid week. You can't tell me that I'm so magically brilliant that I'm learning stuff easily that others cannot, when it's frickin' quarter notes and dotted halves. I can tell some things that my partners are doing wrong and hindering their learning, but it's not my job to teach them how to learn. So I've been trying to beat the melody into their heads. As much as I like these two people, I need to have a talk with them about taking my time for granted as well as whether or not it would be worth it to attempt to work with them again.
The one kid who doesn't care, I'll just be blunt and explain that unless he's not going to be an ass (unlikely), I will let him work with others. The other kid tries -- I've seen him try. Him blowing me off today is what frustrated me the most, as I was in the practice room because HE needed it, not I. I also can't tell whether or not he practices. If he does, he doesn't get any better so he must be doing something wrong. Add in the tone-deafness and it's a fabulous combination. He'd say 'do' and sing "mi" or something similar -- and not hear the difference! I've tried saying: stay on the SAME NOTE -- and he still gets off somehow. I dunno. Again, not my job to figure out how to make this work for him but I can certainly try with what is within my power.
... it's funny, but they both were asking if I was in the education track, as I guess they felt that I was either being teacher-ly (I probably was) or doing a decent job of teaching. It's just so frustrating to see something being done WRONG and not be able to fix it personally. I just wish that I could record my voice singing three times and loop it and call the project done. :-P But then that eliminates the other part of the test which is listening to your partners and making music. And that's what it's all about.
My current problem? I both feel neglected by some and taken advantage of by others. Mister has been having to work 12+ hour days at his job nearly every day. This is because HIS coworkers have not really been doing their jobs and he's been doing most of the work. So when he gets home, he's tired, he's hungry and he's pissed at his job. I feel like I never see him, as he's always at work, and when he is at home, he's usually trying to distract himself with video games or something. Now, I realize that I'm needy and that he's the only one making money in this household, but still -- a little attention?
I also have a temporary roommate that has been here for over a month. She's making some questionable life choices in that she's waiting on two non-dependable people to move out here by the end of this month or mid-November (say what?), and hasn't paid rent for two weeks because she hasn't gotten paid...? I am thoroughly confused as to how she could have been working for several weeks and not gotten paid. We're asking a nominal amount of money -- it's really not that significant, but it's spending money for us as we're spending most of the paycheck on rent and payments.
She's also currently sleeping, as she works the overnight shift. Which means that when I come home to my house, I have to tiptoe around and not play music because there's someone sleeping. Or, at least the door is shut, so I assume she's sleeping.
Also in cranky mode over here, she leaves the fan on ALL THE TIME. I tried explaining to her that the fan works much better if you OPEN THE WINDOW rather than move the same stale, hot air around, but she kinda brushed it off by saying that she didn't want to hear people on the street. I can HEAR the fan, and it frustrates the hell out of me, knowing that it's 60 degrees F outside, yet my roommate "needs" a fan running on my electricity. I'm currently wearing two sweaters for crissakes.
The other thing that's been frustrating me is part of school. For my eartraining class, there was a group performance/sight-reading assignment for LAST Friday that got pushed to THIS Friday as most were not ready. I banged it out over and over on the keyboard until I got it in my head while home sick last week, and I've had it memorized (all three parts) since last Thursday. My partners? The one is nearly tone-deaf, and the other claims to have no time. Ok, I can work with this, and I'll set aside time when I'm on campus to practice (I'm not about to go too far out of my way as to be available during times when I'm not on campus). So the performance in front of my professor is tomorrow, and for the rehearsal today? The one who texted back saying he'd be there never showed, and the other one hadn't brought his book, looked off of mine but so clearly didn't care that he was misreading rhythms that are less complex than children's songs. (Seriously, it's in 3/4 and the rhythm was 1--|1 2 3|1--|1 2 3|1- 3|1 2 3|1- 3+| etc.) I was having to add a beat every other measure just to keep the harmony accurate.
I mean, I realize it's a stupid little assignment that really doesn't mean anything. I know this because I've had it MEMORIZED for a solid week. You can't tell me that I'm so magically brilliant that I'm learning stuff easily that others cannot, when it's frickin' quarter notes and dotted halves. I can tell some things that my partners are doing wrong and hindering their learning, but it's not my job to teach them how to learn. So I've been trying to beat the melody into their heads. As much as I like these two people, I need to have a talk with them about taking my time for granted as well as whether or not it would be worth it to attempt to work with them again.
The one kid who doesn't care, I'll just be blunt and explain that unless he's not going to be an ass (unlikely), I will let him work with others. The other kid tries -- I've seen him try. Him blowing me off today is what frustrated me the most, as I was in the practice room because HE needed it, not I. I also can't tell whether or not he practices. If he does, he doesn't get any better so he must be doing something wrong. Add in the tone-deafness and it's a fabulous combination. He'd say 'do' and sing "mi" or something similar -- and not hear the difference! I've tried saying: stay on the SAME NOTE -- and he still gets off somehow. I dunno. Again, not my job to figure out how to make this work for him but I can certainly try with what is within my power.
... it's funny, but they both were asking if I was in the education track, as I guess they felt that I was either being teacher-ly (I probably was) or doing a decent job of teaching. It's just so frustrating to see something being done WRONG and not be able to fix it personally. I just wish that I could record my voice singing three times and loop it and call the project done. :-P But then that eliminates the other part of the test which is listening to your partners and making music. And that's what it's all about.
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