Happy Friday! Party Time!

I have a good feeling about this weekend. Why? Well, I've gotten a good amount of stuff done this week, so I don't feel like I waisted my time. We have a bit of fun money to work with, and...And? My birthday is on Monday and we'll actually be able to celebrate a bit!

In three days I'll be two years away from 40, people. I'd be lying if I said the idea of that isn't fucking with my mind, but I'm trying. Trying to do better and move ahead so that 10 years from now I don't find myself dreading 50. I want to look forward to each year. Who doesn't?

Enough seriousness! Here's what I found online this week.

1) If any of you writers are doing NaNoWriMo, Galley Cat and Writer's Digest have a host of tips for you.

2) Most of us can use a self-esteem boost from time to time. Here are 50 ways to upgrade yours.

3) Want to eat better? Dr. Oz likes all these foods, and this is a list of foods that aren't as bad as we thought.

4) I can't stop talking about mustaches!

5) Last, but not least, this video-filled list of cats freaking out should send you off with a good laugh.

That's all for me folks. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! Fall & Such

Ah, friends! We're firmly fixed in fall and working our way steadily toward that Halloweenie time of year...Which I couldn't care less about. Really. I don't like being scared, I haven't worn a costume in decades and we never get Trick or Treaters, so I don't even hand out candy (and haven't since my teenage years). It'll be a good night to stay at home and read, as far as I'm concerned.

Not being a spoiled sport, though, I've got some Halloween themed links for you, so let's get to it!

1) Want to see a galaxy being born? It'll only take a little over two minutes!

2) TIME has put out their list of the 25 best blogs of 2012.

3) Family photos could not get more awkward. Just in time for Halloween foolishness!

4) Also Halloween related? Sexy cartoon and Sesame Street characters. Elmo just can't stop crying, y'all.

5) Finally, if you want to boost your creativity, you might want to get a cat. Plus, boredom might be good for you.

That's all for me. Have a great weekend!

Music Monday: It's In The Way You Use It

I love fall. I mean, love fall and its weather with a passion. I got the chance to drive around on Sunday and relax in the presence of pretty, pretty leaves. It was nice, and I hope you are all enjoying the cooler, more colorful days we're having.

HUBS is still in pain. He has now had two cortisone shots in his back and is taking some kind of muscle or nerve relaxant along with his pain meds. It's not helping. Plus, he had to go back to work as of today, where he had to stand in pain most of the day since sitting feels even worse.

I don't know what to do for him anymore and it hurts and makes me angry and sad and frustrated. As you can likely guess, it's doing wonders for my depression!

I mentioned before that I've been seeing a therapist again. On Saturday she suggested I talk to my doctor and go back on mood meds. Which made me cry. I'm not ashamed of taking drugs to feel more like a normal person, I just hoped I was done with that when I stopped taking Wellbutrin four years ago. But, considering the state of my unhappiness right now, and the fact that my therapist doesn't feel the tips in The Depression Cure alone can lift me to a normal level, I might as well.

Another thing screwing with my emotions? My stupid hair! To put it mildly, it's a 20 mule team cluster fuck up there. Oh, well. I'm going to keep trying new techniques to see if I can come out of this transition without going bald.

Enough of the pity party! Music!

Fall Will Not Be Denied

It may be 72 degrees in St. Louis today, but the multicolored leaves decorating the ground and the crisp nights tell a very different story. It's November, y'all! We are fully into fall with its jackets, bonfires, short days and invigoratingly cool nights.

A huge part of fall for me, and many of you I imagine, is the accompanying big ol' pots of warm and gooey comfort food. Thanks to HUBS' folks I got the chance to cook something new on Sunday. They have a rather large garden, and brought over several things when they visited the day before, including a butternut squash and some spinach fettuccine that they had tried but weren't crazy about (for some reason).



I adapted this recipe from Redbook where it was only meant for roasted butternut squash. I increased the recipe a bit to accommodate the greater number of veggies I used.

Balsamic Honey Roasted Veggies

1 medium Butternut Squash, peeled and cut in chunks
5 Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut in chunks
8 ounces Baby Carrots, cut in half lengthwise
1 medium Onion, sliced
3 to 4 tablespoons each Balsamic Vinegar, Honey and Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Get your oven to 425 degrees. Spray a roasting dish with cooking spray and start tossing veggies in. Once you get a full layer of mixed veggies, drizzle them with 1 tablespoon each of balsamic, honey and olive oil then sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Keep layering until you get all your veggies in the pan and stir things up a bit to make sure everything gets covered in the goodness.

This will take about 40 minutes in the oven to get good and done. If you take the pan out and the juices got stuck to the bottom, never fear, my friends! Add water to the pan (with the veggies still in there) swirl it around and in a few minutes the heat and water will loosen all that flavor and create a nice sauce for the veggies. We poured the result over the spinach fettuccine and sprinkled on a little grated Parmesan/Asiago/Romano blended cheese.



HUBS' mom also brought us a portion of a homemade chocolate cake on Saturday, which we promptly finished in two days. Since I am dessert's bitch, I needed something else sweet on Monday, and made the easiest peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I've ever seen. They also turned out incredibly flaky, moist and delicious.

Don't you love cooking and baking and the St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series against all odds? Don't you?

Television! Television!

Unless you've been under a mossy rock for the past week and a half, you know we've been getting new fall TV shows. Yay! I've been watching as many as possible and hopefully by the end of next month I'll have a few new faves that I can look forward to each week.

Here's what I've seen so far:



Ringer: I cannot tell you how intriguing it was to find out that Buffy herself was coming back to TV. I missed the second episode, but plan to catch up online. I found this story of identical twins with screwy back stories interestingly twisty and something I can see myself getting into.

Up All Night: Normally a show about new parents probably wouldn't appeal to me. But, the average show about the newly parented doesn't generally star the likes of Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph, does it? I have to admit that I was hoping the show would be funnier than it's ended up being so far. But! I will keep watching for a few weeks to see if it amps up the laughs.

Free Agents: I wasn't planning on watching this one, but decided to give it a shot anyway. Again, not outrageously funny so far, but everyone is so likeable I find it hard to turn away during an episode. It's pleasant and just amusing enough, so, for now, it stays on my radar.

The Secret Circle: Oh, Jesus. We've got another teen supernatural show on our hands, folks. I never got into Vampire Diaries, but I've seen enough of it to know that The Secret Circle looks and feels just like it. It wasn't horrible, but one viewing is positively all I need.



2 Broke Girls: This one was another nice comedy that didn't knock me out laughing. If you've seen the previews you know the girls in question are a sassy brunette and a stuck up blonde. But the thing I really liked about it (and PT...and HUBS) was that the blonde is actually smart, industrious and rather tough. We all thought for sure she'd be dumb and so rich-bitchy that she'd begrudge her waitressing gig and hardly work. I'm so glad to have a sitcom surprise me! That's enough reason to keep giving this one a try for a while.

New Girl: Now, here's a comedy that really did it for me. I'm willing to put aside the improbability of someone as cute as Zooey Deschanel not being able to get a guy, because she and everyone around her brought the funny. If you haven't seen this one you should check it out.

The X Factor: Wow. Just...Wow. As soon as this singing competition went off for the night I wished it was still on. It was that compelling and entertaining. And? Simon didn't piss me off once last night. Fabulous!

Revenge: Oh, my. We're still trying the glittery night-time soap, are we? I must say, I either hated or couldn't have given less of a shit about any of these characters. I also don't know how they could possibly keep things going for more than a season. I wish Everwood was still on.

I'm looking forward to about six more new shows, airing through October 30, plus I'm watching all my returning faves (P&R!) and looking into other new shows. Is there anything better than curling up on the couch with a warm piece of pie and a good TV show? Is there?

What new fall shows have you liked so far? What are you still looking forward to?


All photos, here

Yes, Please! More!

Yesterday it was so cool outside that we had to turn on our heater. I love cool weather! Now, I wouldn't mind it if we could sustain temps in the 60s (so I don't have to use my humidifier during extended periods of heater use), but I will take this over 108 degrees any day.

I'm already getting used to bundling up at night and curling up on the couch wearing my favorite, ratty old sweatshirt jacket that my mom got from the Gap for me almost 20 years ago. I'm looking forward to chili dinners, massive pots of stew and homemade soup and all the comfort food I can fit in my belly. Yay!

It rained for about a day and a half starting early morning Wednesday. Luckily, our sorta crappy basement only got a tiny bit wet and we finally got some drought relief. I think the rainy, cool day got to me a bit. You know how that type of weather makes for good sleeping? Well, I felt lazy and hazy all day. Aside from making chicken salad and a couple of pies, I got nothing done. Didn't even shower.

Today I tried to make it to a networking event before I headed out for one of my bartender interviews. I got a bit of a late start and was too out of it to even rush around getting ready. Do you know what I ended up doing? Writing down directions to get there, from the wrong set of highways.

Like, I live nowhere near those highways, and I just wrote it down like it was correct. Because of that I ended up not getting to the event. I just took off on my normal route like it was the right way. Then, as I was driving, I realized Oh, shit! This ain't right! Fuck! How do I get there! Dammit...Oh, well.

I know what my issue is. I need to start getting more sleep. I've been going to bed around 2 or 3 a.m. almost every night since we got back from vacation. What's my problem?

How do you blast a blah, foggy-headed day so you can get things done?