therefore the scrubbing out with a toothbrush at least once a week

Once a week?!

I just came across very old gossip, which is only notable because of the incredibly high nerd factor.

Ralph Fiennes was married to Alex Kingston, but left her for Francesca Annis. Dude. He left River Song for Lady Jessica. Geekery!

Better yet, he was in a production of Hamlet with Francesca as Gertrude. Freud wins.

Karate today sucked. I got through warm ups and we were going through our defensive maneuvers when I felt sick to my stomach. I bowed out and threw up so I didn't jump back into class. Which sucks.

I actually knew the Ralph Fiennes gossip. Weird.

Does anyone have a good chicken thigh recipe? I have three thighs, and I tend to dislike them because I find them slimy.

Poor Suzi. Is that related to your low iron, or a whole other thing? Either way, what a drag.

I've done nothing but wash dishes and rest from washing dishes today (and eat meals thus creating more dishes to be washed). One more load through the dishwasher and one or two sinkloads handwashed and I can try making pound cake.

Any kind of spice-rub + roasting works well with chicken thighs, IMO. I do a quick & easy "Moroccan" chicken thing which is thighs & legs tossed in a blend of olive oil, salt, pepper, cilantro, turmeric, paprika, lemon juice, and garlic (pureed together into a paste). Then I add a ton of olives (any kind will do as long as they're not black from a can) and bake at 350 or so until everything is browned and yummy.

[eta: And I usually serve it with couscous because it soaks up the sauce really well.]

Poor Suzi. Is that related to your low iron, or a whole other thing?

No clue. I had some chicken broth and bread and my tummy seems to have settled down.

I see the hematologist on Thursday and I'm hoping we can get something working quickly. I'm tired of being tired. Also worried that some of this isn't the anemia and we have to figure out something else. This has gone on over a year.

I roasted them at 425 for 30 minutes last night. Turned them over halfway through. Not quite done so I cooked another ten minutes. I marinated them in tomato juice, wine, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, catsup, salt, pepper, garlic and brown sugar for 4 hours first. I roasted them until a fair amount of the skin was was crispy, but the inside was not overcooked. Takes care of the slimy. You can marinate in almost anything that tastes good to you. Or not bother marinating and just coat with olive oil and whatever herbs and spices appeal. At 425 the skin gets really crispy before the inside is cooked. So that takes care of "sliminess" if it is the outside that is slimy. If it is the meat you want firmer and drier, then instead of turning over at 15 minutes, take them out at 20 minutes, turn them over, butterfly them to the bone, so that the thigh is basically cut in half to the bone and the meat exposed, then finish cooking until the texture is what you would like. (Go another 15 minutes then check and if not done keep cooking and checking every 10 minutes.) The opening up will make the meat cook drier and firmer. If you want crispy skin and soft tender juicy meat, use the first method. If you want drier firmer meat,use the second.

I went to an estate sale today (bought a hatbox), the fabric store (no luck), and bought blank CDs to make mixes for the car, so I won't have to listen to the radio anymore. By Saturday standards, I was productive.

Oooh, those both sound good! I've got them marked for future cooking (I also just printed out a bunch of recipes from the America's Test Kitchen Tumblr linked upthread--thanks!!).

I was just talking with my friend who had her gastric bypass surgery last week, and I found out why I was so off on judging her starting weight. I inadvertantly offended both her and another friend by offering them a swimsuit I had that I hadn't worn yet. I would have worn it around the 425-450 pound mark but didn't need it, and both of them assured me they were nowhere near that weight--ooops! Well, it turns out that even though L is currently 110 pounds lighter than me, we're wearing the same size, even though we're just about the same height. Blew both of our minds to realize that!

Thank you typo and jessica. I am off to cook some thighs.