Dad came up today. He'll be busy at the end of the month when it's my b-day, so he wanted to take me out this weekend. We went over to the auto parts store so I could get my wiper blades replaced (turned out to be a saga because we didn't get the right ones the first time out, but eventually we got it right), then headed over to the clothes store so I could take advantage of their one-day sale, which I combined with my perks card. Ended up spending $120 on $190 worth of clothes (3 bras, 2 night shirts, and 2 pairs of jeans, some of which I can wear now, and some I'll have to wait a bit), and then Dad gave me a gift card for the rest of what he was intending to give me for my b-day.
We also went out for a late lunch at the Uzbek restaurant down the road. The waiter was very good at upselling Dad, so we had a bunch of stuff before the entrees came out (spicy beets, bread, pickled watermelon, and Dad had a bowl of borscht with his Russian beer). My entree was lamb kabob, which was super tasty and I nommed most of it (more than I probably should have, but it was sooooo good), and Dad had the garlic chicken, which was a full half-chicken! He's got food for a few more meals with those leftovers. And then the waiter got Dad to order dessert on top of all that, a really good Napoleon.
I'll be surprised if I'm in the mood to eat dinner before 9:00 tonight.
I need to finish off my current Lamb Helper (yeah, it's like home-made Hamburger Helper, only with ground lamb) which was outstanding. I got a premixed batch of "Berbere Ethiopian" spices and added a teaspoon full, which made it quite noticeably spicy -- not HOT spicy, but full of exotic yummy flavoring.
Next batch of turkey lentil chili I make is going to be outstanding.
Had dinner with my grandmother and cousins, which was nice, but really reminds me I would like to spend time just with my grownup cousin! Between the 91-year-old and the nearly-3-year-old, there was not much actual conversation....
It's been a rainy day in SF, so we've had Irish Coffee, and now I've got a lasagna in the oven.
We're watching
A Series of Unfortunate Events
which remains perfect in every detail except for the casting of Jim Carrey.
Just finished my first black and tan. Now ready to sleep.
Went to work this morning to indoctrinate welcome a new employee.
Then J and I put together my new shed (which is PERFECT) and I cleaned up the yard. I feel accomplished and exhausted.
roasting rosemary potatoes, brussel sprouts and baked "sin cookies" Nom Nom!
I am eating strawberries on top of sour cream biscuits. Not bad at all.
I made a new slow cooker recipe (ganked, ashamedly, from Sandra Lee, and then I tweaked it.) It's chicken and noodles, basically, and I made wheat rolls (frozen) with it, and it turned out SO WELL, and was fairly easy.
I'll do the recipe later, if anyone wants it, but I am checking site while eating and then I have to get back to grading.
HKF asked for some of the zucchini frittata I'd made in the middle of dinner. So after picking myself up off the floor, I changed out her plate, and she ate what we ate, without the traditional fight, for two nights in a row. I'm amazed.
