insight?

Well, the whole insight/epiphany thing appears to be a wash. I MAY have another insight or epiphany in my life but they seem to come few and far between. Actually, I think I might have had all the insights possible, and now I just know everything. Hahahah. So, the 30 days of insight is not going to happen. I'll be sure and send out an alert when I have one but don't expect much.

Instead, it's just a random day. Stan, who was featured in the Stan's man post, does have another man, who has already lost quite a bit of stuffing. But Stan's dog love shines through and he himself placed his man cozily close for nap time. I'm now buying those funny little men by the three pack.


Here's a really unappetizing picture of my dinner. BUT, it was really good. The orange colored food is MASHED POTATOES. Yes, mashed Idaho and SWEET potatoes. It's so good. And it's good for you! And, it's ORANGE. I put a little sour cream in them and Jay loves 'em. The other thing on the plate is tuna and noodles. This is one of my favorite foods. My mom used to always make it for me on my birthday. It's a comfort food for me. Just in case you want to make it, it's easy....Take a 2 quart pan, boil some noodles, drain, add one can of healthy choice cream of mushroom soup, a bit of milk, a can of tuna (albacore packed in water?), and some cheese. Heat until warm.

I worked today and was very tired when I got home. I even napped, which I NEVER do. When I got up, around 4ish, I planted seeds in these Jiffy greenhouse cups. I planted broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, pumpkins and cantaloupe. I'm going to plant lettuce and onions outside tomorrow (cool weather crops).
With the weather getting warmer, I just want to garden. Last year I didn't have a garden at all. I was busy moving back to my most wonderful house, and getting ready to travel to Kansas. This year, I'm going to garden again. That dirt just does my heart good. So, I have moments when I don't want to go to work. I mean, like I NEVER want to go to work again. And this is even a job I like. With benefits. And free coffee. I think about how great my year of opus was, and sometimes I miss it. But I have to work. And, I realized, I HAVE to garden. The dirt, the act of sprouting, the flowers on a pumpkin vine, and the beautiful smell of it all mixed together. Ahhhh. Coming out of winter (yes, I know it's going to snow again). But the season is changing. I'm ready. And speaking of...tomorrow is the first day of spring.

Insight two

No customer will ever order their Starbucks drink correctly. I had two solid weeks of training and have now worked there for four months and I still don't get it right. So how in the world can an UNTRAINED person ever be expected to know what in the heck to say. So, here's how it's done....first, tell me if it's iced. Then, the size, then what it is (latte, mocha, etc), then tell me if you're going to want extra shots of coffee. That would be, I'll have an iced grande latte with an extra shot of espresso. Okay, then let me know if you want any special milks or syrups. Whole milk? Non fat? Vanilla? Hazelnut? Then, the little things...light ice, no foam, extra hot. Half decaffeinated, one-third whole milk/two-thirds 1%, 4 pumps of raspberry and 1 pump vanilla. Yes. It's true. The kicker is that if someone orders their entire drink and says "iced" at the end instead of at the beginning, I have to cancel everything out and start over, trying to remember it's a grandeicedlattewith3pumpscaramel2pumpstoffeenutwholemilknofoam drink. Here's a recent drive-thru window conversation......

Me: Hi, welcome to Starbucks, this is Jill, how are you doing today?
Guest: Great.
Me: Can I start you off with a muffin or some of our tasty oatmeal this morning?
Guest: No. I'll have a grande mocha with a latte on top.
Me: (thinking, HUH?) I'm sorry I didn't get that last part. You want a Grande mocha? Is that correct?
Guest: Yes, with a latte on top.
Me: (Trying not to laugh into the headset): I'm sorry, I'm not hearing you very well. That was a mocha with vanilla?
Guest: NO. A LATTE ON TOP
Me: I'm so sorry. We have mochas and we have lattes but they're two separate drinks. (Thinking...Hahahahaha) Which one of those were you wanting?
Guest: Oh. Okay, I'll have a mocha.

Most people, however, know what they want....

Me: Hi, welcome to Starbucks, this is Jill, how are you doing today?
Guest: Great.
Me: Can I start you off with a muffin or some of our tasty oatmeal this morning?
Guest: No, but I'll have a grande two pump mocha, with one pump vanilla and three pumps of peppermint, no whip cream, whole milk, with an extra shot of espresso in a venti cup. Can I also have that at 180 degrees?
Me: I'm sorry, that was a mocha...with...?
Guest: (They repeat their order)
Me: Okay, that was a grande in a venti cup? And how many shots of peppermint?
Guest: (They repeat their order)
Me: Okay, and that had an extra shot?

Sigh...

Stupid, Happy Animals

Hmmmmm. How about 30 days of epiphanies (a moment of sudden revelation or insight)? I had one tonight, while taking a lovely bath with anti-stress bath bubbles. And a glass of red wine. And a tall glass of water. And a book (Falling Through The Earth by Danielle Trussoni).

When I was a child, my parents and I were really just stupid, happy animals. We lived in a simple house, and we just lived. There was no weirdness or alcoholism or addiction or games, except for dominoes and gin rummy. We ate and slept and went to work and school. My parents, who were married for 65 years, had their share of fights, but there was no violence or tears. They were pretty fucking happy. They golfed and played bridge and bowled. My dad gardened and fished. My mom cooked and did volunteer work. Yes, we were simple animals. They did some things together and some things on their own. They each taught me different skills. We watched Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights.

This is why I have a hard time, occasionally, in the world. I have to deal with people. It just seems so simple to me. We had a home, not a fancy one, we had food on the table, not fancy stuff, and we had folks around to play dominoes with. Eat, work, play, love. As a teenager, of course, I suffered, for several years, from hormone induced hysteria (like all teenagers) which did make me scream "I hate you" at my father, and secretly buy birth control pills (which my mother found in my purse), and so I turned my back on the pack. But, over time, I regressed again to the cult of the simpleminded. That's where I am now.

Thirty days of Epiphany? Shhiiitttt. Does that sound high falutin or what!? It might take me 3 months to come up with 30 days of epiphanies. Fine. I'm going to take my time. I'll just write them down as they strike me. But I'm going to shoot for 30. For a stupid, happy animal there might be some pretty simplistic ideas, but revelation doesn't have to be complicated. I could use a little insight, and like beauty, I don't mind searching for it.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. - Einstein

I love cookies

Last night, as I drifted off to sleep, I thought about a great blog to write. I even contemplated getting out of bed and writing it. But the lights were off. My eyes were closed. I was in that quite heavenly drowsy space where the sheets feel like some strange kind of good medicine, and the pillow is fitting itself perfectly underneath your neck, and frankly, there was no way I was going to disturb that. So, in my intoxicating sleepiness, I vowed to remember my blog thought. And today, IT'S COMPLETELY GONE. 

Instead, once again, I'm going to write a little bit about food. Haha. I LOVE food. Tonight I made spinach and mushroom enchiladas. I sauteed the garlic and onion first in olive oil until the garlic got all hard and crispy (acquired taste) and then added mushrooms and spinach. The rest of it's in the recipe...

Sauce:

Garlic (you decide what you can handle)

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (healthy request, damn it)

1 8oz carton light sour cream

1 small can diced green chilies

Filling:

olive oil

onion (real or dried minced)

2 cups mushrooms

Garlic (see above)

Cumin (same deal)

About 20 oz spinach (I use fresh, your choice)

1 cup shredded jack cheese

10-15 corn tortillas

Prepare sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Put oil in skillet, saute stuff for filling, add half cheese when off heat and stir up.

Fill tortillas with filling, roll them up, and put seam down in 9x9 square pan (this recipe makes two pans so one can go in the freezer for a whole other night!).

Cover with sauce and some cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Yum.

(If you have children who are spoiled, just make a few cheese enchiladas too and don't make them eat any vegetables. They will love you at that minute but will resent you later in life for screwing up their health.)

B had seconds, so did I, and Jay ate cookies. Kidding. I made him cheese enchiladas, and THEN he made cookies afterwards. And I did make him eat some tomato.

I'm open to ideas for my next 30 days of you-call-it. (30 days of crap? 30 days of Mondays? 30 days of dealing with rude people at the post office? 30 days of self-improvement? 30 days of finding silhouettes in the wood grain of the laminate flooring?) If I feel like I have to write, I WILL write and I WILL enjoy it. Forced writing. Hmmmmm. Or maybe I should just keep a notebook by the bed for when I have my own ideas. SO I DON"T FORGET THEM.