Laura’s Muses

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For Christmas I was the incredibly lucky recipient of not one, but two Crockpots. I couldn’t have been more exicted. Since then, I have been going slow-cooker crazy, throwing together random ingredients and creating some pretty tasty meals. Chris was kind enough to agree to be my taste-tester and thus far I haven’t poisoned him, so I must have the hang of it. Every week I check out two or three slow cooker recipe books and pore over them, searching for the perfect meal to showcase my newfound expertise. I’ve tried roasts, stews, soups, pork chops, mealoaf, casseroles, and various other dinnertime favorites. Honestly, it’s quite foolproof to cook in this manner since the low cooking temperature combined with the long cooking time pretty much tenderizes anything into deliciousness. I kinda feel like I’m cheating. However it’s become quite an addiction to see what combination of ingredients will create that outstanding dish that can’t be topped (no pun intended). You can even make breakfast foods and desserts, and I have found a few recipes of that sort which I shall be tackling next. So my only question now is, are two crockpots enough?

My blog has been sadly neglected for almost two months! It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. Although I can’t say I’ve not been busy with reading, cleaning, working…and watching Lost. Yep, that’s right, Chris drug me, kicking and screaming, to the Other Side.

When the first DVD of the first season of Lost came in the mail, I had zero interest. Chris asked politely if I would like to join him in watching it and I declined with a distinct, “Oh, no thank you,” insert chuckle, “you go right on ahead and watch it without me!”

Turns out, the chuckle was on me. You see, my tune changed drastically when I finally did give it a chance later that weekend. I was immediately hooked. Addicted. Obsessed. Fanatical about. Fixated on. I couldn’t believe that this amazing show had been on TV all this time and I had been MISSING OUT! Why didn’t anyone tell me? Why was I so quick to write off this…this masterpiece, without even giving it a chance first!? How had I gone this long without Lost in my life?!?

All I can say is, we blew through the first three seasons on DVD in a matter of weeks. There were a few incidences where we couldn’t even wait two days for the next one to come in the mail, and we ended up making a late night drive to Blockbuster to exchange for the next disc in order to put our frantic minds to rest by finding out what happened next.

What amazes me most about this show is the attachment I have to the characters. Last night, as we watched Charlie drown himself in order to save Desmond and, quite possibly in doing so, the rest of the gang, I felt a heart-wrenching sadness buffered with swelling pride as if he were a real, true friend of mine. Then there is Locke, who’s true-to-life humanoid complexity always keeps me guessing as to how I really feel about him.

Mostly, I love how this show alternates between all mediums of film and television; deftly weaving together aspects of drama, suspense, sci-fi, romance, horror, and comedy in a way that you don’t even see coming. I can’t wait to see what season four has up its sleeve!

Photo Credit: Lost 3rd Season by Rafa82. Some rights reserved.

It is not uncommon for us to stop at the RedBox located outside of the Grandview Giant Eagle following the weekly grocery shopping trip. After all, it’s conveniently located right outside the exit, and a one-night DVD rental costs a mere $1.07. Not bad for a good selection of new releases and not having to wait in line at Blockbuster, if you ask me. If you haven’t yet seen or experienced the RedBox awesomeness, here’s the gist. It’s a freestanding “box” that is completely computerized. You choose from a basic screen of “Rent a DVD” or “Return a DVD”. From there, it is a simple and clearly directed process to complete the chosen task. If renting a DVD, you choose your desired movie and from there it takes about one minute or less to complete the transaction. Swipe your credit card, enter e-mail address for receipt if so desired (a simple ‘No, thanks’ button is provided if you do not need a receipt), and then your DVD pops out. The return process is even accommodating, maybe a 15 or 20 second process. On a whole, I can’t think of one way to make RedBox any more timely and user-friendly than it already is.

You may have noticed that Blockbuster also has one of these computerized rental boxes, located on the corner of Olentangy and 5th. It’s nicer than RedBox in the fact that it’s located in the lobby of a building, providing shelter from the outdoor elements. During this time of year, that’s a pretty nice feature. Look further into the comparisons between the two, however, and you will find that the Blockbuster box falls far short of it’s competitor. First, of the three times that I have been there, it has never worked properly. The computer system continually freezes up, forcing you to wait…and wait…and wait… until it finally starts over at the intro screen. There is a TV located above the computer screen that is blaring jarringly loud movie trailers at you while you are trying to figure out how to navigate the system. Not helpful, let me tell you. If you are lucky to get far enough to select the rental option, there is an unending list of movies that would take days to wade through. Your best bet at this point is just to pick the first thing you see that you may be interested in. Keep in mind, you are also praying that you can make it to the end before it freezes up again. When checking out, you must create an account if it is your first time renting from the Blockbuster box. This will lead you to a laundry list of required information that they have you enter, all using a touch screen keyboard that is just as flaky as the system itself. The credit card you use with this ‘account’ will be the card you identify yourself with if you choose to rent again on another visit, at least sparing you a good five minutes the next time. That is assuming, of course, you ever come back. Returning the DVD is just as, if not more so, disturbing. A lot of internal grinding, whirring, clicking and various other noises preface the request of inserting the DVD into the machine. Where and how to do this are a matter of your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine. On one occasion, Chris and I stood there for at least ten minutes trying to figure it out, and after we finally located the slot, the computer froze, navigating back to the original screen. Three tries later, we stood like quarterbacks ready to toss the DVD back into the machine at the first glimmer of the return slot finally opening. We then flicked off the ATM-like camera of the machine before exiting the building in fury.

Blockbuster online is a really great program, the stores themselves have flourished and they seem to have the whole movie and game rental thing down to a science. It’s unfortunate that they have not been able to carry that out properly in the rental box scenario. It’s possible RedBox may hold the advantage with this style of DVD rental because they have no stores to worry about. Whatever the reason, one thing is certain: I much prefer Red experience over the Blue.

Photo Credit: DVD-S3isDVD, by Daniel Y. Go. Some rights reserved.

Ever since Chris introduced me to Steve Pavlina’s blog, I’ve been a regular lurker. At the beginning of January, he started a 30-day trial period of eating only raw foods. Everyday, his entry details exactly what he ate, along with pictures. I find myself there each day, and have recently noticed that I’ve developed a strong craving for fruit. I’ve always enjoyed fruit, but now it’s like “I MUST have a piece of fruit, NOW.” One day at work, I was craving fruit so badly but the closest place that might have some was Panera. The thought of their fruit salad almost disgusted me because I figure they probably didn’t have the freshest fruit and I worried that they put sugar in it. Not that I have ever cared about whether there would be sugar sprinkled over fruit or added to the juices, but the thought of fruit not in the completely raw state just turned me off. It was very odd. Needless to say, I’ve been going a little fruit crazy at the grocery store and find myself eating fruits I’ve seen pictured on Steve Pavlina’s blog, like tangelos and a lot of apples. Today for breakfast I finally made one of his ‘green smoothies’ which is just spinach, water and bananas. This is pure bliss, I tell you.

Steve’s 30-day trial ends in a few days, so I am interested to see if my fruit craving will dwindle or remain strong. I am hoping for the latter because I’m enjoying eating fruit very much, probably more than I ever have.

Photo credit: fruit at the canberra show by justinKnol. Some rights reserved.

Justin Furstenfeld’s voice just does something for me. Pair that with the instrumental talent of the rest of the members of Blue October, and I am smitten. Truly, they are one of the great bands of this generation. Unique, heartfelt and genuine lyrics, which are extremely important to me in music are set to identifiably original music and brought to life to lead you on a journey through emotional ups and downs and all-arounds. Sometimes soft and sweetly subdued (Come In Closer, Black Orchid, 18th Floor Balcony), and other times hard and brash and all up in your face (Razorblade , X Amount of Words, Sexual Powertrip), these guys bring the truth of relationships-specifically those of family, love, and friendship- that make us human. They do it so simply, so purely that I almost feel like they have written these songs for me, as a soundtrack for my life. Each song stands alone; there is not one song that depends on the others on the album to make sense to the listener. They know not “fluff.” I first discovered the genius of Blue October when Hate Me was released to mainstream radio around two years ago. Since then, I have acquired all of their albums and have not found a song that I dislike yet. A sincerely amazing band, Blue October has proven that they prefer a fan base that appreciates them for their true talent, and has shown that they will continue to repay them with only such.

Check ‘em out.

Photo Credit: Blue October SG1S6182 by: jimmyE photography. Some rights reserved.

So it’s that time of year again…the beginning! I’ve decided to blog about my resolutions so that I will be more encouraged to stick to them. At least, that is the hope.

At the top of the list, along with 98% of the population in general, I’m sure, is to get in shape. Chris and I have decided to undertake this together, and have established a plan that works around our very different schedules. I have no excuse, as I rarely have to be at work before noon, not to mention the fact that I only work four days a week. While that time off is not exactly “free time,” I definitely have ample opportunities to take a long walk or hit the gym.

Next is to get my finances in order. I am terrible, horrible, awful at managing money and I need to stop expecting God to fix it just because ‘I tithed more that 10% this week’, or ‘gave $50 to such and such charity’. I need to be the one to undertake this and I am sure He has things He wants to show me and teach me in the process… Luckily Chris has signed on, yet again, to help me out with this.

Once those two are underway, I can concentrate my attention on getting my business off the ground. Chris is working on the website right now, but it will be a little while before it’s finished, so I have no excuse not to be working on resolutions 1 & 2 in the meantime.

Re-connecting with friends and staying connected is fourth on my list. I’m just really bad at returning phone calls and making time to hang out with friends. Laziness and not wanting to be outside of my comfort zone are the main reasons why I let things like that slip…but I need to be more diligent about reaching out and keeping up my end of the friendship.

I also need to work on lots of spiritual stuff, but I won’t go into that here only because I haven’t quite ironed out the specifics yet.

That’s pretty much the list… Friends, wish me luck with mine, and know that I’ll be praying for you and yours!

I attended a bible study this morning that I’ve been to a few times before. It’s about fifteen or so women that get together on Wednesday mornings and talk about the gospel and Jesus and how it all applies to our lives. It’s kind of an inconvenience for me, since I have to get up early instead of sleeping in like I usually do on Wednesdays, but by the time I leave there I feel happy and refreshed and really just… connected. Today, though, I was hesitant to go because some of my past mistakes have been coming back to bite me and remind me of who I used to be, and I just didn’t feel like getting out of bed and looking in the mirror at myself. I was afraid these women would see right through me and know that even though I’ve been wanting, and trying to, live the right way, I’m still messily stumbling along. If nothing else, though, I knew I needed to hear what Jesus had to say to me today so I got up and went.

I took a really, really good look at these women- my sisters in Christ, to be more in context with today’s study. These women vary in age from early twenties to probably mid-fifties. Some grew up Christian or in a religious home and some didn’t. Some of them might be married, might even be divorced, might never have been either. Each of them has a unique story, an orginial tale of how they became who they are today. As we sat around a cluster of tables pushed together and discussed today’s study, I looked around at them all and I realized that I respect and value these women more than any women I’ve ever met. They are beautiful and honest people who let the love of God shine from them, and that light spills over to bring me out of the shadows. In this group, I become a real woman, too. I see what it really means to be a woman, and what God wants us to be as women. I cried today because I realized that I have wasted so many of my years looking in all of the wrong places and doing all of the wrong things, only to find the answers to what it takes to be a REAL woman here in this room. I cried because I didn’t feel worthy today of being with these amazing, kind, beautiful women because I have been struggling to be the same way and have mostly just failed miserably. Mostly, though, I cried because they still accepted me, still considered me a part of them, and still told me that it’s OK, God LOVES me, God forgives me, and He will always consider me a real woman as long as I’m living for Him.

My heart has been in the right place lately, I know that now. With Jesus holding my hand, leading me through, I can be everything He wants me to be. With these women to lean on and support me, I WILL be that woman.

I am a bargain hunter, plain and simple. It’s all about the deal to me. I will spend hours at the grocery or the mall, analyzing my choices and comparing prices. It drives Chris banana sandwich, although he is a great sport and always lets me take my time.

Only two things have been deemed by me as worthy of purchase no matter the price, because they are THAT good. One of them is Tide Simple Pleasures laundry detergent in the Lavender Vanilla scent (along with the matching Downy fabric softener sheets, of course). The other is AquaFresh Extreme Clean toothpaste. It’s fantabulous.

The newest candidate for bargain loyalty is a toothbrush made by Colgate. It’s got the the gum massager thing that is kind of like a piece of hard rubber that is intertwined with the bristles. This is perfect for me, because I have a weird obsession with the way I brush my teeth. It’s got to be round little circles, five seconds on each tooth, etc. My dentist actually recommended that I only brush my teeth once a day because I spend so much time brushing my teeth that it makes my gums bleed sometimes. Anyway, this toothbrush is awesome because it gives me that really clean feeling on my teeth without me feeling like I have to scrub them for ten minutes. Something about that gum massager thing really helps polish the teeth, eliminating that “plaque-y” feeling. Now, I can go back to brushing my teeth twice a day!

Photo Credit: Dia 38 RETO LOST -Toothbrush by zaCky ?. Some rights reserved.

Today I was thinking of all the foods I hated as a child and now, as an adult, love. A few that come to mind: Onions, anything spicy, cheeseburgers, brussel sprouts, strawberries… the list goes on. There are probably foods that I loved then that I hate now, but nothing is coming to mind presently.

There is one food, though, that I hated then and still hate to this day. Not for lack of trying, either, because I’ve periodically given this particular food a new chance with the same result. The food? Conn’s potato chips. They totally suck. Does no one else realize this? I remember thinking as a teenager that this company would be out of business in a matter of weeks because the chips suck so badly. They are kind of soft (isn’t it a prerequisite of a chip to be crunchy?) with a weird aftertaste like the oil they fried them in wasn’t hot enough and instead was soaked up into the chip. Ugh. Purely disgusting. It’s completely baffling to me that I can still find them in the grocery store. Who is buying these??

Photo Credit: Food Not Bombs Meal by ccbarr. Some rights reserved.