Annie's Journal of Dating and Body Hair Removal

[browneyedgirl36]

I would be aggravated too. And, I have to go with what a couple of others have suggested and say I think he MAY have a drinking problem. People can have problems with drinking and not drink every day. Binge drinking, even if it's only once or twice a week, is a problem (and I define this as drinking to get drunk). I guess I'm stuck on the fact that he's still drinking to drunkenness at his age, and it seems fairly regularly (at least a few times a month). To me, it seems like something people in their teens and 20's do, and that once you get past your mid-20's, you should be "over it." I'm saying all this because I have a friend -- a woman -- who I suspect has this problem. She just cancelled plans on me for last night because, on Friday night, she partied too hard. She's 45. UGH. Every time I've been to her house for a party, she's gotten really drunk. Every time I've been to dinner or drinks with her, she's drank several glasses of wine (to my one) or several mixed drinks. She can't just have one -- ever. I think you should keep an eye on this situation. Ultimately, you'll have to decide whether or not this is a dealbreaker. For me, cancelling plans due to being "sick" after going on a drinking bender, along with other things he's done while drinking, would be. Plus, and I hate to hammer away at this, but...he has a DUI. I understand that he says he doesn't drive after drinking anymore, but...people his age who get DUI's often have a problem with alcohol -- it's not some stupid teenager mistake. Most people I know who have had a DUI (and it's not many) got them in their teens (before it was even legal for them to drink) or in college in their early 20's, back when they were young and dumb and didn't know better. Nearly everyone I know who's gotten a DUI at an older age was an alcoholic or had some issue with drinking.

 

Anyway, you have a right to be mad. I hope he doesn't cancel on you tonight, too. He owes you, big time. Just keep in mind what's important to you and what your boundaries and dealbreakers are, and don't ignore nagging doubts and intuition that tells you what you need to know.

 

And your friends....sheesh! I would be so irritated. I leave my house early on purpose if I know I'm going somewhere that the parking is iffy. And, I'm willing to pay for parking. I would never leave someone sitting for 45 minutes to an hour unless it was an emergency! Glad you had fun, though!

[itsallgrand]

What's the event, Annie?

 

I hope you go and have a nice time tonight regardless of what goes down between you and Logan, and regardless of whether he shows or not.

 

That really sucks to have two incidents of inconsideration in one night. And yeah, I think your friends were being inconsiderate with the being ridiculously late thing. And Logan was inconsiderate to get hammered and then cancel because he was hung over.

[annie24]

Logan came over, and brought flowers to apologize (red tulips). He apologized a lot, I apologized too for being harsh. He has a weak stomach, so it could have been the combination of beer/liquor, topped off by too much coffee this week (because he is working early) and then spicy foods. He was really remorseful so I said ok. we went out had a nice time. I'll send you a PM itsallgrand about where we went. I don't think this will happen again, at least not for a while....

 

Now to deal with the friends.... i mean, it's rude to the restaurant too to be so late, they want to get people in and out. I know some places that won't even seat you until your entire party is there!

[Batya33]

I also cannot stand when people are late like that and when it's avoidable.

[Ellie2006]

Annie, you're so nice! I'd be livid if someone (even if it were a good friend) was 45minutes late!!!

 

 

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[annie24]

Well, if Susan asks me out to eat again, I'll tell her that I am instating a 20 minute rule.

[browneyedgirl36]

Well, if Susan asks me out to eat again, I'll tell her that I am instating a 20 minute rule.

 

Yep -- tell her you're waiting 20 minutes, and then you're going home if she hasn't arrived by then. I would be especially mad if I had to rely on public transport and my friends were always late.

[Batya33]

Yep -- tell her you're waiting 20 minutes, and then you're going home if she hasn't arrived by then. I would be especially mad if I had to rely on public transport and my friends were always late.

 

20 minutes is generous and I think this is the best approach (or whatever time limit you're comfortable with Annie - before resentment creeps in).

 

I had a friend who was 40 minutes late this past summer when I had a total of 1.5 hours to spend with her, which she knew (family responsibilities). She called me a number of times to delay when we were meeting (and tried to change where we were meeting so I'd have to travel further to meet her) but after the first call ("I might be 10 minutes late") I already had left to meet her. She apologized but the time we met it was 100% understood that she needed to be on time -and she was still 15 minutes late this time with no real apology -I had just left her a voicemail telling her I'd be out of there in 5 minutes if she didn't get there. I share this because I feel your pain and because in hindsight I almost wish I would have left that day since she really didn't think 15 minutes late was a big deal despite what had happened only 2 weeks earlier.

[annie24]

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I'm looking forward to trying these out soon - 7 slow cookers recipes, 2 hours to prepare. I'm thinking about getting a new slow cooker though - mine only has 1 setting, and it's too hot. I sometimes work 10 hours (like today) and would rather have a really low setting. My current slow cooker is just too hot.

[Fudgie]

Some are too hot for some reason. I like mine, it's only a couple quarts, perfect size for me. I like to make soups in it and I like how the stoneware comes out so I can just pop it in the dishwasher when I'm done.

 

I think simple crockpots are the best. I don't really trust the ones with fancy displays. All you really need are 3 settings: off, low, and high...."keep warm" is a nice settling to have but it's not absolutely necessary.

 

I would look at reviews and make sure that the crockpot does not run too hot.

[annie24]

yup - looking at the reviews right now!! anyone have one they particularly like?

[annie24]

my old one works fine on weekends, when it's easy for me to turn it off after 6 hours. I've also tried running it while i sleep, but the smell wakes me up in the morning, and i find it unpleasant to sleep through.

[Fudgie]

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This is mine. 2 quarts is perfect for me. I think if you're just cooking for yourself (and Logan too) you don't need a huge one. I have not found it to be too hot. I have cooked pot roasts, stews, soups, and even pulled pork in it. The pulled pork, I'll cook for 10-12 hours! Stoneware fits well and washes well in the dishwasher. I'm really happy with it.

[annie24]

I have a really small one right now, and would kind of like a bigger one, so I can make a few more freezer meals. But then again, it's much nicer having fresh food rather than freezer food. Maybe I should just start it when I come home from work, turn it off around midnight, and then I have lunch for the next day, albeit, not hot.

 

Going out to dinner tonight with Logan. Also walked to work today (40 minutes) because I missed the bus and didn't feel like waiting for the next. So at least I got some exercise in today!

[Firiel]

I have a really small one right now, and would kind of like a bigger one, so I can make a few more freezer meals. But then again, it's much nicer having fresh food rather than freezer food. Maybe I should just start it when I come home from work, turn it off around midnight, and then I have lunch for the next day, albeit, not hot.

 

Going out to dinner tonight with Logan. Also walked to work today (40 minutes) because I missed the bus and didn't feel like waiting for the next. So at least I got some exercise in today!

 

My parents used to have a timer for an outlet so that the outlet would send electricity to the lamp that was plugged into it at night and turn it off in the morning. Could you see if you can find a similar outlet-timer? That way you can set the timer so that the outlet (and therefore crock pot) starts cooking about six hours before you get home. Your food would be sitting out for a couple of hours, but if it's something like meat that spoils, you could maybe just make sure it's not quite thawed yet?

 

I also would totally leave meat out for a few hours and still eat it, but I'm gross and I know you aren't.

[annie24]

My parents used to have a timer for an outlet so that the outlet would send electricity to the lamp that was plugged into it at night and turn it off in the morning. Could you see if you can find a similar outlet-timer? That way you can set the timer so that the outlet (and therefore crock pot) starts cooking about six hours before you get home. Your food would be sitting out for a couple of hours, but if it's something like meat that spoils, you could maybe just make sure it's not quite thawed yet?

 

I also would totally leave meat out for a few hours and still eat it, but I'm gross and I know you aren't.

 

Oh, that's a good idea!! I wouldn't really worry about the meat being out for 2-3 hours because the cooker is so hot and it's covered to, so it will probably be a nice temperature by the time I come home. And sometimes I'm done in 8 hours so that would be perfect.

[annie24]

So this morning, I woke up at 6:30 AM to see a visitor ate all the peanut butter and nutella off 2 traps without setting them off, and set off a 3rd trap without getting caught. Sigh. I rebaited with fresh nutella, went back to bed. 10 minutes later, I heard a 'SNAP.' I came out, saw the trap on the oven got set off, there there was a mouse with its legs twitching. It took about 20 seconds to finish twiching until it died. Fun times!!

 

I'm going out of town this afternoon for a long weekend to see my cousin, yay!!

 

Logan and I went last night to the restaurant where we had our second date - they are closing down soon and relocating next year, so we thought we should go before then. I had a cheeseburger. I was commenting to Logan a few weeks ago that you can go to a restaurant and have one of their fancy burgers, but damnit, I love a good whopper and BigMac. Logan pointed out that they add all sorts of additives to it to make it addictive, it's not like going to a fine restaurant and getting all fresh and natural ingredients. The fast food joints put in fillers and things that aren't necessarily good for you to make it taste good. Yikes, good point!

[annie24]

Omg my niece has a bad case of the terrible twos! My head hurts from her screaming all day.

[OptomisticGirl]

Tyler is 4 and still in that phase!

[Applewhite]

Have you ever used a pressure cooker?

[annie24]

No, I haven't. I should read more about pressure cookers!

 

So, I came back last night from my weekend trip. My flight was delayed and I was going to miss my train connection home and would have to spend the night in a hotel. While I was on the phone to rebook, the gate agent overheard me and offered to book me on a direct flight to my home city. yay!! that was really nice. the plane was half empty so there was a lot of room to stretch out and be comfortable.

 

I came home to 3 mouse traps licked clean of peanut butter, and a 4th with a dead mouse. Who knows how long it had been there, but it smelled. And then I went to my bedroom and I think I saw a mouse poop on my bed. eww. i am so grossed out now. this is not ok. I wrote to my landlord to tell him about the mice, but I haven't heard anything back. ew. starting to wonder if i should move...

[Applewhite]

Pressure cookers are pretty awesome. They don't require the pre-planning that slow cookers do in my opinion. They cook healthy meals *really* fast. There are a lot of very healthy/cheap middle eastern meals that could be prepared with a pressure cooker (and a small rice cooker would be a nice pair to it).

 

Admittedly there is a learning curve to it at first - because it's very easy to overcook things! Most vegetable dishes cook in single digit minutes! Legumes take a bit longer.

 

One of my favorites in a pressure cooker is chickpeas with onions, garlic, (maybe some little bit of meat and/or broth), tomato paste. It can be eaten alone or over rice.

[annie24]

I have a rice cooker and I love it. Perfect rice every time!!

 

Is there a brand of pressure cooker you like?

[annie24]

I'm also sick at home today. My niece coughed right in my face a few times, and now i feel terrible. slept like crap. It didn't help the fact that I was freaked out by mice in my bed all night.

 

I wish i weren't allergic to cats. I would get a little hunter for myself.

[Applewhite]

I've no idea what brand mine is - but I'm pretty sure they are all similar. The cooking time won't vary by too much between brand I think but more by size/material. But I doubt it's make a huge difference anyway. Mine is an old fashioned stove top one, and looks kind of like this:

 

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It seems to have good reviews on amazon. It seems like there aren't many pressure cookers with bad reviews! You do have to be mindful of it when you are cooking - because if left unattended or used incorrectly it could be dangerous but cook time is relatively short so it shouldn't be a problem.

 

 

Here's an awesome red lentil soup recipe - it's very filling and has a lot of protein. You can use no fat and the soup will still taste good. It's also super easy to make with easy ingredients. You do need to have a hand held blender though.

 

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