Tuesday, June 29, 2010

America's favorite pastime

I was musing all day on what to post about tonight, in between bouts of bashing my head against the keyboard at work.

I still hadn't figured it out when I got home, and being home didn't make it much easier. I had my plans mostly set. Knitting (another post for another day), DVDs, food that involved as little actual cooking as possible (grilled cheese and tomato soup. Yum). And that's when it hit me.

Laziness. Oh, how I love a good, lazy evening. Or weekend, or vacation, or whatever. Staying in your pajamas until three in the afternoon, eating junk you have laying around the house that you bought almost solely for situations like these. Watching one DVD after another and getting nothing of substance done. I love it.

Especially when things are still crazy busy, and I find I need it. It balances things out.

Laziness, I want to have your babies.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Sweet, chocolatey balm for the soul

Today's subject is another one that has sort of a sub-category, as there's one particular kind that I love above all others at the moment.

Are you all familiar with Blue Bell ice cream? I'm aware that it's sort of a regional thing, even if that region has expanded a whole lot in the last few years. Luckily, I was born and raised in Texas, where it's made and available in great, delicious abundance. I never suffered a shortage of the best vanilla ice cream there ever was until I left the state for college. Which made me sad. Seriously, I was just one state over, and I'd already managed to find it on vacation in Florida by then! How does New Mexico not have Blue Bell?

I've gotten off track.

This ice cream is crazy good stuff. If you can get some, go get some right now. If you can't, go book a plane ticket to Texas. Anywhere in Texas.

In all honesty, I fully believe that their Homemade Vanilla is the best vanilla ice cream on the planet. It's the only vanilla ice cream I actually willingly eat as is, because most vanilla is - brace yourself- boring. Bet you didn't see that opinion coming. But not this vanilla. It's so wonderful.

It's not my favorite flavor of theirs, though. My favorite flavor used to be Chocolate Covered Cherries. It was chocolate ice cream with a fudge swirl and these little chocolate covered cherry candy things, not that they contained actual cherries or anything. But it was delicious. And I haven't seen it in years. I think they discontinued it, which sort of breaks my heart.

But lo- there is a new flavor called Groom's Cake, which comes remarkably close to it. Close enough that it's my new favorite. It's chocolate ice cream with a strawberry swirl, brownie bits (which I guess are supposed to be cake, but they seem awfully brownie to me), and heart-shaped chocolate covered strawberry candy things.

It's like they're saying, sorry we took away the cherry things, Kat, since we know you like cherry better, but here- have some cake (brownie) bits to sweeten the deal.

Which works for me. It's so yummy. And since this week has actually stepped up its efforts to chew up my soul and spit it out into the depths of the Bog of Eternal Stench, I plan to go have some right now.

With that, I will just say, Blue Bell Groom's Cake, and indeed Blue Bell in general, I want to have your babies.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Deep fried, starchy nectar of the gods

Can I just say that today can bite me?

It kinda tried to eat my soul. I fought it off with a brownie, and then pasta-roni, and then ice cream, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs. I think I won.

When I interviewed for the job I have now, they made a point of asking how I deal with stress, because as I was assured, it is a stressful job. I've been there for three months now, and I can confidently say, boy, they weren't kidding. I think at the time, I said something about that I think I handle it well, having been the kind of person who's always busy and therefore good at time management and blah blah blah...

What I should have said is french fries. French fries are how I deal with stress.

I believe that french fries are one of this world's perfect foods, when made right. Not too overdone, all brown and crunchy. But not limp, either, all soggy and kinda mushy inside. They have to be hot and crisp, with just the right blend of salt and pepper, though I would never turn away a good seasoned fry.

I'll take a fry in just about any form. Wedges, shoestring, curly. I must admit that I seriously considered devoting an entire post solely to the waffle fry. It's the only thing at Chik-Fil-A that keeps me coming back. Their chicken is just chicken, and their lemonade could be just a tad sweeter for my taste, but oh, those waffle fries. They work their magic on me every time. I think it's something about there being all that extra surface area to hang on to enough salt and pepper. Something like that.

Plus, they go with so much, and can be eaten almost anywhere. I'm a fan of the in-car french fries. There have been patricularly wretched days when I have left the office, swung in the McDonald's drive through, and wolfed them all down by the time I get home. And by the time I'm down to just the ones that fell out and are lurking in the bottom of the bag, things seem better. French fries can help almost any bad day.

But whatever the shape or environment or choice of condiment, french fries, I want to have your babies.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Post, the first

The first thing you need to know is that I'm addicted to podcasts.

After two years of working unfathomingly boring, tedious desk jobs, pushing around ones and zeroes, how could I not? They are the only things saving what little sanity I have left. And there's not much. This, you will come to know.

Recently, my former favorite podcast came to an abrupt and slightly overdramatic end. It was called Lime and Violet. Don't bother looking for it, because part of the drama was that they pulled all their episodes. But trust me, they were great.

But I have wasted no time mourning! Lime and Violet has been replaced. By a little show called How Much Do We Love.

How much, indeed.

I'm crazy about this podcast. I wish I'd thought of it first. But you know how they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? I don't, because I'm a writer, and I have to make at least a token effort towards outsmarting cliches. But some people say that. Certainly not me, or any of the people I hang out with.

But it wouldn't go amiss to say that podcast pretty much directly and singlehandedly inspired this blog.

How Much Do We Love- I want to have your babies.