MCOQueen's Ramblings

I went to sleep last night around 2am and got up around 8am in order to get to my 9:10am dental appointment on time.  It seems that my teeth and gums get more sensitive each time.  It's currently 6pm and my gums and teeth are still aching.  No cavities for me!  Yay!  It's been almost 2 years since I've had to do a filling!  Immediately after my appointment, I went to my mom's apartment.  She made me some nice breakfast and then we went to the bank to make a deposit and afterwards we went to the gym at her work place so she could loosen up her knees on the bike.  After that, we went to Michaels and mom got her a few things to help fix some of her necklaces.  I dropped mom back at her place and then went straight to my brother Thomas's apartment. 

I hadn't seen his kitties in forever.  They are huge and are probably going to get even bigger.  Thomas and I went and saw "Eragon" in the movie theater.  I was a bit disappointed.  The movie wasn't bad or anything like that, it just crammed so much into so short of a time.  The events in the movie went too fast.  There was almost no character build up.  When one of the important characters died, I didn't feel sad, instead, I felt bored.  It does have a lot of action but just no substance.  The book is so much better.  I wish they had taken the time to do this movie right and go in depth like "The Lord of the Rings" movies did.  Eragon was not even quite 2 hours long.  They left out quite a bit and changed a few things around.  Why do I bother to go see movies that are based off of books that I have read?  I get so disappointed.  I loved the LOTR's movies probably because I've never read the books.  I also loved the A&E miniseries of "Pride and Prejudice" with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.  Watching that mini-series was exactly like reading the book.  They left nothing out which is probably why I watch it over and over again.

After the movie, Thomas and I went to Biaggi's Italian restaurant.  Their food is awesome!  I had the Chicken Parmesan with pasta.  I didn't eat much of it.  I took the rest home.  I had an incredible dessert.  I had the Spimoni (ice cream sundae with cherry, pistachio, and chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream with fresh strawberries and chocolate and raspberry syrups).  It was purely sinful! 

I am currently at home and waiting for Adib to get home.  He and I are going to play Mario Kart for a while tonight.  I can't wait.  I've been practicing.  I'm getting a lot better with the driving.  Oh, I didn't work today because I had one vacation day left and had to use it before the end of the year and I just told C.D. to pick a day.  He picked today. 

I saw a Fox the other night when I was driving home.  I think that's the first time I've seen a fox that wasn't in the Zoo.  I found out yesterday that the head of our programming department lives in the exact same apartment building that I live in.  She's on the bottom floor, and I'm on the very top floor.  Weird, huh?  She's lived here for 8 years, while I moved here back in July. 

Well, time to kick butt in Mario Kart!  Later.

I got up early Saturday morning to go help my dad pack up mom's stuff at the hospital and take it to the car. Mom got released at noon and we took her home. As soon as she sat on her bed she started crying happy tears. She was just so happy to be home! She has to still have physical therapy and will be going to the P.T. center near Southpoint. Mom finally found a position on the bed in which she's comfortable and doesn't have any pain in her knees.

I can't wait until she's completely healed and can go walking for long walks and stuff. She's already planning to go to the Asheboro zoo and other places once her knees have healed. A whole new world of opportunity has opened up to her now.

I am currently at my parents' apartment. It's Sunday and we all usually gather here with food and watch football. I don't watch football, but I do join in the conversation here and there. I usually bring something to read. I baked my Healthy Baked Macaroni and Cheese to bring here (managed to burn my thumb again). I think it turned out better this time than the first. I hope everybody else likes it. Later.

I guess I forgot to mention that the resort we're staying in has free wireless internet. Apparently, they had been having a lot of problems with it so they just made it free right now. Ann has a laptop and that is what I've been using here. Yesterday was a lot of fun. We started the day by going out to lunch at a restaurant called the "Persian Room." Yes, lots and lots of Persian food! I had Fessanjan. It's a stew with chicken and crushed walnuts in a pomegranate sauce. It's so good! I called my mom when we were at the restaurant and I just read her all the items on the menu. Mom makes Fessanjan very rarely. We all liked the food and then decided to go driving around and see what's around the area.

Varqa got tired after a while because he had taken his Avonex shot earlier in the morning. We came back and dropped him off at the resort. Ann and I decided to go shopping. We went to downtown Scottsdale and parked in one of the public parking garages there. Parking is free! We walked up and down main street and saw some really neat shops. I managed to get a few gifts for friends and family. Ann had seen this special about the "See's Candies" chocolate specialty shop on the food channel. Wouldn't you know that there's one in downtown Scottsdale? We went in and immediately got offered free samples. Their chocolates are heavenly. I bought some to give as gifts as well. They have a mail order catalog and a webpage where you can order online.

We shopped for about 3 and a half to 4 hours and then managed to find this nice coffee shop called, "The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf". I got a nice strawberry banana ice blend and Ann got a coffee latte. The architecture around here has an adobe style. Parts look Spanish-influenced. I have yet to see an insect when going outside. A lot of the gift shops had some scorpions or tarantulas encased in these little globe looking things.

I really want to see a road runner (meep! meep!). I'm sure I'll see one on our way to Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Varqa saw one the last time he came to Phoenix. He said that they are smaller than you would think but really really fast. Today we're going to try and find a super wal-mart and get a few last minute things we all need. Tonight, we have to go to my aunt's dinner party. That's it for now. Later.

I made myself get up earlier this morning so I could go and do a deposit for my mom at the bank, and then go feed my brother's kitties. I stood in line forever at the bank. The kitties were at their usual spot when I opened the door of the apartment. They're usually standing on a small mirror table next to the door just staring at me. I fed them and stayed and watched a little bit of TV while they annoyed me half to death. On my way to my car, a big insect flew into my arm and bounced right off it. I hate it when that happens! Completely freaks me out!

I decided to make the "Healthy Baked Macaroni and Cheese" today. It wasn't as time consuming as I thought it would be. I am currently eating some. It came out really good. I think I'll take some to work so I can eat it tonight for my dinner. I think there's a playoff baseball game every night this week starting tonight. I can't wait for Saturday!

Last night, the very first two commercials I was going to dub in had out of phase audio (not in stereo, it sounds horrible). I had to correct the problem by using a XLR or Y-cable which would split the audio. I got really good at using the Y-cable last year because of VA Tech Sports Show. Almost every time I got that feed, it only had one channel of audio.

I have to get ready to go to work now. Later.

I had the strongest urge to cook today. I was torn between making either Pirleau (aka Chicken Bog) or Healthy Baked Macaroni and Cheese. I went and bought the ingredients for both. I chose to make the Pirleau (without sausage). It came out really well and I didn't burn the rice on the bottom of the pot! Go me! I like to cook on my days off. I just don't have much time on the days that I am working. I think I'll make the healthy mac and cheese tomorrow.

For my snack, I made a healthy strawberry smoothie that consisted of strawberries, ice, soy milk, soy espresso ice cream, and a little bit of Splenda. It came out great!

I've been chatting on AIM all afternoon with maryjane7547. I have to go pick up my dad at work today. I think I'll get around to doing some reading this evening. I have so much to read, but never enough time to read. Them's the breaks!