Spittin' Image

I have a long list of things that have to get done today. Not need to. Have to. That I'm sitting here blogging instead of getting them done really says something: I have an anecdote I just have to share with you.

See, I'm my mother's daughter. My mom is amazing. She really is. She's beautiful, smart, energetic, and funny. One of her unsung talents is that she's especially awesome when it comes to cleaning. Not a speck of dust anywhere. I know, I know, that's not something you appreciate going up. I remember thinking, "If I have to wash those baseboards one more time I'm gonna rip them out with my bare hands." I'm sure you can relate. But my mom would be in the kitchen on her hands and knees "mopping" the floor with a rag, a bottle of Clorox, and a toothbrush for hours. "It's the only way to really get it clean", she'd say.

My mom is also infamous (as in more than famous...ha ha ha! Name that movie!) for her Eagle Eye. Ask anyone in my family, and they'd agree. I don't know if it came from having three girls, and now four grandsons, but that woman has an uncanny knack for spotting things. Like when I was 6 and my sister was 8 and we accidentally somehow broke a tiny vase on the mantel with a bouncy ball. As soon as my mom walked in from work she zoomed in on it. But this is where it really kicks in: I get into cooking. 15 minutes after I clean up, my mom walks into the kitchen. "Gasp!" she said, "Is that a water droplet on my counter? Don't you know they can cause stains??" Or, while clothes shopping (which is a vice in and of itself, but we'll save that therapy for another post), "Sorry, baby, but we can't buy this. Can't you see that tiny nick of the thread? It'll unravel. Nope, that just won't do. And see how that button's about to come off? Yup, mark my words, in three washes that button will be gone."

So on to today. I'm going about my list, getting things checked off (because the Lord knows how much I love to check things off lists) and while vacuuming the kitchen, lo and behold, I spot a tiny something on the floor of the kitchen. Is that from last night's dinner? Or maybe last week's? Or, gulp, from the lady who lived here before?? (Ewwwwwww.)

Now, that just won't do!! So what's a girl to do? What any other would do - grab a Clorox wipe and wipe that sucker clean. Oh, but there's another little something on the floor right there. And what's that over there?

So after a little while I'm off to check off my list when I realize: I've been cleaning up random spots on the floor for an hour and a half. I basically mopped the kitchen (and hallway and bathroom) on my hands and knees with Clorox wipes. Yup, I'm definitely my mother's daughter.




(Editor's note: Granted, this is the first time this has happened in my life and I purposely rented a house without baseboards, but I'm sure Brent (or my mom) wouldn't mind in the least if I somehow ended up cleaning more. Yeah...good luck with that.)

Chicken Soup

You know how when you're sick you want two basic things:
1. A big bowl of warm chicken soup
and
2. Your mom.

Everyone knows if you're sick that you'll want #1, but not everyone admits #2. I, on the other hand, fully admit that when I'm sick, I just want someone to hold me and let me whine to them that I want to feel better.

Instead, I got this:

Brent: Oh no - I canNOT get sick right now!!!!!

A blow-up mattress in the middle of the living room.

And a week later, this:The spare bedroom. Apparently the living room wasn't far enough away.



Glad to know I'm rubbing off on my husband.

A Few Things About Motorcycle Riding, Part II

An upside to driving into massive amounts of really gross gnats: forcing you to wash your motorcycle thoroughly right away, even though it's been on your to-do list for a while.

Sorry, but I have to brag a little...we replaced the air filter (and therefore had to rejet the carb) and gave her a good bath. Isn't she beautiful?

A Few Things About Motorcycle Riding

There's just something about riding a motorcycle. What can I say to describe it? As a passenger, it's relaxing. As a driver, it's both relaxing (usually when there's not any cars around) and invigorating. There's just something about watching the stars and moon chase the colors of the sunset over the treetops. You feel closer to space and the earth at the same time. Not so much that you can reach out and touch it (probably because you're going 65 mph), but more like they're friends you haven't seen in a long time or a favorite song or movie. I can definitely see how some people relate it to the spiritual realm. Personally, I usually pray a lot when I'm riding it (now, whether it's for the sanity of the driver of the car next to or beside me or if it's just talking to God depends on the situation!). It just seems natural somehow. And oh-so-lovely.

Until....

Until this:
Let me see if I can shed some light on that for you:
Still not seeing it? How about a close-up?
Yup, that's right. It's awesome alright - right up to the point you drive through a huge (and I mean HUGE) swarm of gnats at 60 mph. Nasty!!!!! And there's no getting them off your face shield. They just smear their little guts - even after their death they're annoying! Needless to say, it was a longer trip home than out. And an immediate load of laundry was started just minutes after walking through the door. Call me crazy, but I just love the sound of the washing machine. It's soothing somehow...

My Valentine, Part II

To read from the beginning, see post "My Valentine, Part 1" below.

You'd think Greenville, SC would be kinda warm. It wasn't. It was cold. Really cold. Freezing, in fact.
Yes, that's ice on the fountain. Ice, people! But we didn't let that get us down. We just wore 4 layers. And our excitement for the show kept us warm, too. A little.
The showtime finally neared, and we were all smiles...and to keep with the weekend's theme, Brent wore green. :) (You can't see it very well in this picture, but Brent has on the most awesome hat, too!!)
Brent got us front row balcony seats!
...
Afterward we went to dinner at a very nice restaurant - Soby's.
Me: What do you want for dessert?
Brent: I don't really want dessert.
Me: Really? Wow ...didn't see that coming. Well, okay, then.
...
Back at Pettigru Place B & B...
Brent, while unlocking the door: Man, I'm tired.
Me: Yeah...wait. I'm sure I turned out all the lights when we left. It's part of my OCD. Why is the light on in the sitting room?
Brent: It's chocolate covered strawberries and mint oreo cheesecake with a cookie crust. I know how much you love mint and chocolate. Happy Anniversary, honey...

Editor's note: Men, point #3: Make sure your woman knows she's loved, and loved well...even after 7 years of marriage.

A Cake to Remember

The reason we were home last weekend was for a surprise party for my brother-in-law, Todd. My sister, knowing I'd taken a cake decorating class, asked me to make the cake for his party. Even though I told her I'd do it for free (hello - she's my sister!) and would have settled for a "payment" of being able to put her down as a future reference if the need comes about, she insisted on paying me. She's just generous like that. So, this was my first real gig at trying my hand as a freelance baker. Needless to say, I was more than a little nervous.

I baked the cakes and made the buttercream icings here, drove home, and made the fillings and assembled the layers and tiers the night before the party (thanks for the help, mom, dad, and Ju!!). The bottom tier was a 12 inch chocolate cake, filled with cookies and cream filling, and iced in chocolate buttercream. The middle tier was a 9 inch white cake, filled with raspberry buttercream and a layer of raspberry jam, iced in vanilla buttercream. The top tier was a 6 inch chocolate chip pound cake with chocolate mousse filling, iced in chocolate buttercream. I wish I would've taken a picture of the tiers when they were cut into, but I forgot.

The morning of the party, I was decorating...
See that look of pure concentration?
Of course, there's always time for a photo op!
Still hard at work:
Don't you just love commercial kitchens? I do. That's weird, huh? But I always find they're much more roomier and have lots more counter, refrigerator, and freezer space than the kitchen at my apartment. Wonder why that is...

And finally, the finished product (click on the picture to see it bigger):
As the baker, I can always see the little imperfections in every cake I make. It drives the perfectionist part of me crazy, but the other part of me says it needs a few imperfections!

So, this is my first "hired" cake! I learned a few things during this adventure, and am pretty pleased with the result. :) Thanks so much, Aim, for the opportunity!!! And happy 40th birthday, Todd!!

Love for all God's creatures

...except the spider. And roaches. But today I'm talking about spiders. Now, for those of you who've never been to my office desk, it's in the middle of the building. Smack dab in the middle. There's no door, window, or crack to the outside world within a 15 foot radius. Really. So how in the heck do spiders find their way onto my desk?? And more notably, onto my keyboard???? In the 2 years we've been at this office, I've had no fewer than six, yes six!, spiders who have wanted to join the working world of Lori Gail. Really spiders, get a new life...and not mine.

Now, maybe it's a part of my uncontrollable OCD, but seriously, I really don't like spiders. Maybe it's the way they move...some move so quickly for their size that it's a bit unnatural, or maybe when they slowly move one leg at a time it's even more creepy, like they're slowly moving just to show off how weird it is to move their creepy little legs. It gives me shivers down my spine! So today was another gift of the presence of the spider.

Setting: My desk.
Time: 5 minutes ago.

Something catches the eye of Lori Gail as she innocently works at her computer.

Lori Gail, to herself: "What was that? I thought I saw something little that was moving along the corner of my desk and disappeared around the front side. It kinda looked like...a spider!!!!"

Henceforth distracted from her work, she gets up to take a closer look at the possible intruder. ["Scary Music" begins to play.] Lori Gail moves to the front of her desk and intensely looks for spider, carefully looking over every inch, and finds... ["Scary Music" crescendo]...nothing. Lori Gail returns to her computer and continues to work. Then suddenly:

Lori Gail, out loud: "Aaaagggggghhhhhhh!!" while rolling across her workspace her in rolly chair.

Five guys in the office across the hall, tentatively: "Ummm...are you okay?"

Lori Gail, nodding head slowly: "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. Ummm...there's a spider on my keyboard. Have I mentioned how much I can't stand spiders?"

Jonathan approaches Lori Gail's desk with his fingers cocked back in a flick position.

Lori Gail, hysterically: "DON'T FLICK IT AT ME!!!!!!!"

Jonathan, caught off guard: "Ummm, I wasn't." Jonathan then flicks the spider onto the side of the keyboard, thus killing it between his finger and the keyboard.

Lori Gail, relieved at last, but also feels awkward about her previous outburst: "Oh. Ummm, thanks Jonathan. Ummm...do you want a Clorox wipe to wipe that off your finger?"

Rosemary Thyme Chicken

The kitchen is my favorite room. It's where I spend the most of my time, making the food that fuels our bodies (or scrubbing it down). It's also where I de-stress, relax, and am able to clear my mind of the worries of the day. But when time is short and schedules are demanding, there are times when a non-fussy, healthy dinner is needed. So this is what I came up with. Brent loved it! It's really filling, too. We're usually all about 2nds but neither Brent nor I could go back for more. Or maybe it was just that our 1st plates were pretty full already.

Prep time: it took me 45 minutes, but I was also doing other things. If you are in a hurry and only doing this, you could probably cut it down to 30 minutes. All it is is cutting up veggies and seasoning everything.

Cook time: 1 hour

Cost: I purchased a whole, cut up, bone-in, skin-on chicken from Kroger for 1.49/lb. It was a 5 pound chicken, so it only cost $7.50. We had some of the veggies at home already, so including if I bought those with everything else I'm guessing all in all we probably spent $30 on this meal. And it could feed an army. Or my family of 2 for at least 3 days.

Servings: Brent loves, loves, loves leftovers, so I usually make huge quantities at one time and then we eat leftovers for a few days. Like with this recipe, we have a large (did I say large? I meant to say gigantic) container filled to the brim with leftovers. So for this, I'll tell you how much I put in there, but you can play with it all you'd like (i.e. different veggies and different amounts - pretty much whatever you have on hand).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up veggies in a casserole dish, keeping the pieces pretty big. (I used three whole carrots (we like carrots pretty good), 1.5 onions (I probably would have put more, but that's all we had), a whole 8 oz container of uncut mushrooms, 3 pounds of red potatoes, fresh green beans, and a red bell pepper.) Drizzle with EVOO, then season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Toss around so the veggies are coated in the oil and seasonings. Rub oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme all over chicken (make sure to get the back and sides). (I went a little crazy and added a little Parmesan cheese and garlic powder to the chicken, too.) Place chicken skin side up on top of veggies. Put in oven for 1 hour. That's it - you're done! And before you know it, it's dinner time!

I love bread, so I finished the meal off with a fresh baked rosemary bread I picked up from Kroger. So good!

Why I Love Where I Work, Part 3

For some odd reason, my boss wanted to leave this on my desk for me:
Yeah, I wonder why, too. But please, don't touch it.

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

Wow...I hope the title to this post doesn't get that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day. I think I'm already lost to the cause...

Anyway, Labor Day was yesterday. Did I use the day off from work to clean up the apartment? Finish folding the 5 loads of laundry that had piled up? Unload the dishwasher? Reload the dishwasher? Sanitize the counter tops with Clorox wipes? Clean the bathroom? Make our whole apartment smell like bleach from cleaning every available surface? No, I did none of those things. Instead, Brent and I went with a couple from church to Hanging Rock, a state park in the mountains about two hours drive away. I love being outdoors, and hiking up in the mountains is right up my alley. Little did I know I'd find a new passion in life!! Bouldering!!!! I've always been a bit of a daredevil (hello motorcycle!), and although some might say it errs on being a little off my rocker, I love it nonetheless! (Which reminds me...I still want to go skydiving...) I see it more as conquering my fears. And also as super fun. My goals from yesterday were to 1) have a lot of fun (check!), 2) do something challenging (double check!), and 3) not leave until I get at least 3 souvenirs...of which I mean - scrapes or bruises (check!!). Yes, that was seriously a goal, and yes, I fulfilled it! (I guess it helps I bruise easily.) What an awesome, fun, exciting day!! :) This seriously competes with the top 5 of my "Best Days Off...EVER" list. Here are a few pics:

First, we hiked to a waterfall:

Brent had to hike up the waterfall, and of course I couldn't be outdone:Then came the bouldering:
Yeah, it was pretty much straight up:
Or straight down, depending on if you went up first or last:
Here's our friend Amy showing us how to get it done:
And finally, the top! I loved the climb up, although some took the path around instead... :) Awesome, gorgeous view!



Also, on a completely different subject, I might be the last person in the world to find/use it, but RedBox has become one of my favorite new things! I love, love, LOVE movies, and the fact that it's $1.07 to rent it for one night, and that there are two RedBoxes right across the street from our apartment, is pretty awesome. Who said living right by a busy intersection is a bad thing? Especially when you have not 1 but 2 RedBoxes side-by-side in the Harris Teeter. Love it!

Today's Theme Song

How it's not even 9:30am and I know my theme song for today will be Bad Day by Fuel:
-I didn't sleep well last night (Brent came to bed at like, 5:30am. Welcome home, new laptop).
-My alarm didn't go off.
-Woke up thinking today was Friday...when it's really only Thursday.
-I burnt my bacon while trying to load the dishwasher.
-Forgot to put dish washing detergent in the dishwasher.
-Realized and corrected above mistake.
-Tripped over no fewer than 4 things in our messy, messy apartment.
-Putting chicken salad over greens and hit the side of the container with my elbow. Chicken salad went everywhere.
-Cleaned up above mistake. It's amazing how hard shredded chicken can be to get up.
-Thought about giving in to my OCD and throwing it all out but brought what had stayed in the container for lunch. I know you're proud.
-Dropped my peach on the way out the door. Now it has a huge bruise on one side.
-Didn't ride the motorcycle today because I was running late (it's more menacing (and safer) when you tail someone in a (small) car) and because weather.com said there was a 40% chance of rain.
-Mad because on the way to work it went from cloudy and dark to absolutely beautiful outside. 40%??
-Almost got hit 3 different times on the way to work. Crazy drivers.
-Almost hit 1 person. (Guess I'd better watch how close I tail...)
-Got stopped at 17 of the 20 red lights.
-The humidity in the air is making my hair look worse than Hermione's:
-In an attempt to match the cheerfulness of my co-workers this morning, I said "Good Morning" to 5 different people. 4 of them did not respond.
-By the time I got back to the kitchen at work, all the coffee was gone.
-Turned and hit my hand on my desk corner. Dropped the White Out that was in my hand. Thankfully it wasn't opened yet. I'm sure the red whelp will go away...in about a year.
-While putting on my makeup, I forgot to put on blush.
-Someone's already commented I look "sorta pale".
-My right foot and leg below the knee are asleep, so of course it feels like needles are poking me all over.

So, good morning and I hope you have a great day!

P.S. Brent - looks like 100% of the comments on my last post agree with me. So there...told you so! (Thanks for commenting, Erin!!)

Recent Realizations

Here are a few recent (like within the past year) realizations about myself I've, well, only recently realized:

1. I'm obsessed with food I ate as a kid and wonder why I ever stopped eating it. Speaking of...do I have any Goldfish, Cherrios, or graham crackers in the pantry?? (rummaging around) Jackpot! Of course, I guess that's what you get when you buy your own groceries.

2. I am addicted to Popsicles. Really. Especially the tropical flavored ones. I can eat 5 of them one right after the other. Good thing they're sugar free and only 15 calories each.

3. I'm completely predictable. I'm the person that always orders the same thing off the restaurant menu, drinks water with every meal, has 17 blue-striped shirts, wears Crocs every day, and has 6 navy baseball caps.

4. I'm a non-drama person. I'd prefer to not even know much less be involved in the drama. Of course, when I am involved, it's 100%.

5. I've always liked to read, but lately it's getting a bit obsessive. I'd sometimes rather spend time with fictional characters than real people. Hummm...I wonder if that's why my friend Sarah and I get along so well... :)

6. I'm doing a lot better with my germ phobia. As long as I don't have to touch anything. Or look at anything. Or be in the presence of really germy things...like doorknobs.

7. I really do wear my expression on my face. Sometimes this can be good, but 95% of the time it's bad.

8. I don't think I talk a lot. Of course, maybe I should get my husband's opinion on this...

9. It seems as though the 98% of the time people don't listen to what I'm saying, I'm right. For the 2% that they do listen to me, I'm always wrong. Figures.

10. I think through every possible outcome of a decision before making it. This proves to be frustrating to some (love you, Brent!) when I'm trying to decide where to eat for dinner.

11. I'm stubborn. Really stubborn. So once my decision has been made, I stick to it. Good luck trying to change my mind. My mom always told me this growing up, and I'm finally starting to believe her. Maybe.

12. I have a super dry sense of humor. This is completely lost on some people.

That's a lot of realizations for one year, I know. Guess I'm just that self-transparent.

Good vs Bad

For someone as picky as me, I have recently (like within the past 6 months or so) found that I like trail mix. No, not like, love. Who knew the secret was to eat the M&Ms, raisins, peanuts, and almonds at the same time?? Last weekend Brent had a quick stop into Wal-Mart and brought home what is quickly becoming one of my favorite trail mixes. It's called Tropical Sensations and has huge chunks of dried pineapple and papaya, banana chips, dried cranberries, raisins, almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts. YUM! Of course, I just did a Google search and found that this is probably one of the worst trail mixes out there (preservatives, lots of extra sugar, and additives), but hey, it's good, fills me up, and has fruit and good fats from the nuts in it...so it can't be too too bad, right?

Bathroom humor

Okay, so if you know me AT ALL, you know I have a small touch of OCD. Okay fine, I'm an OCD superstar. Seriously, when I started working at the Summit, I replaced their 3-year-standing OCD employee by passing to eat a birthday cake that someone had blown on (Of course they blew on it! Can you say birthday candles?) and with simple, everyday phrases like, "Well, it's been 5 minutes. Time to wash my hands." But, I digress.

Two facts you'll need to find my story funny:
1. Brent and I have been working out together.
2. I cannot STAND public restrooms.

The car ride from GA to NC is pretty lenghy...6.5 hours lenghy, usually. I try to go to the bathroom right before we leave so I don't have to go while we're on the road. Well, I must've drank 15 gallons of water or something because I really had to go. (Funny, I don't remember drinking that much water...) So, thankfully we find a restaurant for me to go to the bathroom (I just don't go anywhere, you know), and as is the female custom of using public bathrooms, I don't touch ANYTHING with my bare hands (thank you, paper towels!), assume the squatty stance, do my thang, wash my hands throughly, use the paper towel to open the door, and leave. By the time I get back to the truck, it's been a little over 10 minutes. Now, here's where the exercising fact comes in. Brent and I did an hour of leg exercises (jumping, squats, lunges, plyos, etc) the day before. Needless to say, my legs were jelly. So, by the time I get back in the truck, I'm laughing at how hard it was to go to the bathroom! Of course Brent sees me laughing and asks what's up. When I tell him, his accusatory response was, "Ah ha! So that's how you can do wall squats so well!"