Emily Bloss

I bet this is a wonderful way to wake up:

Bacon Alarm Clock

Mmmmm… baaaacon. :p~

It’s been a wonderful birthday! I didn’t have to work, I got lots of calls (it was great to talk with everybody) and we prepared an especially delicious dish for my birthday dinner… Islander Duck. It’s a coconut milk-based Thai red curry, with lychee fruit, pineapple, bell pepper, snow peas, fresh shittake mushrooms and roasted duck. It was really yummy. An excellent day all around. Thanks, everybody!!

Another thing I did for my birthday is complete my 101 Things in 1001 Days list. Woo hooo!!!

During our daily walks in the park, we sometimes pick up trash, to help keep the park nice and clean for the critters that live there. Today we happened upon a bunch of stuff strewn around, including a little note that says “Gator’s Nest #2 Letterbox. Please do not destroy. Enjoy the contents, and replace where found, hidden from view.” It also has a phone number to call in case of damaged or missing contents (which I did call to report).

Apparently it’s part of a really neat hobby called letterboxing, where people hide things in various places and then give clues on how to find the hidden treasure. When you find a box, you record it in your journal, stamp the log book with your info and maybe add a note (kind of like a visitor registry), and then you put the box back for the next person to discover. Here are the items for our area. Sounds like a fun pastime and a great way to explore the area. I’m thinking this is something Aunt Susie would love to do, and she’ll be back very soon. Woo hoo!!

Tonight, Trav went out with some friends because their wives are vacationing out of town, so we’re on our own for supper. After a day of shopping at the flea market and Sam’s Club, I didn’t feel like cooking so here’s what I had for supper:

Trav made a delicious angel food cake for my birthday (thank you, dear!! :)) and he bought me a lucky bamboo at the flea market today. It’s got two adorable little froggies hanging on to the rim of the container. When it grows a little and looks better, I’ll post a picture of it.

So it’s shaping up to be a really good birthday. Tomorrow we’re going to another flea market to look for a couple of shirts (tie-die American flag and a dashiki or peasant blouse) and/or a tiny tripod. I’m planning on taking the day off (woo hoo!) to do only what I feel like doing… though I’m not exactly sure what that is yet. I guess I’ll find out on Tuesday!

My mom found a Cuban restaurant in Tampa that’s supposed to be really good. Luckily, it’s right near the airport so we’ll be able to try it for lunch on our way to get Gramma, Aunt Susie & Taffy. Woo hoo! It’s named La Teresita. I’ll report back after we have a meal there… I’m hoping they have a good Cuban sandwich!

While we were talking about this place, I found this page which has a recipe for a Cuban Sandwich that looks pretty good. Our sandwich press is a hot pan and a homemade produce container brick wrapped in aluminum foil.

Oh and just out of curiosity, I tried out Google’s new “walking directions” feature… it takes about 12 hours to walk to La Teresita from our house! That would have to be some really good food.

It’s been a while since I posted regularly. I see now I tend to go in spurts of posting, I think because I get behind with work, then catch up and then get behind again because I got caught up! I’m pretty behind right now, though… trying to get caught up by the end of the week (which I should be able to do).

Lately I’ve been doing a TON Of WordPress blogs, and hopefully soon I’ll be adding what I’ve learned to WebSiteCleanup. Hey, another item for my 101 things in 1001 days list! Bleys says the list should have “finish this list” on there. Then you get to cross something off right away… or is that cheating? I’m not sure. What do you think?

Here’s a fun little game, good to fill up a few minutes… the goal is to clear groups of the same color until none are left.

Suburban Cat Herder

Thanks for sharing, Trav! |*

I finally got the opportunity to try raw milk - I had been wanting to for quite some time, since I never had it and it’s supposed to be really good for you. Sadie was kind enough to share her milk with us (it’s sold here for “pet consumption” only).

I liked it, but not enough to pay $5 for half a gallon. Though now that I wrote that, and considering it’s about the only way I would like to consume milk, I might buy it again to make our Chicken Wing Soup or something. Sure, there’s a little bit of risk of germs in the milk, but I would trade that risk any day for the dead, hormone-filled yuk that passes for milk in the grocery store. And all kinds of foods carry a risk and I still eat them - though I need to throw out the jalapenos I bought a while back ‘cuz they might have salmonella. Good thing I didn’t use them!?!!

Anyone else out there a fan of real milk?