STH's Profile

jenpdx, my problem with it is all the pressure that people seem to put on themselves and others to "do Valentine's Day right" and "make it special." A lot of people seem to view it almost as a test of their significant others. Then you have the jacked-up prices on flowers, the SUPER-TACKY crap in the stores, overcrowded restaurants . . . my honey and I just prefer to skip all the hype.

I agree with the person above that said that soft textures are sexy. I totally swoon for thick, super-soft flannel sheets and have sold my SO on them as well. We have soft fleece blankets for the not-so-cold times of year and a cuddly fleece comforter cover (bright red!) for the winter. And we have a quilt in warm colors hanging over the head of the bed. All those soft textures just make you want to burrow in and cuddle.

WAY too many cookies, chips, and other treats around here lately, and we're both suffering from a bad case of February Fatness. Time to get back to the healthy--and delicious--eating. Tomorrow, I'm going to make some curried roasted cauliflower, chicken cooked with a Stonewall sauce, and brown rice. I think Sunday I'll make some Greek meatballs to have with pitas, tzatziki, and veg. Definitely going to try to get as much veg in as possible.

I definitely do this. My partner eats WAY too much junk food, so when he does eat at home, I'm always trying to maximize the nutrition he gets. My favorite trick is to make meatballs with super-lean beef and replace part of the meat with finely chopped mushrooms--better nutrition, fewer calories, more moisture in the meat, and cheaper. He loves Shepherd's Pie, so I top it with Colcannon or half mashed potato/half mashed cauliflower rather than the usual spuds.

I probably sound like a protective mother hen about this, but he's already survived a stroke and I worry about him.

I might try this. Right now I use Seventh Generation TP because everything else I've tried gives me a rash in an area where you really don't want a rash. It's not great--it's thin, a bit rough, and is pretty expensive--so I wouldn't mind switching if I can find something else that works for me. Color doesn't matter to me, I just don't want to itch!

On Saturday, we had our usual Full English Breakfast, then for dinner I made Meatball Sandwiches (part of my evil plan to fill the boyfriend full of veg--I replace half the meat with chopped shrooms and fill the sauce with all kinds of other veg). Today I made banana bread with some leftover mini chocolate chips, tried a recipe for pizza bianca from Serious Eats, and made bacon and avocado sandwiches for lunch (new recipe from Epicurious and really enjoyed it). I thawed T-bones for a dinner at my mother's that got cancelled, so now we're going to be eating steak for three days; not a calamity, but not exactly the veg-heavy meals I had in mind. Maybe I'll slice it and serve it on a salad. :)

My boyfriend and I spent 3 weeks in Europe a couple of years ago and only brought one bag to check (we each had a small carry-on as well); we could have done it with less, but I have super-sensitive skin and have to bring things like toilet paper with me when I travel, as there's only one brand I know of that I can use.

You know, I find that jeans--unless you MUST have them--aren't very good for traveling. They're very bulky and take forever to dry when you wash them. I prefer lightweight knit pants (I think I got my last pair at LL Bean), since they fold or roll up into nothing, dry fast, and are super comfy. My boyfriend brings nylon hiking pants for the same reason. I also like to bring layers, so that you can wear them separately if it's warm or together if it's cold. I also brought an elastic laundry line (recommended by onebag.com) and did a little laundry each night in the hotel sink; that really reduced what we had to bring.

Rian, one of my cats is a big-time plant eater (to the extent that he's learned what the CSA box means and goes bananas when he sees it until I give him some of whatever leaves are in there--lettuce, spinach, basil, whatever) and when I buy flowers, I keep them on top of the fridge, one of the few places he can't get to. Another trick I've tried is to keep them in the fridge when I'm not home, then just take them out and put them on the counter when I get home; problem with that is that you have to be super-vigilant while you're home, which is pretty hard to maintain. One thing I used to do when I had better plant-growing conditions is to buy (cat safe) plants that have fuzzy leaves, since cats seem to hate those; if the plant flowers, they may still eat the flowers, though.

I wouldn't suggest spending lots on plants now, while he's a kitten, because odds are he will knock them over, dig in them, use them for a litter box, etc. I would wait until he's older and a bit less nutty (kittens are maniacs) before trying; you can also cover any bare dirt with stones to discourage bad behavior. And avoid spider plants, as cats especially enjoy eating them. As people above have said, he may have no interest in plants or flowers. You don't know until you try.

Thank you, miabica and lucylew; that was very kind.

Just got home after a pretty harrowing drive from work--several inches of snow, plus ice pellets, plus freezing rain. If you don't have the luxury of staying home when it's nasty out, don't forget all the stuff for your car: scraper, snow broom, spray deicer (I don't use it unless the freezing rain is bad, as it's the only thing that works then), kitty litter for traction, jumper cables, NASA blanket, Fix-a-Flat, deicing windshield washer fluid, etc. Plus a shovel and salt or sand for your front stoop or walk.