Craigslist and moving

New hauls from Craigslist

$50 forum posting gig at Toggin.com
$15 for a purple bike that just needs air in the tires
$10 for a 4×6 slatted bamboo rug
$15 for a brand new desk
$30 for a brand new hand vacuum. Yes, expensive but it’s pretty and works really well and is cordless. And I couldn’t put off vacuuming bird seed and feathers for much longer.

Now just have to cut a deal for cable and internet because paying shitastic Time Warner $102 a month for sub par service is robbery.

On another exciting note, I have peroneal insertional tendonitis.  How do I know?  I did the hypocritical thing and self diagnosed my injury.  But having taken a human anatomy class, and sat through a 2 hour guest lecture by a podiatrist, I think I have more leeway than the patient who storms in the waiting room with googled printouts saying he as cancer when it’s only a strep infection.  I failed a quiz because I couldn’t remember what the peroneal tendons were.  And now it’s coming back to get further revenge.

I started wearing my really worn in Aeropostale ballet flats again, that I bought four years ago for $5.  Wore them religiously for the longest time, hiked through a rainforest, ran through Sydney beaches, in airports, around campus, you get the drift.  They were the most comfortable shoes I owned.  However the soles are worn down to almost nothing and the glue is wearing off.  So walking around dirt and gravel on shortcuts through campus wearing them this past week put a ton of stress on my tendon and eventually inflamed it.  And now it hurts like hell to put any pressure on it, so walking is agonizing.  Sharp pain that throws off my balance if I try.

Funny twist is, I have an excuse to wear my high heels now.  Seems counterintuitive since heels are the source of a myriad of foot problems, but the treatment is to wear ‘heel lifts’ to keep stress off the tendon and let it heal.  They’re foam cushions you’re supposed to put under your heel to lift it up.  Why do that when I have a massive collection of pretty shoes I never get to wear?  And lo and behold, I slip on my sexy pumps and it DOESN’T HURT TO WALK ANYMORE.   The pain completely goes away.

Tubing on the guad

Rissa and Andrew came down to pay a visit.  It’s triple degree heat outside so nice leisurely float down the river sounded nice.  Except we got our asses owned by some churning water and rocks because of low water levels.  Aside from the scrapes and bruises, it was amazingness and I definitely want to head back there again.  They even rent out tubes with a cooler attached to store your beer.

Brought my regular point and shoot camera instead of the fancy paperweight one.  Was interesting trying to not drop it in the river; we had it sealed up in a ziploc bag.

My best fishy pufferfish face

Duckies.  These things were massive and could probably take off a finger if they tried.

Sunset driving back

Cooking and baking

Canary Island Cilantro Soup
Recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/32441

I grilled some salmon to put in there, topped it off with feta cheese because the flavors are perfect for it. And instead of beef broth, I used the vietnamese pho base.

Pan seared catfish with parsley cheddar mashed potatoes and sour cream

No recipe really for this one, threw a bunch of things together because I wanted to finish off the catfish before it got freezer burned

Vanilla cupcake with blackberry filling and cream cheese icing

1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups of sugar
Beat well, then add:
Add 2 large eggs
2 Teaspoons of pure vanilla
½ teaspoon of salt
2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
2 ½ cups of flour
1 ¼ cups of milk

Beat well, fill cupcake liners halfway and use piping bag to add a generous mound of blackperry pie filling, then continue filling liners with cupcake batter, and bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. For icing, recipe is here.

Coconut-Lime cupcakes with lime sugar glaze
From: Martha Stewart

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 T unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 c + 1 Tb sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup lite coconut milk
2 large egg whites
5 Tb shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 6 muffin tins. Beat butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, add flour, baking soda, salt & milk in three parts, alternating dry & wet, starting & ending with the flour. Beat until just combined. Set aside.
In a clean bowl beat the egg whites on high until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter until combined. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites & coconut.
Fill muffin tins half full. Bake for 20 -25 minutes until golden or a tester comes clean. Allow to cool completely. Makes 6 cupcakes

Lime Glaze
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t lime (about 1/2 of a lime)
zest from 1/2 lime
milk
shredded coconut (optional)

Mix sugar, lime juice & zest together. Add milk 1 t at a time until desired consistency, usually between 1 & 2. Glaze cupcakes & sprinkle with shredded coconut if you wish. Let sit until glaze has set. Makes enough glaze for 6 cupcakes

Catfish and rice

I can’t think of good dish titles.  Anyways, Sunday night, came home after 8 hour shift at work.  Was interesting.  One particular boy had to get some blood drawn.  And this boy had to have been at least twelve years old, so he wasn’t some screaming toddler.

So we’re in the lab draw room, he’s sitting down in the examination chair with the standard rubber band on arm, antiseptic wipe, etc.  Needle goes in, then the mother and I’m assuming aunt whip out a BIBLE and start quoting a passage that said “May he not feel pain” or something along the lines.

Really now.  They’re allowed to subscribe to whatever belief they choose, but get the kid some water or hug him.  Not stand outside the doorway reading from a book because when a hard metal object goes through your skin, it’s going to hurt no matter what god(s) you follow.

Dinner…I thought I had nothing in the fridge since I haven’t gone shopping in awhile and when you cook nearly every night of the week, food goes out fast.  Dug through the freezer and fridge, found some frozen catfish, spinach, then had a tomato and half an onion, lots of random scraps of food items I never finished.  Whipped em all together on a whim and made the best dish I’ve ever invented  so far.

Raw catfish nuggets drenched in italian dressing, dash of cumin, black pepper, salt, sauteed until fish is browned

Tomato, onion, spinach, and a clove of garlic all diced up

Dump fish out on a plate, because italian dressing is olive oil based typically, just saute onions and garlic until caramelized

Add tomato, spinach, etc. No pictures, but add in cooked rice, a handful of colby jack cheese, and 1/4 cup of milk. Stir fry it until cooked through, add salt to taste

Sprig of parsley, voila.  Toast some french bread, grab a glass of iced tea…yumminess