Ratties? ... Ratties!

Okay, so it is possible that in the next month I may be getting some new rats. Here's what's going on ...

I sent a message to the owner of Frannie's Rattery (now the only Utah rattery I know of, as Adelaide's seems to have vanished) informing her that I am very interested in getting some rats to add to my family. Three to four of them, to be exact. I gave her my specifics, let her know I would not be breeding them (such a thing is difficult to do when you're going to be spaying them), and let her know that I would like them by the end of March (when it looks like Tene and I will most likely be moving).

She replied almost instantly:

Hi michelle, I have a new litter that I can put you on the waiting list you will beable to pick out the ones u want after me (I'm only keeping 1) I also have a 4 week old blac capped girl from my last litter I can save her for you to go with the others if you like ... Just let me know what you would like to do :)
Thank you,
Frannie's Rattery

I  quickly replied that I was interested, and should know for certain if I can take them this weekend (as my apartment currently does not allow pets I'm going to need to find a temporary home for them until Tene and I move - I should have that all figured out by Sunday).

I'm now on the waiting list for three girls from the new litter, and I'm most likely going to take the black-capped girl. She's just so cute!

I'm so excited :) Hooray!

I hope this all works out ...

Valentine's Meal for My Valentine

Today was a whirlwind adventure of cooking and baking for me.

I've been planning to do something nice for Tene (due to it being Valentine's Day) for a week now. You'd think, having plenty of time to prepare, that I would have everything in the kitchen, just ready and waiting. But I didn't. We lacked a few things called for in the recipes I chose (lemon juice, paprika, chicken bullion, strawberries, and chocolate chips). So in the early afternoon Tene and I went shopping to get the missing ingredients - and a few other things (I was baking a cake, and needed two round cakepans - 9", and they barely fit in the oven together. Have I mentioned my oven/stove is tiny? Because it is). Then we came home, and the cooking began.

For our one meal of the day (bruchinner? We don't eat much around these parts) I made Chicken Piccata, which was very tasty, used too much butter. Like way too much butter. Maybe because I only made one breast (cut in half) instead of four? But still ... It was swimming in the butter. It was tasty though, and the chicken was nice and tender. I also made, as a sort of warm salad, some Garlic Bok Choy (I left out the ginger [which neither Tene nor I are huge fans of], oyster sauce [again: we're not really fans], and the red pepper flakes. and I put in an extra tablespoon of the soy sauce to make up for the missing oyster sauce. I also wasn't precise in measuring the brown sugar), which was also quite good. I found I prefer the taste of the leafy bits of the bok choy, which is good to know for future reference. I added a few strawberries as garnish and there it was! A healthy, delicious meal!

Tene didn't like how oily the chicken was, so I also heated up some leftover rice and mixed in some garlic power and salt, it worked well.

Then came desert. I had two deserts planned - one Tene knew about (a chocolate cake) and one he didn't (chocolate covered strawberries). The strawberries came from a conversation earlier in the week, when I asked Tene what he would enjoy as a desert. He didn't know, and said that what he likes from deserts is a mixture of sweetness and tartness - which I knew, but it was nice to be reminded. I thought about it for a while and it dawned on me - chocolate covered strawberries are absolutely perfect for those requirements. And so I decided to make them.

First was the cake. I've never really made a cake before, let alone a two-tiered one, but this one was pretty easy. Everything was just mixed together in one bowl - the dry ingredients first, then the wet ingredients, and then some boiling hot water. It made a relatively thin batter, which was easy to just pour into my new, well greased, cake pans. Then into the oven it went.

Then I went on to make the frosting. I didn't want to use buttercream (the only other frosting I've ever made), so I decided to try out a chocolate ganache. I found one that was really easy - two cups of heavy cream, warmed, and 16 oz of baker's chocolate. I used some really-dark-chocolate-chips, because there was no baker's chocolate left at the grocery store we went to. Brought the heavy cream to almost boiling, poured it over the chocolate chips, waiting for a few minutes (I covered the bowl the mixture was in to help trap some of the heat) and then stir until mixed! Then I just had to wait for the cakes to be done and the ganache to cool to a spreadable consistency.

So I worked on my strawberries! Really easy - I melted a decent amount of chocolate chips on the stove over a very low heat, Tene stirred it all the while. I added some milk (ended up being too much, but at least I know for next time) to make it a little smoother. Then I dipped the strawberries and set them out to harden on a cookie sheet.

Time passed, I took out the cakes to cool, flipped their pans over and had them slide out perfectly. More time passed, Tene and I ate the strawberries (I didn't get a picture of them). More time passed and I finally got around to frosting the cake.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the ganache spread very smoothly. I wish I had leveled the sides of the cakes, but now I know what to do next time. Once the cake was nice and covered in a decent layer of frosting I decided to decorate. At first I considered sprinkles, since Tene and I got a little bottle of them at the store. But then I remembered my strawberries, and so I put 8 strawberries all around the edge of the cake.

Finally I cut two slices - one for me and one for Tene - and brought them up to him so we could eat them together.

It was delicious. The cake was rich and moist and chocolaty - but not overly sweet, and the frosting was a very appetizing bittersweet. I was only able to eat half of my slice (the other half is in the fridge, I will finish it off tomorrow).

All in all, I'm quite pleased with my Valentine's day meal. I hope to do more cooking, and baking, in the near future.

So through a connection of my dad's at the Willey Ford in Bountiful Tene and I now have a new car. Currently unnamed, we got it a couple weeks ago. It is a white 2001 Ford Taurus. So far, I'm very impressed with it's gas mileage, and overall just the feel of the car. And - I have a trunk. OMG! I was a little let down at first, because I was wanting either a smaller car (a 2 door, possibly a mini or something) and maybe something with a hatchback (like Rubiru had), but after having driven this car for two weeks, I find myself liking it more and more. It's a very nice ride. When I showed it to my mother, her first comment was about children (childseats in the back!), which ... kinda scared me a little, since I don't want kids just yet (if ever).

The new medication, Celexa, seems to be doing a good job. I'm not yet perfect, but much better than I was doing. Some side effects have started hitting me - I've had a hard time eating without feeling nauseous shortly afterwards, and I've been having decently bad headaches and body aches. The sleep reduction isn't so awesome either, but I'll admit ... I have been feeling better as I've been adjusting to the less sleep.

Tene and I are looking to be moving sooner, rather than later. Right now we're trying to figure out the logistics of it. We'll have to get out of our lease with the apartment complex we're currently renting from, and obviously we'll need an affordable apartment and jobs wherever we're going to. I'm currently guessing that we're going to stick around until the end of March/beginning of April, and then we'll be off. Currently we're waiting to hear back from IMVU on Tene's resume, I believe he might also be looking at applying to Facebook and Google as backup options. As a result we're looking for housing more in the Silicon Valley area, as opposed to San Francisco. I'm excited, and I'm feeling that this move will be good for both of us mentally, if nothing else.

Otherwise, my life is pretty boring - if a bit busy. My Year-Of-Adventures plan has had a couple of bad weeks, which I'm writing a post to explain about over there. I've been hanging out with a handful of my friends more often - Teffy, Ima, and Spaz mostly - which has been  helpful emotionally, even though it's a very draining experience. Lots of movie watching, and some interesting Little Big Planet playing.

Cars, Meds, and Other Exciting Adventures.

Near the end of last month, Tene got into a car accident while on his way to work. He'd been driving my car (it got better gas mileage than his), and there was a decent amount of ice on the road. He slid, and ended up hitting the sidewall on the on ramp to the freeway and spinning out. The airbags deployed, and, long story short, the Subaru (Rubiru, as it began to be known to me) that had served me since Senior year of High School - taking me back and forth between Salt Lake and Cedar City - was totaled, and Tene was cited with a "Failure to Maintain Lane."

The front license plate was torn off in the accident.

The good news of all of this is that Tene was completely uninjured in the accident, he was just a little shaken up by it (which I can certainly understand).

So, this all happened on December 29. Rubiru was taken from the accident to a towing yard, and I was unable to get it released until the next day - I so had to pay them some absurd amount of money for towing it and holding it for me. On December 30 I got AAA to tow my car from the towing yard to our mechanic. Then we got to play the waiting game. Because it was a holiday weekend, neither our insurance (State Farm) or the mechanic got around to my car until the next week (I think they finally got to it on January 5 ... ), and they called Tene and I about the fact that my car was totaled shortly thereafter. On January 11 Tene and I finally went and did all the settlement stuff, got our check, and handed the Title over to State Farm. Rubiru was officially no longer mine.

Well, we were thinking of buying Rubiru in the auction, but I didn't get around to looking at their website until today, and I can't find Rubiru on the site (which surprises me, but maybe they aren't going to auction it off until later in the month?). So now my job is simple: Find myself a new car that is affordable with regards to our settlement.

So, what else is new? I'm on a new medication. On Monday, before we went to State Farm, Tene and I went to a new doctor - a Psychiatrist. He was decently friendly, and I liked him. I'm a little wary about some things that were discussed, but we'll see how it turns out. He took me off of my Zoloft, and put me on my new medication - Citalopram, the generic of the medication Celexa. I was also told that I have to start going through what is so eloquently called "Sleep Reduction." It's exactly what it sounds like. I'm not allowed to sleep as much anymore (which is probably good, because I was sleeping a good 12-15 hours per day for a while there). I go to sleep when I go to sleep, and I wake up at 11 to 11:30 - and I can't nap during the day. Until today, that was just fine, but now the lack of sleep is getting to me - all I've wanted to do all day is curl up in bed and sleep. I've been good, though! I haven't given in to temptation. Haven't done anything very productive either ... but I haven't slept!

My current medications: yellow Clonazepam (taken very very rarely), blue Zoloft (off of it now), and the red/pink Celexa

As for the medication itself, I haven't noticed much of a change in my mood - but I am noticing a few side effects (which I'm curious if they're psychosomatic, so I'm trying to not give them much weight at the moment). I'm not sleeping as well (I feel restless, but I had episodes of that on Zoloft as well; I'm waking up in the night and having a hard time getting back to sleep; and I seem to be sleeping a lot lighter than I usually do - and yeah, these aren't helping how I feel about the sleep-reduction thing any), and I've been getting headaches, nausea, and other "I feel sick" type symptoms. Which could be from either starting on Celexa or from stopping the Zoloft as abruptly as I did. I've also been having some general aches and pains. Again: I am wondering if most of this is psychosomatic, and I hope it is, but it might be real, which would suck. Hopefully the side-effects go away soon, and I tolerate this new medication well.

My final "adventure" happened on Jan 8! I had two friends come visit me, who I hadn't seen in quite a while. One was Jekka, who has been on an LDS mission in Japan (I'm so envious of her) for the last year and a half. The other was Zoie, who lives in the exotic land of Tennessee (hey, I live in Salt Lake, anywhere else is "exotic" to me) and I only get to see her once a year - if that! It was fun to have them over. Zoie dressed up in my EGL dress, and looked excellent in it, we talked and caught up, and we watched the first episode of Doctor Who (the new seasons, I still have yet to see anything earlier than 2005). It was good to see them, and I already miss Zoie (who is back in Tennessee). Hopefully I'll be able to see Jekka once I can go to Cedar City and visit my friends there.

2009 Assessment and 2010 Resolutions!

So first, the assessment of the resolutions I made way back last January.

1. I want to be posting in each of my blogs at least once a week
2. I want to do at least one new thing each week
3. I want to be posting on Kyoot! and Storyline at least once per week
4. I want to have new site layouts set up for both Kyoot! and Storyline
5. By the end of the year I want to be cooking regularly and be comfortable with cooking often

So, how did I do? "No" to #1 (although I did improve near the end of the year), a big no "no" to #2. An even larger "no" to #3 and #4 ... and ... another "no" to #5. Five "nos" and no "yesses" ... that doesn't really paint a nice picture of me.

But, in the last year I have improved in ways I didn't list. I brought Criss Cross Asterisk out of the dark, and I'm more public about my beliefs and views on things. I have played around with cooking and baking, and I am more comfortable with it. I'm less crazy than I was this time a year ago - still crazy, but less so. I'm still depressed, and I still have anxiety issues, but ... they aren't as bad as they were, and I have better control over them. I am in a much better place than I was a mere 365 days ago. I am, in general, happy.

So, what are my resolutions for 2010?

• Again: Posting to Criss Cross Asterisk once every 5 days, and to Rats in Pants, Kyoot!, and Truth in Lies once every 7. Storyline should be updated once every two weeks, once I get the site up and running appropriately.
• Kyoot! and Storyline should both have their websites recoded, completely, by the end of the year. Kyoot! should also take a new direction.
• I want to be writing every day. Even if it's just a page, or even just a sentence, I want to write every day.
• I want to settle into a housewife-type routine. I want to be cooking at least two meals a day (or making two meals a day), and I want those to be healthy. I very well might attempt a rotation diet later in the year to find out what exactly has been making me sick. I also want to be keeping my apartment clean and well-organized. I also also want to be a proper little baker - I want to try out cookies and brownies and cakes and cupcakes - all done from scratch. I want such things to be posted to 3 and 20 Blackbirds.
  
• I want to change my wardrobe to cuter, more feminine and airier clothes. This means sundresses and skirts, mostly.
• I, again, want to try something new every week. I have some extra motivation to do so, as well: Another blog, Sprouting Bulb, will detail my adventures in this area, with 2-3 posts per adventure (so, per week).
• Common resolution: I want to get into better shape. I want to try out yoga again, and maybe something like bellydancing or a type of martial art. I'm also considering running. This also includes eating healthy.
• I want to declutter my life. I have so much junk in my life, and so much of it I don't use. I've already started this process - cutting down my number of books by a decently large number (anyone want a whole bunch of fantasy books? I've got some nice hardcover editions of a few of The Wheel of Time books, barely used ... as well as quite a few others. Planning on putting them to good use through Freecycle if possible - but perhaps I'll give my friends the first go at them ...), but I want to do more. I would much rather have a few nice, well made things (say, a Kindle - which I bought, used, with Christmas money, hooray!), than a whole bunch of less-nice, badly made things.
  
• I want to become a better-rounded person. I hope by this time next year, I'm on a medication that helps me. Or that I don't need medication anymore (unlikely, but a girl can dream, right?). I want to be social, and happy, and doing well in the things I want to do.

More than last year, yeah, and I know there's a few others nagging at the back of my head, but it's late and I need sleep. Maybe I'll add to this later? But then again - maybe I won't. Only time will tell.

Hope you all have a great year!