bullet points!

• I left work at freaking 4:00 this afternoon! I had to stop at Home Depot on the way home, but still got here by 5:30. Amazing. I've been working a lot of (unpaid) overtime the past couple of weeks, so I decided to see what it was like to work only a 40 hour work week again. So far, it's nice. But judging by my schedule the rest of the week, I'm guessing the 1 hour I saved today is going to be swallowed up by Wednesday.
  
• We made a massive amount of beef stock yesterday. About 40 cups, to be exact. Which sounds like a lot less than it was. Alfred got a bunch of beef bones for free from our grass fed beef source, so we couldn't let them all go to waste. We froze most of the stock, but kept some in the fridge for french onion soup this weekend. We actually just went through the process of getting rid of the fat (it solidified in a thick, disgusting layer on top overnight) and packing it all up for the freezer. Messy.
• Yesterday I also made what might be my best loaf of bread ever. We cracked open a jar of our fresh strawberry rhubarb jam to try it with. Words fail to describe just how delicious it was. I could eat the entire loaf in one sitting. I'm trying to resist.
• We totally forgot about the shuttle launch yesterday. We were watching tv while dinner was in the oven and suddenly Alfred said "hey, when was the shuttle supposed to go off?" Answer: ten minutes earlier. Oops. We had discussed driving down to see it go up in person, but that damn stock needed to be made.
• I went jogging this afternoon when I got home from work. I also planted my new(est) azalea (I'm up to 5 now, and I think I'm killing them) and cleaned the bathrooms. I should work 7 hour days more often.
• Re: azaleas. Yeah, of the 3 I got last year, 1 looks awful, 1 looked great and had lots of flowers but the flowers and leaves have gotten all droopy, and 1 looks ok but has no flowers. I have 2 new ones now, both of which still look ok, but haven't been around long enough for me to really destroy yet. Give me time.
• I found a hilarious blog by this girl who was rereading all of the old Baby Sitter Club books. I loved those damn books when I was younger. She's not posting anymore, but I've been plowing through the archives. It's good stuff.
  

I'm kind of cranky

I've been in kind of a grouchy mood all day. These are the days that Alfred will not miss if/when I get a new job. He said he read an article that said working out too much can make you angry. Maybe that's it, ha! I did talk to Lindsay a little while ago, so that cheered me up a bit. I need some more friends around here.

Anyway. We went home last night. Good thing, because my plant was almost dead.


So I gave it some water, and by this morning it looked much happier.

Good thing it's so resilient. It would have died like 38 times by now if it was more delicate. My azaleas were fine too, because it finally actually rained. Now we're only under a medium fire risk (which is good, it's been extremely high or something like that for weeks). I also got to catch up on some tv. Good thing it's summer, we only have a couple shows to keep up with.

Super exciting post today, huh. That's what happens when I'm cranky, I have nothing to talk about. Well, nothing other than "I want to go home and go to sleep" or "I want some chocolate." So here's a funny billboard that's up right now for the zoo.

It says "Everyone's favorite summer treat" and there's a picture of an ice cream cone, another ice cream cone, and a bald eagle. It just cracks me up. I prefer my frozen bald eagle treat in a dish, actually. Seriously, is this what they were really going for?

I have an azalea!

Robyn has a whole bunch of azaleas in her yard, and they look so pretty all in bloom right now. I mentioned how much I liked them, and we got one for Easter! So as soon as we got home I planted it in the back of the house. It looks a little lonely right now, but let's not get too crazy yet. We'll see how long I can keep it alive. I have the least green thumb ever. We had an aloe plant kill itself once. The leaves got too heavy or something and it literally weighed itself down and pulled itself apart. I guess it just couldn't handle living with us any longer. I've also killed a little pot of sunflowers I got for my birthday. The seeds sprouted fine, but I guess I should have transplanted them into a bigger pot because all 3 little plants have died. I have however managed to keep the plant that I got for my birthday alive. I keep it on the kitchen windowsill so I see it and remember to water it every day. It must be very, very resilient.

I wish we had a nice yard with a nice lawn and pretty plants around, but it's just so much work. We're lucky if we clean up all the branches and mow the lawn twice a year. The last time we mowed it, there were weeds taller than I am. Which is why 1 plant is going to be an achievement!