Sarah: Things that Rock on a Wednesday

Music suggestions from a coworker resulting in a new album on my iTunes.

Cold medicine.

Finding a favorite pair of underwear on laundry day, thus putting off for one more day the inevitable.

Caffeine.

Successfully formatting an email for work. (Nicole! I did it!)

Valentines.

Forming opinions on fonts I like and do not like. This is a first for me. I feel I have grown somehow.

Sarah: I choo-choo-choose you

February is National Library Lovers Month. Love your local library. Or better yet, love a librarian.

Sarah: And now I can't stop.

You asked me to blog, and see what you've created? See?? A MONSTER.

I wish I'd come up with vocabulary homework this stellar. Mine was usually about how much I loved school, my teacher, our latest reading assignment, or some combination of the three. Or I tried to compose one super sentence that used all ten or so vocabulary words, just to show my teacher that words? They were my playthings. Like putty in my hands.

Lisa: appetizing

You know what sounds good to me today?

What? I'm completely normal. No, really.

Lisa: the secret is out

Maybe some of you already know, and some of you have already guessed, but I am having a BABY. Yes, that's right, I am GROWING A WHOLE SEPARATE PERSON INSIDE OF ME. From SCRATCH. It's kind of blowing my mind. Here's how it went down (conception excluded [obviously]):

1) Four weeks ago I stopped drinking Diet Coke because I thought I was getting an ulcer.
2) Three and a half weeks ago I thought my reproductive organs had shriveled and died, possibly crumbling into a black powder.
3) Three weeks ago I was getting really tired of having the stomach flu.
4) On January 23rd I finally figured out what was going on and took a pregnancy test. I broke the news to Blake by walking into our bedroom at 6:00am brandishing the test. "Um. Blake? This stick says we're going to have a baby."
5) Two weeks ago our immediate families found out through the postal system--a tiny slip of paper wrapped around a little plastic baby and stuffed into a small mailing tube with tissue paper. I was too shy to call everyone.
6) Last week we started referring to it as Las Plagas, which of course makes me The Infected.
7) This morning I had my first prenatal doctor's appointment. Not only did I get to HEAR the HEARTBEAT, but I saw a little blob wiggling around on the ultrasound screen! It is confirmed: something is definitely in there.

This isn't a blog about a baby, so I'll try not to get obnoxious or too boring, but having a kid is going to be kind of a big thing for me. You may be hearing about Las Plagas from time to time--consider yourself warned.

Lisa: tick tock

Because it is my life's mission to copy Maggie in every possible way, I had to get a pregnancy countdown ticker. Mine looks like this:

It'll be at the very bottom of the main page of our site until I get tired of it.

Lisa: hint, hint

Normally I hate Valentine's Day with the fire of a thousand suns, but don't you think these would make a great V-Day present?

Besides, if you have to wear this knit jersey tent, the least you can do is put on a pair of kickass sexy red heels with it, right?

Sarah: Scared Speechless

Regarding the events of yesterday evening, I just have to say to my friends that used to work there (and everyone else): I'm glad you're safe. And I love you.

Sarah: Touchy

I went to Logan this weekend and had dinner with Staci and a few others.

"Is your neck okay?"
"Yeah, it just gets blotchy when I get excited, or when I'm performing. Or emotional. Or making out."
"Ooooo! You have mood skin!"

Sarah: Seriously, it's time for an intervention.

Oh, Britney.

Just because it's your prerogative DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT!

Ahem. Thank you.

Sarah: The preferred term is "Trekker"*

Ohmygoodness. My little brother sent me this link. It is pretty awesome. If you like Star Wars, you should watch it. Because it is pretty much the entire movie in surprising detail. Thanks Jeff.

* Yes, I know this is a Star Wars post, not a Star Trek post.

Sarah: Plus, I love prezzies...

You know what would make crazy nights like this night or something like this even more entertaining? A polaroid camera.
I'm not going to argue that polaroids are the best form of photography or anything like that. I just think they're fun. And there's a polaroid camera on my wishlist. I'm just saying.

Lisa: I'd like to thank the Academy

Helen Mirren always looks amazing at awards shows--gorgeous and sexy but age-appropriate. I'm so glad my favorite act of the Oscars recognized her hotness too. Here's to aging gracefully! I don't know about you, but I plan to stick a picture of Ms. Mirren to my bathroom mirror.

Sarah: Honey, you baked!

Let it never be said that I can't work at something. Remember my catastrophic cupcake project? Well, my baking spirit was not dampened.
Last weekend I finally had a successful concoction emerge from my oven. Following this recipe (fool-proof? I can do that!), I produced what I think turned out to be some tasty souffle.

Making it was quite easy. Here are the instructions with some of my own blurry, poorly-lit photos.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with the rack in the center.

Prepare the souffle container: butter the sides, then sprinkle with some sugar so the souffle can climb the walls. I used ramekins, because individual servings are pleasing.

Heat 1 cup heavy cream until it simmers in a medium saucepan. I probably took the cream off a tad early, because I was worried it would burn. I think it's fine as long as the cream is hot enough to melt the chocolate.

Pour the hot cream over 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate that has been broken up into small pieces (I used Ghirardelli) in a heatproof bowl. Stir it until it is smooth, and uniform in color.

+ cream =
Looks tasty, huh?

Beat seven egg whites and two tablespoons of sugar until they are stiff and shiny.

Mix about 1/4 of the beaten egg whites in with the chocolate to lighten it.

Pour the lightened chocolate mixture into the egg whites. Fold them together using a rubber spatula. Break up any large streaks of whites, but in the end, this is more about keeping it light than making it even.

Spoon the souffle batter into the prepared dish, and bake for 15 minutes. When done, it should be nice and puffy. I wish I'd taken a picture of the ramekins right as they came out of the oven, because they were truly a thing of beauty. They still looked pretty good when I served them to Lisa and Blake, topped with powdered sugar and raspberries.

Ta-Da!

Sarah: The Good, the Bad, the Excessively Snowy

The Good:

For Christmas, Santa put this lip balm in my stocking. I have just recently started using it, and I love it. The Mint Julep flavor tastes like an actual mint leaf, the lip balm is very silky (like the Burt's Bees lip balm I usually use) and stays on for a nice long time. Savannah Bee products are carried locally at the adorable Liberty Heights Fresh. I want to try something in Orange Mint. That sounds delicious.
And speaking of lip balm, I also want to try this gloss/balm. So log that away.

The Bad:

Even with all of my faults, I've never been tempted to smoke. Sunday night, however, I had a very stressful dream.
Social complications and major life decisions rattled in my brain. So what did DreamSarah do to calm herself? She took a few delicious drags from a cigarette. I breathed in the smoke deeply. I felt my brain clear. The cigarette cleansed and purified my body and mind. My lungs expanded with the smokey air and life seemed immeasurably more manageable.
So I guess the point of me telling this to you is: Um. Why? Why did my unconscious mind want so desperately to smoke that sweet, sweet cigarette?

The Excessively Snowy:

More snow! Can't it just be spring already? My car was fine when I drove to work this morning, but was covered by several inches of snow by lunch time. I'm ready to wear shorts and read a book in the park and go barefoot! Oh well.

Lisa: There is someone here inside

Until recently, my family owned a Scrabble game with light pink letter tiles. A special collector's edition? No. You see, in the early 1980s, Scrabble was sold in a dark red fabric-covered box. The letter tiles were plain wood, just like always. One day I was doing whatever it is kids do to entertain themselves, when I felt a vague need to pee. Sure that this inconvenient urge would eventually just go away, I remained ensconced on the throne I had built by cushioning the Scrabble box with a decorative throw pillow. Perhaps you have already guessed that I eventually peed through the pillow and through the red box, transferring the dye from the box to the tiles WITH MY URINE. Gross, I know. Arguably grosser? The fact that my mom just washed the whole thing off and we played with that Scrabble game for years.

The problem in this instance (and, to be honest, throughout my entire life so far) was that I didn't "listen to my body." In fact, I HATE listening to my body. Even as an adult, I always wait too long before I give in and run to the bathroom. I don't sleep. I drink Diet Coke instead of water. For some reason I feel the need to constantly assert the fact that I am in charge. My body is not the boss of me and I'll do it 'cause I want to and not 'cause my body tells me to! Obviously this is very self-defeating behavior, but what can you do?

Well, my body is getting the last laugh. For the past several months, all I've done is listen to my body and try to anticipate and fulfill its every physical need. Why? Because now my body has the leverage it has always lacked: puke. Don't get enough sleep? PUKE. Don't eat enough? PUKE. Don't eat the right thing? PUKE. Don't eat at the right time? PUKE. Move too suddenly or in the wrong direction? PUKE. (Can you hear the maniacal laughter coming from the vicinity of my stomach?) Nothing says "I am not in charge of my own body" like a good round of vomit, especially when you hate throwing up as much as I do.

Say it with me: one more week. I've been in charge for 28 years--I guess I can listen to my body for one more week. I'll even throw in six more months of above-average consideration.

But if you see a pleasantly pink-tinted Scrabble game at D.I., think twice before buying it.

Sarah: Tool of the Week

You know what goes great with lovely waxed eyebrows?

LIQUID EYELINER

It goes on smooth and dark, but you have more control over the thickness and general application than with my old eyeliner.

And no, there's nothing wrong with being ignorant to the wonders of a common beauty product until one is 22 years old. Why do you ask?

Edited to add relevant links to past Two Loose Teeth entries.