Barbie Queue

Well, I decided to throw a little shindig and cookout tomorrow, before it starts to snow and we're all trapped indoors for 4 months. The weather should be decent for it according to the latest info. I'm going to try making apple pie for it, we'll see how that goes. I don't think I've made a pie other than pumpkin from a can...to quote Jeremy Clarkson, how hard can it be?

My First Time

Well, my accident free record is over. I ran into someone on the drive in this morning. It was about as minor as it could be, but I was upset over it. I doubt they'll file any sort of claim, as their car didn't have a mark on it - the only casualty appeared to be my mildly mangled license plate...but that didn't stop the passenger from jumping out and complaining about a headache almost as soon as we stopped moving. Her husband seemed a little more rational, and he was awfully pleased that his car had no visible damage.
I got off lucky. I think.

Week

That one guy (you know the one) is out of town on business this week. He's going to be out of town on business during the week for the next 3 weeks in a row. He decided he wanted to spend more time together until this little stretch started, so he's been staying at my place for the past week.
I haven't blogged much about my feelings on the situation lately, not by design. But things are...well, I don't believe in perfection, but it's going really well. We don't smother each other with affection - neither one of us has a tendency to be overly sweet. But I know how he feels about me, and vice versa. It's getting to that cool/slightly creepy phase where you realize that you can start predicting some of the other person's actions and words, because they're ingrained on you to that extent. Nobody likes being called predictable, but everyone has their routines and habits. I like it. Definitely interested in seeing where this leads. Now if we can only control our desires for bad food...

Joys of Homeownership

I swear, I will never be done with basement issues here. Went downstairs today on my day off to watch a little tv and relax...and was greeted by a not very pleasant aroma. Turns out the floor drain by the train layout had overflowed, and from the look of it it was from the bathroom upstairs. Fun. I went to Lowe's and bought the most caustic drain cleaning chemicals I could find - the same ones that worked wonders on the kitchen several months ago. This time, not so lucky. I went back to Lowe's bought a drain auger and a plumber's wrench the size of a horse's leg, and returned home. After about 20 fruitless minutes of trying to loosen the cleanout plug so that I could gaze upon the horrors inside, I had second thoughts about trying to tackle this myself. I returned those and bought a test plug for the drain, which keeps about 90% of the water and 100% of the 'debris' from coming out. Then cleaned up the awful mess on the floor, and bleached the hell out of everything that had been touched by water. Then I went to Giant Eagle, bought myself a nice pint of Ben and Jerry's, and returned home to look up plumbers to call in tomorrow. I'm not going in there by myself with only a Bob Vila video for guidance.

Best Pot Roast Ever

I made this tonight...it's a combination of a few different recipes I've culled from different sites...seriously good.

Ingredients:
- Beef chuck roast, ~3lb
- 1 cup tomato juice
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins
- mustard, any variety

Rub:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt

==========================
- rub roast with mustard to cover; combine rub ingredients and...rub into the roast
- place into slow cooker on high heat, or into 225 degree oven in small pan. let cook untouched for 3 hours.
- after this time, add chopped onion, raisins, tomato juice and vinegar. cook for an additional 2 hours or until fork tender (internal temp 190).
- prepare to get laid after making this for someone. This could be awkward if it's for a family gathering.

Win?

I received notice from GM that my Vibe is part of the recall that I blogged about a month or so ago. Apparently the mass mailings went out this week, as the owner's forum I read is full of comments about it. All it really says is yes, your car will need work, but parts aren't available now, and your dealer will let you know when they are. No time frame is given at all. Weeks? Months? At least I know I'm in their records - I wasn't sure how such a thing would work for me the thing being buying a secondhand car from a defunct car brand. I'll give it until Nov. 1 and then start calling around for an update.