Jenks's Journal

12/29/2009 13:53 #50688

checking in

So... Christmas is over.
Always kind of a letdown.
So much buildup, and then.... back to winter.
But, I had a lovely lovely christmas, and I hope you all did too.
And, am going to start planning a vacation for Feb, so I have something to look forward to.

Here's a xmas picture dump, and some more adorable baby pix.

Love this guy. :)
(taken when we went to Foxwoods to see the Bodies Revealed exhibit).

Cloves stuck in oranges make delicious decorations/air fresheners.

Christmas Eve bedtime story. (not pictured, ridiculously cute baby bathrobe).

Present #1 - her own little chair

It was a big hit.

Trying to sit in the big girl chair.

So, my brother wrangled this present for her in a rare display of tough-guy. He had taken his car in, only to have it break down again half an hour after picking it up. When he took it back in, they said they wanted to make it right. So he pointed at the toy MINI in the showroom and said "how about one of those for my niece?". And it worked.

She's a natural.

LOVE!

lilho - 12/30/09 15:54
That baby is completely adorable!

mrmike - 12/30/09 08:43
Great pictures -- love the "Conversation" with her grandpa

tinypliny - 12/29/09 21:51
Oh I love that photo with the bathrobe and the car!

And you two make a very cute couple! :)

enknot - 12/29/09 14:25
Where did you find that baby robe!? I've been looking for one for ages... and a baby apron. And that baby's awfully cute.

12/20/2009 12:47 #50610

lace cookies

I just stumbled across this recipe, and OMG it is SOOOO GOOD!

AND, soooo super easy.
And, not very bad for you.

Sorry i don't have a pic, but they spread out super thin and crispy.

Go make some! Right now!

Lace Cookies

4 Tbsp light butter, melted
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup uncooked quick oats
1/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1 Tbsp orange zest

Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F. Cover three baking sheets with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. *don't skip this step. They WILL STICK to a cookie sheet, even if you grease it. use parchment, or even better, a "Sil-Pat" baking sheet.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Drop 1/2 teaspoons [seriously. just a tiny little bit.] of dough 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake until flattened and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Cool completely on wire racks; carefully remove cookies from paper. Yields 1 cookie per serving.

ladycroft - 12/22/09 03:59
Hmmm...I do happen to have some almond slivers that need to be used up soon - and no current plans to use them. Think I'll give these a try, got plenty of basic ingredients stocked in my pantry!

jbeatty - 12/20/09 15:47
Have you ever used a Sil-pat with breads? I really need to get one.

tinypliny - 12/20/09 14:18
I need to try this - especially since its flourless and I never have flour. But then I don't have butter or sugar either.

And Ooops, I just got through my last packet of oats last week.

Oh well.

12/18/2009 16:15 #50596

yayyy!

This is probably the earliest I have ever been ready for christmas. Feels so great to not have to rush around like crazy.
My last present should arrive today, then I can wrap it.
Only thing left to do is bake some cookies this weekend.
And, bonus for the fact that I didn't set foot in a mall.

lilho - 12/19/09 20:59
Your tree and presents look lovely! Nicely done!

libertad - 12/19/09 09:53
I ordered everything online this year. Most of the stuff I couldn't have found in the mall anyways. If I seriously thought I would have found something in the mall I would have went there but I'm sure I would have came out empty handed and angry so I just skipped it all together.

I did look at all the local stores for gifts but didn't find anything I thought anyone would like in my price range.

metalpeter - 12/18/09 19:40
Nice Tree. On Sat. I work for like 4 hours then go to target to get some stuff then go home and hopefully have time to relax before I head out to the sabres game and figure out where I want to eat. Do I have wrapping paper and I need tape, so I'm way behind.

mrmike - 12/18/09 19:11
Very nice

12/16/2009 14:46 #50574

ghet-to

Ok, WTF.

I have a question.

Do people in shitty neighborhoods not drink skim milk or something?

I work at a hospital.
Hospitals are very often in a shitty part of town.
I also live "downtown".
Most people shudder when I say that.
However, I live in 'the nice part' of downtown, where there are nice shops and restaurants and stuff.
However, there is no decent grocery store.
So, grocery shopping has become a big event.
So, if I only need a couple things, I don't feel like fighting traffic on the highway to go to the suburbs.

So, I sometimes stop at the gas station/mini-mart on the corner right by the hospital on the way home.

I did this a while ago. I got gas, and I ran in to get milk.
And they didn't have any skim milk. Not like they are out of it- like they don't even CARRY it.
Not only that, but all the milk they DID have had an expiration date in about 3 days. And, was super-expensive.

Today I went back b/c I needed gas, and was going to buy some cereal if they had cheerios.

First of all, the gas was super expensive. And 10c more per gallon to use a credit card. And, premium was 50c more per gallon. I thought the gas grades were usually 10c apart? like 2.79/2.89/2.99. Nope, not at the ghetto-mart. it was 2.76/3.09/3.19. plus 10 if you don't pay cash.

But second of all, I realized there were no price tags on ANYTHING.
So, I didn't buy anything.

But I asked the guy at the register "Um... is there any way to know how much things cost? I don't see price tags anywhere."

And he responded, I think seriously:

"It doesn't matter. This is Hartford. People can't [maybe he said don't] read."

SERIOUSLY?

I'm a little dumbfounded.

lilho - 12/17/09 23:32
people can't read???? do they know what they are buying from the package shape and the colors on the box??? i can stand ghetto marts, or crap ghetto grocery stores... i hope they create something better for you in the near future.

metalpeter - 12/17/09 19:08
I have another theory to add to the question. If memory serves and this could be wrong. WIC is only for kids or babies up to a certain age. If I remember correctly around that age kids are still supposed to drink whole milk. I wonder if with WIC you can even get skim milk. But there is another factor and that is cooking. If you use milk to cook think Mac N' Chesse you don't want to use skim milk or 2%. I also think that there are some cultural things going on about having whole milk, not that I would know what they are. But what I can say is that what ever kind of milk you where raised on is what you will drink as an adult this goes for other things like Juice and Pop and that could factor in as well. One thing I didn't mention is that Yes I like Milk but it has to be very cold other wise it doesn't taste right, and I mean make you teath cold but I grew up on 2% and won't go near skip and whole milk not sure what kind they use for Chocolate but it sure tastes good. But if I was using milk for multiple things, like coffee, drinking, breakfast and cooking I'm not going to buy 4 kinds of milk, I'm getting what ever works the best and getting the biggest size they sell.

In Terms of the No Price tags that is common in non chain places. This is often true of a place that is maybe run by a family. Hey if the guy behind the counter has to put prices on things or pay someone to do it and it is cheaper not to why put on prices? What I think happens really is that when you go into one of those types of stores most people who go in are going to buy what ever they are going to buy regardless of price. Hey if the other store is 30 cents cheaper you aren't go to go there to save that. You need a drink or what ever that is what you need and you will buy it. This goes for people with lots of money not only poor people. I'm also guessing since they sell gas they get a lot of people who come it and get snacks and gas and they aren't going to get gas and then go buy snacks someplace else. That is my idea anyways.

jenks - 12/17/09 16:15
yeah, I kind of understand the milk thing, I guess.

What upsets me possibly more is the "no reason to put prices on things b/c people can't/won't read them" comment.

uncutsaniflush - 12/16/09 23:10
Short Answer: the locals aren't buying milk there for some reason. The reasons could be: 1. the mart doesn't accept food stamps. 2. the mart doesn't accept WIC/ADC/Whatever it is called in your state. 3. There is a cheaper mart around the corner from yours that isn't a gas station.

Long Answer: Culturally in Hispanic culture what we Western Europeans call "whole milk" doesn't have enough butterfat content. Apparently, our "whole milk" isn't really whole. If there is a large Hispanic or Portuguese population in the 'hood you are talking about, I would not expect skim milk to be popular. Adults don't usually drink milk. And if they do, they usually go for maximum butterfat.

tinypliny - 12/16/09 19:28
The Thai store on Niagara St. doesn't have any prices either. Sounds like a common thread, huh?

jbeatty - 12/16/09 15:32
Ghetto marts usually have more of a selection of grape drink than milk.

zobar - 12/16/09 15:30
I lived for a little while in Greenville, Jersey City :::link:::[Gentrification?! Really??] and judging by the prices in the bodega [and not by the quarter-inch of grime on the floor] you'd think you were in a rich neighborhood. In my case, large retailers wouldn't go anywhere near my neighborhood and small independent shops couldn't move enough product to keep it fresh or get competitive wholesale pricing.

- Z

12/14/2009 18:43 #50553

Ok, WTF?!

More collegiate murder-mystery for Tiny...

So today I got an email from my dad, entitled "WTF?"

The message was a picture of an article he came across when reading one of his medical journals-
About how a surgeon I knew in med school had been murdered.

It said his body was found, stabbed to death, in his apartment, when the police responded to a call from neighbors about a fire.

I.e. someone stabbed him to death, then lit the place on fire to hide the evidence.

And just to add to the horribleness of it-
He was found 10/31.
A brief google search revealed no info newer than 11/5.

WTF have the NOPD been doing for the last month?

Also, I have no heard a peep about this from Tulane.

At least when people were murdered on the Yale campus, then sent out an email blast press release. And it was in the news daily, with udpates, or lack thereof.

Is this crime less newsworthy?
Or is Tulane just not as "worthy" of news coverage as Yale?

Dad had it right: WTF!

dimartiste - 12/28/09 16:10
Had you been in touch with him before his murder? It seems like such a strange thing that evil could be one person away or around the next corner. My condolences on your loss.

Congrats on practicing medicine! Might sound strange but I just read your post. Tough stuff medicine. What is your PhD in? If you don't mind my asking. I was torn between art and medicine. Art won. I still have medicinal interests. Why not practicing now? or is both the research and the PhD taking priority?

Any word from his family? or any other updates?

tinypliny - 12/17/09 17:39
Did practice for slightly more than a year after I graduated but I deviated slowly towards research and didn't specialize. I am taking a break for this PhD. I sometimes miss it and maybe will go back to practice and research when I finish. Not very clear about the future at this point, though.

:::link::: <- that's my school.

jenks - 12/17/09 17:10
I never knew that! Was in here, or in India? Did/will you ever practice?

tinypliny - 12/17/09 16:25
Yes and yes.

jenks - 12/17/09 16:23
crap tiny, that super-sucks!
(and, you went to med school?)

tinypliny - 12/16/09 19:30
A classmate at my med school was burnt to death along with his car. Police later found out he was murdered, and then burnt along with his car. They never solved the crime. It was so creepy and I knew him so well...

dimartiste - 12/14/09 19:45
Any loss of life should be newsworthy, but the news and I have disagreed most of my adult life. I think that the positive and negative need a balance. I will look forward to an update as you get it. I have to check on one that happened, Did you hear about the Sweat Lodge Deaths? I would have to check my email for the link. There has not been an upate there either. It could be a leads issue. I watch too much Law & Order, NCIS, CSI, SVU, and Cold Case Files. We all want the end of the book or else we would not be a captive audience!