Clunk

Well that didn't last long.
I am very disappointed right now because Cash for Clunkers is done. In less than a week.
I was not able to get my car because my Subaru dealer was taking his sweet time getting all the paperwork sorted out. At one point, he suggested that they sell me the car without the $3500 and then they pay me back when they get reimbursed from the govt. (FYI, that's not legal according to the rules of the law.) I said no.
I really think that ultimately, the owners of the dealership didn't want to take on the risk implicit in waiting for the Govt. to reimburse them. However, they wouldn't outright say that, and just let the process drag on instead.
I put down a deposit on a car that would have to be shipped to the dealership from another state, and that money was supposed to bring the car here. That never happened and my car got sold.
So no Red Forester for me. :( I'm really upset about that. I put money down for that car and now the car is gone. The fact that there are more cars to be had is beside the point.
I think had they not stalled, they could have done cash for clunkers because they were verified as of Tuesday but now it's too late. Because of this, I actually spent some time today talking to other dealers...I'm not sure I want to do business with the dealer here anymore. Until this week I felt like I was being treated in a very forthright manner, but I think I've been getting the runaround this week and I don't appreciate that.
Everything will turn out fine. I can still afford to get a new car soon (I've been saving for a year, after all) and my car still runs well.
I have to drive to Gulfport this weekend so my dad can reinstall the radio and other various pieces that he harvested a couple weeks ago.
At the moment I am just overwhelmed and overtired. I felt really stressed out today about not getting my car and I had to jump through some hoops trying to get paperwork sorted out in case I wanted to get a car from a dealer in another state. That was a lot of stress (because we all know that I stress out at the drop of a hat anyway) and then Cash for Clunkers got canceled just whenI felt like I had a handle on things again.
I'm just upset that I wasted so much energy feeling stressed out and trying to put everything back in order and then it all fell through.


edit: And now as of this morning (7/31/09) they may increase funding for it- just have wait and see. Back on the rollercoaster.

Ring Ring

So I will be getting a new phone today. I've been holding onto my old Blackberry Pearl out of a combination of laziness and cheapness, but it has been literally falling apart for months. (Anyone see a pattern starting to form, given the state of my vehicle? If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and if it is broke, make due for 6 months to a year. LOL.)
My poor phone is broken because I drop it on a regular basis. And I set it on the side of our very low platform bed every night, so it is often knocked on the floor and stepped on by the dogs (and by the dear boyfriend, who blames it on the dogs).
I dropped my phone once again this morning, and several important looking pieces (plus a tiny spring) flew off the back, and now the back won't stay on. This is bad because whenever the battery gets jostled I experience a SIM card error, which means that my phone isn't actually working until I take it apart and re-situate the SIM card. (The slider that holds the SIM card in place is somewhat broken due to the aforementioned stepping incident.)
So anyway, I'm going to head to the Tmobile store during my lunch break and get the Blackberry Curve 8900. (I'm hoping I can also get some sort of rubber case that will make this one a little more drop proof as well.) I am looking forward to finally having a QWERTY keyboard.

Not Today

So I talked to my Subaru dealer and he is still going through the cars.gov registration process so I won't be able to buy my Forester today. He'll know more Monday, so hopefully I'll be getting my car next week. I hate having to wait, but I guess I can be patient for a few more days.

Baby #2

Congratulations to my friend Kathleen! She just gave birth to William Bradley! (She kept us in suspense about his name until today, and I have to say I think it's a beautiful name!)

Trench Coat

I want this Patagonia trench coat so much! I tried it on in a medium (too big!) for $140 (too much!) last Friday. I just found it online for $98..... So tempted.

Update: I don't think I'm going to get the coat. It is really depressing to buy cute clothes then wait months to be able to wear them. Stupid hot weather.

Turkey Lurkey

Okay, last post for today, I promise. :)
I made some awesome turkey meatloaf last night and wanted to post the recipe because it was so healthy, easy, and delicious. All measurements are pretty approximate because, of course, I just threw stuff together in what seemed to be the right proportion at the time.

Turkey Meatloaf

1/2 lb ground 99% fat free turkey
1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 small can diced green
3 sliced green onions
1/4 cup salsa (this is our secret family ingredient for awesome meatloaf)
2 eggs
1/2-1 cup uncooked oatmeal (add 1/2 a cup, then more if the mixture is too moist)
Ketchup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together first 8 ingredients. Add 1/2 cup of oatmeal and stir. If meat mixture is too moist, add more oatmeal, until the mixture can be formed into a loaf. Place meat mixture into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with a thin layer of Ketchup. Bake for 30 minutes.
I served my meatloaf with the last of the new potatoes from Mom's garden (I boiled them, cut them in half and tossed them with a little butter and garlic salt) and green peas. Total comfort food!

Frankencar

My parents came over Sunday afternoon so my Dad could take apart my car. Since I decided to do Cash to Clunkers, my car is going to be crushed once I turn it in. (And I do have mixed feelings about this, because it's been such a great car- but apparently I am not $3500 sentimental.) When my dad realized this, the wheels in his mind started turning and he told me to ask the car dealer if it was okay if the car showed up missing the radio and a few other parts. We got the green light from the dealer and Dad gleefully started deciding what parts he could cannibalize from my car and use on his boat and motor home. I told Dad that as long as I could comfortably drive it this week, he could have whatever parts he wanted.
Let me tell you that the gaping hole where my radio used to be really drives home the fact that I'm not going to have my car much longer (he's planning to put the radio in the boat). He also took the roof rack, running boards (I think he actually wants to put on my mom's Jeep- which amuses me b/c they say "Explorer") and the rear window windsheild water sprayer (for his motor home). At the end of the week, he's also getting the spare tire (for his boat trailer) and the jack.
Dad, of course, had a great time taking my car apart. Afterwards I showed him some videos of Foresters going off road (because I knew he'd love them) and I think he's really excited about my new car now as well. (Dad's a huge fan of AWD vehicles.) I am planning to take my new car to Gulfport next weekend (provided that I get it on Friday, which is the current plan) and I think I'm going to have to hide the keys to prevent dad from taking it mud riding. Haha!
Anyway, here's a slideshow from Motortrends that has a bunch of pictures of the Forester (two actually, the turbo and regular) in red. It's paired with an article about it being Motortrends SUV of the year in 2009.

Race Recap

Here is a nice article from NOLA.com about the history of the Spillway Classic. I had a lot of fun running it! First, you run across the levy (which is the least fun because after a little hill, you basically run down a mile of flat gravel road- I kept wondering when we would get to the fun stuff!), the you run down a hill into "the gauntlet" which is a giant mud puddle. This year, the gauntlet was a 1 (on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10) because we haven't had a lot of rain. I was told that last year it was a 7! As it was, I actually just ran around the mud because a bunch of people were walking around in the mud, either playing or trying to find their shoes- which the mud is notorious for eating! After the gauntlet, you run through the woods on the actual trail portion of the run. That was really fun! The woods were cool and pretty, and the trail had lots of places to jump over logs and duck under trees. It was also single file, so you had to keep up with the person in front of you, but the pace was generally slow enough that I didn't feel like I was going to trip or get too tired. At the end, you run through spray from fire hoses and cheating (tackling other runners in the puddles created by the spray) is encouraged.
I spend about a month worrying that the weather would be unbearably hot, but we actually had a cool snap yesterday and so it was in the low 80's during the race, which was perfect! I finished in 36:40, which I think isn't too bad given that there were still people finishing at 52 minutes when I left to go home. (There were nearly 2000 people at the race, so it just takes a while to get everyone through.)
Of course, since it is a New Orleans race, there were people in costume! My favorite was a girl in a (short) prom dress and a guy in a suit with the arms cut off the jacket and the pants made into cut off shorts. They were drinking a beer while running. Too funny! There were also guys in the same kind of modified suits carrying briefcases, as well as a guy dressed up like Joe dirt.
My only regret about the Spillway Classic is that I ran it by myself. I think it would be really fun with a group of people and I will definitely try to get people together to run it next year!

Trailing

I'm running the Spillway Classic Trail Run tomorrow! Wish me luck!! :)

Bam!

Last night we had dinner at Emeril's for our friend Jon's birthday and it was really good. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the whole thing because it was much better than I thought it would be. I tend to be fairly put off by Emeril's TV persona, and it annoys the life out of me that he puts little paper bags of his "Essence" (a spice mix) in the frozen shrimp that has his name on it at the grocery store. (The bags get all slimy and I think essence is kind of an ooky name, but anyway). I expected the food to be very tradional New Orleans food and very rich. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the menu had tons of options, including appetizers, soups and salads, entrees, small plates, not so small plates, specialties, and a 3 course tastes of Spain special that my dear boyfriend had and said was very good. I ordered crispy crawfish filled squash blossoms that were quite good- although very big, which ended up being a lot of fried food, and the oyster stuffed quail saltimbocca which was amazing. It came with two quail so I ate one and saved the other with the intention of having it today. Instead, I ate it in the car on the way home. It made delicious post bar food. :) For dessert I had the dark chocolate torte, which was rich and yummy. I also tried bites of a mussel soup, the escargot, and the boudin with collard greens. All were very good. I'd heard that the service wasn't the best, but our servers were great.
The wine menu is so big it has a table of contents, although there is only one page of wines by the glass. I think the choices were pretty good though. I had a glass of Walnut City Wineworks Reserve (2006) Pinot Noir, which is one of my favorites (in part because I've been wine tasting there before).
There were two funny very "Emeril-y" things I noticed at the restaurant. You can buy a bottle of "Emeril" wine (grown in Chile) and the bathrooms have tiles with various pictures of Emeril on them intersperced with their regular wall tiles. So I would totally recommend giving Emeril's a try....as long as you don't mind the fact that he's watching you pee. Haha!

Shopping

I want to go shopping!!! I don't think that I am at all atypical in the sense that I am eternally unsatisfied with my wardrobe. However, I think that my dissatisfaction has increased since I've started buying a lot of my clothes online. Going to the mall is very tiring and annoying (especially when I'm shopping by myself), and shopping online is very convenient- but I think that when I shop in person, my clothes just fit and look better. So I have resolved to stop buying clothes online for a while to see if my wardrobe will benefit.
I am trying to wait until next month, and then go on a bit of a spree in honor of my birthday. I want a couple of pretty dresses, some bras, and some shirts to go out in.
I also need to update my work clothes a bit, but I'm planning on holding out until the fall. Then I will be needing some new dress pants and maybe a few nice long sleeve shirts.
Waiting is hard.
But really, you'd think the knowledge that I'm buying a car in a week would quiet my inner consumer.

Little Red Corvette

I don't have a new car as of yet, but I know the exact car I'm getting. I went by the Subaru dealership yesterday because I want a new 2009 Forester (because they are doing a 3.9% interest special on their remaining 2009's to get rid of them, and yes, I qualified for the low interest because my credit score is a beautiful thing to behold) and we had to order one from another lot. It was kind of funny because I had to decided what color I wanted, which is actually something I hadn't considered at all. There were three different colors on the lot in Alabama that we decided to order from- white (which I didn't want), dark gray, and red. Since my current vehicle is black, I decided that dark gray would be too similar and went with the red!!! This isn't a picture of the exact car I'm getting but it's pretty much what it will look like. Doesn't it look pretty?
After that, I went home, quickly wolfed down a bbq chicken breast and some brocolli that my dear boyfriend was kind enough to cook, then we went to see Harry Potter with Steph, Sarah, and Jon at the Prytania Theater. It wasn't my favorite of the series, but I definitely enjoyed myself. All in all, it was a lovely night.

Baby #1

Congratulations to my friend Ginny who gave birth to Evangeline Clare last night! I can't wait to meet Evie!!

Penelope

I watched Penelope over the course of the past two nights and thought it was an adorable movie. It was a great modern fairytale with a good message (that I won't give away because it becomes a key plot point). I really think that the set and costume design did a great job of using quirky and old fashioned touches to reinforce the fairytale feel of the entire movie. Apartment Therapy did a great post that featured basically all of my favorite things about the set design. As for the costuming, I loved how old fashioned (and somewhat steampunk) Reese Witherspoon's character's clothes look- especially combined with her more modern hair and makeup. I also think they do a good job of making Penelope look like a modern princess. And the details on her purple coat are wonderful. Peter Dinklage's character Lemon, the reporter, also has a great, old fashioned looking wardrobe.
All in all, this movie was both entertaining and beautiful.

Just What I needed to See

I read a summary of an Australian study about marriage yesterday that contained the following quote, which I found very discouraging.

"Also, partners who are on their second or third marriage are 90 percent more likely to separate than spouses who are both in their first marriage."

I'd like to read the actual study because that is a pretty big blanket statement. Are they considering cases in which one or both partner(s) is (are) on their second or third marriage? Is there a difference between these two cases? Also, is there a difference between the statistics for people who are on 3rd versus 2nd marriages?
If you think about it, (judging from this statement) there are 6 different marriage combinations that could have been included in this study (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:2, 2:3, and 3:3), and this single sentence regarding previously married people lumps 5/6 of them all together with this frighteningly high marriage failure rate statistic. Clearly further research needs to be done to elucidate the differences between these 5 cases if it has not already been further detailed in the study.
So now that my rational engineer's brain has picked apart this statement I'll adjourn this journal club meeting and confess that when I initially read that statement my heart sank. I am very bad about taking negative statistics way too seriously.
I get so angry about the seeming fact that having gone through the absolute hell of divorce increases my risk of going through it again. I honestly didn't do anything wrong, but I feel like I'm being punished. I never in a million years thought that my first marriage would end, but it is so hard to think about marriage in the future without worrying that I will have to get divorced again. Because let me repeat, divorce is hell. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. (That's not saying it wasn't the best decision I have ever made. It was. But it was also the most painful experience I have ever endured.)
I joke that I'm the patron saint of divorcee's because whenever people I know go through a breakup they look to me as an example of how to move on. I'm the very picture of post divorce success and I've made a wonderful life for myself. Ultimately though, I don't think it's possible to endure intense pain (no matter how constructive) without having a few scars.
I made the decision a long time ago to not let my fear of failure prevent me from falling in love and getting married again someday. I still believe that the institution of marriage is a good one for many reasons. However, sometimes it is very easy to feel discouraged. Articles and events in the news that trigger my fear seem to come in waves.
But this article in Salon today (be warned, it's a bit PG-13 to R, but all in all a celebration of all the good and not so good things that make marriage lovely) made me feel a little better. So thank you.
And now back to my regularly scheduled non-soul baring posts.

Goings on

I had a very nice weekend filled with lots of time spent with my dear boyfriend and our friends.
On Friday, in addition to seeing White Noise with my friend Steph, I checked out the bar at Iris. Iris is one of a few bars and restaurants that are beginning to take part in the mixology movement. I forget the name of my drink, but it was delicious. It featured apple brandy, watermelon juice and crushed basil (which was actually replacing tarragon, because I'm not a fan of that herb.) Steph's drink involved strawberries, vanilla vodka (I think) and pine needles. We also split the scallop ceviche appetizer. It was all very tasty and the ambiance at Iris is cool and relaxing. I would definitely go there again.
On Saturday, my friends Sarah and Jon came over and we all ended up playing Apples to Apples until 3am. Jon bought a car earlier that day, so my dear boyfriend surprised him by going to Walmart and buying some truly hideous car accessories. I think they included a giant skull tattoo printed window shade, matching air fresheners, and magnetic racing flames for the side of the car. Too funny!
I slept late on Sunday, and had a pretty quiet day. Sunday evening we had dinner with our friends Bruce and Simone, and a few other friends of theirs at Simone's house. Simone made French cut lamb racks, asparagus, potatoes and salad. It was delicious!
Tonight I am going to Sarah and Jon's to celebrate Bastille Day and am using that as an excuse to pick up some two-bite brownies from Whole Foods. Let them eat brownies!!

Peanut Butter

I just made the peanut buttery bars from the blog Carrots N' Cake. They turned out very well! I made a few changes so here is my version below:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks, plus about 1 TBSP reserved (I chopped up some Dove Dark Chocolates that needed to be eaten)
1/2 cup peanut butter (plus a little more if needed)
2 eggs
A generous squirt of honey (I used Jiff peanut butter which is really sweet so I didn't really have to use much sweetener at all. My mixture seemed pretty dry though, which is why I ended up adding a little extra peanut butter and an extra egg compared to the original recipe- the dryness could also be because I used WW instead of regular flour.)

Mix ingredients together, except for the last TBSP of chopped chocolate. Bake in a greased 8X8 baking dish at 350 for 15-18 minutes. After the top is brown, top with the remaining chocolate and put it back in the oven for a minute or so to melt. Once it is melted, take a knife and spread it evenly over the top of the bars. Allow to cool before cutting.

White Noise

Tonight I saw White Noise at the Le Petite Theater. It was amazing, thought provoking, and very moving. I cried, but then again, I have been easily moved to tears for quite some time. But seriously, if you live in or near New Orleans, you should see this play. It's going to be on Broadway in October and I can see why. It's incredible.

My strange love for Helena Bonham Carter continues unabated

I really love Helena Bonham Carter. I think she's really pretty, I think she pulls of her eccentric frumpy clothes and huge disheveled hair in a way that most people cannot, and I love that she and Tim Burton essentially live in two houses that are connected by one room (b/c I would totally do that). I guess I just greatly appreciate unabashed weirdness in other people b/c I can never get away with that sort of thing myself. Anyway, the point of this post is that I also love that she carried a castle purse to the Harry Potter premier.

Cyclops

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping at the Rouse's near my work in Metairie. Usually, the healthfood pickings are pretty slim at this particular store (case in point, they didn't have my greek yogurt or my 0% organic milk, which are always available at the Uptown Rouses) but it is really close to my work and I can still get all the meat and veggies I need for the week- so I go there for the convenience factor.
I've been craving ice cream for the past couple of weeks, so I decided to see what they had in the freezer section. First I noticed that Kemp's is making little single servings of probiotic frozen yogurt. I picked one up, planning to try it but I wasn't thrilled with the ingredients- high fructose corn syrup and all that jazz. Nonetheless, it's dessert, so that wasn't a complete deal breaker. I put the white chocolate raspberry cup in my buggy and continued looking. Kemp's also makes 100 calorie ice cream sandwhiches that looked tempting, but I thought that I would try those next time.
Finally, on the other side of the freezer section, next to the pies (and Italian ice cream, oddly enough- I guess they have more ice cream than they do space), I found containers of Cyclops Organic Greek Style Frozen Yogurt. Frozen Greek yogurt! The Kemp's immediately went back in the freezer and I chose the raspberry flavored Cyclops (It also comes in coffee, mango, strawberry, and bananna). The stats were definitely not bad. It has 150 calories in a 1/2 cup serving, it is probiotic, and all the ingredients are natural (yogurt, sugar, cream, rasberries, boysenberries, skim milk powder, pastuerized egg yolk, guar, carageenan, and locust bean gums).
I was pretty eager to try it out, so I tried a little spoonful when I got home. It tastes exactly like rasberry cheesecake!!! I am insanely thrilled about this. :)

Summer Reading

I am reading Gone With the Wind. I'm really a horrible Southerner for never having read it or having watched the movie! I tried to read Gone With the Wind several years ago, right after my divorce. However, I went through a period of several months during which I couldn't focus enough to read anything because I was so distraught, so I never got past the first few pages. (I finally finished a book- The Secret Garden, which I'd read several times before- 4 or 5 months later.)
Now that I am finally reading Gone With the Wind I am really enjoying it. I can't believe I waited this long to read it- it's wonderful and right up my alley. (My alley being "any books or movies set before 1930 and preferably involving dramatic and beautiful clothes.")
Right now, our neighbors just set off a bunch of loud fireworks, and my dog Bernie went nuts! The cat wasn't too happy either. The worst thing is that the fireworks were just loud- not pretty at all. Lame.
In other news, I had a lovely lunch with my friend Xiujuan. I love going over to her house because I get real Chinese food. So yummy! Her little boy, Tate, is 4, and she is expecting to give birth to her little girl, Ola, in November.
I also got some scary news this evening. Apparently my little brother (he's 24- so not that little, actually) and his friends took my dad's boat out to Horn Island in the gulf for the 4th of July. They were on their way home when a huge storm blew up. They knew they wouldn't be able to make it to land in time, so they had to go back to the island (with waves so tall they were crashing over the boat), anchor the boat, put on life vests, and sit on the empty island until the storm passed! My mom called me because they'd called everyone before they got to the island, but their phones were too wet to use after the storm had passed and so my parents called the coast guard and everything. Fortunately, they made it home safely- but I've been told that they are all very tired! I plan to call my brother tomorrow so I can hear all about it! (And of course, I plan to call him Gilligan for the next several months.) I'm so happy he's safe!

Yum!

A couple new delicious healthy things for today!
I just tried an almond & coconut Kind Bar and it was fantastic. Super coconut-y (with really big flakes so you don't have to endure the easter basket grass texture of shredded coconut), crunchy, sweet (but not too sweet), and filling. The nutritional stats are good as well: 190 Calories, 4 g of protein, and 4 g of fiber. I only bought 1 at the store to try them out, but I will definitely be going back for more!
Also, I don't think I've written about my new favorite lunch- spicy sabra hummus, bbq sauce, fresh baby spinach (I've graduated from the plastic bags to the big plastic boxes of spinach in the produce section- and go through about a box a week!) and a slice of cheese (I prefer swiss or pepper jack) in a whole wheat wrap. The combination of hummus & BBQ sauce (Humbeque) is particularly delish! I usually make my wrap in the morning then nuke it for a minute and a half around lunch time. It is spicy, cheesy and wonderful!