Let's Suck at Everything but Bread
Apr. 29th, 2021 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39On Friday I did get to work from home, they called someone else in.
But unfortunately, I found out that for the next two weeks I will not get to work from home because someone in the training department is out. Ages and ages ago (ok a few months), I volunteered to be a "hybrid" supervisor/trainer, and was taught how to lead the training classes. So I'll be coming onsite to do that for a few days.
You know, now that it's been months and I've absolutely forgotten how to do it.
Whatever, I'm basically a substitute teacher. There will be other people around to ask for help, and I'll do my best. And if my best isn't good enough, frankly I'm almost, ALMOST to the point of throwing this supervisor nonsense out the window and just becoming a straight-up captionist again. The only thing stopping me is the extra $4 per hour, which I'd have to make up somewhere else.
Sometimes I miss the simplicity, and lack of responsibility, that came with being a captionist.
It was nice to work from home as a supervisor too, even if only two days a week. I could snack while working, stretch outside, spend some time in the sun on my breaks. I could start small chores during breaks (I'm talking starting a load of laundry which takes 2 minutes tops, nothing drastic but it does save time). I'm sad to have to be onsite for the next two weeks, but considering we've only had work from home back for a few weeks it's just as well.
During my first break I released the three butterflies--Zipper, Towelie, and Underleaf as I guess I'll call her--without ceremony. I asked Jameson if he wanted to release one but he declined, having work to do and having experienced it already. The first two took off right away, flapping awkwardly into some nearby trees where they could be safe. The last one was a little slow, she'd been sitting on the fruit plate so perhaps she was full of yummy snacks. She sat on my hand for a moment, flexing her wings, so I took a picture. She's very beautiful after all.
After just a few minutes she was ready, and flew away.
Only one chrysalis left. Then my role in this saga is complete.
I went back to work, and when it was lunchtime I ate with Jameson then went back outside to check on the plants like I always do once per day. I didn't see any of the butterflies when I came out, but when I got close to the property fence one appeared from somewhere and got really close, hovering just a few feet in front of me. I stuck out my hand and it made as if to land, but changed it's mind and flew off.
Now I'm not very sentimental, and I really hate being anthropomorphic as it's not fair to the animal. But this is twice now that one of the butterflies I've released has popped out of the woods and come close specificially when I came outside. Ruling out any magical Disney princess BS, I wonder if perhaps they have a scent memory, or some instinct generated while in captivity that says "safe" when processing me. Can butterflies remember things? Do they have scent memory?
Anyway, it was nice to see them still hanging around, although I hope they will travel far in their short lives.
Saturday, I was in a right mood. No idea why I felt so down, but part of it was probably that I'm dreading finally fulfilling my hybrid role at work, and part of it was that I'm just TIRED. All the time. I never feel like I get actual rest any more. I want a full week just to myself, not to visit family or plan a trip or do activities. Just...to sleep in. To read, which I love to do but haven't had time. To sit outside and just enjoy the sun, rather than having to run around watering and weeding as quickly as possible because I've got ten other things to do. Gosh, what a nice dream.
Work was whatever, all I could think about was how unprepared I am for teaching a class in two days.
Back home I checked on my last chrysalis and although it's not ready today, it probably will be tomorrow.
Sadly I'll be at work so will probably miss it. But wait! There was a surprise mystery box on the counter!
Someone sent me a time lapse camera! AND an SD card for it!! AND a weatherproof case!!
I have NO IDEA who sent it. Posted the photo online to see if someone would come forward, but so far no one has.
It wasn't my parents, but it was someone who has my address or was able to get it. That doesn't really narrow it down much.
Part of me is a little creeped out, thinking what if some random person has my address out there?? But also, I guess personal info is easy to get online. And this person seems to have good intentions (though receiving something so expensive makes me feel guilty!)
Well, I couldn't let this unexpected gift go to waste. I immediately got to work setting it up in the enclosure.
I've never used a time lapse camera before and have no idea how the footage will turn out, especially since I was unable to control the focus whatsoever, but I'm hoping it will auto-focus on whatever is moving, which should just be the chrysalis at some point tomorrow.
After that I did some steno, in which I impressed myself by getting an 89% on a 100wpm exercise and disappointed myself by completely bombing a 100wpm test.
Back home I immediately checked to see if the butterfly had hatched, and of course it had! It was flapping all around, so I immediately took it (her) outside and let her go. She didn't hesitate for a moment, sprang into the sky and was gone. That's it, experiment complete. Guess I'm an empty nester now.
Then to check on the time lapse video. And of course, because it was my first time using the camera and because I somehow missed the part in the stats that said the minimum distance for focusing is 30cm, the video was completely blurry and useless. I had lined it up perfectly and everything, but the camera was too close. Another disappointment. I'm good at those!
That said, now I know for next time. And I got to experiment with editing this video, which was fun (trying to de-blur it as much as possible, which obviously did not work at all). I felt bad to upload something so shitty, but felt that whoever sent me the camera at least deserved to know that I had tried, even if I failed miserably.
Hopefully I'll get another chance. With a measuring tape.
Monday, I spent the whole day in the training department. Did my best, which wasn't really good enough, but luckily there were people there to help me. Back home I choked down whatever random food for dinner so I could get into steno class on time. It didn't go very well, but I seem to be showcasing my mediocrity this week.
Tuesday, more of the same, it was a little easier for me in training. And for once I was able to leave work on time, on a Tuesday! Gosh!
I got my groceries and had dinner with Jameson, checked on the plants. My lemon tree has dropped all of the little lemons it had started. Dammit! I should have moved it to an overhang when the weather called for rain. They're so sensitive to that. My tomatoes look great, but the carrots were once again a failure. They at least looked like carrots this time albeit way too small, but they were woody and bitter. I'll just have to keep trying. Some of the passion fruits have shriveled on the vine, I think they were not pollinated well. There are still 30+ that look fine, though, so we're still in business for a passion fruit tart and/or bars and/or cheesecake at some point.
Wednesday, woke up later than planned and hurriedly started my bread. This week it's a parmesan cracked black pepper loaf!
I'm not much into cheese breads, but it still sounds pretty good to me. I'd love to enjoy this bread with a spicy red Italian seafood stew, too bad it's too hot outside for that!
Here is the dough before and after I'd incorporated the parm and black pepper.
While the dough was rising I swept the pool deck and watered my plants. My garden is kind of chaotic since I've spent all of my time with the butterflies lately. I'm still pretty bummed about the lemons, but am trying to console myself with the 30-some passionfruit, which can be used in a lot of the same ways as a lemon.
My black sapote has a flower, but I haven't a clue how to pollinate it! The internet seems to have zero info on this.
My roselle has its first calyxes, despite being only about two feet tall. Exciting! These taste like cranberry and can be made into jam.
The mysterious pod on my trumpet pitcher was apparently a flower with seeds, I'm debating whether and how to plant the seeds, or maybe use them in a plant exchange.
There is still one chrysalis in the yard, attached to the fence. I may try to catch it with the time lapse tomorrow if it doesn't crack before I wake up.
At some point I had lunch, then shaped the bread and set it for the second rest. While that was going Jameson played games with friends, and I practiced steno and sent emails to my pregnant sister and my parents, just to see how they're doing. Somewhere in there the dough was done rising and I set it to bake. The house smelled AMAZING. And when the bread was done, it looked incredible. Aesthetically this is probably my best one yet.
I scored it differently than in the book just because I wanted to see what it would look like. The cheese crisped on the crust, and inside it was dispersed in melty little ribbons that you could only see if the light hit it just right, since parm is a white cheese. We each had a slice, it was peppery and savory and absolutely delicious. My boyfriend was thrilled with it actually, and that made my day. Definitely going to use this recipe again.
For the record I used parmigiano reggiano, not cheap American parm, because I suspected the difference in flavor would be worth the extra money. And it was. If you make this bread, don't cheap out on your cheese, folks!
Thursday, I woke up and ran out to see the chrysalis. It was like it had waited for me to hatch, it was ready to go right when I came outside.
I set up the time lapse camera, carefully measured 30cm distance, and got it started, then took footage with my phone since it was happening right in front of me anyway!
Because I'm a failure at this, I accidentally took my video slo-mo, which is a lower quality. So when I set it to "normal time" again it's still a good video, but not very clear. Of course!!
Here is the butterfly zipping together his/her proboscis after emerging. When they come out it's split, so they have to put it together.
The time lapse video was no good, once again it was too blurry. Next time I'm setting it 60cm away, I don't know what else to do, there are no focus controls and you can't tell if it's focused by looking at the tiny screen. I just need more practice it seems.
After that I drove out to The Fresh Market for shrimp for dinner, and a few other unplanned things like fancy coffee and some pretty-looking gummies. Hey, sometimes you just gotta. Back home I did my meal prep and spent a little time moping because my steno teacher sent a message asking why I haven't logged more practice hours. I do need to exercise better time management. Any answer I could give to her felt like an excuse, so I just told her the truth. I know that I need to log more hours in steno. Getting little sleep and having such a long commute wears on me, and I struggle to focus at the end of my work week, and I need to work on that. I've been experiencing some technical issues in our steno program which the previous teacher had addressed, yet remain unresolved. I offered for her to watch me practice tonight, but she was probably indisposed because she didn't respond.
Here is an unsolicited rant, because I'm feeling defensive this week.
Some people (random people at work and online) have suggested that I stop making bread and gardening to free up more time for steno.
What those people don't realize is, it takes approx 2 hours of my time to bake a loaf of bread. Yes, the process takes almost the whole day, but I don't have to be there for the process. The bread rises for 3 hours without my help. My one loaf of bread per week does not interfere with steno.
As for gardening, the thing is once you plant the garden, YOU HAVE A GARDEN. I could certainly stop gardening and let my plants die, however having spent time and money on getting those plants going I'm not really inclined to do that.
The bottom line is, I already feel guilty about not doing enough steno, and realize that I need better time management. I don't appreciate people selecting the few hours of personal enjoyment that I get each week and telling me to spend it differently. Look at the dates and times that I post in this blog and on social media. With few exceptions, I ONLY post on two days each week: my days off. I work a full time job and have 10 hours of commute time each week and actually DO CURRENTLY spend time practicing steno, even though it's definitely not enough.
So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm annoyed that the first thing people suggest is removing the VERY few things I do for personal pleasure. Really, guys? I can't even have two hours to bake a loaf of bread, according to you? My coworkers call in absent or late just so they can sleep in until noon. The last time I called in absent was because I was in a car crash that could have killed me. The last time I got to sleep until noon was in college, or maybe when I was sick. But these are the people who have the gall to say I am spending too much time baking a loaf of bread for a few hours per week. Yeah, ok.
I just want to know why it is that what I do for enjoyment is so often deemed unacceptable or a waste of time. I get five hours of sleep per night, I'm working and in school and still trying to have a fulfilled life, and somehow I'm STILL not doing enough to satisfy ANYONE. I'm not good enough at work, or to my parents, or to my friends, or to my school. Thank god for Jameson, because otherwise I really would probably drop off the face of the earth from sheer annoyance. Wouldn't it be nice to wake up at noon on my day off, laze around on the couch, ordering takeout and binging Netflix while criticizing someone else for not doing enough because they baked a loaf of bread. Wow! What must that life be like!
OK I'm done. Just...sometimes it's too much. This week was one of those weeks. I just want to rest. And I can't.
Jameson and I went on a nice walk in the afternoon, during which I ranted a little like the above, and he listened and then told me he thinks I absolutely do enough, and more than I should, and shouldn't listen to others. And he's right. And I will adjust my schedule for steno, and keep baking bread, dammit, because even though I'm less-than-others I still have the power to give myself a small happiness. I also listened to some of his frustrations, and gave supportive feedback. Walks are good for this sort of thing.
Back home I got a shower and got started on dinner. I was being ambitious, making both air fryer chicken parm and shrimp scampi with linguine, the reason being the chicken is insanely easy and quick, and I need things to pack in my lunches, and I miss cooking dinner for two nights per week. The chicken WAS quick and easy, and so was the shrimp. I took two suggestions in the comments of my recipe, which were to boil the wine with the shrimp shells for extra flavor, and add some spaghetti water to the sauce to help it stick to the pasta and shrimp. It worked wonderfully. Simple yet delicious.
No pics of the chicken because y'all have seen it before. It was awesome with the black pepper parm bread and a nice fresh salad.
After dinner and cleaning up I had a nice big glass of wine, then Jameson went to play D&D with his cronies and I practiced steno for an hour and wrote this post.
Tomorrow it's back to work, I'm still in the training department but it should be my last day there for a while.
Then I only have a four-day workweek due to getting my second covid shot on Tuesday.
Considering that I had an elevated temperature, body aches, and nausea for the first shot, I have to assume the second one will be the same or worse. I've prepared by taking the extra day off and also gathering a few atypical foods for myself: bland crackers, ramen noodles, frozen bananas, ginger ale. Just gotta get through it one more time, then I can go to the gym.
Thanks for listening to my rants, I'm sorry to rant. I just want to be able to have fun sometimes, too, without criticism from the peanut gallery.
But unfortunately, I found out that for the next two weeks I will not get to work from home because someone in the training department is out. Ages and ages ago (ok a few months), I volunteered to be a "hybrid" supervisor/trainer, and was taught how to lead the training classes. So I'll be coming onsite to do that for a few days.
You know, now that it's been months and I've absolutely forgotten how to do it.
Whatever, I'm basically a substitute teacher. There will be other people around to ask for help, and I'll do my best. And if my best isn't good enough, frankly I'm almost, ALMOST to the point of throwing this supervisor nonsense out the window and just becoming a straight-up captionist again. The only thing stopping me is the extra $4 per hour, which I'd have to make up somewhere else.
Sometimes I miss the simplicity, and lack of responsibility, that came with being a captionist.
It was nice to work from home as a supervisor too, even if only two days a week. I could snack while working, stretch outside, spend some time in the sun on my breaks. I could start small chores during breaks (I'm talking starting a load of laundry which takes 2 minutes tops, nothing drastic but it does save time). I'm sad to have to be onsite for the next two weeks, but considering we've only had work from home back for a few weeks it's just as well.
During my first break I released the three butterflies--Zipper, Towelie, and Underleaf as I guess I'll call her--without ceremony. I asked Jameson if he wanted to release one but he declined, having work to do and having experienced it already. The first two took off right away, flapping awkwardly into some nearby trees where they could be safe. The last one was a little slow, she'd been sitting on the fruit plate so perhaps she was full of yummy snacks. She sat on my hand for a moment, flexing her wings, so I took a picture. She's very beautiful after all.
After just a few minutes she was ready, and flew away.
Only one chrysalis left. Then my role in this saga is complete.
I went back to work, and when it was lunchtime I ate with Jameson then went back outside to check on the plants like I always do once per day. I didn't see any of the butterflies when I came out, but when I got close to the property fence one appeared from somewhere and got really close, hovering just a few feet in front of me. I stuck out my hand and it made as if to land, but changed it's mind and flew off.
Now I'm not very sentimental, and I really hate being anthropomorphic as it's not fair to the animal. But this is twice now that one of the butterflies I've released has popped out of the woods and come close specificially when I came outside. Ruling out any magical Disney princess BS, I wonder if perhaps they have a scent memory, or some instinct generated while in captivity that says "safe" when processing me. Can butterflies remember things? Do they have scent memory?
Anyway, it was nice to see them still hanging around, although I hope they will travel far in their short lives.
Saturday, I was in a right mood. No idea why I felt so down, but part of it was probably that I'm dreading finally fulfilling my hybrid role at work, and part of it was that I'm just TIRED. All the time. I never feel like I get actual rest any more. I want a full week just to myself, not to visit family or plan a trip or do activities. Just...to sleep in. To read, which I love to do but haven't had time. To sit outside and just enjoy the sun, rather than having to run around watering and weeding as quickly as possible because I've got ten other things to do. Gosh, what a nice dream.
Work was whatever, all I could think about was how unprepared I am for teaching a class in two days.
Back home I checked on my last chrysalis and although it's not ready today, it probably will be tomorrow.
Sadly I'll be at work so will probably miss it. But wait! There was a surprise mystery box on the counter!
Someone sent me a time lapse camera! AND an SD card for it!! AND a weatherproof case!!
I have NO IDEA who sent it. Posted the photo online to see if someone would come forward, but so far no one has.
It wasn't my parents, but it was someone who has my address or was able to get it. That doesn't really narrow it down much.
Part of me is a little creeped out, thinking what if some random person has my address out there?? But also, I guess personal info is easy to get online. And this person seems to have good intentions (though receiving something so expensive makes me feel guilty!)
Well, I couldn't let this unexpected gift go to waste. I immediately got to work setting it up in the enclosure.
I've never used a time lapse camera before and have no idea how the footage will turn out, especially since I was unable to control the focus whatsoever, but I'm hoping it will auto-focus on whatever is moving, which should just be the chrysalis at some point tomorrow.
After that I did some steno, in which I impressed myself by getting an 89% on a 100wpm exercise and disappointed myself by completely bombing a 100wpm test.
Back home I immediately checked to see if the butterfly had hatched, and of course it had! It was flapping all around, so I immediately took it (her) outside and let her go. She didn't hesitate for a moment, sprang into the sky and was gone. That's it, experiment complete. Guess I'm an empty nester now.
Then to check on the time lapse video. And of course, because it was my first time using the camera and because I somehow missed the part in the stats that said the minimum distance for focusing is 30cm, the video was completely blurry and useless. I had lined it up perfectly and everything, but the camera was too close. Another disappointment. I'm good at those!
That said, now I know for next time. And I got to experiment with editing this video, which was fun (trying to de-blur it as much as possible, which obviously did not work at all). I felt bad to upload something so shitty, but felt that whoever sent me the camera at least deserved to know that I had tried, even if I failed miserably.
Hopefully I'll get another chance. With a measuring tape.
Monday, I spent the whole day in the training department. Did my best, which wasn't really good enough, but luckily there were people there to help me. Back home I choked down whatever random food for dinner so I could get into steno class on time. It didn't go very well, but I seem to be showcasing my mediocrity this week.
Tuesday, more of the same, it was a little easier for me in training. And for once I was able to leave work on time, on a Tuesday! Gosh!
I got my groceries and had dinner with Jameson, checked on the plants. My lemon tree has dropped all of the little lemons it had started. Dammit! I should have moved it to an overhang when the weather called for rain. They're so sensitive to that. My tomatoes look great, but the carrots were once again a failure. They at least looked like carrots this time albeit way too small, but they were woody and bitter. I'll just have to keep trying. Some of the passion fruits have shriveled on the vine, I think they were not pollinated well. There are still 30+ that look fine, though, so we're still in business for a passion fruit tart and/or bars and/or cheesecake at some point.
Wednesday, woke up later than planned and hurriedly started my bread. This week it's a parmesan cracked black pepper loaf!
I'm not much into cheese breads, but it still sounds pretty good to me. I'd love to enjoy this bread with a spicy red Italian seafood stew, too bad it's too hot outside for that!
Here is the dough before and after I'd incorporated the parm and black pepper.
While the dough was rising I swept the pool deck and watered my plants. My garden is kind of chaotic since I've spent all of my time with the butterflies lately. I'm still pretty bummed about the lemons, but am trying to console myself with the 30-some passionfruit, which can be used in a lot of the same ways as a lemon.
My black sapote has a flower, but I haven't a clue how to pollinate it! The internet seems to have zero info on this.
My roselle has its first calyxes, despite being only about two feet tall. Exciting! These taste like cranberry and can be made into jam.
The mysterious pod on my trumpet pitcher was apparently a flower with seeds, I'm debating whether and how to plant the seeds, or maybe use them in a plant exchange.
There is still one chrysalis in the yard, attached to the fence. I may try to catch it with the time lapse tomorrow if it doesn't crack before I wake up.
At some point I had lunch, then shaped the bread and set it for the second rest. While that was going Jameson played games with friends, and I practiced steno and sent emails to my pregnant sister and my parents, just to see how they're doing. Somewhere in there the dough was done rising and I set it to bake. The house smelled AMAZING. And when the bread was done, it looked incredible. Aesthetically this is probably my best one yet.
I scored it differently than in the book just because I wanted to see what it would look like. The cheese crisped on the crust, and inside it was dispersed in melty little ribbons that you could only see if the light hit it just right, since parm is a white cheese. We each had a slice, it was peppery and savory and absolutely delicious. My boyfriend was thrilled with it actually, and that made my day. Definitely going to use this recipe again.
For the record I used parmigiano reggiano, not cheap American parm, because I suspected the difference in flavor would be worth the extra money. And it was. If you make this bread, don't cheap out on your cheese, folks!
Thursday, I woke up and ran out to see the chrysalis. It was like it had waited for me to hatch, it was ready to go right when I came outside.
I set up the time lapse camera, carefully measured 30cm distance, and got it started, then took footage with my phone since it was happening right in front of me anyway!
Because I'm a failure at this, I accidentally took my video slo-mo, which is a lower quality. So when I set it to "normal time" again it's still a good video, but not very clear. Of course!!
Here is the butterfly zipping together his/her proboscis after emerging. When they come out it's split, so they have to put it together.
https://instagram.com/p/COQOt86g5Rk
The time lapse video was no good, once again it was too blurry. Next time I'm setting it 60cm away, I don't know what else to do, there are no focus controls and you can't tell if it's focused by looking at the tiny screen. I just need more practice it seems.
After that I drove out to The Fresh Market for shrimp for dinner, and a few other unplanned things like fancy coffee and some pretty-looking gummies. Hey, sometimes you just gotta. Back home I did my meal prep and spent a little time moping because my steno teacher sent a message asking why I haven't logged more practice hours. I do need to exercise better time management. Any answer I could give to her felt like an excuse, so I just told her the truth. I know that I need to log more hours in steno. Getting little sleep and having such a long commute wears on me, and I struggle to focus at the end of my work week, and I need to work on that. I've been experiencing some technical issues in our steno program which the previous teacher had addressed, yet remain unresolved. I offered for her to watch me practice tonight, but she was probably indisposed because she didn't respond.
Here is an unsolicited rant, because I'm feeling defensive this week.
Some people (random people at work and online) have suggested that I stop making bread and gardening to free up more time for steno.
What those people don't realize is, it takes approx 2 hours of my time to bake a loaf of bread. Yes, the process takes almost the whole day, but I don't have to be there for the process. The bread rises for 3 hours without my help. My one loaf of bread per week does not interfere with steno.
As for gardening, the thing is once you plant the garden, YOU HAVE A GARDEN. I could certainly stop gardening and let my plants die, however having spent time and money on getting those plants going I'm not really inclined to do that.
The bottom line is, I already feel guilty about not doing enough steno, and realize that I need better time management. I don't appreciate people selecting the few hours of personal enjoyment that I get each week and telling me to spend it differently. Look at the dates and times that I post in this blog and on social media. With few exceptions, I ONLY post on two days each week: my days off. I work a full time job and have 10 hours of commute time each week and actually DO CURRENTLY spend time practicing steno, even though it's definitely not enough.
So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm annoyed that the first thing people suggest is removing the VERY few things I do for personal pleasure. Really, guys? I can't even have two hours to bake a loaf of bread, according to you? My coworkers call in absent or late just so they can sleep in until noon. The last time I called in absent was because I was in a car crash that could have killed me. The last time I got to sleep until noon was in college, or maybe when I was sick. But these are the people who have the gall to say I am spending too much time baking a loaf of bread for a few hours per week. Yeah, ok.
I just want to know why it is that what I do for enjoyment is so often deemed unacceptable or a waste of time. I get five hours of sleep per night, I'm working and in school and still trying to have a fulfilled life, and somehow I'm STILL not doing enough to satisfy ANYONE. I'm not good enough at work, or to my parents, or to my friends, or to my school. Thank god for Jameson, because otherwise I really would probably drop off the face of the earth from sheer annoyance. Wouldn't it be nice to wake up at noon on my day off, laze around on the couch, ordering takeout and binging Netflix while criticizing someone else for not doing enough because they baked a loaf of bread. Wow! What must that life be like!
OK I'm done. Just...sometimes it's too much. This week was one of those weeks. I just want to rest. And I can't.
Jameson and I went on a nice walk in the afternoon, during which I ranted a little like the above, and he listened and then told me he thinks I absolutely do enough, and more than I should, and shouldn't listen to others. And he's right. And I will adjust my schedule for steno, and keep baking bread, dammit, because even though I'm less-than-others I still have the power to give myself a small happiness. I also listened to some of his frustrations, and gave supportive feedback. Walks are good for this sort of thing.
Back home I got a shower and got started on dinner. I was being ambitious, making both air fryer chicken parm and shrimp scampi with linguine, the reason being the chicken is insanely easy and quick, and I need things to pack in my lunches, and I miss cooking dinner for two nights per week. The chicken WAS quick and easy, and so was the shrimp. I took two suggestions in the comments of my recipe, which were to boil the wine with the shrimp shells for extra flavor, and add some spaghetti water to the sauce to help it stick to the pasta and shrimp. It worked wonderfully. Simple yet delicious.
No pics of the chicken because y'all have seen it before. It was awesome with the black pepper parm bread and a nice fresh salad.
After dinner and cleaning up I had a nice big glass of wine, then Jameson went to play D&D with his cronies and I practiced steno for an hour and wrote this post.
Tomorrow it's back to work, I'm still in the training department but it should be my last day there for a while.
Then I only have a four-day workweek due to getting my second covid shot on Tuesday.
Considering that I had an elevated temperature, body aches, and nausea for the first shot, I have to assume the second one will be the same or worse. I've prepared by taking the extra day off and also gathering a few atypical foods for myself: bland crackers, ramen noodles, frozen bananas, ginger ale. Just gotta get through it one more time, then I can go to the gym.
Thanks for listening to my rants, I'm sorry to rant. I just want to be able to have fun sometimes, too, without criticism from the peanut gallery.
