Made in Richmond

I was driving down Cary Street to get to work when suddenly there was a pair of Elephant Seals blocking traffic on Boulevard.

I don’t even work on Cary Street.

The other night Zapp and I were in the living room while Shooter was supervising Ross as he cooked dinner in the kitchen.

As my eyes were fixed on the TV, I heard a vaguely familiar puddling sound to my right. I looked over and saw Zapp, squatting over her dog bed, taking a giant whiz.

She and I looked at each other with equally saucer-like eyes. I couldn’t say anything; she couldn’t stop.

Then I started screaming brilliant and helpful things like, “What the hell are you doing?!?” and “Where the hell do you think you are?!?!?” And she started running for the door.

We haven’t spoken of it since.

1. See a sloth in real life.

2. Hold a baby chimpanzee.

3. Read the Bible from beginning to end.

4. Ride an elephant.

5. Give a million dollars to charity. At once.

6.  See my children sing in church.

7. Renew my wedding vows.

8. Build a lamp.

9. Be silent for an entire day.

10. Have a home in Blacksburg.

What are yours? Go ahead and post them in the comments.

Tah-dah!!!

(Click for notes.)

This week’s menu…

Sunday: Chicken and pasta

Monday: Beef stew

Tuesday: Homemade hummus to be eaten with fancy bread, chicken, and vegetables

Wednesday: Pot luck with friends. We will be making homemade popcorn which we already have.

Thursday: Hot dogs and salad

Friday: Leftover beef stew

The grand total…

$39.49

A bit higher than last week, but still under our $40 budget.

Now for your Deal Of The Week…

Two 1lb. packages of chicken for something $1.93 each. And we’re still alive! Ross mentioned going back and buying “like a hundred more” so you better get over there quick.

And new to Eats of the week! The Budget Buster…

[picture got losts somwheres!]

This is tahina, an integral ingredient in making hummus (and also made of gold, judging from the price.)

(v.1 | v.2 | v.3 | v.4)

I moved into my new office today. It’s pretty awesome, I’m not gonna lie.

I’ve got a renewed love for Friends. It’s like how you can’t miss someone when you’re always together - I just needed a two-year break I guess.

All I want to eat is some szechuan broccoli and steamed rice.

I just realized that the 5th graders at the school where I used to teach probably just took their first SOL test. That’s when it set in the I don’t work there anymore. Not the whole spending the last 8 1/2 months working somewhere else. The SOLs.

Grilled cheese with a slice of tomato makes me happier than most things.

You’re it…

Friday: Very bad day. Perked up with baked potatoes for dinner. Hang outs with the Suze and Cam.

Saturday: Haircut. Lunch with in-laws. Nap. RVANews community blogs meet-up. Home to do work. Bed.

Sunday: Slept in. Consistently confused by the time change. Trip to grocery store. Will post eats for the week tomorrow. Puttering around the house. Hope to go to bed soon, even though it will probably still be light out.

Here’s to a good week.

Zapp doesn’t know how to fetch. She’s horrible on a leash. And she certainly can’t balance things on her nose. But there is one thing she can do.

Take a look.

Taking inspiration from the lovely RA, I thought I’d give you all the opportunity to ask me anything that’s been on your mind about this site or my overall ridiculousness. If you look to the right, you’ll see that I do have an FAQ page because, believe it or not, I do get those questions (via email or comments) pretty often. But maybe there’s something I’ve left out. And I’m nothing if not transparent.

I’ll answer the questions in coming posts. I can’t really imagine what question I wouldn’t answer, unless it’s something that I would be mortified for my boss, father, or in-laws to read.  Then again, I have no shame, so I probably won’t leave much out.

Aaaaaaand go!

Not The Swayze!

I saw a news report on this today and they showed a clip of the final scene of Dirty Dancing. I’m not gonna lie, I got a little choked up.

Let’s reminisce…

Oh, how I wanted to marry Johnny Castle. And wear that pink dress.

As promised, here are the ingredients necessary for this week’s menu…

(Click on the image for notes.)

And our menu…

Monday: Garlic and mushroom pasta

Tuesday: Broccoli and pita bread with hummus dip

Wednesday: Garlic and mushroom pasta leftovers

Thursday: Oven-baked chicken fingers

Friday: Baked potatoes

And the grand total….

$35.04

It would have been even less if we hadn’t screwed ourselves by buying the broccoli from Ellwood Thompson ($2.99/lb) instead of Kroger (2 bunches for $6).

And it is my pleasure to present you with your deal of the week!

That, friends, is a giant box of cornflakes available at Kroger for just $0.99. Run, go hurry, before they run out!