The Zen, she is still tiredly hanging around
Today was my regularly scheduled day off and it's very lovely. Low humidity, low 80s, sunshine and cool breezes - the kind of late spring day we've mostly been denied this year. Starting tomorrow it climbs into the 90s with higher humidity. So I'm sucking up the loveliness today.
I also took yesterday off. Monday we were supposed to pretty much ignore restocking (picks) from the backroom and getting rid of the pallets of freight that the overnights haven't been able to get to. In my infinite stupidity I did both. I couldn't ignore restocking. Sunday the infant department did over $10,000 in business and most of that was in consumables (food, diapers, formula and wipes) so there were a lot of holes. So I did 7 carts of freight and picks (some of it moderately heavy and/or very big and awkward), reworked 5 endcaps (2 of the huge mofos) as well as all the little crap that needs to get done daily. And I did it - surprise! - with no help. I actually overdid it. I kinda screwed up my back and had a hard time moving yesterday. At first I called in that I was going to be a couple of hours late but then I realized that that just wouldn't cut it. Instead I found a chiropractor. Mega-relief! Then I took it easy the rest of the day and today. I'm going to take it easy Thur and Fri, too. No heavy lifting.
Today Theresa (direct supervisor) began her 2 week vacation. Supposedly the manager that Heather is covering for comes back on the 21st so next Tues I should start having at least some help although I doubt I'll get Heather full time for a little while longer. Whatever. I'll take what I can get.
I finally caved and caught up on Game of Thrones. I watched the first 4 eps Sat night, the next 4 on Sun after work and then the current ep on Monday with breakfast before work. I actually downloaded the first ep after it played but then saw quite a few negative reactions. Since I wasn't chomping at the bit to watch it I deleted it. The reviews I kept seeing were still so-so but then I queried
kadymae about some particulars and found out that the majority of her trouble with the series was how it was deviating from the books. That's always of less concern to me than it is to many and in this case not at all since I haven't read the books. Yet.
I really like the series. It's well acted, well scripted and beautifully shot. I really like a lot of the actors - I adore Peter Dinklage and his character Tyrion Lannister - and find most of the characters very believable. Quite often I don't care for stories that bounce too much from sub-plot to sub-plot too much. It's one of the reasons I could never get into Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series - I dislike getting to know a character and then loosing sight of them for the length of a book or more - but the show does a do good job of balancing the story lines.
I have a big old yen to re-watch Witchblade again. I have it recorded on tape but that's a pain in the ass to set up and watch and then there's the less than stellar quality and all the commercials. Thank god someone has put both seasons on individual episode links on
tvshare. I love that comm! No torrents to wait for, just a few minutes (usually) to download off Megaupload (or similar) and you're ready to watch.
Earlier today I made lemon panna cotta with blackberry coulis! In case you've never heard of panna cotta, it's dead easy to make. You take a milk product of some kind (I use coconut milk for lower carbs - cream would have no carbs but way too much fat), add sweetener of choice (mine is suitably low carb), flavoring of choice and powdered gelatin dissolved in a little cold water. You just have to make sure and heat the mixture on medium for at least 10 minutes after adding the gelatin or it tends to separate out into a bottom layer. Portion out and chill until set! There are tons of recipes online and you can play with different combinations of 'milk' and flavorings and the amount of gelatin you put it for consistency. It's like a custard but much lighter and more refreshing without the egg yolks. A coulis is just a fancy way of saying fruit sauce!
Tonight I'm having a grilled tuna steak marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and a touch of rice vinegar. It's only recently that I discovered that fresh tuna is a world away from the canned stuff. Also for dinner, tender fresh green beans lightly steamed and still crunchy and tossed in sesame oil and garlic. And since there are no carbs to speak of in the above, a big bowl of low carb vanilla ice cream (which tastes only so-so) buried under a mound of fresh sliced sweetened strawberries.
I'm really trying to get back to eating right and that means I've become rather obsessed with food. When I fall back on my old eating habits it's easy to find something to eat, but when I have to eat right, it takes more planning and inventiveness. My normal day-off breakfast is usually a little serving of biscuits and gravy, but this morning I had lemon ricotta pancakes (very low in carbs) with homemade blueberry sauce that I made yesterday. For lunch I blew my carbs and had a small demi loaf of Black Pepper Focacia and strips of Mango-Fire Cheddar cheese and some fresh veggies.
I can use restraint and not buy an entire loaf of really yummy specialty bread because I know I have no restraint once it enters my house - I'll scarf the whole thing. Thank god the local Hy-Vee carries Bread Stone breads now and they make the most marvelous specialty breads in several different sizes including little tiny loaves - about 5 oz. probably more than I should eat at one sitting but they taste so damn good and they're a once in awhile treat.
I also have a bag of fresh green beans that I totally forgot about and now they're too old to just steam so I'm about ready to throw them in a pot with thick scraps of seasoning bacon, some onions and garlic and simmer until tender - Southern style! I'll throw in a few new potatoes, too, for a complete meal.
Ah well, if I'm going to put a big pot to simmer on the stove it's time to close up the apartment for a few hours and turn on the a/c. It's OK now if I'm not doing anything and with a fan blowing on me, but up and moving around with a pot steaming away on the stove and it would just be too uncomfortable.
When the sun gets off the balcony I need to go out and plant the few flowers and herbs I bought today. Nothing extravagant, a few marigolds for the bottom of the tomato and pepper plants, a flat of velvety purple, snow white and variegated lavender petunias for the 2 hanging baskets, plus some basil, dill, Italian parsley and sage. I waited too long to get the gardening bug and most of the herb plants are gone. Tomorrow I'm going to check at work for thyme, oregano and rosemary. I do miss my fresh herbs.
Ooops! Gotta go check and see if the laundry if dry first.
I also took yesterday off. Monday we were supposed to pretty much ignore restocking (picks) from the backroom and getting rid of the pallets of freight that the overnights haven't been able to get to. In my infinite stupidity I did both. I couldn't ignore restocking. Sunday the infant department did over $10,000 in business and most of that was in consumables (food, diapers, formula and wipes) so there were a lot of holes. So I did 7 carts of freight and picks (some of it moderately heavy and/or very big and awkward), reworked 5 endcaps (2 of the huge mofos) as well as all the little crap that needs to get done daily. And I did it - surprise! - with no help. I actually overdid it. I kinda screwed up my back and had a hard time moving yesterday. At first I called in that I was going to be a couple of hours late but then I realized that that just wouldn't cut it. Instead I found a chiropractor. Mega-relief! Then I took it easy the rest of the day and today. I'm going to take it easy Thur and Fri, too. No heavy lifting.
Today Theresa (direct supervisor) began her 2 week vacation. Supposedly the manager that Heather is covering for comes back on the 21st so next Tues I should start having at least some help although I doubt I'll get Heather full time for a little while longer. Whatever. I'll take what I can get.
I finally caved and caught up on Game of Thrones. I watched the first 4 eps Sat night, the next 4 on Sun after work and then the current ep on Monday with breakfast before work. I actually downloaded the first ep after it played but then saw quite a few negative reactions. Since I wasn't chomping at the bit to watch it I deleted it. The reviews I kept seeing were still so-so but then I queried
kadymae about some particulars and found out that the majority of her trouble with the series was how it was deviating from the books. That's always of less concern to me than it is to many and in this case not at all since I haven't read the books. Yet.
I really like the series. It's well acted, well scripted and beautifully shot. I really like a lot of the actors - I adore Peter Dinklage and his character Tyrion Lannister - and find most of the characters very believable. Quite often I don't care for stories that bounce too much from sub-plot to sub-plot too much. It's one of the reasons I could never get into Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series - I dislike getting to know a character and then loosing sight of them for the length of a book or more - but the show does a do good job of balancing the story lines.
I have a big old yen to re-watch Witchblade again. I have it recorded on tape but that's a pain in the ass to set up and watch and then there's the less than stellar quality and all the commercials. Thank god someone has put both seasons on individual episode links on
tvshare. I love that comm! No torrents to wait for, just a few minutes (usually) to download off Megaupload (or similar) and you're ready to watch.
Earlier today I made lemon panna cotta with blackberry coulis! In case you've never heard of panna cotta, it's dead easy to make. You take a milk product of some kind (I use coconut milk for lower carbs - cream would have no carbs but way too much fat), add sweetener of choice (mine is suitably low carb), flavoring of choice and powdered gelatin dissolved in a little cold water. You just have to make sure and heat the mixture on medium for at least 10 minutes after adding the gelatin or it tends to separate out into a bottom layer. Portion out and chill until set! There are tons of recipes online and you can play with different combinations of 'milk' and flavorings and the amount of gelatin you put it for consistency. It's like a custard but much lighter and more refreshing without the egg yolks. A coulis is just a fancy way of saying fruit sauce!
Tonight I'm having a grilled tuna steak marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and a touch of rice vinegar. It's only recently that I discovered that fresh tuna is a world away from the canned stuff. Also for dinner, tender fresh green beans lightly steamed and still crunchy and tossed in sesame oil and garlic. And since there are no carbs to speak of in the above, a big bowl of low carb vanilla ice cream (which tastes only so-so) buried under a mound of fresh sliced sweetened strawberries.
I'm really trying to get back to eating right and that means I've become rather obsessed with food. When I fall back on my old eating habits it's easy to find something to eat, but when I have to eat right, it takes more planning and inventiveness. My normal day-off breakfast is usually a little serving of biscuits and gravy, but this morning I had lemon ricotta pancakes (very low in carbs) with homemade blueberry sauce that I made yesterday. For lunch I blew my carbs and had a small demi loaf of Black Pepper Focacia and strips of Mango-Fire Cheddar cheese and some fresh veggies.
I can use restraint and not buy an entire loaf of really yummy specialty bread because I know I have no restraint once it enters my house - I'll scarf the whole thing. Thank god the local Hy-Vee carries Bread Stone breads now and they make the most marvelous specialty breads in several different sizes including little tiny loaves - about 5 oz. probably more than I should eat at one sitting but they taste so damn good and they're a once in awhile treat.
I also have a bag of fresh green beans that I totally forgot about and now they're too old to just steam so I'm about ready to throw them in a pot with thick scraps of seasoning bacon, some onions and garlic and simmer until tender - Southern style! I'll throw in a few new potatoes, too, for a complete meal.
Ah well, if I'm going to put a big pot to simmer on the stove it's time to close up the apartment for a few hours and turn on the a/c. It's OK now if I'm not doing anything and with a fan blowing on me, but up and moving around with a pot steaming away on the stove and it would just be too uncomfortable.
When the sun gets off the balcony I need to go out and plant the few flowers and herbs I bought today. Nothing extravagant, a few marigolds for the bottom of the tomato and pepper plants, a flat of velvety purple, snow white and variegated lavender petunias for the 2 hanging baskets, plus some basil, dill, Italian parsley and sage. I waited too long to get the gardening bug and most of the herb plants are gone. Tomorrow I'm going to check at work for thyme, oregano and rosemary. I do miss my fresh herbs.
Ooops! Gotta go check and see if the laundry if dry first.