It’s time once again for 12 of 12!
I knew going in that this month’s 12 was going to be kind of a letdown. We came back from Hawaii two days ago, and I had originally feared that this month’s series would consist of “Here’s the big pile of laundry we have to do. Here’s the mail we have to go through. Here’s the suitcases we haven’t put away.” However, we got through most of our “big” chores yesterday, so that’s fortunately not the case.
By the way, if you’re really into torture, I have an entire gallery of photos from our trip to Hawaii.
The other slight problem we’re having is massive jet lag. Honestly, I’ve never had eastbound jet lag this bad before – we’re both sleeping really late (like, 11 o’clock) and waking up thinking that it’s around 7:30. Considering I have to go back to work on Monday — and get up at 6 am to do so — that’s going to be a real fun day, I’ll bet…
On to the photos!
So, a couple of months ago, Ray forwarded me this article introducing a new product called “Batter Blaster.” While we were out spending a ridiculous amount of money at Costco yesterday, replenishing all the stock that we let run out before we left, Ray found it there.
Batter Blaster is to waffle batter what Easy Cheez is to … well, non-dairy “cheese” products. It’s pancake batter in a can.
I originally made a rather disparaging comment to the effect of “Oh, god, that looks totally organic [eye roll].” Fortunately, we didn’t have crow around, or I would have had to eat it because, as it turns out …
I know, I still don’t believe it either. Anyway, the waffles were pretty good. They weren’t the macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup we had for breakfast at the Wailana Coffee House in Honolulu last Saturday morning, but that’s probably a good thing.
Then it was off to the local comic book store. Ray had entered a trivia contest — or had thought that he had, anyway. It turns out that no one actually put his name in, so he didn’t play, and I got bored staring at stuff around the store because I’m not a huge comic book fan.
It turns out that I know the guy who certainly seemed like he was going to win (he’s won several years in a row) — he teaches in the next classroom over from a friend of mine. I remember him having a really annoying sense of humor (which is clearly still true), and also somehow managing to work the fact that he was gay into a two minute conversation. Several of his students were there to cheer him on, too. I guess times really have changed.
When we got home, I got around to putting the hibiscus decal I bought in Hawaii on my car. I put it on the door to the gas tank, because I saw several cars on the island that had done that and I thought it looked kind of neat. We’ll see what I think in a couple of weeks, but it was a $2 decal and it comes off.
Then it was into the backyard for some long-needed work on the garden.
I needed to pull up roots and cut down last year’s perennials so that they can grow back again. The problem is that the fire ants have moved in to a number of crucial areas, including the flower pot where I want to put the bird of paradise that we bought in Hawaii:
So, I put down ant poison, and will have to finish the job tomorrow when I can do so without fear of being eaten alive.
In the meantime, Mocha found something smelly to roll in. Yay.
Taking a break from the garden, I’ve been trying to work on getting photos together so that Ray and I can have pictures to show various coworkers and friends when we get back on Monday.
Even two days out, it’s hard to remember where I took them all. Over my shoulder, I could feel the silent stare of the dog, attempting to beam her desperate request to be taken for a w-a-l-k directly into my head. We try to keep the time of day consistently around 5:30, but that doesn’t stop her from starting to beg around noon.
She has, as I’ve mentioned previously, a tendency to sit in the most obtrusive places so that there’s no way you could possibly miss her demands.
Finally, in the evening, Natalie came over for dinner and we watched Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which is over the top funny and definitely worth viewing, even if just for the scene where Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Jason Schwartzman, and Justin Long play the Beatles.
I made maitais.
They’re very simple: one part light rum, one part dark rum, two parts pineapple juice, and a splash of grenadine. The trick is to mix the rums and pineapple juice and then splash the grenadine on top so that it kind of looks like a sunset. Very island-y.
And that’s 12 of 12 for April. Hope all is well!
Tags: Photos
Mmm… waffles. *drool*
Pancake mix in a CAN?! I really have to get myself over to the US more often! Great pics Chris.
I saw the batter blaster at the grocery store last week, and thought it was hilarious! Good to hear that it tastes good.
Those drinks look really good!
cute dog!
that waffle batter looks dodgy, but final product looks amazingly normal.
Batter Blaster is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen and it astounds me how it’s organic. I have yet to try it, though.
I used to have problems remembering where I took photos too. I would try to write down the name of the building or landmark in a notebook, but tended to do it in batches, rather than keep scribbling after each photo. Sometimes it’d be “I’ll remember enough to be able to find it on the map later” and I’d forget. But the funny thing is I can still see my photos and picture the place – standing there, the weather, the buildings around it. Some people think the number of photos I take means I spend all my time behind a lens and don’t SEE the place. I can understand their thoughts, but it’s not the case – it’s just that I’ve looked so carefully around me and chosen the best place to take a photo, that when I look at it, I can remember being there so vividly.
However I had a brainwave when I was in Budapest the other year – I started taking photos of the building or road signs, after I took a photo of the house or monument. Being digital, it’s easy to accommodate these photos (where you can take them obviously, not all things have signs), but when you get home, you can see a monument and then the next photo tells you what it is! MUCH easier
(and then I read a photography book where the professional photographer author gave that same advice as a tip, making me realise even the pros do it. I sometimes feel a bit like people think “Why’s she taking a photo of the exhibit information sign/street sign etc.?”, but then I remind myself that at least I’ll be able to identify my photos when I get home
Glad you had a good time in Hawaii and got your jobs done – I hope the jet lag’s gone now!
(I’m late to commenting as I got home late on the 14th, which is why my 12 of 12 was late up too).
ALOHA! Glad you had a great trip to Hawaii!!! Every time I go, it gets harder to come back to the mainland. I’ll bet Mocha missed you. If she’s anything like our pup, she’ll dig up that bird of paradise just to show you she loves ya!
You know, when you think about it, it’s not such a stretch to go from whipping egg whites to within an inch of your life in order to make the batter light and fluffy to using spray-can air infusion. But the packaging is still pretty funny
@ Helen: I’ve sort of picked up on that sign thing, too — the problem is that I only remember to do it if there’s a sign handy — when I stopped the car on the side of the road to take a picture of the cute village, I kinda forgot. Then, of course, there are the times that I don’t take a photo because “Oh, this is so obvious, of course I’ll remember it!” …. not. D’oh!
@ Scooter: Mocha better not dig up our bird of paradise. Ugh! Fortunately, she’s more likely to devour the tissue paper that things were wrapped in. She loves her some tissue paper. Even better if it’s used
Have you considered possibly naming your next dog something like “Sonambulus” or “sleepy” or something like that? Naming her after the Hindu goddess of death and destruction was just kind of asking for trouble!!