Chinese Prozac, Middlesex, & Breakfast

my sister had me try these little pellets that her Chinese acupuncturist "prescribed" for her. they are the bomb. who knows if it's just the placebo effect (and i'm perfectly ok with that), but if i'm feeling like total booty, i feel just a little better after i take this funny combination of herbs. ALL LEGAL, THANK YOU! i haven't learned how to get nitrous oxide in pellet form...
here are the ingredients (and likely spelling bee words):

white peony root
chinese angelica root
white atractylodes root
poria
ginger root
mint herb
honey fried licorice root
bupleurum root

i looked them all up and they all seem legit (i.e. not gonna kill me). i wish they could fit a higher dosage into each pellet, though...i have to take freakin' 12 of these things at a time! i'll let you know if things change!
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i finally finished Middlesex. i'm not much of a reader, but am enjoying a read before bedtime. this one took me FOREVER. it's crazy that Oprah put this book on her list...i feel the topic is less than mainstream. i guess that's the point, eh? good for O - she's awesome. i enjoyed the book, but i wouldn't say i loved it. they constant flash forwards & flashbacks were actually kinda fun, and i love the true first-person narration. i'd give it a B+.

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for those in Houston, K and i found the best breakfast ever...although this place has been around awhile (we're just late on the game). The Daily Grind on Washington has got great food and a totally cool, comfy ambiance. kristy declared it the best breakfast in town after she was able to build her own omelette! no more endless substitutions of spinach, mushrooms, and other veggies for her! so check it out.

Battlestar & Nitrous

I've been watching Battlestar Galactica (the new one, duh). Overall I have many complaints about it. I don't really feel a connection to most of the characters, some of the "filler" episodes are really dumb, and one of the main antagonists in the show is so super annoying i don't know if i can handle it.

of course they do that thing where you'll have a few crappy episodes and then have one super good one JUST to keep you watching. damn them!!! so i'm still watching. i'll give it til the end of Season 1 and re-evaluate.
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went to the dentist for 3 fillings yesterday. i have to say, and i'm not afraid to admit it, i love nitrous oxide. of the legal/non-legal drugs i've ever taken (i'm not telling you which!), it's the only one whose effects go away minutes after you stop taking it. that's nice...no hours and hours of wishing you could (a) go back in time and not take whatever you took or (b) throw up/kill yourself. plus it makes you not care about anything that's bothering you, while thinking funny things are SO funny! good thing it's not legal! also good thing my dentist loves to use it liberally! guess i'll have to not brush my teeth for a few months in order to go another round.

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KRISTY PASSED HER NATIONAL BOARD EXAMS!!! that girl is the bomb. now all she has to do is graduate and she's a DVM! you can't imagine what a relief it is.

what's new?

so it's been like 4 months or so since i last posted. bad me.

i think i've decided to do this in a different way. i want this to be more free-flowing and random, but will still concentrate my efforts on alerting you to what's good and bad in the way of products, restaurants, etc.

so here we go!

• i bought a Sony-3LCD HD Home Theater Projector-VPLAW15 from Best Buy 2 weeks ago. i also purchased a 92" widescreen pulldown screen from Mountsandmore.com. i love them both to death. they are the reason to live. i will never watch movies on anything else. i had picked up the Toshiba-XGA DMD DLP Projector-TDP-T45U and i cannot say i recommend it. it's loud and not as clear as the Sony. the Sony is not as bright as the Toshiba and costs more, but the brightness doesn't seem to matter when the clarity is so good and the cost was worth it! it quietly purrs like a kitten! the Sony projector and Da-Lite screen get a THUMBS UP!
• i tried the banana empanada recipe found online from Tyler Florence. it sucks...THUMBS DOWN. maybe someday i'll find a better one. his had too much masa harina in it, so they came out very heavy, starchy, and hard. boo.

more later!

*CRUNCH!!*

so i love hamburgers typically. well, i did until i read fast food nation. then i kind of thought i could do without them. but not Whataburgers. NEVER Whataburgers! but occasionally i get a craving and i indulge.

so the last few times i've eaten at Whataburger, i am enjoying the deliciousness when *CRUNCH* - i bite on a piece of BONE. i mean, EWWWWW. but i remember, this is an animal i'm eating, and it once had bones. yet i still hope everytime i get a craving that it doesn't happen again.

so today, after giving blood, i went to enjoy a "hearty meal" at cafe express...a hamburger to be exact. and guess what? *CRUNCH*!!

i couldn't finish my burger. am i cursed? is someone trying to tell me something? cuz this is really cramping my style. i mean, i can give up the occasional burger now and again (i pretty much already have). but WHATABURGERS?!?! no me digas!!

for being non-reliable in the boneless department, Hamburger Meat (and probably the beef industry and carnivores by association) get a THUMBS DOWN!

bird poop / pecan droppings be gone!

Mark tipped me off to this. on Washington & Heights, there's a new Bubbles EXPRESS wash (not the hand wash). dude, they spend 3 minutes rubbing your hood and windshield down while you sit comfortably in the car, then it goes through the big washer....ALL FOR FOUR DOLLARS!! you get unlimited use of their vacuums as well. oh, and did i mention they're friendly as well?

for being so cheap and convenient it's almost a crime, Bubbles Express Car Wash gets a THUMBS UP!

this picture is making my mouth water

I have a problem. A WING problem. When my old college roommate's boyfriend (Mark Dettmeier, I think) first took us to eat buffalo wings at Wings-N-More, I was like…"eh." They were fine…nothing to write home about.

Sometime in the past few years something either in my taste buds or in my brain must have changed. Because much like Whataburgers, every month or two I just HAVE TO HAVE SOME WINGS! In fact, I'm deep in a wings craving as we speak. They make me happy...I know, it's sick.

For being delicious when they're spicy and accompanied by celery, ranch dressing, and a cold draft beer (what wouldn't be?), BUFFALO WINGS get a THUMBS UP!!

just as Rick Springfield warned...

Last night I turned in early due to my post-Labor-Day-visit-the-family-then-have-a-rum-and-coke-to-ease-my-troubles exhaustion, around 9:30. Around 9:35 Elsie started barking and I heard a loud noise. I went to the front window and found that someone was parked in my driveway. I peered for a few minutes to make sure (A) it wasn't someone I know coming to visit me happy sleepy time and (B) it wasn't someone preparing to kill me. There was a young blond girl walking up and down the sidewalk in front of our house, talking on a cell phone. So I went out and asked her what she was doing parking in my driveway. She stammered and explained that her dad was over at the next door neighbor's house looking to buy a motorcycle from them, and that there wasn't room elsewhere to park. I said something like "well I just want to make sure you don't park here all night" and went inside. But then I of course thought to myself "SAY SOMETHING! TELL HER TO PARK ON THE STREET! GET OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY!!" but I felt too stupid to go out again.
So I decided to sick my vicious dogs on her…I let them loose in the backyard. Typically they will bark their heads off at the slightest movement outside (much to my annoyance). This time, I let them outside, they barked for a few seconds, and then headed back to the house. What gives? What good is it to have a pit bull if you can't scare unwanted strangers away?!?
The girl spent another good half hour running her dad's truck's engine and preening herself in the mirror. They finally left around 10:15, sans motorcycle.

For being rude and inconsiderate, the random late-night strangers and our crappy neighbors (who are going to rent out that stupid house when they move in a few weeks to someone I'm sure will bug the hell out of me) BOTH GET A THUMBS DOWN!!!