Pet Peeves

Meteorologists.

I mean, why do they even get paid? I can do a better job with weather prediction based on my achy bones and the cat. Sheesh. The Storm of the Century (or maybe it was just the season -- I lose track, and everything gets really dramatic here when more than an inch of snow is expected) is supposed to be hitting today. In fact, it was already supposed to be here. I promised my daughter SNOW when she woke up.

Is there snow? Uh, n-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o…

I just checked the radar loop at Intellicast and it shows snow. Here. Someone's messing with the radar guy, cuz there's no snow here.

Chicken-Livered Gossipmongers

If you're gonna gossip, do it right. I hate people that have a problem with you and stand nearby and talk REALLY loud about some imagined slight, never mentioning your name but making sure you know who it is they're talking about.

The ballet practice after the Christmas show was just such an occasion. Apparently my friend and I stepped on some toes while waiting in line. The perception was that we cut in line… and I'm not really certain why this lady was so bugged by it since she got in before us. We didn't cut, we just had more than an hour to wait, and leaned on the wall nearby, joining the line behind the person who was last in line when we arrived. We even made a point of talking to the folks around us, who seemed to understand… but waited until later to talk about us, near us.

Thankfully, I wasn't at that practice. My friend took my daughter along with hers, and told me afterward. She's far nicer than me. I would have said something -- directly to them, which is something they didn't have the respect to do. Ugh.

That's okay, we're the "poor white trash" of the ballet group anyhow. Neither of us work (outside the home), our kids aren't dressed in the latest fashions, nor are we. And, I'm pretty sure we were the only families there who didn't take a trip to Aruba or the Bahamas or, at the very least, Florida this winter.

Modern Recipes

Why do all recipes in current cookbooks require you to open a box or a can of something? And why do the bread recipes call for "a packet of yeast"? I don't buy my yeast in packets… I bake way too much and I buy it in bulk. And I can never remember how much *&^% yeast is in a package and have to go look it up. At the very least, couldn't it say "A packet OR 2 1/4 teaspoons"??

I have two cookbooks I use for the most part. One is the Betty Crocker cookbook my mom had when she was about nineteen -- it's so cute! Bisquick had just made its appearance on the market, and they have a section in the back dedicated to how to make many of recipes in the book with it. It also tells you about how to take care of yourself and your husband (including taking a short rest everyday and putting on fresh lipstick before your husband returns from his hard day at work).

What I love best about this cookbook is that EVERYTHING is from scratch. Nary a box or can to be found. And it gives specific information on how to do stuff, or substitutions for things (like if you don't have buttermilk).

The other cookbook is all about whole wheat and natural baking along with nutrition and stocking your pantry. LOVE it.

Procrastination

This is the longest blog entry I've written in weeks. It's taken me about half an hour. This means, of course, that I've lost thirty minutes of real writing time.

Shame on me.

How about you? Any pet peeves you'd like to share?