muffin madness continued

when people have asked me about my pregnancy cravings, i didn't really know what to tell them...i suppose i crave c plus soda...or toast...or nutella, peanut butter and banana sandwiches...but it's not like i NEEDED to have them. now i know that muffins should top the list. because i need to have them on a regular basis.

my student happened to make banana wheat germ muffins without even knowing about my new addiction and gave me some at her last lesson. they were DIVINE!

then i made bran muffins that i remember making in my childhood with my mom...they were DIVINE!

and here is the recipe for the apple muffins i was talking about earlier...they are DIVINE!

apple buttermilk muffins

1 grated large apple
3/4 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk* or low-fat yogurt
1 egg
1.5 cups of flour (i found this may be a bit much myself, and used 1.25 cups instead when i made them a second time)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

topping (optional - i have never made it with the topping because they are already pretty sweet):
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp finely chopped pecans

i mix all the wet ingredients separately from the dry, because that's what i've always done when making muffins, but the girl that gave me the recipe didn't say it was necessary. bake at 350 for 20 minutes. makes 12 muffins.

*instead of buttermilk, i substitute 1.5 tsp of vinegar with just under 1/2 a cup of regular milk...thanks to this site. who knew buttermilk is actually not rich and decadent, but actually low in fat and healthy??

re: that's me trying

okay, since i'm home alone and lonely, and i've caught myself up with the grey's blogs to date, i might as well get back on the wagon...

april and karev BETTER NOT hook up or i will be very upset. but i did love april in this episode. i don't want them to ruin it by having her lose her virginity to alex.

which has made me wonder which character on the show has slept with the most people? callie has slept with arizona, sloan, george and karev i think...but karev has slept with izzie, callie, addison, olivia (the nurse)...did he sleep with reid too? or was that just sloan who slept with reid? can someone help me out here, who wins the promiscuity contest?! i may lose sleep over this tonight.

i loved cristina and meredith's fight. i love that cristina is blaming her broken-ness on meredith, because it's true...she could have walked away if it were anyone else. something i didn't even consider - so good! i just hope she gets over it soon so they can all be friends again.

i forgot to mention this in my previous post, but i'm enjoying meredith's bangs.

and i heard on the radio that jessica capshaw (actress who plays arizona) is pregnant. no wonder she abruptly left the show, and no wonder we have only seen shots of her from the chest up...and also probably why they practically dedicated a whole episode to her having nice boobies. now will callie continue to be a lesbian or will she swing back the other way? i suppose only time will tell.

my closing thought: the one thing that kills me about this show is when characters need to vent or talk to someone, whoever they talk to, will respond by venting back about their own problems. no one actually helps one another, really - they just all complain together, it's like the sound of their own voice helps them solve their own problems. it's a wonder people even make friends in that place, everyone is so self-absorbed!

grey's round-up

i didn't promise i would keep up with blogging about grey's, but i do have a few things to say...by the way, this is not in chronological order, and i'm way too lazy to create separate posts for each episode, and to figure out which item falls into which episode, so i've listed them in order of importance:

1. derek is going to find meredith a cure for alzheimer's? derek is going to find meredith a cure for alzheimers. derek is going to find meredith a cure for alzheimer's!
   
   what has kris done for me lately?!?!
   
   just kidding...i love him very much and he does many wonderful things for me, including brightening my day every day just by existing (even if he's halfway across the world right now - hence the sudden surge in blogging)...but seriously...you just can't top that! how are regular husbands supposed to compete with that? add the spectacular hair (although i'll admit, it has been slightly disappointing thus far this season, far too flat and straight) and the goopy eyes, and it's grossly unfair for regular men to even stand a chance. and how he's so concerned every time she misplaces her keys? sighhhh. it's a good thing he's just a fictional character.
   
   
2. which leads me to my next point - i quite enjoyed the documentary-style episode. i didn't think i would, but it almost made me feel like i was getting a sneak peek (sneak peak?) into the characters' lives - as if they are actual people, and the documentary allowed me to see more into their "real" personality. i thought it was very well done, from the furtive glances at the camera, to the interviews, to the jerky camera shots a la the office...kudos, writers! i'm curious to know what you guys thought...you know who you all are.
   
   
3. alex in last week's episode (with lily, the trachea girl) was just about the most precious thing i've ever seen. i love him right now.
   
   
4. and i thought the episode where derek's sister came to visit was pretty good UNTIL I FOUND OUT SHE IS ON PRIVATE PRACTICE. then i felt cheated and then a little violated. i'm sure i would like private practice if i would only give it a chance and actually watch it, but i want it to be on my terms...not by them continuing to cross-over the characters and storylines, unbeknownst to me! how often did the cheers gang encroach on frasier's life? i don't actually know the answer to that question, but i'm sure it's not as many times as private practice and grey's have crossed over! now i refuse to watch private practice just out of principle.
   
   
5. i LOVE non-surgical, apathetic cristina. when she was late for surgery because there was a line-up in the cafeteria?? hahahaah!!!
   
   
6. arizona and torres are gone?! what?
   
   
7. why is april suddenly everyone's friend? i know her friends died and they all lived through a crisis, but a bit more lead-up and warning would have been nice.
   

punctuality

what is the proper way to punctuate after parentheses? i always thought it was like this:

(i love using parentheses).

but then i started noticing that some books would punctuate like this:

(but they can be confusing to punctuate.)

(and what about if there are exclamation or question marks??).

(like that or like this?!)

poor grammar really irks me so i'm quite bothered by this. google is no help because i keep getting conflicting answers. i refuse to use parentheses, at least when it's at the end of a sentence, until i figure out how to properly punctuate them.

while i'm ranting about grammar, i've noticed an enormous number of people misspelling "peek," as in "take a peek" lately. it's "peek-a-boo," not "peak-a-boo," right? so why would someone take a "peak"? is this another worldwide epidemic, similar to those who think "irregardless" is a word?

lastly, this comment was posted on someone's status on facebook: "her lose not yours your awesome !!"

...

there are sooo many things wrong with that sentence, i can't even begin! argh!

muffin madness

a co-worker of mine made some muffins and brought them to work. they didn't look particularly appetizing, but this was at the point where i was feeling queasy and didn't feel like eating anything except bread. so i tried one...it was pretty good...but once i was finished, i wanted another. so i had another. (i should have put that on my list of "pros" in my pregnancy round-up post - you can eat all the muffins you want without anyone judging you, at least to your face).

then the next week, she made them again and left them in the lounge...i took two right away...

then i started craving these muffins. so i asked her for the recipe...i went to go make them, then much to my chagrin, realized we got rid of our muffin tins when we moved because they were terrible, and we hadn't bought any since. so i went out at 9pm on a thursday night to buy some - YES, i missed the first part of grey's, only because of my precious PVR.

i happily made them, and they obviously didn't have enough flour in them. they tasted pretty good but they were definitely too fluffy. i searched online for the recipe, found one that had exactly the same ingredients, but different proportions. so i tried it...and it wasn't the same. i felt like izzie on grey's when she was trying to make the cupcakes from her childhood but was missing the coconut extract!

i asked my co-worker, and she realized she told me to use 3/4 cup of flour when it should have been 1.5 cups. oops? so i tried AGAIN (the third time in a week) and SUCCESS! sooo good. so good in fact, that i made them again yesterday...so that means i've made 4 batches of muffins in 10 days. i am definitely chalking this up to a pregnancy craving because there really is no other explanation for it.

i gave some to my neighbour who said they were the BEST muffins he's ever tasted. so it's not just me! they really are wonderful! oh muffins...how i love thee...

pregnancy round-up...

pros of being pregnant:

1. people are a LOT nicer to you. i had to deal with some angry parents at work - not my students, of course - and they turned into different people when they found out i was pregnant. one man who was the angriest out of all the parents, was almost giddy with excitement.
   
2. people give you more compliments. for instance - before i was showing, i would have normal conversations with people where they wouldn't comment on my appearance. then later in the same conversation, once they found out i was pregnant, they would tell me i look great. i didn't change anything in the 20 minutes that we were speaking, but i suppose i look just normal for not being pregnant, and "great" for being pregnant. i'll take that as a compliment.
   
3. four words: expectant mother parking spots. i am looking forward to taking full advantage of these come the busy holiday shopping season. although one of my good friends who is ready to pop any day now parked in an expectant mother spot and was berated by a woman who told her that spot was for parents with small kids, and that she should park farther away AS SHE COULD USE THE EXERCISE. THE NERVE!!!!
4. my nails grow quickly and almost always look fabulous.
5. i can go 5 days without washing my hair. i actually pushed the limit to 6 days once just to see if i could, but i will admit, it was kind of nasty and probably won't do that again.
6. i really like my OB so it's nice i get to see her once a month (soon to be once every two weeks!). we talk about clothes. i wonder why it is that i always end up talking about clothes with people??
   

cons of being pregnant:

1. sometimes people give me double-takes because they see my belly and are taken aback. it makes me feel a bit like a mutant.
2. whenever i make a mistake or forget something, it's chalked up to being pregnant. i am convinced that "baby brain" does NOT exist and i'm trying really hard to not abide by this stereotype. whenever i eat something sweet, it's chalked up to being pregnant. i had sweet teeth (definitely not just one tooth) before i became pregnant, you know! i actually enjoyed the sugary drink they make you have when they're testing your glucose levels. and lastly in this vein, whenever i have to go to the bathroom, it's chalked up to being pregnant. people point out that the baby is pushing on my bladder. yes, maybe so but it could also be that i haven't peed in 3 hours and i've had 4 glasses of water!
3. sometimes people are really mean (see #3 in my pro list).
4. whenever i go shopping, and it's not a maternity store, i feel like some of the salespeople are judging me...as if they're thinking, "why are you here, there is nothing that will fit you". especially when they see me from behind, and say "hi, can i help..." and kind of trail off when i turn around and they see i'm pregnant. what is wrong with people?

in summary: people are stupid and being pregnant is kinda fun. i realize i am very lucky as some people have a hard time - i've been feeling great and hope this is a sign of things (you know, like labour and child-rearing, etc.) to come...

re: with you i'm born again

i'm baaaack! okay...so i don't know if i will end up blogging about every episode this season, but i do have to say a few things, in order of importance, of course:

i give derek's hair a 6.5 out of 10. it's a little too long and straight for my liking (it looks like the stylist spent more time on dr. perkins' hair instead - hair wars on the set, perhaps?). plus, derek's five o'clock shadow was more like a three-day old shadow, particularly on his upper lip. it looked like he had a milk mustache, but he had motor oil in his glass instead. his blue button-down shirt, however gets a resounding 138743 out of 10. he always has, and continues to make this the best, most wonderful article of clothing i have ever seen. *swoon*

cristina's "thank you" response to owen's proposal - thank you for choosing her and not teddy? thank for for promising to never leave her again? thank you for rescuing her from her dark and twisty place? whatever it was, once i saw that, it was clear the marriage was for real. for a while there i was worried she would get stuck in a revolving door of marriage and the show would become one big ad for wedding magazines. having the ceremony in mer's house, in a dress that's not white - that's more like it. and for the record, i would have chosen peonies.

re: the scene with cristina and mer on the bed before cristina walks down the aisle. poignant and touching, but really? more shoes on the bed? why!!!

meredith looked like medusa in the scene where she told owen that derek wasn't coming, and gave him the ring. in all the other wedding shots, her make-up was normal, hair less wild. weird.

why would someone mistake april for reid, and say"i thought you were dead"? is that some kind of cruel joke?! even if i saw reid herself walk into a room, i would never say "i thought you were dead" - can we please come up with something a bit more tactful? like..."fancy meeting you here, on earth, where the living people hang out" or "did you see my dog sparky in heaven? how does he look?"...anything but "i thought you were dead"! yeesh.

i've said it before, and i'll say it again: i prefer season finales to season premieres. and this is no different. but overall, i liked the general aftermath. i love how the flashbacks from the finale ran chills down my spine; a sign of an excellent finale - i didn't blog about it last year, but now you know how i feel about it. so. good. i'm happy to see it wasn't just a new plot line, glossing over the chaos and craziness that happened...as usual, everyone is broken and in need of fixing. cue new season! i'm ready!

junk in my trunk?

we got a new car. our civic was kind of getting old, making some disconcerting noises and overall a bit banged up.

our new car, stella is wonderful. she is pretty and she has lots of gadgets that make me happy - rearview camera, push button start, proximity sensor on the key fob so all i have to do is push a button to unlock, xm radio...and she drives like a dream.

cue kris' business trip to montreal. i am always more paranoid and hypersensitive when he's not here, even in situations where he wouldn't be with me anyway...but i was walking to my car after work, past 9:30pm in a dark, deserted parking lot and i noticed that the interior lights were on. strange. i checked the backseat, saw it was empty, so i got in and drove away.

as i was driving, i started worrying more about why the lights were on since i hadn't unlocked the car yet. i wondered if perhaps i didn't lock it that afternoon. i tried to reassure myself that it was fine since i checked the backseat, but then i remembered that stella has a bigger, more accessible trunk space where someone could easily hide. by this time, i was already on the highway, so instead of pulling off and parking somewhere so i could check the trunk, i just checked my rearview mirror every 5 seconds to see if there was a head popping out from behind the seat. why am i so crazy? i can now rationalize that if there was a dangerous predator man in the trunk, he likely wouldn't waste time waiting for me to drive for several minutes before revealing himself. if he was going to kill me, surely he would have already done it?

so onward i drove. checking the mirror constantly. i got home, drove in the garage, purposely left the garage door open in the event someone was in the trunk so i could scream a warning, and opened it with a racing heart. it was empty.

this is why i need to go with kris on all of his business trips!!!! because apparently i drive myself crazy when i'm left to my own devices (namely, my overactive imagination).

it turns out that the perimeter/approach lights are one of stella's safety features. who knew?
she senses when the key is approaching the car, and lights up in welcome at night so you can make sure there aren't any serial killers in your backseat. smart, huh? i wish i could say the same for myself...

parking paradox

i accompanied some students at a music festival in milton. i did a search online to see where the church was located, saw it was on a busy street with parallel parking (i love google streetview). i sighed to myself, and made a mental note to leave 15 minutes earlier to ensure i could find a place to park and brought extra coins with me.

when i arrived, i was confused...there were what appeared to be parking spaces, but they were empty. almost all of them! there was a row that was right across the street from the church where i had to go, but i was convinced it must have been an area that only special people could park in, because why else would all the spots be available? it was even beside a ministry of transportation office, and even though it was before 9am, i figured most people would get there early to avoid line-ups. i dubiously parked there, and then looked for a parking meter to pay. i couldn't find one. i looked for signs telling me i could only park there for a certain period of time, or maybe a sign telling me i can't park there until 10am. i couldn't find any.

i went into the church and asked the woman working the front desk whether i could park on the street. she looked at me like i was crazy and said something like "of course you can, why wouldn't you be able to?" and i explained to her that there were plenty of available spaces, there was no parking meter, and no sign telling me i had to move after a certain period of time. she still looked at me like i was crazy. no, toto...clearly we aren't in toronto anymore!

the definition of excessive...and unnecessary...

...is seeing 6 OPP vehicles lurking on the side of the highway, waiting to catch speeding cars as i drive to work, which is less than 20 km away. that's a police officer every 3.3 km!

where are you guys when there is a maniac weaving in and out of traffic at 150km/h?