What's in a row?

Pat over at A View From the Edge always does a "Thursday's Things in a Row" blog.  It's a great idea and so much fun to see what she's taken pictures of!!

I decided to take a rare lunch break today and walked to a nearby mall.  It's accessible from my building by using a sky walk (which is great in the Winter!).  I took some 'in a row' pictures to follow in Pat's footsteps.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery don't ya know.

This picture has a lot of things in a row!  Skylights, rails, chandeliers, columns, and arches to name a few.

Here are some sugary treats in a nice row to help you along if you feel fatigued while shopping.  I think I'd pick my favorite color if I was to have some.

Walking through the mall I saw a store with lots of t-shirts for sale, all displayed in rows.

I was distracted by the shiny things in one of the stores!  Lots of bracelets in rows to choose from.  I didn't buy any though.  I did get a strange look from the person at the counter while I snapped the photo with my phone.  Maybe she thought I was casing the joint?  Really lady, I'm not stealing anything.  I'm blogging.

 

 

The same store had some Green Bay Packer shirts.  Go Pack Go!!

 

On the way back to my office building I stopped at a produce stand.  Look at all the yummy stuff in rows here.  I bought some avocados (five for $1!!).

Walking back through the sky walk I noticed the flags along the bridge (over the Milwaukee River).  Very patriotic and the flags looked beautiful blowing in the wind.

At last I needed to get back to work so I used the elevator (I'm not taking 24 floors worth of stairs even if they allowed me in the stairwell).  All the buttons are in two neat rows.

I got some exercise and had fun taking pictures.  And, I got some healthy avocados for dinner tonight.  My shopping trip cost me $1.  Not too bad for a shopaholic.  Right?

Hope you enjoyed shopping along with me!



 

 

 

 

 

What's that smell?

I think I've told you that I work in a 'high rise' building (33 floors is as good as it gets though).  The building has many employees of its own.  There are security people, cleaning people, maintenance people . . . you get the idea.

There is one guy that has worked here for a long time.  I see him in the parking garage and those elevators all the time.

He works very hard doing menial tasks.  He sweeps up the garbage (even stuff like this) in the parking structure.  He empties garbage cans.  He wipes the door handles (waxing them so they shine pretty) and other miscellaneous things.  He does a good job.  When he's on duty, things are clean and tidy.

He has a terrible body odor.  It's so bad that you have to hold your breath if you are riding in an elevator with him.  If he's been in and out of an elevator, you can smell the BO for quite a long time afterwards.

I worry about him a bit.  He's quite large.  I'd guess around 300 pounds.  He never speaks, smiles, or even nods a hello.  I wonder if he has a mental disability and just doesn't bathe as he should.  Or does he have a physical ailment that makes him smell so bad?  Maybe it's something related to his body size?  I hope he's OK.  If I'd see him smile once and a while I'd probably feel better.

Now, I've been in elevators with people that wear too much perfume or aftershave.  His body odor isn't really any different that that.  I have to hold my breath with them too!

Shit! I almost forgot to post for NIAFPHFPPW today!

Don't forget that it's still "National Irritate a Food Pic Hater Food Pic Posting Week" or "NIAFPHFPPW" for short.  Bloggers unit!  Blog about your food (with pictures since that's the point) and enter Yabu's contest over at Bad Bad Juju.

Here's something I whipped up last Winter.

It's my Split Pea Soup.  That's not pee soup people; you couldn't split pee if you tried.

You put your split peas, water, carrots, onions, hock(s), and seasonings of your choice into a crock pot.  Note that I did not say "celery."  I do NOT use celery.  Read why here.

No, that's not a volcano in the middle; that's the hock!

Put the lid on and slow cook the hell of out of the concoction.  The hardest part is cutting all the yummy, porky goodness from the hock bone but it is worth all the effort (which in reality, isn't that much effort at all).

The beauty that appears many hours later looks like this:

You can't tell from the picture but there is NO celery in there.  And guess what. It's still delicious!

I've just now realized that I've blogged about this exact batch of soup before.  You can read more about my thoughts on peas if you are so inclined.

This will probably be my last post for the haters during NIAFPHFPPW Week.  I have 9 million (literally) errands this weekend and a wedding to attend.  No time for blogging when real life takes over.

I actually cooked something for my NIAFPHFPPW pictures!

As are reminder, it's still "National Irritate a Food Pic Hater Food Pic Posting Week" (or NIAFPHFPPW for short).  This cool idea was thought up by two great bloggers, Yabu at Bad Bad Juju and Laura at Fetch My Flying Monkeys.  Yabu likes to post pictures of his cooking and he gets some haters in his comments who think this is a bad idea.  To piss them off, he's started a contest on his blog.  Join in and blog about your food!  Too bad for the haters (NOT).

Last night was pasketti night.  Now that's not some cool, foreign dish.  That's how I used to say spaghetti when I was a kid.  Try saying it out loud because it's actually kind of cute:  PA-SKET-E.

Angry and I were in Galena, Illinois, in July and we found a great pasta store called Pasta Perfetta.  No, I'm not getting any freebies for posting their link here; I just like their stuff. 

We bought a bunch of flavored pasta there and they're delightful.  Last night we tried the Southwestern Chipotle flavor.  When it's done cooking all you need is some olive oil and, of course, cheese!  For those of you that were wondering, it does have a bit of heat to it.  Not enough to make your mouth burn but just a small kick to liven things up.

Does 'extra' virgin mean that it has never been kissed?

I'm from Wisconsin. We make (and love) cheese. I probably used half this sucker!

 
I set the pasta to boil for four minutes:

Don't forget to cook your pasta. It's too crunchy otherwise!

As usual, I needed wanted some booze so I opened some wine (also from Galena):

Did I drink the entire bottle? I'm not telling.

We added some garlic bread to our dinner.  Unfortunately, it is store bought.  I'm a lazy cook (and a crummy one to boot) so this is what you get at my house!

Directions: 1. Open box 2. Put on cookie sheet 3. Bake

The pasta was cooked to perfection (if I do say so myself), tossed with the olive oil, and topped with shredded cheese.  Easy peasy and tasty.

More wine please!

Oh, and let's not forget the fancy schmancy dessert that I served:

What can I say? I love chocolate and it's good for the soul!

Dinner was served in less than 15 minutes and that includes spending a lot of time taking pictures!!  Hey haters?  I hope you enjoy your misery as much as I enjoyed my dinner!

I'm bored so you get to see more food pics that I'm posting for the haters!

Here's another post for "National Irritate a Food Pic Hater Food Pic Posting Week" (or NIAFPHFPPW for short).  Remember that this was created by Yabu (post your food pics and get into his contest!) and Laura.

I'm doing desserts today (because I was too lazy to cook last night).  I've enjoyed these at various restaurants and bars.

Who doesn't love cheesecake?  Here's one a friend of mine ordered at Cheesecake Factory:

Oreos in (and on) a cheesecake.  Dessert extraordinaire!



 

Angry got a free meal at  Red Robin for his birthday in August.  He wanted a dessert to celebrate.  We ordered a salted caramel shake.  By the way, how DO you say that?  Is it CARE-A-MEL or CAR-MEL?  Either way, I can promise you that this shake was to die for.

You can't see the salt but it was in there!

This could technically be considered an appetizer, a meal, OR dessert!  We ordered some awesome Blood Marys when we were in Seattle.  The one on the left (that was mine) had an oyster on the stick (the white thing on the far left).  Drinking that was an OMG moment for me.  Delightful!

Appetizer? Dinner? Dessert? Who cares; just drink!

How are you all doing out there haters?  Enjoying my pictures?

Damn, now I want a Bloody Mary.  It's 10:30 am and I'm at work.  That would be frowned upon so I guess I'll stick to my coffee.

A new post for the food pic haters out there!

Let's not forget that it's "National Irritate a Food Pic Hater Food Pic Posting Week (NIAFPHFPPW)!"

Last night's dinner (for all the haters out there) was made for a lazy evening.

We started with three simple ingredients of turkey sausage with three cheeses, tomatoes, and an avocado.

It don't get much easier than this!

Before beginning the food prep, I needed to prep myself!

Cooking is so much more fun when alcohol is involved. Trust me.

I chopped the tomatoes and sprinkled them with some incredible Italian olive oil and Hawaiian sea salt:

See the pretty tomatoes?

I made them even better with some seasonings!

The sausages were grilled to perfection by Angry:

YUMMY! 

I chopped the avocado at the last minute to prevent it from turning brown (and sprinkled it with some Chili Verde sea salt) and we had a great dinner!!

I never said I was a chef but this tasted delightful for a Summer dinner.

Haters?  Go ahead a hate.  I enjoyed my dinner and I enjoyed sharing my pictures with you!

If you're a hater, you're gonna get irritated!

One of my favorite bloggers, Laura at Fetch My Flying Monkeys, was having a conversation with one of my other favorite bloggers, Yabu at Bad Bad Juju (check the "My Favorite Reading" link to see all my favorites).  As you can see from the link above, she pointed out on her blog that Yabu has some "haters" in his comment section who don't like that he posts food photos on HIS OWN BLOG. 

So, they have decided that this week is "National Irritate a Food Pic Hater Food Pic Posting Week" or NIAFPHFPPW for short.

To copy from her (You can't sue me Laura since I used quotes!):

"If you have a blog, it is your civic duty as a blogger to post your irritating food pics all week long. Every. Day. Join in the fun! Piss off a hater! And while you’re at it, reply to your commenters in your comment section ’cause that pisses ‘em off too!"

I'm obviously going to join in all the fun. 

Here's today's food picture:



I didn't cook this but it was yummy!

It's from a bar in Galena, Illinois.  It was my first taste of bone marrow and it rocked.  I'm going to make some at home one of these days.

Copying Laura again with some really good news:

"Yabu decided to have a food photo contest on his site in honor of NIAFPHFPPW and will be giving away a beautiful handmade stained glass piece that his wife makes! You don’t have to have a blog, you can email pics if you want AND you can enter as many times as you want! Go over there and leave your linkage or email your food pics and start pissing off a food pic hater today!"

So, I encourage anyone with a blog to join in the fun.  Or don't, since that will give me a better chance at some beautiful stained glass!!

A window with a view!

Angry and I were at our favorite restaurant, hanging out at the bar like we always do.  We looked out a window and saw something we’ll call ummmm . . . “interesting.”

Let me explain to you that this place we go is on a very busy street.  It's right next to a car dealership and it has a bus stop right in front of it.  Needless to say, it’s not private.  If you are on the sidewalk or in the parking lot there are a lot of eyes that could be on you at any time.

Back to the window. . . 

We noticed a guy sitting on a railroad tie (part of the restaurant’s landscaping) and we assumed he was waiting for a bus.  Nothing strange or abnormal about that.  But Angry also noticed that there was a woman standing between his legs and facing him.  That struck us as a bit different.  As we were looking she proceeded to kneel down and put her head face into his lap.

Being shy (HA!), we immediately ran over to the window with our bartender to see what was going on.

Her head was bobbing up and down and he looked to be feeling pretty good.  We were watching a live porno!!  A blow job for all to see.  Oh crap, I just realized that between this and my midget porn blog I’m going to get a lot of hits from certain Google searches!

Anyway. . . Angry and I went back to our seats at the bar and we all joked that this was going on right out on a busy street in the DAYLIGHT.  No, they didn’t wait until it got dark.  Apparently the need for satisfaction has no time limits.  When the BJ was over they both stood up, he zipped his pants, and they walked away.  After a few minutes they came back and we watched him pull his wallet from his back pocket and hand her some cash.  We weren’t close enough to see what she was charging that day!

They stood there, together, for a few more minutes until a bus arrived.  Apparently the need for satisfaction revolves around a bus schedule.  Who knew? 

Then they both got on the same bus.  That must have been awkward!