How To Save Money, Organize, Be Productive, Clean Your House, Parent, Be Environmentally Friendly, Cook, and Decorate Your Home

Many people are making money or at least gaining some minor Internet fame by blogging advice about various subjects. After looking over the categories in my Google Reader and the multiple blogs in each, I have realized that these bloggers aren't telling me anything new. They're recycling the same old tired tips, much like magazines (remember them?) did before. And here I am, unemployed, nothing but time on my hands, so what am I waiting for? I'm puttin' my own spin on this game and maybe I'll get famous too!

Frugality
Don't buy shit you don't need.

Decluttering/organizing
Get rid of shit you don't use.

Productivity
Sit down and do some goddamned work. Every day.

Housecleaning
Grab a rag and get to it. God, could you people be any lazier?

Parenting
Doesn't make you special. You made your decision, now STFU.

Green living
Vinegar.

Cooking
Google "recipes." Buy ingredients. Follow directions.

Home decor
Pick up some trash. Paint it. Voila!

See? I'm good. I might start separate blogs for each topic.

Determination

I applied for unemployment online. There were a lot of sternly-worded details about eligibility. One of them said:

You must be determined to be fully unemployed.

I thought, "Oh hell yes! I'm your woman! I'm in like Flynn! I'm absolutely determined to be fully unemployed." I did think it was a bit of an odd requirement. On further consideration, I realized that it means THEY will DETERMINE, based on your answers to various questions, whether you can be considered to be fully unemployed and therefore eligible for unemployment benefits. Too bad, really, because I'm sure they'd have a lot of enthusiastic takers for my original interpretation of the sentence.

Pink and Purple Potatoes

Pink and purple potatoes
Originally uploaded by Died of Ennui

They are potatoes! And they are PINK and PURPLE!

I've seen purple potato chips before (why do they call them "blue"?) but never the actual potatoes.

I got these from my CSA. When I scrubbed the dirt off them, the purple ones had almost black skin. I was not expecting the insides to be purple. And I was really not expecting the red-skinned ones to be pink inside.

They made me happy.

Shake Shack!

My first-ever Shake Shack meal! And we only waited in line for 50 minutes! (Ha!)

In my hand there is the Shack Burger. I also had fries and the "Fair Shake," a vanilla-and-coffee milkshake. Yes, it was all as good as they say. The burger was delicious, just the right level of greasy without being gross, and the bun was sweet and complemented the burger. The shake was awesome. But the fries - the fries were superlative. They tasted like potatoes and not like grease, yet they were perfectly crispy.

It is now five and a half hours later, and I'm not even slightly hungry.

It's Peanut Butter Ice Cream Time!

I haven't given the ice cream maker much of a workout yet this summer. I made rhubarb ice cream a few weeks ago, and it tasted okay but the texture wasn't right. I think there wasn't enough of it to fill the ice cream maker and so it didn't churn very well. Anyway, here's the second batch of ice cream this summer - Philadelphia-style (no eggs) peanut-butter ice cream. I've mostly only made custard-based ice cream because, early on, I found that the eggless kind left a weird kind of film in my mouth. But I think that may have been my first-ever batch of ice cream so it hardly counts. So I'm giving it another shot, partly because it's easier and takes less time. It's setting in the freezer now, and I'm going to take it to a girls' night get-together later (leaving some at home for myself, of course!). I also made chocolate syrup to go with it. Chocolate and peanut butter might be the best thing ever. Ever.

CSA Fritatta

My first CSA share involved a LOT of greens. I made a fritatta.

1 fresh garlic shoot, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
approx. 1 lb mixed greens, roughly chopped
4 eggs
olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil a large pot of water. Blanch greens for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and plunge into ice water or run cold water over them.

Saute garlic and scallion in olive oil over medium heat in a 10-inch skillet.

While they are sauteing, pick up handfuls of the greens and squeeze as much water out as possible. Chop the greens a bit more. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add greens and salt and pepper.

Pour greens and egg mixture into skillet and give a stir to distribute garlic and scallions. Cover and cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Flip the fritatta (plate over skillet method, or whatever works for you) and cook another 3 minutes or so.

Slide onto serving plate, cut into wedges.

Sisters

Sisters
Originally uploaded by Died of Ennui

The kitties were a bit traumatized by the move. When they were just too tired to follow me around, they curled up together. They get along quite well anyway, but they don't usually sleep together unless they are cold. Or freaked out.