donna reed is soso pretty.

mike and i got together with some friends of ours tonight (all married couples; we're in the club now) and had a sort of pizza party. we'd planned it some weeks ago (we're the only couple of the three without progeny of the human sort, though does linus count?, so it took some schedule manoeuvring to set up) and gave it a go.

we all made a different sort: friends M & N made the starter, a cold veg pizza, and dessert, a fruit pizza; friends H & J brought one of the main, a vegetarian pizza from papa murphy's (a takeaway-and-bake, as H is prego & had overslept on her after-work kip, thus having inadequate time to cook), which was still pretty sweet.

mike & i made the other two main, as we couldn't decide: one was half-bacon/half-grilled-chicken with basil, light marinara sauce, and a mozzarella-stuffed, garlic-&-butter pizza crust; the other was grilled chicken with bacon, spinach, mozzarella & provolone cheeses, and a white, parmesan-alfredo sauce.

they turned out reeeeeeeeeeally well & thank god there were other people to help us eat it, cos my eyes were bigger than my belly as it was without also having to share.

as happens with every new attempt that i end up thoroughly enjoying, it made me wish i could open up a shop, pizza this time, & experiment all day. i love to cook.

donna-reed part deux:

tomoz is easter & i was asked by mike's aunt to handle the pudding this year, as she apparently loves the desserts i make (which is not a compliment so much as it's because i've a terrrrrrible sweet tooth & prefer to make desserts above other things, hence i've had lots of practise). after considering my options, i decided to go with an oreo cheesecake. a few points of disinterest:

a) took it out of the oven a bit ago and it looks & smells deliiiicious;

b) i didn't mistake coconut extract for vanilla this time (as such, there was no need to attempt to quickly blot it with paper towel & fail because it's all liquid anyway & then sadly over-compensate with the actual vanilla extract), so no-one will wonder what 'that extra ingredient-i-can't-quite-place' is;

c) i used whipped cream cheese instead of brick because i figured it'd not require softening (i'm lazy), so i'm curious about how the texture will be; the batter was COPIOUS because there was already so much air in there, so this is gunna be a thick bastard of a cake...unless it turns out light & fluffy because of all that air in there, which would be rather swell after all.

as happens with cooking, it makes me wish i could open up a shop: one that sells pizza and cheesecake, & so i could experiment all day. it'll be called 'the last supper', cos it may well be after all that heavy food.

on a completely separate note, i'm going to have the cat's rear (attack) claws taken out.

i can't stand it anymore; in three days, he's scratched me as many times (interestingly enough, three lacerations per swipe...three is the magic number) and has drawn fair amounts of blood every time. third one's the charm and when that tax return comes, hallelujah.

i am not a fan of de-clawing cats; i know it's cruel, painful, & deprives the animal of one of their core modes of defence.

i really didn't think i'd actually do it, but i just can't take another sodding scratch-fest. we only had his fronts out & i'd figured that would've been fair, but time and time again he resorts to the remaining claws. keeping them trimmed & filed doesn't help at all. i've not had this problem with other cats; linus just is a brat that way.

i'm not going to open up any shops on this one.

so, erm, wow. it's april already. in two weeks' time, i'll be 27; when did the other 26 years happen? i honestly think that children have it best, cos as soon as a person comprehends the concept of time, the clock starts ticking faster every year:

(time for reflections!)

when you're a kid, a five-mile drive could take five minutes or five hours; who the hell knows?

'i'm a kid, i don't know how that shiz works. i'm in a car and can barely see out the window; we're either going three miles per hour or eighty, how am i supposed to know? i'm too busy thinking about the mighty morphin' power rangers & how i'm gunna cause a scene in the store's check-out queue until you buy me a milky way dark candy bar cos i'm starved & haven't eaten in five hours due to this damn infinite car ride! guraaaaaaghhhhhhhh!!!!'

when you're a kid, your worst nightmares are of someone stealing all your toys, or of retrospectively-cute vinyl aliens hiding in the basement, or of a packet of your 'snorks' fruit snacks coming to life & trying to eat you.

when you're a kid, you can get out of something by whinging, because people just assume you haven't had your nap yet & actually encourage you to take a few hours' kip in the arvo -every day.-

unlike at crap work, where you'd be sacked for doing such a thing.

speaking of sleep, it's time i got some...

sunday, 04 april 2010

0013 CDT / 0613 GMT / 0713 CET

the hols