Saturday Check-In

It's been a fairly nice week. I had an awful lot of work to do, all of the work I didn't do while I was on vacation, and wasn't really able to get caught up on it as I was constantly spinning around helping other staff members...we have some new staff, and staff sitting in different places, and somehow or another I got appointed the IT Guy. We have a designated IT Guy, but he's an outside contractor to whom you have to send a help-ticket email and then wait for him to come by or fix your programs remotely; it's so much easier to call me, I'm right upstairs and am completely unable to say "no" to people. One staff member, who transferred to us from another site, had one problem after another with her computer for three days solid... just about drove me nuts.

But then we ended the week with a great party, a pot-luck and games gathering that was just really nice, getting to relax with coworkers and not have to do any clienty-type stuff with them, just unwind and chat.

And I made the most fantastic peach cobbler, EVAH! It's Grandmother's old Easy Cobbler recipe, with some minor changes that put it right over the top. Want the recipe?

Grandmother's Easy Peach Cobbler

Batter:
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1.5 tsps baking powder (not soda)
• 0.25 tsps salt.

Fruit:
• Large can (24 oz) sliced peaches in heavy syrup
• 2 cups sugar
• 1.5 cubes of butter
• Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.

Preheat oven to 350°; put butter in a 9"x13" glass baking dish and place in warming oven to melt. Pour out peaches and syrup into a small saucepan; stir in one cup of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Let simmer while making batter.

In a pitcher, mix dry ingredients and then stir in milk. Stir but don't beat with whisk until smooth. Pour batter evenly over melted butter, careful not to let the batter touch the bottom or sides. Spoon peaches and syrup onto batter until covered. Sprinkle 1 cup sugar on top, then dust liberally with cinnamon.

Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. Serve with warm milk. You can use this recipe with three cups of any kind of canned fruit in syrup. To use fresh fruit, cover 3 cups fruit with water in a small saucepan, add two cups of sugar to make a syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, and simmer until fruit is soft (I've never tried this, though...why go to all that effort when you can just open a can?)

Robert's Unbelievably Fantastic Variation
• Use smaller (18 oz) can of freestone peaches and add one large sliced fresh freestone peach.
• Use half-&-half instead of milk.
• Add generous dashes of ground ginger and dried orange peel to peach mixture.
• Share with friends and family (harder to do than you'd think).

So, anyway, that was my little foray into the domestic arts, and it got rave reviews. I came very close to eating the whole thing by myself, it was that good. But anyway, let's get on with the business at hand:

MOOD

My mood continues quite nicely; I didn't miss a dose of Seroquel or Wellbutrin all week. The Seroquel does make me awfully sleepy, though... I wonder if this effect is something I will get used to and eventually not notice? I mean, I don't feel stupid, or tired, or wobbly, I just feel this incredible desire to lie down and take a nap. I could probably get used to that, though I might actually have to go somewhere and lie down sometimes if this continues. The effect of being short-tempered, and having to exercise extra caution around saying inappropriately bitter things to people, has continued but has become more manageable.

There have been no other side-effects, no extra weight-gain, no sexual dysfuntion (though since I have only myself to please, this really doesn't matter... though I have noticed that it takes longer for me to orgasm now than it did when I was on lithium... it seemed then that just as I was starting to enjoy myself, it was all over; sessions last longer with the Seroquel. And you know, every time I change meds, my orgasms get better. I don't know if they just feel different, and different is always better, but they just keep getting better and better all the time. [/TMI]). I have to go get a blood draw sometime, I'll probably do it next Saturday if I remember, to make sure my glucose levels are still OK.

FITNESS & WEIGHT

I didn't go to the gym all week, again. I was just too sleepy at the end of the day, the very thought of climbing up on a treadmill nearly made me weep. And I didn't stick too closely to my diet, particularly during the pot-luck; but I somehow managed to lose four pounds anyway... I am 226 as of this morning.

FOLLOW UPS

For those who were sitting on the edges of their seats after my last post, I decided to not pursue my desire to communicate with either my cousin or my Grandmother... well, "decide" is such a strong word... really, I just ran out of the necessary energy to continue giving a shit. I wore myself out with the argument to the point that I don't feel like arguing with anyone; but I feel like I've worked out the pain and confusion. It's just one of those things that I may get around to or I may not. I don't care right now.

And for those who were wondering if I'd ever get a copy of the picture taken of me at Grand Ducal Coronation a couple of weekends ago, I did! And although it's not a full-length as I'd hoped (the gown was worth a full-length shot) I really like it! Though I think that wig is too big for my head, and I need to get rid of that little ball of fat under my arm. Wanna see?

And that's what's going on with me just now. I am going to go find some nice eye-candy for you, Picture Post to follow. And then I'm going to play my new game, Nightfall Mysteries: Asylum Conspiracies (I loved the previous Nightfall Mysteries game, Curse of the Opera... it was dark and creepy and delightful and ingenious; I hope to enjoy this one as well).

Toodle-pip!