eat more salad! abc salad

as a general rule, the geek hates salad. hates it! that being said, there's one salad that he likes (almost loves). he calls it "the best salad ever!" it's based on an apple-bacon-cheddar sandwich served at one of our local restaurants. the sweet, crunchy apple, salty-savory bacon, and sharp cheese all work well together in taste and in texture. 

this is not so much a recipe as it is a recommendation.

the dog's many looks

when the dog goes to the groomer, she comes home looking like a new dog. a new and different dog. i'm still getting used to the phenomenon. growing up, we had brittanys. they never went to the groomer, they never got a hair cut, they always looked the same. sure they'd get regular baths, but they'd always come out looking like cleaner versions of themselves. that is not the case with this dog.

when we drop her off, she looks like a puffy bear cub. short and stout. hardy.

when we pick her up, she's a fraction of the size, looking very dainty and tiny. and her ears look gigantic. once when the geek and i took her for a post-grooming walk, some rowdy neighbors pointed and said, "look at that dawg's big ears!" sadly, those big ears seem to be losing their hearing with age.

after awhile, she starts to look more like a bear cub and less like a cat.

until it's time to go back to the groomer again. 

this year is half way finished!

amazingly, it's already july. where has this year gone? the geek and i have become delinquent blog updaters. we'll have to get back in the habit of updating this, even though we're the only people who see it! :) 

now seems a good time to see how i'm doing on my 2010 list of things to do.

1. learn how to make sukiyaki no progress here.
2. read the chronicles of narnia (loved by the geek and most of the world; i must be the only person who could not get through 'the magician's nephew') so much to read, so little time. whenever i reach for a book, it never seems to be this one. so no progress here either.
3. find the perfect meatloaf recipe totally forgot i was going to do this. 
4. get the geek to try kimchi no success here. i'm such a procrastinator. i'll probably save this one for december.
5. go on a vacation finally! something i've done! we went to asheville, nc for a weekend. will head to hawaii in sept too. 
6. see wicked yay! another one done! wicked came to the dpac in may...it was fantastic! i'm on a roll....
7. teach the dog to pose for pictures and the roll is over. still working on this one. the dog still actively avoids looking at the camera. darn.
8. revive the container garden maybe i should cross this off the list. the geek, who is the primary gardener, has officially given up on the container garden. *moment of silence*
9. finish my dissertation (i have a feeling this will be the hardest one to get done) slow progress here. maybe i should have said finish my dissertation draft...then i could give myself a 'done!'
10. learn how to make a shepard's pie done! found an easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy recipe. will include the recipe in another post.
11. learn to cast off and finish the scarf i started 3 years ago wow. i was so ambitious and optimistic in january. i don't even know where the scarf is....
12. cook 2 recipes from the 'ultimate slow cooker' magazine that i just got in the checkout line (maybe i should add 'not buy anything i find while standing in the checkout line?' i am such a sucker.) *sigh* no progress here.
13. find a recipe for british flapjacks grrrr
14. learn how to make a banoffee pie done! and the toffee didn't explode! recipe posted here.
15. make a polish porcupine ball ornament that is actually spherical saving this one for christmas
16. see the panda at the national zoo before he's deported returned to china missed him! :( he left before we had a chance to go to dc.
17. volunteer somewhere (i am such a lazy slacker lately) kinda done. the geek and i volunteered once. we never made it back. we are delinquent slackers.
18. make something with the galangal i bought on a whim nope.
19. improve my thumb coordination so that i can run and jump my way through the new mario game with the geek (i currently spazz out and hit the wrong button all the stinking time) still not coordinated enough to play new super mario bros. wii; luckily in the new super mario galaxy, thumb coordination was not required for player 2.

wow. overall, i give myself a c minus on progress. better get a move on or some of these will be carried over to next year. maybe it would help to print this out since i'd forgotten about half the items i wrote down! 

emerald isle, north carolina

for the past few year, we've spent the 4th of july with the geek's family. we all head out to emerald island for a holiday weekend at the beach. we go for walks, look for shells, read books, watch sports, rock in rocking chairs, and enjoy time with his family.