A Raise Would be Nice...

So one of the new campaigns I'm participating in as a BzzAgent is the "America Deserves a Raise" contest. A raise? Yes, please! I've spent all day trying to figure out how to pay bills on my grad school budget. Sadly, however, I'm not sure what I do qualifies as an actual job yet... but I can still win if the person I nominate does! I'm still thinking about who I want to nominate. I know lots of people who work really hard and don't get paid enough. Who do you have in your lives that you could put up for the $40,000?

I Want a Bloodhound...

So Chris and I have always said we would get another puppy when we finally were able to move in together. We already have Rae, but Rae needs a sibling and I wanted to wait until we had a bigger place (and someone else to help me take care of them) before we got another one. Plus I wanted it to be "our" dog and not just my baby that he has to adopt. We (I) have gone back and forth about the type of dog we want to get. For awhile we were very hooked on bulldogs. Their squooshy little faces are just too cute and I totally fell in love with my cousin's. Recently, though, I decided that a bloodhound would be perfect for us. They are nice and mellow when they're indoors, even though they're really big. And they love the outdoors and need to be taken out daily for exercise. Picturing Rae following around a great, big ol' bloodhound just melts my little heart. They would be just too cute. I can just picture Rae tugging on his floppy little ears to get him to do her bidding. So since then I've been trying to convince Chris that this is the dog we've been missing all our life. Seeing as how our move is about 39 days away I thought I would up my game a little bit. I discovered that bloodhounds are very famous. They have been in lots and lots movies/tv shows. So here's a little tribute to all the famous bloodhounds.

Ladybird (King of the Hill)

Old Towser (One Hundred and One Dalmations)

Napoleon (Aristocats)

McGruff (The Crime Dog)

Copper (The Fox and the Hound)

The Bumpeses Hounds (A Christmas Story)

Bryant (Sweet Home Alabama)

Bruno (Cindarella)

Trusty (Lady and the Tramp)

Hunny. Clearly a bloodhound is the type of dog we need in our life. Practically every movie ever made needs one, so we do too. And if that didn't melt your heart, then maybe these will:

Aww! Look at the baby!

Floppy Ears!!

Random Things...

So I've been cranky for about a week straight at this point. I have a chronic ear infection that 3 doctors have not been able to make go away, insomnia so bad I wake up at least 4 times every night, a dissertation that won't apparently write itself, and a lack of money necessary to pay for the pile of bills that will be coming along in June. I really don't know how Chris has put up with me this week. I have very much lived up to his nickname for me.

Today I should be productive. I was productive all weekend and got a nice, big chunk of my dissertation done. The productivity should flow into Monday no? Unfortunately, the answer to that is a big, fat NO. I was cranky and lazy all morning, so no work done then. And now I've taken a Benadryl in the hopes of clearing my ear out (since the ear drop antibiotics, oral antibiotics, Mucinex, Flonase, vaporizor, hot showers, yawning, chewing, swallowing, holding my nose and blowing, and three doctors I've tried over the past two weeks haven't been able to do a darned thing). The Benadryl hasn't even made me sleepy yet, but I refuse to do work in the anticipation of the sleepiness that is sure to follow. I almost see it as a strike against my ear. You don't want to get better? Fine I will just sit here and stay miserable until you do. Let's see who can wait it out the longest. (Clearly, I'm being very mature and rational about this).

Regardless, since no work is getting done today (or at least right now) I thought I'd post a dinner I made last week. It was similar to one I did the week before. I picked up some swordfish and pre-made mango salsa at the grocery store. Marinated said swordfish in a quick Asian-style marinade (rice vinegar, sesame oil, peanut oil, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper) and then baked it at 450 for 15 minutes. While that was cooking I cooked up some Near East Garlic & Pecan Rice on the stove-top. I served the salsa over the fish over the rice. The fish cooked up with a nice pile of marinade left over which I poured over the whole thing as sauce. Pretty similar to the meal last time, but without the serving of veggies. There was enough left for lunch the next day.

I may do more take-out this week. My cranky-lazy disease is making it hard to get up and plan a meal, grocery shop for ingredients and then cook. We'll see. I'll try my best not just to rant and rave about my ear all week. (But I'm not making any promises!)

Breakfast for Dinner

I felt like a light dinner tonight, since I stopped at Red Mango for some frozen yogurt on my way home. (It was really yummy by the way. I had ginger yogurt with mangoes, strawberries and mochi balls). I found this omelet recipe over at the Food Network and was surprised that it was Paula Deen's, because I don't really associate her with healthy eating. I ended up using the yolks too; egg whites just seem too boring. I also didn't use frozen spinach. Instead I just chopped up some baby spinach. It was really yummy. I paired it with a slice of oatmeal toast with orange marmalade. Breakfast. It's what's for dinner. :)

Sorry, the pics came out terrible. I'm not sure what's up with the yellow tint.