An Arizona Cheesehead's Thoughts

We've been going to the Elks' Lodge Wednesday Steak Frys for several years. It's a fun time and we're there every few months or so. But, now, they've found a way to get us there at least once a month. Trivia! Here's how it works. Everyone from your table that's playing pays in $3. Half of the money goes to the prize pool, the other half to the APS Light Parade Holiday Float fund. (BTW, they won a prize last year with their float.) There are two rounds to the game and a final question. I won't go into all of the scoring but, suffice it to say, we make sure we know where we stand. And, because I only play to win and I'm a control freak, I write down all the answers and track our score throughout the game. The first time we played, we paid over $3 each for our table because we couldn't be bothered to make change. We were that excited to play. We were in good shape the whole way and they gave us the scores before the final question and it w...

One of the guys at work started sending out a cat picture to the IT group each Friday. Inevitably, one picture leads to a bunch of comments and a few more pictures. Sometimes, it takes so little to keep techies amused. I started today's thread with a picture from Facebook after one of Help Desk peeps went to install Safari on a PC and it came up looking like a Microsoft Virus. The email subject line was "I think it was labeled Safari..." The next picture came through because someone thought it was funny on two levels. The tension on the leash and that it looks like the cat has a gun. I replied, "Pew, pew, pew". The boss replied, "What are you, 12? It should be bang, bang, bang!" I replied "What are you, over 50?" right after someone said "not if you use lasers!" That spawned this picture with the note, "I think for cat pictures, Kathy is correct..." Then we got this: Cats with lasers The threa...

Considering I work in IT, it's ironic how many times I complain about technology. Computers can be evil and software, when it doesn't work, sucks. However, there are times when the technology gods decide to play nice and the world is a fabulous place. Last Saturday night was one of those times. When our gang gets together, especially in Rocky Point, we tend to get into lots of debates. Many of them are settled by google or Wikipedia because some of us are too stubborn to budge without definitive proof that we're wrong. And, some of us will still argue after being show several citations disputing their claims but I won't mention any names. From a rooftop in Mexico to the world! While listening to the Pirate Captains' playlist on 1980s #1 songs on his iPod and enjoying the evening on Annette's roof, we got to discussing whom we thought was the "greatest singer/songwriter of all time". Some evidence got thrown out there and bull was called on i...

A couple of my work buds and I frequently talk about health, fitness and weight control. We rely on one guy to tell us about all the cool stuff and he certainly justified that trust with the Spiral Slicer. It's super easy to use. Just put the veggie in and twist. Voila! Long strips of "good for you" stuff. One of the guys and I both tried it with zucchini. There are two sizes depending on the end you use and they make perfect "noodles". A very quick blanch and you have a fantastic low fat, low carb, low calorie replacement for pasta. Bigger strips on the left side. This was two small zucchinis.  We're thinking it would make cool strips for salads, stir fry and other pasta replacements like squash. I'm sure they're available in stores but we bought ours online.

Two of my Poker Chick friends and I bought a Living Social deal for DIY painting at a local arts store in Mesa. For $25 a person, the store provided canvas, brushes, paints and an instructor to give you advice. The best part of the deal? You could bring your own booze! I got there a little early and started chatting with two other women who came in when I did. The store had 100 designs on the wall to give you ideas and we examined all of them. The ideas were nicely labeled with a degree of difficulty from 1 to 3. I had no shot at completing a 3 and I wondered even about a 2. By the time Stacy and Angela got there, I was firmly a BFF with my fellow artists. Angela asked me, "Did you know them already?" I said, "No." Then, she just rolled her eyes and shook her head at me. Don't hate me for my superior social butterfly skills! Canvas and a bottle - that could have been all I needed. The picture I chose to emulate. Degree of difficulty = 2. W...