One of my Mother's insane hippie cruelties was that she believed it was bad for our eyes to read in the car. (The others were putting brewers yeast in our orange juice, and cheering for the other team at softball games because, "She was at our house YESTERDAY, she's your friend!")

Did you also occasionally stick a fork in an outlet, just to make sure it still electrocuted you?

Well, it's such an acclaimed book I kept trying to figure out what I was missing.

I can read on trains or on buses that have relatively non-curvy routes, but my current bus most assuredly does *not* fit that bill.

cheering for the other team at softball games because, "She was at our house YESTERDAY, she's your friend!"

I'm halfway with her. It's okay to hope a friend on the other team has a good game, as long as my team wins.

I have scheduled myself a hair appointment for tonight. Go Team Haircut!

I have scheduled myself a hair appointment for tonight. Go Team Haircut!

::waves pom poms::

I'm halfway with her. It's okay to hope a friend on the other team has a good game, as long as my team wins.

They were whipping our asses. More importantly, I sucked and the friend was really good.

I might have to stop by the store to pick up the ingredients to make this:

Simple Carrot Ginger Soup

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup peeled and finely chopped ginger root (can be halved if you want less ginger)
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
Pinch curry powder (optional)
Salt & ground pepper
Optional Garnishes: plain yogurt or sour cream, chives or parsley

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, ginger and garlic; saute for 5-10 minutes. Add the stock and carrots. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered over medium heat until the carrots are very tender, about 30 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor. Season with curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. This soup may be served immediately, keeps in the refrigerator for at least 3 days and freezes well.

One of my Mother's insane hippie cruelties was that she believed it was bad for our eyes to read in the car.

I used to be able to read anything in the car, for hours at a time. At some point in my late 20s/early 30s, I stopped being able to read even a map without getting horribly nauseated. Unfair!

Did you also occasionally stick a fork in an outlet, just to make sure it still electrocuted you?

Well, it's such an acclaimed book I kept trying to figure out what I was missing.

Ah. I feel you on that. I have that reaction to all of Wes Anderson's movies. [Cue Hec telling me I'm a philistine.]

cheering for the other team at softball games because, "She was at our house YESTERDAY, she's your friend!"

Occasionally I'd cheer against our team when I was in pep-band. Just cheers like "Forfeit! Forfeit!"

Also, once we had "crazy hat day" for football pep-band. Supposedly we could wear any hat, but our band director refused to let me wear my Devo Energy Dome....

As an update to yesterday's Polar Bear question; our new marketing director thinks I am just a total nerd for knowing immediately that Polar Bears don't hibernate, and she's moving on with the campaign. I didn't see the proposals until it was time to send them to FDA for review, so thousands have already been spent on the campaign, apparently. All I could say was that I was certain I am not the only one, and I bet my boss $5 that the campaign will be pulled within months because people will write in. Oh, well.