Another fine youtube pick

I love the intro to Across the Universe, so much in fact, maybe I'll watch the dvd at some point in the next few days.



Happy Thanksgiving!

10 minutes is plenty.

As an addendum to my post yesterday, on cleaning the working girl way, I wanted to point out that there's always a few minutes here and there, everyday, to clean and keep up with chores. There's certainly not enough time to say, organize the closet or bake a batch of cookies, but laundry can be folded and the bed can be made.

Now, my weekdays go something like this:

8.00: Wakeup. Shower, dress, make coffee, etc.
9.15ish-6.15ish, sometimes 7.00: Work. My office is about 5 miles away, and I usually go home for lunch at noon.
6.15/7.00: Home: Dinner.
8.00: Gym.
9:30: Home: Shower, tv (read: relax and decompress), snack.
11.00: Bed.

There's obviously not a lot of free time. If I'm not running late, however, I can usually find a few minutes to do something. For example, when I wake up, I can easily make the bed in under 2 minutes. Whew, the room instantly looks cleaner. The couch cushions can be fluffed on my way from the kitchen to the front door. Have a system. Dirty clothes automatically go in the hamper -- not on the floor. Empty containers go in the trash. A container of lysol wipes in the bathroom makes for a quick clean in under a minute. It isn't the end of the world if the sink holds the breakfast dishes all day, or if the coffeemaker doesn't get cleaned until the next morning. If it's important to you to have a clean place, then you'll simply just find the time. If you have a boyfriend/husband/roommate, then share the chores.

I think I'll try to clean the coffeemaker when I go home for lunch.

The peachy way to clean

I guess, in a perfect world, I could be as well put together as The Hyper Homemaker. Not having a speck of dirt in sight, perfectly pressed linens, fresh flowers in gorgeous vases, etc. She even lists how to be organized, complete with tips on how often to do chores.

I pride myself on a clean and happy apartment. But.....I just don't have the time to iron my sheets! In fact, I have a set of Ralph Lauren (bought at Ross!) sheets that are forever wrinkled. Can't help it, but wow, they're soft!

I don't clean on a schedule or have days set aside for certain chores. My free time is unpredictable. No two Mondays are the same. Instead.....I get things taken care of as I think of them. Scott does a great deal, too. It's not all on me.

Here are a few of MY tips:

--Once the clothes hamper is full, sort into loads and do them when you have a chance. Just no time for laundry? Sometimes, I start a wash load just before I go to sleep and then put that load in the dryer the next morning. Or I'll start a wash load while I'm getting ready in the morning and then toss them in the dryer on my lunch break. I fold & put away the clean laundry when I get home from work, while Scott is making dinner. I'm not sure what I'd do if we had to go to a laundromat. I can't even imagine. Having to use the dorm laundry room in college was bad enough.

--No time to clean? Pick a free Saturday or Sunday. For me, there's absolutely no time for this during the week. If I'm at home on a Saturday morning, that's when I'll scrub the bathtub or vacuum the carpet.

--Find shortcuts! I cannot stress this enough. Martha Stewart has all the time in the world to do crafts and bake bread from scratch. I don't.

Any quick cleaning tips out there?

Morton Family Strata

From The Family Stone:

SERVES 8

Ingredients

* 8 slices white bread
* 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
* 14 ounces tomatoes, sliced
* 13 ounces sliced mushrooms, drained (or sauteed fresh)
* 1 medium onion, thinly sliced into rings
* 5 eggs
* 3 cups milk
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 1 pinch garlic salt
* parmesan cheese
* black olives, sliced

Directions

1. Using a cookie cutter, donut cutter or lid from a jar, cut bread into shapes or circles. Set aside.
2. Place bread scraps in bottom of buttered 13" by 9" baking dish. Layer half of the cheese over bread.
3. Arrange half of the tomatoes and all of the onion rings and mushrooms over the cheese. Cover with the rest of the cheese.
4. Arrange the bread shapes on the cheese. Put slices of the tomato in the center of each bread shape.
5. Combine slightly beaten eggs, milk, salt, oregano and garlic salt. Pour over the bread.
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dot with olives. Cover. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
7. Bake 1-1/2 hours in a 325 degree F oven, or until knife comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes or until firm.

It's the happiest time of the year

I'm making a list of classic Christmas movies, or just classic movies with Christmas scenes, to watch over the next month and a half.

White Christmas
It's a Wonderful Life
Meet Me in St. Louis
Penny Serenade
Miracle on 34th Street
One Magic Christmas
Yours, Mine and Ours

TV Shows:
Grey's Anatomy -- season 2, Christmas ep.
any Home Improvement Christmas special



Any suggestions?

Today, I love...

Rock music. Especially 80's/90's rock. Give me Guns n Roses, Bon Jovi, Poison, and Aerosmith.

I love the guitar solos, the ballads, and I try to tolerate the long, frizzy hair. I'm actually not a fan of the long hair, to be honest. Anyway, I really wish there were bands out now that could play like them. Whatever happened to the guitar solos? Everything sounds so electronic now. I'm not very good at Guitar Hero, but I like to watch others play just so that I can hear the music.

I'm watching the new season of Celebrity Rehab -- because it's so addictive, and Steven Adler of GNR is on there. It's sad that his life changed so dramatically just because of drugs. He keeps talking about his friend, Slash (also of GNR), too. I keep wondering if I'm a few degrees away from Adler. Back in the 1980's, sometime between '85 and '88, my dad's coworker's niece married the drummer of GNR, and then they divorced. I've never met the niece, but we did spend a lot of time with the aforementioned coworker and his family -- we were all living on a base in Japan. I asked my dad if he knew the guy's name, but he didn't. It has to be Adler, though.......because there was a previous drummer, but he dropped out after just a few months with the band. Anyway.

Today I love...

1) My right to vote. I did, in fact, make it to the polls at lunchtime. There was no wait whatsoever, and before I knew it, I was walking away with a voting sticker. It's a great feeling. Last election, I was away at college and had to fill out an absentee ballot. Now, I can finally go to the polls! And 8 years ago, I didn't turn 18 until 2 months after the election. TWO MONTHS! Oh, well.

2) Coffee. More specifically, Starbucks. Today, and today only, they are giving out free cups of coffee. All day! I decided to try the new Thanksgiving blend. So far, so good.

3) Good news. I'm going to be an Aunt! I found out this morning that one of my best friends is going to have a baby! I couldn't be happier for her, and I think she's going to be a great mom. Yay for Linds!

At the moment, that's all I can think of. Wow, this coffee is amazing.