Slow

I realize that I haven't posted lately, but it's really because there hasn't been much of anything to post.  I'm still reading Empire Falls (#66)... I am enjoying it, but the overall story is a little slow and I have found myself distracted by another book as well as getting caught up with my magazines.  I am still taking a multivitamin every day (#82) with the exception of the day that I fell asleep on the sofa at 4:30 and then crawled upstairs to bed at 7:00... I am forgiving myself that day.  I did buy tickets to see Spring Awakenings later this month (#95), and I am definitely looking forward to that.  I originally heard about it because two of the the actors from Glee were in it on Broadway, then I happened across the soundtrack at the library.  It's an interesting story line, and there are some songs that I really like so now I can't wait to see it live.

I did cook a new recipe tonight (#73)!  I had some pork chops that I needed to either cook or freeze, but I try to avoid freezing meat, because I have tendency not to use it.  At any rate, I loosely followed the recipe for sauteed pork chops out of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.  I didn't quite have the exact ingredients, but it worked out okay since I had a new Rosemary Ginger rub that I wanted to try as well as some rosemary infused olive oil that I hadn't tried yet.  At any rate, I rubbed the pork chops with the new rub and browned them in the olive oil.  Added in white wine and cooked until it evaporated, then chicken stock and simmered for 10 minutes.  The pork chops came out, the liquid was reduced, and some garlic & herb butter added in to make a nice sauce.  I may have overcooked them only just a tiny bit (which he cautions about in the book), but they were still tender and had a lovely flavor.  I had them with some steamed mixed vegetables (frozen, Green Giant) and a glass of wine, and it made a very nice meal.  The only thing I lacked was a piece of good french bread to sop up the last of the juices!  Plus now I have three left over pork chops to eat over the next couple of days.  I'm thinking mashed potatoes would be another really good side for these. 

Other than that, there hasn't been too much going on.  The big ice storm put a crimp in my free time, as I have been scraping layers of ice and slush off my driveway for over a week now.  And then I worked last weekend, and this weekend I have had very little motivation to do much of anything other than a few odds and ends around the house.  I did look up places to donate blood (#1), so I expect to start that sometime fairly soon.  For now I think I'll enjoy the rest of my wine and some quality time with my DVR.