It's not what you think

Yesterday morning I somehow managed to scrape the underside of my nose with my thumbnail while turning over in bed.

The resultant scab makes it look like I have a big ol' crusty booger hanging under my nose.

I think today's a good day to stay in my cube....

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Speaking of cubes, they're doing some home improvements here at the cube farm. Some folks are moving out, and they're putting in some bigger-shot who needs a bigger cube (Size Matters!). This means that the guys from facilities were in my area yesterday, doing a whole lot of banging, some crashing, and a smidge of idle chatter.

Ah-ha! I thought. This is my chance to get some reno done on MY cube....

I used my "in" with one of the guys to have a little ad hoc redecorating done, and by asking nicely I now gots me two new shelves where before I had NONE, two new lights where before I had NONE, and, most importantly, I now have a view! Yep - dood removed the back wall of my cube, and so now, if I choose to, I can look over my left shoulder and see what it's like outside.

It pays to develop inside relationships with the facilities guys, y'all.

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To close out for today, I leave you with a recipe of a something I made up last night in a frenzy of "what am I going to make for dinner with this pound of ground beef"? And even though it might not be terribly original food (not at all tall or accompanied by wafer-thin anythings, and not a speck of chutney in sight), it did turn out pretty daggone tasty. It goes something like this:

Baked Pasta A La Tiff

Yield: 6-8 servings
Cost per serving: about $1.25
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

8 ounces penne rigati
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
3 stalks scallions, chopped
1 can of Italian-style stewed tomatos
1.5 cups cottage cheese
1 cup 4-cheese blend shredded sheese
1/4 cup parmesean
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dreid oregano
1 tsp dried basil

-- Boil the penne to al dente in salted water. Don't overcook!

-- While the pasta's cooking, brown the ground beef, drain the fat, and add the onions. Sautee until veggies are soft-ish.

-- Now, while you've got the pasta and the beef cooking (and lookit you go with all the pots boiling and steaming and such, you kitchen schtar!), whiz up the tomatoes, wine, olive oil, and spices in a blender. Add to beef mix once veggies are cooked. Stir well.

-- Drain the pasta and place in a single layer in a casserole dish. Cover with cottage cheese and half the shredded cheese. Dump the sauce over top, sprinkle with the rest of the shredded cheese, and finish with a dusting of parm.

-- Bake uncovered at 350 for 25 minutes until cheese is bubbly-luscious.

Now doesn't that sound good? Well, it tastes even better than it sounds. Go on, make you some tonight. You KNOW you want to...or at least I think I know you know you want to...which you ought to, because it's really very tasty stuff.

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That'll do it for today folks. Have yerselfs a good ol' Hump Day. Im'a go hump it like a horny cat and get some work done! Woot!