Christmastime blues

Merry Christmas everyone!

I should be at my aunt and uncle's place. "Should be" are the key words. My friend and his wife were both invited along, and since they all couldn't fit in my mom's Honda, I drove down to pick them up, and took them with me. Since my friend and his wife only live about 3/4 mile away, and his wife has a driver's license, I was fine driving down the 15 miles or so to my relatives'. No rain, and my car was perfectly fine.

Fast forward about an hour. My friend, who ALWAYS had stomach troubles, wasn't feeling too hot. My uncle offered to take him home, but I didn't want him to go out of his way to do that, so I decided to take him home instead, with his wife by me so that everything was legal.

BAD IDEA.

By this time, it was raining, my car was constantly hydroplaning, the side windows were perpetually fogged up, and I remembered, halfway down to their place, that I had about 1/4 of a cocktail, and, compounded with my meds, I shouldn't have been driving in the first place. When I finally got to their place, I couldn't see anywhere but forward, and I did NOT want to drive back, so I called my mom, asking her to pick us up. One problem. It's going to get dark in about an hour, and my mom can't drive after dark with her night blindness. Also, by the time we got back, the roast would be cold, and we would only have time to eat and run back. So I'm stuck home, waiting for my mom to come back with a care package, on my last Christmas in California...

I don't blame my friend one bit. He can't control his stomach problems, and, to be honest, I should have let my uncle take him home instead. I am not upset at him, and he shouldn't be hurting himself over it.

At least I have Minecraft.

Recipe time! Cheesy Chicken Noodle Soup!

So yeah... I'm going to try to make this blog a little happier. And what's happier (especially for this time of year) than a nice bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup? So without further delay... Here's the recipe!

CHEESY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Day 1 ingredients:

- The carcass of 1 1/2 to 2 chickens

(Tip: When I buy chicken (even if it's something like a store-bought roasted chicken) I remove the meat from the bones using a knife, and then freezing the carcass.)

- 2 carrots, roughly chopped

- 1 onion, quartered (you can leave the skin on)

- 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped

- 1 bell pepper, quartered, seeds removed (Whichever color you prefer)

- 6 whole black peppercorns

- A small amount of chopped garlic (If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use a sprinkle of garlic powder)

Throw everything in a large pot, filling it with water until it covers everything well. Bring to a simmer, and cook slowly for about 4-6 hours (It's delicious, not fast!). When the bones begin to crumble when pressure is applied, take it off the heat, and check the flavor.

(Tip: Try to refrain from adding salt, since you will be adding additional ingredients the next day, so if it tastes perfect today, it might be too salty tomorrow.)

Strain everything into a bowl using a cheesecloth or a VERY clean towel, throwing all the solids out. Strain again, back into the pot, just to make sure you have everything strained out. Put the lid on the stock, and refrigerate until the next day, when everything finishes up.

Day 2 ingredients:

- 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, the meat removed and the bones bagged and frozen for next soup

- 1 onion, skin removed and quartered

- 1 stalk of celery, chopped

- 3 carrots, chopped

- 2 cups of frozen cheese tortellini

- Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat up the stock, and add the vegetables and meat. When the carrots are fairly soft, but not quite soft enough to your liking, add the tortellini and cook until they're done. Adjust seasoning to taste, and serve!

I hope you enjoy it!

(note: If you prefer more of something, or less of something else, then by all means, adjust the recipe to your liking!)

Stresses of the move

There are a few problems with having to move cross-country. One of the biggest is the fact that I have to sell the vast majority of my items so that I can move my stuff via post. The stuff I refuse to sell (my retro computing stuff) will be put in my mother's shed until I can afford to have them shipped. All I'm going to have shipped (for now) is my PC (with all of the stuff included with it, naturally), several books, a bunch of movies and other stuff on DVD, and, of course, my clothing, laptop, and other stuff I can put in my luggage.

The fact that I won't see most of my belongings, as well as being away from my family for so long, is definitely weighing on my mind pretty heavily. I've been putting off the packing for so long, but I'm going to have to start some time...

Hello again.

Yeah. I have ANOTHER blog now. I'll probably update my older one with, I dunno, stuff related to old computers...

Anyways, welcome people from Twitter who are following me. As I mentioned in my Twitter, it's too short for my current feelings. And what are those feelings? Crap, depression, and a mild desire for tacos. To get you up to speed: I'm still planning on moving to Louisiana for various reasons, and right now, I'm in the process of figuring out what stuff of mine I should sell, how to ship everything else, and if this move really is a smart idea. I should have enough money, after everything's done, to get an inexpensive apartment with the person I'm rooming with, as well as putting six months' rent down on it. I should be able to also afford an inexpensive car, and I hope to also be able to ship my computer, a number of my books, and some other odds and ends.

It's 2:00 now where I am, so I'm going to wrap this post up and get ready for bed. Good night.