All About the Food...

What would a post about food be without a picture of my custom m&m? She's drinking coffee and wearing bunny slippers because I was cold (and still am) when I designed her. Want to make your own? Click here!

Really, the point of this entry is to tell you what we're having for lunch today: braised pork chops in cider-horseradish cream sauce. I was going to link to the recipe, but apparently theotherwhitemeat.com is having some issues with its recipe search this morning. Anyway, we're out of baby carrots, so we're going to have spinach instead. I'll be sure to post an update to let you know how they've come out.

As for the rest of the day, Scott is working, and I am going to Mike and Reyna's to help them pack for their big move tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure where they are moving to, but she says it's closer to us. And it's in a house. That's a step in the right direction. Every other renter we know is moving into our apartment complex. Really, 3 of my former co-workers are here, 1 of my current co-workers, and Scott says he knows almost 10 others. It's time to move!

Update: the pork chops were decent. the recipe could use a little tweaking - more horseradish maybe - but I found it highly edible.

Darn Pig

Zoe scratched open her head wound again in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Last night it was much less shiny and oozy, but just the same we decided to change out the litter in her cage for towels ($1.50 each at wal mart). My theory was that the towels have less dust and other particles to settle onto her head. Of course, the little poops are also WAY more visible, but since she's not entered into any housekeeping competitions, I think that's ok.

I just wonder what the vet is going to do now. I'm pretty sure he ruled out staples because the cut was too wide. Don't they have some kind of liquid bandage for animal cuts? We're obviously not going to be able to stick her in one of those anti-scratching-satellite-dish-collars. Not only is her head the wrong shape, but if she could wear one, she'd just walk around like a tiny shovel scooping up litter from her cage.

Oh well, I guess we'll find out on Tuesday. Unless she's looking bad tomorrow and they can actually see her.

What Not to Wear

Scalzi's Weekend Assignment: Reveal Your Teenage Fashion Disasters! Yes, whether it's big hair, Nehru jackets, acid-washed jeans or an ill-advised tattoo, let us know what about your style as a teenager you would change today.

You know, part of dressing conservatively is that you rarely have those "I wore that? In public???" moments. I managed to avoid the 6" high bangs that some of my classmates had in junior high altogether. I did have a pair of "Skids" that I begged my mom for, but only wore them to school once.

My big weakness seems to be color, even to this day. I'm just not that into tans and grays, and I enjoy seeing every color of the rainbow in my closet. Sometimes I wear things that don't quite match as much as I'd like, but I work in an office with two men. I bet I could wear jeans and they wouldn't notice.

My other weakness: free and cheap things. My last year of college, I think I owned maybe 3 shirts that I didn't get for free from some music festival or credit card company. And I still love the discount/clearance racks. After all, where else am I going to find a suede jacket (and it's green!) for $12?

Extra Credit: Are you kidding? Pictures, baby!

Well ok. I must confess, this picture is from a band recital in fifth grade - hardly my teenage years. But I thought it definitely brought home the "bright colors RULE" mentality that I have carried through life! (did I mention I no longer wear flourescents? I just wanted to make that abundantly clear. nowadays I stick with primaries and pastels)

By the way, who pairs a skirt like that with a polo? Yeah, me. That's what makes it "conservative," I guess.

Some other interesting things about this picture:
* the waistband of my skirt reads "Italian Boys" - don't ask me why!
* yep, that's a trumpet.
* and white leggings.
* ...but at least my ponytail isn't on the top of my head!

Nice Touch

Recently I got two mailings from companies I was affiliated with. Both have convinced me that if I ever decide to run a business (doubtful, but work with me here!) that I must remember this message:

People love to get mail.

Really. I got a thank you card from my vet's office yesterday. It's not personalized, or even signed, but I really like the thought. About a month ago, I got a postcard from Locks of Love thanking me for my donation. It's not going to convince me to grow out my hair again, but it was still a nice touch... and a better souvenir than the shaggy mess I'm currently growing out!

Baby's Got a Buzz Cut

They shaved my baby's head! Thankfully, they let me wait in the waiting room, but boy oh boy did we hear her!

At first, the vet was talking about staples and needing to use gas to knock her out and all sorts of stuff, but once they shaved her head they realized the cut was wide but shallow. Of course, this means she still has an open wound. Open wounds require daily washing and lots of attention and a return visit next week, but as long as she's eating normally that's all they require.

As you can imagine, she's SO not speaking to me right now, since I'm the one who took her out of her cage and manhandled her in and out of the cat carrier. The vet put some sort of powder on her cut to coagulate it a little bit, which just looks like an extension of her white streak. But the buzz cut (he said, "she'll look like a monk.") just looks silly. And I feel guilty for laughing at her.

But the baby is going to be fine. And she's definitely getting all the carrots she wants for the next week. This isn't going to be easy for either of us, that's for sure!

On a side note, I think I like this vet. I definitely like his office staff. Of course, there's three other vets between here and there, so I'm not sure whether I'd take my cats to him or not. Milo, I believe, would prefer to avoid any vet! The mere mention of the d-o-c-t-o-r just seems to annoy him. Wouldn't you agree?

A Crisis and the Dentist

A Post in Two Acts

ZoePig has a gaping head wound. (which, thankfully, you can't see in this picture) I'm not quite sure what happened to her, but Scott and I were absolutely heart-broken last night when I found it.

She's been squeaking a lot recently, shaking her head and scratching, so I did a bunch of internet research. It seems she may have ear mites (though who knows how that would've happened?) or an ear infection. The short-term cure was to apply a little mineral oil to her ears with a q-tip. Since we already had her out and in a secure death grip, it seemed a good time to clip her toenails as well. (not something that was covered in my original guinea pig primer... and she had grown curly old man toenails) And for the past few days, she hadn't been squeaking or scratching as much and we thought we had solved the problem.

Then last night as we were getting ready for bed, she started absolutely freaking out and when I went over to see what was going on, I saw this big spot (ok, "big" in this case equals slightly smaller than a dime) on the top of her head that was completely fur-less and all bloody. I don't know if she was scratching and one of her newly-trimmed nails was cut ragged and sharp, or if she banged it against the edge of her rainbow tunnel. We took her out and gave her a bath (her mantra for the event was "don't touch my head"), blow-dried her, and spent some quality time on the bathroom floor. When she went back to her cage, we gave her some carrots. She was eating and drinking normally, so we decided to call around to vets first thing this morning.

Note: guinea pigs are considered "exotics" and not seen by most vets. The one vet that was recommended by all of the other "small animal" vets in the area was in emergency surgery this morning and they were already rescheduling their clients who already had appointments.

So after a half dozen phone calls, I gave up. Ultimately, Scott took over phone duties and found a vet down on 50 who could see her tomorrow. Her head looks much better today. I really think that whatever she did had just happened when I noticed it. She's been quiet today, but still eating and drinking a lot. I think she's fine, but she obviously still needs to go to the doctor.

As for the dentist, he numbed up both sides of my mouth, which resulted in tons of fun saying tongue twisters (and having a Frosty for lunch because I was afraid to chew). He put a crown on my root canal tooth (#2 - upper right) and a temporary filling on the molar that's been throbbing for the past few days (#19 - lower left). If the filling stops the pain, he'll just do a regular filling. But it's close enough to the root that he wants to make sure I don't need a root canal. So I go back in two weeks to have fillings done on #18 and (hopefully) 19 (coincidentally, the same ones that Scott just had done) and also on #14. After that, just one more crown on a previously root canal-ed tooth and I'm done with my original treatment plan.

So in case you were wondering what I have planned for the next few weeks, Zoe's appointment tomorrow, then Scott has various dentist appointments and consultations this Wednesday and next Tuesday, then my appointment Feb 5, then he has two others on the 6th and 7th, and then I have jury duty on the 12th. I bet everyone on earth is jealous of the fun and excitement in store for me!!!

Recipe

So this random woman on the phone today gave me a recipe for chocolate mousse. Seriously. I didn't ask, she just gave it to me. I called to confirm a reservation for her husband's 70th birthday (shh... it's a surprise!) and she started listing ingredients. And I wrote them down. So now I'm passing it on to you. Feel free to pass along to someone else who needs an unsolicited chocolate mousse recipe!

6 oz. Nestle morsels
6 eggs, separated
1TBS vanilla

Melt chocolate in double-boiler. Whip egg yolks. Whip egg whites to soft peaks. Mix yolks into melted chocolate. Add vanilla. (it's very important that you add the vanilla AFTER the yolks. from personal experience, she told me that adding the vanilla first will cause the chocolate to harden. she doesn't know why.) Fold in egg whites. Pour into serving bowls, refrigerate.

I was also told that it looks nice in stemmed glassware. And that the lack of added sugar makes this a guilt-free dessert.

Bon Apetit!

Observed...

I passed a dead cow on the side of the road on my way to work today. Whole cow, just laying off the roadway. I would have thought it was sleeping, except for the rigid legs sticking straight out. Maybe it was sleeping - Scott drove by 3 hours later and it was gone!

Also, there is a hubcap tree on my way to work. So far it only has one hubcap growing on it, but I bet it will just keep blooming.

Empty Nest

I finished with my trainee on Friday night. Yay! At least we made it all the way through training without her just not showing up for work anymore. She's really good. The Boss likes her (hopefully not as much as me... I have favoritism issues...). And most importantly, she's a competent person who will be spending 24 hours a week making phone calls. That's bound to be a big help.

But now that I'm done juggling (remember, she started during the busiest two weeks of the year), I find myself looking around thinking, "what have I missed?" because I'm not doing three things at once anymore. And I miss having someone in the office with me. I just couldn't believe how quiet it was in there last night.

Alas, it will probably take me some time to adjust to the slower pace. But for now we have these "Standards of Business Conduct" online courses to take before the end of February. They are annual refreshers, spiced up with new graphics every year. I've already taken the harassment (lesson: wet t-shirt contests, and discussion thereof, are not appropriate in an office setting) and e-mail (lesson: don't e-mail crude jokes to your entire company) courses. How thrilling!

And of course, today is my FRIDAY!!! And I'm not even working any overtime this week. But between my dentist appointment tomorrow (crown for that kick-@$$ root canal) and Scott's dentist appointment on Wednesday, it's not going to feel like much of a weekend. Oh well, at least it's three days away from work.

Overheard...

Overheard on JoJo's Circus:

We're going to show you some things to do with your body that will make you feel good.

I had to change the channel before I saw the cartoon lion doing something naughty!

Fun With Cats

You know, a title like that should really come with photos. Sadly, this just happened and there was no time for a photo.

I came out into the living room to an empty cat food bowl, which means two unhappy cats. Usually Kilo does that walk-directly-under-my-feet-until-I-accidentally-kick-him routine, but this morning both cats were in on it. And rather than walk under me, they both walked side-by-side about 3 feet in front of me all the way through the kitchen (yep... all 10 feet of it!). I looked down and it was as if I had a feline security escort, or maybe my cats wanted to enter a dog sled race. As soon as they guided me to the pantry, they turned around and walked back to the bowl, side-by-side. My little sentries!

Anyway, it amused me. Now I'm going to go finish my cereal.

JURY DUTY!?!?!?

That's it - I am no longer acknowledging the mail. Why? Because every now and then the mail throws a real dandy at you - like a jury summons!

Apparently I am destined to be one of those "lucky" people. Ask Scott how many time's HE has had jury duty. Yep - never. And certainly not twice in four years.

I had Jury Duty the summer before my wedding. I sat around for one full day getting my happy @$$ hauled from one waiting room to another, and then was assigned to a trial that took place two days later. As an alternate. So not only did I have to drive all the way back to Tavares two days later, I had to spend the entire day in an uncomfortable chair listening to some loser white trash woman complain about the loser white trash man she couldn't decide whether or not to have a restraining order against (she kept canceling it and then changing her mind). And then the judge released me and sent me home. Before the deliberation. I never found out how the case ended.

Honestly, my jury pool is in February, and there's a chance I won't even have to go. And even if I do, it's not the worst way to spend a day. I believe in the criminal justice system at least as much as I believe in the legislative system. Still, opening an envelope that says I have to be in Tavares at 7:45 am on my regular day off makes me a little cranky.

You probably haven't heard the last of this from me. But I'll try to not whine too much.

(btw, the weird font is because I'm e-mailing this in. blogger is down for maintenance)

Julia Child I Am Not

We had to go to Target today to get bedding for ZoePig's cage, and since we were there, we decided to do the small amount of shopping we needed. $100+ later, we left the store with all sorts of strange and interesting dishes to spice up our daily eating.

On the way home, I decided that we should have fish with lemon-spinach couscous (out of a box) and steamed asparagus. Sadly, the fish that we bought was beer battered cod - better with tater tots than couscous. So we went to plan b - chicken.

I went online to find a chicken recipe with a sauce that only required ingredients we had in the house. So I found this one for spinach chicken (note: not my typos):

1 Onion; Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic; Minced
1 pack Spinach - Washed; (10 Oz)
1 teaspoon Lemon Rind; Grated
1 teaspoon Dried Mint Flakes
4 Chicken Breast; Skinless
¼ cup Old Cheddar Cheese; Grated
1 can Cream Of Chicken Soup

Saute onion and garlic in lightly olied skillet - 5 minutes Stir in spinach, lemon rind and mint, cook 2 minutes covered. Slice shicken lengthwise (not all the way through) starting at the thick side. Stuff each breast with 1 Tbsp. cheese Nestle chicken into spinach mixture with soup. Simmer covered 20 to 25 minutes.

Ooh! Stuffed chicken! But this recipe wasn't quite right for our ingredients. And if you're going to go to the trouble of stuffing chicken, why would you just stuff it with cheese? So I made my own:

1 pack frozen spinach, nuked for about 4 minutes
1 generous sprinkle of garlic powder
1 slightly less generous sprinkle of onion powder
4 cranks of fresh-cracked pepper
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
5 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken and herb soup (because that's what we had)
a couple splashes of milk
some salt

So I mixed the first 5 ingredients and had Scott stuff a little wad of it (1-2 tablespoons) into the chicken that he had already sliced (you know... because I don't touch raw chicken) and then sprinkle some salt on the tops of the chicken breasts. We mixed the remaining spinach mixture into the soup and milk at the bottom of a baking dish, "nestled" the chicken into it, covered with tinfoil...

And now it's baking at 375. I must say, the spinach stuffing was quite tasty before we stuffed the chicken. I have pretty high expectations for it. And we're still serving the couscous and asparagus. If nothing else, it will be a well-balanced meal. And it'll definitely be something we haven't had before!

TV

American Idol Season Five starts tonight. I've decided not to watch. As it turns out, I went through the first two seasons without ever watching an episode. And I think it's best for me to return to that simpler time. Chris Daughtry's loss last year just broke my heart, and I think that maybe web sites like votefortheworst.com are really having an impact. Besides, that's two nights a week I'll have to do other things.

Speaking of TV, I watched the Golden Globes last night. It was a big night for big girls. Jennifer Hudson (of A.I. Season 3) and America Ferrera both won Globes, plus Ugly Betty won best comedy series. That was pretty cool - Betty and Grey's Anatomy (which won best drama) run back-to-back on ABC on Thursdays and are the cause of my sleep deprivation Friday mornings (I tape them and watch both at 11:30 after I get home from work at watch The Daily Show).

And that's all I have to say about TV for right now. I have decided to finish the 2006 scrapbook-o-cruises tonight. Wish me luck!

Lunch with Friends

So... yeah... it's nice to get together with long-lost friends. I can't believe I haven't seen Matthew and Kristin since our Hoop Dee Doo outing last March for my birthday. Anyway, we hooked up for lunch at the Yacht Club Galley (mmm...New England clam chowder...) and dessert at Beaches 'n Cream (mmm...frozen sunshine...). And we also spent lots of time just chatting. It's good to catch up. Really good.

Also today, I stopped by Scott's office and freeloaded some cantaloupe. I went to Publix and bought ONLY the two things I went in there for (cat food and deodorant... and coincidentally, I found a deodorant named after one of my cats!). And then I came home and checked my e-mail.

Scott started work at noon today, which means he should be home by 9. That will be especially pleasant since he didn't get home until after 2 this morning.

And if anyone was wondering how bird-sitting went, it was fine. Of course, the bird tried to groom the freckles off my neck on Sunday morning. But other than that, it was a pleasure. I would also like to point out that the entire time I was babysitting for the Rugrat Trio, the only time the phone rang was when their parents were going to be late coming home, or if the baby was sick. Cat was separated from the bird for less than 48 hours, during which time my phone rang FOUR TIMES. "How is the bird?" "How was her water dish? Cloudy? Green?" "Have you checked on the bird yet today?" (that last one came in at 9:30 am) Really. I'm not making this crap up. I ended up actually turning my phone off yesterday at work because I didn't think it was ever going to stop ringing!

Tomorrow's agenda includes a 2-hour work meeting (please don't let anything blow up in my face...). Scott wants to go see Casino Royale. We'll see how that one plays out. I can probably be bribed with some mac n cheese from Puck's.

Fun with Google

I can hardly remember a time when Google didn't exist. OK, sure I can. I'm pretty sure I didn't even discover the site until 1999 or 2000. Still, Google has the amazing ability to brighten any day with a variety of games.

The "How Did I Die?" Game: By typing "[your name] died" into the Google search engine, you can find out how you died. For example, "Jamie... is a pop star and former member of boy band Boy*d Upp. He died in a helicopter crash." That's funny!

Of course, you can also Google Stalk people you used to know. Google Image Search is especially good for that. For example, I have no idea who the guy is who owns this site, but I do know the person in the second picture. The one in the blue shirt with the buttons. Yeah, he was my first boyfriend. Of course, we were in the sixth grade and we played trumpet together in band. We never kissed, and I don't even think we held hands... but that's beside the point. I haven't seen him since 7th grade when he moved to Virginia. Good to see he finally grew some shoulders! (btw, anyone want to guess whether he gets the distinction of being yet another one of my gay ex-boyfriends?)

And when you run out of people to stalk, you can always do a vanity search. But don't do this unless you're prepared to find out what's out there. What does that mean? Well take a look at this e-mail I got today. It refers to this fake page I made one night at work to torment Matthew.

Hi,I'm hoping you can delete or edit a page from your GeoCities site. My name is listed on the fake OCSO page - I assume created in support of a friend of yours since you seem to be from the area.My charges were dropped by Orange County before I had a chance to defend myself in court, but not until after I had to suffer the humiliation of having my face posted on their web site.

The details of the case are a matter of public record, however if I 'google' my name, the arrest information still pulls up on your site (I've attached a screen shot). I'm sure your friend's situation has been resolved by now.

Again, I appreciate your assistance. Thanks,

So I have to say I feel a tiny bit bad about this. I mean, here I am trying to slander a friend (that page was one of the best practical jokes EVER... especially when it had all the pictures of druggies and hookers filled in like this page) and I end up slandering someone I don't even know!

Of course, I don't want to cause anyone any more pain and suffering than they already experienced by soliciting a cop (reportedly). I'm never intentionally cruel. Now the problem is that I have no idea what the heck the password is to that geocities account. I tried to reset my password, but I also don't know what zip code I used to register (including college, I have resided in 7 zip codes since I started that page). And I tried so many passwords that I locked myself out!

So I'll have to update this story as it develops. In the meantime, I am still laughing about it. Ahh Google... how you amuse me!

Today

Hi! Today, I believe, is going to be a great day.

Yesterday, I found a hole in a bra I've only had for about a month. I thought it was an omen and I should stay home from work. Scott convinced me to go. Then when I got to work, I found that there was a little bit of water in the green beans in my lunch, which had leaked out of the gladware and puddled bean/meat juice on the passenger seat of my car. By that time, Scott agreed that I should just turn around and go home. It turns out the night wasn't as bad as all that. But we did have some setbacks.

But like I said, today is going to be a great day. The restaurant is closed for a private function that doesn't start until 7. Of course there's almost 70 guests, and I have to have their menus ready by 6:30 so they can be arranged by table. But I'm still going in 2 hours late. And I'm still going to be productive.

Before work, I'm going to hang out with Cat's bird. She and Mike are someplace else this weekend for a wedding, and I am going to visit the Nameless Baby and shred some greens, some carrot, and some broccoli for him/her, change his/her water, and give him/her some seeds. I shall do all of this while the bird sits on my shoulder (or Scott's) and poops on me (or Scott). I also need to feed the fish and check on the rats. The dog is at the kennel.

I know what you're thinking: "What? They have rats? What kind of freak petshop are they living in???" Well they have a burmese python (yep...a snake too) who a few weeks ago wasn't hungry when they brought the rat home for her. So they threw the rat in an old aquarium, gave it some wood shavings, food and water. The next week when Mike wanted to feed the snake, Cat made him go to the store for another one. Apparently once you feed an animal (even a rat) and give it a name, it becomes a pet. So they got yet another rat and the snake STILL wasn't hungry. So now there's 2 "pet" rats, 1 fish, 1 dog, 1 snake, and 1 bird.

Of course, all of their pets combined don't make the mess that my 2 cats and 1 piggie make. So I will just have to keep my mouth shut.

BIG things

Scalzi's Monday Photo Shoot: Take a picture of something that's larger than life. From statues to stuffed animals, snap a shot of something super-sized.

I wish that I had my camera with me on our little voyage to Sarasota on Tuesday. Not only did we pass Dinosaur World on I-4, we also passed a giant ice cream cone, a big blue gorilla, and some other ridiculous creations. Alas, I shall have to go all the way back to my December 2006 archives for photos (surprise!) from the cruise - Scott feeding a giant jack rabbit and me applying giant lipstick.

Enjoy!

ILLogic

First, AIDA was even better than I had imagined. I had a little qualm with the costuming and props (much like taking a Shakespeare play and dropping into L.A., I don't think that blue jeans and AK-47s really meshed well with Egypt), but was completely blown away by the performance. I cried through the second half of Act II. And the curtain calls. And in the car. Oh, and the music... it was superb. And our seats were third row dead center, which means we had a great view of Radames' spitting problem. (tee hee) There's a montage on the website that really emphasizes everything I loved (and hated) about the show.

So since we were going all the way down to Sarasota for a 2 pm show, I looked at the map and decided it wouldn't be more than a half hour out of our way to take a different route home and hit our favorite Brooksville eatery for dinner. Riiiight. I need to learn to look at mileage next time such a whim strikes me! Take a look at a map of today's voyage:


special thanks to Google maps

The magenta shows our route down - 27 to 4 to 75 to a bunch of dinky roads in Sarasota. It took about 2 hours to get there. The aqua shows our route home - dinky roads to 75 to 50 to Johnny Carino's to 50 to 27. My "logic" and partial justification for going to Brooksville for a meal was that we'd hit Lakeland at rush hour if we took I-4 home. What I failed to account for was that we would instead hit Tampa rush hour on I-75. oops! It took 2 hours for us to get from the theater to the restaurant! And poor Scott was worn out from all that driving and sitting (and crying).

I still think that dinner was worth it - we split an order of Prince Edward Island mussels, and added to the bread and salad, I barely ate 5 bites of my baked tortelloni (dinner for tomorrow! yay!).

And now I'm in a carb coma. Please excuse my while I try to stay awake through The Daily Show.

Mis-Adventures

Today was to have been the middle of my three-day weekend - a day to sit on the couch and watch TV, a day to get housework done, and then a day trip to Sarasota to see AIDA. I was actually thinking of how great and refreshing it would be to work a mere 40 hours.

...then one of the part-timers got sick.

So I went in to work this afternoon. So much for the housework day! I got lucky and was able to escape in 6.5 hours, getting home in time for a late dinner of baked chicken and asparagus.

...then Scott got off late.

So I decided to make cheese sauce and we were going to have all veggies for dinner.

...then the asparagus turned out to already be rotten.

So we made "fondue" with cheese sauce, broccoli, and triscuits. Hey man, that's about the healthiest dinner I've had in a week! Bonus: I made an entire batch of cheese sauce, and now 1/2 of it is in the fridge awaiting use as a tasty spread on even more triscuits.

In other news, Scott and I each recently acquired a pack of Bloonies. Randomness, thy name is Christmas! Somehow, my childhood didn't include Bloonies. That might, perhaps, explain my great burning desire to create bubble sculptures and then squish them together and pop them like bubble wrap.

Of course, eventually my inner mad scientist kicked in and I decided to perform a little experiment: How long will a bubble sculpture last if I'm not poking at the bubbles?

To avoid temptation, I needed to put the sculpture out of my field of vision during the aforementioned sit-on-the-couch day. So I stuck it to the bathroom mirror:

It was great! I have a pretty short attention span, so every time I went into the bathroom it was like a little surprise party for me. And then Scott came home from work and he had forgotten about the bubbles too!

But alas, this evening (the sculpture had been on its mount for about 30 hours) we decided that the experiment was over. (Solution: The sculpture will last longer than I am willing to wait to form a theory) It turns out that the plastic goo the Bloonies are made out of is part shrink wrap and part super glue. I have taken multiple passes at scrubbing the remaining plastic off the mirror, but it just won't budge.

This is possibly not funny. I mean, it was funny when I peeled about half of each bubble off the mirror and the other half remained behind. It was funny when I realized you couldn't just peel the stuff off like sunburned skin. And I'm still laughing at the fact that the glass wipes barely scratched off the surface. I just worry that it might not be funny when we move out and lose valuable deposit money.

Until then, I choose to laugh. What else is there to do?