...make peace over the money.

This morning, I am reconciling my online bank account with my budget. Why do those two have to fight, anyway? The budget always gets blamed. Then, the account won't budge. I have to always step in an solve any differences like squabbling children! ;)

...enjoy the fruit of no labor.

This is another post that will reference the apartment complex dumpsters. This time I did not find fish being thrown out, but it does concern a living thing. Tomatoes to be exact. Some time ago, a tomato seed found its way to the dirt just outside the dumpster. A plant grew without any human encouragement. I watched to see if fruit would appear. Soon I saw green Roma tomatoes weighting down the plant. Last night, I thought I saw one had turned red. Even though we walked right past the dumpsters, I forgot all about it on Lucy's morning walk. I was reminded of it this afternoon. So, Lucy and I headed out to see if I would be the first neighbor to see the ripening tomato. I was! I picked the half orange-half read tomato and took it home with me. It will ripen fully on my counter. I have plans to slice it up and eat it with sugar for a nice summer treat. Ahhh, the fruit of no labor!

...make pigs in a SHEET!

Many of you know that I eat some strange stuff when I am making due with what is around the house. Well, one day I wanted pigs in a blanket but only had tortillas and little time to make dough. It worked out better than I expected. The tortillas added a crisp texture. It seems to thin for a blanket, So, I call them pigs in a sheet. Here's how to make them:


Tina's Pigs in a Sheet

2 hotdogs
1 large flour tortilla
2 slices of cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Fold the tortilla in half. Then, carefully tear the tortilla in two pieces along the fold.
Place a slice of cheese in each tortilla half.
Beginning at of the thinner tortilla ends, roll a up the hotdog.
Place on cookie sheet (use cooking spray to prevent sticking).
Cook for 12 minutes or until the tortilla "sheets" are browning on the edges.

...be wrong!

Well, I went down to the gym today to test my theory. I lied to the machine by taking ten years off my age. Then, I did the same work out as before. And the "calories burned" number came out...higher! What?! This totally blows my theory of age advantage out the window. Maybe I was feeling a little more peppy today. I might not be a very scientific constant. Maybe the age doesn't matter too much in the machine calculations. Whatever the case, I did not prove my theory true. I'm not sure that I have enough data to say that the theory is disproved, but it's not looking good, folks.

What do you think? Was I just having a good day today? Could the theory still be true?

...theorize.

Yes. It's a little early in the morning to be using big words like "theorize." And I will confess that I had to look it up to make sure I spelled it right--because I really wanted to use it. Why?

I have a new theory. I think I've realized that there is an advantage to being older that I had not thought of until today. I believe that when I put my little age and weight numbers into the exercise machine, they spit out a higher "calories burned" number than my 20-something girlfriends that work just as hard as I do. I haven't tested this yet. I think I will try dropping a decade when I program the machine next time to see if this theory might be true.

What do you all think will happen? Am I on to something here? Does age have it's advantages at the gym? Am I just deluding myself--in denial? He-he.