Because You Can Never Know Enough About Me

I know most people think these things are dumb, but I love them. Probably because I am an incredibly nosy person, and a major gossip hound (though I will keep your secrets if you tell them to me). So read, because I want you to. Or else I'll e-mail it to you. So There.


Where is your cell phone? I'm the last person on the planet without one. Including those in third-world countries.
Your hair? Brown/boring, permed.

Your father? The best minister ever!
Your favorite thing? Being with The Man, laughing.
Your dream last night? I think I dreamed about work. Sad.
Your favorite drink? Dr Pepper.
Your dream/goal? Dream: to be a good mom. Goal: to be a master herbalist as soon as possible.
The room you are in? living room
Your fear? The dark, freezing to death, and heights.
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here, with The Man, and a couple of kids.
Muffins? My homemade raspberry bran muffins. Best Ever. Mmmmmm.
One of your wish list items? A really good, easy to use, house planning program that includes interior decorating.
Where you grew up? Great Falls, Montana
The last thing you did? Wrote my previous blog post.
What are you wearing? Wouldn't you like to know?
Your TV? Useless as of June 12th.
Pets? 2 large dogs, 2 neurotic cats, and a WOW playing room mate.
Your computer? Homemade.
Your life? Just like everyone else's, but completely different.
Your mood? Relieved.
Missing someone? The Man's health.
Your car? Still running, miracles of miracles.
Favorite store? Any book store.
Your summer? Rainy with a chance of heat.
Your favorite color? Purple
When was the last time you laughed? Today
Last time you cried? Long enough ago that I don't remember.
Three people who email you? The Mom, my school, Facebook.
Three of your favorite foods? Tacos, soft serve ice cream, fresh cherries.
Three places you’d rather be right now? I can't think of any.

Today's Episode: Fun With The Kitchen Sink

Glory be, our kitchen sink is finally fixed! After almost 2 weeks of not having one, it is finally working again. And since you all want to know, even though you won't admit it, here is the amazing story of:

The Kitchen Sink That Got Fixed

Once upon a time, there was a lovely couple who were getting ready to make a long awaited trip to the forest to visit their long-lost relatives. They had saved a little bit of money, and were quite excited to go. But the Kitchen Sink had other plans for them. He decided to set a little trap. He plotted and planned for months, almost getting caught once, but was able to bluff his way out of it. And so the night before their departure arrived, the the lovely couple was none the wiser to his evil plan. Finally the hour was at hand, and he set the wheels in motion. As the lovely half of the couple was doing the dishes in the sink, so that they wouldn't sit there and stink up the place while they were gone, the drain suddenly disengaged its self from the sink, allowing all the water in the sink to spray out all over the inside of the cabinet.


The kitchen sink was so happy to see the frustration and anger of the lovely half when she saw what had happened. As her, the better half, and the room mate were all trying to figure out what to do, he then started to drip at the back of the cabinet. Upon the discovery and subsequent investigation of this drip, he let loose another barrage of water as he opened a hole he had carefully fashioned in a hidden spot.


The cursing and yelling were quite exuberant after that. The Kitchen Sink was quite satisfied that he had foiled their plans to enjoy their vacation. But the lovely couple had other plans. The left the Kitchen Sink, all taken apart, for a whole week, and they enjoyed their visit to their long-lost relatives in the forest very much, not thinking about the Kitchen Sink at all. But when they returned, they began to make plans for revenge upon the sink. He knew that something was up, and was wary of them, but was taken by surprise when they came upon him with a pipe wrench.




It was his one weak spot, and there was nothing he could do. So a great majority of his pipes were replaced with shiny, new, plastic pipes, and a brand new drain, that had good souls, unlike his evil one. The Kitchen Sink was in agony. He was being replaced, little by little! But he had one last trick up his sleeve before he would go. He refused to drain. The lovely couple tried everything to get him to drain for them, short of begging, but he didn't budge. For 4 days they fought, until finally, the sink was mortally wounded in the clog, and he died. But he was resurrected as a brand new Kitchen Sink by the shiny, new (and clean) pipes, and now he and the lovely couple are happy, content, and treat each other with respect.


So yeah, that was stupid. I hope you liked it anyway. Fixing that stupid sink was the worst, so I'm going to go treat myself to a Dr Pepper. To The Man, the Payson Friends, and the Roommate, I say, Thank you. The war would not have been won without your great sacrifices.

Chocolate, Better Than You Ever Imagined

Okay, so, I was partly wrong with my statements on caffeine and chocolate. PARTLY. There is caffeine in it. But, there is significantly more theobromine than caffeine in chocolate. My professor sent me the link to an article that I quote below about chocolate and why it does what it does. Here is the whole thing. It's actually a really interesting read, if you can get past all the big science words. There's a lot more in chocolate that affects your mood than caffeine or theobromine. It has chemicals that mimic the effect of cannabinoids (marijuana) and it has the same alkaloid compounds found in alcohol (AA actually recommends that those in recovery eat chocolate when they are craving alcohol). Plus more (but I can't make much sense of it myself, so I'm not quoting it here). It's the magical combination of all the stuff found in it that makes chocolate what it is. I made the mistake of trying to dumb it down to one thing, though others make the same mistake by trying to claim it's only caffeine that makes chocolate great. The best part? "Theobromine has been shown to be nearly 30% more effective in stopping persistent coughs than the leading medicine codeine." So go buy that awesome Swiss chocolate you've always wanted next time you have a cold. Sweet!

"Chocolate also contains significant amounts of methylxanthines, most notably caffeine and theobromine (a caffeine-like substance found almost exclusively in chocolate). Both are stimulants, and caffeine can cause noticeable behavioral effects. Although the methylxanthines are bases, they have a very low pKa (0.5) and, hence, are highly fat soluble and are absorbed from the stomach and through the walls of the intestines, easily crossing both the blood-brain and placental barriers. In animals, theobromine appears to have effects congruent to those of caffeine, although theobromine causes less stimulation and takes longer to induce a peak pharmacological effect. Moreover, recent clinical studies have suggested that theobromine suppresses vagus nerve activity, which is responsible for coughing. In fact, theobromine has been shown to be nearly 30% more effective in stopping persistent coughs than the leading medicine codeine. Consequently, chocolate is now being marketed as the new, effective cough suppressant.

While the quantities of methylxanthines in chocolate are variable even within a brand, a typical 1.65-oz Hershey milk chocolate bar contains only 10 mg of caffeine (22 mg/200 g) and 92 mg of theobromine (197 mg/100 g). For comparison, a cup of coffee usually contains 80–100 mg caffeine, and no theobromine. While the relative concentrations of methylxanthines in chocolate are low, the caffeine and theobromine are nevertheless likely to play a large role in the pharmacological effects of chocolate. Although the dosage typically found in chocolate appears to exert only modest, caffeine-like symptoms, the combined effects of theobromine and caffeine in cocoa products may differ from those of either compound alone. Moreover, a recent study demonstrated that when comparing cocoa powder with just the isolated methylxanthines, the two groups exhibited similar pharmacological effects. The researchers concluded that since the cocoa powder (which contains all of the active compounds in chocolate) had similar activity to the isolated methylxanthines, the pharmacological effects of chocolate are most likely largely due to the methylxanthines."