don't quit our day jobs

That's what we learned from laser tag this weekend. No matter how many times I play, I will always be the idiot who doesn't really know what's she's doing.

i'm sorry, what?!

Have you heard about KFC's new Double Down Chicken "Sandwich"? Bacon, cheese, and 2 chicken breasts instead of bread.



What the what?!

Thanks to foodgeekery for finding this treasure.

I wish I could have been in this KFC pitch meeting... "See chicken is BETTER than bread! No carbs! This is practically a health food! And just think of all the grease you can get directly on your hands."

ugh...

Number of times today I've heard new guy who sits across from me openly burp: 2

Do I work in an office or on a construction site?

if you'd like to change your life...

Please consume the most delicious strawberry cupcakes you shall ever encounter.

Our friend Jessie has made these twice for us, and we're pretty certain we'll never be the same. That's also why we give her recipe blog 6 thumbs up (the Mooch has thumbs now too, you know)... check it out--she updates it almost daily with killer recipes.

Picture shamelessly stolen from her blog, but I'm hoping she won't mind.

checking out fort harrison: evidence my husband loves me

On Saturday we visited Fort Harrison, one of the many Civil War battlefields in the Richmond area. This was a Confederate stronghold that was lost to the Union in 1864, towards the end of the war. It was so close to Richmond (the capital of the Confederacy), that Lee personally tried to win it back. The Union soldiers that left this fort were the first to march on Richmond in 1865, and found the city evacuated and burning. The gain of Richmond was a key to the end of the Civil War.

Still awake?

We walked around both the Confederate and Union lines. We couldn't believe some of the gigantic trenches they dug by hand. Doug was also impressed with a gigantic spider near the trail (hey, whatever it takes to make him willing to go to places like that with me). As always, we were impressed and humbled.

the battle of the thermostat

Doug and I are waging a war over the air conditioning in our apartment.

We’re spoiled rotten and pay a flat fee each month for our utilities. That means that running the AC isn’t a financial concern for us, nor is it an environmental concern (although wasting energy really causes my inner hippie serious guilt). Such freedom leaves us to lead a quiet yet significant battle day after day.

The Doug side:
The house should be freezing cold at all times. The thermostat should be set at negative a million from May to September.

The Jackie side:
We both like summer in part because it's warm. No need for layers or parkas. Ideal! So I like to enjoy such warmth while I can. I don't want to wear shorts outside and then walk around with a blanket on inside. I’m all for setting it to a cool temperature during the night (who can sleep when they’re hot and sweaty?), but it just makes sense to shoot for a pleasant temperature during the day.

We set it to a cooler temp during the night, but before I leave for work in the morning I turn it back up again. And when Doug gets home from school, he sets it back down. And when I get home from work, I casually shift it up a nudge. Then sometimes later in the evening he’ll change it without a word, so like a responsible adult I casually change it again. It's another instance of our lives mimicking an Office episode, and it's the work of only the most mature and responsible people.

I’m guessing we’ll break the thermostat by the end of the week.

ch-ch-changes