According to Wikipedia, Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of learning objectives within education. Ah…a teaching term. I’m the daughter of a teacher and the girlfriend of a teacher so it makes sense that the term is buried in my brain. Oh hey, here’s a list of verbs. Wonder what this has to do with these questions though…

1. What did you do this week? (knowledge)

This week I worked hard, mostly scheduling ads and trying to make sense of how our classifieds are displayed online (very poorly, imo). I attended an exercise class. I ate like absolute crap.

2. Why did things turn out the way they did this week? (comprehension)

I ate like crap because I worked hard and I quit biting my nails (again again again). Working hard stresses me out. Apparently I need to chew on things so if I can’t chew on my nails, I’m chewing on crackers and chips. Our classifieds are displayed poorly because I neglected the system for so long (it’s never been a priority) that categories have been added and deleted and the site hasn’t kept up. And it’s really dark.

3. How will this week’s events affect next week’s, both positively and negatively? (application)

Negatively: The scale, baby. Since the wedding I’ve been eating all the delights I missed out on this summer.
Postively: It might not be next week, but I’d love to see a better-designed classifieds section before year’s end. Like most of my projects, I can only work on this 10-20 minutes at a time.

4. What were this week’s pivotal moments where things might have happened differently and changed everything? (analysis? synthesis? Buh???)

Yesterday I decided to let a delivery truck have the right of way in our parking lot. He had the stop sign but chose to ignore it until he was halfway through the intersection. Since “Delivery Truck vs. Saturn” would end poorly for me, I decided to be smart and stop. That could have changed the week. Plus, I keep forgetting to buy the winning lottery ticket that’ll let me give a 2 week notice at work.

5. How was your week? (evaluation)

I’d say I completed the workweek with about an 90% proficiency. Then again, I’m writing this at 7:30am. We’ll what today brings.

***
Moment of cattiness: The Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News have been re-re-auctioned to their creditors. There are 3 people there whom I’d love to see pouring me a latte at Starbucks if they get laid off. Wait, scratch that…that’s mean. I wouldn’t wish their incompetence on the good people of Starbucks.

Moment of clarity: People who didn’t vote for President Obama (hi!) aren’t all Tea Party members. We clear? Sheesh. I think you’re a hoot, Vice President Biden but you’re wrong. (Click that link for the best Biden “I’m sowwwwy” face ever.)

1. Besides plain, what’s your favorite way to eat an apple?

WM makes the most amazing baked apples. It’s an alchemical work of art. He uses oats, butter, brown sugar and honey and ohmygoodness they’re divine. Best of all…it’s fruit, so it’s healthy, right?

2. Besides plain, what’s your favorite way to eat berries?

Take a bunch of berries — but not raspberries because they’re vile — and chuck them into a blender with some sugar, a squeeze of lime juice, ice… and rum. Lots of rum. Then you end up with a fruity berry drink…perfect for the patio or poolside. Best of all…it’s fruit, so it’s healthy, right?

3. Besides plain, what’s your favorite way to eat a banana?

Split a banana open lengthwise and put it in a bowl. Top it with ice cream and chocolate syrup and pineapple and whipped cream and caramel and eat it with a really long spoon. Best of all…it’s fruit, so it’s healthy, right?

4. Besides plain, what’s your favorite way to eat a peach?

Tucked deep into a warm bubbling pie, surrounded by brown sugar and syrupy stuff and topped with ice cream. Best of all…it’s fruit, so it’s healthy, right?

5. Besides plain, what’s your favorite way to eat a pineapple?

Longtime readers will remember that one of my favorite indulgent restaurants at Walt Disney World (hang in there, Mickey, I’ll be back eventually!) is ‘Ohana where you can eat all the skewered meat you can handle. If you’re man enough, you can order a dessert at the end of the meal. But even if you don’t, they serve you a bunch of pineapple chunks with a bowl of warm caramel. Eating pineapple and caramel is supposed to settle the stomach after a big meal. I don’t know if I necessarily buy that reasoning, but it’s decadent.

Seriously. Buy some pineapple. Melt some of those teeth-ripping Kraft caramel squares, dip dip dip and hakuna matata!

Best of all…it’s fruit, so it’s healthy, right?

RIGHT??!?!?

1. Oh my goodness! You have to run out the door right now and you haven’t eaten! Before dashing out, what do you grab to wolf down on your way?

Because I cherish my morning sleep, I do this every day & have breakfast with my coffee at my work desk. So I’m always sure to have a bunch of yogurts, fiber bars, or bagels ready to grab and go.

2. What’s a popular breakfast you dislike?

Around these parts, scrapple is huge. It’s a block of scrap meat. I’ve tasted some before and while it’s not as horrible as it looks/smells, it’s not my thing.

And it has the word “scrap” in it. (shudder)

3. You’re going out for breakfast anywhere you want, and someone else is treating! Where do you go and what do you order?

Thanks for the offer! You’re taking me to Walt Disney World, where I will have a Mickey Waffle at any restaurant that’s open for breakfast. No, it’s not high-end, but in this case it’s about atmosphere more than the contents of the waffle batter. What? We can stay a week? YAY!!!

4. What do you have when you need a simple, healthy (or healthy-ish, for those of you who just don’t do healthy!)
breakfast?

Oatmeal. WM introduced me to Irish Oatmeal and I love it. I call it “magic oats” because after eating it I can seriously feel a rise in energy. It’s filling, high in fiber and low in calories.

5. You’ve been invited to a breakfast potluck. What are you most likely to bring?

Two gallons of milk and a bunch of those wee cereal boxes you see at buffets. They are adorable and always make me think of hotel breakfasts and vacations!

It’s time for the Friday Five and I’m not even stuck in a writer’s block. (On this blog, anyway. On the World of Warcraft blog I’m completely stuck. Maybe because I’m frustrated with it.) This week’s topic is Staples. Let’s get cracking!

1. Of all the hundreds of sizes and shapes bread seems to come in, what is your favorite?
Round loaves! One of my favorite San Francisco memories was the morning we took the bus tour to the redwood forest and wineries. While waiting for the bus to depart the station, Kristen and I ran across the street to a bakery and bought little round sourdough breads to nosh on.

I have to get back to San Francisco someday. (sigh)

Anyway, whenever this miserable diet ends, I’m going to learn to make my own sourdough bread.

2. What’s your favorite thing to eat with rice?
Chicken with Garlic sauce. And heaps of potstickers.

mmmmm…

3. What are your feelings about milk?
Unless it’s chocolate-flavored or is served with Oreos, I can do without.

4. What was wrapped in the tortilla you most recently ate?
My 1-point corn tortilla contained a smattering of ground beef, a few Bacos and a splash of light ranch dressing. We were going for a ranch gordita flavor.

(noshes on a rice cake to stop the drooling)

5. How many staplers are there in your house and where are they?
We have one large Swingline stapler in the console between our two desks. We MAY have a mini Swingline (always Swingline, they don’t bind up as much) in with the rest of our office supplies.

Finally fall weather has arrived. Just in time for the Haddonfield Fall festival yesterday. You’ll note the bag of Kettle Korn in my purse.

On Friday night, I met a bunch of old and dear friends from High School – some of whom I hadn’t seen in 18 years! We ate at the Continental in Olde City. We had a great time catching up, and I don’t want 18 more years to pass before we do it again. How did we find each other? Facebook!!

I have gravy in the crock pot simmering for a tray of lasagna that I’m about to put together and a loaf of pumpkin bread in the breadmaker. I’m a huge fan of summer, but autumn’s not so bad either.

Leaves photo by kbw361 via stock.xchng Our photos were taken outside of Hugh’s Clock Shop

So without further ado, Friday Five: Bad Food

1. What was the last meal that caused you to be ill?
The weekend of July 4th, WM whipped up a chicken salad using Betty Crocker’s “Suddenly Salad!” meal “kit.” Blech. We both were ill (not seriously, but inconveniently) for the next day or so and found quite a few S-words that could fill in this blank: “Suddenly _____!”

2. Are there any places you never dine anymore because of a bad experience hours after the meal?
Ages ago, BVP (he’s doing well, thanks!) and I got the stomach flu the day after we ate at Red Lobster. Red Lobster didn’t cause it, but the reappearance of the prior night’s dinner soured us on Red Lobster for a long time. Despite the decadent cheesy biscuits there, I’m still reluctant to go back.

3. What’s your prescription for dealing with a food-caused illness?
Water.

4. When friends tell you about coming down with food-caused illnesses, do you avoid the places they name, or do you figure it’s a dice-roll wherever you go?
I figure it’s a dice-roll. I mean, look at the whole tomato/salmonella controversy. The government was convinced that the sickened people were sickened because of tomatoes. People changed their diets. Restaurants changed their menus. Tomato growers recorded huge losses. Then, all of a sudden, it’s okay again to eat them again. Nothing was proven. But there remains a tepid warning against jalapeno peppers. People get sick. Sometimes it can’t be explained.

5. After numerous citations, a very, very popular restaurant that you’re quite fond of is shut down by the health department until it can get everything up to code. When the health department gives the restaurant the o.k. to reopen, do you go?

Of course. If I was eating there when it was not up to code and lived, eating there right after the OK is probably the best time to eat there!

***
Firefox 3 slow?
I was up late last night doing a System Restore on my PC. Ever since I installed Firefox 3, my system just dragged. I did Virus scans and malware scans, but nothing turned up. Finally, after waiting five minutes tonight for Firefox to start after I double clicked the icon, I rolled the system back to June 16. I reinstalled Firefox 2.0.0.16 and it’s all zippy again. The downside is that I have to reinstall the last few World of Warcraft patches.

Vegetarian cheesesteak

At the insistence of the coworkers, I had a veggie cheesesteak for lunch. We ordered from Zizi’s in Pennsauken.

And it wasn’t bad. Coworker Sharon was right. If you’re expecting a cheesesteak taste alike, you’ll be disappointed. To me, a cheesesteak is a multi-sensory experience. The weight of the bun. The scent of the onions. The sensation of the warmed shredded beef on your tongue. And while this sandwich was good for a bun filled with chunks of something, a fake cheese sauce and onions, the other senses didn’t get their fill.