Irrational fears I have

I was just reading an amusing, "What is your irrational fear?" thread on my fave website and realized how many hilariously irrational fears I have.

The first and possibly most ridiculous is my pool shark fear. For some reason I cannot swim in pools alone because I am constantly concerned that giant blood-thirsty sharks will burst forth from the pool drains and consume me alive. It's strange since I love swimming in the ocean and don't worry at all about the sea creatures. I feel that ocean sharks are benevolent and peaceful. 

For some reason I consider this to be a perfectly rational fear but I am also terrified about the possibility of a zombie uprising. I believe this is due to my awesome father allowing me to watch Return of the Living Dead when I was like 10. Possibly younger. I can be around cemeteries in the daytime but at night- hells no. 

I have always had a needle phobia but, like the zombiephobia, I am also pretty sure this is a very rational fear. 

I am terrified of surgery and I just plain hate going to the doctors. 

I am sort of scared of heights, I am fine in airplanes but at any sort of ledge or cliff, even with a sturdy railing, I worry that my mind or body will malfunction and I'll just fling myself off. 

I have recurring dreams about tornados and my teeth falling out which apparently is more common than I thought. 

I am always worried I'll get hit by lightning during bad storms. I freak out if I'm outside. 

I am also often concerned someone is watching me from the street when I'm in my bedroom. 

Wow, so I guess I am a HUGE pussy. 

Chocolate and beating the blues

Sometimes we just feel like the most worthless hunk of flesh on the planet. Just about everyone seems to go a little wonky at this tentative no-longer-winter-but-not-quite-spring turning point in the seasonal wheel. Everything in our lives seems all wrong, we feel there is nothing to look forward to any longer, perhaps bad choices were made and we wonder how exactly we got on this go-nowhere road. Maybe it's just me.

Now I'm not a huge fan of sweets but times like these call for one thing and one thing only: chocolate! (Or, in my unusual case: alcohol, since I only crave sweet when I am majorly PMSing)

Right now I really dig dark chocolate as it's not as sickeningly sweet as regular packed chock-full of sugar milk-chocolate types. One brand in particular that is delicious is Green and Black's organic chocolate. There is quite a variety of amazingly delish treats to choose from, but my personal fave is the Maya Gold. Its name suggests exotic exploration, transporting you back into a more simple time, leading you to wonder what 21st century America would be like, had the majestic society not mysteriously vanished.

Super sensuous Bleu Cheese and Sesame Soy Balsamic

Hmmm, so that didn't seem to work, clearly there was supposed to be some stuff after that, "So this will be my first post," business. Apparently one cannot copy and paste from one's livejournal without it looking awful and being seemingly unfixable. That'll make this tricky. Let's try again!

Is there anything more luscious than blue cheese dressing? Maybe if said dressing is being utilized as a hot tub for some sexy, sassy buffalo wings and then licked sensuously off one's fingers. MMMMM. I've been on a blue cheese kick lately--maybe it's because I don't eat it very often--so when I do, it's basically orgasmic!

Also pictured: Nachos, and Buffalo Chicken Meat Balls

Miso Blue cheese:

1/4 c buttermilk*

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice

1 TB white miso

1-2 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

2-3 oz crumbled blue cheese (or more, to taste!)

Optional 1-2 TB finely chopped fresh chives and 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Here's another great salad dressing: a zesty sesame soy balsamic

Sesame Soy Balsamic
1-2 cloves garlic
2 TB low sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 TB mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard (opt.)

2 tsp. sesame oil
1/3 c. Peanut or canola oil


Whisk the garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, mayo, mustard and sesame oil together in a medium bowl. Slowly incorporate the peanut oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly.

*Often I just add 1 TB of lemon juice to 1 cup milk or coconut milk to make buttermilk, in the traditional lazy fashion.

"Award winning" chili

 Award winning Chili:

1 lb gr pork (dash worcestershire)
1 med onion
2 red bell pepper
1 large jalapeno or poblano

3-5 cloves garlic
1 cup stock
1 and 1/2 cans diced tomatoes (or diced up whole tomatoes)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
4 oz red wine

1 chipotle or guajillo

drop 1:
1-2 tsp good mild pure chile powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp each garlic/onion powders
1/2 tsp cumin

drop 2: dash salt n pepper
1-2 tsp mild-med. chile flakes
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
dash allspice

drop 3:
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne if necessary
1 14 oz can black or red beans


Saute onions, peppers and garlic. Remove, brown pork, return veggies. Add tomatoes, sauce, stock and wine and simmer on low med, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
Add drop 1 and simmer for 20 more minutes.

Add drop 2 and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Finally add drop 3 and simmer for 15 minutes.


Supposedly the drops are such that some stuff is in for longer and other stuff doesn't get overworked. It wasn't super necessary, but the chili was pretty delicious. I'm also not sure why I can't get this formatted correctly, dammit.