Chicago MMXII

I chose as well. Will just be cloudy, but should warm up. Just don't go swimming.

I have no other plans.

I hope you guys had fun today. I woke up with all the intentions of being there, but I got a text from my newly-engaged brother saying that he and his fiancee were going to be in the city so I went to meet up with them and offer my congrats in person. Looked like the weather ended up cooperating for the most part.

That was fun. Stupid weather got all nice later!

HAPPY BITTHFAY COURTNEY

Yeah! Happy birthday, Courtnoodle!

Speaking of stupid whether, when is your game? I hope it doesn't get rained out.

1:20

Where are rainouts announced online?

happy birthday c-noodle!

Delay continues.

...

Estimated start time 4:00. We're in the uppermost right field upper deck and the toilets are SO FAR AWAY.

Play ball

Hey look at the vegetable stew I made with the leftover grilled veggies from the picnic! They fed me for three more meals. Amazing how far things can stretch sometimes?!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/7150688831_9d0070db59.jpg

(that ^^ was but one of the three meals)

Looks good!

Is it bad to take advantage of mother's day gift certificate discounts to buy a gift certificate for myself?

uh no

i bought myself a mother's day gift but i won't get it til mid june

Thanks for the happy birthday wishes! We ended up meeting another group of friends at the game that had better seats. When they cut off booze around the fifth inning we went back to my friend's house and drank homebrew and they got me a frozen custard pie.

i have no idea what to buy my wife for mother's day.

It was delicious.

Xpost. Your kid hasn't got a job yet?

No, you'd think he would've started one by now. Sure, blame a lack of mobility kid.

what does your wife like to do that she doesn't get to do very much?
alternately
sears family portrait, start early, could be lol or poignant, your choice
or if you prefer
a plant that is likely to live for a very long time

a plant that is likely to live for a long time is sort of an oxymoron in our house, we have the worst luck with plants. i was going to get her like a massage day thing, but she went and did that with her mom this weekend, so dammit, back to square one.

you could buy her a piece of art that she would like
something framed or not, something to look at and remember and also appreciate aesthetically

i was going to get sarah an air popper (for popcorn) because we've been eating a lot of popcorn but it has been heavily hinted that sarah's sister is getting me an air popper for my bday so now i don't know what to do either.

apparently people use those air poppers to roast coffee beans

The frozen custard pie was delicious and so was the coffee syrup! Why doesn't the whole country know about this stuff? It's delicious. Apparently in MA and RI, coffee milk is a thing.

really? i use my air popper (thanks, colette!) for popcorn

and i love it!

Guys. Guys. You can pop regular popcorn in the microwave using a brown paper lunch bag. You put a quarter cup of kernels in the bag, add optional oil and salt, and put it in the microwave for about two minutes.

The problem with popcorn is that it's the most disappointing food.

yeah but tbrr i like the hot air excitement of the air popper -- standing in front of the yellow popcorn machine while it spews out hot hot hot air and noise and !popcorn!

i have a whole thing set up whereby i spritz with olive oil mister as it falls into the bowl and then add salt, nutritional yeast, and spicy paprika at the end and let it shake down
it's very flavorful, you would not be disappointed

if that was the kind of popcorn popped everyday in my office i would be a lot more excited about it, tbh

I like nutritional yeast on popcorn. It's very good.

oh yeah there is popcorn every day in my ofc as well
it's a scourge and we all have considered asking someone to do something about it, but battles/choosing etc

Tell them how much money they'll save if they pop regular popcorn in a paper bag instead of nasty, stinky microwave popcorn.

maybe i will give supplies as backhanded end of semester gift

Add up the savings over a year of popcorn making and then point out what they could buy with those savings instead.

I have one of these thingies. It works well, in the microwave without buying icky microwave popcorn and is a bit more convenient than a paper bag.

ha! i love silly one-use devices like that. like a donut maker that takes up two sq feet of space in the cupboard.

You have to buy proprietary replacement parts for that popcorn popper, though. Bags are just bags, and you can also use them as bags.

Pop your popcorn, carry your lunch, make a hand puppet, conceal your liquor in a public park. It's the bargain of a lifetime.

Oh, I forgot the VERY IMPORTANT step of securely folding over the top of the bag before you put it in the microwave. Some people say you can close it with a staple, but I don't care to live on the edge. I fold it over and then do this thing - http://www.bloomize.com/how-to-bind-papers-without-staples-or-clips/

This is just the size of a large bowl, such as one you would eat popcorn out of anyway.

The replacement part argument is relevant, but the little paper inserts (which have some sort of microwave-reflective material inside) last for probably ten poppings and are small. Not much waste!

You both make a good case, but mh: can your device make hand puppets or conceal liquor in a public park?

If you want to use your greasy bags that you popped popcorn in to do so, you may.

I love popcorn (homemade, not the microwave kind with chemically enhanced butter flavor) -- but I never ever think to make it. We even have a bunch of Spice House spices that are great for it (Vulcan Fire Salt, Bridgeport Seasoning, etc.)

I prefer creamed corn.

Could I put actual butter instead of olive oil in the brown paper bag with the popcorn and salt, or would it burn?

we've been eating a LOT of popcorn lately, but it's oil-popped on the stove so not as healthy as it could be. i'm into balsamic vinegar on my popcorn.

Pop corn is the worst. Getting it stuck in my teeth, which happens almost every time, can ruin an entire day. Sometimes I can't even floss it out.

these are all delicious options