My perfect rainy day

I was woken up by thunder this morning instead of my alarm. I should find an alarm clock that sounds like thunder, because it was very pleasant. Not pleasant? Driving to work through deep puddles and heavy rain. There is something about this kind of weather that makes me want to just burrow further into my bed and not come out until it clears. On my perfect rainy day, I would stay in pajamas and slippers, snooze in between thunder claps, and eventually roll out of bed to watch a Law & Order marathon while eating crockpot soup. ("Crockpot soup" is one of three recipes my mom knows by heart, and one of the few that she passed down to me. It was a regular staple in the Saunders home. I'll type up the recipe below.)

So what is your perfect rainy day?

Rainy Day Crockpot Soup
(Note: I never measure when I make this recipe, but these are pretty good guidelines. You have to just experiment and decide what proportions are right for you.)

6 cups boiling water
3 8-0z cans of tomato sauce
2 packets (1 box) of Lipton onion soup mix
1 lb. hamburger
1 potato, cut in pieces
2 carrots, cut in pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil

Brown the meat, then put everything in the crockpot. Cook it for about 4-6 hours, or until the veggies are tender. This is especially delicious with Parmesan cheese on top and crusty rolls to dip.

Holy good tv, Batman!

Great tv this week. One very promising series premiere, a season premiere from an old favorite, and a mid-season episode that was truly jaw-dropping.

Community- Thursdays, NBC, after The Office (8:30 Utah time)

I missed the initial premiere and didn't watch it online until last night. (Thanks insomnia!) This show is funny. Better than The Office, better than Friends... we're talking 30 Rock / Arrested Development level funny. I had just seen The Informant! (don't forget the "!") the night before, which also stars my tv boyfriend, Joel McHale. In The Informant!, it was really odd to watch McHale act. I don't know if his character was too bland, or if his tv personality (from The Soup) is too hilarious. Either way, it was hard to watch him pretend to be someone else. He's supposed to be making fun of skanks and Ryan Seacrest! Not interviewing Matt Damon. But Community did not have that problem. McHale's character is a raging douchebag with an enormous ego, no moral compass, and a ruthless sense of humor. That's not too many steps away from his "real" personality on The Soup! Perfect fit! Plus, the supporting characters are also funny and full of interesting potential. Watch this show! You can still watch it free on hulu.com!

Best line (that I can remember... it was 3 am): "If it's serious they should call it meningitis."

Survivor- Thursdays, CBS, 7 pm (Utah time)

If you don't already love this show, you probably never will. I don't think I can ever not love this show. This season, it's in Samoa. It was one of the most interesting season premieres that I've seen on this show. After a ridiculous amount of seasons (18? 19?), one player comes up with a completely new strategy for winning the game. If you watched it, you know who I'm talking about... Evil Russell (not to be confused with Leader Russell). He's secretly sabotaging his tribe (pouring out water, burning socks) in order to create stress and drive everyone to discontent. His plan to is to put his tribe on edge, sit back, and watch them destroy each other. I think this plan could work, but not with Evil Russell. He can't sit in the background. I think it's only working now because at this point in the game, everyone's strategy is "vote out anyone that isn't me." Once alliances form, and people spend a few more days together, he will be gone. (Hopefully.) Just when I thought no one could be worse than last season's Coach, the very next season proves me wrong.

Person I want to win at this point (after one episode): Betsy! (Female cop with good instincts, yellow tribe... I think)

Mad Men- Sundays, AMC 8 pm (Utah time)

I've raved about this show on here before. It is my favorite show currently on tv. This week's episode was really something. The entire series is fantastic, but this episode was a definite stand-out. I'm not sure I can really comment on it- I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it and I'm not quite done processing it just yet. I may have to watch this one again in the next couple of days.

Quote of the episode, probably quote of the season, and possibly quote of the series: “That’s life: One minute, you’re on top of the world; next minute, some secretary’s running you over with a lawn mower.”

If you like tv and have time to watch it, check out those shows. While my rambling recommendations may not be useful, I made them all very linky. And hyperlinks are always useful.

Irrational Fear

I like to take walks through the Salt Lake City cemetery. In fall and spring, I often see small groups of deer munching on grass. Since deer often wander down from the mountain, I wonder if mountain lions or cougars occasionally follow. I have this irrational fear that I'll be walking through the cemetery and see a cougar prowling around the headstones.

When I have this thought, I immediately look around and try to figure out what I'd do if that happened right then. If I ran, would I make it inside the little brick bathroom? Would I be too petrified to run? If I found a big stick, would I try to hit the cat in the face? If I saw it go after someone else, would I run away? I'm sure my instinct would tell me to run away, but I wondered today if that was what I should do. So I pulled out my trusty old internet and found out what to do if you see a mountain lion. Pretty much: DO NOT run away. Open up your jacket to look bigger, throw rocks, make noise, and give plenty it of room. But do not run away. The more you know!

To all of my readers

All both of you. For October, I am a guest host for a book club on my friend's blog. We are reading Mama Day, by Gloria Naylor. Holy crap, you should read this book. After I read it, I immediately bought and read Lindon Hills and Bailey's Cafe, two other fantastic books by Gloria Naylor. But Mama Day is still my favorite.

So read it by October 31, then come comment on my review over on Jessie's blog. Make me look really popular and awesome. I will post a link to it when it's up.

Look! There's lightning! And hands! How can this book not be awesome?!