07.31.04 - 8:34 a.m.

There's nothing I like better than waking up to the strains of Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing," especially at 7:50 on a Saturday morning. Especially when I just had a very nice conversation with Stripper-Named Trashy-Looking Older Woman Upstairs (and who will subsequently be known as Trashelle) about the noise level, and the fact that her stereo is directly above our bedroom. Looks like that one took!

Thus pumped up by the sinuous sounds of Steven Tyler, I wandered downstairs in my nasty green robe to look for the paper. No paper. That's the third time this month. This called for a little Casey family-style intervention. Ha! Our call log of missed-paper complaints is now being sent to the local distribution supervisor. Take that, papergirl! Who knows what will come of it, but thanks, Dad. I learned it from watching you.

Today I tackle a few recipes in my newly-purchased Batali cookbooks (probably stuff from Simple Italian Food, as I don't have the cash -- or stomach, or pasta maker attachment -- for most of the recipes in Babbo right now). Last night was the green apple risotto, which did not taste overly much like Gwyneth's daughter, but was a fantastic risotto anyway. Of course, I can eat risotto in any form and still be happy, so maybe that's not the highest compliment.

On today's menu:
Sicilian Gelato Fudgesicles
Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte with Strawberry Sauce (a frou-frou PB&J, if you will)
Cavatelli with Garlic, Crab, Chile and Trebbiano
And if I'm feeling sassy, some kind of antipasto that involves proscuitto. But probably not.

Also to do: Catch up on my Homestar, play Sims, watch Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights, shower, rescue/repot my basil, write yet another release (maybe save that for Sunday, when it really rains)... is that enough for the weekend? Oh, and possibly start a new food blog. More on that TK, as we say in the publishing world.