Tidbits of Drama

Postponement

2009-03-12T22:34:00.003-05:00

Ryhmes with engagement. That's ironic.

I can't do this whole wedding planning thing while my mom is numb to it all.

I know I have the other blog to talk about this, but this is now interupting my personal life, so bear with me.

I'm thisclose to postponing our wedding. And that is just so sad.

Today I reached my breaking point. And that's just not right.

My mom really really wants this wedding to take place in Phoenix where she lives. Without giving you guys the long list of details; Bev put it best - she really wants a party where she can host her friends in her house. I'm not sure if its to show it off, to have some wicked reunion or if she really thinks it will be the easy way to go. She has given me a list of reasons of how her guests and our family would be better off traveling to Phoenix versus Dallas.

In Dallas - the wedding cost would be more affordable. The dollar could be stretched far and wide.

I want a loft type venue. I can hear it in her voice that she doesn't feel the same way.

I found two lofts, one in Phoenix, one in Dallas. She's against both. The one in Phoenix will only hold 50 guests; so that means her list will get cut dramatically. I can hear it in her voice, that's not a good thing.

We want more of a party atmosphere - serving heavy drinks and appetizers. She told me that if you have traveling guests you better serve them a plated meal.

She wants to tie bows around things. No - she wants to tie tulle bows around things. That's not my style, I'm way more modern than that. She wants matchy-matchy invitations that are multiple pieces of paper detailing events. I prefer the one-sheeter.

But she holds the purse. And you know what, thats not really bothering me at all. Its the fact that she hasn't, not once, gotten excited about one thing that I want in this wedding. Not one thing. All my ideas and wants have been defied by her. And that hurts. It really hurts.

I foresaw this whole engagement period as a time that mother and daughter got to plan something together. I see it as her day, too. I really do. But in the end, she keeps telling me its my day, do what I want. But, I need that excitement, that joy, something I'm not getting from her. And it makes me cry. Even while I tried on dresses, I thought there'd be a moment, you know that moment, where the mom finally sees her daughter as a bride and gets emotional? Doesn't that happen?

It didn't for me. Just once, I want to see her excited and enthusiased about this. I tell her she sounds so eh and she tells me right back, that she is tired or the day was long or "eh". What? Everyday? Each time I talk to her? No.

I dont know what to do or how to handle this because I've never been a bride before. The only answer that I could come up with today, through tears and disappointment was postponement.

Stolen Idea

2009-03-11T17:59:00.002-05:00

I can't remember where I read this, online or in print but somewhere a ways back, I read what I thought was a pretty awesome idea and stole it.

Cowboy and I were a wee bit sad to leave the old apartment.

I know, its only on the eighth floor, its not like we went far at all. I'm here to tell you, the difference of three floors is remarkable. I feel less exposed in our new place. It's weird but I don't feel like there is a hallway on the other side of our front door with other apartments out there. I feel tucked away and secure. Cowboy says its because it's a smaller space, so the walls are closer to us and we don't feel so open. Maybe.

Anyway, we had a lot of good things happen to us while in that old apartment. Our lives were very fortunate. Our relationship grew stronger. It was the first place we've lived together. Blah, blah, blah.

So, we left a bottle of champagne and good wishes for the next occupant. That's my stolen idea.

We know our management offices really well and Cowboy has had a drink or two or three with the man in charge of maintenance. We had to tell them our stolen idea so we could go back in and leave the bottle, after they were finished prepping it for the next occupant.

We left the good wishes note anonymous. I didn't want to feel all weirded out if we ever ran into them in the elevator or vice versa.

As soon as we left the bottle and note and finally locked the door, I felt ten times better about everything happening in my life right now.

No wedding date. That's okay.
No job. Perfectly fine.
You know why...because I've been fortunate to have great health, a man who loves me to the moon and back, a great support system of family and friends and overall, a pretty darn good life.

Life on the Fifth Floor

2009-03-10T10:05:00.002-05:00

Our move was a lot more fun than I anticipated. We had a plan where CR1 would come over and help Cowboy move the heavy items while I leapt up and down, moving smaller items.

Per usual, CR1 managed to make me go, WTF?!?!

He brought some girl that he's been dating for three weeks for us to meet! Who brings a girl for your friends to meet while you're moving? Who does that? To top it off, they both came in "date night" attire and a bottle of wine. What really did it in for me was CR1 was genuinely shocked to find out that we had already packed our wine glasses and wine bottle opener.
Yeah, it's a move, jerk!

Enough of that, because Cowboy got upset enough for the both of us...we called it what it was and decided to let it go, meet this dumb girl (I so don't like her and so I have many stories coming up about that and the story of why he is no longer with That Baby's Mama), go to bed early and get up early and do it ourselves.

Because in the long run, it's just him and I. No matter what.

Being a girl with the weakest upper body strength ever, I foresaw that Cowboy would have to be patient with me while we moved things like a couch, king size bed and dining table.

He did so good, he was very patient and proud of me when I was able to lift those items. After the move, he kept telling people how good of a job I did :)

And it was rough, too. In between, I'd crack jokes and we had a barrel of fun about it. Knowing me, I still wanted this move to be finished quickly and in an orderly fashion. No matter who bailed on us. This was still top priority. Thank goodness my jokes covered up my bossiness.

All in all - we had fun. And who knew that new furniture would make me so happy!!

Movin' on Down

2009-03-04T06:21:00.000-06:00

You never ever want me in charge of your moving day. Unless you are like me and are very meticulous about it. Not anal, meticulous.

I like to have everything set and ready for when the clock strikes moving time. By that, I mean, everything in its box or vessel. Furniture prepped for moving - drawers out of desks and dressers. Wall art off the walls. And so forth.

The move itself never takes all day with me. Oh heck no. I like to get it down and over with. I see no need to be living out of boxes for weeks.

Yeah, I don't mess around when it comes to moving day. Like some people. I will agree that helping someone move is the worst favor ever. At least for me it is. I cannot stand helping unorganized people move. It makes my skin crawl. You ask me to help you move - at the very least you could have the posters off the wall and ready to go.

Moving day does not begin when the U-haul arrives. Moving day starts a week earlier. No exceptions.

It's moving day around here, did you guess?

We're moving three floors down, into a two bedroom. Reasons being, it's cheaper and it's a two bedroom.

I know, in what world is a two bedroom apartment cheaper than a one? Uptown, Dallas, Texas.

Where we are now - on the 8th floor, we are privy to what I think is one of the best views ever in this neighborhood. I can see three bars, one of my favorite restaurants, the other one, Jessica Simpson frequents and a whole lot of business buildings that light up the night sky so well. Also in this view is a wedding venue that includes a fireworks display at the end of a wedding evening. So, about twice a month, we get a fireworks show. It may sound cheesey but it is so awesome.

Where we are going - on the 5th floor, we will have the pleasant view of the Walgreen's rooftop. Yippee. Around here you get what you pay for. Also, the two bedroom is smaller square footage. Apparently, we live in the second to largest one bedroom floorplan offered. I'll admit, our living room area is way larger than some people's living rooms of houses.

That's all. We're moving. If I'm absent for a bit it's because the internet is not set up yet or Cowboy has killed me for acting like a drill sergeant on moving day.

It is So Awesome

2009-03-03T00:09:00.002-06:00

I don't have a job and I'm in no hurry to go get one.

I will gladly have dinner on the table every night and laundry finished and folded for him if it means not having a job.

Because that, I could get used to. I don't know why women complained about that in the past.

Seriously I think I was born in the wrong decade.

I love going to the grocery every day and cooking. I semi-love doing the laundry a couple times a week. I say "semi" because I always tend to think of our electric bill when I do laundry more than once a week. And that, gets to me more than the chore itself.

Odd, no?

All I Can Think of Lately

2009-02-26T11:00:00.000-06:00

Not Bored

2009-02-26T10:22:00.000-06:00

It's so funny now that I don't have a job and I'm back from Phoenix - people have been expecting me to be bored.

Well, I've only been back since last Friday. And I was sick. And Cowboy is home during the day. And we do have a wedding to sort out.

There's no boredom here. Not one bit.

My College Roommate also lost her job around the same time I did. She calls me every morning.

"Whatcha doing?"

I'm always doing something. She always announces that she is bored and tells me to just wait until I've been home awhile, I'll get bored too.

I think she wants me to be bored. I think she wants me in the same boat as her. And dare I say, I think she's envious that I'm not bored.

Everything around here is far from boring. I get up, run, take a shower, get dressed for the day, make a to-do list, start on that to-do list, maybe go to the grocery store or Walgreens, grab the mail and do something that resembles wedding planning. That's my day.

My College Roommate is shocked to hear that there's no television in there.

Yeah, about that. That gets me bored real quick so I'm trying to avoid all the daytime television. Can you believe I haven't seen one episode of Oprah since I've been laid off?
Well, maybe you can since she's not my top person like other people. That reminds me, while I was in Phoenix, my mom had last month's issue of O laying around. I picked it up, got as far as maybe 25 pages and then shut it back down. I just cannot take her, in print - it's like I can hear her pushing through the pages.

Enough on that.

I'm not bored.

Cook-less

2009-02-25T09:46:00.002-06:00

I have gone two weeks without cooking. I am not going to lie, it was niiiice. My mom barely cooks herself, so I was begging her to cook some old time favorites of mine. But, the rest of the time? Oy.

I was living on Buffalo Wild Wings, In-n-Out Burger (actually, I hit them up practically everyday for lunch. We don't have them in Texas so I had to take advantage), Chik-fil-A, Cantina Laredo and the list goes on. Point is, remember I gave up fast food? But my mom doesn't cook and she is one of those that skips dinner. So, I had to make do on my own.

The best part is I didn't gain a pound. Holla!

Then I came back to Dallas and decided to cook some stir-fry up for me and Cowboy.

Uh-oh.

Is it just me or when you haven't picked up a pot in awhile, all your cooking skills are kind of like, "what do we do here?"

So I cooked and it tasted like crap. I was embarrassed that I cooked it. I should have thrown out the leftovers but when you have no job, blah, blah. I was eating it again for leftovers and it was worse.

It's so hard to get back into a saddle, again.

B-squared

2009-02-24T13:30:00.000-06:00

Here you go, the wedding blog.

I will not have any connection from here to the other blog.

I didn't want my personal life dramas (here) to effect or have any connections to the wedding planning (there).

There will be no Cowboy nicknames (hee hee)

There will be no Golightly mentions (ha)

Just simple (yeah, right) wedding planning and ideas!

I'm so happy to share with all of you!

My "Aunt"

2009-02-24T09:23:00.002-06:00

The same person has been doing my taxes since the year 2002. 7 years. For five years I've been getting a pretty good return and a good deal with her. Until.

The way I came into contact with this person is my mom called me up one tax season and announced that my aunt (my mom's sister) has a new tax person and they are great and I need to use them. OK. I contacted her...

From the get go, she referred to herself as my Aunt Sugar*. I don't call her my aunt, let's get that clear. Just because she is working with my real aunt does not make her an aunt. It became a wee bit annoying to hear her say this all the time so once I brought up with my mom. My mom's excuse was that she probably feels like my aunt because my real aunt talks me up to her. She does the same thing with my brother.

I only contact Aunt Sugar around tax season. I have no other business with her so that's that. Each time I call her up, I call her by her name, Sugar. No aunt. She replies back with, "It's your Auntie Sugar!"

It's easy to put with once a year.

Then last year, I got a bill in the mail. A bill for her services for the past five years. Oh, yeah when your "Aunt" is doing your taxes, you don't have to pay her a service fee.

I was shocked by the bill and immediately called up my mom - did she get a bill, too? No.
Then I spoke to my brother, did he get a bill? No.

Yeah. WTF?

So I called up Sugar. Her husband returned the call and he said yes, they needed to start billing me.

Fine. Whatev. I paid the bill. (SUCKER)

This year comes and I've got all my tax paperwork ready to send to her so I go by the usual routine. I email her first, she calls me back and confirms that she will expect in the mail, I mail it out, a week later I get a notice of how much my return will be and voila, we are finished until next year.

I emailed her. No response. I called her. No return call.

I call my mom...
"Oh, yeah I was meaning to tell you. You need to call your Aunt Sugar up and tell her you're engaged."
"What? Why?"
"She was a little hurt that she found out from (my real Aunt) Auntie Annette" my mom told me.
"Seriously?"
"Yes. Call her"

Ughhhhhhhhhhhh. I called her and left her the news on her voicemail. She has yet to call me back.

Then I go to Phoenix and one night, my (real) Auntie Annette was on the speaker phone with my mom and I while I was talking out a plan to go to Vegas to get hitched. Then, I remembered "Aunt" Sugar and asked Annette.

"Oh yeah, girl, she is not too happy. She just wants to feel part of the family, that's all. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Go ahead and mail her your paperwork. Don't worry."

I mailed it out. Yesterday I got the confirmation email from her husband, I guess my "Uncle". It was two sentences.
We got your paperwork. Expect refund in two weeks.

Yeah, don't mess with family.

*Name changed, but close enough to the real deal

I'm Baaaack

2009-02-23T09:54:00.003-06:00

And I'm sick.

Thanks for the comments and emails. I was in Phoenix for two weeks trying to start a plan on this whole wedding thing. My mother's home computer is slower than slow and she has a strict no internet policy at her practice. My internet time was limited to getting on, checking email, researching a venue and done.

I was busy. So busy, I didn't really accomplish anything in the venue hunt but I did manage to finally try on dresses. That was the most fun.

Venue hunting? That will kill your wedding spirit - like that.

I'm back and tomorrow I will have my wedding blog up with all the venue hunting stories and trials, that is if I don't pass out in a sick coma first.

I'm It

2009-02-06T09:38:00.001-06:00

I was tagged a bit ago by She Weds (sorry it took me so long)...

Make a list of things you can see without getting up:
a map, bottle of pills, Cowboy's hat, our dining room, the bedroom door and the printer.

What were you like when you were five?
Sassy!

What are you wearing now?
brown velour sweat pants, a grey tee shirt and leopard print house slippers.

What story/book/novel have you read over and over again in your life?
Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading?
Chasing Harry Winston

Do you nap a lot?
No.

Who was the last person you hugged?
Cowboy

What’s your current fandom/obsession/addiction?
Slumdog Millionaire & it's soundtrack (me, too) I secretly want to do the Jai Ho dance (at the end) at our wedding. Seriously.

What was the last thing you ate today?
Haven't eaten yet today but last night the last thing I ate was ice cream - homemade vanilla from Blue Bell.

What websites do you always visit when you go online? Facebook, Google Reader, Monster, job sites, a ton of wedding sites and blogs.

What was the last thing you bought?
Milk and a twinkie (it was such a weak moment at Walgreens)

What are you listening to right now?
The hum of the computer

What movie are (or were!) you most excited to show your kids?
My kids will hate me - every movie made before 1970 thats kid friendly.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
to bend metal - that should be cool!

What is your favorite weather, and why?
Hot in the mid 90's.

What time do you usually get up? between 6am and 7am.

What is your most challenging goal right now?
To find a wedding site that reflects us and is not a golf/spa resort.

Say something to the person who tagged you: Jennifer, I can't wait to meet you and steal your Mexican flower idea :) Just kidding. Your wedding planning has been very inspirational and motivating in more ways than I can say - if you notice a lot of traffic to your archives, it's me.

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?
South of France

Favorite vacation spot?
Mexico.

What is your favorite children’s book?
The Madeleine series

Name one thing you just can’t resist no matter how bad it is for you:
Ice cream

If you could meet anyone famous - dead or alive - who would it be?
Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini - they're BFFs so we could all meet for lunch and kill two birds with one stone. Then they'd take me in as their third BFF and all would be right with the world.

I tag the usuals - Bev, Beth, Swishy, Jacki and anyone who would like to participate!!

You copy the questions, answer them, remove a question you don't like and replace it with one you create.

My created question is: What's your favorite love song?
Forever, Ben Harper

Mojito is Giving Away Brownies

2009-02-05T09:31:00.000-06:00

Make Mine a Mojito is having a contest where the winner will receive Fat Witch brownies.
I loooooooooooooove brownies.

I don't love making them, I love eating them.

I know another great NYC spot that makes some great brownies. But, I can attest Fat Witch's are the shizz.

If you have never had a Fat Witch, you should enter and be delighted.

Or if you don't read Mojito's blog, this could be a good introduction. She is down to earth, funny and just a happy go lucky gal. Plus, she lives in Dallas, too ;)

I'm Still Here

2009-02-04T09:11:00.002-06:00

I'm so sorry I've let this go this long without a post. So bad of me.

So, I'm still here.

Everyday is pretty much the same except that I'm having so much fun I don't know what to do with us.

Being unemployed while your boyfriend works at night is so fun. We spend the days together and its like a whole new relationship. I love it. I love him.

I wake up first, look for jobs online, do some wedding researching, run a few miles and then he wakes up. This is when the real fun begins. We spend hours just talking about everything and anything - sometimes its making fun of whatever the heck Tyra Banks is doing or its wedding conversations. And yeah, sometimes we don't talk. Then I cook a early dinner before he heads to work.

It's not bad at all. Until he leaves. I'm not bored during those times, I just miss talking to him, so I mostly turn to the TV for entertainment.

I don't have my company issued laptop anymore, so to get online is not as easy as it was before. Now, I have to turn on Cowboy's super duper computer - wait for it to load up and such. And I don't like sitting at his desk to be on it.

I was so used to being mobile with my laptop. I took that thing everywhere with me - the bedroom, the kitchen, the restaurant across the street (our wireless was that powerful) and once, just once! the bathroom. I find it somewhat uncomfortable sitting in a chair browsing the internets for hours, so I try to stay on in the morning and do what I need to get done, so I can get out of the chair quicker.

This is what I've been up - not very exciting, is it?

This Saturday I am off to Phoenix - wish me luck. I'll be scouting out places to host our little shindig. First up, will be Sedona. Then downtown Phoenix (because I refuse to give in to resorts and golf clubs and am determined to find an urban style loft). Then I have a couple of funky hotels I want to check out. Finally, if I'm still on the hunt, I will check out a few gardens.

I plan to have a wedding blog up by early next week to catalog all the fun and site visits.

And So it Begins

2009-01-26T14:00:00.000-06:00

Life with no job. Whoo hoo? I'm back to enjoying hours of job hunting from the comfort of my couch with the sounds of trashy daytime television as my soundtrack and entertainment.

I do have a busy schedule in front of me. It won't be all lazy and job searching.

I need to take my car into the repair shop as I hit a pole last week. I swear this pole just jumped out in the middle of the road! It was the middle of the day and I was driving home from work and well, uhm, hmm I was on the phone with Bev. But don't tell anyone.

I need to job hunt seriously. I don't know why but my last week on the job, I was in such a state of denial. I thought someone would come up to me and say, "just kidding" or "we still need your position". Not so much. I waited until the very last hour to clean out my desk. That's how bad it was. I plan to hit it hard this week so I can, if any fall through, interview the following week.

After that, I'm taking a two week working vacay to Phoenix to search and scout out venues and the such. So far, my internet searching is failing me. Let's also hope and pray, my mother and I both survive two weeks of each other.

So see, I'm busy, unemployed at least through February.

Thank You, Thank You

2009-01-26T11:56:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much for all the congrats and well wishes. They truly warm my heart :)

Ring Shots

2009-01-24T13:13:00.005-06:00

I can't remember if I said or not, but I got a new camera for Christmas. I've yet to put it down...

We Have Wedding Photos

2009-01-23T08:06:00.008-06:00

We saw this as soon as we walked into the space, so romantic.

This is the space. It was a very chic urban type of penthouse loft called The Apartment. It was tres-awesome.

And this was the bar.

Me and Cupcake (remember, her?) I ended up wearing the dress with gold jewelry and gold strappy sandals - you couldn't tell. The dress was so long I could have worn anything underneath it. My only problem was I think I lost about a pound since I tried it on in the store and it was a bit loose on top. I worked with it.

And Cowboy. Do not worry, he wore a tie and jacket to this wedding, during the course of all the drinking - he stripped each one, slowly but surely. This was at the end of the reception. He's cute.

All photos taken by me, except the one of me which was taken by Cowboy.

Where We're At

2009-01-21T11:18:00.000-06:00

Being engaged is not easy. I’m sure you married folks know.

I’m not used to all this attention. It’s so nice that everyone is congratulating us and wishing us well. But with some of those wishes come a whole lot of questions that I just wasn’t prepared for, at all. When’s the date? Where are you going to have it? What type of dress will you wear? And what about your dad?

I can knock out those first three questions easy. But the ‘dad’ question. Oy. The first person to ask me about it, of course was Cowboy and my answer was no one else was asking so I think we are good to assume that everyone knows he will not be there. After he asked, everyone started asking. I was semi-prepared with my answer of, “haven’t spoken to him in over 7 years, why would I start because of my wedding?” It turns out my mother has a strong opinion about that one. Let’s bring on the family drama!

Bless her heart, my mom has no reason to be on the up and up of weddings whereas I have been perusing all sorts of wedding & photographer blogs for awhile now. I don’t necessarily see my wedding chock full of every wedding trend that the wedding industry pushes down a bride’s throat – but there have been some ideas that I think are cute. Explaining them to my mom is not so much. That’s a hurdle I’m trying to get her over.

I’m also trying to decide if I’m going to start a new blog all about this wedding planning journey. I’ve been spying on other blogging brides and think I would like their community input much better than those of The Knot. I am 100% certain, I am not a Knot bride. I also want to challenge myself by not buying anymore wedding magazines. I bought three on Sunday and didn’t take to any of them. I’m going to go get Real Simple’s Wedding book/guide (heck, yeah LilBrownie!) and take it from there. I don’t want to get sucked into the industry telling me what I should or need to have to make my day special. I think Cowboy and I can formulate that ourselves. I expect it to get challenging at some point but I’m going to rely on the real brides out there, the blogging ones and their websites. I want real attainable inspiration.

We did decide to host the wedding in Arizona. This has been a long debate of ours before being engaged. I don’t want to argue over a small thing like location, so I compromised it with Cowboy and my mom. It makes more sense since his family lives there (and footing a bill for them to travel would be way too much) and so does my mom and brother. We’re looking at Phoenix or Sedona; I’m weighing heavily on the Sedona side. I just have a problem asking people to travel and then drive the hour and a half more to get to Sedona. People keep telling me, guests will travel and do whatever to get your wedding. And it’s not like anyone coming by plane wouldn’t have to rent a car anyway, sooo I’m thinking it over. Sedona is much more prettier than Phoenix and it’d be a great escape/getaway for all our guests

…that’s where we’re at.

I'm Going to be a Mrs!

2009-01-19T11:23:00.001-06:00

I don’t even know how to begin this story. I thought about each and every one of you when I was blasting the news via text and Facebook yesterday. How will I write this blog post? I’m going to save you reading the entire thing: I’m Engaged!

Capital E. Engaged.

Here’s the scoop. Cowboy and I went to V’s wedding. And it was so cute. So very them. I’ll post pictures soon. The reception was a cocktail reception and that meant drinks, drinks, and drinks. The wedding started early so it ended early – everyone decided on an after party location and we trollied over there.

At the after-party, we you can imagine, I drank a lot more, Cowboy told me that he wanted to dance on the rooftop with me. What rooftop? Our rooftop on our apartment building. And yes, if you’ve been here awhile, its that infamous rooftop of ours but I’m not going there today. This is supposed to be romantic not hoochified. Back at our place, close to one o’clock in the morning, he takes me up to the roof. Dallas was looking fabulous.

We started dancing to something he was humming (or he may have been singing, I honestly cannot remember) and then when we were standing back to front looking out at the city, he said that he had a question to ask me…I turned around and there he was on one knee – asking me to marry him!

I started yelling a whole bunch of crazy and said yes. I don’t remember the other details but he got back down on his knee, two more times and kept asking me. I kept saying yes. He asked me for marriage, babies and no matter what we plan, his only request is to be married before 2010.

Afterwards, we went back to our apartment and I barely slept a wink. Yesterday I was on complete high. Turns out, he has had the ring for two months and was just waiting for a moment. He said he almost proposed in his pajamas several times ;) I just cannot believe that I’m going to Mrs. Cowboy!! That just makes beyond ecstatic!

Living Out Loud*

2009-01-17T23:38:00.000-06:00

When I talk to myself others hear me. I need to remember this and chant it, silently to myself.

I'm not crazy, dear readers, I promise you, I'm not.

It seems I have taken my internal dialog with myself and have made it public and external. This means, others can hear me. It's not good.

It's particularly bad at work. I'm sitting happily in my cube and some idiot email comes through and I vocally announce that, yes, indeed, he/she is an idiot.

Or when I'm be reading blogs, you can hear me, saying, "aww, how cute", "Aww, Beth", "Where the F is Beverly?", "I must have that", or "How in the world did they do that?". And I always laugh out loud - if the blog is funny.

My manager must think I'm crazy. She knows I'm in my cube by myself.

And then there is the cube neighbor of mine. I have no idea who he is or what he looks like. He sits on the row over and his cube and my cube back into each other. Well, one day, I was talking to a magazine (oh, yeah the media back talking doesn't stop with the blogs. You should see me watch television.) Sometimes, there are clothes that cute they will elicit a "You are such a pretty" from my lips. And he answered me back. Talk about mortified. Hence, I have no idea what he looks like. I don’t dare walk down that row for anything.

So what? I talk to myself. I talk to myself out loud. Cowboy ignores me. We have caught me yelling the same comment or question to him repeatedly because it seems to me he hasn't heard me or isn't paying me any attention (how dare he?). His answer is, he has no idea if I'm talking to him or myself. The first time he said that to me, I said, "WTF?"
He told me, "TC (that’s what he calls me) you talk to yourself all the time, out loud."
Oh heck no, I don't.

Then my mom came to visit. She talked to herself half the time she was with us. Think that one over and get back to me.

*Has anyone seen this movie? It is so A to the awesome. I recommend it to anyone who has ever doubted or found themselves in new life situations. Go rent it. Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah and a whole lot of funny. I watch it whenever I'm feeling down or low.

The Hunt

2009-01-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is the first time ever in all my job searching experience that I have abundantly sent out my resume cold. I’ve done it a couple of times before but only to people who knew someone I knew – so I had an “in”. This time around, no ins, I’m just blanketing that puppy out there. And let me tell you, it is the most emotional nerve wrecking experience out there when it comes to job hunting. Well, next to the must have that job anxiety – which I’ll explain later.

With each email I sent out, I said a little prayer. A prayer for my resume.
I hope you don’t get laughed at over there.
I hope they don’t think you are crazy for even thinking that you are experienced enough to work there.
I hope the spell check worked.
I hope you land in good hands and that someone takes care of you.

I feel raw. Exposed and kind of dirty. My experience written on paper is being handled by strangers. I don’t know what kind of eyes are reviewing it or maybe criticizing it.

It’s like my baby that I’ve created all on my own. I just hate sending it out there in the real world like that, all bare without my supervision. But I know, it had to happen because in this economy I think only the strong risk takers are surviving.

Now, about that must have that job anxiety. It’s like car shopping when you don’t really need a car. Except, I really need a job, so maybe that’s the wrong analogy.

You read a job posting and everything about it fits you to a T. Then the HR manager calls you for a pre-screening interview.

(Whoa – can we talk about this first. I hate hate hate the pre-screen. I am great at interviews, not so great over the phone during a pre=screen. I get nervous and stumble my words. Face to face, I do fine, so I don’t know what gives?!?!)

After the HR manager tells you how great the company is and how wonderful it is to work there and all the job tasks you could have...all of a sudden you must have that job. It’s shiny, new, better whistles, a job description that you thought you dreamt up and a fun, creative office. I must have that. You have to wait for your resume to be forwarded on – and that wait, is what kills me. I hate waiting, too. It sucks.

I’ll do it because what else do I have to do and isn’t the right job worth waiting for?

Thursday TV and Why I May Name My Baby Arizona...

2009-01-15T12:12:00.002-06:00

Can you believe it took me almost a week to catch up on all of last Thursday’s television? Am I that busy?

OK Grey’s...will Denny be moving on? I think only tonight will tell. My fingers are crossed. I have big hopes for Alex. Like, big, huge hopes and silly, love grins for him. Like, Izzy + Alex = 4Ever hope.

When Dr. Arizona first entered the scene, I had to pause it, back it up and hear her say her name is Dr. Arizona, at least three times before hitting up IMBD.com to make sure that’s exactly what she said. And it’s her first name! Did I like it? I didn’t know. For the rest of the episode, I kept mentally picking random states to name my future IF baby...Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Dakota, Washington, Texas. Well, I started loving Tennessee but played ping pong with it and Arizona. Cowboy has always had the oddest idea that our IF kids could have names representing where we’re from. Now, I’m all down for naming a kid, Brooklyn but not Phoenix. Then, in walked Dr. Arizona...

So, we had the Chief all bummed out about the dead doctor – who we’ve never seen before and there have been tons of pediatric cases on that show before, I know this! He’s holed up in a room wondering how bad things happen to the hospital and why they are #12. I know why! You have a dead patient roaming the halls with his hands in his pockets looking all creep like. (sorry Nanette)

I’m still not down with Callie being lesbian. Especially if she hooks up with Melissa George. No, no, no, no, no. And Sloan with Little Grey? NO, NO, NO, NO.

Just as I was contemplating “Alaska”, Bailey walks in complaining to the Chief about Ms. Jessica Capshaw (who I also have to tell you is my favorite underrated actress ever. How cute is she? I just want to be brunch friends with her) aka Dr. Arizona Robbins. And it’s official – I love, love, love the name. People would probably make fun of us for naming a child, Arizona but so what? It took me almost a full hour to debate it and I like it. My foot's down. I don’t care what Bailey says about the name.

Ooh I watched Ugly Betty too. Finally, Connor and Wilhelmina = YES! He is just one hot bastard. And what the heck was Hilda’s problem? I don’t have a sister but I can tell you right now, my brother would totally be understanding if I had to WORK instead of stuffing gift bags with him. Seriously. Doesn’t Hilda know what kind of economy we are all in right now? Work, first. Family, Segundo.

On other days of the week, I'm watching Damages, Top Chef, The Bachelor, Gossip Girl, The City and trying to get back into Nip/Tuck. And this Sunday, get ready for all new "Big Love" - whoo freaking hoo!!

Downsizing

2009-01-15T07:56:00.000-06:00

I thought about it and of course talked about it with Cowboy. I’m just going to have to say no to being a part time nanny. I’m going to tell them that if they ever need a day to do something as a couple, of course, they can give us a call and check availability. It came down to one thing. I would be watching That Baby in my apartment. Excuse me, our apartment. We all know Cowboy sleeps during the day and I will need to be job hunting via the computer while at home. If That Baby were older, it may work. We can’t control her screaming or crying or whatnot. Cowboy doesn’t want it to turn into something where we will have to change our minds and say no later. That may cause some friction in his relationship with CR1. Or mine with That Baby’s Mama. Or ours with the both of them as a couple.

We’ve decided to scratch house hunting plans and get a smaller apartment. We’ve been weighing the idea way before I got the lay off news. That news just kinda sealed the deal. And here’s the deal, we can move into a smaller unit in our building that we live in now for less rent in what we pay now. We will save just over $400. And here’s the kick, we lose space but we gain a bedroom. So we will have a two bedroom apartment for less than what we pay now for our extra big one bedroom apartment. We will lose space in the living room and bedroom. A-ok with us. Because we end up with a larger bathroom, an extra room and get this: a bigger walk in closet! Hallelujah!

Hmm

2009-01-14T08:00:00.001-06:00

This week I'm wondering what to wear with this dress or how to style it up. I'm wearing it to V's wedding this weekend. Can you believe how fast her engagement blew? It was just August when they were engaged and those six months flew!

It's an evening wedding. This dress is super long on me. If you can't tell, it's also strapless. The material is silk. I got it from Zara over the holidays. It was 50% off. I almost wore to our New Years Eve celebrations but I didn't pack the right bra for it and I was not about to go bra shopping with limited time on my hands. I don't play like that.

I'm wondering if I should go gold or silver jewelry?
Should I wear flats or heels?
Should I do dark make-up or something ethereal?

This dress is whispering ethereal to me, that's why I say that.
Or is it totally not a wedding guest type of attire at all?

I'm taking comments and suggestions, please.

Brunch, Groceries and the Airport

2009-01-13T01:53:00.000-06:00

I met up with CR1's girlfriend for a free brunch their apartment place puts on once a month. Yeah, I saw her twice in one week. I think she needs a girl friend during these rough times for her and CR1. The brunch had made to order omelets and pancakes! Cowboy and I need to move. There is no such thing over here where we live. Have a mentioned, we live a block apart from CR1 and That Baby Mama? The only thing that separates us is an Albertson's. Not only have a I seen her twice this week, it's CR1's one birthday this upcoming Friday. I'm sure some shenanigans will happen. On top of that, she asked me to attend some birthday party with her on the 25th. She sure is all about the booking me up. And there's more, which I have a feeling is the reason I was invited to brunch in the first place - She asked me if I'd think about being a part-time nanny to That Baby, you know since I lost my job. Yes, she did! I'm thinking about it. It would only be during the day, while she and CR1 get some sleep/alone time/etc because they work crazy night hours as cops. That Baby is out of her screaming baby phase and can now walk and semi-talk, so she is much more tolerable nowadays. So, I'm thinking about it. It'd be easy to do while hunting for a job and watching horrible day time television. And it would be great practice.

I wore a grey turtleneck from The Gap; an orange coat from Tulle (on sale for $37 at Nordstroms when I bought it. My lucky day) and Blue Cult jeans.

The rest of the day I hit up the grocery store, Walgreen's, Blockbuster and the airport to pick up my man :)

I Heart Cowboy

2009-01-12T07:45:00.000-06:00

I cannot say this enough. I have the bestest boyfriend ever.

As the news of my lay off dropped, he was in Houston playing GI Joe. Not literally. He was off at his once a year drill week where they make them act as if they are being deployed to some unknown location and they must live out in a field for a week. They act out different scenarios and survive like soldiers. I call it playing GI Joe.

I had to text him the news. It was hours before he responded and more hours before he called me. The words, we'll be okay, did wonders to me. This love of mine turned my situation into our situation and said we'd be okay. And I believe him. Then I was off for dinner, drinks and Benjamin Button.

Later that night, he had a chance to call me again and this time he floored me. He told me how he thought it over and thought of how we can downsize and what we can get rid of. I totally thought he was jumping the gun.

I have never rid myself of anything in the last two times I've been suddenly without a job. I just kept on trucking like normal, thanks to my savings account and unemployment. Don’t get me wrong, I know how to live frugal and buy generic when times are tough. I think its my good shopping savvy and choices that allows me not to change my lifestyle that drastically in such times. But then again, I've also never been without a job for more than three months.

Cowboy laid out a list of items he thinks we can do without. Most were items that he solely uses. He mentioned coming up with a plan together when he gets back to Dallas. My man with a plan. I love him! He went on and asked how we can take care of me, emotionally. Where has he been most of my adult life? Sheesh. Now, if he could just move it along and ask a question or two. I'll be good to go.

What I Wore When I Got the Lay Off News

2009-01-11T13:50:00.003-06:00

It was cold, so I wore tights. It was my lazy week without Cowboy, so I wore all black. But the skirt is kinda a dark grey. That counts, right? Who knew, it'd be so fitting for what the day had in store for me. I got laid off, but I still look cute!

The skirt is from Old Navy; the shirt is from The Limited and the tights and shoes are Target (from a hella long time ago)

Some People Danced

2009-01-09T09:54:00.002-06:00

Very few movies shake me to my core. I’m going to tell you like I told Bev last night: 10 stars out of 5 for Benjamin Button. I’m not kidding.

I was so moved by each story told in the film: his father; his mother; the Russian hotel woman; the short man; Julia Ormande’s story (she’s Daisy’s daughter in the film and may I ask, where the heck has she been?) and of course Benjamin and Daisy. Was it me or did each story of chapter of his life just hit you hard? He was so philosophical.

I cried so many times in this film, there was no need to wash my face before bed. The last half hour did it for me, waterworks to compete with Niagara Falls. The almost three hour length didn’t bother me one bit, honestly I felt like I was sitting there for only an hour and a half. And I’d go see it again in a heartbeat. With someone else.

That’s the other half to this story, I went and saw it with CR1’s girlfriend, That Baby’s Mama. Now, I like this girl, I do. I just didn’t like her the same day I was given my lay off news (I’d much prefer to have been with my old tried and true friends, but she and I had these plans for over a week) and after our dinner talk. We met for dinner first.

Here’s the backstory, she and CR1 broke up over the holidays. Yes, I was elated but also sad – break ups around the holidays are just no good for anyone. I always knew CR1’s side of the break up because Cowboy told me so. Warning: that’s how we roll, we tell each other everything. A lot of their demise had to deal directly with That Baby’s Mama’s relationship with That Baby’s Daddy.

But in talking to That Baby Mama last night, I realized the more she talked about it, the more I understood why CR1 is jealous of Cowboy and I. Oh, yeah he told Cowboy that and Cowboy told me. We roll.

Their relationship which is now back on the mend, if chock full of jealousy and mistrust. Not a good thing. She’s jealous of him around other women. He doesn’t trust her. She snoops in his phone. He thinks she should sue Baby Daddy for sole custody. And that’s where I draw the line!

I do not believe in taking away a child from either parent unless the situation is unfit for said child. Their reasoning is just so they can spend more time with That Baby – so CR1 can feel he is in a normal family. Oh hell no. And I told her that, too. How do you take a child away from its father just so you can live like a “normal” nuclear family? That’s just so wrong. And how selfish of CR1, but I already knew that about him.

After listening to all that and downing as many margaritas as I could – we went and saw Benjamin Button. And that was a greater escape than I expected.

*And no worries, I ran yesterday and today ;)

Laid Off, Again

2009-01-08T11:43:00.001-06:00

Was it me just talking how I was debating calling in sick? Amazing how an hour can make a difference. Once again, I’ve been laid off. Story of my life.

I have two weeks left here and its very very sad.

Last year I a job I loved ended with a boss I didn’t like.

This year, it’s a boss I love and a job I’ve really enjoyed ending.

This is my first job where I think I actually learned more than any other. I relished coming in early and my nice hours. I’ve become really close with my boss. It’s a bummer all around.

I keep thinking, it’s because of the economy and I’m not the only one in this pickle. I’m taking deep breaths, sending out emails to my contacts and thanking someone above that I live with someone.

What You Doing

2009-01-08T09:17:00.001-06:00

It’s been a very busy start to the new year. I’m going to try and start posting more. As far as the blog’s new year, it’s been pretty dismal, no? I’ve got so much happening and going on, I don’t even know where to start.

Honestly, this past week has just been about me getting my bearings straight. I wasn’t happy with the fact that I hadn’t run two days consecutively in such a long time. The week after Christmas, I just gave up and now, I’m trying to get back on my wagon. I don’t know how or why I stopped running but it hasn’t been much fun, for me. I liked starting each day out with a run. I felt more energized and more happy. I could blame the cold weather but that’s no excuse. I ran last winter. I see runner’s running in the biting 30-degree weather. If they can, I can do it, too. So, I’m going to try and get back to it. No matter what.

I’ve also been trying to get over this ordeal with my mother. Part of me feels that our relationship has forever changed. I really don’t want it to but at the same time, she needs to know that I’m an adult and not a child and she just cannot do things like she did and expect me to accept it. I have opinions and emotions that are different from hers. Maybe that’s what was so difficult for her. She’d never heard me voice my opinion in such an angry state before. Who knows?!? I’ve been dealing with that on my mind.

In other news – Cowboy is gone for the week. He is at a special drill. I know I left him alone for a week when I was off gallivanting the state of Texas but gee whiz – it sure is lonely in our apartment when one of us is not there. Its quiet. Too quiet. When he was in Iraq, it was much different because I just gotten off living alone, so in many ways us moving in right before he took off was still me living alone. Now that he’s back, we’ve settled into our life together. So when he is gone, boy is he gone.

I become one lazy lady when there is no Cowboy around. It takes a lot for me just to make the bed in the morning (I know!!). I wear the same sweatpants every night; I eat popcorn for dinner (to avoid doing dishes); I sloth in front of the television for hours in our bed; I debate washing my face and brushing my teeth before bed; I refuse to clean up so I do very minimal tasks so there is no mess and I already have a do nothing plan for all day Saturday. It’s taking a lot for me not to call in sick to work because that would mean lazy day plus daytime television. Oy. This is sad.

I need to take down our Christmas decorations – but I don’t want to. This is not because of the stated laziness but because I really enjoy looking at them. Technically, we still have two presents underneath our tree. Both for Cowboy’s no-show younger brother. But still. I think I was the first one on the block to put up our Christmas tree. I had that baby up two weeks before Thanksgiving and that was me holding back. I wanted up as soon as November came around. People thought I was crazy. Oh well.

So that’s what's been happening in these parts of the woods.

So That was Christmas

2009-01-05T14:00:00.000-06:00

My holiday was quite the adventure and quite the drama. I'm going to break it down for you in bullet points because a normal post would be waaaaaay too long.

-Cowboy's brother pulled another no-show on us. YEAH. Can you believe it? Well, I could when he called us on Christmas Eve saying he'll drive up in the morning (sounded way too familiar to Thanksgiving). Then it was 2pm on Christmas day that he finally called us and told us, he was not coming. Cowboy finally (thank you) told him where to stick it and then went into a longer lecture of a conversation to tell him about his life, leaving school and not being responsible. **side note: Cowboy and his mom also had a very long conversation about it on Saturday. Or course, I eavesdropped and was shocked to hear them talking about it with opposition to the situation. All this time I thought the mom was a-okay with the boy dropping out of school.

-Christmas night, my mom fainted twice in our apartment around 3am. It awoke me when she fell the first time and while I was helping her, she fainted again. I was scared to all shit. We had to rush her to the hospital in an EMT transport. We were scared that it was a mini stroke because her speech patterns and motor skills were so off. I had a very hard time trying to keep it together.

-Doctors make the worst patients. My mom was all fine and dandy at the hospital after they gave her an IV drip. Then came the bossing around - she just knew better than the attending doctor assigned to her. He'd order tests for her and she'd refuse them. Of course, she just knew better and didn't want to be cooped up in a hospital any longer.

-She thinks the fainting happened because she may have been dehydrated because all her tests came back negative or normal. We all spent over 12 hours in the hospital for that diagnosis. Gotta love the health care industry - over a three hour wait just to take some blood; ten hours waiting for a MRI and ten plus hour wait for an EKG.

-The following night, she met some man on an email. A man she had never met before and got all giddy schoolgirl with Cowboy and I when she went on to tell us how he is from Canada but is spending his holiday in Houston with friends. I should have seen what would come next.

-A week before Christmas, my mom and I scheduled a road trip to visit family friends in Austin and San Antonio. Once in San Antonio, we would split and I'd go see my SA friends while she did her own thing. Her flight back to Phoenix was leaving out of SA. Our road trip would have been four days together. It ended up being two.

-My mom decided to ditch me and go see that man in Houston. I can't even begin to tell you how pissed I was over that decision. I was livid. She and I got into the worst fights ever, in the span of a couple of hours. Let's just say, it ended with me almost hitting her, she yelling at me and me leaving her happy butt in Austin, while I continued to San Antonio, two days earlier than planned. I just don't put up with that shit for anyone. If anyone decided to ditch me for some guy they never met, I'm sorry, but I will be mad at you. Plain and simple. Just because she is my mom, she doesn't get special treatment.

-Overwhelmed with guilt, I went back to Austin, two days later to bring her to San Antonio. I had a "come to Jesus" talk with myself to give me the strength to forgive and just be with her. I came to the conclusion that our relationship is close and works because she lives in Phoenix and I live in Dallas. Now, I understand why every mother/daughter relationship comes with some sort of trying drama at some point in the relationship.

-New Year's Eve, my friends and I went back to Austin for some celebrating. It was mad fun, we had a four-course dinner at a great wine restaurant called, Taste and after we went to a house party and rang in 2009.

-New Year's day, I returned back to Dallas. It was great sleeping in my own bed, cuddled up next to Cowboy and the last thing on my mind was where do I need to drive next?

What I Wore Over the Weekend

2009-01-04T07:50:00.003-06:00

Saturday I traveled my happy butt to Arlington for the very last bridal shower for my friend, V. The shower was awesome - GREAT food, women and V was happy as an early bird with a worm. Pre-thinking how I would think my own way into the future wedding activities would be, I always thought that I'd want to skip out on the multiple showers. I just never thought I'd be comfortable opening presents while everyone in the room watched and I'm the only one opening gifts?!?! Watching V, I became very sentimental and emotional. I don't know what was wrong with me. I'm so happy for her and her man and cannot wait to see them commit to each other in just a couple of weeks. Whoo hoo!!

Buuut, let me tell you. I was very overly dressed for the occasion. And it became embarrassing. The invite said, "bridal shower luncheon". I took that to mean, a nice day dress. Out of about 50 women attending, there was three others in dresses. Everyone else was in jeans?!?!? WTF. Then there was comment after comment about how dressy I was and was I thankful for the 75 degree weather so that I could bust out that dress? Well, truth be told, I knew I was going to wear this dress regardless of the weather, about a week ago. I just don't like when too much attention is called to what I'm wearing.

Saturday night, me and Cowboy made our way to a happy hour and then had our first date of the year. The day after Christmas, my mom and I road-tripped to Austin and then San Antonio. I stayed the week and spent New Year's (back) in Austin sans Cowboy. He had to work that night. Boo.

He came up with the idea for us to have a first date, when I came back from tooling around the state of Texas. During my trip, I found the skirt I wore at a Target for $9! It's a satin like material and I love it, amazingly, it fits like a dream. Since I'm down in sizes, Target sizing no longer is easy for me. I'm not quite a 2 but I can't pull my ass into their 0.

**And please excuse the wrinkles. My mom taught me well and I did iron it before leaving the house that night.

The happy hour went great - I saw a lot of old friends from the jewelry company I used to work for and they all got to finally meet Cowboy, too. Problem was, he and I drank a lot at happy hour. I was seriously bordering drunk when we went to the restaurant. And thank God, Republic in Las Colinas is not a happening, busy place for dinner. There were only two other tables being served with us.

The night ended with Cowboy and I having our own Dance Party USA in our living room. Because we roll like that.

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Outfit Torture

2008-12-23T15:47:00.002-06:00

It never fails. It happens at least once a year, every year. I will torture myself. I have a tendency to create the perfect outfit in my head. Without knowing any of the clothing pieces exist in any store. Sounds odd, doesn't it? Welcome to my world.

Last year, I foresaw a cool outfit idea to wear out on my birthday. It consisted of a black flowy dress and a 3/4 length sleeve, heather gray hoodie. I made up the hoodie in my mind. The dress I already owned.

I tormented myself and probably a few others around me searching high and low for a hoodie that I didn't know existed or not because I made it up in my head.

After week or two of looking, I finally got smart or wait, let me give real credit to where it's due: Cowboy and I were randomly in Target and he pointed to the little boy's section where lo and behold there was a rack of hoodies for boys, in heather gray. It was perfect. And cheap. Holla! It worked like a dream and I'll tell you, its one of my favorite pieces in my closet.

This year before I had New Year's eve plans, I thought the perfect outfit would be a multi-colored sequin straight fitting dress. Never seen one before. I've seen the dress in solid sequins, like black, silver or gold. I've even seen a horizontal striped version. But rainbow sequins - no.

I did it again. Created an outfit in my head that only exists in my head.

Until Monday night...I have no shame, I watch The Hills. I will take it farther and disclose that I watch The Hills After Party. It's some serious funny stuff that after party. This past Monday was The Hills Finale and of course, I tuned in for the pre-show special. How MTV of me. And of course, Lauren would show up in my dream outfit. I was screaming and shouting at the TV. Damn you, damn you. Then I found it today online.

Won't anyone loan me $1,000? Or if you know a knock off similar, it'd be happily appreciated.

A Huge Thank You

2008-12-23T08:06:00.002-06:00

I know I've been sounding a lot like Debbie Downer's wet blanket lately but thank you so much for all the comments, advice and support! You have no idea how appreciated it is to hear (read) a voice that understands. Thanks!

I owe another huge shout out thank you to Lil Brownie. Last week, while I was working it up in Spring, TX she sent me an e-gift certificate to Target. It was the best surprise that I was totally not expecting. We know exactly what I'm going to get with it and I cannot wait. Thanks, lady! I can't wait to hit up Chi-town and meet up with you one day!!

And thanks to Bev - who nearly tried to kill me, I'm just kidding, girl. I love you. Bev sent me some home made fudge for my birthday. The fudge had some nuts in it and she didn't know that it was all nuts that I'm allergic to or avoid because honestly I have no idea which nut it is that gets to me. Cowboy raves about it each time he takes in a piece. That was another unexpected wonderful surprise that I loved!

Trying

2008-12-22T08:40:00.001-06:00

It’s official. We got the news last night. Cowboy’s younger brother is planning on visiting us during Christmas. I’m not scared to admit that I was heartbroken and felt defeated.

I broke the news to my mom this morning. She was WTF'ing allover the place. I just fell silent.

I feel defeated because we agreed that Thanksgiving was his family and Christmas was mine. We didn’t sign a pact but I feel like his end of the bargain is not right. Its not my fault that this younger brother pulled a no show on Thanksgiving. Younger brother gets to come visit us any other day of the year – he lives two hours away. Cowboy and I’ve seen him more times than my mom. Cowboy has only met my mom once. She doesn’t live two hours away and she’s coming to visit us. Not us and a 16 year old boy. True, it’s Christmas and I should just lighten up.

Part of me wants to book a hotel now for my mom and I. I don’t think you understand – our living room is going to look like shit. Both Cowboy and younger brother are going to camp out in it while my mom and I take over our bedroom. Have you seen boys camped out in a room before? Its not pretty, its not orderly, it smells. Our living room is where our Christmas tree and most of our Christmas decorations are. I had to tell Cowboy this morning to tell his brother that he cannot bring his television up here. I refuse to see the wires and that set up. I think they can do two days without video games. But then what do we do with a 16 year old?

My mom made the comment that I should go buy a case of wine right now so we can have fun while holed up in the bedroom. She’s funny like that, but she’s also right like that. We both know me. Once the younger brother is here, I will keep my lips sealed and not say anything just to keep the peace. And since they are taking over the common area, I probably won’t fight for it and just let it be. Right now, I just want to cry,

I’m going to try and enjoy Christmas and the family that will be with us.

What I Wore When I was Starving

2008-12-21T10:15:00.003-06:00

I wore a strapless dress from Express, yellow cardi from Madewell and the red clutch from Target.

Struggling...

2008-12-19T14:10:00.002-06:00

How do I associate myself or marry into a family that is just so wiggidy, wiggidy, wiggidy, wiggidy whack?

Menu Planning: Christmas Edition

2008-12-18T10:37:00.000-06:00

I’ve decided to cook a beef fillet for the main course and star of our Christmas day lunch and dinner.

A couple years ago, Real Simple had a spread on different ways to cook a beef roast fillet. I scoured the internet and Real Simple’s site for what seemed like forever and an hour. Finally, voila!

I plan to have this and a good amount of sides – mostly a crusty bread, some yummy spreads and lighter sides like salads or something. The plan is that everyone can just put together their own. If you want a beef sandwich – go for it. Or if you want just the beef and the sides, that’s there, too. Easy Peazy.

I’m not trying to slave away in the kitchen while my mom is visiting but still want homemade stuff. We usually spend the afternoon at the movies, so it’s a great way to have a meal that’s just come and get whenever. You know me, this is the first stage in my menu planning and is a work in progress or internet surfing. Shoot, we could be eating turkey day of like the rest of folks.

For breakfast, I’m making a pesto onion, shallot and egg tart. I don't know the official name for it. It’s so yum. I’ve been making it ever since I was in high school. My mom goes over the moon for it. I’m a mother pleaser – what can I say?!

For dessert, I’m going to try my best to re-create Gravitas’ butterscotch bread pudding. This bread pudding is out of this world of yum. I’ve never made a bread pudding before, so let’s keep our fingers crossed. I plan to serve it with my new vice: Haagen Daz’ Honey Vanilla ice cream. It is major.

Pesto Onion & Shallot Egg Tart (or quiche).
One small yellow onion sliced thin
One shallot sliced thin
3 eggs
One pie crust ready made (I usually just get the one that’s already in the tin. So easy.)
Pesto
Butter

Step one – melt just enough butter to coat a pan, add onion and shallots. Cook until soft and translucent.
Step two – beat/whisk your eggs.
Step three – cover the bottom of your pie crust with the pesto. Just spoon it on and spread it out.
Step four – pour your onions and shallots into the crust.
Step five – pour eggs on top.
Step six – bake in a 400 degree over until eggs are set. Done.

High School Drop Out

2008-12-17T09:28:00.000-06:00

As promised, here is the crazy story of how Cowboy’s younger brother no longer is in school. And for the record, I’m a huge advocate for attending school. No matter how many days, I skipped out, myself – I still think you need to be enrolled. Skipping is one thing. Dropping out is a whole other story.

We have Cowboy, Cowboy’s mom and Cowboy’s younger brother who is sixteen. It used to be that Cowboy and his younger brother would talk all the time but that was before he turned sixteen. You know of the trips that younger brother would take to come up here and have a video gaming marathon with Cowboy. They are close, especially given the fact that their older brothers are well into their thirties so growing up, it was just those two in the house.

A couple months ago about two weeks went by and Cowboy hadn’t heard anything from younger brother. He wasn’t worried and excused it as the boy is sixteen and off doing much cooler things with his friends and such. Then one day, Cowboy was on the phone with his mom and she casually said something about how younger brother was home. It was during the school hour. Cowboy questioned it and asked if younger brother was sick. Oh no, didn’t he know? Younger brother dropped out of school, like two weeks ago.

Let’s just say, Cowboy was livid. He was more livid that he found out two weeks later. Now, it doesn’t bother him at all. Me? Not so much.

I get livid thinking about it. I’m livid typing it out. Let me break it down for you. When I was in school, the only people that dropped out of school were pregnant girls and the extremely delinquent. That makes sense to me. Younger brother is neither. Younger brother dropped out of school because, and I quote, he saw an opportunity to make more money at his part time job if he went full time. His part time job is assisting a AC/Heating maintenance company. Doogie Howser, he’s not.

It gets better. I don’t know if I told you that Cowboy was home-schooled, so he didn’t go to high school. His older brothers both dropped out themselves. Younger brother has no historical evidence to keep his butt in school basically. Which to me, is the reason you should stay in school. I nearly cried when I found out the news. It really bothered me.

How can I say this, without sounding like a straight up snob? The older brothers, the ones that dropped out, well one of them is struggling all the time. Cowboy sends him money every month to help him and his three kids and wife out with bills, etc. They live without a lot of stuff and it kills me. That, right there, should be the reason to stay in school. That should be the reason to think, hey, I don’t want to live like that. That should also be what Cowboy tells him. Its not.

I don’t know how to explain it but its like this drop out news affected the family for about two days and then done. Now, they act like its nothing. What can be done? He dropped out, its not like he can go back. Uh, yes, he can! I’m not liking any of Cowboy’s family for the way this is handled. I complain to my mom about it more often than not. She’s seen how the older brother lives. It breaks her heart. It breaks mine. We blame Cowboy’s mom for allowing it to happen. We blame Cowboy and his brothers for not being more interested. It's like they advocate the situation.

Because get this – oh I hope you are sitting down and ready for your mouth to drop – you know I told you that when Cowboy has a day off, he gets online and plays War of Worldcraft with his brothers? One works from home; the other is the one that Cowboy helps out financially – so he is pretty much always home, so during the day, they play. All day. I’ve gotten over it because Cowboy stops when I get home.

Well, here comes the jaw dropper – they got all excited that now, younger brother can join in, too! YES. YES. All excited. Because now, its like a brotherhood band on that damn game all day long and they are so excited that the family is all involved and playing with each other – you know, while The View is on and normal people are either at work or in school?? That pissed me off.

I can’t even talk to Cowboy about it because then I sound like some hoity toity who went to school or some anti-brother bonding bitch. You know. So I have no sympathy for that younger brother when it comes to anything about him and/or not having holiday plans or a place to go. I’m sorry, I’m straight up cold that way.

Then on the drive back to Dallas from our Houston trip, Cowboy was speaking to younger brother about some speeding ticket younger brother got. When he hung up, I stated: it should be a law that if you drop out of school, you cannot get your drivers license. Cowboy looked at me like I was straight up crazy. Oh, yeah. I got his crazy.

When it comes to younger brother, you don’t want to talk to me, I’m 100% not supporting anything he does. Also, we haven’t seen him since he dropped out. He needs to know that once he sees me, he is in for a lecture that will at least last an hour. No joke. Because if it comes down to it, I will drive his ass back to that school and help re-enroll him. I will not and shall not advocate this. I’ll forge a doctors note for you to skip, but like I said, that’s a different story.

Lasagna Time

2008-12-16T08:16:00.002-06:00

It is freezing cold and there is no better time to eat something warm for the tummy. I made lasagna last night. I've never been a big fan of lasagna. Growing up, my mom would make the worst lasagna. Ever. I hated lasagna night. It's just not her forte. But my brother on the other hand, would beg for it. I don't know what kind of crazy tastebuds he had. I always always thought her lasagna was too dry and she never used enough cheese in my opinion.

My brother would beg so much for it - my mom would make two in one go. That meant lasagna for at least three days and then another lasagna in the freezer - just waiting. That one was the worst. Not only was it dry and lacking enough cheese, now it would taste like a leftover meal from the freezer. My mom has no idea I do not like her lasagna.

To this day, she offers it up like its a prize winning dish. Blame my brother. Every time she tells me how my brother calls her up and begs for the lasagna, I hold back a laugh. I seriously need to ask him what it is he likes about mom's lasagna.

I developed an aversion to lasagna - until one day, Cowboy asked for it. Oh, lord.
I need to remember to keep him away from my mom's version before he becomes a begger. But, back then I found a recipe, made it and it was gosh darn good. I wish I kept the recipe because every lasagna since then has been like my mom's, dry and lacking enough cheese. Even Cowboy admits.

I think it's because after said greater than mom's lasagna, I told Cowboy about how my mom makes the worst lasagna. Actually, I think I've told everyone but my mom. Oy. Well, I was parading the fact that I made a great lasagna and then boom! no more for me. Until last night...

Lasagna
1 pound of lean ground beef (I used 96/4)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese (I used non fat)
2 eggs
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked per instructions
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 cups of marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef, making sure to break it up into crumbles. Add the onions, garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano and salt & pepper to taste. Once the meat is brown and the onion is tender, add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and drain any grease.

In a large bowl, add ricotta, eggs, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, fresh chopped basil, salt & pepper to taste. Combine until mixed thoroughly. Meanwhile, cook the lasagna noodles per instructions then drain.

Layer a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with just enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pan. Lay three lasagna noodles in the pan. Spread some of the ricotta mixture on the noodles, then spoon some of the ground beef mixture on top and sprinkle with a bit of mozzarella, spoon some sauce over the cheese; repeat layering. Finish with a layer of noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake covered in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy.

The recipe is from For the Love of Cooking.

Snooze, You Lose, Right?

2008-12-15T08:48:00.001-06:00

So...my mom is coming to visit over the holiday. She's arriving here in Dallas, Christmas Eve and then will leave the Saturday after Christmas. There may be more to that story - which I will share soon as I get the go ahead.

Moving on...Before the holidays even came around, Cowboy and I discussed how his family would come visit us for Thanksgiving and my mom would come on Christmas. Well, my mom is holding up to her end of it. His family didn't, not so much.

Did I tell you guys about this? I don't think I did. Here's the breakdown: Cowboy's mother and brother were supposed to drive up here, they live in Tyler - so it's about a 2 hour drive. Well, Cowboy's mom decided that she wanted to spend the holiday with her parents in Waco. I didn't blame her. Her parents are much much older than my grandparents. With this decision, it was assumed that Cowboy's younger brother would go as well. He decided not to and he is sixteen and just dropped out of school (OMG - I have to tell you guys that one, too!!) so he can make his own decisions, thank you very much.

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, younger brother never expressed any interest in coming to Dallas until a couple days prior. He asked if he could come up and bring a girl with him. Cowboy told him straight up no. To the girl. Cowboy didn't want any funny business happening on his watch. The night before Thanksgiving, younger brother called and said that he was going to spend the night out with a friend and then drive up to Dallas in the morning.

When noon hit and there was no younger brother (and he wasn't answering his cell phone) we got our answer. So we thought. About 30 minutes before we sat down to eat, younger brother calls and asks if he can still come and bring a different friend with him - this one, a boy. I had several problems with it from the get go. Cowboy had to think it out. It boiled down to this trip looked like an excuse for younger brother to get to Dallas and do some partying or escape with his friends. We are not down with that. Cowboy felt badly and told him no. To the friend. We got another answer, younger brother wouldn’t come up then. See, yeah, doesn’t it look like he was just using us to get a trip to Dallas with his buddies? Seriously, the boy is sixteen years old - what could you possibly do? On a holiday! And I am not about having other people's kids at my house. You never know what's going to happen.

That said. You snooze, you lose.

My mom booked her ticket and she is definitely coming here for Christmas. We live in a one bedroom/ den, 980 square foot apartment. The den has three walls; so it is open. When we have overnight guests, we set them up in our living room and their bags in our den. To boil it down for you guys, we can only have one guest comfortably. It doesn’t mean I'm not open to more, it's just that you have to know, you'll be sharing space with other people. I don’t think it would be a problem if a bunch of my girlfriends spend the night or if a bunch of people crashed to avoid driving home after a night of drinking. For a planned visit for my mom, not so much, you know. She's my parent. I'm not crowding her in there with anyone not related to her. Especially a sixteen year old boy! Cowboy doesn't get it.

So, back to the younger brother: Cowboy's mom is spending Christmas with her husband's family (their step-dad) so younger brother is again making his own choice and not doing it. I can write an entire post about the crazy but I'm trying to be understanding. I will say this, at sixteen, my ass did whatever my parents wanted me to do. But then again, I was in school like you’re supposed to be (but we will get to that, I promise, later) Younger brother asked Cowboy if he could come up for Christmas. Cowboy said yes. Can you believe? I nearly hit him. WTF.

Cowboy's argument is that its family and what's the big deal? He and his brother can sleep in the living room and my mom and I can take our bedroom. True. But my mom is an early riser (like mother, like daughter) and where I can step over a bunch of sleeping boys in our living room, she cannot. And can I mention how my mom would so not put up with their crazy video gaming all day long? Oh heck no. And they'll take over the living room - our common space. So whenever my mom would like to relax and enjoy TV or be in the living room - she can't. She'll be imprisoned to our bedroom because the boys will either be sleeping off their gaming marathon from the night before or they will be gaming. I know this.

I'm sorry but that boy had his chance and he blew it. I'm not compromising my mom's comfort and vacation for this. She planned a vacation to visit us, not bunk with a sixteen year old. So, we talked about it. Cowboy is going to tell younger brother that he can come up this weekend (just, great) and explain to him that my mom will be here and things wont be the same, if he were to come on Christmas. Buuuuuuuuuuut, Cowboy is not discouraging him from coming Christmas because, get this - he just cannot fathom the idea of telling his brother no and having him be all alone on Christmas, so if he still wants to come up on Christmas, he can. WTF.

Internets - how in the world is he not seeing it? What else can I do here?
In my opinion, younger brother doesn’t have to be alone - he can be normal and go be with his mom, but what say do I have? Any advice will be gladly taken in the comments.

The Gift o' Land o' Lakes

2008-12-14T18:09:00.006-06:00

I searched up and down the internets for a cranberry and orange cookie recipe. There are plenty out there but none that fit my fancy. Finally, I landed on a what looked like a good hit. Land O' Lakes' website is full of good looking recipes. I'm not a picky butter person. I do prefer Challenge butter but my grocery store either like to have it some of the time or when they do have it, it's about $4 a package. Land O' Lakes is always in stock.

I baked these today and tomorrow I'm packing them up and giving them out to my office peeps.

I went from this.

To this.

With this recipe.

CRANBERRY ORANGE COOKIES

Orange Sugar Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel

Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all orange sugar ingredients in small bowl; stir until well mixed. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup sugar, butter and egg in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until well mixed. Add all remaining ingredients. Continue beating just until mixed.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in orange sugar. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with bottom of glass to 1 1/2-inch circles.

Bake for 7 to 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. (DO NOT OVERBAKE.) Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

**Please note there is salt in my ingredients picture and none listed in the actual recipe. When I was pulling out all the ingredients, I assumed salt was one of them. I don't think I've ever baked a recipe that didn't include salt.

**And I omitted the nuts.

What He Wore on My Birthday

2008-12-11T08:06:00.004-06:00

He styled and wore it all on his own ;) I added the scarf, just to see what it would look like. As predicted, it was way too much for his style.

Button down: Armani Exchange
Black sweater vest: Express
Black driver's cap: Banana Republic
Camel jacket: Van Heuson
Scarf: Golightly's!

LOL

2008-12-10T14:48:00.002-06:00

Living in my house right now is very comical. It’d make for a good reality show*. I kid you not.

We have a box that I refuse to open and am trying very hard to forget about. Yes, it's small and I totally know what store it came from because the box is that telling.

A boyfriend where if I look him in the eye long enough all I want to ask is, WTF, Did we have a problem in Houston?

Our new neighbors are British documentary film makers. Hello! Accent and funny British sayings. They are so foreignly flirty. Which leads to me having way too long of conversations outside our doors.

White chocolate anywhere and everywhere in my kitchen. Because once again I could not master melting chocolate and doing something good of it. For you new peeps – every year I attempt to make something involving melted chocolate as an ingredient and every year the chocolate wins. I may need to buck down and claim this is just something I cannot do.

There are plastic bag pom-poms everywhere.

The funniest of all funny – Cowboy and I have a running prank on each other. During Halloween I acquired a plastic fake cockroach from somewhere or the other. The thing looks very very real. One day, I placed it in his catch-all, where he keeps his keys, loose change, watches and stuff. The yelp you heard through our apartment when he found it was priceless. Well he decided to pack it into my Las Vegas suitcase – oh yes, he got me back. Now, we go back and forth figuring out new ways to spook each other with it. The latest and greatest comes from Cowboy. He rigged the roach with clear fishing line, connected it to the pantry door and attached a tack at the bottom of it. When you open the door, you can either hear the tack across the tile (like teeny tiny pitter patter of insect feet), see the roach scatter out from its hiding place or both. That stunt nearly gave me a heart attack. We hate roaches. It’s been there for awhile now and let me tell you it was darn funny when the maintenance man had to come in and adjust the water heater thingy, which is located in our pantry. Oh, it was funny.

*speaking of reality shows, anyone catch Real Housewives last night? Oh, how I cried but seriously, Lauri is/was my favorite. Boo.

LIAR!!

2008-12-09T15:06:00.003-06:00

Remember when I told you guys that I would never, ever run a marathon? Or a half marathon? That I had no desire to. That those things were for crazy people?

Meet Golightly. One of the crazies.

Running a half marathon in May.

I'm looking at it this way, I have five months to train (because seriously, I've only ran once since the trot and holiday sugar treats like to say hello to my butt like they want to make out with it, drunkedly) or five months to bail out. Knowing me, I'll be training. The upside is, its just in time to put back on a bathing suit, so all that training will do me good.

Seriously, 13.5 miles, WTF.

Is That for Me?

2008-12-08T12:39:00.001-06:00

The birthday trip was fun. I think that’s all I can really say about it, just fun.

We drove down to Houston Friday night and I mean I drove down to Houston while my boyfriend slept his “night” since he worked the night before. We stopped in The Woodlands to meet his friend – who is a girl. I never met her before. They knew each other from back in day when they both lived in Beaumont apparently partying it up every other night. She has calmed down since then. She and her boyfriend both met up with us at Chili’s. I have to tell you guys, for someone who doesn’t particularly like Chili’s, that was my third time eating there last week. Oh, yeah. Cowboy’s friend was fun – she was cute and funny and very tall. Apparently I got the approval from her later that night via text.

Saturday I woke up early to shop – little did I know the mall closest to our hotel hadn’t started their holiday shopping hours just yet. While Cowboy was at drill – I ate a long brunch solo (in the hotel’s restaurant) and then went and shopped. Geez – I really would like to know if I didn’t watch the news, would I really think the economy was doing badly? There was a million people out there shopping!! I was seriously getting trampled on, pushed and whatnot. It was gruesome.

I don’t mind long lines at store check outs but what I do mind is when another person does. Seriously – you know what time of year it is, right? You know you are in a mall. I don’t get it when I’m standing there and there is always some complaining shopper.

So I spent the day by myself. Which I will admit wasn’t that much fun. Actually, it was kind of sad at some points in the day, mostly when I was eating and snacking solo and when I came back to the hotel and wait for Cowboy.

And this is where it gets almost interesting…so Cowboy’s bag was open and he had his shoes in there. I thought I’d be the nice girlfriend and take them out of the bag for him. You know, so his shoes wouldn’t be touching all his clothes in the bag. When I did – I noticed a gift packed in the bag, so then I put the shoes back in the bag, so at least he didn’t think that I saw what I saw. Know what I mean?

Buuuuuuuuuuut here’s the kicker – I didn’t get such gift! The biggest mystery of my life right now, today, is what the F? Because that same gift is still in his bag. Yeah, I looked.

My birthday dinner was A – to the awesome. We enjoyed a long 5-course dinner from Gravitas – oh it was so freaking delicious, I didn’t know what to do afterwards – we were all in a food coma. Then that was that. I slept in the next day, caught up on season two of Heroes (yeah, I’m nerd like that) and then we drove back to Dallas.

Now, the true drama at hand, is that damn present!?!

Gift Wrapping

2008-12-08T08:03:00.002-06:00

Just a view of what some of our gifts are looking like once wrapped and topped with my Target bag pom poms. They are too much fun to make. I made about ten while watching Grey's Anatomy. I'll spare you guys, my usual piss and moan regarding Denny - but, seriously? When are they going to stop this mess?

Last Night I Baked

2008-12-05T12:23:00.000-06:00

Last year Gourmet magazine had a feature article showcasing these trio of cookies. Of course the picture was enough to make you just want them. But I wanted to make them. I thought what a cool gift they would make. I don't know what stopped me. Today in my inbox was this week's Epicurious Weekly Recipe email. And there they were again, taunting me. I did a quick pantry inventory in my head and said to myself, if we don't do this tonight, they will never get done.

I got 'em done.

I went from this.

To these.

Recipe can be found here (and the original taunting picture)

This weekend, I will meet for the first time the woman that kept in touch with me all through Cowboy's Iraq deployment. She's the one that sent out Wal-Mart sale emails and coordinated get togethers. Not living in Houston I was never able to participate and I never met her. She's also the one that spread the news of when and where and when the unit was returning from Iraq. I'm looking forward to meeting her this weekend and think that these cookies will be a good thank you gesture for keeping me in the loop during that time.

Hello, Lover

2008-12-05T09:08:00.001-06:00

We are off for H-town! Whoo hoo. I cannot wait. I think this is the first time I’ve taken a trip on my birthday. Yes. It is. While Houston is not some exotic locale, but I bet to some it could be, I’m taking the weekend enjoying it. That means shopping and eating, eating and shopping, mostly eating then shopping.

That Galleria does me in each and every time. Is it just me or does it get bigger and bigger each year? There are two Macy*s. Dos! And yes you would think that means one is different from the other…ha ha ha. They are exactly the same. Last year I found a great dress for a wedding I was going to at the older Macy*s but they didn’t have my size. A long half hour walk later, voila, newer Macy*s, dress in my size. That’s what I’m talking about. Some of the merch is different and the newer one is well, newer but all in all – same store. And Macy*s is my favorite department store so double the fun for me. My fun at the Galleria does not stop there. The biggest Zara, The Limited and Banana Republic I’ve ever been to exist there too. Yeah and I thought Dallas was good on the shops. It cannot compare to Houston.

And that’s just the mainstream stuff because my most favorite shop in the state has to be Kuhl Linscomb. I can spend hours in there and another two hours in their four house shops behind it. I’m telling you, if you like housewares or knick knacks or fun gifts, this is the place to be. I plan on getting all my Christmas presents for my friends here this year. But I plan to eat more than shop, so here’s a list of my favorite Houston eateries.

17 @ Alden House Hotel

I specifically went here to eat for their $17 multiple course lunch and it blew my mind. The duck confit salad was foodgasmic! The décor and the food were fabulous. If I lived in Houston or was from Houston, I’d get married at the Alden House. Its that kind of modern cute kinda place.

Since most of my reasoning for being in Houston used to be because of my job with the jeweler – I did a lot of my eating in the Galleria. One of their biggest stores is located in the mall. The lesson I learned is that a lot of good food places exist in a lot of malls – not just Galleria.

The Daily Grill
I’ve been twice, once to the one in Houston and the other time in Austin. Austin was so-so. Houston was a huge step up. I had a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup for dipping.

Kona Grill
The lesson learned here is that Kona’s menu differs from each of their locations. As I am a huge hamburger fan and think their Kona Burger is to die – they do not offer it everywhere. This Kona didn’t offer the burger but that lead me to my second other fave: their hoisin double cut pork chop dinner. It’s no longer on their online menu. See? That’s how they roll. You see it and then you don’t. What up, Kona? You’re a chain restaurant, don’t you know?

This next one may make you think I’m crazy because these exist everywhere but Houston’s location has it down 110% - Nordstrom’s Café.
The first time I ate here was after an interview way back in 2002. Oh yeah, I entertained the idea of living it up in Houston way back in the day when all I wanted to do was get the F our of San Antonio. But that was then. When I first ate here, we had a delish basket of pomme frites and calamari. That’s not what made it special – what did it for me was whatever creamy greenish sauce came with. It was heaven.
Sadly, the next time I ate here which was last year, the calamari no longer existed on the menu. (ok let’s just say, no longer carrying an item on the menu to me is like when a cosmetic company discontinues a product or color. You with me?) That trip I had to settle for a turkey sandwich with fries. But happy day! The fries still came with the creamy greenish sauce. Word. But I did miss the calamari.

Beyond this list, I’ve eaten at many other Houston jaunts – some I cannot remember the name, like a super cute brunch spot and some were places like Arcodoro. Other people love that place, I just don’t get it. It wasn’t that great or maybe its because the President of our company (the jeweler) was sitting next to me on one side (and he generally scared the crap out of me) and on the other side, sat a famous watchmaker who only speaks Swedish, French or Portuguese. I was probably too nervous to enjoy dinner.

And the crème de la crème. The heavyweight champion. My ultimate most favorite and fun place to be in Houston. GRAVITAS. Just look at it – go on, look.

The place is just so me. There is a chalkboard wall that boasts their menu and daily specials. There is a sidebar where a spinning deejay spins all sorts of tunes while you wait for your table or you can chill there for the night. The back patio is too cute. And to top it off, what I’m loving in restaurants lately – an open kitchen. You can see all the action! Just so you have an idea – here’s the menu.
I already know what I’m eating: the grilled asparagus salad and risotto, dessert will have to be chosen that night.

There you have it, my eating tour of Houston. Where I don’t really particularly care for Houston, as in to live there, I’ll come down any day or night to help out the economy by shopping and eating my heart out!

Wishing

2008-12-04T16:23:00.000-06:00

I wish it was Thanksgiving again today. I'm missing all the delicious foods.

How to?

2008-12-04T11:19:00.000-06:00

The other night Cowboy and I attended a good friend of mine’s open house for her newly launched business. My friend is a great hostess – every detail was thought of and planned out perfectly from décor to bar/food to her guests. It was the perfect mix of guests. There were older people that knew her since before her college days; there were her sorority sisters; neighbors; old coworkers and all sorts of people that attended.

Her party and the house are arranged in a linear set up minus walls. If you are at the farthest point of her house which is the dining nook you can see through to the kitchen, through the dining room and into her living room. Most of my time was spent in the nook – that’s where the bar was. She’s so in it that she had a bartender for the night. From there, I could see Cowboy socializing away!

I was so proud of him. Let me tell you – he knew no one at this party. He had accidentally met the hostess when we bumped into them at a restaurant way before he went to Iraq. So he went in only knowing me and her, if you can say that. Some people cannot deal with that sort of thing – going into a party and not knowing anyone but your date. Some would say its so boring. I don’t mind it. I look at it as a chance to get out and meet new people and have fun. No one knows you? Who cares! Grab a drink or three and get to know them. There is no excuse in my book for not having a great time at a party because you didn’t know anyone there.

Cowboy was on a roll on his own. We would occasionally run into each other and spend time together while at the party but it wasn’t necessary for us to be glued at the hip. That works for me. It gives me a chance to have a really girly conversation without worrying about boring him and I’m sure vice versa. Well, now I know. vice versa.

At one point in the night, I made my way to Cowboy and he was chatting it up with a guy who was new to the city from Chicago. I stayed in the conversation long enough to get the basics and then asked if my man and Chicago newbie needed a new drink, then left. Oh and yes, I’m that girl, too. I like to make sure my man has a drink on hand if I’m going to the bar and why not ask the man in conversation, too? I left them alone after that.

After the party back in the car, Cowboy looked a little down in the dumps. Did he not have a good time at my friend’s kick ass party? No way, he had fun, it’s just that uhm, hmm, how could he put this without sounding gay? He really wanted Chicago’s number. ?!?! And he felt that Chicago wanted to ask him for his, too.

Aww. He had a mini-bromance.

Cowboy told me about they talked of all sorts of things, Cowboy told me that Chicago and he had a lot in common. Chicago even said he found it hard to make friends because he lives out of the city. They spoke of rock wall climbing (Cowboy’s new obsession. I feel how Tori Spelling felt when all Dean would talk about was the scuba diving. I kid you not, that’s exactly how it is in our apartment. Just replace scuba with rock wall climbing.) and bars. They talked of movies and video games. Chicago asked for restaurant recommendations. They hit it off. But then came the end of the night and where do guys leave conversations like that? Poor Cowboy. Oh, well.

There have been plenty of times that has happened to me – mostly with me and guys at bars. You have a great time and conversation and when its over no one makes the move to obtain a phone number. You just move on, no?

We made it home safely and just when I thought the conversation was over – he asked me if it would be too much to ask my friend, the hostess for Chicago’s number. Seriously? I guess he fell hard. I don’t even know how to start to ask her that question.

What would you do?

Love & Olive Oil

2008-12-04T08:48:00.000-06:00

Ooh I just found this food blog and am loving it. Yesterday I stumbled upon it and I have no idea how but I'm sure happy I did. And so was Cowboy. Dinner was Turkey Picatta. Dinner was yum yums. It was quick and easy to do so we could have a sit down meal before he trotted off to work. For sides, we had potatoes au gratin (from the box) and green beans (from the can). Like I said, quick and easy.

The recipe does come from Alton Brown,

Ingredients-
1 whole turkey breast, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves

Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Cut the turkey breast crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Place pieces of turkey, 1 at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Squirt the meat lightly with water and squirt the top of the plastic wrap as well. Pound to no less than 1/8 inch thickness.

Season both sides of meat with salt and pepper and then dredge in flour. Shake off the excess flour. Set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium to medium high heat, heat olive oil and 4 tablespoons butter. Once hot, but not yet smoking, brown turkey scaloppine quickly, about 1 minute on each side, and remove to an ovenproof platter. Place in oven to keep warm.

Reduce the heat to low and add the shallots to the pan. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes or until they begin to turn translucent. Add wine and lemon juice to the pan and simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if necessary. Pour sauce over turkey, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

ENJOY :)

What I Wore Yesterday

2008-12-03T08:53:00.002-06:00

Excuse the boxes - we're in the middle of wrapping and shipping out presents to be sent to Phoenix. Our living room looks like the elves workshop. Seriously. Tonight, while Cowboy is at work, I'm cleaning it up. It's been three days and I think I've done a great job by letting the messes stay around. I'm the type that cleans up right when I'm finished, even if I know I have more to do the next day. I see no reason in keeping all the clutter about. I don't mind going back into drawers and cabinets to pull out the tools again. Cowboy is the opposite. He sees it as we should keep all the supplies out until everything is wrapped and ready to be shipped. Even if it takes three days? Oy.

Anyways - I'm wearing dark green velvet pants, a purple and white stripe turtleneck (from The Limited and Bitten by SJP) and a small black jacket (from Target).

Wrapping Project

2008-12-03T02:02:00.000-06:00

I saw this idea and knew this would be included in every gift I wrap. I did one and Cowboy fell in love. I ended up making a lot. Now, I'm thinking of making a wreath out of the poms. And yes, it bothered me that we had to go to the store without my canvas bags and leave with plastic ones. All for the cause, my dears.

You can learn how, too, here via Creature Comforts - my new daily obsession.

Leftovers on Top of Leftovers

2008-12-01T11:25:00.001-06:00

I love Thanksgiving food, I’m not fond of its aftermath: leftovers. I can do leftovers any other day of the year, up to one day left over of foods. For some odd reason, Thanksgiving food does not taste good to me, day after. Unless, it’s the Green Bean Casserole, now, that always taste good left over – especially in the mornings for breakfast.

This year, we were left with a lot of leftovers. See, I don’t cut recipes in half because I suck at math. Most of the recipes I found were made for the holiday feast feeding 8 or more folks. We hosted four people plus us, so that’s six and we still had enough to do the whole shebang over again.

Friday, I pulled out all the leftover Tupperwares from the fridge to see what I had on my hands. There was the chipotle whipped sweet potatoes, orange-cranberry sauce and of course turkey. Hmmm, risotto?(!)

I rarely make up recipes on my own – I think it has to do with my poor math skills again and fear of coming up with something yucky. But it was Friday and what else did I have to do? Papa Johns is across the street, so why not experiment?

6 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of sweet mashed potatoes
4 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of chopped herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary, basil)
1 small onion minced or chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of Arborio rice (risotto)
1 cup of dry white wine (this was also a leftover for us)
1 ½ cups of shredded cooked turkey
1 cup of cranberry sauce
1 ½ cups of parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
And a ton of arm muscle, here we go:

Whip together sweet potatoes and chicken stock in a large saucepan until boiling over medium heat and then bring down to a simmer. Keep this simmering, the rest of the way.
Meanwhile melt butter in a small saucepan with herbs over medium heat until butter is browned. Cover and set aside.
In a large frying pan or if you have one, a risotto pan heat up olive oil and add onions. Cook on medium high heat until onions are translucent. Then add rice, cook until rice is translucent. Add wine and stir until wine is absorbed.
Now, here comes the fun and hardworking part of the game.
Add 1/4 a cup of your sweet potato/chicken stock mix that is simmering to the rice. Stir until liquid is absorbed.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
You get it, repeat until half the stock is gone. Add turkey. Stir. (yes, your arm will hurt) Back to the stock – keep adding ¼ a cup of stock to your rice mixture and STIR that puppy.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Add in cranberry sauce to your rice and stir that sucker. You may have some stock left over – keep going until you run out of stock. This point, you’re looking at 40 minutes into it and can add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and stir. Now taste it. If the rice is still hard – you need more stock or you can do water or you can do more wine. Whatevs your fancy.
At final stage add cheese and you guessed it, stir. The dish should be creamy and yummy looking at this point and you are almost finished…

I serve mine in warm bowls, it works without as well but I like to be semi fancy and love a warm bowl in my lap on the couch (yeah that’s how we eat risotto in our house). Pile risotto in bowls. Now for the best part ever, if I do say so…remember that herb butter we melted? Drizzle it on top of your risotto servings.

Oh YUMMY. Mama liked. So did Papa if we want to keep that analogy and include Cowboy. And I can eat risotto leftovers for days!

Running Errands

2008-11-30T23:01:00.000-06:00

Here's the yellow bag in full effect. I remember telling y'all that I'm not a big jeans person...but when I look back at all these photos, it seems I'm wearing jeans in all of them. It was rainy & overcast the day I wore this. The perfect weather to bust out my new coat. It's from Old Navy - you can go get it now because it's still in stores. This coat is probably the best buy I'll make this year. It was half off! Half off and the winter season hasn't even hit, yet. Holla!

Wednesday I Baked

2008-11-28T18:00:00.000-06:00

Reviewing our schedule of events for Thanksgiving, I came to the conclusion that it was near impossible for me to bake and cook everything same day. And I changed the menu. Again. I added more items to the mix and changed up a few things because per usual, I read food blogs. And I did so after making my trip to the grocery store. Yep, I braved the masses. The grocery store during the holidays is enough for anyone to just throw in the towel and announce that you are having a delivered pizza for the holiday dinner. And why is that people are just so darn rude during this time at the stores? We are all there for the same purpose. Yes, I get that we would all rather not be in Albertson's, shopping and then waiting in longer checkout lines. I get that but just like you, I'm right there with you so there is no need to be rude.

Let's get to the recipes and pictures:

First up, cinnamon rolls. I've always wanted to make cinnamon rolls from scratch but was a bit intimidated by the process. Turns out I was pretty good at rolling the dough into the log. These were by far, the best cinnamon rolls ever. Take that, CinnaBun!

From this:

To this (recipe via Tartelette, note, I didn't frost them to try and keep it somewhat low on the fattening side)

Rolls:

1 pkg. active dry yeast (1/4 oz. size or 2 1/4 tsp.)
1 c. warm milk (105º to 110º F.)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. margarine, melted (used butter)
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 TBS. cinnamon
1/3 c. margarine, softened (used butter)

Icing:
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) margarine, softened (used butter)
1/4 c. (2 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 TBS. whole milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. lemon extract

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl
Mix together the sugar, butter, salt & eggs. Add flour and mix well
Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands lightly dusted with flour. Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about ¼ inch thick.
Preheat oven to 400º F.
For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the surface.
Working carefully from the top (a 21 inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
Cut the rolled dough into 1 ¾ inch slices and place 6 at a time, evenly spaced, in a lightly greased baking pan. Let the rolls rise again until doubled in size (about 30 min.). Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden on top.

While the rolls bake, make the icing by mixing the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then add the milk and flavorings. Mix on high speed again until the icing is smooth and fluffy.
When the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes, then coat generously with the icing.

To these:

And then I made our Thanksgiving dessert, pumpkin cheesecake. I went from this:

The recipe came from Real Simple, but I added ground ginger to the crust and it was unbelievably fantastic!

It ended up like this:

Since I was in the mood, I went ahead and made Whipped Chipotle Sweet Potatoes for our Thanksgiving dinner, which I found via We are Not Martha and boy am I glad I did. It's the perfect amount of spicy paired with the sweetness of the potatoes.

1 hour 17 minutes

2008-11-28T08:58:00.002-06:00

I don't even know if that's good or not but everyone else thought it was awesome - so we'll go with that. I ran the trot in one hour and seventeen minutes. I cannot even believe that I survived. Honestly, I felt like I was going to pass out around mile four and then somewhere before we hit the mile five marker, my legs, heart and will got new life. And I was running!

(please note: I took the picture before running the trot, as afterwards I looked like a big puddle of sweat that could barely move. Since I was that tired, I stayed in these clothes cooking all day until our first guest arrived)

Perfect!

2008-11-25T14:53:00.000-06:00

You can find it here and more funny other fit tee shirts that are super cute.

What I Wore on Sunday

2008-11-24T14:13:00.001-06:00

It wasn't that exciting and yet, I still took a picture. I ran errands like this and then we went to go see Quantum of Solace a.k.a the longest movie ever. To think I thouhgt this outfit was cute when I left the house and then I entered NorthPark Mall. I should have known better. There were about 1,000 cute outfits strolling about. Grr. Don't you hate that?

Update: I'm in the middle of amending my menu for Thursday. I don't know why I still feel pressured to do something amazing when it will only be me, Cowboy and his old roomies. But this is how I roll.

Us

2008-11-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

I promise he is not conceited.

One day long ago, I was being all question-y. I asked him, "Who do you think is the perfect couple?" This is an odd question for me to ask as I do not think there is a perfect couple out there but I really wanted to know what his ideal was when it came to relationships. He took his time in responding and said, "us". Really?!? He said if he was not us, he would want to be us.

Wow, I was floored. And this conversation keeps creeping back up into my mind lately.

We don't ever fight. Crazy but true. We disagree and talk it out. We talk and I think that's the biggest argument saver out there. Communication. Not just communicating but talking, orally, face to face. None of this text message bull crap. Yes - we've sent each other text messages but those are usually silly, miss you texts. I'm talking conversationally, we talk.

For that, we always know what the other wants and expects. We don't hide anything from each other. If I get irritated with him, I do tend to hold it in longer than needed and it tends to fume up until I cannot take it anymore. I usually get really annoyed and beat about whatever it is and then I will a) tell him about it and/or b) tell someone else about it. I'm working on deleting (b) out of my life. Its just not fair to him. I'm also working on letting (a) out of the bag a lot sooner. It's not fair to either of us.

We talk, we connect. There are no arguments over who washes dishes or cleans bathroom. Our bill situation is we pay it if it's in our name. I pay the electric, he pays the cable. We share a money market account that we both talked about and agreed upon a number to contribute equally. Either one of us will do laundry when we're in the mood. Our only rule is not two weekends in a row. He had to go buy more underwear for that ruling. We have sex everyday. We kiss each other hello and goodbye. I cook. He cooks. We have two televisions, an Xbox and a super duper computer. We're on the same page about kids and marriage. We don't disrespect each other. We will not name call. We vowed not to start a fight in public or in front of friends/family. If one of us is in a drunken stupor and the other is not, we leave it alone. Our cell phones call each other if we think we are going to be late, missed or stuck.

I list these things out because this is what I hear other couples arguing about. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't. Half the couple fights my friends tell me about, I think could have been prevented if one of them knew what the other wanted or expected.

It's not like we made a list of things and agreed upon them all in one sitting. And this did not come to be overnight.

What happened was we talked each and every time the other one of us brought it up. We talked it out when one of us needed to let the other know what we needed and wanted. We came to understandings. We came to be a perfect us.

And with all my heart I think we'll be talking until we cannot talk anymore.

Menu Finalized

2008-11-21T13:14:00.000-06:00

We will be having turkey. Duh, right?

I have to update you on the situation. Cowboy's mom and brother cancelled on us. She chose to spend the day with family near Waco. She did invite us but Cowboy told her that I was excited to host it at our place and we have committed to another guest and possible soldiers, too, so we had to turn her down. She was not too happy about that, but what can you do?

I'm letting that one go because it’s the holiday season and that just means all sorts of family drama. Since this is minor in my eyes, I'm letting it go.

With the two of them cancelled, I really don't see a point in preparing our own turkey. I'm buying one fully cooked and sliced. I know, I know. But I'm running an eight mile race that day and when I thought about it, it just would not work in our T-day timeline.

With the store bought turkey, I am going to make from scratch: mashed sweet potatoes with carmelized onions; green bean casserole; stuffing; cornbread; maple glazed carrots; orange-cranberry sauce and pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust.

Ta-da! Menu finalized.

Now, I just need to create our timeline, such as this and get it on.

Gross Anatomy

2008-11-21T08:19:00.004-06:00

I'm found it very hard to concentrate on the other story lines on Grey's last night. How could anyone? When in the first ten minutes we have Denny, Izzie having sex with a ghost and Melissa George cutting herself open for an illegal appendectomy?

And Denny's hands were in his pockets, AGAIN, even after ghost sex!

Do the writers actually think this is interesting?

And just when I thought George was non-existant, he pops back in.

I'm telling you there is something going on with this show that I have yet to uncover.

*but I am so loving hot Army doc; he's getting hotter by the episode. And I've never, ever, ever thought a red head was hot before.

All Caught Up

2008-11-20T15:09:00.000-06:00

Being out of town a week doesn't lean in the favor of my favorite television shows especially when things are heating up across the channels.

True Blood. I agree with JQ - I just started noticing how every sentence starts with "Sookie". Can I add that Sookie is a little bit easy for a girl who just lost her virginity. And she is not a good friend to Tara all up on Sam like that. Not that Tara is acting that great either. We are so excited for this weekend's finale. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but I'll just say: Rene? Really?!? That's way too easy.

Ugly Betty. Oh, Ugly Betty you are a snow day. When Jesse said that to her, I just melted. And the hotness that is Connor - ooh whee. I wish I worked in those offices. About that love triangle, I'm kinda hoping that Wilhelmina wins this one. She deserves some hot loving to cool off her icy character. I love it when they show that Marc and Amanda have a deeper side to them and not just the funny shallow side that makes them them.

And now my take on Grey's Anatomy...I'm 100% convinced that the actor that plays Denny Duquette is sleeping with one of the writers. That or he is sleeping with Shonda, herself. Yep, I said it. Seriously. WHY? I ask you, why? The only way I see this ending now, is with Izzie joining Denny in Heaven so he can stop haunting the hospital. But that would just break Alex's heart and turn him cold again, just when I was falling back in love with him - as this warm, sensitive, caring boyfriend Alex.
And can we talk about why Denny's hands are always in his pockets?
Why?

Not my usual run but I did tune into Oprah yesterday. Brad Pitt was on. So that in itself was yummy. I felt bad for Cate Blanchett - obviously they are there to promote their movie, which looks really good, but we all know everyone was there to see Brad. Naturally, talk went to the babies and goodness how do they handle it all? If there was one more question about how he and Angelina balance their family life, I would have screamed. Do people not know that they can afford the help? And when did six children become such a shocker? Last time I checked Jon & Kate, still have eight. And does Oprah own Skype? It seems to me that every show I tune into nowadays has a Skype broadcast. What's the point of being in the audience? All questions for the guests come from people sitting at home or in their offices Skyping it up.

There it is. I'm all caught up and then some.

An Announcement?!?

2008-11-20T08:13:00.000-06:00

How do you announce it's your birthday without sounding a little too much “all about you”? I always feel uncomfortable when I have to announce or remind people it's my birthday. It’s a very awkward feeling.

I know my good friends know when it is and so does my family. But it’s the new people in my life and the friends of mine that just aren't that close. Oh, and wait, it's also the fact that it’s in December.

Don't ask me but for some reason the month will always be an excuse for people to forget because of all the holiday activity. My birthday is not close to Christmas, it usually ends up in the middle of Hanukkah, so unless you are Jewish...holy moley, I just had a funny thought - my name is Hebrew, I wonder if that had anything to do with how my mom came to my name?!? Moving on.

Let's talk about how you announce your day to the new people in your life that your birthday is coming up without sounding like some advertisement for your own celebration. I have no clue.

This year, it seems tougher than usual. My birthday falls on a Saturday, which is great, if I was planning a party of some sort. Or if I didn’t receive about eight invitations to other happenings that very day. And I am a wee bit embarrassed to tell people the reason I'm turning down your invite is because it's my birthday. It sounds a bit shallow, no? Or like some kind of announcement or reminder.

Or when I was forced to tell a good friend of mine that it was my birthday so I wouldn't be joining her charity beer/bar golf. (How many bar golfs can I handle in one year?) But she is a good friend and she was present at my birthday party last year. I'm not conceited to think that she should remember the date. I just felt bad telling her, that it’s my birthday. I didn’t want her to think that I was reminding her of the date. How else do you say it and it doesn’t sound like that?

I missed a friend's birthday because I had the date wrong. This friend never mentioned it to me that I had "forgot" her day until a week later when I was wishing her happy (then belated) birthday. I asked her why she never said one peep that her birthday was coming up, that I missed it or what she did for it. Her answer was pretty much what I'm feeling now: what am I to do, announce my own birthday?

Yeah. I know it's crazy, but I'm right there with her.

Announce my own birthday?!? When I was a kid, I think I announced it everyday from Thanksgiving to my birthday that my day was coming up. You didn't experience guilt back then. Why now? It is my day. People say you have to celebrate it because it’s the one day of the year that’s completely yours. True.

But announcing it? What do you do there?

Purply

2008-11-20T07:55:00.002-06:00

I love colored tights. I wish I could wear them more often. I always question wearing them even though I see them everywhere, I wonder if I look odd with colored legs.

I'm wearing two dresses. It's that cold where I work. I could probably wear three and still feel the chill. It's colder in the office than it is outside and that is not good. It's November and while the weather outside does want to play like its Spring, the weather in office is acting like there is a heat wave. Yes, two dresses. The grey one, underneath is the same one from my Fall look. The black one on top is from Forever 21. The tights can be found at Macy*s, they are DKNY.

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is a week away! I'm so excited. Also, I've cut down on running a little bit because of the eight miles we'll be running that morning. I don't want my body to be sore during the run. This week I've only been running a mile in the mornings and then doing yoga or strengthening exercises in the evening.

Bossy & Talkative

2008-11-19T16:30:00.000-06:00

I was a little hesitant to share all about my brother's girlfriend. But sometimes you just got to blog it out.

The thing is I am very protective of my brother. I am also very opinionated. Combine the two and this particular girl didn't have a shot in hell. Oh, well.

The first time we met, she didn't say a word to me. This was Friday night, she was the one that opened the door to my mom's hotel room. I said, "Hi, my name is Golightly" and she just stared at me. I am not kidding. I walked past her and greeted my mom and brother. My brother and the girl got ready to leave to their own hotel. Bye-bye.

My mom asked me what I thought of her and I said, what is there to think? She's said all of five words and all to my brother. This is where I will tell you: the girl is Bossy. She bossed my brother out of the room so they could get their party on.

The next time we ran into the couple, was the next morning at their hotel, we swung by (after a trip to the hospital for my mom, that story coming later) and again Bossy opened the door. My brother was still asleep. While we started in on a plan for the day, I sat down on a chair and looked around, what caught my eye was a biggie. A prescription bottle for let's just say something seriously contagious, in her name. I couldn't believe it.

Bossy had now become Ms. Talkative and won't shut the F up. I'm not kidding. She talked and talked and talked. I could be exaggerating because I was starving and ready to get it on at Mon Ami Gabi. But she talked a lot. Thinking she wanted to keep on talking and I wanted to get to eating, I invited her to lunch with us. She said, "no." Just like that. No excuses, nothing, just plain 'no'. I invited her because she would be stuck in the hotel room waiting for my brother to wake up and my brother can sleep until 2pm like no one's business. With that, I gave my mom the hint and we left.

Of course! I told my mom of the prescription bottle I found. My mom was not shocked, she then added that Bossy & Talkative also has a different kind of health issue along the same lines and that my brother is fully aware of them both. WTH. (I know I'm being very vague but it's a personal issue and I draw the line somewhere)

The next time we see the couple is when my mom and I are finished with lunch and a wee bit of gambling. You should know a wee bit of gambling to me is probably way too much for the average person - hee hee. We meet the two of them on the strip; so we can walk it and show Bossy & Talkative (she's never been before, don't you think that would have prompted her to take up my lunch date offer?).

One thing I cannot stand are slow walkers. There are two places in this country that I know of where slow walkers just cannot do. New York City and Las Vegas. The Strip is not to be leisurely walked upon in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday in November. It is crazy packed. The cross light time is short. People are in full party mood. You have to move your ass. Bossy & Talkative didn't only walk slow but she stopped to take a picture of everything. Everything. Who can blame my mom and I for giving up and just walking ahead of the two of them? My brother has done this before plenty of times, so it was not like we were abandoning them. Apparently my brother thought otherwise.

We stopped in a casino last and Bossy & Talkative wouldn't stop bossing my brother around nor shut the fuck up. Do you have any idea how annoying it is for someone to constantly talk while you are trying to concentrate and align your self with telekinetic skills so that the roulette ball lands on #6? Let's just say, at this point I am kind of done with her.

The next day, my mom wanted all of us to eat together, as this would be the last time they would see me before my birthday. She gave me a choice of restaurant but like I said before by the time Saturday rolled around, I was Vegas'd out. She chose The Cheesecake Factory.

While at lunch, I asked Bossy & Talkative some get to know you questions. She answered them and that was that. One of my pet peeves is people who don't involve themselves in conversation. She didn’t ask me anything or elaborate on any of her answers. I can be intimidating so I will leave that alone.

But then, oh let me tell you how Bossy & Talkative totally put my brother down in front of me and my mom. Again, no details here but let's just say that she put him in his place in only a way that a Bossy & Talkative person could do. She wanted the whole section of the restaurant to know who wore the pants in their relationship. I am sad to report, it seems to be Bossy & Talkative wearing the pants. That put me over the edge. This disease hoochie mama was putting my brother down in public? Oh hell to the no.

After lunch, I pulled my brother aside and told him what was up and what I thought of that. Since he got very defensive about it, I decided to throw in all the things I didn't like about her. Just to ice the cake, I added the prescription pill scenario. That did him in.

OK- I'll admit, maybe Caesar Forum Shops is not the best place to try and have a heart to heart with your brother especially when he is carrying your luggage out to the cab line. I'll admit that. So right there, we had a throw down. My mom and Bossy & Talkative were about five stores away from us, so they didn't know what was happening, they just saw us and me storming out of there, luggage in hand.

It was way more dramatic than it needed to be. The timing sucked for me to do that to him. But that hoochie needed to go down and if I didn’t talk it out with him, it would have been her. And let me tell you that would not have been pretty. All in all: she just needs to go.

Hotness

2008-11-19T08:18:00.000-06:00

So we were getting ready to go to dinner. He was fumbling in the closet while I was bent over putting on shoes. I looked up and saw him. I had to say, "hot damn". I love sweater season. I love a close fit sweater on a guy. I love some scruff on a guy, too.

What Happened in Vegas

2008-11-18T09:34:00.002-06:00

Oy, Vegas. You know what? I had to come to the conclusion that money cannot be just money in Vegas. I had to stop equating it with a numerical value and replace it with an entertainment value. Once, that happened, I started to enjoy losing at roulette tables. I started enjoying all the fun people I'd meet and cheered on their winnings at the tables. And boy, were there some fun peeps out.

First things first, the real reason I was in Vegas was for a marketing conference. I've been to many conferences in my day but this by far, was the most fun and most educational one I've been to, ever. Let me give you a picture: there was an Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile and a mobile tattoo parlour in the conference/meeting room! Hot dogs and tats? Yeah, I think we're going to have some serious fun here.

Other than that, the sessions were very informative and I think I took so much away from it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat tomorrow, if it took place somewhere other than Las Vegas. Oh, how I love Las Vegas but the thing is you have to know when to turn in your chips. A six day stay was way too much.

Of course, I just had to eat my way through that city. There are too many great places not to. Diablos - which if you are ever going, make that a stop on your list. Great Mexican food and a fun atmosphere. If you get there early enough you can sit on the patio facing the Strip. Todai - a great sushi/Japanese buffet located in the Millenium Mile Shops next to Planet Hollywood. Mon Ami Gabi - each and every time I've been to Vegas, I've wanted to try this French bistro in the Paris Hotel & Casino. I have to tell you: BEST EGGS BENEDICT ever. I like a buttery hollandaise sauce and this was it. I also like a crisp muffin under my eggs and this was it. So, check and check. Best benedict found. I was in heaven, chowing that down. The Cheesecake Factory. I know, I know. Don't blame me. I have a mother who likes to know what she's getting into and when it comes to chain restaurants, she gets that. Plus, she loves the Zeus show in front of the Cheesecake Cake Factory, in the Caesar Forum Shops. By this time, while I was eating there, I was so done with Las Vegas, I really didn't care.

The rest of the time, we ate what the conference gave us. I so think that they were trying to make everyone gain weight - two breakfasts that including pastry galore and afternoon breaks of desserts and humungous soft pretzels. The lunches they gave us were alright.

With all that eating, somehow I left Vegas, two pounds lighter. I will tell you, I did walk the entire Strip end to end one night - in a semi drunken stupor (warning: Diablos margaritas are nothing but tequila and a some lime) and I worked out every morning before the conference. I didn’t work out Saturday or Sunday. Saturday, I only ate once, which was at Mon Ami Gabi. The benedict was that large and we ate around noon. It was sufficient for me to go the rest of the day and night on only drinks. Free drinks - you can't pass that up while you are in Sin City.

And the people! Cowboy would be ashamed, but I met all guys and one girl while there. Not on purpose, there were no women at the roulette tables. Seriously. The first night of play - I met two guys from Ohio. We celebrated hard on Obama's win. I know politics is the last thing you should discuss when meeting new people but these guys were so proud of their Ohio and Obama's win. What could I do?

The next night, we ventured to downtown's Golden Nugget where I met a woman who started out with $40 and during the course of play, had to hand over $875 in chips to her buddy so she wasn't forced to lose it. AND the woman had over $200 in stacked chips on the table! I was in pure envy. That shit never happens to me. From that moment on, I only hit tables with $40 in hand. Which was kind of dumb of me because instead of being smart and pulsing out one big lump sum of cash - I ended up taking $40 out each time I hit a table. If you know Vegas, that means I spent way too much on just ATM fees alone. Must be smarter about that in the future.

Our last night in Vegas, we played at Planet Hollywood and this is my favorite casino and just by that, we met my new favorite people. Two brothers fresh from Mexico. Hot and hotter. I'm allowed to say that, right? One brother was married and just had a baby six months ago, so he was playing his new son's birthday for his lucky numbers. And I have to say, being a new dad is kinda hot on men. He was so proud of his new bundle and made sure everyone got a piece of the lucky number. If it weren't for him, I would have been out of the game a long time ago. He had won $1000 on one play, which included the lucky number and since everyone at the table was cheering that number on - he gave us each a cut of it. Now, that's Vegas! We played this one table for three hours, drinking and playing for the bebe. And that was pretty much it for Vegas.

Oh yes, I met my brother's girlfriend. I do not like, at all.

End of story.

Meet and Greet

2008-11-14T09:23:00.001-06:00

My brother has a new girlfriend. What else is new? He always seems to have a new one right before the holidays. Either that or an ex comes back into the picture. His new girlfriend is coming up to Vegas with him and my mom. The girlfriend is super excited to meet me. What else is new? They all are. I think that they think once they meet everyone in the family, they are good to golden. Ha ha ha. This one, I'm interested to meet because she is so opposite of everything my brother. Let's just say this, she has her shit straight. Whereas my brother, not so much. I always wonder how he attracts such confident, strong women when his income is my mom's purse. Seriously. I love my brother but he needs to get his life in gear. Each time, I think some girl will be the one to get him off his butt. But they never last that long or they give up hope. So, this weekend, I'll be meeting the new future ex-girlfriend. I think its so unfair that we have to meet so many of his girlfriends when we all know where they end up. Luckily, they are staying at a hotel far far from my mom and I. So while they are doing whatever it is, I'll be at a roulette table - wearing this.

While I think it will be cool outside and cold while at the convention (meeting rooms are always freezing!), casino floors are always hot. Or I always get hot on the floor. Maybe it's the winnings? Stress? or the fast mathematics I'm trying to do in my head to figure out how much more I can really pulse out the ATM or what bill I can delay paying for a couple weeks? Because gosh darn the wheel's got me!

The dress is To the Max. I found it at Macy*s but I've seen the brand carried in other department stores. What I love about it is that the dress is wool and it's heavy - so its a perfect night out dress in fall/winter months, even while looking bare.

Las Vegas Day

2008-11-13T09:12:00.000-06:00

I know I went completely backwards and told you about my evening wear first and now, I'm posting about what I'm going to wear during the day. The weather report has cold mornings and evenings in Vegas this week. The highs during the day are around 75 degrees average. That is not hot in my opinion. I get cold so easily. This sweater is very light weight but the pants are velvet. And lets talk about the pants!

I bought them at Target last year. They were one of the GO International Designer pieces. I loved the fit more than I loved the color. But the color grew on me and since I love to have standout pieces, it was good. Good for a night out paired with a white or black top. But that was still too boring for me.

When I saw this sweater in the store, I automatically saw it, in my mind, with these pants. This is so me. I like to pair unlikely colors together and go with it. I've worn this once before on a plane ride with my boss. It's that comfy. If I need to warm it up, I can pair a shirt underneath the sweater. But as it is now, its perfect for walking around in 75 degree weather which I am sure will feel like 60 degrees to me - when you factor in the A/C that I'm sure will be blowing hard while we are attending the convention.

The sweater is from Banana Republic. The pants are Target.

Las Vegas Night

2008-11-12T09:06:00.000-06:00

I only have one very important evening plan while I'm in Vegas - before my mother gets there. And that is Bette Midler. Yeah, uh-huh. My mom has seen her once with me and has made it a point to tell me every time I mention Vegas, that once was enough. So, I'm going alone but that's way alright.

I'll be wearing this dress that I found by complete accident while shopping for a birthday present for a friend. Don't you love when that happens? I must say, right now, its my favorite item of clothing. I just love the multi colors and the simple shape of the dress. The dress is a designer called Miuse and I bought it at Francesca's Collections.

What I'm Wearing When It's Cool

2008-11-11T09:34:00.000-06:00

I may wear this on the plane, going or leaving Vegas.. The layers are easy to take off and give me the added warmth I need. I hate being cold. I'd rather be hot than cold. I'm the one that would rather sit outside on a patio when it's 80 degrees out. To me, that is not too hot to be outside. I'd rather sit in the sun than in the shade. And I like car heat. You know, the hotness your car has when you first get into it after its been sitting in the sun's rays for hours. I love that heat.

Most of my casual outfits are layered pieces. The only thing truly missing from this outfit is a scarf, but I think the faux fur vest makes up for that. The jeans are Blue Cult (which I am so thinking they don't make them anymore! Anyone know?). The faux fur vest is from Target. The hoodie, which looks like it's 3/4 sleeves is actually a boys hoodie, yeah from the little boy's department in Target. The turtleneck is actually a dress that I pulled up to my waist from Forever 21.

After

2008-11-10T14:00:00.000-06:00

Not that much of a differnce that you can see. I am still wanting to add a lot more to it. My goal is to have it be black and pink allover. I'm not much of a pink girl but when I first saw these pink desk accessories at Ikea, I was smitten. It's not the neatest photo - I had to take it quickly, all sorts of people were milling about our department area and my phone's camera makes a noise. How do you get rid of that shutter noise for down low picture taking?

I added the pink stuff, a teeny tiny pooh and piglet photo frame, which says: "Pooh", whispered Piglet. "Yes, Piglet?" said Pooh. "Oh, nothing", said Piglet, "I just wanted to be sure of you." (too cute if you ask me), and I cleaned the desk area a bit. The magazines in the folder keeper are two issues of Domino and the December 2006 issue of Harpers Bazaar. They are purely there for inspiration.

Mi Cocina

2008-11-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

This weekend I was a cooking machine.

Friday night, one of Cowboy’s old roomies came over with her boyfriend and their baby. Since my boyfriend is so picky of an eater but I also wanted to cook something out of the ordinary for us and with guests over, I saw the perfect opportunity to try out this Coconut Curry Chicken recipe via My Kitchen Cafe.

And wow, everyone was glad I did, including picky Cowboy. He loved it! It wasn't too much curry and the potatoes are the sure winner of this dish. I served it with jasmine rice, topped with a basil leaf - just for that added ooomph!

The night went well and we’ve come to the conclusion that we love having guests over – even if it’s a pop in/unannounced guest. So, come on over! And then, Cowboy got a little jealous of their baby girl. This baby is apple pie compared to That Baby. For the rest of the weekend Cowboy was on a pro-baby mission. It hasn’t worked. My job is still contractual – no matter what my desk looks like. Therefore no baby making, any time soon.

This weekend was also our last chance to eat badly before going healthy until Thanksgiving. We’re both planning to run the entire Turkey Trot which is eight miles long and Cowboy is looking to lose some weight. So healthy it is, from here on out. I'm not making any huge changes, since I'm the one that runs everyday, but for this week, I'm going to try limiting my carbs to none at all.

For our last (bad) meal, I made Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. OMG. Whatever you are having for dinner tonight, scratch it and make these.

They are unbelievable good. I used whole wheat tortillas instead of flour, I added more honey to the marinade and the sauce (I love the savory and sweet combo) and for the cheese, I mixed pepper jack and cheddar. I thought it could have yielded more sauce, but other than that, the taste is unbelievable. Here’s the recipe that I found on My Kitchen Café. Seriously, you should have this for dinner tonight.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 small chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

ENJOY.

Before

2008-11-10T08:30:00.000-06:00

Friday, I went through my entire desk, office cabinets and files and cleaned them out. I thought it was about time that I made it looked like I work there permanetely versus having my desk look like a contractor works there.

You're supposed to dress for the job that you want rather than the one you have, right?
Why can't my desk apply to the same rule?

Enter, project desk.

Today, I'm finalizing the look with accessories and will post the After once its complete.

**For the rest of the week, I'll be in Vegas, but I've taken pictures of what I plan to wear or what I wore over the weekend and will post date the posts - so some of you stuck in an office can have something to look at.

The Meal Plan, Part One

2008-11-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

To answer an email that came in this week, "What do you plan to serve/cook for Thanksgiving?"

This will definitely be a work in progress. My goal is to have the menu approved and confirmed by November 16. Only because I refuse to be in a grocery store fighting over turkey. I want to have all items purchased by the nineteenth.

Approved menu? Cowboy is a hella picky eater, I usually run everything I try by him first. It sucks to get excited about something you cooked and you are the only one eating and enjoying it. He is getting better and more open about foods he would normally not try. Since its Thanksgiving, I want him to enjoy it all and he will know what his family likes.

So, for the menu, so far this is what it looks like: Turkey, Sweet Potato Au Gratin, Honey Glazed Carrots, Cornbread, Green Bean Casserole - a holiday meal tradition I never do without, Orange Cranberry Sauce and for dessert a Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Ginger Crust.

I need to find recipes for all except the Pumpkin Cheesecake. Its in this month's Real Simple. The only change I'm making to it, is creating a ginger crust for the cheesecake.

I think the rest of it should do, no? It is a plan in progress because as I keep reading food blogs, I'm sure there will be some changes and edits.

What I'm Wearing

2008-11-07T08:12:00.002-06:00

When I first saw rolled up jean cuffs making a comeback, I was immediately drawn to it. It made so much sense, too. Most of my jeans are taller than me and there are days when heels just don't do. So there I am stuck with dragging hems. I purposely buy longer length jeans from The Gap and Express because no matter what they tell me, I swear they shrink over time. This comeback trend is also my style too. I rarely wear jeans and I think when I do its usually a kick back sorta way. Here's my version...

Dolman grey sweater is from Forever 21. Jeans are X2 from Express. My shoes are from Wanted.

Cookin' Turkey

2008-11-06T08:48:00.000-06:00

This is absolutely my favorite time of the year. Hands down. Weather cool enough for sweaters and tights. Warm wool coats and scarves. Cold and sunny days. And the upcoming holiday season. Mmm…Good.

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving at our apartment. Cowboy’s mom, his brother and CR2 (the good ex roomie) will be joining us. We’re also on the list to host a soldier or two. We won’t find out until a week before. It’s basically a program to welcome a soldier away from family to your home for Thanksgiving. Cowboy and I thought it would be the right thing to do since we are both so thankful that he made it back from Iraq in good graces.

As for the actual dinner and our already finalized guests, I must tell you I am one selfish cook. I like my kitchen. I don’t like anyone else cooking in it. I don’t even like Cowboy getting in there. It has to do with the mess that one may create, their lack of knowing where anything is located and their wrongful uses of tools. Beverly – I know this may sound so hypocritical of me since I was in your kitchen using anything and everything in sight!

When it comes to my kitchen, it’s my kitchen. I know, I’m such a hooch.

On top of all that, I just want to do it all, as hostess.

I do not like cooking in the same kitchen with my mother. She is chaotic in the kitchen. She is also the type that likes to cook everything the day before, refrigerate it and warm it back up on Thanksgiving day. All our food usually tastes like leftovers. I don’t like. I like the joy and chaos of cooking day of and spending the majority of the day in the kitchen. I love that.

That’s all I want to do on Turkey day – cook and bake. It kicks off a season of cooking and baking for me.

In fall and winter I cook and bake a hella lot more than any other time of the year. But Cowboy’s mom loves to "cook", too. And I so overheard Cowboy telling her that we can split cooking duties on that day. Whoa, whoa, whoa!

I have never tasted his mother’s cooking. It could rock. It could. What I do know is what she did last year for Thanksgiving. She and the younger brother came up to visit and cooked for all three of the room mates. Lasagna. That was it. Done.

It so sounds like something my mother would do. Last year, my mom burnt our turkey. And to the day I die, I will swear she did it on purpose. Who puts a turkey in the oven and then suggests that we all go for the longest drive on the face of the planet?! Who does that?

My mom is also the type where she never sees the point of cooking anything from scratch on such a big occasion. I just cannot get down with that at all. Let’s just say, I’m very thankful not to have to deal with that this year. But, Cowboy’s mom doesn’t seem to making herself out to be any better. I prodded him for what Thanksgiving used to be like before her lasagna (and mind you it wasn’t even turkey lasagna). He told me that years past, they would cook a turkey and order the sides from the grocery store. Really?!

Is it just me or is this happening everywhere? Am I too high in my heels to think that I can get away with cooking Thanksgiving dinner for five (or seven people) from scratch in my own kitchen?

What We Really Ate on Election Night

2008-11-05T08:52:00.002-06:00

I’m speechlessly happy. I cannot wait for January to get here. And that’s all I’m going to say about the election. That and our election dinner.

I scratched the wine, cheese and jalapeno dinner that we planned. I had a lot of down time yesterday at work. I only worked half a day. Our upper management let us choose to either come in later or leave earlier to vote. Being the early bird I am, I chose to leave earlier.

Since most people here aren’t like me, the office was dead quiet all morning giving me ample time to catch up on some much needed blog reading. Which really meant reading all the food blogs I love.

I found For the Love of Cooking. I am so glad I did. I found her through TasteSpotting (have you been, yet? Go check it out. LOVES it) while searching for a lasagna recipe.

I fell for her Baked Penne with Meatballs. Fell hard. With that our dinner menu changed. I am so happy it did. I cook a lot and most things that I cook I think I do a good job at but this recipe, holy cow, I fell in love with each bite. So did Cowboy. Is it possible to fall in love with a bowl of comfort food? I think so.

Baked Penne with Meatballs. From For the Love of Cooking.
Sauce:

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
6 oz of button or cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1 tsp white sugar
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and saute until tender; add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring frequently. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for at least 2 hours.

Meatballs:

1 lb lean ground beef (I used 93/7)
7 button mushrooms, diced finely
1/4 sweet yellow onion, diced finely
1/4 Italian style breadcrumbs
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 egg
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp olive oil (for cooking)

Combine all ingredients (except for olive oil) together gently. Form into small meatballs and set aside. Once the meatballs are prepared. Heat a skillet over medium heat with 1 tsp olive oil. Cook the meatballs until golden brown on all sides. Remove from skillet and place in the mushroom sauce.

Penne pasta, prepared per instructions
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 tbsp fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the pasta per instructions and drain. Pour the pasta into the sauce with the meatballs. Add the cheese - reserving a bit for the top and basil, then mix VERY gently. Top with remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Just Do It

2008-11-04T08:05:00.000-06:00

and below are the lyrics, even though the lyrics aren't order, you can get most of what they are singing. I think this is too too cute and perfect for today.

I'm so nervous and excited. I don't know how I will sit through the work day. Let the voting begin!

Lyrics:
Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

(McCain supporters)
McCain’s the best candidate
With Palin as his running mate
They’ll fight for gun rights, pro life,
The conservative right
Our future is bright
Better economy in site
And all the world will feel our military might

(Obama supporters)
But McCain and Bush are real close right
They vote alike and keep it tight
Obama’s new, he’s younger too
The Middle Class he will help you
He’ll bring a change, he’s got the brains
McCain and Bush are just the same
You are to blame, Iraq’s a shame
Four more years would be insane

Lower your Taxes - you know Obama Won’t
PROTECT THE LOWER CLASS - You know McCain won’t!
Have enough experience - you know that they don’t
STOP GLOBAL WARMING - you know that you won’t

I want Obama
FORGET OBAMA
Stick with McCain and you’re going to have some drama
We need it
HE’LL BRING IT
He’ll be it
YOU’LL SEE IT
We’ll do it
GET TO IT
Let’s move it
DO IT!

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

I’m talking big pipe lines, and low gas prices
Below $2.00 that would be nice

But to do it right we gotta start today
Finding renewable ways that are here to stay

I want Obama
FORGET OBAMA,
Stick wit McCain you gone have some drama
MORE WAR IN IRAQ
Iran he will attack
CAN’T BRING OUR TROOPS BACK
We gotta vote Barack!

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

2008-11-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, we went to a party which was fancifully catered by a well to do Dallas caterer. The party was in someone’s house. I love catered house parties. Way to step it up a level.

Cowboy fell in love with the stuffed jalapeños. I unfortunately couldn’t try them because there were nuts involved and I’m allergic. But Cowboy would not shut up about the things.

I totally understood. When you find some good food, you want everyone to experience that taste and feel it too. If you like food as much as we.

I was talking it up with the caterer, who was also a guest and he told me that he would email me the recipe. Like I mentioned that was over a month ago. Finally, two days ago in my inbox. Voila.

Cowboy is about to have a happy happy Election day. We already planned to have a cocktail party just the two of us watching the election coverage. It was going to include cheese, meats and wine. Now I’m adding the stuffed jalapeños to the mix.

However many medium size jalepenos you like
Feta cheese
Cream cheese
Minced garlic
Bacon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the cheeses and garlic (this is also where he had chopped walnuts). Seed your peppers. If you want a real kick, add a few of the seeds to the cheese mixture. Zap bacon in microwave for a minute to get rid of some of the grease. Fill each pepper with your cheese mixture, then wrap bacon around the pepper. Place on lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

I hope this turns out great – the peppers and the election.

Flashdance 2.0

2008-11-03T13:14:00.001-06:00

Halloween comes and goes and then we get to turn the clock back. Hallelujah. I needed to fall back this weekend badly. Let’s just say it was a rough Halloween weekend.

I chickened out of looking for a new costume and pulled out Flashdance again. But this time it was Flashdance 2008 and I added leg warmers and used a different sweatshirt from my costume in 2005. Flashdance just fits me. I dance all the time and I have crazy hair.

The night started at the Birthday Girl’s house for food and drinks. I was having some serious reservations about this. One, she had planned for everyone to take cabs to our destinations. It never fails, I always end up paying my share and someone elses whenever there is a cab involved. More times than not, I end up sober, so said cab becomes moot. Not this time. Cab was very much needed, I’d like my $50 back though.

But her birthday was a blast. At least the parts I remember. It would have been better if I didn’t have to spend half the night explaining who I was. Hello!? My guess is they were all youngsters born after the Flashdance craze.

Then I had a bachelor party obsessed with my costume. OK – yes, wearing only a sweatshirt, heels and leg warmers is going to call attention, but come on. It’s Halloween and there were about a million other sluttier outfits out there. And for the record, I don’t think Flashdance is slutty. If you don’t don the sweatshirt, then you are just a dancer. That’s no fun. No worries, I had gym shorts on underneath.

Thank goodness for that idea because the night did end with me dancing on a table, on a patio, with Scarface and Man vs. Wild. Oh yeah. And that’s all I remember.

November 1st, I started my campaign to convince Cowboy that we should do this next year.

It is perfect!

We Don't Make the Bed Anymore

2008-11-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

I could say our schedules suck and take this like a couple but my schedule does not suck. I'm very lucky to have the job that I do and the boss that manages me. It's schedule bliss where I work. I get in around 7:30 and leave anywhere between 3:00 to 4:30. It all depends on the workload and whatever idiot scheduled a 4:30 meeting. I'm the type of person that on a day off is wondering why the grocery store is packed with people in the middle of the day. Don't they work? Oh, wait.

Cowboy's schedule sucks. He works nights. Six at night to six in the morning. If I leave at 4:30 from my job, it roughly gives us over an hour to spend time together - while he gets ready for work. He's lucky he doesn't have to do this every day. At the beginning of each month he also goes down to Houston for his drill weekends. His job has him off only two weekends a month, so one goes to drill and the other is up in the air for us.

This means three out of the four weekends in a month, I have to go at it alone. By it, I mean life, not it it. Running errands, meeting people for fun activities, movies, blockbuster, dinners, etc. Its sometimes a bummer, unless there is a The Hills marathon on - then its just dandy. There is nothing like watching trash television without the lingering thought of how silly this looks. A 30 year old tuned into MTV for the entire day?!

It's a bummer for him as well. He would love to attend my weekend events and errands with me. He would love to have a weekend. Period. He would love to spend more time together. Our time is measured by the clock and we try to get in as much us time as we can on a daily basis, when he has to into work. It's tough. It could be worse. Well, I guess it kinda has been when he was in Iraq, but that was then. And it was different. Now, he's just across the highway working and I'm over here.

Making the bed is pointless. When I get out of it, he's getting in.

What I Wore Yesterday

2008-10-31T10:23:00.000-05:00

This was one of those outfits that never really crossed my mind beforehand and in less than five minutes yesterday morning, I pulled it together. I can wear jeans to work. I usually opt not to because jeans aren't really my thing and I own only about four pairs. I'd rather really get dressed to go to work than wear what one would usually wear on weekends.

Here it goes: pink floral top is from Forever 21; the grey sweater is from Express (and I think I saw it in there the other day, I bought it last fall); the jeans are Blue Cult; and the bracelets are Forever 21 too.

Happy Halloween, I'll be hanging out with a birthday girl for her 30th!

6 Days and Counting...

2008-10-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

If you don’t know, don’t you think you can do something about that?

One of my biggest pet peeves always comes into action around election time. Well, let’s make that a few of my pet peeves because there is more than one. It irks me when I hear of someone that doesn’t vote. But what really kills me are the reasons. Because lets face it, one of the bright sides of being human and living in this country is you get to do whatever you want to do without coercion. So, if you don’t want to participate, fine, I just think you should back it up with a good reason. I have yet, to hear a good reason for not voting.

Reasons that get under my skin:
I don’t care. How do you not care? Are you paying taxes? Do you have or plan to have children? Do you own a home? Work? Do you go to the doctor? Yeah, then you should care.

It doesn’t matter if I vote or not. Think about if everyone used that excuse and didn’t vote. Where would we be? Your small vote may not change the world or anything but a lot of small votes added up, do make a difference.

I don’t know enough information to vote. This one kills me. Then can you find out? Its hard not to know when its allover the news – even the tabloids and Marie Claire for goodness sakes. Find out what’s happening, sheesh!

It doesn’t really matter who is President, anyway. REALLY? You’re joking, right?

And the best excuse, I don’t know where to vote. A church, school, the post office – these places usually have signage that says in big, red, bold lettering, VOTE HERE.

Time After Time

2008-10-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe it’s the end of October already. What the calendar?!

Well, let’s see the other night I went on my girl date with That Baby’s Mama. I really like her. She is funny and reminds me of what it would be like if I was besties with Rosie Perez. I am not kidding. Who wouldn’t want to be best friends with Rosie Perez? She’d always have you laughing and would kick anyone’s ass for you. That’s how That Baby Mama is plus she sounds kinda like her.

Since That Baby Mama is a cop, she has lots to say when she sees things on the street. It could be annoying but I keep telling myself, if I’m ever in a pickle…After the movie last night, we swung by Walgreens to pick up some pictures for her. Across from Walgreens is Albertsons and in that parking lot there looked to be some sort of car show with over twenty cars with their hoods up and oddly dressed men huddled about. It did look odd. Since I was riding with a cop, she just had to get nosy with it. There is never a day off for a cop. She called someone to check it out, which I didnt mind if we didn't have to stand out there scoping out the scene like a pair of stalkers.

Before all that, we saw Changeling. HOLY CRAP. I knew the story, I’ve seen the previews but that film was sad allover the place. It was pulling heartstrings left and right. Just when you thought it was over, it kept on going. It was really good. If you can take a very long movie at the theater, I recommend. And can we talk about the fashion? I want every outfit Angelina wore. Every dress, every shoe and every hat. I’ll even go as far to say that I would love to rock dark eye shadow and red lips everyday all day as well. I just love how the people dressed back in that day. Leaving the house was a to-do. Oh and speaking of house – I loved the house on set too. Gorgeous film and great story.

Since I was having a great time with That Baby Mama, I decided to give her boyfriend, CR1 another chance (more like his tenth chance, if anyone is counting) and try not to let his caveman idiocy affect me. I don’t know why and I am sure I just set myself up for disappointment later on. And I tried to ask her what it was she saw in him but it never took off. Oh well.

Go see Changeling.

31

2008-10-29T09:34:00.001-05:00

Now that everyone has caught up and has turned 30, I have a a little over a month to enjoy the age with them before I turn 31.

Holy crap. Thirty-one. Why? I was fine for 30. Actually I was beyond fine, I was hella in it. I danced at every free moment that weekend. I am not kidding. I planned a pub crawl which ended with a midnight brunch. So me.

While I enjoyed being thirty, the creeping thought of 31 sat in my brain. This year I turn 31. Do I have to? Here we go, again.

I was the type that thought I’d be married with child by 30. Thirty seemed so old when I was twenty. Now, I have to squash my twenty year old’s self’s image of the future and tell her reality is here. There is no marriage and there are no babies. But there is love, life and happiness. Yah!

Turning 30 was dandy, I didn’t understand what all the hype was about. Sure, it’s a marker in life but it wasn’t traumatizing. Thirty-one will mark going over that hump. I’ll be on the other side. I am definitely no longer on the left side of the timeline. It sucks.

To honor it this year, we had planned a trip to Houston. God knows how I love to shop it up in Houston. And eat it up at Gravitas. Cowboy just learned that if he switches shifts (he may have to in order for his drills) he won’t be able to go.

Dang it. He was part of the reason for going. One of my good friend in Houston hasn’t met him yet and he has not yet experienced the greatness of Gravitas. I may be planning to turn thirty-one right here in Dallas. For some odd reason that sounds so boring to me. Same old Dallas. Same old me. Nothing new just another year. Only it’s my 31st.

The Enchiladas

2008-10-28T10:37:00.002-05:00

To give credit where it is due, I found the enchilada recipe on one of my top ten favorite blogs, Shutterbean.
Go over, check her out and her new baby. Isn't he the cutest?

And here is the recipe, enjoy!

Tex Mex Enchiladas (makes 8 total)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 can (14.5 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 small canned chipotle chili in adobo, minced-plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
Coarse salt & ground pepper
8 tortillas (6 inch)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (about 6 oz.)
1/4 cup cilantro
1. Make Sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil over medium. Add flour and cook, whisking occasionally, 1 minute. Add broth, chili powder, chipotle and adobo sauce, and ¾ cup water; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

2. Make Filling: In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining ½ tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add onion, garlic, and beef; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350°. Spoon ¼ cup sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside. Make enchiladas: Stack tortillas; wrap in foil, and warm in oven, 10 minutes. Fill each with a heaping ¼ cup beef mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese; tightly roll up.

4. Raise oven heat to 450°. Arrange enchiladas, seam side down, in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

But You Are Skinny! (Bitch.)

2008-10-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

My ears! I hate to hear that. I hate it so much. It may be the only thing I hate these days. It is.

There are certain things that I know I cannot say or complain about. Like not being able to fit into the size two pants at Banana Republic when I can get into a zero at the GAP. What gives there? But can I really complain, no.

I am skinny proud.

I am not going to lie about this. If you think you’ll be offended, stop reading right now. About five years ago, I was a size eight. Don’t gasp, if you know me. It is true. There is a picture in my friends kitchen to prove it. I want to throw it away every time I visit her. I didn’t stop dropping size until two years ago. Before that, I would fluctuate between an eight and a six. Back and forth. Up and down. Yo-yo.

I feel that everyone’s body was made to be a certain size and way. My body shape can be a size eight/six but it doesn’t look good, to me. Let’s take for instance, my boyfriend. You remember when I never thought he was chubby until I saw his pre-Iraq photo. It could be that I’m blinded by love but I never thought he had to lose any weight for his body shape. Now? Holy crap, I can see the inches burning off and yeah, he looks good. Better? That’s not for me to say. He looks good. I always thought he had.

That’s the other thing, I think everyone looks good. I wouldn’t change anything about anyone. I’m not the type to think any less for anyone bigger or tinier than me. If you’re happy with it, so am I. If you’re not – that’s you, not me. And please do not compare yourself to me because I’m happy with me and what I have and what you have. I will never think or tell you otherwise. I think the only time a comparison can come into play is when someone is doing exactly what I’m doing and maybe they are not getting the same results. To that, I will say – its not in God’s will. And maybe this is how your body is and will always be so why spend wasted precious life moments on trying to change it? Honestly, life is too short to be exercising everyday. Word.

I was never on a diet, it was just the way it happened. I didn’t exercise either. Exercise was so not me, then. And I was a size eight/six. I don’t think I was fat. What I do think is that I wasn’t fit for my body type. I’m also 5’5” and have a rather large chest and semi large ass. As a size eight/six it just all ran together. My middle was not defined and my thighs were big. This is not a bad self image, it was a true self image. That was my body. I was okay with it then. Now? Heck no. Why? Because I run, exercise and dance. I don’t really diet. Once and while I will do something diety and eat only green food for a week but that’s only when I feel like I want to be that healthy about it. But, this is it. I’m not skinny because I sit around.

This is not hereditary. True, my mom is thin too, but she wasn’t so much either a few years back. My point is, I am not naturally skinny. No way. No how. I used to be a size eight/six. I need people to remember that when they want to call out, “Skinny Bitch” my way. Or when they whine that it is so easy for me. No, its not. It’s really hard.

I wake up at 5:50am to run. Who does that? Crazy people like me, apparently. I could run after work. F that. The only thing I want to do after work is eat dinner and watch television. See, that, there – that’s me. Its also how I was a size eight/six.

I had to force myself out of bed so many mornings so that my body could get used to this. I had to defeat the voice inside me when I just didn’t want to. My will. I love my will. It took some time for me to adjust and I did. Thank you, will. When I was finished with that run, I had to talk myself out of falling back on a couch or bed to exercise or dance. Well, that’s how I got to dancing everyday. I had to find something that was fun. Fun exercise is the key. If you hate it, you won’t do it.

For a few days, I tried the South Beach non carb diet – I couldn’t do it. I love food too much. So I had to scale back from McDonald’s and Burger King and any Mexican food. It was rough. But my will made it all worth it. Now I can eat anywhere I want. Do I? No. I’ve cut fast food from my diet, a tough but great decision. I still love a hamburger but now get them from sit down establishments.

I dislike skinny bitch. Hate it. My boss said it to me one day and I gave her a look like she was crazy. What I hate more, is when I tell someone I ran this morning or I’m going to run this afternoon and their response is, “Why? You’re skinny!” Isn’t that the point?

W.T.F.

2008-10-27T09:28:00.002-05:00

The dinner went great. I loved cooking dinner and hosting Cowboy's boss over at our home - which it finally felt like, now that we've hosted our very first dinner guest in our dining room ;)

We moved it to Sunday night and that gave me more time to double question the menu. When I get excited to do things like this, a million ideas cross my mind making the last great idea null and void.

I ixnayed the Halloween theme dinner and went Tex Mex. I made chipotle beef enchiladas, Spanish rice and black beans. We had chips and salsa and Riesling. I know, Riesling, right? CRAZY. I was the only one drinking so it was just fine by me.

Pre-dinner, Cowboy announced that CR1 would stop by to say hello to the boss. CR1 and Cowboy met while stationed together waaaaay back so CR1 knew the boss man as well. I didn’t mind if CR1 stopped by, he hadn’t seen the boss man in years, it was cool by me. I should have known better when it comes to CR1.

He was working too, so I told Cowboy to tell him that he should just stop over on his dinner break and that way he can eat some of the food I cooked while he is over. Great idea! Cowboy does so. Several minutes later the boss man appears and the three of us have a great dinner and conversations and I’m pretty much high on my hostess hat.

Then CR1 comes over. What’s the term? Wet Blanket. Debbie Downer. Yeah, any of those could apply.

CR1 enters, shakes hands with the boss man, then sits down in a chair and says nothing for about ten minutes. He is just sitting there watching TV. We try to include him the conversation by directing questions at him, where he just mumbled an answer back to us. Soon, our conversation became very minimal and the room had way too many silences in it.

Finally, I asked CR1 if he wanted me to fix him a plate of food. I’m such the gracious hostess. He declined and said he’d fix one himself in a few minutes. Then he asked Cowboy some questions about if he was off work Tuesday night. What I’m getting at is that CR1 said all of three words to his old military boss who he specifically came over to see. WTF?

Oh and all this while, while he is sitting there not speaking, he must’ve grabbed three man-handfuls of candy corn from our Halloween candy jar. After that, he asked me if I made any dessert. Again, WTF?

At this point, I decide Riesling is going to get me through this one and just as I’m enjoying the drink, CR1 says how he searched for houses in the neighborhood we were checking out to buy a house in! And then says, “There are no houses under $200,000 in that area”. Oh, hell to the motherfucking no.

I gave Cowboy that look and then corrected CR1 and said, “there are some but you have to really look” and “Are you looking for a house over there?” CR1 said no, he wasn’t (Glory be to God) and that if he were to buy a house, he’d buy it in Timbuktu, Dallas (Thank you, Jesus).

Buuuut, then why was he looking at houses in the area we were checking out? It hit me! He is double checking on us.

I dislike it when people do that. I really do. You know the type. You tell them you found such a great deal on something and they have to go scope it out for themselves with no intention of purchasing said item – they just have to double check what you said. Grrr.

But this is CR1 and I don’t expect any less of him. Moving on, he is ready for dinner and starts to help himself. He put on his plate, two helpings of each item. The plate was packed in like CR1 hadn’t eaten in days. He eats, says nothing the entire time, clears his plate – mind you he ate about a third of what he took(!), says goodbye and leaves.

Who does this?

He specifically came over to say hello (literally) to his old boss, says all of three sentences to us and leaves. What was the boss man thinking of this scenario?

In other news, earlier that day, I accepted a movie date with CR1’s girlfriend, That Baby’s Mama to go watch Changeling. I’m seriously thinking of some changeling for her and getting down to how and why she is dating that caveman idiot!

True Television

2008-10-27T09:07:00.000-05:00

Time to talk TV again. My good shows ended. Tootles Rachel Zoe and Project Runway. I’ll miss ya!

With them gone, I have a few shows that I’m tuning into religiously. First up – True Blood. Holy crap. This show is the bomb. I am not lying. I didn’t expect Sookie to sleep with Bill so early in the series. I was expecting that in a later season. But, sheesh, was that hot or what? I’m so happy this is on HBO so it can get away with what it does. I’m calling it, Sam is a werewolf. Cowboy first said this to me and I shut the idea down. Then we see Sam running nude in the woods. Add that to the barking and crazy sheet smelling – I am now thinking werewolf. I also think he is the killer but he doesn’t know it. Maybe when he goes wolf, his human brain goes into a coma state, so Sam may not even know he is a werewolf and that he is killing people left and right. That’s my theory. And Tara! Girl always has the best storyline and funniest shit to say. The exorcism, her mom and the possum! Excellent TV.

I’ll admit last week’s Ugly Betty was the best one yet. Maybe because I could relate. Who didn’t want to just be friends with the cool popular girl in school? And I love Lindsay Lohan playing a Mean Girl once again. There’s not much to say about this show. Its pure entertainment for me and it has yet to fail me. I want to be BFF with Betty and Marc – is that possible? Can I be both of their friends if I worked at Mode?

Next up is Grey’s Anatomy. Sheesh. I really want to stop watching this show but right when I start to say that – they bust out with “The Sloan Method” and the hot Army doc is back. How can I not tune in this week? I will say this, I am so over Derek. He’s cute but if he pulled that non credit giving crap with me, he’d be back in his trailer. Done.

Still Talking About B-More

2008-10-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

I don’t even know how to tell you this one. I was sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for my boss. It was 9:00 AM Eastern time. The guy next to me, who looked rather normal, struck up a conversation with me. He asked me where I was from. I said “Texas”. He replied, “That makes you a chocolate taco”

I thought about it for a minute…Ew.

In other news, I seriously need to pick up running twice a day, starting tomorrow.

I’ve done nothing but eat like there is no tomorrow while in Baltimore. Shrimp & Champagne Fettuccine dinner which included grilled shrimp in a white champagne sauce over fettuccine pasta. Surf & Turf Hamburger for lunch, which included the juiciest hamburger topped with grilled shrimp and smothered by a spicy aioli on foccacia bread. I shouldn’t forget the side order of sweet potato fries. Then there was the countless M&Ms. That night ended with one of the best curry chicken & lo mein bowl ever had.

So, as you can read, I need to just stop. I’m already kicking myself in the butt that I didn’t take workout clothes with me to Baltimore.

And let’s discuss this – Who thinks that airport wireless internet should be free? For serious, it’s wireless, it’s just floating around. Why do I have to pay for that? If your laptop is already wireless wired and you have it with you traveling, don’t you think that’s cost enough? Nope. They are asking for $6.95 for an hour of internet!! Sheesh.

What I Wore Two Days Ago

2008-10-24T14:00:00.000-05:00

I love people watching. I’d do it as a part time job if I could. I’ll admit I do it for the fashion. I don’t watch the people in the non cute outfits. It’s the well put together gal, man or couple walking past me that catches my attention. Sometimes, it becomes a quick jealousy. Why couldn’t I look as put together as she does? You feeling me here? There is always some cute girl somewhere looking like she effortlessly put together her outfit and there isn’t a crease on her anywhere. I people watch that girl.

I used to be an active member of Style Diary. I got the bug from a fellow Vivster (shout out to Lil Brownie) many years ago. Style Diary was the ultimate people watching online until I discovered Sart. The Sartorialist is the website for people watching and outfit scouting. I can lose half a day browsing fashionista blogs.

The point here is that I used to be heavily active on Style Diary. A lot of the original members have quit and that’s why I haven’t been on at all lately. It’s lost its pull for me.

I still love putting together outfits – so why not use my blog? Yep, that’s right. I’m going to randomly post outfits here from time to time. Today we start off with what I wore on that dreaded flight back to Dallas a few days ago.

In the above photo I’m wearing a red dress from Banana Republic, a black double clasp belt from Charlotte Russe, a tweed jacket from Target and Nine West boots.

**No worries, I'm working on how to get a better picture. This one was taken at 1:30am when I got home that night, so the lighting was horrible.

Boo!

2008-10-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

Last night Cowboy told me that we would be having his commanding officer over for dinner Saturday night. In non military speak, his boss is coming over for dinner. Cowboy asked me if I wouldn’t mind cooking dinner for the visit. HALT!

What does this sound like to you? The first thing that came to my mind was that I was the hospitable housewife that needed to cook dinner for my husband’s boss. Should I wear my big circle skirt, too?

Actually, I’m a wee bit excited. We haven’t had any real company. And I did re-do our dining room. The company we usually get are our friends. Mostly his since most of mine live out of the city.

Point is, cute hostess stuff that I do is never appreciated or noticed by our crowd. I have an example for each and every time. Once, I had my college roomie over for dinner. I made enchiladas and margaritas. Naturally, I busted out my margarita glassware because isn’t that what you drink a margarita out of? She called it fancy. Another time CR1 and That Baby’s Mama were over, it was a quick unplanned visit that turned into a long one; so halfway into it, I whipped out my chip and dip serving tray and cut up a meat and cheese spread. Oh my word, they called me ‘Martha Stewart’.

That’s the thing. I feel like they were making fun of me. Why? Because I had a chip and dip plate specifically designed for chips and dip. On top of that I had a meat and cheese platter, with oh gosh, cheese knives! I’m not trying to show off. Its just how I am.

Or how I was raised. My mom would always take out the specific use serving ware and glassware for company. She’d make sure that I helped serve our guests, too. You can’t visit our place without me asking if you would like a drink. I’m a natural hostess. I also started to create hostess baskets for overnight visitors. We’ve only had one planned visit since.

It’s our friends reactions that knock me down. I’m acting fancy or snobby. How so? Cowboy thinks I’m too cute. I thought about it and I honestly think it’s the crowd of friends we’re hosting. They are either too young, immature or ignorant. They just don’t know the difference between a pasta serving bowl or cookie platter. And that’s okay. I just wonder why I get made fun of as the result? I feel that some must be laughing behind my back - Look, at silly Golighty, she has to do everything just so.

I'm sorry I just can't be so. I can't call it a party and just throw salsa and chips on a table. Life is fun. Why can't it be fun if you are over at our house for an hour or so? I can get a boring bowl of nacho chips at restaurant. At my house, you can have nacho chips in a cute sombrero style bowl. It's no trouble, really. I already own the bowl. What good is it if it just sits in a cupboard?

I refuse to stop being a hostess. It kills me. I see cute dinner party ideas or hosting activities and I want to try them out. Problem is you cannot try them out alone or just with the two of us. Cowboy gets it daily. I try to make everything cute with the two of us but we don’t bust out the chips and dip tray when we’re snacking, just us two.

Yes, I’m excited for the Boss to come over. I want to make a good impression – not for me, but for Cowboy. I’m his woman. No matter how old fashioned it sounds, I want to be the good hostess for him. I think its important.

Last night I toiled over what we would have for dinner. And the Halloween dinner that I’ve had in my head for months had to be the choice. We’re not going to go crazy with it. Think those ghost mashed potatoes Martha Stewart whipped up and the spooky Halloween themed wine in the stores. Classic dinner with a Halloween twist.

I’m happy to host – no matter how 1950’s or silly it sounds.

Et Tu, Southwest?

2008-10-23T18:49:00.002-05:00

Southwest Airlines has never let me down. Ever.

Sure, there has been the occasional flight delay but in all my experience they’ve been weather related and SWA cannot control the weather, so we were on an all good relationship. Until last night. And I’m not even sure I can complain, but I’m going to blog it out. So, there.

I got to BWI airport an hour and a half before the flight was scheduled to take off. My position in line was A32. Normally that means I’m the 32nd person to board the plane. Not last night. Last night I was the 69th person to board an hour after scheduled take off.

While sitting at the gate, the SWA desk attendant made a very loud announcement that our flight would include 37 WWII Veterans. She went on to say that they would appreciate it if we allowed them to board first. I didn’t see anyone take a vote…she continued to thank us, seriously, we had no say, so I didn’t understand. Oh, well. Until I saw the 37 men. 37 WWII Veterans meant 37 wheelchairs. I kid you not. Which meant an hour for them to board. And while they were boarding the president of the group decided to get on the PA and tell the rest of us a story about their annual trip to their monument in D.C. Seriously. He talked for about half an hour.

Our 7:25 scheduled flight, didn’t take off until 8:30pm. The good news was, according to the flight attendant, that since us passengers allowed the veterans to board first when we stop in St. Louis, they are willing to depart the plane last. Yah? While on the plane, the veterans had lots to do to educate the rest of us passengers about WWII.

I’m all for history, don’t get me wrong, I am. And I’m all for a war vet. Seriously. Just not on my flight that took off an hour late. At night. One of the activities was having a few veterans say some words/war stories on the PA system. This was quite a task as some veterans, as you can imagine, took forever. I thought it would never be over.

Yes – I tried to drown it out by busting out my portable DVD player and watching SATC-The Movie. Buuut you’d never guess the veterans were hella loud on that PA. You know old folks, they think they have to yell into technology. And then, the darn DVD player lost its battery charge. I was forced to listen.

After the war story part of the trip, they moved on to mail call. This time a SWA attendant took over the PA portion but the yelling remained – I guess she needed the vets to hear her. Here’s the deal – each vet’s living family members write them a letter for their trip, but they use the mail call just as if we were back in war times.

For each veteran’s mail, the attendant would call out, “Private Brown. US Marine Corps. 38th Batillion. 3rd Guard unit. 2nd man from the left” obviously I made that up, but it was seriously that long of a title for EACH veteran. All 37 of them. If they didn’t hear their name, she read it off again – same way. I couldn’t wait for St. Louis.

The same way it took them an hour to board, it took them an hour to deplane. My flight is now two hours behind. I landed in Dallas at 12:50 when I was supposed to get in at 10:30pm.

Now, I expect this sort of thing from American Airlines, not my beloved Southwest. I just think the veterans needed their own plane. Or should travel during the daytime.

Something.

Caught!

2008-10-20T23:23:00.001-05:00

What do you do when your boss or some higher up totally catches you reading blogs instead of working? Ignore whatever is on your screen? Quickly minimize the window? Strategically stand or sit in front of your monitor hoping that they don’t notice? What do you do? Today I got caught twice by the same person. The first time I was reading a fashion blog. The second time, a wedding blog. Shame on me. But it was Monday, what heck was I to do? Work? My weekend was too good to work.

Let’s see, we had NKOTB Friday night. For those of you too young to know, that’s New Kids on the Block. They put on a totally rad show. I seriously felt like I was eleven years old in my thirty year old body. We had a blast. They played all the old favorites and the newbies. If they coming to a town near you and you are old enough to appreciate, go see them! It won’t disappoint.

Saturday – you’d be so proud of moi – we played Bar Golf in honor of the 3oth Birthday. I made it to the eighth hole! That means I succeeded the shots and dirty martini like a champ. I have to admit we had the best deal: a designated driver who didn’t know the birthday girl or most of her friends and still drove our drunk butts around town to nine bars (and most of the bars were not close to each other, so he did plenty of driving); the coolest bar golfing outfits worn by all and no drunken mishaps. Whoot whoo.

Sunday we lazed about and Cowboy survived a weekend without me. I worry when I leave him alone. I know he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself and finding his own dinner and entertainment. But part of me gets sad that he has to do it alone. I wonder what he ate, how he is doing, what he is doing constantly when away. Not being nosy or distrusting just worrying for my baby.

Tomorrow, I’m off to Baltimore. YES. I’ve never been as an adult, so I’m looking forward to it. Cold fall weather. Good food. Hello, crab cakes! What more could you ask for a mid-week trip?

And because it was hilarious and I’ve watched it a billion times…Get Yo Hands Up!

For Southern Yankee

2008-10-20T13:19:00.002-05:00

The meatloaf was a hit. I basically made up the recipe in my head because I couldn't find one that included barbecue sauce. Barbecue sauce is Cowboy's favorite condiment next to ranch dressing. Enjoy!

Turkey Meatloaf

1 lb of ground turkey
1 diced onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup breadcrumbs, I used Italian style
1/3 cup chopped parsley, the flat parsley. I bet you can use dried flakes too.
1 egg beaten
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce, plus some more
salt and pepper

Since Cowboy despises raw onions, I saute the onion and garlic first until the onion is looks clear. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix everything in a bowl - with your hands if you are really into it. Since its meatloaf I think you should be really into it.
Mold and form the mixture into a loaf shape on a lightly oiled baking sheet with high sides, I think about an inch is good.
Bake for 50 minutes
Pour some more, to your liking, barbecue sauce on top of the loaf.
Bake for five - ten more minutes.
Remove meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for around ten minutes.

Enjoy!

House Hunting

2008-10-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

Compromise is a biatch. Since we talk a lot, Cowboy and I learn something new every day about each other. Since we are scouting out neighborhoods for future house purchasing, its been a constant learning situation on what we both like and look forward to in the future.

My boyfriend wants a yard. Plain and simple. I was pushing really hard for a loft or a townhome - either one is more like me. Then a financial advisor came in and told us that buying a house looks better to the banks. Oh, crapola. So I’ve switched sides but you better believe I did so with a compromise.

In said house, I don’t want two floors. I just don’t like the idea of being split up and I’m thinking of those nights where Cowboy may be away and that means me in house alone. I know me and I will be too scared thinking of what may be happening on the other floor. Also, I want a deck or patio. I envision brunches, lunches and dinners outside.

I had some other requests but had to hold those back for when I need to give something else up. That’s how it works when you play Compromise. Its not that nice, I’ll admit. I have a few things in my back pocket that I’m only willing to unveil when I need to. Ha.

The other situation about this is location, I’m an adamant Dallas Proper gal. I didn’t want to know of anything existing above Highway 635. No way. Then he tricked me and showed me some cute new.shopping center. I am a sucker for cute shopping. Now, we’re including ‘hoods in faraway lands north of Dallas.

I had to put my foot down and declare, “anything but Plano” and then I pulled out one of my compromising cards. See, how that works? I love it and him.

I just love how he is putting all his thinking energy into researching house buying items. It’s a whole other world with its own language and laws and I look so lost and confused when people start talking equity, interest, property tax, blah, blah.

I leave it all up to him. Just until I need to pull out a card.