I Know

I said I was back the other day... apparently, I lied. Epic fail.

::le sigh::

Anyway.

What are you watching on tv? Cause, if you're looking for a new show, I've got one for you!

Parenthood (yes, like the movie. an actually well-done take off of the movie.) on nbc.

Love it. We are 2 episodes in, so there's plenty of time to join in and catch up. And you should, by the way. I would wager that nbc.com has the eppys on-line. I don't know that for sure, but it's a very good bet. Set your tivos, dvrs to TAPE people!

And speaking of nbc, may I just state for the record how much I have enjoyed watching the Tonight Show again? I love Jay. Judge me if you must. I have never been a fan of Coco. I'm a Leno girl. There, I said it. I feel cleansed.

Let's see, what else on tv??? Ah! If you're not watching Caprica, what the frak is wrong with you? Seriously. Very good.

If you're an Army Wives fan, that starts back on Lifetime (television for women) on April 11th. Really looking forward to that.

I don't have an abundance of time to sit and watch tv, so I am unbelievably thrilled to pieces to find some happyland inducing stuff right now. It's been a reality show induced wasteland here of late- jeeps! .....

And speaking of creepy reality land! I would like to formally lodge a protest against American Idol and that little girl who butchered, BUTCHERED I SAY, one of my all-time favorite songs the other night. I had the misfortune of catching some little girl doing on interpretive style twist on 'Rhiannon' when my dad was flipping channels. Scarred me for life people.

And then, I get on facebook and other blogs and see other people complimenting this travesty! What?!

::shudder::

"The horror. The horror."

I have had to exorcise this demon from my memory by listening to Stevie Nicks many, MANY times in the days since... which I grant you isn't a horrible thing for me, but honestly- I may never be the same.

I'm back

Did ya miss me?

I had big posting plans, but alas a plague once again descended upon my household. (cue the magic movie music) This time, once again, it struck down poor little Jacob. Eesh. February was a devil on the poor little boy. He was sick off and on for 3 and a half weeks.

Picture it: this past Thursday, all it calm. All it bright. It's 3am. Everyone is sleeping peacefully in my house. Then, out of no where! A shriek is heard in the night! I vault over the baby gate that keeps the dog out of my room and rush into Jacob's room. (how very dramatic, huh? cause you know it was much less coordinated than that.) The lad is running a rather high temperature. Meep. A little later- his digestive system kicks it into reverse.

(Here's a fun little piece of trivia for you- it seems my son is one of those little kiddos that pukes when his fever spikes. Yea!)

The boy was taken to the doctor & oh, joy- his viral ear infection morphed into a bacterial one! YEA! On the anti-biotics he went. And, my, my, my the young lad started to feel better so darn quickly. A week out, I am happy to report that the boy is sooooo much better!

So, hopefully I'll be back tomorrow- hopefully I'll remember the several things I was thinking about posting (!) and hopefully I'll have aced that stupid science pretest. GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funny Guy

Upon receiving his re-filled, organic apple juice sippy cup......... he sat like this for a good 2 minutes.

Insert caption here.

Something Cool

So.

I really wanted to post something today. Something very pithy.... I got nothin'.

I am pleased to announce that the J-Boy is back to his normal happy self. Although we had 4 days last week when 6:30am was (apparently) the new pink. And, I have to tell you, it's not pretty.... especially when it includes me shuffling around the house, trying to remember how to do things like make breakfast, walk, think, speak..... or do any of those things at the same time.

Happily, Jacob respected the Day of Rest and slept till 7:50am yesterday & after 8am this morning.

Oh! On Sat, I got the greatest present EVER (other than, you know life & my son) from one of my uncles. It's the vest my grandfather wore when he performed in Western Re-enactments umpteen years ago. I have a picture of D-Daddy in full "Marshall Dillon" regalia & he's wearing the vest. I about started crying. It's doubly amazing to me for 2 reasons.... a) I was uber-close to my D-Daddy & b) the whole me-being-an-actor-and-him-wearing-it-to-perform-in-thing. I'm going to clean it up as best I can and have it archived/framed when I have the $$.

Here he is: Winston W Freeman in full Western gear.

Many years later with his granddaughter- your intrepid bloggerette.

Irony

I received spam on my post griping about spam.

.............

Fail. Meet epic.

All This & Really Not Much

You know what's sad?

I had to put to rest my dear, loyal AOL email address. I've had this email address for 10 years. That's commitment, people. The evil enemy spam finally did it in. Eesh. I hate spam. Grrr.

So, I've stepped into the brave new world of other email providers and went with another service. I like it so far.

But, with changing the email comes the oh so fun joy of having to get that new address out to all my nearest and dearest. That's a royal pain in the back end. I sent out a mass email, posted on facebook & I'm still not sure I've covered all the bases. And there are all couple of those email subscription thingys that I keep forgetting to change over.

In other news, little Jacob is on the mend. Thank goodness. And I got another B on another paper. Whoo-hoo! And I'm about half-way finished with another paper. I might be taking a break to blog at this very moment in time!

The Greatest Thing About Winter

Yall want to know the greatest thing about winter?

The scarves. The beautiful, flowy, colorful scarves.

I heart them on so many, many levels & so should you. For let me assure you, they are not simply there to keep your neck warm. Oh, no indeedy! They are nature's perfect necklaces, I tell you! In fact, I rarely wear necklaces in the winter because of my great and abiding love.

So, while the winter chill still nips at your sweet little cheeks, keep wrapping yourself in your beautiful scarves!

Tuesday's the Day for Reading

... and a book review. Thought I forgot all about those, didn't you? :-)

Your Boy

by

Vicki Courtney

An awesome primer, reminder and encourager for Christian moms with little lad's barreling through their houses and their hearts. Mrs. Courtney reminds us all that our sons face very real dangers in the world and yes, they do need their moms to help protect & defend them and to help them to learn to make good choices. We have such an unique opportunity to mold warriors, not wimps. In my humble opinion, it's a must read for any mom with a son.

Just sayin'.

On the Jacob news front: we went to the doctor yesterday afternoon, looks like the poor kiddo picked up a virus. :-( He's on a strick meal plan for a few days. Pedi-lite, water, and the (often, aptly named) BRATT diet. It's the Bubonic Plague, I'm telling you.

**for those who don't know, the BRATT diet is Banannas, Rice, Applesauce, Tea & Toast**

Gross stuff warning & other more fun stuff

So what's going on in my little corner of the world?

Well, let's see.... little Jacob is sick. Huge Bummer. Took him to the doctor last week & our rockstar family doc diagnosed him with an ear infection. Ick. Now, he's snotty & coughing up a lung. ::sigh:: And all that snot its making for a vomitous little boy. As an extra special gift last night, at 1:30 in the blessed a.m., the poor little dude threw up all over me, him and the floor in his room.

And let me tell you something, there's not much that will snap you into wakefulness like a vomiting 18 month old.

And as an extra special treat, I'm fighting off this plague. Awesome.

Yesterday I ate leftover chips, salsa and guacamole from Papacitos for lunch. And it was glorious, I tell you.

And can I just take a moment to tell you the greatest way to cook & eat asparagus? Snap the woody ends off, coat them in extra virgin olive oil, & wrap 3-4 in a strip of bacon. Then salt and pepper. Throw those puppies in an 400 degree oven & watch them closely. When the bacon starts crisping up, pull 'em out & hit 'em with some fresh squeezed lemon juice. Yummy.

Do you know the Pioneer Woman? You should. She's got a salsa recipe that I'm itching to try. You know, when I'm done slaying the Black Plague that's currently invaded my house.

So, it's snowing today. In Dallas. In Texas. Snowing. Inches of snow streaming from the sky.

In Dallas. Texas.

And the little J has an ear infection. Bummer. We went to a playdate at Faith and Liliana's house on Monday afternoon. Which, by the way, was sooo much fun. I love being around an adult! And watching J play with someone his own age. Little Liliana is about a week and a half younger than J and about a head shorter. Too cute to see them running around together.

Anyway- sweet little J went down for a nap and when he woke up- bad things were happening. Snotting, bad mood, etc. He went to bed at his usual bedtime & then woke up at midnight & stayed awake until 4. Tuesday was not a fun day for the little dude & Tuesday night kinda sucked the suck of the doomed too.

We went to the doctor yesterday (Wed) and all was made clear with the diagnosis of the ear infection in his right ear. Poor little dude. Happily, though I can report that he slept all night last night.

And did I mention the snow? Cause, yeah. It's been snowing all morning & it ain't going to stop anytime soon. In fact, I do believe I heard the trusty, rusty weather man say that the snow would keep coming until midnight tonight.

Make This Chicken, Thank Me Later

Not kidding about the title-

I have found myself in a bit of a chicken rut these days. But hey, who hasn't? I've also been searching the World Wide Web over to find a good 'un'fried chicken recipe. Yes, I said 'un'fried. I want the crunchy texture- but not the greasy mess of having to cook in 1000 degree oil. And, let's face it- that's a trip to the ER that I really don't have time for. ::sigh::

Anyway- I found a recipe that sounded promising, but there was one problem.

Shake 'en Bake... you aren't a friend of mine.

But, fear not! The intrepid cook/blogger got creative last night and a tasty meal came forth from the kitchen & will now and forever more be on my chicken cooking rotation! And now, I share this masterpiece with you.

I call it....

Ridiculously Easy, Yet Marvelously Tasty 'Un'Fried Chicken
(catchy title, huh?)

chicken (duh)- I used a mix of breasts & legs
1 bottle Ranch dressing- I used Buttermilk ranch, but use whatever you have on hand.

Breading Mixture:
Panko- Japanese bread crumbs... trust me.
basil
oregano
pepper
garlic salt
(I played fast and loose with the measurements here. Go with your gut, but go easy on the garlic salt- a little goes a long way.)

Throw the chicken and the ranch dressing into a ziploc baggie & refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes. I mean it, no less.

Set your oven to 400 degree & get the breading mixed in a shallow pan. Snag a baking sheet (or 2) out of your cubbord and spray with some PAM. When the chicken has marinated long enough, dredged the chicken and place on your greased baking sheet. Into the oven it goes for 40-45 minutes, turning the chicken once.

**I turned the chicken 20 minutes into the cooking time & flipped the baking sheet around cause I have a freaky oven that cooks hotter on the back side than the front.**

Depending on where your oven grate is, the breading might start to burn a little (mine was on the middle rack), just lower it if that starts to freak you out a little like it did me.

The chicken came out yummmy, moist, & nice and crispy all the way around. No soggy, nasty real estate on these birdies. Next time I make this, I'm thinking of adding a little Parmesan cheese to the panko breading. :-)

OH! and I almost forgot! Here's something that has changed my brownie making life FOREVER! FOREVER, I tell you. On a suggestion from another, I poured my brownie batter (thank you, Mr. Hines.) into cupcake baking cup & baked them in muffin tins. Brilliant, I tell you! They are the perfect serving size and they have their own little cuppies to keep the mess in place! I may never make brownies in a pan again.

Happy Monday, InterPeeps!
And- if you have a moment, say a prayer for the Parkers. They are trying to get their son out of Haiti. It's been hell.

THE 300th POST!

Well, my goodness. What an occasion. And I really don't have anything very special to mark this date with. Sorry. :-)

Caprica is still sitting on my dvr. I know. I know. I'm just hoping I carve out the 2 hours to watch the premier before the next episode airs... you know, on Friday. Eesh. Sprout Tv has been ruling my world right now. What's Sprout? You ask, oh Faithful InterPeeps? It's the preschool channel. All preschool shows. All day. Wowsa.

I have recently had reason to formally state that Chuy's Deluxe Chicken Enchiladas must be in my life forever. Really. They CHANGED my Tex-Mex life. And no, that's not an over-statement in the slightest bit. I must live within driving distance of Chuy's for the rest of my natural and (or) unnatural life.

And that's got me thinking about what other Fine Food Establishments I must be within driving distance in order for my life to make sense. It's a thought to ponder, my friends.

Here's my list-

1)Chik-fil-A *If you've never had the wonderfulness that is the original chicken sandwich with the 2 crucial pickles, you have my sympathies.*

2)Urban Crust Pizza *In Plano, Texas..... Kinda like the greatest pizza you will ever eat in your life. Seriously. Not kidding. LIFE CHANGING*

4)Ajisen *My sushi and miso soup needs are met here in ways that complete my soul.*

5)Fish City Grill *It's good, no it's down right tasty. It's not expensive. Did I mention the tasty?*

and I already declared my undying love of Chuy's.

What about you? Any favorite food places? Any you just can't live without? Or wish you could magically transport closer to you?

A Shamless Plug, Stuff, & a Serious Note

Well, Faithful Blog Followers, I only have a few minutes here to pontificate on the meaning of life, tv and treadmills before laundry, a dirty blender, class work & my son coming home start calling my name.

So, here we go.....

Did I mention to yall that I am now on the Board of Directors to a local theatre company? No?! Well, I am! Word of Mouth Productions, would be it's name. And if I may take a moment and tell you a little about the fine theatre group- it's a family safe theatre company. Which means that the shows we produce can be seen by the whole family. It's good clean fun & a great way to introduce the kiddos to the MAGICAL, MAGICAL I say, world of theatre without always having to worry about content. Cause, let's face it, most theatre is not really meant for kids or grandparents. :-)

I love WOMP. I've been in main stage shows, I've stage managed main stage shows and I recently taught a summer workshop for kiddos. LOVE IT!

AND..... if you're looking for something to do in the DFW area Feb 5th or 6th, we're having a fundraiser in Frisco! Hop on over to our website and learn more about it!

Now, after that shameless plug, what else do I have to say.... hmmmm.....

Oh yes, the matter of the telly. I received a couple of excellent suggestions, one of which I can't believe I forgot about. Caprica! And I call myself a BSG groupie... oh, the shame. I've also heard some good buzz about a show on ABC Family, Life Unexpected, or something like that. And Castle (with Captain Malcolm Reynolds... if you don't get it.... feel my pity).

.... You know, if occurs to me that I should that the makers of my pretty, pretty pink precious. Why? You ask. Because I am sitting at the kitchen table where I can blog... or do whatever I care to do on the computer while I am "doing laundry" at the same time! Genius, I say! Thank you, Dell Computers!

For a more serious moment- if yall could take a moment and say some prayers for a couple of sweet little girls who dearly need them.

Abby Riggs- you can follow the button to the right and go visit her & her family. She's been battling a foe that no child should have to wage a war against for quite some time now. She's 5 now & is starting to realize that she's different from the other kids. And she's here recently been having a very hard time. And if you happen to think of any fun, low impact things that a really tired 5 year old would enjoy, please let Abby's mom, Michelle, know.

from Abby's family blog, you can go visit...

Avalon- she's another darling little girl who's had WAY more than seems even in the same sphere on fair foisted upon her. She's in remission, but because of a truly, TRULY GOD AWFUL surgical screw-up this darling girl needs ... a miracle. Avalon's mom is dealing with doctor's who don't seem to want to listen to her when she KNOWS that somethings going on with her kid.... and, as any mom knows, when you KNOW your kid is hurting or in trouble it is just unacceptable to be ignored when you're trying to sound the warning bell.

A Little of This. A Bit of That

Not a lot going on to report, this fine Monday. I didn't watch the Golden Globes last night. ::sigh:: In all honesty, I really had no idea what was up for the winning and who had been slighted (probably again) this year. I used to keep up with all that jazz, not s0 much anymore.

On the school front news, I'm plodding through papers. I may lose my mind before this is all over. I happened to have submitted a paper a few moments ago.... (that & the fact that J is sleeping right now allow me to hop on the bloggy and update all 5 of you). If I've said it once, I've said it many, many times- I sooo should have gotten this mess done in my early 20's when I had way less responsibility wise. I'm rather sure that will be my mantra for the rest of my life. Did I mention that as soon as I get my undergrad done &, you know, GET A JOB, I'm going to belly-flop into my Masters? No? Well, I am. Wheeeee!

On a totally different note- are there any good television shows? I ask cause with BSG gone, the Sanctuary season finale (which I didn't really love) this past Friday & new Army Wives not till April, I'm at a loss in the tv world. Though, I suppose that's not a bad thing. But, what are you watching? Anything to recommend to a woman who watches wayyyyyy to much of Bob and Larry sometimes?

Whoops, I hear my little human alarm clock sounding from the other room! Till tomorrow (hopefully), please enjoy the following picture montage. I call it.....

Entertaining and Corralling a Toddler in an Airport When He's Bored & the Plane is (Very) Late

Happily, I can report to you that everyone got on the plane, fairly happy and content & had a great ride home..... In other words, J had a bottle upon seating and fell asleep until about 20 or 30 minutes to landing. Ahhh, Serenity.

Priceless

Because some pictures are worth a thousand words....

In Which I Really Do Bleed Orange....

With the daylight comes the sad, sad period of mourning.

Yeah, we lost. Our sweet, valiant Colt McCoy was taken out in the opening drive (I believe I heard a collective "NO!!!!" from Texas fans everywhere.) &, bless him, but the 2nd string QB just couldn't pull it off. He tried & he tried hard. And darn it if he didn't show a lot of promise, but the kid's a freshman & this was the championship. Do the math.

::sigh::

But I'm proud. They didn't lie down and just let the Tide roll right over them without a fight. They kept fighting & McCoy came out to rally the troops once everyone realized that the kid wasn't coming back. Oh, what a blow that was.

And let me say, for a moment, to all the people who have been so terribly mean-spirited about Colt McCoy's injury- get a grip on yourself! My goodness. I logged on to facebook and saw a couple of comments on how the kid should have "been a man" and gone out there & played.

Umm... people? He couldn't feel his arm.

And can we not ask him to risk his entire future just so we can we a ball game? Yes, we wanted to win. Badly. But not at the cost of a young man getting hurt- really badly. Let's learn some class here, people.

(And I won't even address the comments on the injury somehow being Karma for Sam Bradford.... cause, if I recall- he RE INJURED a shoulder, playing in a game that he NEVER should have been playing in. But, wouldn't that kinda be his own coach's fault & not.... you know, UT's.... but, I digress.)

Anyway, Longhorns- you should be proud of your team. We had a GREAT season! We had a crew of players who worked hard and gave it everything they had. They did us proud. And yeah, they lost. Oh well.

And if anyone but a BAMA fan gives you crap, just turn around and utter this question.....

"Oh, I'm sorry. And how far did your team get?"

(Meow!)

Because it's the Special Day

Hook 'Em Horns!

that is all...

What?

Is there anything else to say? Really?

...............................................

Have a lovely day!

Book Review

I know!

The first one of 2010.

Julie & Julia my year of cooking Dangerously
by Julie Powell

Ok. I got this one for Christmas. Actually, I received the movie as well. (Sweet!) I toted it up to Wheeling with me over the week long trip between Christmas and January 2nd, when we came back. It's 307 pages- it should last me all week.

Yeah, not so much. In between chasing after a 17 month old, visiting family & other such things that one does on a family vacation, I started and completed Julie & Julia in a little under 2 days. You read that correctly.

For those of you who have been living under a rock since the movie with Meryl Streep & Amy Adams came out, Julie & Julia is a memoir written by the lady who blogged her year long adventure through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Mrs. Julia Child. I never read the blog (I know.), but I like Meryl Streep. Yes, I do know that's a truly sideways journey to read a book.

Anyway.

The book. Funny, engaging.... Did I mention that I read it in 2 days?It really is that good. Cons? Possibly a few too many 'f' words thrown around & I really could have done without the twelve thousand evil Republican jabs. If you're a member of the Dark Side- oh, I mean a Democrat, you'll get a kick out of them.

If you're a member of the Republican Party, just do what I did. Roll your eyes and then say, "Well, bless your heart, honey. You must not know any better.".....

(Oh, did I just make an evil Democrat joke? Meow.)

With all that aside, I really enjoyed this read. It was light and airy & exactly what I hoped it would be. And I am greatly looking forward to watching my brand spanking new movie tonight!

...... and, might I also say, on a totally different subject......
HOOK 'EM HORNS!

First for 2010

Another year, another post.

I've returned from may Wheeling adventure, none the worse for wear. Oh, I didn't mention I was going to West Virginia over the Christmas/New Years holiday? That's because I'm paranoid and thought it best not to mention the whole out of state thing, just in case anyone with nefarious intentions was reading my blog and somehow found out where I live.

Anywhoo- I know I've been neglecting the whole reading/reviewing project here in bloggie land, but RL (real life) has been kicking my back end lately. Very, very busy. But, I have been (at least) reading. I've completed a couple more books, including Julie & Julia (read that in 2 days) &, to my eternal shame, 3 of the Twilight books. Lest you think my reading habits have gone totally to pot, let me state that I've been up to my well manicured eyebrows in biology, chemistry, etc for the past 2 months. Fluff does a body good.

And yes, review of all books are coming. Just slowly.

I've made some New Years resolutions this year. Some are personal, some are silly & some are just plain boring. We shall see.

** On a side note, would the nameless author of the comment to my last post mind explaining said comment? The Scripture verse was interesting, but I'm not entirely sure what your meaning is.**

Hoping every one's holiday was lovely & bright and that the new year brings new blessings to you all!

And be sure to tune in Thur night to see my beloved Horns hook the Tide!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of The Year!!!!!!

I love Christmas time.



I absolutely ADORE this time of year. It's magical. The whole world just seems to take on a different tone. The warmth of good feelings and cheer seep into everyday things- totally making up for the fact that it's stinkin' freezing outside. :-) I love going to the malls and seeing the Christmas decorations up- the snowflakes, the Christmas trees. (Ok, the parking lots have been known to bring out certain Grinch-like behavior from your intrepid blogger, but that's besides the point.)

And the Christmas music! Around these parts, every year, one station magically gets taken over by Christmas music. The Good, the Bad and the Heinous! It's wonderful! Of course, I've been known the listen to Christmas music in July.

And then, there's the movies! Ahh, the movies. No Christmas is complete without the full list of Christmas movies. A Charlie Brown Christmas, Mickey's Christmas Carol, The Muppet's Christmas Carol, Frosty & the beloved clay-mations; Rudolph, Santa Clause Is Coming to Town & others.

And Family- I think Christmas is my favorite holiday because it's the one time the my entire family is guaranteed to be under the same roof. It's loud, wild and crazy. This year there will be 9 kids running around my mom and dad's house. Add that to the 10 or 11 adults and it makes for quite a group of rowdies. And I love it. No, I look forward to it with a longing that I can't quite explain. I simply adore my family & to have them all together is my absolute favorite present each and every year.

And then, of course, there's the whole reason we have a thing called Christmas.

There's Jesus.

Ah, yes. Him.

So often forgotten. But of so much importance.

This has been a very hard, very crazy, very emotionally draining and challenging year for me. I'm very grateful to be standing at the end of it. Very grateful to be leaning against my Savior.

We get to enjoy all these wonderful Christmas traditions because a baby was born in a stable in Bethlehem. We get to celebrate his birth because of his death. Because he was the sinless Son of God. And He paid our sin debts. That's one heck of an eternal Christmas present... I take back what I said earlier- this is my absolute, all-time favorite present each and every year.

...... my family runs a close second, though! :-)

Merry Christmas!