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!

Let's Go to the Movies, You & Me

I love movies.

I really, really love movies. And I am an equal opportunity movie watcher. It really doesn't matter the genre. I'll give it a whirl. I am the product of two very different movie watching people.

On one side, is my mother. She has very sophisticated movie watching tastes. From her, I have received a) my love of movie watching and b) my ability to tell the difference between a movie and a film. And yes, my friends there is a difference.

A film is something with substance. It's an entity that transforms your 2 hours into something magical. It tells you a story that teaches you or completely transcends everything you thought you knew. A movie... not so much. Movies are great. They are entertaining. But transforming and transcending, they are not.

My mother is more of a film watcher than a movie watcher. My dad, on the other hand, watches movies.... and rarely do the 2 meet. Except in me. It is from this mix of Evian and pond water that I have sprung. (Great visual, huh?) And all this to say that I thought I would list my top 25 favorite Films/Movies.

These are the movies (or films) that I can watch again and again.... and might know all the lines to. What are your favs?

1) The Godfather (It really is the sum of all wisdom.)
2) Lonesome Dove (Gus dies, I cry like a baby.)
3) The Wizard of Oz (all time favorite feel good movie.)
4) Woman of the Year (first Tracy/Hepburn movie I ever watched)
5) Singing in the Rain
6) The Princess Bride
7) Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
8) To Kill a Mockingbird
9) Gone with the Wind
10) Rebecca
11) Die Hard
12) Battlestar Galactica the miniseries
13) The Unsinkable Molly Brown
14) Robin Hood (the Disney version)
15) Giant
16) All that Jazz
17) Star Trek First Contact
18) Star Trek the Undiscovered Country
19) Passion Fish
20) Steel Magnolias (I *might* be able to quote every line from this)
21) The Shawshank Redemption
22) Little Women (the Winona Ryder. version)
23) Chocolat
24) Annie
25) Robin Hood Men in Tights

***Please note that this is not my all-time list of the greatest films/movies ever made. Just ones I can watch over and over again, for various reasons.***

******Bonus points for anyone who can name the movie from where the Blog Title came from. I'll give you a hint. It did make my list!******

Jacob and Mt. Pillow

Every morning, Jacob and I have a tiny tradition. After he eats breakfast & I've made my liquid go-go juice (happy, happy coffee with 3 stevias & nonfat milk, please) we truck back to my bedroom and start, "Playing Toys."

At some point, I will decide that it's time for me to make my bed & I'll start gathering the 27 (almost kidding) pillows to the edge of the bed. I look over to make sure that 2 sweet blue eyes are watching me and then I throw 2 of the big pillows in the floor.

With a big laugh, Jacob throws himself upon those pillows with all his little might. Then, to his great delight, his mommy starts tossing the rest of the pillows on top of him until all the pillows are off the bed. I get down on the floor with him & we play in Mt. Pillow for as long as Jacob wants.

The bed still has to bed made when we get up, but it's made the whole business of bedmaking a LOT more fun.

Friday Night Lights

So.... well, hmmm.... so much for my resolution to post every day in the month of November. ::le sigh:: There's always next month!



I am so stinkin' behind on just about everything! And..... my child has hidden one of his shoes. Which shoe, you might be asking? Well, it would be the right shoe of the $50 pair that the child (until now) wore almost every stinkin day! Oh the humanity of it all!!!! It's somewhere in my bedroom & I've torn the stinkin' room apart several times trying to figure out where the child might have stuffed the poor, unsuspecting shoe. Hopefully I find it before he grows out of it.


Anyway, Jacob went to his very first Texas high school football game this past Friday night. My younger cousin (who's a sophomore) just got bumped up to the varsity team & we went to cheer the "little" 5'11 kicker on. I admit, there were conflicting loyalties for me..... his team was playing against my old high school. I quietly cheered when my Berkner Rams scored.... very, very quietly. I was sitting next to my aunt, the grandmother of the before mentioned kicker & she had already threatened me with her cowbell and a well-placed elbow to ensure my outward loyalty to my cousin's team.

To Be Shred or To Be Dead

So, I'm on Day 3 of the Shred..... or, as I like to think of it, the day that I thought about not doing the Shred for a full 2 hours before I finally broke down and put myself through the pure torture that is twenty minutes with Jillian Michaels.

I can't get through the whole work out without stopping a couple of times.... but I did better today than I did Monday. So that's something. Though I have to say that it's a good thing that this is just a dvd and not really Jillian Michael's, cause I would beat the ever lovin' crap out of her if she said "I have 400 pound people who can do jumping jacks, you can too." to my face while I can huffing and puffing and contemplating the joys of meeting Jesus. Ahh, motivation.

... and I'm still sore- if anyone is interested. (and, if you're thinking I'm pathetic... you'd be right)

On to other matters. I still haven't gotten J's Halloween pics to my computer. Drat! I will post them tomorrow. I may even break them up into a 2 day event! :-)

Ok, I Lied....

I don't have the Halloween pictures yet... I have thrown myself at the alter of Jillian Michael's 30 Shred for the 2nd day and my poor, poor body is very. very sore. So, I'm very lazy at this moment. And pathetic.

So, here's a very poor quality video of Jacob, taken with my phone (thus the poor quality) at Saltgrass about a month ago. It's cute, so I thought I'd share.

Have a lovely, pain free day. Me? I'll be making intimate friends with Advil.

The Costume He Kinda Wore Twice, But Not On Halloween

Jacob was supposed to be the Cuddly Lion this year.....

He was more like, the Cowardly Lion....

And he didn't wear his costume... come back to tomorrow for pictures of what Jacob did wear.

Because I Don't Have Enough to Do

And yes, I'm totally counting this as a post....

Blanket Thief

So, you see, there's this blanket that stays on the couch in the living room. It's nice and warm and cuddly... and the dog, Gizmo, prefers to use it as his bed/blanket and nap on the couch, instead of his own doggie bed/beach blanket in his cage.

This same blanket has caught the attention of a certain blue-eyed blanket thief.

We stole the blanket from Gizmo & brought it to the kitchen for a visit.

Gizmo is following him in this picture... poor dog tried for a few minutes to get his blanket back before giving up in defeat.

I don't know who loves that blanket more.... Gizmo for napping? Or Jacob for thieving?

The GREAT State Fair of Texas 2009

Because I know everyone is just dying to hear all about our 2009 pilgrimage to the Fair, I thought I'd give a you somewhat brief and, most likely, weak witted commentary.

Picture it (Thank you, Sofia) Sicily 1940-... I mean, Dallas, Texas. Sunday, October 18, 2009. Lovely, sunny day in the neighborhood. (A beautiful day in the neighborhood...) We set out to make our yearly trip to the Fair, fulfilling a tradition that should be passed down from year to year, generation to generation.... along with Fletcher's Corny Dogs and Dr. Pepper.

We begin our day

There's Big Tex!

In front of the fountains

The Nightly Parade- Jacob was doing ok until that dratted clown uttered these words, "Let me hear you SCREAM!" The crowd screamed..... and then Jacob wailed. He was then liberated from his stroller and spent the rest of the parade watching from the safety of his mommy's arms.

And, most important of all.... let me introduce you to your new best friend. Fried S'mores. Ahhh. They were amazing. My mother and I were intrigued & split one... we looked at each other and quickly decided to get another one! They are wonderful and tasty and in every way I say to them, "You complete me."

Let's just stare at them and bask in the memory of their epicness.

Here's another picture because one just isn't enough....

Isn't it pretty?

And here's a sampling of a little story I like to call, "Trying to Get a Picture in Front of Big Tex with Your One Year Old.... While the One Year Old Stares at the Giant Talking Cowboy & Looks Everywhere BUT at the Camera."

Hey, Jacob! Over here! Pay no attention to the big man behind the fence!

Here's the best one.... Big Tex finally stopped talking.... big mouthed cowboy wouldn't shut up for 2 minutes.

Goodbye Dear State Fair- with your Fletcher's Corny Dogs, your throngs of people, your stinky farm animals, crafty craft barns, oddly named fried butter, constant stream of music, cotton candy, salt water taffy, guilt-free non diet dr. peppers, wild and wacky butter statues, ethnic celebrations at every turn, wild midway and carnival rides.... and last, but not least, the epic wondrousness that is fried s'mores. I shall miss you and wait eagerly for your return in 2010.

Pride

The Only Cookie Recipe You'll Ever Need

Seriously.......

(and I would suggest 1/2ing the recipe unless you have a passel of hungry boy scouts clambering around your table. This makes a TON of dough.)


These are the best cookies ever- end of discussion. And super easy to make.

2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups butter, room temperature
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 cups flour
3-4 cups oatmeal

2 packages semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix the sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs & vanilla.
Mix in the salt, baking powder, baking soda, & flour. Work the flour into the dough one cup at a
time. Mix until flour is completely incorporated.

Fold in the oatmeal. Mix well.
Stir in the chocolate chips.

Bake for 11-14 minutes on greased baking sheet.

*****
Your next challenge will be to try and keep these cookies around for longer than 10 seconds a batch.