I'm Sick

Been that way since Saturday afternoon around 5:00. Started the BRAT diet yesterday afternoon, and it seems to have helped. All I'll say about it is that I sure could have used some of these when it hit on Saturday:

Yikes.

Mexican Fruit Recipe

Fruit with Chili & Lime

We went to another flea market last weekend in Grand Prairie, Texas. The majority of the population there were Mexicans, hence the large variety of Mexican food stands. I kept seeing people walk by us with big plastic cups filled with cut up fruit. It sounded really good on that hot day, so we finally asked where to get it and went to get some for ourselves. We couldn't get near the place because the line was so long. I got in line but very quickly decided I wasn't waiting that long for a cup of fruit. The attraction was one certain item on the menu: Fruit with Chili & Lime.

I bought some fruit at one of the many fruit stands before we left so I could make some myself when we got home. I looked it up on the Internet when we got home, and to my surprise, several recipes for the dish popped up. I took a little from several of them, used the fruits I had bought at the flea market, and this is what I ended up with:

Fruit w/Chili & Lime

2 Mangos
1 cup Pineapple Chunks
1 cup sliced Strawberries
1 cup Red seedless grapes
1/2 Cucumber
2 Jalapenos, seeds removed
Cilantro, to taste
Chili Powder
Lime juice
Salt

Chunk the fruit and cucumber, seed and slice the jalapeno, and mix everything together in a bowl. Grab a handful of cilantro, roughly chop it, and add it to the fruit bowl.

Dressing: Mix the chili powder, salt, and lime juice in a small bowl. Pour over all and mix well. Serve immediately. (Mine was still good the next day after sitting in the fridge, but it was definitely better right after making it.)

Note on the Dressing: How much chili powder, salt, and lime juice you use is up to you. I ended up using the juice of one lime, about two teaspoons of chili powder, and half a teaspoon of salt. We both ended up sprinkling more chili powder over our fruit after it was served.

Another Note: The slight heat from the jalapenos really made this dish good. If you seed them, they're not really hot at all, but they do have some bite to them that makes the fruit come alive. The cucumber is really important to this dish too, in my opinion. It was a great contrast to the sweetness of the fruit.

We both liked this a lot. I'll definitely be making it again.

Stack it, Bitch!

Zee New Fancy-Schmancy Hair Cut -- Not Nearly Stacked Enough!

Damn, my neck is long.

From the Side with My Turkey Neck Strategically Cut Off

This was supposed to be way more stacked, if you know what that means. Apparently the Vietnamese guy who cut my hair didn't, even though he said he did...three times. He'd finish and have me hold a mirror and look at the back and I'd say, "No, it's supposed to be stacked. Don't blend it in so much. Make a definite drop-off in length." So he'd say, "Yes, I know...stacked." And he'd cut some more, and I'd look in the mirror again and say, "No, you're blending it in too much. You should be able to see a definitely blunt line from the longer hair on top to the shorter hair on the bottom." And he'd say, "Yeah, I know...stacked! Like Paris Hilton!"


GAH! Is there an American here that can cut my freakin' hair??? That's what I get for $14. I guess I'll go to Toni & Guy next time and pay $50 for a $10 hair cut by someone who speaks English!

This is what it was supposed to look like and is what it will look like when it grows out and I go to an American:
Too bad I didn't have this picture to take with me.

Abbey is in so much trouble!

Under Construction

Obviously I'm changing things up a bit. I'll add the links and stuff from my old template soon. I'm tired of messing with it today.

Disappearing Brownies

Or is it my brain that is disappearing? This is how goofy I am:

Yesterday I made some chocolate mint brownies with chocolate frosting. They are good. This morning I didn't want them staring me in the face all day so I hid them somewhere. You know, it's that out of sight out of mind thing.

So now I go to get one and I can't find them anywhere! Gawd! How many places could they be? Why can't I remember what I did with them just three hours ago? I've looked in every cabinet, in the pantry, in all the chairs in the dining room, and in the utility room. I do remember that I was going to put them in the utility room but decided against it because I was going to do a load of laundry and they'd be in the way. So where are they? Hell if I know. How stupid.

It's Just a Fantasy

We've had a heavy, steady rain all day today with thunder and lightening coming and going. I've had the back door open listening to it while I crochet.

What was I crocheting, you ask? These pretty cup cozies. The last one I made was the pink one on that blue glass, and I decided to add the frilly edge at the top on a whim. I really like it, so I'm going to go back and add some frill to all the others. These cozies are a gift for someone.

Oh my, that sounded kind of cryptic, didn't it? No, I don't have a secret lover with a penchant for insulated cups. These are for my cousin, Lavelle. A woman. Who I'm not having a torrid affair with. But we can pretend if you want...

Adriano, my dark-skinned, Italian hunk of a man, has been my secret lover only a few short weeks. I met him quite by accident while in a little cafe in Parma, Italy, on my way to La Spezia on the northwestern coast. I was blowing on the spiced foam of my Danesi Caffe cappaccino, and looked up over the edge of my cup for a split second when our eyes locked. I immediately felt a flutter in my stomach and could feel my heart start to beat a little faster. He was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

His skin was slightly darker than the cappuccino in my cup. His hair (I just typed "hard" instead of "hair." Ha!) was wavy, dark, and on the longish side with and a few loose ringlets on each side. But those eyes, deepset and green, were what drew me to him.

I don't know how long I sat there frozen, unable to avert my eyes, until he stood up and started towards me. It startled me, and I dropped my eyes to my lap unsure of where else to focus. He was there, standing next to me, and I could smell him. It wasn't aftershave or cologne, but a natural, warm, musky scent mixed with the fresh, seaside air.

My heart was pounding even harder now, and I could feel a flush on my face. I set my cup and saucer down on the wooden table just as it started to rattle in my shaking hands, and looked up into his eyes.

The End

Ha-ha! Are you pissed?

Top O' the Mornin' to Ya

That's my ode to St. Patty's Day.

The Prepared Asian Salad

It was fantastic. Definitely worth the time spent chopping and preparing. I'm eating the leftovers right now for lunch. They're pretty good, even after sitting in the refrigerator overnight.


One warning about the recipe...it makes a ton! I halved the recipe and it was still way too much for two people.



I took Sammi to the vet this morning for her checkup and boosters. She's healthy as a horse. She's really groggy and subdued right now because I had to give her Benadrl before we left the house since she had an allergic reaction to her shots last time. I think I like her this way. ;)

Houseplant tip: I read in a magazine a couple of months ago that if you add 2 tbsps epsom salts to a gallon of water and water your indoor plants with it, they grow better and leaf-out more. It definitely works. My plants are very healthy-looking and have spouted a ton of new leaves since I started watering them with the epsom salt water. I have several ivy plants and a zee-zee plant, and some other kind of ivy plant. They all seem to love it. I noticed a difference after only a week of using the water. Try it!

There's nothing else going on around here. I'm just working today and hanging out at the house, as usual. See ya later.

What We're Doing

We spent Saturday at Trade Days in McKinney, Texas. We walked and walked, we ate corn dogs, we ate funnel cake, and we ate roasted corn on the cobb. Barnaby bought some poker chips, a hat, and some earrings for me when I wasn't looking. I begged for a puppy. Just the usual stuff when we go there. I got a sunburn on my chest, but not a bad one. It's red but doesn't hurt. I remembered sun block for all my body parts except there. It was a fun day.


Today Barnaby is in the garage building me a bedside table. I had a specific type of table in mind and haven't been able to find one on Craig's List or anywhere else. He says he can do it in about two hours before the race starts.

I'm in the kitchen making that Asian Noodle Salad I bought the ingredients for yesterday. It took an hour to chop everything up and prepare the dressing. Now I just have to throw it all together when it's time to go racing. I can't wait to dig in. It's so fresh-smelling.

You can't see it very well, but that's my new Kitchen Aid timer on the right. I used it for the first time this morning.

I'm making an iced tea concoction using 5 Zen Tazo tea bags and 2 regular Lipton tea bags. The Zen tea has lemongrass and spearmint in it. I'll let you know how it tastes.

It's about time for the pre-race festivities. I'm outta here!

Go Jeff!

Well, the picture I copied to paste up there had the weather conditions, the temperature, and what the temperature "feels like." I guess I didn't copy it all. So there ya go. Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, feels like 79.

"Is that all?" That's what I said when I got home and saw it. I sweated my ass off running around doing errands, and I had the air conditioner on in the car. Yep, I got wild and got out of the house. I went to Staples, Starbucks, the bank, Big Lots, and the grocery store. Here's what I got (because it is oh so interesting):

Staples: 250 9 x 12 catalog envelopes, 250 #10 business envelopes, 1 pack of printer paper, and postal machine ink. I had a 20% off coupon when you spend $100. I had to buy a small bag of Resee's PB cups because I was $2.17 short on making the $100. Whatever.

Starbucks: Too hot to get coffee, so I got a Venti Passion Iced Tea, unsweet, three Splendas. Yowza, it was good.

Bank: A deposit receipt and a shitty attitude from the teller.

Big Lots: Four dog toys and 1 pair of knee socks.

Grocery Store: Everything to make THIS recipe, the ingredients for Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos wrapped in bacon (Sunday's NASCAR race food), Deluxe Mixed Nuts, which I'm officially addicted to, a Kitchen Aid timer on sale (I dropped mine for the millionth time and it finally broke into pieces the other day and quit working), and a bunch of other staple groceries. I looked for the Tazo Passion Tea that Starbucks sells so I could make my own at home, but Kroger didn't have any of that flavor. Hmpf.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NASCAR is at Bristol this weekend, my favorite track and everyone else's too. Cup qualifying has been delayed because it rained. They're drying the track now and hope to get it in here in a little bit. I'm going to settle in with my Deluxe Mixed Nuts and iced coffee and watch it because my life is just that exciting.

Have a great weekend!

Butterhorns & Stuff

Even though Brian did not eat all his supper last night, I'm giving you the Old World Butterhorn recipe anyway because I'm just that cool. Hi, Bri-Bri! Does anybody call you that?

Old World Butterhorns

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 oz yeast cake (or 1 packet dry)

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)

3 large egg yolks (reserve whites for filling)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

Powdered sugar

Filling:

1 cup sugar

3 egg whites

1 cup ground pecans

1 tsp vanilla

Combine flour, salt, and yeast. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender. Combine egg yolks, sour cream, and vanilla and add to flour mixture. Mix and divide dough into 8 balls. Roll each ball out into a flat circle using a rolling pin and small amount of powdered sugar to prevent sticking.

Make filling: Beat egg whites until very stiff and gradually add sugar; fold in pecans.

Spread filling equally onto each circle and cut each circle into six triangle slices like a pizza. Roll up each triangle and slightly bend both ends down making a crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

This is what they should look like before baking only messier:

I'm telling you, you will love these!

Barnaby didn't get home until 2 a.m. They finally got the idiot guy the third time they bombed the house with tear gas. Nobody got shot, but only because they missed.

I'm not sure what's on the agenda today. I'm all caught up on work, so maybe I'll get all wild and go browse through Big Lots and the Dollar Store. It's supposed to be 89 degrees here today. Can you believe that? It's too early in the year for the hotness. Go away hotness!

Damn Criminals!

Shots Fired During Standoff with Teen
Last Edited: Thursday, 13 Mar 2008, 5:12 PM CDT
Created: Thursday, 13 Mar 2008, 2:31 PM CDT

So I decide to get off my ass at about 4:00 and make THIS recipe for dinner and take a shower so I'd be all fresh and June Cleaver-like when Barnaby gets home around 5:30. I even did the laundry earlier.

I had heard about this dipshit and his mother earlier today on the news. They got into an argument and she ran out of the house and called the police. The "teen" is a 19-year-old. After his mother ran out of the house, he barricaded himself inside and wouldn't come out when police arrived. He was known to have weapons in the house, blah, blah, blah.

Of course the Jackass waited until 5:00 pm to do something stupid, shots were fired, and so Barnaby was called in as he is The Man for any "officer-involved shootings." DAMMIT!!

I know I've said this before, but why must you criminals always do your dirty deeds at dinnertime or on Fridays? Can't you have a little consideration for us womenfolk making nice dinners? Do you only think of yourselves? I hope that cop shot you right square in the ass. And I hope it gets infected and hurts really bad for weeks, and your butt never looks good in jeans ever again. So there. You have been cursed.

I'm Blank

My mind is blank and I can't think of anything to blog about so I decided to just come here and start typing whatever comes to mind. That's dangerous, I know.

Even though my cheap-o $15 glasses are butt-ugly, I can see really well with the glasses so I ordered another pair from a different web site this time (still one of those cheap ones on the web page I posted: http://www.eyebuydirect.com/). I didn't get bifocals, even though it would have only added about $75 to my total which is cheap compared to retail. I found some Fire fashion frames similar to the Vogue frames I had. Here they are:

These frames WITH lenses are $39.99. I also got the upgrades listed below. Note the cheap prices for the upgrades. They charge at least $50 to $100 for each of these things at retail eyeglass stores.

1: Anti-Scratch = $5
2: Anti-Reflective = $6
3: UV Coating - $2

AND shipping was only $4.95, AND if you type in "glassyeyes" in the coupon field, you get 10% off. So I ended up paying a grand total of $54.21 for these prescription glasses. Buy online!

Please note the green blinky bar that isn't blinking in my right sidebar ---->

I spent way too much time trying to figure out how to make those blinky bars yesterday. My patience wore thin rather quickly so I didn't do the animation part that makes it blink. Maybe some day I'll be more willing to spend the time and do it. After about an hour of trying to make one from scratch with my Paint program, I gave up and found a site that had the bars already made. You could add letters and graphics by simply dragging and dropping them in on the web site. Then you had to use an animation program that you could download for free to make them blink or move or wave or light up or whatever. Here's the link: Blinky Maker

I need to run some errands today (like the bank, Staples, and places like that) but I don't want to. I just want to stay home. I know you're shocked.

I mixed up some cookie dough the day before yesterday and stuck it in the refrigerator. I guess I could go in there and make them. These cookies are my absolutely favorite cookie ever. Barnaby's mom sends them in her Christmas cookie assortment every year. They are really crumbly and grainy and different. The texture is what makes them my favorite. There's always a huge pile of crumbs in the bottom of the coffee can she sends them in, and I like to eat that with a spoon. It's so good! I like them plain, but Barnaby likes them with chocolate-mint chips, so I usually add the chips to half of the dough and leave the rest plain. Here's the closely-guarded recipe just because I love you:

White Cookies

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 cup oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla
Chocolate-mint chips (optional)

With an electric mixer, cream butter, add sugars, and mix well. Slowly add oil while mixing, and then add eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Add half to the sugar mixture and mix well by hand, then add the other half. Fold in chips if using.

The original recipe says to refrigerate overnight, but I rarely do this and they turn out fine. So refrigerate the dough for a few hours or don't -- your choice.

Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Press down balls with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Remove cookies to a cooling rack, cool completely, and store in a cookie jar. If you use a tupperware-like container with a tight-fitting lid, the cookies will not be as crumbly and delicious. If you use something like this, leave the lid off a tad so the cookies can get a little air.

I forgot about Old World Butterhorns when I said those White Cookies were my favorite cookie of all time. The Butterhorns are really my favorite. If you've never had them, they are a cookie made with yeast and look like little crescent rolls. Oh my, they are good! I've only made them once, and that was years ago. It makes a huge mess and takes some time to make them. Maybe I'll post that recipe tomorrow if you're good today and eat all your supper.

Well, this was a pretty good post for not having anything in mind when I started. I'm finished now.

Talk at ya later, friends.

MIA

I know I have been MIA the last few days. We had company Friday thru Monday, and I spent yesterday catching up on stuff in my office. I have a full day's work today, so I don't know if I'll get around to posting today or not. I will post soon though. If not today, tomorrow for sure.

And Then it Snowed Again

Two times in one week. And that's the best picture of it you're going to get because it's nearly dark, and I'm not stepping out the front door in my socks and freezing my arse off to get one.

And in a strange twist of fate, my $15 glasses from Hong Kong arrived today. They are butt-ugly, and I'm pretty sure the frames are for a man -- a man with a gigantic head. I look ridiculous, but at least I can see to drive and watch TV since my fancy high-dollar glasses were destroyed today. You've just got to see me in these huge-ass things. They're not huge like Harry Carey (sp?) glasses, they're huge like a super-duper double-wide trailer home. Like if they were mirrors, I could see everything behind me. I'll get a picture for ya when I'm ready to humiliate myself again. Maybe the ridiculous glasses will distract you from the hideousness of my neck.

The $350 Dog Toy

Yep, those are my almost-new prescription glasses that I loved.

The Big Brain

I wasn't able to get the video camera software to load on my computer correctly. When I figure it out, I'll get it up. It would help if I had the instruction booklet that was supposed to come with the camera. I'll have to find it on the Internet and print them out.

Did y'all know you could do that? You can find almost any product's instruction manual on the Internet. I've found them for our air conditioner and thermostat, treadmill, coffee maker, refrigerator, icemaker, and even our outdoor floodlights. You can fix practically anything with instructions on the Internet. You can find instructions on fixing all kinds of plumbing problems or car problems or anything! I just love that big brain!

Tonight is our first monthly poker game at our house. I need to go get some things done. Later.

What Do I Know?

Um, yeah. It snowed and stuck. Who knew?

Apparently it doesn't matter if the temperatures are in the 70s the day before it snows. It will stick. We got lots (lots for us) in Allen. I hear they didn't get as much in Plano and Dallas just down the road.

That is not a picture I took. If I could find my camera -- ah-hem -- I would have some better photos of our own yard. I did take two minutes of video of the dogs in the backyard. If the software ever finishes installing on my computer, I'll have it up for you here. I'll let the dogs be the stars of my first video. When I get my nerve up, maybe I'll show my face (gasp!) and talk to you guys. We'll see how it goes. I should have plenty of time today to mess around with it.

It 's going to be in the 50s later today so most of the snow should be gone.

I'll be back later with that video.

Snow?

OMG, we're all going to die! That patch of blue snow is heading straight for Dallas and it's the weather event of the season. We're supposed to get snow for three hours beginning sometime after 6pm. I doubt much will stick since it was in the 70s when I went to bed last night.

Nothing Weekend

Gah!

That's Jeff Gordon in the #24. He continued off the track sideways and smashed into a wall with only 5 laps to go. Crap.

We had a nice, lazy weekend. I haven't left the house since Thursday when I went with my sister to a doctor appointment. I did absolutely nothing Saturday, and I worked today from 8:30 - 4:15. We got up at 7:00 this morning for some reason, so it seems like it's been a long day. I'll be forced to get out of the house in the morning and go to the post office and bank.

I made a roast in the crockpot and a sausage and egg crescent roll ring yesterday, and today I made some Rice Krispie Treats. That's the extent of my cooking/baking for the weekend.

I'm going in the den and try to figure out how to use the Flip video recorder. Maybe I'll be adventurous and daring and do a video entry for tomorrow. How exciting! Or not.