Maybe a Sexy Dinner After All

OK, we're going to try again tonight! I'm looking forward to our dinner date because Pappa'a Steakhouse never disappoints! Plus, Sean loves his steaks, so he should be in a great mood!

I sure do hope that in a few hours Sean will be done with his marathon couch nap (going on 2 1/2 hours here) and my terrible cramps will finally give in to the massive amounts of pain relievers I've just taken and we'll be ready for a romantic dinner.

Ha! Life is so funny! Nothing ever works out the way you think it will... but I guess that would be boring.

Least Sexy Dinner Ever

The other night, I totally blew off cooking dinner and the hubbs and I went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner (had a gift card, so didn't feel too bad about the pork tenderloin sitting in the fridge waiting to be roasted). We waited for about 15 minutes, you know, not bad. Sean was particularly tired that day, and I found myself trying extra hard to be interesting so dinner wouldn't be extremely boring. Well...

We were seated at this terrible table. I mean it. It was the shittiest table in the whole place. Maybe the shittiest table* in all of the Cheesecake Factories in the world. We were sandwiched between the waiter station and the kitchen. The people caddy-corner to us were very unattractive, so we didn't even have a great view to make things better. Waiters were rushing by us every two seconds- and I even saw one of the managers rip a new one into one of the waitstaff. Fun.

Just as I was saying, "Sean, this has to be the least sexy table ever in a restaurant..." I hear this ghetto singing** coming from the kitchen. I don't think I can do it justice, but imagine if you can, "OOOOOOOOooooooohhh!" and then some mumbling/rapping and then some more, "OOOOOOOOOooooooohhh!" Every few seconds, there it was again. It was all I could hear.

I was super annoyed by this and was craning my neck around to try to see who could possibly think they should make this noise and how could everyone else working around him stand it? Sean is, of course, cracking up. He's loving how annoyed I am. What a guy.

I almost flipped into teacher-mode, but Sean would have been so embarassed if I shouted out, "Who's singing? Who's making that noise? It needs to stop now. Thank you." So I held it together, and just decided to blog about it instead. Lucky you!




*Sean thought it could be worse. He reminded me that we weren't next to the bathroom. I think the bathroom may have been on the other side of the wall to my left. Or, right below us, or somewhere very nearby. Had to be.

**Of course, Sean asked me if I was going to blog about it, and then helped me come up with the spelling of "OOOOOOOOOOOOoooooohhh!" I mean, really. Who does that?

Tuesday 10

Couldn't think of one themed list for Tuesday Ten, so... ten random thoughts. A day late.

1. I guess that having big mailboxes for the entire block makes our neighborhood "prettier," but damn it I wish my mailbox was right in front of my house! I never check it for that reason. My mailman came to my door once just to see if we were in town. Ooops.

2. Does anyone else just love Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride 2? I love these movies! In the last week, I've watched Father of the Bride 2 three times!! I think I'm going to watch it again. At least until Sean gets home.

3. Why is it when your nails are all growing beautifully, you break one? Only one. The rest remain beautiful.

4. Last night Sean surprised me with some Ben and Jerry's- coffee heath bar crunch. AMAZING! It was so good!

5. Had such a fun time at lunch today!!! Discovered that many of my teacher friends love tacky, politically incorrect, and downright raunchy TV just like me!! Haven't laughed so hard in a while!

On that note...

6. Farting remains funny! It doesn't seem to matter how old I get, farting is still just as funny today as it was 20 years ago. Funnier maybe.

7. Living the the Houston area, I sometimes think that maybe my hair just is frizzy and nasty. No. No it's not. The last few days of beautiful weather have proven that in fact, my hair is lovely! Where do I need to move to have this hair everyday?

8. I wonder what my students go home and say about me. You know all those teachers you've had that you remember the weirdest things about? I wonder what my thing is?

9. I wonder if Sean will get me one (or more? Dare to dream!) of the beautiful James Avery remembrance rings for Valentine's Day*? They're sooo pretty! I hinted pretty seriously yesterday- and I plan on leaving the catalog out and open on the kitchen table until Valentine's Day. We'll see.

10. Uh oh! I just got a "low battery" warning. Must recharge. That means I have to get off the couch and out from under this blanket. Man. Hey! Have y'all seen those commercials for the Snuggie?


*Yes. I am one of those girls who loves Valentine's Day. I love it!!! It's just such a feel-good day! I love the cards, the candy, the romance, the mushy-ooshy-ness of it all! Love it!

Oh, Monday!

You know what- I realized today, for probably the zillionth time, that I have the perfect job for me! I went to school extremely tired (nightmares all night long... I know, I'm five, right?) and in a really grumpy mood. My partner read it on my face instantly (which is why she's the perfect partner) and brought me Starbucks on our break to cheer me up!

Even though the day started out pretty yucky, by lunchtime, I was feeling great! Those kids just perked me right up! Honestly, I feel super relaxed and comfortable around kids (the cool thing is, the more relaxed I am, the better behaved the kids are... they're like dogs. They can sense fear!). It's so easy to talk to them and get them excited about what we're learning. Teaching them never fails to be fulfilling. They even let me tell them stories about Jet and never complain that they're bored of hearing about him!

Sometimes it amazes me how much they look up to me and what a responsibility I have. I hope I do right by all 43 of them! (Not at one time, holy moly! Two classes people! I can't say 43 9-year-olds at one time would be relaxing!)

* * * * *

On another note- not pregnant. Nope, not this month. But you know what, I'm OK. I'm actually just fine. I have been doing a lot of praying- because WOW if it doesn't take me forever to figure something out- I have NO control over this! And you know what, thank God! If everything turned out the way I wanted it to, my life would be a hot mess! I'm so glad that I don't have to worry about this! I'm able to say now that I'll take God's plan over mine. He's done pretty good so far! :)

Jet's a winner!

So he doesn't have any points towards a championship yet, but he did win his class today! That's right, Jet came in first place!! He then competed in the next step up, but he didn't place there. If he had won first in the next step up, he would have some serious points! I just can't believe that he went from last to first in four shows! I wish I could kiss his head and tell him what a good boy he is!!

Maybe Sean is right, and he really can get his championship. Well, I'll be!

And just one more picture of my Jet... I miss him!

Weekend Update

News from the home front...


It's Saturday night, and Sean and I are laying around the living room watching football.* Poor Sean is so, so sick. He hasn't been this sick since we got married. He's running a fever and is just totally miserable- achy, coughing and hacking, no energy, no appetite. I made him some chicken noodle soup today, and he barely ate a thing. He even skipped a weekend of hunting at the farm! That really says something!

He went to the doctor on Thursday and she only gave him a decongestant and a cough medicine!** What the hell? This is America! I am so mad! Where are the antibiotics, lady? This man is sick! We're going back tomorrow to get the good stuff. We won't be leaving without some real drugs!!



News from dog world...


Thursday was Jet's first show- and he came in dead last! Ha! Turns out he was acting really macho and was completely distracted by the other dogs. Basically, he was acting like a total jerk! I can picture it now... and it cracks me up! I just hope there was no humping! Actually, from the dog show I saw, a little humping would really spice things up!

Friday was show #2- and he came in 4th out of six dogs. So- hey, he beat two dogs! At what did he beat them, no idea. But, hell ya! All right!

Today, Jet was competing against 7 other dogs in his class, and he came in second!! That's right! My baby beat 5 other dogs! Yeah! That's MY dog! Whoo hoo!

I still don't get the whole dog show thing, but whatever. I'm sure Jet had a blast and that's all that matters. Just think of how many new dog butts there are to smell! He's probably in sensory overload!



*Actually, Sean's watching football. I'm just laying around.

**I hate cough meds and decongestants. They are totally counter productive and make you feel woozy and drugged up all day long. I never take them. Total crap.

Tuesday 10

I am totally hooked on Martha Stewart- her Everyday Food Magazine is my favorite! I also love Ina Garten- I tivo Barefoot Contessa! Her recipes are usually a little richer, but always yummy! I get bored eating and preparing the same meals all the time, so I'm always searching online for new recipes to try. Here are 10 of my favorite Internet recipe finds!


1. Spinach and Gruyere Quiches

This recipe is so yummy!!! Although I used fresh spinach because it was in season and I had the time to clean it, you can totally substitute with frozen.


2. Coffee Cake Muffins

I served these muffins along with the quiche for a work breakfast. They were a hit! This recipe calls for jumbo muffin tins- I just used the regular sized ones.


3. Turkey and Bean Chili

I really like this chili recipe! I usually use about 1/2 the meat that is called for (turkey is good, but I've also used venison). It's also easy to over-do the salt, so I suggest adding salt at the end, to taste. I always make a bunch and freeze it in smaller containers so I can defrost one for dinner when I'm too tired to cook.


4. Perfect Pizza

When you click this link, it's going to look intimidating, but don't be afraid of the wordiness. The directions are specific and helpful. It's actually pretty easy! I had so much fun making pizza with my mom and sisters (and it turned out really yummy!) that I decided to do it again on Super Bowl day. While the boys watched football, the girls hung out in the kitchen making pizzas and drinking wine! I had lots of different toppings to choose from- we had a blast!


5. Individual Meat Loaves

I absolutely loved these delicious little meat loaves! I also think that making them in individual serving sizes is fun- and it makes it seem a little more special when you're serving this to a group. I first made this when my grandparents were visiting from Wisconsin. (You know how grandparents like some home cooking!) I served them with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Yum!!!


6. Bean Burritos

I found this recipe when searching for freezable dishes. I loved the idea of making my own bean burritos to freeze for a quick meal or for lunches when I didn't have anything to pack (since I teach, I rarely get to go out to lunch on a weekday- and have you eaten cafeteria food lately? Packing a lunch is not an option). Sean and I both really liked them. We would bring the frozen burritos to work, let them thaw all morning, and then at lunchtime just popped them in the microwave. I ate mine with lots of salsa!


7. Baby Leaf Salad with Bacon

Anything "with bacon" has to be good. I've made this salad a few times when I've had company over, and they always love the dressing! It's really easy to make and it makes a lot! The dressing will last for about a week in the fridge.


8. Strawberry Scones

When I make these, I usually add some walnuts and orange zest. If you can't find dried strawberries, dried cranberries are also delicious! These scones are much lighter and fluffier than the ones you get at the coffee shop- but they're definitely not any healthier! Loads of butter and cream! I love them!


9. Three Chocolate Cookies

These are, hands down, the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. I made them for a party once, and everyone loved them. One man loved them so much that when the evite went out for the party the following year, his RSVP response was, "Is Sean bringing his wife? Is she bringing the cookies?"


10. Molten Chocolate Cake

I've made these sooo many times because they're awesome!! First, it's perfect for a dinner party, because you can make them ahead of time, keep them in the fridge, and just pop them in the oven when you're ready for dessert (bake twice as long as recommended I've found). Sometimes I have extras- and I'll keep them in the fridge up to a week, and just bake one or two after dinner for Sean and I to share. Or just for me. The recipe makes a ton- so I usually cut it in half, or even fourths. I make them in little ramekins- just make sure you grease them really well so you can dump them out onto a plate. I serve them with vanilla ice cream- heavenly!