Big Sam

In my "going to be" city, they have erected a statue to honor Sam Houston. That's one hard, tall guy!

Crazy Goodness

A few of you fellow bloggers already know this because I sent you an email, but for everyone else (look how I implied that I have a huge reader base...lol) I just want to pass along some really great news!

I HAVE A TEACHING JOB!!!

I'm going to be teaching second grade which is great. I did my student teaching in second grade and I loved it! The campus is fairly new and the principal and staff that I interviewed with were so friendly.

I'm thrilled beyond belief and a little relieved that the whole interview process is over. Unfortunately while I was concentrating on the getting hired process I did not focus at all on the moving process.

I'm leary of posting too many details on the internet (a girl can't be too careful) but I will say that I'm going to be moving to South Texas and it's a long way away from home and family. My parents are going down with me this coming weekend and I'll begin the apartment/rental search.

I have to be down South by July 31st so it's going to be crazy for the next several weeks. On top of still working (who knew getting a job would cost so much?!) I have to pack, paint furniture, wrap up business here in town, say goodbye, and all the things that come with something new.

Did I mention that I'm excited, scared, nervous, thrilled...practically everything at once. I'm a little overwhelmed but I'm in a good place.

So, THANK YOU to those of you who have said prayers or sent good wishes my way. I promise to stay regular on this posting business as much as I can but I can't promise new (or interesting) posts each day. It's probably going to be like sitting through someone else's vacation slide show presentation...lol.

VOTE Baby VOTE!

For anyone that has been reading my little piece of blogland can tell you, I'm an avid reality tv junkie. I love Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother, etc.

Anyway, Big Brother is gearing up for it's seventh season (that has to mean it's a good show right!) and it's America's Choice. For anyone else that enjoys reality tv you know what that is all about. And for those of you who don't (shame on you first of all....) it's where America gets to decide who will be in the house. Okay technically only half of the total number of people that will get in, but still....it's in OUR hands. I've voted several times today (**) but if you've got nothing better to do in the next few minutes (*) then please head over to www.cbs.com and click on the Big Brother link. Then vote for the following people:

Kaysar (total hottie!)

Howie (gotta love a guy that wants to be a Jedi)

Janelle (sweet combo of sass and bitch)

* I'm cutting this post short so you'll have nothing else to do for the next few minutes which will result in you going and voting (hopefully!)

**I do have better things to be doing (I am a busy girl this week) but you've got to have some priorities right?!

Guest Post

Hey everyone,

Life seems to be on fast forward and frankly I haven't had the blogging bug lately. I'm sure this is a 24 hour thing and I'll be back shortly, but in my absence Mike has been let loose on my blog. Thanks Mike. Enjoy.

Steff


Once again a maiden in distress asks for a guest post from yours truly. Apparently our lil Steffy is a busy, busy girl this week and feels it would be a bad thing to leave her blog neglected and un-used. So she has opted for being abused by me instead.

She did warn me that her mother occasionally reads her blog though. So I assured her I would keep it “mom” safe.

But then she e-mailed me back and said she didn’t want "some watered down lil girl post"
either. Just another example of a woman trying to confuse us I guess.

Well there are a couple of issues here I’d like to clear up:

1) I’m not skeered of your mother. There’s a lot of space between Wisconsin and Texas and if necessary I can hide. If that fails I have great ass-kissing skills anyway.

2) If your mother has seen any of my comments in your blog I’m sure I’d have heard about it by now. She knows I’m a wonderful person and probably wishes you would model yourself after me.

So now that we have that cleared up and to prove just how much on the same page your mother and I are, I’ve elected to do an in depth interview with her. I know she’s just dying to be in the spot light and reveal a little of what makes Steff tick.

Mike: It’s finally nice to sit down and chat with you about your daughter. Before we begin are there any areas we need to stay away from or any topics that would be off limits?
Steff’s Mom: Absolutely not. I’m all for letting the chips fall where they may.

Mike: That’s great. Before we begin can I get you a pepsi or a beer?
Steff’s Mom: No thanks. But if you’re smart you’ll hide your beer in case Steff sneaks in on us though. That girl can drink like a fish, curse like a sailor and her beer belches have woken the neighbors on several occasions.
Mike: Not too ladylike huh?
Steff’s Mom: Not hardly but she’s easy to locate under those circumstances.

Mike: How do you explain this behavior?
Steff’s Mom: That’s simple, all our neighbors are told she has Tourettes Syndrome.
Mike: Nice.

Mike: Can you tell us who her favorite entertainer is?
Steff’s Mom: Pee Wee Herman. Don’t make me regret this interview now. Even after years of counseling she feels it was an imposter in that little theater incident and he was framed.
Mike: Well, that explains the Pee Wee air freshener hanging off her review mirror I guess.
Steff’s Mom: You’ve seen that too? Honestly, can you imagine how mortified her father and I are? Next question please.

Mike: Obviously she considers you and her father as role models but are there any others that helped shaped her life?
Steff’s Mom: Well there was one. I’m a little hesitant to bring him up though.
Mike: Oh, you don’t have to flatter me.
Steff’s Mom: Not you. Now you’ve forced my hand. In no way shape or form do I want people thinking you helped shape her life. I’m talking about Barney.
Mike: That goofy green and purple dude?
Steff’s Mom: Yes. She still wears Barney pajamas to this day. We still can’t have any knick knacks on small tables or shelves because every time she turns around that damn tail knocks things over.
Mike: Any pictures of this you’d like to share with the audience?
Steff’s Mom: No. Sicko. She warned me about this pajama thing you two have going on.
Mike: Ok. Moving on then.

Mike: Steff often brings up her love for trying out new recipes on you folks. Care to give us a little insight on how that works?
Steff’s Mom: Fema has deemed her cooking skills and her easy-bake oven a security risk. They usually cut us a check for the cleanup and the meals we need to go out and eat after each incident. Both her father and I pray the guy she marries some day either is a life time dieter or can actually cook himself. And hide all flammable materials as well.

Mike: She must have a favorite restaurant herself. What must that be?
Steff’s Mom: McDonald’s. Sometimes its hard to get her out of the play area to eat her happy meal though. She also has a thing for Ronald.
Mike: Really?
Steff’s Mom: Sadly, yes. She always making reference to his shoe size. Is that something I need to be concerned with?
Mike: Only if you see them together and he’s shoe-less I’d imagine.

Mike: So is there a man in her life right now?
Steff’s Mom: Unfortunately yes.
Mike: Unfortunately?
Steff’s Mom: Can we keep this question to ourselves? It’s rather embarrassing.
Mike: Of course! Hasn’t Steff told you how thoughtful I am?

Close your eyes and just scroll past this part people. This is too gut wrenching for Steff’s mother and you shouldn’t read her answer.

Steff’s Mom: Well, the other day we caught her at the nursing home hitting on some old duffer in a wheelchair.
Mike: I’m shocked!
Steff’s Mom: Apparently so was he. His heart couldn’t take it and his funeral is tomorrow. She now has a restraining order barring her from getting within 500 feet of the nursing home. This is just too painful. Can we continue this another time?
Mike: Sure, just give me a call.

Well, that’s that I guess. I would appreciate it Steff if you would thank your mother for me for taking the time to shed a little light about you for us.

And…..

Thanks for letting me post today. There is no limit to my idiocy that I’m willing to share with people huh?

This Gem

Jamie's Flowers

My soul is restless tonight. My body is weary. My heart is in a state of confusion. My mind is exhausted. So many things are on my plate right now (some blessings and some curses) but amid all the drama and excitement that is my life I can find a little peace and stillness by looking at God's handiwork. I've mentioned before that there are a few people in my blog roll that capture nature in a way that doesn't make me run for the kleenex or bug spray but instead just simply look and enjoy. Tonight I found this gem and couldn't resist putting up!

Cookin' Somethin' Up

Well, I tried my hand again at cooking. Last night to be specific. I just have to laugh at myself because while I do love to cook and experiment with new recipes, sometimes I just have all kinds of problems in the kitchen.

A few weeks ago, I copied a recipe from a friend of a friend's blog. It sounded easy and, thanks to B putting up a picture, it looked yummy too. It's made from zucchini which seems to grow in abundance this time of year. My family lives in a great little neighborhood where people share things from their garden so we've always got fresh squash and zucchini in the fridge. Well, I've been wanting to try out this recipe for a while, but I couldn't decide if it was a main dish or more of a side dish. And my dad works all day out in the sun so when he comes home he's hungry and wants a good sized meal. Well, I decided to pair it with some fish and cold salads. Sounds easy...but I should know better than that when it comes to something new in the kitchen!

This was actually the meal that was on the dinner menu for Tuesday night, but after I'd gotten all the stuff out and ready, I discovered that I didn't have a grater. (The zucchini has to be grated.) More accurately, I do have a grater...the one my mom gave me when I was in college...which is still packed away. Then my mom remembered that she got a Gizmo electric grater a few years ago. So, I dug it out and started to read the instructions. Wouldn't you know that the stupid thing had to charge for at least 15 hours before the first use? Yeah...it wasn't a popular gift so it got stuck in the cabinet behind some other stuff we don't use very often. At this point I just got frustrated and voted for hamburgers from Sonic. But I did plug in the Gizmo and was determined that Wednesday night would bring these zucchini cakes.

Wednesday night rolls around and I'm set again to try out these veggie cakes. I re-wash the zucchini and put together the gizmo grater. I push the start button and the darn thing doesn't work. Okay...I'm big enough to admit that it was probably a little bit (oh fine...a lot...geez people) of operator error. Maybe the zucchini was too big, or maybe it was the skin was too rough, or maybe...just maybe...the gizmo isn't that great. Anyway, it was shredding the zucchini into mush instead of grating it. Now might be a good time to explain that I lose patience with stuff very quickly. Thankfully, my mom remembered (she's always remembering after I'm elbow deep in mess!) that we have a Presto Salad Shooter over in the pantry. So, I chunk the Gizmo disaster into the sink and pull out the salad shooter. We hadn't used it in a while so I had to wash it before I could use it. Finally, I get the zucchini chopped and put in and the thing works beautifully! My zucchini is grated and my ingredients are mixed...I'm ready to roll into patties. Boy was that a messy thing too. I had big globs of wet zucchini and breadcrumbs and now flour all over my fingers. Thankfully, I got them shaped into patties and eventually into the pan to brown.

While they were cooking, I had to try and clean off the cabinet so that when they were done I'd have room to set out the plates, coleslaw, potato salad, and fish. My simple solution was to just chunk everything into the sink. That's usually what happens when I cook...I have a sink full of stuff to clean up after dinner. In our family we have this I cook...you wash policy but when it comes to me it's dependent on how big of a mess I made! My mom glanced in the kitchen and predicted that I probably wouldn't make these again because of all the frustration I had making them. But, they turned out super good so I'll probably try my hand at them again. You know...this time with the right grating machine and a cleaned out sink.

Anyway, I would recommend these little zucchini cakes to anyone. They really were delicious! And because I'm a thoughtful person I'm even going to include the recipe. If you want to see the finished product travel over to B's blog and scroll down a few posts. Enjoy!

Zucchini Crab Cakes

2 1/2 c. grated zucchini (rind and all)

1 egg, beaten

1 TBSP melted butter

1 c. seasoned bread crumbs

1 tsp. seafood seasoning (I used Old Bay and probably more than a tsp...I just shook till it looked like enough)

1-4 TBSP flour or cracker crumbs

Combine the zucchini, egg, and butter. Add the rest of the ingredients. Shape into patties. Dip patties into the flour or cracker crumbs. Fry on medium high heat in a little vegetable oil until brown on both sides.

Road Trippin'

I just have to say to begin with....I LOVE ROADTRIPS! They are such a blast because you never know where the road or trip will take you.

First, a shout out to all the great ladies that I spent the weekend with:
Pilar (our chaffer)
Linda
Sophia (my CofM&N girl!)
Brianna (a totally cool chick in training)
Karla
Kim
Angie

These women made the trip so much fun. As always, the more people you have the more fun you have and I had tons of it.

So, just to bring everyone up to speed I went to Arlington with some friends this weekend for a scrapbooking convention. I'd never been to one before so I was excited. I was also going on a very tight budget. I probably won't do that again...there were so many things I wanted. And anyone that knows me can understand my "I want I get" attitude about some things. It was hard to walk away from some fabulous scrapbooking supplies! I'm sure I'm going to be rewarded for my restraint...

In the interest of saving money Pilar, Linda, and I decided to share a room. Linda did the hard part and went online and found our hotel room. In the interest of protecting the "not four star" hotel I'll leave out the name of where we stayed. When we first got there we were hauling in all of our stuff and all three of us noticed a smell. Pilar said it could be the fact that the hotel didn't have housekeeping service and Linda thought it might be that they had just sprayed for roaches. Either way it wasn't a pleasant smell! To top that off, when we got to the door there was this little metal plate screwed to the door. We found out after we opened the door that it was holding the deadbolt to the door. Something or someone had tried to rip it off the door. At this point Pilar said that she was bringing in some protection...lol. I should mention that she is licensed to carry. But, to be fair...the hotel room was really big, clean, and comfortable. I have to back track just a second to something I said earlier...there was NO housekeeping services. Pilar went down to get some more towels and the lady at the front desk put clean ones in a trashbag and gave her a second trashbag for the dirties. We got to haul them to the front office ourselves. It want all bad...the shower head felt wonderful. It had a better messaging head and water pressure than what I have at home. The bed was comfy. And I thoroughly enjoyed the pool!

After we'd checked in, we headed to lunch (and the rule was that we weren't eating at any place that we could eat at home) at TGIFriday's. I had...ya'll probably don't care so I'll skip it. I will say that Linda is a true Mrs. Robbinson. She flirts with all our waiters!!! Here I'm surrounded by married women and I'm the only one that should have the right to flirt with hot guys and I'm having to compete with older women...lol. Anyway, after lunch we headed to the convention center. We lucked out and got some front row parking so that was good.

I probably can't do justice to explaining the aisles and aisles of scrapbooking supplies, but let me just say I was overwhelmed! And as Linda says...we had to fondle everything. I think we only made three aisles on the first day. We had to get out in line for the crop. Now only people who have been to a scrapbooking convention or a crop where you have to wait in line can fully appreciate this story. Pilar and I had hauled in all the bags (think heavy and bulky and the fact that it's over 100 degrees outside) and just gotten in line. She was going to make use of the bathrooms and I had just set down to wait when the line starts moving. What??? We were supposed to still have about 45 minutes before they let anyone inside and we were kinda far back in line. You should have seen me trying to pull my two bags, Pilar's two bags, and then whatever Linda couldn't carry. I'd go about ten feet and then have to run back and grab the rest of the bags. The people behind us were probably wishing I'd get my stuff together! Finally, after about four trips of back and forth, Pilar came out and I screamed her name so she'd come and help! Thankfully, after that it was easy going to get into the ballroom for the crop.

You know...I didn't get done nearly as much as I wanted to get down at the crops. I went with big dreams of finishing my New York album...yeah right. I got two layouts completed Friday night. Of course my "Hell"ing A Cab layout was super cute, but I got distracted by dancing and laughing. Let me just tell you...Sophia and I can boogie like nobody's business! Okay...maybe there are people out there that can dance better but I'm sure no one had as much fun as we did!

Saturday was just more of the same...shopping, cropping, laughing, dancing, oh and taking pictures. I took two whole rolls of film and who knows how many those that had digitals took. I can't wait to get my film developed! Oh and I got the chance to talk to a fellow blogger on Saturday night...it's always good to hear a little Texas twang right ya'll? On Saturday night I got even less done than I did on Friday. I only got one layout completed. Probably because I was too busy dancing the chicken and taking pictures of my cleavage. Next time I'll have to have my priorities right...lol!

Sunday morning I got to try out my new swimsuit with Brianna. We went out to the pool only to find that it was still locked. We tried to get back into the building, but our key cards had already been deactivated. I thought no problem...I'll just knock on our window (we were on the first floor) and have Pilar come and open up the door. Well, I knew that our blinds had been closed when I left so I went and banged on the window. Imagine my shock when some guy pulls back the curtains to find me standing in my swimsuit banging on his window! I mumbled sorry and hopped back out of the bushes back onto the sidewalk. Of course, Brianna had jumped back out of view (she'd make a horrible partner in crime!) and was laughing at me. Thankfully, the next window that I tapped lightly on was our room. We got in and went to the front to have the pool unlocked and Brianna's key card reprogrammed. Finally...after all this drama...we were able to get in the pool. It wasn't a big pool but it was cool and we had fun. At some point, Sophia and Pilar came down and started taking pictures. I haven't seen them but hopefully they came out good!

After lunch, we headed to two scrapbook stores. I liked Recollections the best while I would have been completely happy to skip Scrapbook Warehouse. Anyway, on our way to Lewisville, Pilar says that I should look out the sunroof in her car and take a picture of Sophia (who was following us). Okay, see if you can get a good grip on the picture. Pilar (who could try out for NASCAR) is driving down a major highway, I take off my shoes and climb up through the sunroof with my camera and snap a picture of Sophia and Brianna in their car. I come back down...windblown of course...and we all have a good laugh. Well, on our way back, I call Sophia and ask her if her camera is handy...I'll get back up in the sunroof again. Well she does, so there I am hanging out of the roof of the car and Brianna is hanging out the window taking a picture of me. We stop at a light so I get up for the third time and and Sophia hangs out the car window and takes my picture. You know...this isn't as cool as it seems when people do it in limos! It's kind of rough on the back as you try to wiggle back into the car. Anyway, for a final shot I got on my back and stuck my feet through the roof. I think everyone had a good laugh.

So, that basically sums up the weekend. I think everyone had a ton of fun! And like all trips, even though you're excited to go and you have fun, you're ready to be home too. Yesterday I pretty much lazed around and did not a lot. At least I'm recovered from the weekend and I'm ready for my next road trip!

Out Of Pocket...

I'm blowing this joint for the weekend!!! I'm going to Arlington for The Great American Scrapbook Convention with some friends. We're going to talk, crop, shop, and eat...sounds like fun :o) Anyway, if you've stopped by feel free to check out the last few posts for your reading enjoyment. Now, I've got to lick the white powdery donut stuff off my fingers and load my car!

Have a great weekend!

What Type Of Donut Are You?

I was blog hopping a little tonight and ran across someone's blog that had a quiz. Those are so nutty but fun. And I thought this one was appropriate because I enjoyed every bite of my chocolate covered with sprinkles glazed donut this afternoon....yummy!

You Are a Glazed Donut

Okay, you know that you're plain - and you're cool with that. You prefer not to let anything distract from your sweetness. Your appeal is understated yet universal. Everyone digs you. And in a pinch, you'll probably get eaten.

What Donut Are You?

Food...Fun...Sun

Someone recently pointed out that my blog has been lacking recently. Mostly lacking new posts I believe was what was trying to be conveyed. So, to appease all my fans (look at how I implied that I have a lot of them...lol) I've decided to share a few things about my day. Please...contain your excitement. Excitement is hard to clean off the computer.

Perhaps you were wondering about the title of this post. Well, these words sum up today's activities.
Food: I tried a new recipe that is absolutely wonderful!!!!
Fun: BUNKO night...Mexican style.
Sun: I bought a new swimsuit!

Sit back and enjoy!

Ah, the start of summer. Most people have some sort of routine they go through when summer hits. Some take heavy winter coats and sweaters out of the closet. Some take the chains off their tires. Or, if you're from Texas, you simply put the short sleeve shirts in the back of the closet and pull the sleeveless ones to the front. Well, anyway, my summer routine always starts with a new swimsuit. A huge pool of barely chilled water is one of the only ways to stay cool during a Texas summer. And being that I'm a slightly shallow chick, I like to have a new and pretty suit to show off at the pool. Luck was with me today, because my mom mentioned this morning that Kmart had swimsuits on sale for 40% off. (Now I know at least one of you is trying to decide which 40% of my swimsuit that I'm leaving off but try and stay on track here...) So, I decided to go by and see if there was anything I liked. Normally trying on lycra in a tiny fitting room isn't fun. Well, it's really not fun when it's 500 degrees outside and it's the hottest part of the afternoon. I walked in with four suits to try on and wouldn't you know the one that I fell in love with was the last one I tried on? By that point, everything that could stick to anything on my body was. And of course I was having to try on these suits with my undies still on so it was like added layers...icky hotness. But, I put on the final suit (a sweet little tankini number that is light blue, sea green, and white...just adorable and the fit is flattering) and said great...I'm taking this one....assuming I can peel it from my body and get it back on the hanger. Long and hot story short...I got my suit for $25. Not bad.

Tonight was my monthly bunko night. I love bunko...or maybe I just love the girls that I play bunko with! Either way, I always have a blast and tonight was no exception. Tonight was my night to hostess so I got to pick the main dish. I love throwing themed parties so we went with Fiesta! tonight. I choose to bring enchiladas as the main dish. I had planned to just stop by my favorite Mexican restaurant and pick them up, but at the last minute I decided to try my hand at a new recipe. I must say that I was very surprised that they came out so good! I love to cook and putter around in the kitchen. Just not everything I makes comes out...well edible. For instance, when I was in college I tried to pan fry breaded porkchops. You can't pan fry anything breaded. My roommate wasn't too keen on the smoke detectors going off. Anyway, I tried my hand at sour cream and chicken enchiladas and I think they came out great. So I can fake it when I have to!

And speaking of bunko...I got the most bunkos so I got to go second in picking the prizes. I got these really neat girl themed brads...love them! Sophia (my CofM&N girl) is the hostess next month. Can't wait to see what fun we have then!

So, there you have it folks. I had a good day. I think tomorrow I'm regulated to helping clean my parents' bedroom from top to bottom. I hate housework, but I'd do just about anything to earn a few extra dollars before my trip this weekend. Now...off to read!