Monte Christo Lite

I have come up with a superb, lower-calorie alternative to the amazing Monte Christo sandwich. I've only eaten 1.5 Monte Christos in my lifetime, because if I'm going to throw caution to the wind and chow down on a single 1500-calorie food, it's going to involve some sort of cheesecake.

Sorry, fried sandwich.

The original Monte Christo is a ham and cheese sandwich (frequently club-style with a completely superfluous third piece of bread coming into play), battered and deep fried, then covered in powdered sugar and served with a side of jelly for dipping. Oh man, is it good.

My recipe is as follows:

Bread
Jelly of your choice (I prefer blackberry)
Ham slices
Cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like... Gruyere would be heavenly)

Toast the bread. While it's toasting, put your ham on a small plate and top with cheese. Heat it up in the microwave. Smear both pieces of of toast with jelly. Throw the hot ham and cheese onto the bread and make your sandwich. Ta-da!!

Now, it's quite possible that one could make this like a standard hot ham and cheese, putting together the sandwich and heating it up in a pan. I imagine the jelly would get a very molten-lava quality to it, and also the bread might get soggy, which gives me the screaming heebie-jeebies. But if you wanna try it, go for it!

In the end, the thing that makes the Monte Christo great is the combination of salty and sweet elements. This version still gives you those flavors. It's really good.

~

I've never been a big country music fan, but there are many country songs I love. They typically have a crossover vibe and very little in the way of twangy steel guitar. Lately, I've taken a shine to two country songs. (And I've evidently started using the phrase "taken a shine to...")

"Someone Else Callin' You Baby" by Luke Bryan (SUPERtwangy- egads) and especially "(Kissed You) Good Night" by Gloriana



...I should have kissed you
I should have pushed you up against the wall
I should have kissed you
Just like I wasn't scared at all

I turned off the car
Ran through the yard
Back to your front door
Before I could knock
You turned the lock
And met me on the front porch
And I kissed you
Goodnight
And now that I’ve kissed you
It’s a good night good night baby goodnight...

Gah. This one's going in the sidebar----->

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Summer Stock Austin Show

We saw the Summer Stock Austin production of one of my very favorite musicals, Legally Blonde, last night. So much fun!! I honestly think they did an even funnier "gay or European?" scene than the Broadway cast. It brought down the house. It's playing one more weekend at the Long Center.

Song Lyrics of the Day

...Gay or just exotic?
I still can't crack the code 
His accent is hypnotic
but his shoes are pointy toed
Gay or European?
So many shades of gray 
But if he turns out straight, I'm free at 8 on Saturday...

"There! Right There!" from Legally Blonde: The Musical

Summer Stock Austin is concurrently doing a musical called Chess, also at the Long Center. I'd never heard of it, but it features music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA and lyrics by the amazing Tim Rice. Wow! The Summer Stock director said that if you love ABBA's music, you'll love this musical. Now I want to see it, too. Kathy and I are seeing Xanadu at Zach next weekend, so I'm not sure I'll get a chance.

On an unrelated note to perk up your Monday morning, the follow-up Haverty's commercial to the one with the speed dating at the hotel is hilarious.

Speed dating-



Follow-up



Ohmigosh, the mom's face when the awesome Emily does the "he gets all this" thing. Priceless!

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Rowing. Watch It.

Ladies, have you watched men's rowing yet? Don't like rowing? That's okay! Pour yourself a nice glass of wine and just watch and enjoy the view. I missed team USA, but the handsome men of Germany closely beat Great Britain in their heat yesterday. Yeah!! (What happened to Canada in that one?? Sad day!)

Watched the USA/Colombia women's soccer game. Woooooooooo! Our shirts are adorable, by the way. Why is there always one person on the opposing team that annoys me to death with their constant flops? Sometimes I'm more irritated with the referee who keeps falling for it.

Lauren and I got a parking spot right next to the entrance at Ikea on Saturday. We overfilled a regular cart plus a flat cart with college stuff. It was so nice to have a good shopping day where everything was available (except one very cool desk lamp she'll have to get later) and she was finding all the colors and items she wanted. Some were even on clearance. Gotta love that.

Shakira's "Waka Waka (Esto Es Africa)" was on in the car on the way home, via Lauren's iPhone. Now I can't get it out of my head.



The Spanish version ROCKS.


Sunday Stealing: The Too Tired to Think Meme, Part 2

26. What type of errands do you like running?
Anything that involves shopping for anything other than groceries.

27. Have you ever eaten snow?
Snow and snow ice cream!

28. What color are your bedsheets?
white

29. What’s your favorite flower?
tulips

30. Do you do ballet?
every morning

31. Do you listen to classical music?
exceedingly rarely

32. What is the first TV Theme song that pops in your head?
Big Bang Theory theme song by Barenaked Ladies

33. Do you watch Sponge Bob?
Yep. It's one of those shows people either love or hate. I love it!

34. What temperature is it outside right now?
7:35 a.m. 75°F

35. Do people consider you smart?
yes

36. How many piercings do you have?
Two- one in each ear.

37. Are you signed on [to] AIM?
not since 2003

38. Have you ever tried gluing your fingers together?
absolutely not

39. How do you feel about your family?
We're a diverse mix of people- conservative and liberal, funny and serious, boisterous and quiet- and we still have such a great time together. I wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

40. Do you have an iPod?
several that no one uses

41. What time do you go to bed?
around midnight

42. What CD is currently in your CD player?
I don't use a CD player at home. I have a mix CD in my car player.

43. What movie do you know every line to?
Grease

44. What is your favorite salad dressing?
Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette

45. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I have no idea

46. What family member/friend lives the farthest from you? Where?
My German relatives. Most of them are in Worms, a town on the Rhine River near Frankfurt. My parents and I lived there until I was 2.

47. Do you like hugs?
I've always hugged people who are very close to me, like relatives and significant others. I wasn't a big hugger of friends and acquaintances in the past, but in recent years, yes!

48. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
waiting to see if Lauren got in to A&M last spring

49. What’s the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name?
Many people think my last name is Schwartz. I left my hard-to-spell, English translation of a foreign maiden name behind for a refreshingly simple last name, and I get, "How do you spell that? S-C-H...?"

50. Last person you hugged?
Jeff

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Late Night TV and Chick-Fil-A

I had very high expectations from Zach Galifianakis' and Will Ferrell's appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night. PLUS, the gorgeous John Hamm unexpectedly became part of the segment. I mean, doesn't it sound like a pee-your-pants barrel of laughs, with a bonus hunky sidenote?

OHHH YES!

But no.

The whole thing fell flat and was rife with awkward moments. I love those guys, but can we just forget it ever happened and start over? It's shocking that the comedian on Letterman (they're notoriously blah) was better than that group.

Watch the Lady Gaga part at 37:30:

The Late Show- July 26, 2012

"Stefani! You've got barbed wire on your head? We've got an open house! Is that cat food glued to your face?" Ahahahaaa!

On the Chick-Fil-A hoo-ha (run now, save yourself)...

I support gay rights, gay marriage, etc. I completely disagree with the guy's opinion.

Many have said that it's his personal opinion, so people shouldn't take it out on his company. Well, he was speaking on behalf of his company (he otherwise has no public relevance or significance), so it should reflect on his company. Yes, it's his personal opinion, but he makes public statements only as the owner of that company. It was an extremely unwise decision, and I see that Chick-Fil-A has now said, "Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena."

Exactly.

As soon as you feel you are so important that you should take a public stance on something, you need to consider the backlash.

On the other hand, we all know that Chick-Fil-A is a conservative Christian business, because they've put that front and center. It's always Sunday when you say, "Ooh. Chick-Fil-A sounds... Damn! It's Sunday." So it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that he feels that way. If it is, you've been kidding yourself while you ate those waffle fries all these years.

Which brings me to the real crux of this thing- religious opposition to gay marriage. Is it OK that a person believes that gay marriage, premarital sex, abortion, dancing, or anything else is wrong, because their religion has said so for thousands of years? I would like to think people have that freedom. And we are all free to disagree.

It's complicated though. Religion and government are unfortunately mired together on some of these visceral issues. Laws apply to everyone, but not everyone agrees. I almost always believe the law should be more liberal, if it isn't infringing on the rights of another person. If you don't support gay marriage, don't go to a gay wedding. Just because abortion is legal doesn't mean you have to have one yourself.

Wow. I somehow managed to drag abortion into this post. And dancing. I'm nothing if not the queen of controversy. For the record, I'm still very much looking forward to seeing The Campaign!

Have a wonderful Friday!

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iTunes Incomplete Songs

I've just started having this problem this week, and I found it is happening everywhere. When I download purchases from the iTunes store, they appear to download correctly, but when they play, about half of them stop after about 30 seconds and skip to the next song.

I talked with Apple support about it, and redownloading usually fixes the songs. (I had to redownload two songs twice to fix them.) You can redownload on your own, but Apple needs to know what's happening, so definitely drop them an email.

Do a search for "iTunes incomplete songs" and see what I mean. All complaints from the last few weeks. No one knows why it's happening, but it's definitely a common problem.

Check all your recent song downloads from iTunes. Often, I download a bunch of stuff and don't listen to everything right away. I'm glad I caught it!

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Rant

Just how many people are going to use the Colorado theater shooting for their own agendas? We've got the anti-gun folks riled up in one corner, the anti-Hollywood-violence people in another, those heinous Westboro Baptists whose motivation I don't know and don't care to find out, and... oh... here's a new and most ridiculous one- some guy on one of the morning news shows yesterday who actually said this was a "federally funded" tragedy.

You're wondering how long he stayed up the night before, thinking of some unique angle for his story. But stay with him here. See, the monster who committed this crime was a grad student who was receiving government and school stipends, as almost all grad students do. He didn't have any other income, so he obviously used those funds to purchase his weapons and ammunition. This guy's concern was that we should be more careful with who is getting grad school financial aid and what they are doing with the money. 

Um. Seriously? Are you going to start having students submit receipts to make sure they are spending their financial aid on school expenses? That is highly impractical and a little nutty. 99% of grad students are using their money for school. If the university or the NIH knew this guy was a ticking time bomb, they wouldn't have supported him in his pursuit of a PhD or anything else.

Perhaps they just need a checkbox on the scholarship application.


Psychotic killer?  __Yes  __No


Today, I have two guys coming to give me estimates to prune my trees. That's not a euphamism.

I had two dates in one day once. I scheduled them very carefully- one in the morning and one at night. Well, the tree services are both coming "this afternoon." I'm really hoping they don't show up at the same time. I'm envisioning a sitcom-like juggling act, keeping one occupied in the backyard, while the other is in the front.

"Oh! Jerry, have you met Luther?"

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Mmmmkay

Photos from our training a couple of weeks ago are up on Facebook. I was looking through them, remembering the class. Such fun! The software company's trainer reminded me of Mr. Mackey from Southpark.

He said "Mmmmkay" a LOT, which always had me giggling. And he used the word "hover" quite a bit, but he pronounces it like it rhymes with "over." Like nails. On. A chalkboard.

I bought two of my old 80's albums (cassettes) from iTunes yesterday- When in Rome's When in Rome and Glass Tiger's Thin Red Line. I listened to both of these during college, every single song, over and over and over. Talk about a memory rush! Holy cats.

One of my all-time faves--


Song Lyrics o' the Day

...So I slowly made my way to where you were standing
The hounds were gathered near
I didn't care
You sensed desperation
My heart gave me away...

Je pense que je t'adore...

"You're What I Look For" Glass Tiger

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Forgotten Photos

I found this on my iPhone when I was browsing through the pics yesterday. I really need to have a monthly post of "forgotten photos on my phone," to remind me to go through them now and then. There is some really interesting stuff on there.

Supercucumber from Laura's garden--

Everything is bigger in Texas.

Pretty impressive. The thing is about a time and a half the diameter of a soda can.

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Code Red

The Jeffs and I were eating in the Garden Room at Salt Lick last night. At one point a waiter walked out, oddly and unexpectedly shutting the door behind him. It totally reminded me of something that happened while I was at the hospital with my dad last month--

Ursula and I were in my dad's room when the red lights in the hall started blinking, and there was announcement, "Code Red. Fifth Floor." Immediately, a nurse in the hall slammed our (sixth floor room) door shut.

I said, "Surely there isn't a fire and they've just shut our door and didn't tell us to evacuate."

Ursula agreed, and got up and went to check with the nurse. Meanwhile, I was Googling "code red hospital," even though I was pretty sure I knew what it meant.

Ursula told me, "It's LOCKED."

Cue instant disbelief, and a teensy bit of panic. She kept lifting the lever and the door wouldn't open.

I was over there in a flash. (Well, a controlled flash, so as not to have Ursula think she was locked in a room with a crazy person.) I lifted it and it wouldn't open. We went to the window and looked out to see if there were fire trucks or smoke.

I made my way back to the door and yanked the knob so hard the thing might have just popped right off.

The door opened. The nurse was standing there. I asked him if there was a fire. He said it was a fire drill.

"Oh my GOSH, I thought you had locked us in here!" I said.

He laughed. "Nooo!"

Hilarious.

Dude could have said, "Fire drill. I'm just going to close this door," as he was gently closing the door like a normal person. Not that I would have believed that for a second, but still.

For the record, I didn't run across the room and throw open the door at Salt Lick. Very tempting though.


Patrick's Saturday Six

1. Have you ever been to a drive-in theater?
Many times. My parents took me fairly often when I was young.

2. What movie would you most like to try watching in a drive-in theater?
Thelma and Louise, so we could sit in the front seat and raise our hands up during the cliff scene. And see Brad Pitt naked.

3. Which sport do you feel you are best at?
basketball

4. How many devices (count monitors, printers, phones, etc.) are on your computer desk now?
1 iPhone, 1 monitor, 2 speakers, 1 wireless mouse, 1 wireless keyboard, 1 printer, 1 scanner, 1 camera--- so... 9

5. Are you more likely to charge your cell phone at home, at work or in the car?
overnight on my nightstand

6. Do you tend to get most of your news online from a news site or social media like Facebook or Twitter?
from news outlets in my Facebook news feed

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Too Tired to Think Meme Part I

We're finally settled in for some time with minimal travel and/or events. Between this major Foundation website migration and it being less than four weeks to the kiddo heading to college, that is a good thing!


Sunday Stealing: The Too Tired to Think Meme, Part 1

1. You have 10 dollars and need to buy snacks at a gas station. What do you get?
Smokehouse almonds and a Diet Dr. Pepper

2. If you were reincarnated as a sea creature, what would you want to be?
a dolphin

3. Who’s your favorite redhead?
I want to say Emma Stone, but I'm pretty sure she dyes hers. Nicole Kidman.

4. What do you order when you’re at IHOP?
pancakes and bacon

5. Last book you read?
Happiest Kid on Campus: A Parent's Guide to the Very Best College Experience (for You and Your Child) by Harlan Cohen

6. Describe your mood.
content

7. Describe the last time you were injured.
I can't remember anything recently. The last major thing was a couple of years ago, when I stepped on a large sewing needle, which embedded in a tendon in my foot and had to be removed with pliers at the ER.

8. Of all your friends, who would you want to be stuck in a well with?
Kathy. She'd be freakishly calm and figure out a logical way to get us the heck out of there.

9. Rock concert or symphony?
rock concert

10. What is the wallpaper of your cell phone? The number? (We'll just say "hi" - promise.)

11. Favorite soda?
if I'm indulging in regular soda, Dr. Pepper

12. What type of shirt are you wearing?
a Foundation T-shirt

13. If you could only use one form of transportation?
Car - so boring, but so practical! If I didn't need to transport people or things, and didn't have to travel outside my neighborhood, I would say scooter.

14. Most recent movie you have watched in theater?
Moonrise Kingdom

15. Name an actor/actress/singer you have had the hots for.
Joe Manganiello

16. What’s your favorite kind of cake?
chocolate

17. What did you have for dinner last night?
I made Sunny's Avenue J Pizza (sans mushrooms, because Lauren and Jeff despise them) and salad

18. Look to your left, what do you see?
Kiptyn sprawled out and sleeping on my desk

19. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
nope

20. Favorite toy as a child?
my Lemon Twist

Wow. It looks sort of questionable, doesn't it? It was the precursor to the Skip It-

21. Do you buy your own groceries?
No, I have my butler buy them. Of course I buy my own groceries.

22. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?
People talk about everyone behind their backs. I seriously doubt I'm a frequent subject, especially in a bad way.

23. When was the last time you had gummy worms?
on a "dirt cake" at a kids' party when Lauren was little

24. What’s your favorite fruit?
watermelon

25. Do you have a picture of yourself doing a cartwheel?
Lori has one, but I don't have a copy of it. We did twirling and gymnastics in her yard pretty much every day.

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Onset, Mass.

Onset was beauuuutiful. The aunts stayed in the house on the beach, and all the cousins and their families (that's us) commuted from nearby hotels each day.

The house was fabulous and the weather was perfect most of the time. One huge storm came through, which was actually rather awesome. Tina and I were driving out to their ranch to feed the horses at the time, and I aaaaalmost got the perfect photo of lightning over a picturesque hotel in town. We drove around the block twice to catch it again, but by then the rain was pelting the windshield so hard that we couldn't see a thing.

Nope. Nothing.

Horses!

Rodeo and Sunny-Boy

A big group of us went to watch the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge move up and down one afternoon. It only lowers about twice a day, and we were told a train goes through every weekday at 4 p.m.

As it turns out, the train doesn't have a schedule, so we weren't able to see the bridge move.

Pretty though!

From YouTube, where I see a lot of other people had the same problem trying to catch the action, here's the bridge going up and down---



Very cool.

Quote from a local with the BEST Boston accent we heard all week, a guy we met fishing near the bridge-- "You're from the South, where people are friendly and nice. You know they why they put the M in Mass.? To be polite." He chatted with us for a long time about the railroad bridge and its history, along with several other places to go and see in the area. So nice! I could have listened to him talk all afternoon, but his little boy was getting bored out of his mind, so he had to leave.

There was also a local couple there who happened to "know a guy," who actually called their friend to see if he could give them an estimated time the train would be coming that day. Again- so nice! Come on, New Englanders. More cold and brusk, less friendly. You've got a rep to protect. ;)

Jeff found a teensy-weensy crab. It's in the upper left corner of the shell.

I know. It's like looking at a sonogram. See the legs and tiny claws?
It's facing the upper left. That's Jeff's thumb on the left side. Teeny!

Not to be outdone, Luke found a horseshoe crab, one of the world's scariest creatures.

Eww.

Lots of food. Lots of games and hanging out. Great times! Would love to spend a month there. Especially now in the summer.

On the way home, we were the second-ever commercial flight of one of Southwest's brand new 737-800s. ("We worked out the kinks on the way here from Phoenix," the flight attendant joked.) The plane was very nice, particularly the way the overhead compartments work. Your bag sits inside the door, and then the door folds up into the ceiling, creating far more space in the cabin.

Oooh. Spaceshippy.

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Monday, Monday...

A Democratic analyst was angrily going on yesterday, saying "There must be something there (in Romney's old tax returns), or he would say, 'Here! Have at it!'"

Such hypocrites. This is exactly like Obama not immediately turning over his birth certificate when questions arose about it during his 2008 campaign. Incidentally, as a legal requirement of the office, proof of citizenship at birth was far more important than seeing proof that Mitt Romney is super-wealthy.

I'll just tell you... Romney is super-wealthy.

You're welcome.

I'm not voting for either of these candidates. I'm just going to complain about both of them for the next 4 months.

We saw Moonrise Kingdom yesterday. It was funny and cute. Quirky. It had an awkward, Blue Lagoon moment. (Now everyone can refer to that sort of thing as a Moonrise Kingdom moment.) I liked the film, but I wouldn't tell you to rush out and see it. Bruce Willis is one of my favorite actors. He can really bring it, no matter the role.

We just sent Lauren off to camp for the week. She is psyched! I hope she has a great time. Jeff and I are heading to Massachusetts tomorrow for a family reunion. I am beginning to feel like I live at the airport!

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Sunday Stealing: The Movie Time Meme

Sunday Stealing: The Movie Time Meme

1. What is your all-time favorite movie costume?
Every single costume Satine (Nicole Kidman) wears in Moulin Rouge. Stunning. Here are just a few...

My absolute fave. So sparkly! LOVE the hat and gloves.

2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake?
Jaws

3. Name your favorite femme fatale.
Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

4. Name the best movie title.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I didn't like the film though.

5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen.
Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. Hugely popular performance, I know. But really?

6. Who gets your vote for most tragic movie monster?
The Blob

7. What is the one Western that you would recommend to anybody?
Tombstone

8. Who is your ideal movie-viewing partner?
My ideal movie-viewing partner enjoys the same sorts of films as me, speaks at barely a whisper and only when absolutely necessary during the movie, never ever looks to see if I am crying during a touching or sad moment, and is watching it for the first time along with me... or for an additional viewing because we both saw it and loved it before. It's usually a different person for different movies, but Cathy and I probably are the most compatible in general.

9. Has a film ever made you want to change your life? If so, what was the film?
The Truman Show was a fantastic film that made me think a lot about perspective and following my heart.

10. Think of one performer that you truly love. Now think of one scene/movie/performance of theirs that is too uncomfortable for you to watch.
George Clooney in Batman and Robin

11. On the flip side, think of one really good scene/performance/movie from a performer that you truly loathe.
I truly loathe Tom Cruise as a person, but he's a great actor. As for an actor whose acting I typically loathe- Nicolas Cage was great in Raising Arizona.

12. What is your favorite romantic comedy?
Hi Fidelity

13. What is your favorite drama?
Love Actually

14. Worst film you've seen?
The Human Centipede

15. How do you feel about the majority of romantic films being labeled "chick flicks"?
I think it keeps guys from wanting to go and see them. Guys like romance movies sometimes, just like chicks enjoy action flicks now and then.

16. Favorite on-screen couple?
Rose and Jack from Titanic

17. Favorite off-screen couple?
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

18. Best kiss in a movie?
The Notebook. Passionate kiss. In the rain. "You wrote me?..."



19. Favorite scene?
These questions are killing me. So so many! I'll go with the funeral scene during Steel Magnolias, where M'Lynn finally loses it, and then they all end up laughing when Clairee offers up Ouiser for her to slap.



20. Who are 2 film characters you wished had gotten together, but never did?
Eowyn and Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. You know, if Arwen got hit by a bus or something.

21. Two actors you think would have great chemistry, but have never done a film together?
Bradley Cooper and Kate Hudson. I don't think they've been in a film together yet.

22. Favorite song in a film (doesn't have to be from a musical)?
"Come What May" from Moulin Rouge. I've heard this song a trillion times. It still gives me chills.



23. Best score from a film?
Moulin Rouge

24. Best film quote?
"...It's not a purse. It's called a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one." Alan in The Hangover

25. A film you'd recommend that is a "Must See" for us to watch?
50 First Dates

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Home

Well, I'm back from training in Phoenix. Far too many stories to recount this early in the morning, but I have to say the best food of the week was our class dinner at Fuego Bistro. OMG. It was so delicious! They did a family style meal for 18 of us in a private room, with several appetizers and entrees. I will single out their Pernil Asado as the most outstanding dish we had, but they were all something special. But... the Pernil Asado. Fly there. Get some.

There was much talk on Monday of approaching monsoons, which we out-of-towners assumed were powerful, heavy rainstorms. When the rain started on Wednesday (and continues now), we found out it's just plain old rain. When you get it that rarely, you have to call it something dramatic. ;) And as Sam Champion said on GMA, "It's a dry heat in Arizona, but not during monsoon season." Luckily the 113-degree days were dry. The monsoons were on the cooler 104-degree days.

There was a beautiful lightning show across the mountains on the horizon at night. I really loved that. Had a fabulous time and met a lot of great people! Oh and I learned some stuff, too.

Saturday 9

1. What helps you get through the night?
Benadryl and tequila

2. Do you ALWAYS keep an open mind?
Actually, this is one thing I try very hard to do in my life. Especially if I have very passionate feelings one way or the other on something. I think about the opposing view and its merits. In general, I feel that people are all making what they think are the best decisions in their daily lives, so there are almost always logical reasons for those choices. I cannot say that I always do it, but almost always.

3. Who is the wisest person you know?
my grandfather

4. Who is the strongest person you know?
emotionally- Kathy, physically- Doug

5. How would we tell by your behavior if you are having a bad day?
I think I sigh a lot when I'm having a bad day. Oh, and I don't sing along with whatever music is playing.

6. Does your ego sometimes get in your way?
Usually my agreeability gets in my way.

7. Do you believe in Zen? If yes, can it be mastered?
Well, I'm not a Buddhist, so I don't "believe" in it in a religious sense, but as a general pop culture term, I do think one can master being calm and centered.

8. Do you believe you could teach someone, like your child, to be competitive?
Nope. That's a personality trait I don't think can be taught. It's like teaching someone to be shy.

9. Do you believe home is not a place but rather a state of mind?
No, it's definitely a place. Not a house or condo, but all your surroundings and the people in your daily life. I identify it as my neighborhood or city. Actually, by the end of this past week, we were all calling the hotel "home," so I don't know. I would like to change my answer. It's BOTH a place and a state of mind.

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Thumbs Up for 'Ted'

Ted was really funny. Seth MacFarlane has a way of taking humor right to the edge and pushing it into the abyss of "OMG he did not just do that." I particularly enjoyed seeing Mark Wahlberg in a dorky role. Entertaining summer flick.

Next up- Magic Mike, which I hear is "too much story, not enough dancing." And from Angel, "too much story, not enough Joe Manganiello."

Oh, and Moonrise Kingdom, which is getting amazing reviews!


Sunday Stealing: The Imaginary Meme, Last Part

181. What's the BEST rock band that you have seen live?
Prince and the Revolution. Hands down.

182. Could you image being in a situation where you would run from the police?
No. And I have zero sympathy for anyone who is injured running from the police.

183. Have you ever been asked for an autograph?
No

184. What would you change about your living room?
I would get a new sectional. The current one is super comfy and fits the room perfectly, but the fabric hasn't worn well at all. I'd also love to make the room bigger, and the layout a little more TV-friendly, but that would involve moving some walls, so...

185. Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home?
Plastic. Not like red Solo cups. Cheerfully colored, dishwasher-safe 20 oz cups.

186. Last hug?
Jeff

187. Have you ever had to make up your mind?
...Pick up on one and leave the other behind...? I've never been equally interested in two guys at the same time, where I had to make a conscious decision between them.

188. What is on top of your refrigerator?
Jeff's Zotz candy

189. Did it work out for you in terms of kids? (Meaning how did it work out & are you happy. In other words, from “Have none, wanted none” to “8 kids & 3 grandkids)
I had a son who died while I was pregnant with him, so this is an impossible question to answer. I've never had a particular longing to have more kids since then, so I can honestly say I am happy with one child. I think life would have been very different, but equally wonderful with two. :)

190. Are you afraid of the dark?
If I've just watched a scary movie, or I am completely alone in the house... a bit.

191. What if you had three wishes – what would you wish for?
Term limits for Congress, a big dose of reality for Teresa Giudice, and three more wishes

192. Do you feel sad often?
No

193. Have you ever been in lust for an extended period of time?
Oh yes.

194. Do you shower daily?
Of course

195. Have you ever prank called someone?
Lori and I did a lot of prank calling in our day.

196. If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
Compared to most, no

197. You are about to die. What do you do with your worldly possessions?
Give them to Lauren. She'll be so thrilled.

198. Tell us about the first time that you bought a car.
My sophomore year of college, a work friend of Mom's was selling his old maroon Mazda GLC, which had been maintained incredibly well, for $1200. She paid half and I paid half. Not a bad deal!

199. What is your favorite type of music?
Pop

200. What’s your family like? 
On both sides, my extended family laughs a lot when we're together. They're funny and warm people, with the common couple of noted exceptions. (HEY. I can be funny and warm when I want to. :p ) There are five siblings on Mom's side, three on Dad's. My grandpa (Mom's dad) is 92 and my oma (Dad's mom) is 94. The youngest of the clan is my cousin's baby, Jacob, who is seven months. We are spread all over the world at this point. I have aunts and uncles from Munich to Chicago to Denver to Gulf Shores. I really wish we were all closer geographically. We've gotten together every couple of years or so for reunions on my mom's side. I haven't seen my German relatives in person since Lauren was 3. The internet is a great place for spread-out families like us.

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Friday Five

Jeff and I are headed out soon for an overnight date! Hope everyone is having a Fab Friday!!


Friday Five: Crushes!

1. Do you remember your first crush? Did you tell them?
My first one ever was Carter Clark in first grade. He was amazing. He stapled his finger once, and didn't cry. Not at all. The staple was all the way in his finger and he just pulled it out. I told my parents about it often. I didn't mention to anyone that I had a crush on Carter, but Mom and Dad probably gathered as much.

2. Did you have a crush on a teacher? Which one?
I had a total crush on my American History professor at A&M. I cannot remember that guy's name to save my life. Here's what I wrote about him before, on a meme question about my most memorable class:

Hottest professor ever. Longish hair and glasses. Wore a suit. When he talked about history he got all wound up and paced around. He would put his hands in his hair and at some point he would loosen his tie. When the glasses came off, you could almost hear all us girls gasp. Yep. Pretty memorable.

3. Do you still have crushes? Do you ever tell them?
Not on real people. On celebrities, yes. I've never actually told a celeb that I had a crush on him, but if any of them were right here at this moment... Nah, I still wouldn't. That would immediately "crush" the possibility of a regular conversation.

4. What is your opinion of someone telling your crush object you have a crush?
Only if I asked them to tell the person. Otherwise, it's a complete violation of trust by a friend. My first REAL crush- Bobby in 6th grade- I foolishly asked someone to tell him. Big mistake. Never do that. He was very sweet about it (of course he was!), but it's never a good idea. Humiliation usually follows.

5. What does "having a crush" mean to you?
Crushes are intense infatuations, primarily desire-driven, almost always involving people who are unattainable for some reason (in a relationship, out of your league, your professor...).

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Five Hundred Bucks in My Pocket

I sold $500 in website ads to one vendor on Monday. Wheeeee!! Biggest single advertising deal ever for me. I'm the queen of the soft sell. When ads are up for renewal, I send an email that says, If you wanna renew, cool. If not, no hard feelings. Okay, it doesn't literally say that. Close, though. And I've never specifically asked non-advertising vendors if they'd like to advertise. Honestly I don't have the time or interest, as long as the ads sell themselves and my website hosting fees are covered.

Anyway, YAY!

New Bookworm high score for me--

Curious as a Cat

1) What makes you smile like nothing else can?
Not a who? Ok--  Amazing concert finales.

2) Are there any reality TV shows you'd try out for?
Real Housewives of Austin

3) Tell about a family member you're very proud of.
Lauren. She's gone through an awful lot the past year and a half, yet managed to graduate from high school on time while maintaining her fabulous GPA... and is on her way to college!

4) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.

I have lots of stories that come to mind. None I can tell here. Oh wait. It's a bullet. I assumed the wrong scale. *cough*

When my mom and I road-tripped from Houston to Nashville when I was a teenager, we stopped for gas in Tupelo. She started pumping the gas. I got out and came around the car to chat with her, and I saw a bullet on the ground. I pointed down and said, totally deadpan, "You dropped your bullet."

We about peed our pants laughing. So silly! I have no idea why it was so damn funny, but it ended up being our longest running gag EVER.

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Happy Birthday, America!

Dang that girl could sing, back in the day. So effortless.

~

This week on Real Housewives New Jersey, Kathy's mom told the story of how, when she was five years old, her parents gave her to her aunt to raise, because her aunt couldn't have children. They dressed her up and brought her over to the aunt's house, sat her in a chair, gave her a doll... and left her there. She grew up thinking of her aunt as her mother. Her siblings were all raised by the parents. She met up with her mother and siblings later and didn't feel any sort of bond, because she didn't even remember them. How awful! Just... nightmarish.

~

In the interest of truth in blogging- The other day I said something about rock climbing at camp many years ago. As it turns out, we were rappelling, not climbing. Completely different direction. Incidentally, that doesn't mean I will consent to rappel down a skyscraper. Even for charity.

~

Guess what!! SimCity for PC is BACK!!



One of the best PC games ever. Feb 2013.

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Anderson Comes Out

For my girlies who have crushes... :(

Anderson Cooper: "The Fact Is, I'm Gay."

Shocking, I know. ;) Now he can officially be a member of Laura's and my Hotties of the Gay Community list, as well as Hotties of CNN.

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Weekend Roundup

Jeff, Kathy and I went to Malaga on Friday night. My favorite dish was the Coca de Pato Ahumado-  grilled Spanish flat bread with smoked duck breast, Cabrales blue cheese and caramelized onions, drizzled with raspberry vinaigrette. I've never had anything there I didn't love, so try anything if you go.

We walked through the Sixth St. crowd to Esther's Follies afterward. (I resisted the urge to tell the 20-year-olds at Maggie Mae's that I was going there before they were a twinkle in their parents' eye. You're welcome, Jeff and Kathy.) Esther's Follies is such an iconic Austin comedy show. Always hilarious! And so timely- 24 hours after the Supreme Court healthcare decision and they performed a full-cast song about it. Billy Brooks also does a fantastic bit as Barack Obama giving a campaign speech at a podium, in the style of an Old Spice commercial. "...Now I'm a cowboy." Bwahaha!

Jeff, JeffC and I enjoyed our time at Jester King on Saturday. The setup out there is just superfun! There is a live band and some sort of food truck every Saturday afternoon. (They're building a brick oven pizza joint on site, so that is in the near future!) You pay $10, which includes parking, a tour of the brewery and six half-glass samples of their beers of the day. My favorite of last weekend was Drinkin the Sunbelt. It's a citrusy beer, somewhat similar to Shiner's Ruby Redbird.

The weekly event was very well-attended. There are tons of picnic tables to sit and have lunch and beer and listen to the band. The tour is done by one of the owners, and was fun and informative. It's a neat place to hang out on a Saturday afternoon!

We saw Brave on Sunday. It was cute and I liked it, but I didn't think the story was that great. The whole bear theme was random. Everyone in our theater seemed to think the film was fine as well. So I give it a B-. The best part of it--- the trailer for The Hobbit!

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Bikes vs. Pedestrians

While we were downtown Friday night, a large group of about 15 cyclists came barreling through our crosswalk, literally full of pedestrians. The cyclists' light was red, of course. As they went through, several of us angrily commented that it is no wonder Austin cyclists have trouble catching a break from drivers and pedestrians. The crowd outside at the cafe on the corner echoed our sentiments.

I know most bike riders aren't reckless lawbreakers like those yutzes, but when you're on a bicycle, you represent cyclists as a group. If you don't put out the word and police yourselves, the assumption of others is that you think you are above the rules.


Sunday Stealing: The Imaginary Meme, Part Seven
(Editor's note: This meme was written by a twelve year old. Each week we've had to change a question or completely find another question. So, we changed “Have you ever kissed someone?” to “killed someone?” in hopes of asking the stupidest meme question of all time.)

121. Have you gone rock climbing? If not, would you?
When I was in junior high school we did some rock climbing along some short (maybe 25 feet) but sheer drops at a state park or somewhere like that during summer camp.

122. Do you believe in forever love in a romantic relationship?
Of course

123. As a kid did you ever sneak anyone into your house?
No

124. Do you personally know anyone homeless?
Thankfully no.

125. Do you believe in aliens?
I believe there are definitely other life forms in the universe. Intelligent ones? Perhaps. I'm open to that possibility.

126. Have you ever killed someone?
With kindness :)

127. What would it take for you to sell your soul to a devil?
I wouldn't.

128. Top or bottom?
Bottom

129. Are you happy with your career?
It's non-existent at the moment. So N/A.

130. What's your favorite store to buy clothes? Why?
I don't really have a fave. I have clothing from just about everywhere.

131. What is your eye color?
Green

132. Watching or playing sports?
Watching

133. Would you have plastic surgery?
If something bothered me a lot, yes. I would stay away from things like a major nose job, which change a person's face to a completely different face.

134. Name one website that you visit daily. Why do you read it?
The Bloggess. She always makes me smile.

135. Are you going on vacation this year? If so, where?
We went on an Eastern Caribbean cruise, but really it was all about the ship itself- Oasis of the Seas.

136. How do you align yourself politically?
Independent, with a lean to fiscal conservatism and social liberalism

137. Do you have any pets?
Lauren's two cats- Kiptyn (named after Kiptyn Locke) and Maya (named after Maya Angelou)

138. Do you believe in soul mates?
This is the most popular meme question ever. I don't believe in the typical definition, that there is one person in all the world to whom each of us is fated to be married... that by some amazing stroke of unimaginable luck, we manage to locate that person among billions. I believe in multiple soul mates, including best friends as well as romantic relationships. These are people who really "get" each other, who just easily talk and laugh together from the moment they meet. They're not necessarily similar to each other in a lot of ways. They may even be very different. They're just exceptionally "connected."

139. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself?
Hate is a very strong word, but I would like to be more patient.

140. How long have you played Sunday Stealing?
Since the third week! September 2008. Here are my answers.

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