Checking in...

I'm going to try updating this here blog of mine. Obviously, I haven't thought about it in a while, seeing as I haven't had a post in a year and a half!

I've still been baking and cooking, I'll try to share recipes for the stuff that turned out good. And, whatever else I come across.

I tried a new place by me (as in walking distance, by me) and it was great! Their food was yummy and different...the margs were quite tasty! Their happy hour starts at 11 am on Saturdays, maybe I don't need to be there from opening til almost closing next time I go, though. It would probably make for a better Sunday! Anyway...check them out! They recently opened and are trying to get their name out there, if you've been to Fuzzy's or Yucatan Taco Stand, you'll be happy to hear their head chef is the same guy that created those two great restaurants.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buffalo-Cantina/188482447849483?sk=wall

I promise, you'll hear from me again, soon.

I'm

still alive :)

No Pictures

I've been on a cooking kick lately, I didn't take any pictures, but I've made some really great food, well, it tasted great to me, anyway.


First up was modified pork tacos. I took JennAnn's recipe and modified it a little, really I need to work on the modification because it's more work than probably necessary. But, they tasted JUST like H3's pork tacos, which are oh so yummy!

Here's what I did:

2-4 thick boneless pork chops
finely chopped onion
green chilis (4 oz)
chicken broth (1 reg size can)
barbeque sauce
brown sugar

Pour finely cut onions on top of pork chops in your slow cooker, along with green chilis, then pour chicken broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Take chops out of crock pot and wipe away onions and green chilis and shred with two forks, it really comes apart very easily. Clean out the crock pot and put the shredded meat back in. Dissolve about 1/4 cup of brown sugar in about 1/2 cup hot water and pour in the crockpot. Pour about 1/2 cup of bbq sauce in crock pot and pour more water in so meat is sitting in water, just enough to keep it moist and let it cook for another hour on low. Drain the meat.

This is terrible, but I fried corn tortillas (just the store bought ones) in a little bit of grease and folded them once a little crisp.

Fill tortillas with meat, cheese, guacamole, and salsa. You can add sour cream if you want.

I need to tweak this a little before I really call it a "recipe" because I don't have exact measurements, but if you do as I did above, you will have some damn good tacos!


Next, was my interpretation of El Arroyo's Chicken Monterrey

4 chicken breasts

8 oz can chicken broth
1 small can rotel
taco seasoning
Monterey Jack cheese
4 slices cooked bacon, chopped up

Preheat oven at 350.

Cut chicken breast in half and sprinkle with taco seasoning, lay between two pieces of wax paper and flatten with the flat end of a meat tenderizer. You can make them very thin, but it's not necessary, just make sure all breasts are even in thickness so they cook even. The wax paper is so pieces of chicken don't go flying all over your kitchen and/or on you.

Pour chicken broth and rotel in 9x13 glass pan. Place chicken breasts in one layer in the pan. Sprinkle cheese on each chicken breast (don't be shy.) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked. Don't overcook because chicken will be dry, this is great with juicy chicken.

Once you take the chicken out of the oven, put the bacon on top of the melted cheese.

Serve with guacamole, black beans, and rice.


And last, Fish tacos. This was to be my interpretation of Fuzzy's fish tacos, but I know they don't use catfish!

3 catfish filets (really any white fish, my meat market only had thawed catfish, everything else was frozen)
seasoned fish fry
ranch dressing
lemon juice
garlic salt
feta cheese
shredded cheese
cilantro (optional)
tortillas

Fry fish anyway you want. Make sure they filets are cut up into small sized cubes. In your tortilla, fill with fish, sauce, feta cheese, shredded cheese, and cilantro.

To make sauce, mix ranch dressing, lemon juice, and garlic salt to taste.

Old Friends

I have made a lot of new friends in the past couple of years and I see a lot of them, it seems that I'm seeing a lot less of my older friends, it makes me kind of sad. Monday night I caught up with an old friend, I've known her since my freshman year in high school from basketball and her mom was my freshman English teacher, and my favorite English teacher to date. (I won't be having any more English teachers, so she'll remain my fav.)


Anyway, I met Malissa at Yucatan Taco Stand on Magnolia in Fort Worth...no it's not a roll around cart, it's actually a nice place with a little patio that is just perfect when the temp is 80 degrees outside. It was started by the same guy that did Fuzzy's tacos, so they're tacos were great. Malissa got a grilled fish plate (no taco) and it was excellent, I will try that next time. I've only ever gotten fish tacos at Fuzzy's, but she swore the garlic beef taco was excellent...and she was right...mmmmm good! We met for dinner at 630 and I wasn't heading home until 1030, we had so much to catch up on. She has some big news coming soon, I'm excited for her! I hadn't seen her in a year or so, I'm not exactly sure how long (besides too long) but I still have her birthday gift from last year, her birthday is next month, if that gives you any idea of how long it's been.

We talked about work, friends, guys, friends, work, my industry, friends, her industry, friends, family, and generally just caught up. Even though we caught up for four hours, we still have so much more to say, I can't go that long without seeing a good friend, it's just not allowed. Since I live so much closer now, she lives downtown, I think we'll be having dinner more often. She's really busy with work (she's an attorney in the oil business) and I've been busy with work, she spends a lot of time with her family, her boyfriend, they go to see his family out of state, and she has lots and lots of friends, too. She told me about her 10 year reunion that's coming up, 10 YEARS?! She only graduated a year before me, oh gawd, that means my 10 year is coming up. It feels so wierd to be able to say something happened 10 years ago that didn't involve holding my dad's hand as we got in line for a roller coaster ride. Malissa had thought about helping plan her reunion, then she told me about the "issues" they're already having in the planning committee, such things as napkin colors and invites before the place to hold it is even decided. Seriously, it's a high school reunion, our school colors were black and red, how about black and red napkins. Oh, and if you want to keep the cost down and we are in the technology age (it's not still 1999 when you graduated) how about an evite?! I don't think I'll be helping plan my reunion, I think I'll just show up....and I need to somehow lose about 75 lbs by then, I should probably get started.


Anyway, it was great to catch up with an old friend, someone that's known me for a long time, I should probably go see less shows and see more old friends...and new ones, I still love chatting with my new friends, too. Obviously, there was no point to this post, sorry to have wasted your time.

Oh what a weekend

This past weekend was good times, indeed. Kaitlin came up Friday night to hang out for the weekend. We went over to Woody's for Micky and the Motorcars, it was WAY crowded. We stayed until about 1 am and decided to head home. Saw Nikki and Melanie there, had a few drinks and may or may not have had a jagerbomb...man I love those things. I so looked forward to Saturday morning when I could sleep and lay in bed as long as I wanted to...until I found out I would be getting served by a process server and didn't want them to know where I live so I had to get up and be in the Albertson's parking lot at 10 am, yay! I did find a donut shop very close to my house that is oh so good...and...cheap! So, we had donuts for breakfast after I got served. Which means, I'll be in a deposition Friday morning, yay! *eye roll*

Kaitlin and I are a little crafty and like to make cards and stamp stuff. My Stampin' Up demonstrator was holding a punch class, making cards with different shaped punches. She and I went up to The Colony for the class to make these cards:

(I'm not very good at taking pics of cards, I can't seem to get it to focus, oh well.)

It was fun seeing how one punch could make something so different. I think I'll be buying more punches.

We went to see Whitney after the class because she lives so close...the baby room is looking so cute and I can't wait to meet her little girl, I just hope she has a name by the time she's born!

It's 5 pm and we haven't eaten since 10 am, we're starving and head to Roadhouse, yummy! I love that place. Then we head back to my house to relax and craft, Kaitlin finishes a card and I don't finish much of anything, good job, Shelly. We're tired and hit the hay...then I get a text from Sarah *d* around 1 am...30 minutes later, she, Aaron, and Kevin are headed to my house, did I mention I was laying in bed? I rush around cleaning up and changing out of pjs, and wake up Kaitlin because I'm sure she'd prefer me to wake her up rather than Aaron or Kevin, because God only knows what would be in her face to wake her up with those two! We stay up drinking until around 530 and Sarah and I actually get to go to sleep around 630...from not good times, ugh!

Sarah met us at Joe T Garcias around 5pm to begin our day, we got an early start. ;) Kaitlin had never been and it was the perfect day for margaritas on the patio. They're food is okay, but the atmosphere combined with strong margaritas really make that place. Aaron drove us around downtown before that to show some sights, I was pointing out things that were hit by "The Tornado" and then I had to tell about the tornado, I forget it's only common knowledge to those of us that lived here 9 years ago, 9 YEARS AGO? That was my senior year in high school, wow, 9 years ago...I'm getting old. Anyway, enough of my self pity, next time I'm taking her to Dallas to see Victory Park, the grassy knoll, and maybe the book depository, which I've never even seen...oh and Adairs, how could I forget Adairs?! So, we saw Woody's, downtown, the Stockyards (Northside,) Joe T Garcias, and the White Elephant. It was a fun weekend but had to end...I left Aaron and Sarah at the White Elephant while I took Kaitlin back to my house so she could make it home before she fell asleep! I, too, was quite tired, but still went back to the WE and drank some more. Good times with those fools...good weekend, can't wait to do it all again!

I have a lot of great ideas

This particular blog post is not about any of them, it's about probably my worst idea, ever.

I went to meet Sarah last night for dinner at 8.0. I had the bright idea of sitting inside because it was windy, there was an AWFUL band playing inside that made us hurry up and eat to get out of there. Sarah brought a very drunk friend, Kim, with her and Kevin met up with us before we ordered. You would have thought the people I was with would question my next brilliant idea since my first one of the night didn't work out so well. They didn't. I wanted ice cream all day yesterday, so I said ,"let's get ice cream." There wasn't any on the menu there at 8.0 so Sarah piped up that she wanted birthday cake ice cream from Coldstone. I liked her idea because I'm a fan of the Coldstone ice cream. So, I consult the GPS on my cell phone and it says there's one 1.5 miles away. Sarah and I think we could use the walk so we could work off some of the ice cream. Downtown's not huge but we're not exactly sure how big it is, so we figure 1.5 miles is still within the downtown area so we set off, on foot, to Coldstone. We get to the part where 6th and 7th come together (the address on GPS says it's on 7th) and there is no Coldstone in sight. I consult GPS, again, and it's 1.3 miles away...we were several blocks from 8.0 so I figure it's just confused because we're on foot on a one way street, going the wrong way and we keep walking. Sarah jokes that it's probably by Target, Kevin says it's probably in the Montgomery Plaza, which is right next to Target. I think, there is no way Montgomery Plaza is only 1.5 miles from downtown, so we keep walking. Kim is griping about how tired she is and wants to take a break, she's the smallest one of the four of us, get over it and keep walking! Kevin is griping about his boots hurting his feet and he wished he had tennis shoes. Sarah and I are busy burning off more calories because we're laughing so hard from the fact that we're walking so far for ice cream and at Kim and Kevin's griping. At one point, we walk over the Trinity, we went over the river and through the woods (high rise buildings) to get this damn ice cream. I've never worked so hard for some ice cream. FINALLY, we see the Montgomery Plaza sign and it's the light at the end of the tunnel...or so we think. We walk across the front, look in the center, and go all the way to the other side of the huge complex, no Coldstone. We're walking to a strip center off to the side of the Plaza and we still don't see Coldstone, we're thinking it must be at the back of the building, but I asked a lady who was sitting down if she knew where Coldstone was...to which she replied, "Oh yeah, it was in the middle area, but it closed a while back." WHAT?! We walked 1.5 miles for ice cream and the place is closed?! I don't believe her so I look it up on my GPS, again, and find the phone number, I call, sure enough, it's disconnected...sonofa...the place is closed. We spent almost an hour (because we were walking rather slowly) trying to get some damn ice cream and the place is closed. There's an Irish Pub next to the Montgomery Plaza that Sarah and I like to go to, so we decide to head over there for their bathrooms and a beer while we wait for a cab because we're not going to walk another 1.5 miles back. This 1.5 miles seemed like 5...not just 1.5.

We take the cab back downtown and pay $14 to go 1.5 miles...yes, way overpriced. Fort Worth and Dallas cabs are ridiculous, gee I don't know why people don't take them more often :eyeroll:

And, once we're back downtown, Sarah still wants ice cream (I can't lie, I still do, too.) So, we go to Marble Slab, which was actually suggested by Kim earlier in the night, but Sarah and I ignored her because we wanted Coldstone. Sarah wanted birthday cake ice cream, which we were sure only Coldstone had...what do you know, Marble Slab has birthday cake ice cream. We went through ALL OF THAT for nothing. Marble Slab was a three minute walk from 8.0. We take our ice cream to Kevin's truck (amazingly, Kevin is still with us) to sit on the tailgate and eat it. Random, seeing people tailgating downtown, eating ice cream.

We left 8.0 at 8 pm for ice cream and at about 930-945, we finally have our ice cream. Oh, what a night.

My Jalapeno Experience

I typed this up yesterday, but our internet was down and I couldn't post it:

Since Sunday was Superbowl Sunday, a friend of mine was having a party and asked everyone to bring something to eat. I decided I would make those super yummy jalapeno things, they’re jalapenos cut in half, stuffed with cream cheese, and wrapped in bacon. I’ve had them several times and love them so I thought I would make them for the party. I have never made anything with jalapenos before and definitely nothing with whole jalapenos. Yesterday afternoon I embark on this cooking adventure, no worries in mind. I cut the stem of the peppers, cut them in half, and then take the middle, called the “membrane”, out of them. I do this with bare hands, and don’t think twice about it. After I’m done with all of the peppers the smell has given me a runny nose, so I go to blow it, but didn’t wash my hands first. A couple of minutes later, my nose starts to tingle a little and then starts to feel on fire. OMG OMG OMG there’s jalapeno juice in my nose! I run to wash my hands so I don’t get this juice anywhere else…I was smart here and decide to scrub under my finger nails so I’m not spreading it anywhere else I don’t want this jalapeno juice to be. Now that spreading it around anywhere else is taken care of, I have to figure out how I’m going to put a stop to this inferno that is burning in my nose. I try washing my nose out with Dawn soap, doesn’t do anything. I try my face soap, doesn’t do anything, my nose is still flaming. I go so far as to put lotion all over my fingers and stick them in my nose. Does not stop the fire. I was minutes away from putting milk in my nose because it hurt so bad. It seemed that everything I did only made the fire worse, so I decide to leave it alone for a bit…thank God, the flames finally cool down and I can breath through my nose without feeling as if I’m breathing fire through there. After the fire stops in my nose, I realize the jalapeno juice has burned all the fingers on my left hand, I even have the beginnings of a blister on my middle finger. Today, a whole day later, my hand still burns. Should I ever make the terribly stupid decision to do anything with jalapenos, again, I will wear gloves.

Now, this may sound like a funny forwarded story of someone doing something stupid, but no….it is not, it was me, yesterday, that was in hell….hope you get a little laugh out of it.

My weekend

I thought it was going to be a slow weekend, but it seems like I ran around all weekend long.

It started with an engagement party/happy hour Friday night at Central 214 inside Hotel Palomar. It was great to see all the girls I haven't seen since before Christmas. I really need to do dinner more often with Jamie, I don't like seeing her just once every couple of months! This party was for Kristin and Adam, such a happy couple! I took a gift to the party, but I didn't have a card, I searched everywhere. And, if you don't know this about me, it's a rare occasion that I don't have a card for something. The only congratulations card I had said something like, "I hope you're showered with success" on the inside, not really fitting for an engagement party happy hour. A card that I did have that was fitting was a birthday card. It said, "Your birthday? I'll drink to that. Your good looks? I'll drink to that." And so on until it's falling over scribbly from all the drinks. On the inside, it said, "Whose birthday is it?" So, I marked out birthday on the front and inside and wrote engagement. She loved it. In case you're ever wanting to go to Central 214 inside Hotel Palomar, takes lots of $$, they're drinks are quite expensive. I had two drinks and my tab was $24....woh! Cori, Heather, and I left around 930 to hit up Blue Fish for some sushi...mmmm..Ahi Tower!

I met Whitney for lunch at Red, Hot, and Blue on Saturday for lunch....yum, I love their food and it's been a couple of weeks since I've seen Whitney. Her belly is getting cuter every day. After lunch, it was time for Amy's bridal shower....wedding stuff all weekend! It was a nice shower with great gifts for the happy couple. Cori and I went to see New In Town after the shower, it was cute, I liked it, except for the Minnesota accents, they were annoying. Oh, we did this after our attempt to take her rather heavy tv upstairs. Even with a dolly (is that how those rolly things are spelled?) we only made it one step, that sucker was HEAVY! And, we're not wimps, by any means.

I tried baking a rum cake for the Superbowl party Saturday night, yes, I know how lame it sounds to be baking on a Saturday night, but I enjoy it so I don't care. Well, my oven sucks. I took the cake out 15 minutes before the recipe called for it...the cake was BLACK. The inside was just right, but the outside was not a dark brown, it was black. I was so upset. I bake all the time, I can't have an oven that makes my cakes black, I can't take a black cake anywhere! I was really looking forward to sharing my rum cake with everyone on Sunday. The peppers I cooked Sunday ended up in a disaster, too, but that's another blog in itself. They were at least presentable and edible.

So, the party at Heathers on Sunday was nice and relaxed, I had a good time. I don't think the Superbowl commercials are near par for what a Superbowl commercial should be, they were disappointing. Heather made some good food, Cori made some good food, Dawn made some awesome brownies, and I enjoyed the sweet tea that Sarah picked up on the way to the party.

Wow, reading back over this, my entire weekend revolved around food...no wonder I'm overweight! I need to change this, I just like food so much...hmmmm.

What.A.Weekend!

This weekend was great! Friday night, I went with my friend, Lisa, to the All Good Cafe for Steve Poltz. She came up from Austin for the show. First, their food is ALL GOOD! I had never heard any of Steve's music, but I liked the show quite a bit. The man has so much energy, he's like an 8 year old in a 48 year old's body. Well, a 48 year old that has a 25 year old's body, anyway. The guy doesn't look his age except for the grey hair. Lisa's good friends with him, so we talked before the show and he's quite funny. She told me he co-wrote "You Were Meant For Me" with Jewel, and it's true, which is way cool. This show was a lot of fun and I can't wait to listen to the cd from it. He has SASBAS, see a show buy a show, so he sells recordings of it, afterwards. The show got started around 9 and went until about 1 am, I was ready for bed by then! Somehow, I managed to back into a car while I was leaving (not one drop of alcohol that night) and while I was leaving them a note to call me so I could take care of the 4-5" smudge of a scratch, they came out. I told them what happen and that I was leaving a note, the guy looked at the smudge and shook my hand, said thank you for being honest, don't worry about it. Wow, what a nice guy. Thank you dude who I backed into for being cool about the smudge of a scratch on your bumper. And, good luck to you and your wife that are expecting in the next couple of weeks.

Bring on Saturday. I stayed at Heather's so I wouldn't have to drive home and drive back Saturday morning, if I had been able to sleep, at all, that would have given 1 1/2 hours extra sleep. We head down to Gruene for Adam Hood Saturday morning. We pack Heather's car in with me, Cori, Amy, Leah, and of course, Heather. We made it down to Gruene around 1215, not too bad since we didn't get out of Dallas until 830 and had a stop at the Czech Stop. Adam played from 1-5, with just two short breaks, what a great show. It was the perfect temp inside, which doesn't happen often in there, not to me, anyway. There were so many people at this show, I can't even begin to name them all....but I was so glad to see everyone I spoke to. After what was suppose to be a quick dinner at the Gristmill (it was not quick) we were on the road back to Dallas. Heather can always be the driver because she makes great time!

We get to Gilley's just in time to get a spot before Boland starts. Well, just in time to get to the spot my friends were already at before Boland starts. Of course it's always a great show when Jason Boland and The Stragglers are up there...the crowd, however, was not so great. I had a good time, but being knocked into repeatedly after being annoyed when I got there, it ended up being an okay show. And, by the time we left Gilley's, I was so exhausted, all I could think about was my bed...and that's exactly where I headed!

Sunday brought on the Clubhouse Concert benefit show with more people playing than I can remember. It was a great show, really they do great shows there, I hope they raised what they needed for another year and then some. I hope to make more shows this year. And, I REALLY hope that the ass sitting behind and next to us doesn't go to another show, or at least not one I'm at. He not only acted like a five year old asking me every two minutes if he was quiet enough, but made a big deal when I moved seats to get away from him. I'm sorry, Heather, that I stuck you with him. Then, he starts yelling Obama, and then Obama n-bomb...for absolutely no reason. And, acted like he didn't know he said it and wanted to know why we were offended. I told him he's an ass and it'd be best if he STFU, that didn't go over well...I really need to learn to not say everything I'm thinking ;) Later, he throws ice at me...this man child is well over 40 and throwing ice. Good job ass of a guy, way to be a civilized grown up at a quiet listening show. Why don't you and your loud mouth friends leave the quiet show to those of us that came to listen to the people on stage. Needless to say, I was annoyed and got a headache, I ended up leaving 30 minutes early. It's too bad, too...they were sounding great.

I'm exhausted after this weekend, but for some reason, I wanna go get a beer tonight.

Steamboat and stuff

Well, I’ve been back from Steamboat for almost two weeks and I think I’m going to see just as many bands here at home this week as I did while I was there. Here’s a little synopsis of my time in (and en route to) Steamboat.

I drove up there this year, and by drove I mean rode, I only drove when there was absolutely no chance of snow on the ground. I can’t believe I’ve always flown, it’s an absolutely beautiful drive, I’m so driving/riding from now on! I’ve even looked into a trip to CO during the summer, I can’t imagine how pretty it is, then. And, I’m glad Stephanie was there for the ride to laugh at all my cheesiness, I would have been lost without that!!

Since the drive is 17 hours from my house to Steamboat and we wanted to get settled and to the bar the first night to see the Texas game, we decided to go to Aspen before hitting Steamboat. We also decided to leave my house at 1030 pm Saturday night instead of 3 or 4 am Sunday morning. That was a great idea, we had a 2 hour detour trying to get to Aspen. We picked Stephanie up in Amarillo and were on our way. When we get to Aspen, we have time to eat dinner and head to the bar for Wade and Ragweed. What.a.show! It was great to see Ragweed with non-Texas fans, they weren’t the regular Ragweed fans, it was quite fun. If you haven’t heard me say this before, I’m not a fan of Ragweed fans. We had a little blip after the show, but that ended up with everyone okay and we were on the road to Steamboat around 10 the next morning. Also, Aspen is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. They have perfectly shaped trees with the perfect amount of snow covering the mountains. When I got to Steamboat, the mountains were just ugly in comparison to Aspen.

The first night in Steamboat is a just get settled and get ready for the music night, they don’t have anyone playing the first night. So, we got settled and headed to the Tugboat to watch Texas win the Fiesta Bowl (Hook ‘em Horns!!) and see a bunch of people that it’s been too long since I’ve seen. I won’t even try to list everyone I hugged that night J The days of music were all a blur, here are some, if not all, of the shows I caught while I was in Steamboat: Jason Eady, Stoney Larue, Micky and the Motorcars, Corb Lund, Band of Hotties…uhh..I mean Heathens ;), Adam Hood, Hayes Carll, Ryan Bingham, Jason Boland, MMC again, Jack (ohhh Jack,) and last but certainly not least Walt Wilkin’s and friends acoustic show on the last night. Jack played the outdoor show, like last year, but he came out in a tshirt and ski goggles, nothing more, nothing less. And, that’s Jack. Walt Wilkin’s had an acoustic show the last night where any of his musician friends stopped by and sat in. Just to name a few: Jack, Jason Eady, Bobby Duncan, Pure Prairie League (WAY cool,) Kevin Welch, Autumn Boukadakis, and more. Jack was just sitting in the audience (well, in the artist area) watching the show for a while, other musicians were, too…Gordy Quist, Wade Bowen, Fred Andrews, and so on. It was a very cool show. Actually, that show WAS Steamboat. I had said, at one point, I wish I hadn’t signed up to go, but I more than changed my mind while I was there. I need to go call and make my deposit for next year!

The drive back wasn’t near as bad as I expected, I figured it was going to feel like 50 hours, and it didn’t. We caravanned with Nikki and Amber for a bit. We finally made it back to my apt at 4 am Sunday morning. And, we were EXHAUSTED!! I didn’t move from my couch all day Sunday, really I stayed there most of the week, too, after work. This week, I’m finally feeling human, again.

I got all moved at the end of December, I still have lots of stuff that I need to organize, but I’m pretty much settled. I got tv and internet on Tuesday, THANK GOD!!! I’ve watched more SATC than even I can handle. I got AT&T UVerse, it’s great! I can set my DVR from the office, I don’t even have to be home. I love it! Well, I love everything except that it’s not working in my bedroom, don’t know why, it worked fine while the installer was there.

Like I said, this is a busy week for music. Last night, I went to the Granada for Adam Hood and Mike McClure. I’m taking tonight off. Tomorrow, I’m off to Dallas for Steve Poltz at the All Good Café. A friend of mine is coming in town for his show and she swears by him, so I’m checking him out with her. Saturday, I’m hopping in Heather’s car and we’re making a crazy road trip to Gruene for Adam Hood from 1-5 and then it’s back up to Dallas for Boland at Gilley’s. Sunday, I’m going with Heather, Cori, and Lori to the Clubhouse fundraising show. Lots of great people are playing this show, I’m looking forward to it.

Now, this concludes my longest blog…ever. If you made it this far, thank you! I’m going to try to keep this updated more often, it’s nice to just type.

*edit* I forgot some things I learned on the drive....for starters, the Smoky Mountains are in Tennessee, not Colorado. Also, cows in the snow are from now on to be called ice cream cows. And, it is a tough job be on lookout for bicycles in the snow ;)

2008 is over

obviously, and I'm going to try to do a year in review. I had a VERY busy year so it's going to take me a little while, but I hope to have it up soon.

I hope everyone had a great New Year's, mine was eh...but most of mine are, I usually sit back and leave amateur night to, well, the amateurs.

In case you haven't talked to me recently, I moved. I'm in an apartment in S Arlington, it's a two bedroom, now, so if you're in town and need a place to stay, I just might be able to accomodate you. I'm not settled in, yet, but all my stuff is there. Hopefully, I'll be able to find my winter stuff to go to Steamboat on Sunday! Oh yeah, I'm going to Steamboat, Sunday, YAY!! Well, we're stopping in Aspen Sunday night (yes, I say that because I think Aspen sounds soooooo cool!) then heading to Steamboat on Monday for the first night of MusicFest.

I've got a few things to get done at work before I head out until Jan 12...wow, that sounds like a very long time!!

Long time no post

I'm not going to post a full/update blog, I just haven't been in the mood...and right now, I'm in the middle of moving.

So, I stole this from Kaitlin, enjoy:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & first car) -
Toby Prelude (Sounds like a stripper name)
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Cookies 'n' Cream Chocolate Chip (makes me hungry!)
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) S Hor (I've had this as a login at work, yes it looks like "S whore" yay)
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) -
Red Dog (sounds tough)
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)-
Diane Fort Worth or Diane Dallas, I like that one better, but sounds like a pornstar name Or....Diane Burleson (it was almost in Burleson) That's a better soap opera name, I could totally do some crappy acting with that name.
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Horsh--hmmm
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The” in front)
The Pink Dr Pepper (uhm, I don't think anyone is going to be afraid of me or count on me to save them)
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)-
Ralph Arthur (I have a feeling I'm going to be getting my butt smoked with that name)
9. STRIPPER NAME : ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)
Beautiful Chocolate (am I changing races while I'm at it?)
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Marie Glenn (I guess I won't be that hard to find, now.)

Now, you try it....1...2...3...go!

If I don't see you before Christmas, I hope everyone has a VERY Merry Christmas. Spend time with your family and friends, I'm really looking forward to it!

Random things about me

Sometimes I trust too easily. I hate lotion "boogers" and gunk on my toothpaste bottle. I have the cleanest makeup bag you will ever see, my mom and sister do, too...but my apartment is usually a wreck. If I let you in and you break my heart, don't count on another chance. I do all things evenly, walking on squares, chewing food on both sides of my mouth, and so on. I love Dr Pepper. I've found a love for sushi in the last few years. I love Jack Ingram. I enjoy going to Steamboat, but I'm a terrible skier, snow sports are one of the few sport that I'm just not any good. I love Texas, I've tried leaving but just couldn't. I like Texas music and go to a show just about whenever I can. I graduated college in three years, not because I'm super smart (which I totally am ;) ) but because I took summer classes every year, even the summer right after high school. I don't think school is for everyone, but I think everyone should give it a shot just to see. I have an unhealthy obsession with shoes and purses. So much so, that I have given up buying purses this entire year, I've almost made it!! I love my friends and cherish their friendship, I would do almost anything for my closest friends. I've dated way too many Jo(h)n's, which is weird because my step dad's name is John. If you ask me during the summer, I'll tell you I love the winter and can't wait for it to get cold, if you ask me during the winter, I'll tell you I can't wait for it to warm up...I guess I can't make up my mind. No matter how immoral the general population gets, I will still hold on to my values and will always be amazed at what some people will do. It's the way I was raised and I hope to raise my kids (one day) the same. I want to live in NYC for one month, I don't think I could make it any longer. I didn't fly until I was 19, but I've travelled around the US a lot since then. I only got my passport last year, I plan on using it quite a bit, I want to see the world! I have more hair product that any woman could use in three years, but I don't even use any most days. I have 3 curling irons, 2 flat irons, and 3 hair driers, but only use one flat iron and one hair drier pretty much ever. My hair has an ugly waive naturally, so I straighten it every day, I would never let anyone see my hair air dried! I'm very conservative, but just because I am doesn't mean I'm closed minded, I always like to hear what other people's views are and why they see things that way. I went to college close to home because I thought I was in love and needed to stay close to him. It's probably the only thing I somewhat regret in my life, I always thought I would go away to a prestigious school, not stay at home for UTA. I could have gone anywhere...now...passing anywhere, that might have been tougher! I did meet my best friends in life because of UTA, so I don't totally regret it. I love to read chic lit books, they're lighthearted and I don't have to think, it's very entertaining. My two best friends are pregnant and I'm worried they're not going to have time for me. I'm very excited about their babies, but I still worry. I like chocolate, a lot too much. I love to bake things for other people. I love giving gifts. Christmas is my favorite time of year, I absolutely love decorating for it and matching my gift wrap to my tree. The smell of Issey Miyake men's cologne will make me weak in the knees. I get great joy out of doing things for other people. I might have the world's best mom and I don't think I tell her enough. I can't leave the house carrying a purse that does not match my shoes. I would love to own a cupcake shop. I know a lot of things and I've always known what I want to do, but for some reason, I have no idea where I want to go in this world, now.

Timing

It's everything. I won't go into detail, just to say it's about a boy (a man really) who could be perfect, but...let's just say I should have met him sooner. I really need to follow Sarah *d*'s advice about not censoring myself, but I don't want to hurt anyone.

Kristina's wedding was Saturday night and it was a BLAST! I'm pretty sure I looked like a beached whale in my dress, but what can I do, now? Here are a few pics from it:

Here's Kristina and me, she looks so pretty and so happy, it was a beautiful day! I don't know that I've seen anyone so excited about getting married, it was terribly cute. And, it wasn't getting married, it was getting married to her, now, husband. Her friend said it best in her toast, she loves being with him and she can't wait to get home to him. I'm tearing up now just thinking about it.

Here are all the bridesmaids and the flower girl with Kristina. No, that's not the groom, he's the maid of honor. I was the honorary maid of honor that held her bouquet during the wedding and I was suppose to straighten her dress, but my top laced up in the back and I was basically cinched in there and couldn't bend over! That girl on the right, Halie, was my saving grace that helped me go to the bathroom when I needed!

And, all the girl bridesmaids goofing off.

Here's the entire wedding party, there wasn't really room for us all! There are pedestals behind us that make up the alter, but we couldn't all fit there. And, yes, the best man is a girl. :) She actually gave the most amazing toast, I think everyone needed a tissue after it.

The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were Friday night, the dinner was an Italian place at 820 and 30, it was fantastic. Kristina's family is an absolute blast/riot, so it was too much fun, not a dull moment. I stayed the night with Kristina so I didn't have to drive back and forth since we were getting ready there Saturday, it's a good thing I did, she would have been all by herself! And, I can't take a shower in their spare bathroom, anymore, I fell...AGAIN! I have a nice bruise on both my hip and knee, now. All the girls got ready at Kristina's house, they had a girl do some of their hair and makeup, but I did my own. I was jealous of everyone's hair and wish I had her do mine! The wedding was at 5:30 and we danced at the reception until 11, we were also going into the reception by 6, it was a quick ceremony. We had to get the party started! The DJ did introductions for all the wedding party and we each had our own song, Kristina picked Barbie Doll for me, she knows me well :) I introduced her to Jack and all of Texas country. He also informed all of the guests that I'm a mortgage broker and I'm accepting donations, dammit if I didn't get any! Everyone went and had lunch at Kristina's parents yesterday, she made potato salad just for me, it was sooo good, I must have eaten a whole pound of it!

Dawn called me on my way out with a ticket to see Hayes in Grand Prairie...yay!! It had been too long since I'd seen him. I had some time to kill so I decided to run to the mall, I need a new bra. But, I didn't make it to VS, I got distracted by the half yearly sale at Nordstrom. They had both my favorite brands of jeans on sale, almost half off!! I'm such a sucker for great jeans, it's a habit, I tell ya! So, now I have two new pair of fabulous jeans and I need a place to wear them. Then, it was on to Hayes, the show was alright, nothing special for him. He needs to take a few days off, though. And, the asses that decided to chant "Hayes F'n Carll" need to grow up. We had sushi at Piranha's afterwards, mmmmmm I LOVE Piranha sushi!

Now, I've had my first night in a few weeks of doing nothing, it's been great! I believe when I started this blog, I warned that I have nothing important or exciting to talk about, so now if you've made it this far, I want to remind you that you were warned. :) Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Just what's going on...

I haven't said anything about Kristina's bachelorette party, it was a lot of fun! I made a fun cake and I'm still waiting for someone to email me a pic of it, I'll post it once they do. We had great food and cake before the Pure Romance part of the party. Her sister made these little chicken bites wrapped in bacon and rolled in a brown sugar and chili powder mixture that were fan-freaking-tastic! It's a Paula Dean recipe and was oohhh sooo good! Then we had the Pure Romance party which is always fun! Afterwards, we headed downtown for one last night out. Kristina and I used to go to The Library every Thursday night and most Friday and Saturday nights, and several Sundays! Downtown was our stomping grounds. Neither of us had been down there in a while, so we don't know anyone anymore, we used to not be able to go down there without running into someone I knew every single time. One of our old bartenders still works there, he's started shaving his head because I guess he was losing his hair, it's not a good look for him! I ran into Ben from high school, he's still hot and going into the fire academy, so he's gonna be a hot fireman! It was a great time, but I think it reminded us that we're not as young as we once were!!

Kristina gave me this necklace and bracelet for a hostess gift and it's sooo stinkin' cute!

I've been pretty busy this week finishing Kristina's quilt, I'm almost done, though...just have the binding and stippling the border left to go. Her rehearsal dinner is Friday and wedding Saturday. I'm going to Whitney's tonight to try making a diaper cake for Crystal's baby shower next weekend, I hope it works out, I got some cute stuff for it! I've also been working on getting stuff to fill the 10 stockings I signed up to do from adopt a platoon. I'm totally jealous of the stockings Erica is having made for hers, I wish I had time to make them, but I do not, not even close!! I bought the plain red stockings at Hobby Lobby (have I mentioned how much I absolutely love that store and could spend every penny to my name there?) I also got some little things to add to them to make 'em prettier, here's before and after:

It's not as cute as the camo ones Erica is sending (I told her the Martha in me is totally jealous,) but I think it's cute anyway. What do you think? Should I add something to it? I'm sure the guys I'm sending them to won't care, either way :)

Well, I better get back to work...gotta pay for my crafting habit somehow.

Cake

I've posted and emailed pictures of my cakes several different times, but I want to have them here so I can start posting them as I make them. I did an alright one this weekend for the bachelorette party, but I forgot to take a picture of it, I'm waiting for someone to email it to me. Here's what I've done so far:



I didn't take a pic of my very first cake, but it was pretty boring, anyway.

Second cake:

I made this one in the cake decorating class, I thought I did pretty good for my first "character" cake.

Third cake:

This was my first time to try flowers, they look okay here, but I REALLY need to practice them!

Fourth cake:

I made this one for Crystal and Nick's wedding reception, this first pic was before I added the strawberries. Here it is after the strawberries, I was very happy with the way it turned out:




Fifth cake:



This was my first, and so far only, experience with fondant, I think it's fun!


Sixth cake:


I made this one for a friend of mine, she had a coworker going through some hard times and wanted to cheer her up. I think it's too cute! I hadn't tried making red icing before, it takes A LOT of coloring!


Seventh:


This was for Chris's 30th birthday party. I would have done a headstone colored icing, but the chocolate tastes so much better!


Eighth cake:


This cake was for a friend, Ryan's, 30th birthday. I couldn't get the icing color right, this was as close as I could get. It was also my first attempt at a frozen buttercream transfer, I think it turned out pretty well!


Ninth cake:


This was for my cousin's son, Kaleb's, birthday party. He turned 1! I will NEVER do this cake, again. While it turned out great, it was a PITA!!

I did another of the chocolate and strawberry cakes for my cousin, Byron's, wedding reception, but they looked just like the first one, no need to post pics of it. Hopefully, I'll have a pic of the cake from this weekend, it turned out cute and the cream cheese icing was fantastic!! I'll definitely be using it, again!

Giving this a shot

I started a blog a month or so ago and I didn't really like the name, I didn't spend any time thinking about it. Here's the new one. So, I'm giving this blogging world a shot, when I have time. I've been so busy lately, who knows if I will.

I am smack dab in the middle of wedding season. My cousin, who is like a little brother to me, 19 years old, got married two weeks ago. The look on his face when he saw his bride for the first time in her wedding dress was priceless, you could see the pride and love in his eyes. I just wish he would have waited a little while, he's so young and there is so much left to live and learn. Anyway, I wish, hope, and pray the best for him. Then I went to the Texas/OSU game last weekend, it was a good game, but too close for comfort. Kristina's bachelorette party is this weekend, I'm making a cake and specially shaped cheese ball for the party, I'll post pics when they're done. Her wedding is next weekend, luckily, my dress for it will be done with alterations tomorrow, I always wait until the last minute for these things! I am done with her quilt top, I just have to sandwich it together and start stippling to have it done by next weekend...good luck to me! Crystal's baby shower is in two weeks, I'm trying to make a diaper cake for it.

Kristina's quilt top:

Tonight is Adam Hood and Bleu Edmondson at Granada, fun fun!

That's it for now, I'll try to update this thing a little more often. Have a great day, anyone that's reading!

I decided to change the name of my blog...so...here is the address for my old one, that I posted in oh so many times. ;)

http://shellydianescorner.blogspot.com/