Caller 9

July 10, 2009 in Thoughts | Leave a comment

When I’m driving in the car listening to the radio, I often wonder why people still call into the radio station to request songs. If it’s a birthday or anniversary, and you’re just wanting to dedicate a song, I understand that. It’s an old fashioned gesture that was probably cooler in the early 90’s, much like neon clothing.

What I don’t get is when people call in just because they just feel like hearing a certain song. Sports Fans, technology is a beautiful thing. iPhones, iTunes, the Internet… Legalsounds.com. All good examples of where you can find the song you’re craving at the drop of a hat.

So, yesterday, in the car, I had to have a chuckle when I heard this exchange on 98.7 (yes, I K-Luv my oldies)…

DJ: “Welcome to K-Luv, what song can I play for you?”

Lady: “I wanna hear ‘Wooly Bully’ please.”

DJ: “You got it! Where are you calling from today?”

Lady: “I’m just cruising around the electronics store.”

DJ: “You looking to spend some birthday money in there?!?”

Lady: “Huh-huh yeah I guess.”

Two things.

Who “cruises” an electronic store and makes a pit stop to call in a radio request?

And who in the hell wants to hear ‘Wooly Bully’?

Me Lucky Charms

July 9, 2009 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I’m pretty sure being able to see both ends of a rainbow is good luck. Which is what I saw on my way home yesterday. I guess it’s time to kick back and wait for my bucket of gold to arrive…

My future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades

July 9, 2009 in Me | 1 comment

I guess time really flies when you’re having fun.  Or at least making stellar grades.  I’m kicking ace and taking names in my Financial Statement Analysis class.  Perhaps it’s because I’m brilliant.  Or perhaps it’s becuse I’ve had two years of working with financials.  Probably the latter.

Upon finding out how I did on my second test, I had to share my excitement with someone at work…

Emily: I got a 95 on my second test.  I am a genious!
Tiffany:  Wow, congrats.  You really are a genius.
Emily: D’oh.

So, my spelling might be going down the crapper, but at least I’m rockin’ the good grades.  Please note I got a 97 on my first test.  Can I get a wha-what?

Thank you.

Flyin’ by the seat of my pants

July 1, 2009 in Health, Recipes | 1 comment

The more I cook, the more comfortable I get with making up my own recipes. Last night, for example, I had a pork tenderloin, a head of cabbage and a bag of Brussels sprouts. And from that, I whipped up a healthy, gourmet quality meal based on my own noggin and the stockings of my kitchen.

Where’s the beef? I cut a large slit down the length of the pork tenderloin. In a small bowl I mixed together balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard and rosemary (lightly adapted from one of Mary’s recipes). I poured the mixture along the slice of the tenderloin, and threw it in the oven to bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

For the next 30 minutes I walked Rocky.

Cabbage patch time. I sliced about 1/3 of the head into little shreds. I then heated up a pot with a smidge of olive oil, red wine (luckily I have a bottle in the fridge that’s expired for drinking, but still good for cooking), and some white wine vinegar. I threw the cabbage in there and let it cook for probably 15 minutes.

The sprouts. My favorite. I sliced them in half, coated them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and then threw them on a cookie sheet to cozy up with the pork in the oven. After about 10-15 mins, they were nice and golden, with a bit of crispness.

This meal was delicious, nutritious and cheap (I got the tenderloin when it was on sale for 1.99lb, or something ridiculous like that).  Booya.

Elvis has left the building

June 19, 2009 in Friends, Me | Leave a comment

Last night, my evening was spent on a blanket at the Dallas Arboretum listening to the sounds of “Elvis” with a bottle of wine, a Whole Foods salad and my besties. 

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World-renowned Elvis impersonator, Kraig Parker, performed at last night’s Cool Thursdays.  He was probably a smidge better than the Elvis impersonator I had at my 7th birthday party, but definitely didn’t call me up on stage to sing with him, nor did he give me a fake diamond ring with half the diamonds missing.  Believe me when I tell you I still have that ring.

After the concert, Mary and I went up to him to get a picture.  Being a jacka$$, I decide to ask for his signature.  I contemplate pulling my shirt down a bit and having him sign there, but instead I settled with my forearm.  Apparently, “Elvis” gets signature requests all the time… for all over the body.  I’m sure most of those fans are disappointed, much like I was, when he signs his own name and not Elvis Presley.  At what point does the fame of being an Elvis impersonator give you permission to sign your own name?  I don’t care how “world renowned” you are, sign it Elvis, dipstick.

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Minus the hot summer weather and the forgotten second bottle of wine, it was a perfect evening.

This is Mr. Roger’s neighborhood!

June 17, 2009 in Family, Me, Stories | Leave a comment

Most days, I try to squeeze in a walk on my lunch break.  Just to get some fresh air and stretch my legs a bit.  I keep a pair of tennis shoes in my work “locker” incase I’m not wearing comfy shoes that day.  My designated walking shoes are Diesel’s and cool, yet all white. 

And so, whenever it comes time to go walk, I have to sit down and change my shoes.  And then change them back when I return, too.  Which makes me feel like Mr. Rogers.  Maybe I should get a cardigan sweater to complete the outfit.  Oh, would you be mine?  Could you be mine?

When I was a little tyke, I used to stand outside my grandparent’s house and shout to the neighbors, “This is Mr. Roger’s neighborhood!  This is Mr. Rogers neighborhood!”.  I’m not sure if this was before or after I peed in their bushes though.

On the reals, if I could go back in time and hang out with me when I was little for a day, you know it would be good times.

Sometimes you feel like a nut

June 16, 2009 in Recipes | 2 comments

Over the weekend, I made my usual trip to Whole Foods for my groceries.  I picked up about a pound of raw almonds.  When I got home I decided I’d try to roast them myself. 

I heated my oven up to around 200-250*.  I put a piece of foil over my cookie sheet and drizzled it with almond oil.  Then I dumped the almonds on the sheet and tossed them around a bit, coating them in a little oil.  Then, I grabbed my new favorite marinade, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, and doused the almonds.

Not sure exactly how long they were in there, cause I went to take a nap, but I’d guess they roasted for about 40-45 minutes.  Holy mackerel, those almonds were good! 

The Bragg’s are sorta soy sauce-y, so the almonds have a nice salty taste to them, without the crazy sodium!  I’ve been using this stuff to marinate chicken, salmon and veggies… it’s possibilities are endless.  Much like my old pal ketchup!

Tell ‘em to try it, y’all!

Hit me with your best shot

June 16, 2009 in Me, Random Occurances | Leave a comment

Last Friday began much like any other Friday.  I got up, I worked out, I got ready and I left for work about 15 minutes late.  That is, 15 minutes later than the usual 15 minutes late I am every other day.  Instead of stressing about getting out the door on time, I say to myself, “Hey, it’s Friday, nobody cares”.

So, I went on my merry way, deciding to stop at the Starbucks that’s about half way to work.  It’s usually empty and therefore quicker to get in and out of.  When you just get regular coffee, it’s annoying to wait for 50 people to spout off their beverage order that requires a 15 word description.  Don’t get me started on the people that ask for the barista’s to put their 3 packets of Splenda in the drink for them.  Really?

After I pull into the lot, I make my way through the bank teller lanes to get to the parking lot.  Just as I’m mid-turn, I notice a huge red truck coming in my direction.  In the two seconds that felt like an eternity, I did everything but get to my horn.  I shouted, “Hey!  What are you doing?!?” and threw up my hands.  Of course, this isn’t helpful when the other driver can’t see you.  Therefore, there was the inevitable game of bumper cars.   Which isn’t as enjoyable when it’s your car and you are 1 minute away from having your day’s first sip of industrial strength coffee.

We both pulled over and got out of our cars.  It actually took him about 2-3 minutes to get out of his, while I “patiently” waited with my hands on my hips, squinting into the sun.  What the eff are you waiting on, I thought.  Bob Marley finally strolled over and we exchanged maybe 3 sentences.  Are you ok?  Yes.  Did you see me?  No.  Ok, well I’m going to call this in as soon as I get to work.  I also offered up an “I’m sorry” as in “I’m sorry you just ran into me, you’re gonna have to pay”.  He didn’t really have a response for that.  And something tells me his insurance isn’t gonna except much liability either.  Given that it’s one of those companies that doesn’t require a credit check.  Even the lady at Enterprise, who loaned me a sweet Kia, said that insurance company was trouble.  Great.

After the 5 minute encounter, I walked over to Starbucks to get what I came there for.  Except, this time I said, “Make it a Venti, please”.

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Oh, and the icing on the cake is that now when I take a left hand turn, my blinker decides to channel the obnoxious never-ending horn in the VW van from Little Miss Sunshine, and blinks at triple the speed of my other blinker.  Somehow, I forget about this everytime I need to make a turn.  And now it just makes me laugh.

I wear my sunglasses at night

June 9, 2009 in Family, Pictures, Rocky | Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to think Rocky might have a career in modeling.  At least for glasses.

My Mom and I got to have some serious hanging out time with the Aggie relatives, which usually leads to a multitude of laughter.  Back when they used to live in Austin and my cousins and I were much younger, we used to make routine trips to Luby’s for dinner.  Once we finished off our liver and onions, we’d sit around the table for a while talking and wrapping our green cloth napkins around our heads Aunt Jemima style.  We’d giggle as our parents would laugh uncontrollably at us.

Saturday night, Rocky stole the show.  As we were all standing around saying our goodbyes, I decided to put my sunglasses on Rocky as he was being craddled in my Mom’s arms.  Instantly, he was surrounded by papparazzi snapping his picture.  He didn’t mind at all… in fact, he hammed it up a bit.  Anyone need a dog sunglasses model?  He’ll do reading glasses, too!

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And yes, I am completely taking credit for being one of those dog owners who dresses their dogs up.  It’s shameful, I know.

The wedding (Palacios Part Tres)

June 2, 2009 in Friends, Travel, Weddings, Weekend Updates | Leave a comment

And now, we finally get to Courtney and Jeff’s wedding, the whole reason for our journey to Precious Palacios.

I’m not one to gush about weddings, so I’ll just say it was a lovely ceremony and Courtney was a beautiful bride!  The reception started around 5:30 and believe me when I say it didn’t end until about midnight.  That’s a lot of drinking and dancing, y’all. 

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The dinner fare was really good and included some shrimp.  Sadly there was no organic ketchup.  I had to suck it up and use cocktail sauce.  It’s already been over a week since that night, so my memory is starting to fade with the details.  I do recall lots of foam in my beer, and picking up 3 (count them THREE) pieces of wedding cake.  You know, just to try eat flavor.  And make my arse a little more prominent for booty shaking.

Which speaking of, the band was about 99.5% country music.  I don’t do much booty shaking in this scenario, but during the rock and roll jams, Stella got her groove back.  The highlight of the dance floor that night, for me,  was witnessing Kiera’s parents shake their rumps.  And I’m not just talking about lame two-stepping, I’m talking full out apple-bottom-jeans-boots-with-the-fur low, low, low.  It was priceless. 

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I think Daddy and Baby had a good time, too.

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Of course, there were other events on the dance floor, like the great March In and some kind of N’awlins style Mardi Gras parade.  I mean, there had to be something to fill up nearly 7 hours.  There was also some kind of Row, Row, Row Your Boat activity…

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Later on there was the TCU photo op, as well as the AXO photo.  And as a nice little trinket, we AXO’s got together and sang the sweetheart song.  It was a miracle I still knew the words.  The part of my brain that stores song lyrics is truly amazing.  It is hands down the only part of my brain that successfully retains information.

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Fast forward about 3 more hours of dancing and it was time for the newlyweds to peace out.  We gathered at the front of the reception hall and prepared ourselves to throw rice at the Kenners.  And by prepare ourselves, I clearly mean everyone throw their rice in my purse or down my dress.  Once back at the Luther, I estimated that I had at least a serving or two of rice on me.

 After another glorious night of sleep at the Luther, we were up out of that place early.  We took one more photo to document our trip, and then headed to Denny’s for breakfast.  Where we were served clumpy porridge by a meth addict.  Entertaining?  Yes.  Satisfying?  Not really.  Which I guess pretty much sums up our weekend.

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HOLY COW… How could I forget?!?!?!  The bouquet!  Sadly, I did not catch it this time.  I did everything in my power to get it (stretching, throwing ‘bows, channeling my amazing hand-eye coordination), but it just wasn’t in the cards.   You can see I tried though…

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