I see what you're doing, Luby's, and I do NOT approve.

Much like my love for baby animals, my love of Luby's is well-known. Is the food great? No. Is the atmosphere special? No. Do I get some sort of special deal for publicizing my love of this Texas institution? No. And I've tried to explain my enduring devotion to Luby's to non-Texans, and it just does not compute. But what it boils down to is the comfort factor--I ate there a lot as a kid, and other than some cosmetic alterations, occasional fluctuations in quality and some annoying operational changes (I miss the damn tea cart, yo!), dining at Luby's has remained a fairly unchanged experience for over thirty years.

Until this past weekend.

Ask any Texan, "What's the one thing that Luby's is sort of famous for?" and you can almost bet money on the fact that they'll respond with: the fried fish. Oh. My. God, y'all. I love the SHIT out of this nutritionally devoid mystery fish. It's rectangular and fried and I smother it in fresh squeezed lemon juice and go to fried fish heaven. The sides change, but the entree is always ALWAYS the fried fish for this Pine Curtain Gal.

BEHOLD!

This glorious image, courtesy of The Gluttonous Chinaman.

So The Geej (who has inherited my love of Luby's in a BIG way) and I go to have some lunch while running errands this past weekend, and when I slide my tray to the entree section of the line and ask the server for the fried fish, I notice...it's different. My fried fish rectangle I've been eating FOR DECADES has shrunk by at least 1/3. I mean it went from being about the size of my hand to the size of just my palm. Not okay, Luby's!! Why you gotta go and mess with my fish? And yes, my ass is bigger than it should be, so I know this smaller portion is "better for me" and all that shit, but I never ordered the fried fish for health reasons. And I feel, I dunno, betrayed. And little pissed. You just HAD to go and fuck with THE ONE THING that hadn't changed since I was small enough to have to get help carrying my tray to the table.

Luby's has messed with their sacred cow, and this dude does not abide.

More Recent Discoveries

Follow-up to my original "Recent Discoveries" post, which wasn't really all that original.

Popcorn, Indiana's Wasabi popcorn. Seriously. Just go get some.

I actually like just regular old hummus way better than fancy alternately flavored hummus (ex. roasted red pepper).

Those new tires that I paid an assload for last month may have actually been worth it. It's been raining some here recently, and I'm not skidding around like I used to.

My attention span is not what it used to be.

I cannot stand the vast majority of Christmas music. Here's one exception.

This is probably the last Christmas that The Geej is going to wholeheartedly believe in Santa. This totally bums me out.

Tempur-pedic pillows are the answer.

I don't handle losing things very well (ex. losing my wallet, losing my keys, losing that thing that was just RIGHT HERE, etc.).

There is such a thing as "too much salad."

Sadly, sometimes virtual friends are more real than real friends.

A scratchy throat, a report on parasites, and a holiday bitch fest. You're welcome.

Yes, it's been actual weeks since my last post. Believe me, I wish I'd had the time and inspiration to create some posts, but both of those things have been sadly absent from my life. And now I'm sick. Sort of. I mean, I'm not sure what's up. I'm blaming allergies, but basically it's a feeling of general-worn-outedness (more so than normal), banging hangover-like headaches, and the rawest, sorest throat ever. Of course all of this is coming on when I'm wildly busy at work and I've got actual social events on my calendar. Of course.

On the domestic front, after never having them before, The Geej has contracted lice twice since September. The most recent lice-fest began this past Tuesday when she nonchalantly mentioned at the breakfast table, "My head is itchy." And sure enough, looked at her sclap and there those nasty bastards were. I beelined it to Walgreen's and bought a remedy that lands on the effectiveness spectrum somewhere between scalp napalm and tap water. So far, so good, but WHAT a pain in the ass. I kept her home from school that day while I cleaned everything that had come into contact with her noggin for the past week and treated her scalp, twice. We're still treating her each night and looking for those goddamned nits, but the fucking school and aftercare that she attends better be doing THEIR part to check for infestation, or it's all for naught. I alerted both of them about our situation on Tuesday and got a couple of vaguely reassuring emails about their policies, etc., but I think they should put that shit on lock-down until they are sure that shit's under control. Blech. I guess the ONLY good thing about getting lice in this day and age is that there it is far less stigma around it than it was when I was a kid. I got lice in 5th grade, presumably from the new, non-English speaking student I was tutoring in, no kidding, a broom closet. Her name was Ofelia, and she was 14 years old. I was 11. Our school was utterly unprepared to handle the needs of a student who didn't speak a word of English, so they enrolled her in 5th grade (instead of 7th or 8th, where she should've been age-wise) and then assigned a "gifted" student (moi) to sit in a broom closet with her and go over books that were intended for pre-schoolers. During that period, I got lice. And not only was my mother HORRIFIED (I might as well have come home with a lamprey stuck to my face), the school kept it all on the down-low and treated me and Ofelia like we were radioactive. I was so ashamed to have gotten such a "dirty" ailment, and my mother put a stop to my daily broom closet rendezvous with Ofelia and we were, instead, allowed to sit at a small tabel in the corner of the classroom for our tutoring sessions, which meant we weren't quite so close together. I eventually got over my lice, and Ofelia eventually left our school.

Next week is Thanksgiving. I fucking love Thanksgiving. It's during my favorite season, it focuses on my favorite kinds of food, and there are usually copious napping opportunities. Something I do NOT love? Traveling during the holidays and/or traveling on IH-35, both of which I get to do for this coming Thanksgiving holiday. We're actually going to be at my mom's on Thanksgiving Day, which is a short, non-busy drive and will involve her cornbread dressing, which is truly one of my favorite foodstuffs in the world. So that's good. But the next day, you know Friday...Black Friday...the busiest travel day of the year? We're loading up the car with all three kids and heading to "The Christmas Capital of Texas," Grapevine. Sigh. This whole thing is the brainchild of BH's mother, Dixie. And I love Dixie. Really, I do. And I love my brother and sister-in-law and their kids, who are also going to this family gathering. But OMFG, I am not looking forward to the travel. And also? We're going to be staying here, which means that we'll be dealing with the other thing I despise: holiday crowds. I know that The Geej is going to love the shit out of it. And like I said, I really do love BH's family, so I'm just going to have to focus on that. Because if not? I may lose my shit. BH feels the same way about this whole endeavor, btw. Hopefully we'll be able to keep each other from committing sepuku.

Some happier news: It rained earlier this week. Not a whole lot--about 1/2 an inch at our house--but it was still nice to see. And despite the fact that small rains like this (we had another one about a month ago) certainly perk up the grass and plants around town, the drought is showing no signs of letting up. Fucking drought. I blame Rick Perry. Not because I really think he's at fault, but because I hate him.

Alright, I'm signing off for now. Hopefully it won't be another 3 weeks before you hear from me again.

By the way, that there is a disgustingly real looking turkey cake I spotted recently at HEB. Ewww...

My current obsessions

Instagr.am. It's a photo taking/sharing app on the iPhone, and it is SO cool. I'm following people in Amsterdam, Russia, Korea, Japan and India (among some other home-grown folks). It's amazing how compelling and fun simple, everyday photos can be.

The dark circles under my eyes. Dudes. They're BAD. And I've noticed that in every single photo that's been taken of me in the past year or so, they stand out like a sore thumb. So I'm working with my very own personal make-up consultant (Jaye) to help cover up those suckers, because getting more rest just isn't a possibility at the moment.

The Geej's missing teeth.

The fact that she's now lost BOTH teeth on the top and is constantly flashing that toothless grin of hers at me is KILLING me dead. I can't get over how cute she is and how much it has changed the way she looks! God, she's getting so damn BIG!!

A new house. I know, I know... We're in NO POSITION to be even THINKING about a new/different house, but I made the mistake of asking BH to go see a place with me this past weekend, and I literally can't stop thinking about it. The house was pretty nice, but the LOT it was on was seriously fabulous. And now I've mentally moved into the place, painted, changed the floors (where needed), hung pictures, positioned furniture and begun landscaping. Sigh.

Our gardens. We've* begun to plant some things in the two raised beds that BH built this past fall. So far, tomatoes, chives, Anaheim peppers, and cilantro. We'll be planting other things as the month rolls on. We've also got blackberries, Italian parsley, oregano, and mint growing elsewhere. I'm hoping this stuff really takes off. How cool would that be?

*When I say "we've", I actually mean BH. He's the one with the green thumb and gardening know-how. I'm just there to lend support, really.

Missing SXSW. Once again, I have neither the funds or the time off necessary to enjoy South-by-Southwest. I guess I should just go ahead and admit that those days are pretty much behind me. In fact, I'm so out of the SXSW loop that I'm actually going to Longview on the 18th. That's right: Longview for Spring Break. Do I know how to party, or what?!

This sandwich I ate a couple of weeks ago at Haddington's. Ya'll it was INTENSE. It was this crazy take on a grilled cheese that featured a white truffle oil aioli, grilled haloumi, and sun-dried tomatoes. I'm sure it had 7 billion grams of fat because it was rich as hell, but OMG it made my toes curl and eyes roll back in my head with each bite. I think you can only eat a sandwich like that once a year without risking a straight-up heart attack, but damn, it would be worth the risk just to try it again.

My "listen up" playlist. I've only got about 650 songs left to go. Yes, it's taking me FOREVER, but it's been totally worth it. And now that I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? Listening to it has become sort of an obsession.

Asparagus. This time of year, I just can't get enough. Stinky pee be damned!!

Mangia!

I have always enjoyed cooking, but it has taken me a long time to be able to confidently "wing it" when it comes to preparing food. I've always loved trying out recipes, and can sit down and read a cookbook with  the dedication and zeal usually reserved for a riveting novel. So it's no surprise that it has been a somewhat lengthy process for me to become confident enough in my culinary abilities to just make up my own dishes rather than rely on slavishly following (to the 1/8th teaspoon) a recipe lying before me. But tonight I created something new, so I documented it so that I could share my triumph (or failure) with you nice people.

Well, luckily, it turned out to be quite delicious, so without futher ado, I'd like to introduce you to

Caprese Pie

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put in a store-bought, frozen pie crust, and let it cook for 10 mins. Get it out and let it cool on a wire rack. Take the oven temp down to 350 degrees.

While it's cooling thinly slice 2 large (or 3 small) Roma tomatoes, and enough sweet white onion to equal about 1/3 cup.

When the pie crust is cool, spread a thin layer of shredded mozzarella cheese across the bottom. (You can use vegan mozzarella if that's how you swing.)

Next, layer the sliced tomatoes on top of the cheese.

Season with dried oregano, course sea salt, and garlic pepper to taste.

Next, layer some whole, fresh basil leaves on top of the tomatoes.

After you're done with the basil, layer on the sliced onion.

After the onion, pile on a generous layer of fresh baby spinach.

Now drizzle a little olive oil (maybe 1 1/2 tablespoon or less) and some balsamic vinegar on top of the spinach. Season with a little more sea salt and garlic pepper.

And cover that bad boy with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella.

Holy crap, that looks good, right?

Stick your pie back in the oven (that's now at 350 degrees), and bake for about 35 minutes or until the cheese is golden-brownish.

Take it out of the oven and let cool on the wire rack for about 10 mins. before slicing and serving.

SO good, y'all.

Enjoy!!

Leftovers

You know how when you go to some restaurants and you have leftovers and you ask for a doggie bag and they say, "Surely. Let me wrap it up for you!" and then they whisk away your half-eaten whatever and come back with it cleverly disguised as a big foil swan or big foil goat or some such shit?

Wanna know what happens at OUR house when your leftovers consist of one turkey sausage and two Yukon potatoes?

Voila:

Ladies and gentlemen: FRIDGE DICK!!

BH packed this up all nice for me so I could take it to work and have it for lunch tomorrow.

He's so sweet...

Insomnoblogging

Please note: I started this post at 5:47 a.m.

Oh, the circles under my eyes. How they darken. For about 2 weeks now, this is my nightly scenario (exept on weekends):

1. Go to bed at a decent hour (somewhere btwn. 10:45 and midnight).
2. Fall asleep immediately.
3. Sleep like a baby. Until about 3:30am.
4. Wake up to pee.
5. Stumble back to bed about half asleep.
6. Get back in bed and am, suddenly, WIDE FREAKIN' AWAKE!
7. Cats think, "Yay! Mommy's up! She must want to play and/or love on me, so I'll go walk all over her purring at an insane volume."
8. Cats get locked out of bedroom
9. Get back in bed.
10. Mind starts racing...work...work...work...work...work...money...work...family...work...
11. Notice that every muscle in my body is clenched, including my jaw.
12. Wonder, "What the HELL?! I'm tired! Relax and go back to sleep, jackass."
13. Consciously force myself to unclench muscles. Try to clear mind. Breathe deeply.
14. Works for about three minutes then...
15. Mind is at it again, body is clenched again.
16. Think, "Maybe if I roll over on my side..."
17. Do so. Makes no difference.
18. Roll on to other side. Ditto.
19. End up on back again. Eyes wide open. Staring at ceiling, clenching jaw and every other muscle in body.
20. Once again, try to forcibly clear mind and relax body.
21. Wonder, "What time is it now?"
22. Repeat steps 10 through 21 until the sun comes up.
23. Drag self out of bed exhausted and grumpy and not ready to face the day in the least.

And I've tried all sorts of herbal teas, herbal supplements and OTC sleep remedies. But they're more focused on helping one GET to sleep, not stay asleep. And it used to be that at least I could count on getting a good, solid night's sleep on my nights that I go to the gym. Not anymore.

By about 3 in the afternoon, I am yawning non-stop, my brain is jello, and I've got a raging headache. But (as all you working mom's know), there's no mental or physical break in store for me until well after the kiddos are in bed.

My life has become lather-rinse-repeat.

No wonder I feel so raw and on-edge. All day yesterday, I felt like I was on the verge of tears. Like at any moment, I might just become a sobbing snotty mess. And it's not because I'm unhappy. It's because my nerves are shot and I'M FUCKING EXHAUSTED.

Oh, and did I mention, I am utterly slammed at work? Because I am. That's one reason I've been neglecting ye olde blogge. I haven't even had time to lunch-time blog, which is really bumming me out.

So in an effort to stave off plunging into an abyss of profound sleep-deprived psychosis and depression, here's a random list of things that are making me very happy at the moment:

• The Geej is SO on the verge of reading, it's amazing. I love watching her get excited with each step she gets closer to being able to read on her own. She can also write the words: love, Dah, Mommy, and her first and last names.
• Smoked Gouda.
• The weather (although we've already hit in the 90s a couple of times, and I'm not quite ready for that).
• I've got an appointment to get my hairs did this weekend.
• We got bunk beds for BH's boys, so their room is slowly starting to come together.
• Got my tax refund. WHOOT!!
• Fresh strawberries. They're like CANDY. I'm addicted.
• Some great new (at least to me) music I've downloaded recently.
• The feeling I get after a good workout at the gym.
• The YouTube video of someone tickling a slow Loris.
• The fact that when I got home on Tuesday evening after working late, BH had vacuumed the house, planted a honeysuckle vine for me, and was making dinner whilst sporting the most hilarious moustache ever. I cracked up every time I looked at him and kept saying, "Dude, you've got a MOUSTACHE!!"
• Tamari almonds from Whole Foods.
• Thinking about my friend Julie getting married next week (despite the fact that I won't be able to be there...and boy could I use some Cancun and Julie right about now...)

So you see, it's not all gloom and doom around here. It's just that I'm too tired to get very psyched about any of it.

The meme stolen from about half of the people in that list over there on the right.

1. How do you like your eggs?
My favorite way? Deviled. My most frequently ordered/prepared way? Scrambled.

2. How do you take your coffee/tea?
Tea, straight up. Coffee, no thank you.

3. Favorite breakfast food:
Potato, egg, cheese and jalapeno bkfst. taco with pico de gallo. Heaven on freakin' Earth.

4. Peanut butter:
Yeah...I'm sort of weird about peanut butter. But if I have to have it, creamy please, and all natural...you know, like you have to stir it up to mix all the oil and shit together.

5. What kind of dressing on your salad?
Any kind of vinagrette. Aside from a Greek salad, I deplore creamy dressings.

6. Coke or Pepsi?
Coke. Not diet Coke; the real thing.

7. You're feeling lazy. What do you make?
Bean and cheese soft tacos or a sandwich.

8. You're feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
All veggie, sans bell peppers.

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make?
Oh man...pretty much anything. I'm all about entrees, sides, and salads. But I'm not good with desserts and baking. My favorite thing to prepare for a semi-fancy meal is a seared, high quality tuna steak, a really good salad, and some sort of starchy side. For a simple supper, a good entree salad with tons of fresh ingredients.

10. Do any foods bring back good memories?
King Ranch Casserole (also called "Mexican Chicken" around my house). It was one of those "go to" dishes my mom made a lot when I was growing up, and I've always loved it, despite the Velveeta.
Also, fried catfish. It's something that my dad excelled at creating, and I miss his version like crazy.

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories?
Broth and jello.

12. Do any foods remind you of someone?
Quiche reminds me of my grandmother. Purple-hulled peas remind me of my stepfather. Pistachios remind me of my dad. And Whataburger reminds me of Longview.

13. Is there a food you refuse to eat?
Any kind of mammal.


14. What was your favorite food as a child?
Fried shrimp. Apple Jacks.

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like?
Salad.

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate?
Milk

17. Favorite fruit and vegetable:
Potato, even though that's kind of a cop-out vegetable. But I've never EVER met a potato I didn't like. Next in line? Spinach. Fruit? Those little tangerines that are in season right around Christmas time...Cuties? I could eat 10 of those a day.

18. Favorite junk food:
Doritos. Any flavor.

19. Favorite between meal snack:
Mixed nuts.

20. Do you have any weird food habits?
I eat the entire pickled okra, including the stem.

21. You're on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on?
Tamari rice cakes

22. You're off your diet. Now what would you like?
Cheese and vodka

23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
Medium to "It goes to eleven/Vindaloo Poo."

24. Can I get you a drink?
Yes, please!

25. Red or White Wine?
White (as long as it isn't Chardonnay).

26. Favorite dessert?
Key Lime Pie.

27. The perfect nightcap?
Nice tall cold glass o' agua.

Random Photo Monday

The view from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the "Signature Room" ladies' room on the top of the Hancock Building.

Other women who had the same idea as me, lined up to take pictures in the loo.

A mellow dog sleeping in a store-front window in Roscoe Village (Chicago). The sign reads, "All dogs appreciate the value of naps." There was another canine snoozing on a couch just inside the window area.

A cool, sort of freaky photo of Shiloh taken by The Geej.

Some lemon/basil veggie and shrimp kebabs we made on the grill this weekend. YUM.

A very self-satisfied little girl, her dirty babydoll, and a very patient dog.

Fancy Feasts.

Anyone who knows me well willl tell you how much I lurves myself a good meal. I mean, it's no secret. Just look at the lateral spread of my ass and you can tell that. But what I'm talking about here right now is a meal that's prepared by other humans in an intriguing and comfortable setting that has something interesting and/or artisitic about it that makes it truly special.

In short: I likes me a nice meal at a swanky restaurant every now and again, price be damned. You know: just the chance to go out and indulge in this particular type of art form/theater.

So a couple of weekends ago when a bunch of mommy friends and I were at Mz. Ruby Jane's 4th Birthday/Pinata Bashing Fiesta, I let it be known that for my 39th birthday (which is looming EVER larger), all I really wanted to do was to get all the girls dressed up (like we used to do) and go out to eat at a nice/swanky scene-worthy restaurant (also, like we used to do) and go enjoy each others' buzzed company (yes, like we used to).

But last weekend, I got to spend several blissful hours out at just such a place having a WONDERFUL dinner shored up by flutes of Prosecco. Ant then tonight, I took my mom out for her birthday (62, Jan. 27) and then next weekend, BH and I are going out with his mother and her husband for her birthday (65...her b-day is the same date as mine, btw). So when should I do this "Fancy Girls' Dinner"? Any time after the 2nd seems, you know, meh. So fuck it. Who the hell cares about the fact that I'm entering into the swan song of my thirties anyway.

Not me. I mean, not really.

But next year, this time? You can fully expect that I'm going to be planning one of those "HOLYSHITI'MTURNING40" trips/events that I am going to NEED my girls for.

But enough about me and birthdays. Overrated all around. What I REALLY wanted to tell you about is that-gasp-the last TWO WEEKENDS I've gone out to dinner at the types of swanky places I described in paragraph #1. Last Saturday, it was Starlite with Jaye (for the helluvit). And then tonight it was Imperia with Dah (for her birthday).

Me and Dah, all gussied up for her birthday dinner.

So, Starlite. What a happy accident this was. I say "accident" because Jaye and I had actually planned on going to Uchi. That's what we'd been craving, and so we decided to early like old people to avoid too brutal of a wait. Hah! We got there at 6:30pm, and there was ALREADY an hour-and-a-half wait. We said screw it and headed downtown without a plan, and that's how we ended up at Starlite--someplace we'd both been wanting to try. We'd both eaten there when it was at its funky original location in a little house on 34th street, but neither of us had tried it since it had moved into its large, elegant downtown digs. The place itself is GORGEOUS, and it has an upscale-but-not-snooty feel. Jaye and I both started out with a couple of their signature cocktails--HIGHLY recommended, and then she had a salad, and I had a velvety soup of perfectly-seasoned white bean puree. We split an oyster appetizer that was to die for, and then we both had seafood entrees--she, sea bass; me, tuna. Day-um, y'all. Both entrees were exquisite, and the service was attentive, but not pushy. I want to go back. Soon. They've apparently got a dynamite brunch on the weekends that I'm dying to try. And trust me dudes--if you want to take your lady out for a romantical evening, this is the place to go.

Now for Imperia. I'd been curious ever since Capitol Brasserie had closed. I'd enjoyed that restaurant with its clean, crisp French feel, and it's most excellent frites. Holy GOD, the frites. And I'd also been a fan way back when of Mezzaluna when it occupied the space where Imperia now resides. I was wondering what kind of transformation had taken place to change the French brasserie to a hip Asian place-to-be-seen restaurant. Wow, y'all. The interior place was utterly unrecognizable from its previous incarnation. The bar, front door, kitchen and restrooms were still in the same place, but that's where the similarities ended. The interior now is sleek, dark, and sexy, with lots of dark wood and golden accents, including an enormous golden Buddah statue lording over the lounge area. The main thing I kept thinking when I walked into this place was, "This does NOT feel like Austin. At all." Whereas Starlite is fancy in its own way, it still feels warm and Austin-y. Imperia, however, did not. It was very L.A./Dallas/Chicago-ish. In other words, I felt too old and woefully unhip to even be allowed in the front door. But the service was good and the food was very tasty--especially the deserts we ordered. But it was SUPER loud and a wee bit over priced (for what you got), so unlike Starlite, I don't know if I'll be wanting to rush back any time soon.

More soon, my loves.

But I'm signing off for now.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuurp!

Thanksgiving has got to be my most favoritest holiday. It's about food and friends and family, and what could be better than that?

I hosted a low-key potluck Thanksgiving for a few friends. Tuesday night Mr. W and I did all our shopping. Wednesday night, we prepped and cut and mixed, getting everything ready to cook. Thursday morning we put the squash in the slow cooker and went and picked up our smoked turkey at Hoover's. The friends started showing up around 2:30. I pulled out all of the appetizers--including the tomatoes rockafeller and the sundried tomato mozzarella skewers. We sat down to eat around 4:45. We went around the table and all said what we are thankful for. Geej said she's thankful for candy. What a surprise, no?I hadn't really eaten anything all day (except for a plate of appetizers), so about 15 minutes after we sat down to eat, my plate looked like this.

It was fun, and the food (except for the roasted potatoes I made, which were undercooked) was AMAZING.

Appetizers:

Marinated mushrooms

Celery/Carrots with veggie dip and hummus

Mozzarella skewers

Tomatoes rockafeller

Citrus stuffed olives

Cream cheese with Pick-a-pepper sauce

Dried cranberries and cherries

Manchego, Goat blue cheese, and White cheddar with cranberries

Assorted crackers

Dinner:

Smoked turkey

Chipotle sweet potatoes

Vegan veggie tart

Cornbread dressing

Artichoke spinach casserole

Mac and cheese

Dijon roasted potatoes

Braised acorn squash

Whole wheat rolls

Cranberry sauce

Mushroom gravy

Dessert:

Pumpkin pie

Rhubarb pie (First time I've ever had rhubarb...OMFG YUM!!)

Taaaaaaaaaaaaasty!

Sent everyone home with leftovers and still had plenty left for ourselves.

Man, I love Thanksgiving.

Guess who's coming to Thanksgiving...

Once again, I agreed to babysit the class rodent over the holidays. So yesterday, Hunka Munka the class rat, came home with me. Except for that damn ratty tail of hers, she's darn cute. She's very sweet and personable too. Thus far, Earl has been underwhelmed. But tonight, Hunka Munka gets to go out in the ratball for a little roll around the house. I'm sure that will blow Earl's rather tiny mind.

Speaking of Thanksgiving (was I?), Mr. W. and I decided it would be smart to do all of our shopping last night because we figured the store wouldn't be that busy. Yeah...we were pretty wrong on that one. We didn't get to Whole Foods until close to 8pm, and it was still packed to the rafters. Luckily, we got everything we needed (I think), and so I won't have to go back down there any time soon. Thank God. I'm not a fan of crowds...especially crowds in stores. Ick.

The wonderful Dah has The Geej tonight, so Mr. W. can clean house and prep food and get ready for cooking tomorrow. I'm expecting about 4 or 5 guests for our little potluck Thanksgiving, so it should be fun.

More soon.

Seriously?

So, y'all know where I work, right? Been here for eight years. And the 20% discount I get shopping here has been awesome when it comes to trying to put good, wholesome things into the mouth of the Geej. And I do try very hard to do just that. I'm not perfect, but I do what I can when I can.

And y'all also know how much I fucking LOATHE this place, right?

So what universe is my mom living in that she thinks it's okay to a) buy these as breakfast food for a three year old (that's W-Mart's private label brand, dontcha know)

and b) thinks that it's cool to bring this garbage into my house and put it in my pantry?

Please look at the ingredients: 3 out of the top 4 ingredients are sugar: Corn syrup, Sugar, and high fructose corn syrup! And please look at all of the dyes and other chemicals that it takes to make these things. The Geej calls them "The sparkly things," as in "I want the sparkly things for breakfast."

I opened the box and immediately threw away 3 of the 4 foil packages inside and told Geej that--oops!--they must've messed up at the factory and forgot to fill the box.

I try not to be a food snob--especially about the stuff I eat. But then again, I'm an adult and can make my own decisions, good or bad. The Geej is a wee one, and counts on me to make good decisions for her. I think I made a good decision when I threw the majority of this stuff in the trash.

One of my proudest moments as a mom:

This past Saturday, Geej and I were shopping at a very-crowded Whole Foods. When we were going down the frozen aisle, she asked, "Can we have some poppin' peas?" (That's what she calls edamame, which she loves, by the way.) I told her we already had some at home. She then said, "Can we have some Brussels sprouts?" I told her, again, that we already had some at home. To which she replied, "No we don't! We need Brussels sprouts! We need Brussels sprouts! WE NEED BRUSSELS SPROUTS!" The chanting continued for about 2 minutes. Long enough for several moms to glance enviously my way.

That's my girl!!

Spring Cleaning.

You KNOW you work at a weird place when almost everyone on your team is doing some sort of a "cleanse." Two of the chicks on my team have had nothing but water mixed with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and molasses since last Friday night. They're supposed to do this for (at least) ten days, then when they break this fast, they're only supposed to have orange juice for a couple of days and then slowly start eating again. They are, clearly, insane.

Jaye has started her diet in earnest (Go Jaye!), and I'm sure our other female colleague will begin some sort of cleanse/fast or something (she's been talking about some brown rice cleanse she's read about) when she returns from Seattle tomorrow. So I figured, when in Rome...

So tomorrow morning, I'm going to start a 14-day cleanse. That's right, two freakin' weeks of nothing but this stuff,water, and raw fruits and veggies (the fiber-y kind...not the starchy or citrus-y kind). Clearly, I am insane. But truthfully, I know people who do these things quarterly or a couple of times a year, and they swear by them. They say you feel so good during and after, that it's totally worth it. I'm willing to try anything once. And besides, I need to start eating better, and I figure starting from scratch might be just the way to do it. So of course, I pigged out today on Indian food for lunch and bbq for dinner.

Bye bye real food. Hello cleanse. As long as I don't have stuff that looks like this come out of me, I think I'll be cool. (WARNING: Do NOT click on that link unless you think you can handle looking at dozens of photos of the truly bizarre poop of strangers.)

Wish me luck...and will power.

Is it really May 15th?

I ask you Internets: Where the hell is this year going? School's nearly out. It's feeling pretty summer-y outside. I've already had two sunburns. And I'd swear, just yesterday it was Christmas. Cripes.

I have nothing interestingn or substantial to tell you (as if I ever do), so you may want to do yourself a favor and just close your browser now. Go ahead. Shut 'er down. Because if you don't, you're going to have to read about boring-ass shit like this:

My hair!
Ya'll, I had literally, gone longer than I ever have before between dye jobs/haircuts since I started coloring this rat's nest of mine way back in 2002. And it was ugly. Scratch that: it was FUGLY. My roots were substantial enough that not one, but two straight, male coworkers had commented on them. And one of these fuckers actually works for me, so I could've like fired his ass for telling me ostensibly how crappy my hair looked, but I didn't because, truth is, he was right. I'd WANTED to get my hairs did for a long time, but I was so damn busy and couldn't ever make my schedule jive with my hairdresser's until today. I snuck out and took a very long lunch and, voila, I'm a new woman. I'd been wearing my hair in ponytails for about 3 weeks because it was so scraggly, but no more. My hair's now the color of a ripe plum, and I'm super relieved. And do I feel guilty about skipping out on work for nearly 3 hours to get this done? No, because I just got through doing nearly 2 hours of work at home. So there you go.

T.V.!
Did you see "The Sopranos" this week? Holy fucking shit. I did NOT see that coming. I can't believe there are only 3 episodes left. I have absolutely no idea how they're going to end it. I can't wait.


Also, I had high hopes for a new show called "Fat Man Stuck In Internet" on AdultSwim, but I DVR-ed it, and it sucked.


But the season finale of "Reno: 911"? Awesome.


Music!
I downloaded the brand spankin' new Rufus Wainwright today and have only given it a listen-through once so far, but oh my god, that man's voice. I got chills numerous times and even got misty eyed at one point. I can't wait to get to know this album well enough to croon along.

Work!
I swear, I'm about to die of meeting-itis. I'm being meetinged to death and I can't get any actual work done. I have no idea what to do about it, but I'm going nucking futs. I have grown to hate Outlook and my Outlook calendar. I mean, I fucking loathe it with a passion. The only good thing is that I schedule myself for blocks of time and put "DO NOT SCHEDULE" on my calendar so that I can have at least 2 hours a day at my desk to get some things crossed off of my ever-growing "To Do" list. If it were the Old Karla May, you know, the one without a kid, I'd be staying until 6:30 or 7:00pm each night, just to keep my head above water, but as it is, I'm beginning to drown.

Food!
Remember that awesome stir-fry I told you about the other night? Well, I'm a dork, so I took a photo of it while I was cooking. Damn it was good--asparagus, seitan, baby bok choy, zucchini, red onion, shitake, carrots, snow pea sprouts, etc. It made so much, that Geej and I ate it for dinner one night, I ate leftovers the next night, and then I still ended up trashing at least another serving of it. One thing I forgot to mention about stir-fry night: I taught the Geej to eat edamame. She LOVED it. I made a game out of it: See if you can pop the peas out of the pod. She tried doing it in her mouth (no luck), but then switched to her fingers, and had a blast. She ended up eating a shitload of the stuff, and asking if I would cook "Uhmamay" again. But of course.

Speaking of food, after my hair appt., I grabbed a VERY good (but expensive) portabella and artichoke panini from this swanky new place on South Congress (I fucking REFUSE to call that area SoCo, by the way). It was quite good, but I certainly didn't feel like I was in Austin when I was shopping there.

Assholes!
Also, I spotted this vanity plate while down in the South Congress 'hood:

In case you're wondering, "Westside Lexus" is a dealership in Houston. I was gonna guess Dallas, but same difference really.

And R.I.P., Jerry Falwell, you smug, self-righteous bastard.

Geej!
I forgot to wish all my mom buddies a happy Mother's Day on Sunday. I hope yours was nice. Mine was very uneventful, unless you count the following exchange as "an event":


[In the car.]


Geej: [From the backseat] Here, Mommy.


Me: [Looking back to see her pointing her finger at me with something nasty on the end of it] Is that a booger?!


Geej: Yes.


Me: Do you need a tissue?


Geej: Yes.


Me: [Frantically searching through my purse for a kleenex with one hand while driving with another; I finally get the tissue, and grab the booger off of her finger.] There! Gross, honey! Next time, ask for a tissue BEFORE you pick your booger out of your nose, okay?


Geej: Okay. [Pauses a moment, then proudly proclaims] But I didn't eat it!!

I guess that's a gift, now that I think about it.

Experiments in Food Porn.

I used to cook. A lot. I would spend time experimenting with recipes, cooking for friends or just myself, winging it and trying stuff out that just sounded good. But not so much anymore. It's pretty standard toddler fare over here these days. Most items are cooked in the microwave, and nothing really requires a recipe per se.

So on the rare occasion when I actually get to cook for myself, I just get freakishly giddy. At about 5:45 today I realized, "Holy crap! I'm home alone tonight, and I can eat whatever I want!!" So I went to Whole Foods without a list and just decided to see what sounded good and ended up in my little basket.

I left with a lovely wild caught yellowfin tuna steak, some fresh asparagus, a red onion, grape tomatoes, a ginger/scallion marinade for the fish, shitake risotto, lemon goat cheese, a bottle of really nice Savignon Blanc and a slice of key lime pie.

When I got home, I rubbed both sides of the tuna steak with some course sea salt and multi-colored peppercorns, then put the marinade on it and stuck it in the fridge for an hour.

I prepped the rest of the stuff, and when it was time, started steaming the asparagus in my asparagus steamer (yes, I have a piece of cookware specifically for asparagus. So what?!), and preparing the risotto. I also started to make a "garnish" for the asparagus: grape tomatoes (halved), diced red onion, capers, chunked goat cheese, a bit of dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice, salt and pepper. I mixed all this up and let it set in the fridge.

When it came time to cook the fish, I seared it on each side for about 2 minutes. I plated it with the risotto, asparagus and garnish and,

Voila!!

I'm not Jaye, but I tried.

The marinade was excellent: Made by "Wild Thymes," it's called Korean Ginger and Shallot. VERY flavorful. I should have gone a bit easier on the salt and pepper rub, and left the fish on the skillet for about 30 more seconds, each side. It was an exquisite cut of fish though, so I'm not complaining. (And hell, it should've been exquisite for freakin' $21.99/lb.)But all in all, it was very good. The random "garnish" I made for the asparagus added a perfect tangy, strong punch to their rather mellow spring flavor. And the lemon goat cheese added a lovely creamy consistency as it melted on the hot asparagus. The risotto was velvety and mild, with just enough mushroom-y flavor. And I ended up waaaaaaay too full for the key lime pie or more than a glass and a half of the wine (which was a bit too fruity for my taste).

I asked this bitch what she thought, and she seemed pleased.
(Thanks always, Texpatriate.)

Night night...

I swear...

...I DO have a lot to write about. Really. Like going up to Dallas for the weekend. Hanging out with old friends from high school, then going to another old friend's wedding. And about how fucking hot it is. And that tomorrow is Geej's first day at New Coo (that's what she calls her new school). But I'm beyond wiped folks. (Seems like I'm saying that a lot these days on ye olde blogge.) So I'll leave you with two thoughts:

1. I love Tex-Mex food. And I had the pleasure of inhaling THIS at some little joint called Avila's in Dallas this weekend. I was a tad hungover, so it was extra EXTRA yummy. I couldn't help but take a photo of it in all its glory.

2. Remember a while back when I wrote about My Hell? Well I figured out another profession to add to my list of jobs in hell: Hostess at the Cracker Barrel on IH-35 in Waco, Texas on a Sunday. Oh my GOD. Between all of the fat white Christians hovering around waiting for tables while practically drooling on themselves and all of the potpourri smelling shit they have for sale in that "shop" of theirs and the 10 metric tons of crapola that's available to buy in there and all of the old people walking around going, "Oooh! How cute! A purse that looks like a poodle wearing earrings and high-heeled shoes!!", I would most definitely go postal.

The P11 is alive and well in South Austin!!

I am VERY happy and excited to announce that I lunched at the brand new Madam Mam's south location (Westgate/Ben White), had my favorite soup in the world--the Tom Kha w/tofu (P11)--and it was every bit as good as the ambrosia they serve at their Guadalupe location.

YUM!!

And the service at this site was better. As was the atmosphere. And there was plenty of FREE parking!! So now I won't have to pay $7 to park just to eat a $6.95 soup. I might even venture out and try something else off the menu (something I've never done because I can't get enough of that damn soup)!!

So yeah. I plan on spending plenty of Thai-me at the new Madam Mam's. (Get it? Thai-me? Time? Heh heh.)

The Battle of the High-Chair

The Geej and I are having "issues." Food issues, to be more specific. She is driving me NUTS with her eating peculiarities, and I've started to get really mad at her, which is stupid since she's 11 mos. old and i'm an adult. But still...

Here's the deal: She was eating like a pro. Every type of baby food I gave her, she enjoyed and ate enthusiastically. Then we moved to "stage 3" foods with chunks, and I started giving her finger foods--the kind of stuff you can pick up and eat without choking even if you've got tiny fingers and only 5 teeth in your head. And she got very good at feeding herself really quickly. It was amazing, to be honest. (Of course, I was there cheering her on like a lunatic, yelling "Hole in one!" and clapping when she'd actually manage to get the slimy piece of banana or slippery piece of avocado into her mouth.) But for about the past 5 days or so, she's simply boycotting every thing she once liked. What do I mean by "boycotting" you ask? Well, we sit down, I put a piece of sweet potato in front of her, and she looks right at me and throws it on the floor. She used to do this when she was done eating, as if to say, "Hey, I'm full. See? Let me show you...the cantaloupe is now on the floor. Get it?" But now, she does it at the BEGINNING of every dining session, and with every thing I'm trying to feed her. I tell her "No!"each time, and I've instituted a "5 strikes and your out" policy whereby once the 5th piece of food hits the floor, we're done. It saves us both a lot of frustration, but the downside is, SHE'S NOT EATING!! Granted, she's still drinking formula, so she's getting nourishment, but she's nearly a year old and should be getting about half of that nourshment from food, not formula. God, I hope this is a phase. It's so ridiculous how wonked out it makes me. I guess because meal time used to be fun for both of us. Now, I just dread it, and one of us usually ends up crying.

She's also simultaneously entered in to a severe hair-pulling phase and a crying-like-its-the-end-of-the-world-whenever-she-gets-her-diaper-or-clothes-changed phase. But hopefully, these too shall pass.

Now some of the great stuff she's doing:

• Trying like hell to stand up on her own.
• "Dancing" to music, which is WAY cute. It started out innocently enough with "Row, row, row your boat," but now she's into New Wave and the blues.
• Waving to the cats whenever she sees them.
• Going to bed at 8:00 - 8:30 instead of 9:00 - 9:30.
• Swimming! We went to the pool for the first time yesterday, and she liked it a lot. Probably because it was so warm it felt like bathwater, but man, did she ever look cute in her swimsuit and sun hat...

[By the way, the "mood swings" part of this whole menopause crap has set in big time. I cried at least 3 times yesterday, for no real reason. And let's just say my fuse is a lot shorter now that it once was. It takes very little to really, really piss me off. (See the previous paragraph about The Geej's eating habits, for instance.) I'm supposed to go back and see my doctor again in a few weeks, and I'm hoping there's some kind of medication out there that can make me sane again, because between the exhaustion caused by the insomnia and night sweats and the mood swings, Karla May isn't much fun to be around these days.]